A4G: Introduction part 2.

This is the second part of my detailed review of the statement from the inappropriately named "Together for the Gospel" conference. I am calling my version "Altogether for the Gospel" :-) The first part is A4G: Introduction part 1. All this is in response to Adrian's challenge.

As in previous moments of theological and spiritual crisis in the church, we believe that the answer to this confusion and compromise lies in a comprehensive recovery and reaffirmation of the Gospel – and in Christians banding together in Gospel churches that display God’s glory in this fallen world.

I find this paragraph fascinating. I have been trying to work out what it means and what my reaction to it is. My theory is that it reminds me of a friend from my ministerial training. We kept not understanding each others thoughts and comments until we discovered during the liturgy course that the same words meant entirely different things to us. When we talked of recent things in worship she was thinking of the time of the reformation and I was thinking of last week.

Ok first, are we in a special moment of crisis in the Church. In some ways no, my own denomination could be said to be in the process of recovery from losing its way. There are other signs of hope too, for example the covenant between the Methodist Church of GB and The Church of England. To me it appears that there is a renewed commitment to the Gospel among the people I have trained with and in many of our Churches.

Yet there are definitely crises, our membership numbers nationally are still falling and will continue to do so for a while due to our age profile. Money is a problem for many UK churches.

However, selfishly many of the problems in the Church that it seems to me that the statement do not apply to the situation of the Methodist Church in the UK. We do not have crises over our preaching (other than needed more Preachers), or the role of women and the issue of sexuality.

So my challenge to this paragraph is this. Please detail ways in which the world catholic Church is in this crisis. Take a bigger picture than the southern part of the United States and the battles between your form of Evangelical and the rest of the Church. Please find a way to dialogue with everyone else that does not start with telling everyone else that they are sub Christian or sub gospel.

Now I am totally in favour of a "comprehensive recovery and reaffirmation of the Gospel", but let us be careful to keep to the gospel in ways that are universally understood. This statement reads as one designed to divide the church, I do not accept that at being true to the gospel.

"and in Christians banding together in Gospel churches", I am fully in favour of Christians being re-energised in their Churches, but what is a gospel church? Oh, yes it is that subset of Churches that are approved by the big 4 of the T4G. That is not what makes the gospel. We should be calling for renewal and revival of the Gospel in all Churches and encouraging them all. Our lack of unity, our divisions hurt the gospel and are not scriptural (Ephesians 4 again, 1 Corinthians 12 and 13, ...).

"display God’s glory in this fallen world" excuse me but why do they like to focus so much on the fall and so little on the forgiveness and hope that Christ died and rose again to bring. As we consider the problems in the world (war, violence, poverty, disease, family breakdown, *.ism) do these people need to be told of the  love that Christ has for them, of new life in the Kingdom, of Good News - or do they need to be told they are wretched sinners. As I see the people outside the Church (and many within it too) I feel for their lack of hope and good news. I understand my role as to preach the good news of salvation through Christ - yes to a fallen world, but more than that a world that Jesus, my Lord and Saviour came to save. So if we are going to unite, if we are going to encourage and build up the Church and Christians for this wonderful huge task, then let us focus on the building up, not the tearing down.

P.S. In no way shape or form should my writing about the Good News here be understood to mean that I believe in a prosperity gospel.

Comments

[Glenn Piper]

"We do not have crises over our preaching (other than needed more Preachers), or the role of women and the issue of sexuality."
The stance of your denomination regarding women in leadership and the exceptance of active homosexuals into positions within the church are two of the very things that are in fact undermining your denomination.
When the world perceives little, if any, difference between itself, and in this case Methodism, then what is to attract them in numbers.
I take absolutely no joy in saying this.

[DaveW]

Glen,

We disagree totally.

I maintain that you have never experienced the ministry within the Church of women nor of active homosexuals. Nor have you addressed the fact that your interpretation of scripture is not the only one.