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17/6/2015

the church in community

by Dale Bradley

ST. Paul's Cathedral from the Tait Modern

I took this photograph from the cafe on the ground floor
of the Tait Modern gallery looking across the Thames River
to London City. St. Paul's Cathedral crowns the top of
Ludgate Hill, the highest point in London and at one time this
magnificent structure towered over the nation's capital.

At the time I was struck by two thoughts. First, I was reminded of times past when the church really was the centre of the community. Not only was St Paul's Cathedral the focal point of London and not only was it the religious centre of the community but it was also the social centre supporting the community.

But I was also confronted by the barriers this architectural monument created between the heart of the church itself and the wider community. I recall walking from the crowded St. Paul's tube station on the Central Line on my first visit to the famous landmark. Anyone who has been in London will know just what I mean when I refer to the press of people and the jostling of crowds of impatient tourists and weary commuters. Walking past stone citadels housing voracious merchant bankers and through the large front doors of the West Front of the Cathedral was my first experience of Sir Christopher Wren's genius.

There was an immediate sense of peace. I imagine that in the days of the great architect there was no less need for a place of solace. A refuge from urban cacophony and competitive pressure. I was so drawn into a place of devotion and worship that I found myself willingly dismissing thoughts of misery and exploitation that must have been the cost of building this monument and all the other similar edifices that stand sentry throughout the cities and villages of Europe. This has often been a troubling thought for me when visiting these great tourist religious iconic shrines. But here, in St. Paul's, you are drawn into a private place of reverent and humble adoration.

But as I prayerfully entered into a private place of
devotion and worship I also found myself resisting the
purely mystical. For we are flesh and blood. We are more
than the spiritual. We are participants in the great mission
of discovery that is the adventure of the human race.

And while places of refuge and experiences of the divine are essential, its not all there is.

Somehow the barriers of St. Paul's, that so wonderfully create a sacred sanctuary, also form a barrier that separates the sacred from the physical. And I was reminded that Jesus did not seem to focus on drawing people into the temple and synagogue but rather he left those places, (and in this I include his times of solitary prayer and those special times of communion with his immediate followers) and went into the streets and homes where people lived and worked.

And if he was physically living in our community
today I suspect we would find him doing the same.

Do you agree? Any thoughts on this?

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9 Comments

paul lush

2/6/2015 08:08:04 am

Thanks for your blog around the sanctity around a building. I also very much enjoyed the evening around Crossnet - so much so I felt compelled to write to my small group members to tell them about it. Here goes, lets see what happens.......

Hello small group family, welcome to Tuesday & a short week – whoo hoo

I have no authority to speak but I wanted to share a story with you all.
On Sunday evening I was lucky enough to attend the HCC Hui dedicated to starting a discussion on a Networking platform called Crossnet. I’ll get to that soon but, I say lucky enough because it was held at the HCC building at 4 pm on Sunday on a horrible day & I could very easily have said I cant be bothered going out again but crikey Im glad I did!! Megan & Dylan were there & Im sure they can back me up on this – it was fantastic, I spoke to people from Church I haven’t spoken to before & not just stuff in passing, I mean got into some really good conversations & found out more about them as people all the while enjoying some divine food. I wasn’t even going to stay for dinner but I didn’t end up getting home until after 730. So Im really sorry you guys missed out, Im sure there will be a next time.

Anyway, I just want to share about Crossnet.kiwi - - http://www.crossnet.kiwi ( & I say “dot kiwi” because there are some other Crossnets out there & I don’t know if they are linked in anyway), because it got my fire burning again. Its something I find really exciting – not that it’s a new idea – but it’s a philosophy that I can completely relate to which in turn excites the heck out of me, and the beauty of it is its fundamentally basic stuff. If you want me to make a spiritual connection – it’s the stuff we are learning about in home group, its about the Acts sermons for the last month but at the most basic & intimate level.

Love God but, love those around you.
We are called to make disciples of others, to be stewards & shepherds, to shares Gods word, to walk the walk as well as talk the talk

At this point I want you to Read Dales Blog below but the full transcript can be found at this address - http://www.crossnet.kiwi/church-in-the-community

from Dales Blog - "Somehow the barriers of St. Paul's, that so wonderfully create a sacred sanctuary, also form a barrier that separates the sacred from the physical. And I was reminded that Jesus did not seem to focus on drawing people into the temple and synagogue but rather he left those places, (and in this I include his times of solitary prayer and those special times of communion with his immediate followers) and went into the streets and homes where people lived and worked.

And if he was physically living in our community
today I suspect we would find him doing the same. "

Now - Picture an Onion, peel away all the layers – lets call each layer a boundary – either real or perceived - as to what makes up a church or why a person may not want faith or come to a church, each layer represents a Church agenda, a ritual, a building, a leadership structure, a specific day at a specific hour, every thought & concept you have about “what is a Church” until you are left with something tiny – as tiny as a…. “Mustard Seed”. Now engage the mustard seed parable & everyday seek to love people outside the church in your community. A Church is the people – the “Ecclesia”, yes they need somewhere to meet & worship & praise & build up God but fundamentally its us, the people, every hour of every day in all locations. Across all platforms of interacting with people, whether talking to someone in a shop or street or email or facebook or text or twitter – its not limited to a building on a Sunday for 2hrs once a week. Success is not necessarily “you” bringing someone all the way to faith or even to Church, it may be just bringing them 2% closer or the implantation of that tiny mustard seed. & when people say God does the rest, well that could mean the next person that person meets than brings them another 2% closer & so it goes on. Here is someone elses words who is a lot smarter than me.

31 He put another parable before them, saying, z“The kingdom of heaven is like aa grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Someone else smarter than me expanded this verse to say - “By using the uncommonly small mustard seed as an example, Jesus is speaking figuratively about the incalculable power of God when unleashed in the lives of those with true faith.
We know that this statement about moving mountains and uprooting trees by faith is not to be taken literally. No on

2/6/2015 12:33:58 pm

continued from first post

Someone else smarter than me expanded this verse to say “By using the uncommonly small mustard seed as an example, Jesus is speaking figuratively about the incalculable power of God when unleashed in the lives of those with true faith.
We know that this statement about moving mountains and uprooting trees by faith is not to be taken literally. No one can do such things, no matter how great their faith. The key to understanding the passages is the nature of faith, which is a gift from God. The power of faith reflects the omnipotent nature of the God who bestows faith on His own. The mustard seed is one of the tiniest seeds found in the Middle East, so the conclusion is that the amount of faith needed to do great things is very small indeed. Just as in the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32), Jesus uses rhetorical hyperbole to make the point that little is much when it comes from God. The mustard seed in the parable grows to be a huge tree, representing the tiny beginnings of Christianity when just a few disciples began to preach and teach the gospel. Eventually the kingdom grew to huge proportions, encompassing the entire world and spreading over centuries.

So, too, does the tiniest bit of faith, when it is true faith from God, grow to immense proportions in the lives of believers and spreading out to influence all they come into contact with. One has only to read histories of the great men of the faith, such as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs to know that superhuman feats were performed by those whose faith was, at one time, only the size of a mustard seed. “

back to my thoughts - So Crossnet looks like a great idea – a platform to take this parable & connect with as many people as you can – starting with but not limited to the current Sowers Trust programmes already available, maybe God will use you to take them 2% or 5% or only just sow that tiny seed. Ie there is no reason you cant say hello to someone while you are waiting in line at a shop, at your kids football game, the park, a café.

In my other home group we have been investigating this very thing & we are currently studying the basic practice of just saying Hello.
Here is the Bill Hybels sermon entitled – walk across the room ( its only 36 mins - you can do it, they will be the best 36 mins you have spent today – I promise ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9K9Fbt-scQ which goes into that message even more, just walk across that room & say Hello. Just pick up that phone or email or cross the road & just say Hello.

Crossnet – while still only a proposal at this time – if you invite someone to join or you spread the word on facebook etc is a way to make connections & have discussion on an electronic platform which is lets be fair, is what everyone is doing now. It’s a lot easier to email a Hello than it is to walk up to them in Church let alone a street & say Hello. It’s a way to break down those barriers, those onion layers to cross cultures, ages, race, genders, spiritual barriers, theology. It is designed to offer online forums & regular events & networking

http://www.crossnet.kiwi

So check it out – there isn’t too much to see yet but its still worth discussion, not so much around it it a good or bad idea but lets try how can we make this work in our daily lives, what is the God given reason behind this idea & are we doing it at the most basic intimate level.

And if someone reaches out to say hello to you, be responsive, God wants you to have community & fellowship with people, this is how the seed grows. You are not commanded to Like everyone, but you are commanded at the very least to Love them regardless.

Have a great week, be safe & can anyone tell me when the next group meet is please

ta

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