The credibility of Christianity depends on us doing “both and”. By that I mean doing both talk and act; both personal conversion and social engagement.

On the picture we see how ironic it is when we don’t connect things. So from this we see that God wants us to connect our joy with tough issues. We are not meant to be either shallowly triumphalist or hopelessly miserable.

Our series on Mark this Sunday morning (22/1/2012) takes us to the controversy Jesus got into for doing both and – as told in Mark 2 vs 1–12 – he both forgave and healed.

One final bit of both and – I was helping lead a conference on Christian leadership this week and we used the following quote which is another aspect of the same theme:

“It is vital that Christian leaders when occupied with exterior matters should not lessen their solitude for the inner life, and by the same token, when occupied with their inner life should not relax their watch on exterior concerns. Otherwise, by being engrossed in the pressing duties that assail a leader, they experience an inner collapse, or by being preoccupied with the things that concern their inner life, they will end up neglecting their external duties to their neighbours.” ( Saint Gregory the Great)

How is your “both and”?

Graham

As we are exploring this partnership, it seemed helpful to write something in a little more detail than a brief news item and in doing so to dare to share my own perspective.

Whilst at Parklands we spoke together with our hosts about mission being of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. Succinctly put it is about going and making disciples and loving God and neighbour.

That has some consequences. As a mission-orientated church we have done, and will continue to give to enable others to practise mission. This is crucial and not up for negotiation. But this must always come second to us practising mission ourselves. We are all called to go as we are able; we are not just called to enable someone else to go. It is both and.

In going to Parklands we were always asking what could we do that would add anything, especially in partnership with such a large, vibrant and well resourced church? We were mindful of the importance of working alongside our sisters and brothers in their endeavour and not duplicating, observing or simply enabling some to have a week or two off.

So what have we come up with?

We are not proposing to simply blend in with the 6,000 on a Sunday although there is much to consider and reflect upon there. We looked for the places where Parklands is going and where we can add to it. We bring three possibilities.

We considered Ilchamus and a people group in a village and a wider community of 50,000 people. This remote and rarely-reached community already has a presence from Parklands. The model that is unfolding is of the Great Commandment and Great Commission and yet unlike the expressions of church found at Parklands and elsewhere. So there is a role is taking in part in something that has moved Parklands and us to the limit of going. We could send money and let Doreen get on with it, but it will surely help more to accompany her, listen to her and the community and so be more responsive and lasting in our impact. The partnership is as important as buying stuff.

We considered Mombasa Road Baptist Church is a recent church plant which although only a year old has a congregation of 250 meeting in a hotel with a tent of the Sunday School in the grounds. This area borders on some slums and has a more diverse community and a gateway to the city. We have been asked if we could help with education in terms of a bible school for children and young people and adult literacy or maybe on nutrition issues. Once again we have the opportunity to come alongside something new and outside the boundaries with our experiences.

Finally, we looked at joining with a planned medical mission in the interior to augment a medical team from Parklands and add others who can  welcome, relate and show care in the village community as consultations are being offered. This promises to develop an holistic approach.

Alongside this, we explored in detail practical matters of accommodation, travel, safety, health and cost etc. In many ways Glenda and I have tested out these issues through our visit. We also discussed with our hosts their desire for us to come and the potential for the partnership to develop mutually in the future.

I am aware that many individuals at MBC are involved in going and mission already. The question for me is how we find ways of extending involvement for as many as possible.

Many have said that needs persist in our own city of Leeds, so why travel 7,250 miles to Kenya or anywhere else? The case is surely for both and to be wary of setting up artificial lines of demarcation between home and overseas mission. This is about balance and knowing that in doing both the scale and level of work will always be more locally. For me there is a greater risk of the church today watching while others go, or little is done rather than worrying about the balance between our going afar or in the local neighbourhood. I believe that one will feed the other.

In this blog I am share what I sensed and saw and what will be explored in more detail in the coming weeks.
Before finishing a note about next steps:

• The Overseas Mission Group meets in the coming week to discuss a report from Glenda and me and see if there is a practical focus for working with Parklands, and if so what it might be.
• If that is clear then interested people will be invited to apply by the 22^nd November and be interviewed by the end of the month.
• During this process and before the team is agreed, the Leadership Team and Church Meeting both meet and will have opportunities to pray, discuss and comment.

The reason for keeping things moving this month is in order to allow time for saving money, booking the best possible flight tickets along with planning, prayer and preparation.

Graham Brownlee, November 2011

Whilst in Kenya I was intrigued by how many churches use tents. Alongside the 4,000 seat church building at Parklands Baptist Church stands a 400 seat tent holding services and events. On my travels I came across the regular use of tents for services. Cheaper, easily erected, fitting the climate and maybe something about the church staying on the move.

On returning to the UK I was quickly drawn into the unfolding news of tents and temples – the tents of the Occupy protest that have toppled the cathedral temple of St Paul’s, or at least prompted the resignation of two senior staff.

This has caused me to think a little more deeply about tents and temples.

The Occupy tents have created a presence that has unsettled the status quo. The mixed bag of people involved may not have clear demands but they are asking searching questions. They are asking questions about justice and our continuing banking structure. Luke Bretherton in his blog ( http://christianitycontemporarypolitics.blogspot.com/ ) has seen that the lack of demands made by the protestors is not a problem as what they are doing is asking us to imagine things differently.

The tented people of God travelled vulnerably into the unknown; the temple dwelling worshippers sought to protect what they had.

Now, I think in this country we have seen the loss of credibility of our politicians, banking system and our press in recent years. And honestly nothing has changed with these three pillars of our free society – they are as they ever were. We are free to change things but we lack the imagination and will to do it.

The temple dwellers respond to demands for change by saying that it will cost and risk too much or it is just the price we have to pay for having such a society – there must be some irony there.

I am reminded of two moments related to Christ:

In Mark 12 Jesus sits at the temple and observes the wealthy giving a small proportion and the sacrificial giving of the widow. He concludes that widow has given more. By this observation and his confrontation of temple and wealth questions Jesus is questioning fundamentally why this should be so. It is a judgment on the temple and wealthy. It will remain so until we have the imagination to dismantle the temple and be present in the tent.

The other moment is the cross. Jesus compared the cross to a dismantling of the temple and rebuilding it in 3 days. Not as it was but entirely differently – re-imagined. Without the transformation of the cross we lack the will, the ability, the wherewithal and the imagination to effect change – for the cross confounds the wise and those who look for signs. So this protest and its questions are profoundly Christian and gospel.

It is certainly true that in trying to evict the protestors on the grounds of health and safety the powers of the Corporation of London and the Cathedral were following a strategy familiar to the Pharisees in convicting Jesus for breaking the health rules of the Sabbath. It is true that the church lost perspective and plot and is now seeking to recover that. However, I and our churches need to be careful, for it is easy to sit in judgement when we are not asked such questions publically. We should ask ourselves how in our living and decision making we are showing imagination.

It seems that the politicians are sitting pretty because they don’t see this protest hurting them. Yet across Europe we have the inability to re-imagine finance. On a related theme, I was talking to a number of friends who are contemplating participating in the public sector pension strike – these friends have been made redundant, work for less pay, with longer
hours, making greater contributions to smaller pensions. The answer to their complaints is to get real and realise that someone has to pay for our longevity and things must change. Yet we are not applying that standard to the banking, political and press systems.

So I return to Moortown and our church building, and not a tent, and I wonder how we can have similar presence and imagination. Leeds is too cold for tents like Kenya and not at the heart of national powers like the City of London. Then I realise that it is not about swapping our building for canvas as such but as a whole church being prepared to be present, trying
things out even when the outcome in uncertain, occupying the space, not debating in our meetings as a replacement of doing and imagining. It is about giving more encouragement for the existing tent like things among us and nurturing new things to be born.

I write as a former camper; I write as someone who knows he is called to the tent but adores the comfort and awe of the temple. So with trepidation and a touch of hope I ask: looking at St Paul’s Square in which buildings do you think God is most clearly to be found?

Graham Brownlee, November 2011

Living Generously
Living Generously means that we believe that we are called to reach out openly to those around us, and be part of God’s generous acts.
Living Generously is one of the headings we are exploring as part of the vision God has for us at MBC. Now it is hard to argue with living generously, but a lot harder to do. This is because it raises lots of other questions, such as how generous should we be? Whom should we be generous to? What should we do to be generous? How do we make decisions between one need and another?

In one sense living generously has to be informed by our love of God and following Jesus Christ together. So being generous is about more than my deciding on my own how I will spend £10 – it means asking God and working things out together.

The other challenge concerns the times we live in. In this time of recession and cuts, it is harder to be be generous. As we get older it is harder to be generous becuase we accumulate property, responsibilities and habits.

One helpful way is to consider small practical steps in living more simply. Mark Powley has written an interesting book entitled Consumer Detox and there is a website worth a visit.
This might be helpful to build into our lives heading up to Easter (through Lent 22^nd February – 8^th April)

Prayer for Afghanistan
Andy and Norma Hobbs will be leading our evening service this Sunday, alongside Wilfred Wyatt. The service starts at the sligjtly earlier time of 5.30pm and will include Communion. Please come along this Sunday. Whether you do or not please pray for the following:

• Afghanistan and other Muslim countries in the region that are undergoing upheaval.
• The work of Chris and Debbie.
• The needs of teachers and other professional workers in Afghanistan.

Lives worth Living!
A chance to explore faith and life in an open way. Everyone welcome of whatever experience of faith. This group meets fortnightly on Monday evenings at 7.30pm and is enjoying growing numbers. The next meetings are on 13^th and 27^th February. Please ask Graham, Bob or Jan for details.

Baptism at MBC
We are planning a baptism service on Sunday 26^th February. The second meeting to find out more about baptism and church membership is on Tuesday 7^th February 7.30 – 9pm at MBC

Kenya Team
The Kenya Team is on training with BMS World Mission this Saturday. Look out for news features in forthcoming services.

Swarcliffe Baptist Church – occasional band wanted!
Swarcliffe Baptist church is asking for people to help lead worship and play at their Sunday morning services occasionally. Thanks for those who have volunteered already – we need a couple more people to complete the team. Please contact Graham.

Advance notice
Church meeting Tuesday 21^st February 7.45pm

(this is a follow up on the sermon I preached at MBC on the morning of 22 May 2011)

Well I’m humbled by You and thankful oh Lord
I studied Your life and Your holy word
But I hold my head just a little high
‘Cos I’m proud that I got on with this given life

And so I’m proud and humble, humble and proud

Imelda May, Proud and Humble (from the album Mayhem, 2010)

Imelda May’s music is a joy and her album Mayhem well worth a listen. As well as enjoying the music; it made me think: can you be proud and humble?

Pride is defined as a sin that favours ourselves and what we do over others and over God. This is destructive and negative pride. This pride is so dangerous because it arrogantly makes us judge and jury on behaviour, attitudes and how we see the world. This makes the sin of pride the doorway to other sin. Pride sets a mirror before us so all we see is ourselves rather than others, God or the world around us. Pride is a problem in people, including Christians!

But then we can show pride in our achievements, ourselves, or work, or culture and families. This is tied to our identity and is no bad thing. To be proud in this way is about self-respect, endeavour and involvement. This is a spur to appreciating the world around us and our involvement for the greater good. This good pride has been called proper pride by Aristotle and others.

I think the same reflection can apply to humility – which is obviously a virtue that fosters generosity, seeing the good in others and sacrifice. However if we lack healthy self-regard, and if we are downtrodden by the excessively proud, humility becomes humiliation.

Sometimes our view of pride depends upon the group we belong to, or our life experience. Groups that have been oppressed rightly value pride and a celebration of identity. So we have black pride, gay pride and so on. Groups or individuals that have enjoyed power should relate to the sin of pride differently because they have never had to fight for space and identity in the same way for the norm and the limelight has been theirs.

We know this in England, as people have pride in the North in ways that are never expressed about the South!

We should seek the just treatment and self-determination of groups, whether we agree with them or not. To afford this to all, is not to sell our values or beliefs but to give a starting point for open and shared critical reflection.

I would like to coin the phrase “open pride and confident humility”! This may help us to check our own pride to see if it is appropriate or not.

• Can I identify recent moments of new revelation, often received from God or others, especially on an issue that is important to me?
• Have I been able to repent of something and find liberating forgiveness?
• Have I been able to share something I value and enjoy with someone not in my group (or someone who doesn’t already agree with me)?
• Have I played a part in helping someone, or a group, find hope and new opportunity?
• Have I been able to celebrate the people, literature, education, music and art that have made me who I am?
• Have I celebrated small steps of progress in something I am doing?
• Have I managed to stay committed to something for the long haul?
• Have been able to take myself less seriously and see the best in others?

 
If we can say yes to some of these and give examples in our recent living then we have open pride and confident humility!

On the flip side if I am proud of myself and my group in a way that I put my, and mine, over morality then I have a problem.

• If I am proud of myself, or mine, uncritically I have a problem.
• If my reference point for what I think and do is me and those who agree with me – then I have a problem.
• If I can’t laugh, learn or be inspired then I have a problem.
• If I am not afforded the opportunity to contribute I have a problem.

 
Now what is Christian about this? Well for this we can be informed by the bible and even more look at Christ. Surely the life of Christ in humbling Himself and being exalted is an example of open pride and confident humility? Surely the cross is an uncompromising challenge to the proud and a resilient hope of the impoverished! After all we preach Christ crucified.

I am proud of my family and I am proud of my roots.

I am tough on myself in the things I do.

I am proud of the people who made me what I am.

In my better moments I don’t want you praise to massage my pride, but want you to join me in making a difference. In my worst moments, I’ll take all the positive strokes I can get, regardless.

I love the song, proud and humble, but in the rhythm and blues I don’t agree with all the Imelda’s lyrics, but at least she is honest and putting it out there.

Graham

PS

What is your take on pride and humility?
What is your experience?

Easter is about the true extent of God’s love for us. This love is real, deep and transforming.
The seven sets of words Jesus spoke from the cross helps us see this…

Hope in the darkness?
Today you will be with me in paradise Luke 23 v 43

Love in the hate?
Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing. Luke 23 v 34

Telling the hardest truth?
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27 v 46

Trusting in God?
Father into your hands I commit my spirit. Luke 23 v 46

Grace to pass on work to others?
Son, receive your mother.
Mother, receive your son. John 19 v 26, 27

Jesus knew that He had now finished His work. And in order to make the Scriptures come true, He said, “I am thirsty!” John 19 v 28

If you have ever believed that love inevitably leads to betrayal
this day says it doesn’t.
If you have ever believed that some people are unlovable, irredeemable
this day says they aren’t.
If you have ever believed that there is a limit to forgiveness
this day says there isn’t.
If you have ever believed you aren’t worth saving
this day says you are.
If you have ever believed that you don’t deserve freedom
this day says you do.
If you have ever believed that fear, anger, hate and despair will always win
this day says they won’t.
And this day is good for you.

“It is finished.” John 19 v 30

“Stop moaning about something you cannot change” was the reaction I got to my glum face and grumpiness as the news that Andy Carroll had moved to Liverpool from Newcastle for £35m.

You, dear reader, may not care either and so would give me the same advice.

I hope that this isn’t the usual easy rant at the profligacy for premiership football. Although as Britain has its belt tightened the super rich do seem immune.

Rather, here is what struck me through my tears for the Toon…

Mike Ashley (the owner) said that he didn’t want to sell Andy Carroll but the offer was too big to refuse.

Andy Carroll (the player) said that he didn’t want to go but the club wanted him to.

Alan Pardew (the manager) said we wanted him to stay, but as this huge offer came in Andy Carroll asked for an immediate increase in his current contract. With that unforthcoming a written transfer request was made and the rest is history.

I noticed that everyone claimed not to want the outcome that they contributed to! What was the reason for this contradictory behaviour? – The money on the table.

I conclude that money dictated to people’s deeper wills and better judgement. Or maybe it is too difficult to publicly admit the truth that making money was the driving force for everyone involved. Then it makes sense.

From a biblical perspective I have a parable ringing in my ear:

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

 ¹ Jesus told his disciples: There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

² So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

    ³ The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—

    ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

    ⁵ So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

    ⁶ ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

    ⁷ Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

    ⁸ The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

    ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

    ¹⁰ Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

    ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

    ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

    ¹³ No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Luke 16 v 13 (New International Version)

The use of money is a shrewd business and it affects relationships. Whenever money is on the table sharp operating is never far away!

Maybe we need to be sharper and more honest and open with one another so that money works for us rather than us for it. We cannot remove money from football or life but we can shift so that money serves our greater goals.

I have a hunch that that was what the last phrase of this difficult parable was driving at. To serve God instead of money is not to remove money but to have a goal of serving God as we save and spend money. In that way money is put in its place. Easily said!

Mike, Andy and Alan say they wanted to be together but money drove them swiftly apart. If we are honest Andy was bound to attract £35m one day, the only question was when and how. In the absence of a shared goal and effort to work together they were bound to split. For the cash on the table told each of them you can have what you want now as an individual and at that point they forget each other and their shared future.

There are lessons for us here in how we relate to money in our families, church, businesses and careers – whether in debt or plenty.

Anyway, I am going back to crying into my brown ale and to pray that all the £35m is spent on another saviour in a number 9 shirt, or would that mean history repeating itself?!

Graham, February 2011

Richard Dawkins wrote: “I think that the Bible as literature should be a compulsory part of the national curriculum – you can’t understand English literature and culture without it.” I agree, but when I look at the context of what he is saying I only half agree.

Dawkins was talking about the King James’ version as a great work of English literature. This was featured in the media as part of the attention given to the bible on the 400^th anniversary of the publication of this version. On the 9^th January, it was great to hear the bible read through the day on Radio 4. Now I agree that the bible is a great work of literature in English, but it is so much more than that. Whether you agree with it or not the bible is not just literature in this language.

To start with it was not originally written in English. Then if we look at this nation in and around 1611 we see that the bible was not mere literature then. The King James’ bible was one step that put the bible at the centre of our culture. Around that time many groups published pamphlets and argued passionately for a society ordered according to the bible as they read it – the Levellers, the Ranters, Puritans and Anabaptists (or own forebears at MBC) – see picture below.


They may seem weird to us now but what we see are people who saw the bible as a book that influenced the whole of life. So the King James’ bible at the time was much more than mere literature.

The bible is an account God that influences the way individuals live and societies are structured.

Now this says something else to us. The bible is a matter for debate – it is something to be read, examined, respected, looked at critically and applied. In fact the bible is only truly the word of God when these things happen. As the bible says:

 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3 v 15, 16 (King James’ Version)

We do not do the bible a service when we restrict it to private matters or even church matters – it is the whole of life. Nor do we give credit to the bible when we give the impression that the bible is easy or two dimensional.

It is not like a Holts car manual, merely written to fix things in life when they go wrong or to tell us how to do things.

It is a multi-faceted library of God, life and God’s ways with us. It takes work, prayer and study so that it may be seen in fresh and new ways today as it was in 1611.

This year let’s be honest that the bible has been used and abused in the last 400 years and will continue to be so. Let us not put the bible on a pedestal that it didn’t make for itself – we don’t worship the bible but the God in Jesus Christ who is revealed in the bible. Let us not chain the bible to literature or history alone, nor let us recast it as a science text book or fitness manual. It speaks of science, health, history and literature with a distinct and unique perspective. God inspired and profitable all.

There is another reason to take up the bible with care and expectation this year. Whatever we believe about it, it is a universal and not a specific book. That is it claims to and has been used to speak of the whole of life and not just one aspect of it. Equally it does not just speak of ancient middle-eastern tribes, nor of reformation sects does it speak of the journey of all people in different times. As we read the bible we will see it in similar ways to those who read it before and yet we will also see it differently. This is good because the Spirit works as we read.

So as we listen to sermons, read the bible at home or in groups or read through the bible in a year. The main thing is not to marvel at its style; or simply get through listening to sermons or going from cover to cover but to be inspired and disturbed by it so that it might come alive for what it is.

Graham, 27 January 2011

Doing good got some press late last year with Ian Hislop’s series of three programmes on the BBC and our government championing the actions of people to create the Big Society.

Well with New Year here and the ink barely dry on my resolutions it got me thinking about this subject.

Although being a do gooder has negative connotations of piety and uptight moralism I go with Hislop in asserting that such people has bequeathed to us a “nation worth living in”.

Ian Hislop focused on people like William Wilberforce who campaigned against slavery; George Dawson who promoted the civic gospel in Birmingham; Dr. Barnardo the child protection innovator who had an eye for advertising and promotion; the Earl of Shaftesbury who campaigned against child labour; William Gladstone the Prime Minister and one who rescued prostitutes, sex educator Ellice Hopkins and Mary Carpenter the helper of young offenders and so on.

I noticed how faith was a driving factor for the majority of the philanthropists featured. I also picked up that these people were often stubborn mavericks, a thorn in the side of the accepted practices and far from easy or straightforward people. They often sparked controversy that persists and their value and success was only proved in time.

Now then, let’s have more of that faith motivation and maverick edge. Let’s not hide away and play safe with our faith. Let’s have a faith that cares about society and is prepared to innovate and take risks. This kind of faith and action would be a challenge to us all.

Now does that make me a recruit for the Big Society – maybe in as much as we practice attitudes and actions that build such a big society? But history and my faith tell me that good is not done top down at the behest of government agendas. Doing good means challenging the way things are, bringing hope and tackling injustice. It must always be more than self help alone and go beyond plugging gaps or doing more for less.

Let’s contribute to a big society; let’s be do gooders; let’s open our eyes to God and today’s world with our faith. This is a bit of a rallying call to engage – even if we start small and prepare of the reaction of all sorts.

I am sure that you will find it worth watching Ian Hislop’s programmes repeated on BBC 1:

Details found on http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wkmh4/episodes/upcoming

They are to be screened in the early hours it may be best to record them unless you are an owl, a shift-worker or carer of insomniac children.

Graham Brownlee 5 January 2011

Apparently “The Apprentice: Series 6” is the best yet. I am not an avid viewer myself and the thought of working for Alan Sugar scares me, but the series got me thinking.

We may question the motivation and worldview but it is very clear that the Apprentices are working for Lord Sugar and want to win that six figure job. It is also clear how crass and ignorant the Apprentices are.

Now Jesus is no Alan Sugar, but the idea of Christians being Apprentices has been brought to the fore: it was the theme for Spring Harvest 2009; Steve Chalke wrote a book of that name and Dallas Willard has reflected on this in his book the Divine Conspiracy.

Here’s a thought. A disciple is a follower of Jesus, a student – an apprentice. That is someone who is seeking to learn and put into practice from someone who is skilled and experienced. An apprenticeship is a particular way of learning that has been lost but is coming back into vogue.

So here is the pitch: all Christians should be apprentices of Jesus. This should be clear. We have a tradition of healthy doubt in Christianity – the problem is that we have put it in the wrong place.

It is healthy to doubt and question about beliefs and knowledge – don’t get me wrong – this not to undermine clarity and core beliefs but to be honest that we do not know everything and have so much more to learn and need to understand more clearly.

However it is not healthy to doubt whether I am a Christian. We should be clear on this.

I have a hunch that we have allowed the opposite view:- it is not good to doubt, question or show ignorance on matters of doctrine, but acceptable to be doubtful about whether we are following.

Now if we look at the gospels, the hearers of Jesus were left in no doubt about what it meant to follow: leave your nets, take up your cross, sell all you have – these are clear and you know where you stand. So that in John 6 when all are leaving and questioning because things are getting too difficult and challenging Jesus ask the twelve if they wanted to throw in the towel as well. Simon Peter’s answer is not – we get everything you are saying but simply that you have the words of eternal life, where else would we go? In other words – we are not sure what is going on but we know about you and that we are your apprentices!

Likewise in the gospels, the disciples are so slow to understand the necessity of the cross and where it fits, how to pray, who Jesus is etc.

So the gospels paint a picture for us of people who are clear who they were following but still novices in what this is all about.

I have the hunch that we should be clearer and uncompromising that we are apprentices. To be an apprentice doesn’t mean knowing all this answers but being unequivocal that we are following Christianity through. I think we have a preoccupation with knowledge over knowing. I think that we need a closer attention to our beliefs not to accumulate more information but to equip the apprentices.

Now Dallas Willard points out that we are all followers of a number of people – in education, music, fashion, sport and politics. It is naive for a church to say remove all these other influences, but rather put Christ in the centre of the mix. Any church and any individual exist within this mix. Churches should help people follow Christ and make sense of the other people, careers and influences we follow. That means we should be accessible, practical and clear.

Now that throws up another thought. We can imply that Christianity is about making me a better person which fits neatly with cultures which say the highest ideal is to be true to yourself. Hang on that means we are apprentices of ourselves! Rather being apprentice makes us more like Jesus. So there will always be real edge and challenge to following Christ. Such faith is accessible and informed in the mix of the world but still distinct.

So to those who are starting out – who are you following and how are you learning?

The question for someone starting out is not do you know enough; but who are you following?

To those who have experience who are you teaching by example rather than words alone?

How would this approach change our way of being Christian?

How would this change our church?

This may sound a bit preachy. I looked in the mirror and for a moment I saw Alan Sugar. Then I saw me – how little I know, how important it is that I follow!

Graham Brownlee, November 2010