Renewal of the Church

  Friends – We have been in a virus imposed limbo since March of 2020.   During our shut down, and now our phased re-opening of the Church, priorities have been re-evaluated and it is as if the entire world, including The Church, has hit the RESET button.   The Vestry over the summer set out to read and discuss a book called Made for Mission: Renewing your parish culture by Tim Glemkowski.    As recommended in this book we recommitted to being a parish that is focused on mission.   What is that mission?   Simply stated, it is To know Christ, and to make Him known.   This has been our published mission statement, and Mr. Glemkowski’s book has started us thinking about how we can become more deeply focused on the primary work of the parish. The statement above assumes two things: that we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, and how he has revealed himself through the historic teaching of the Church, and that we know how to share that G...

       First, since the Church was founded by Christ and He is its living head; since it is a divine body meant to be God’s instrument; it will always be renewed from above by waiting upon the Lord, by looking up, by worship.   In prayer and worship, which are means of Grace by which God’s life comes to us, we become what we could not otherwise become.   “This is why every Apostle, every Father of the Church, every leader and theologian who said anything of lasting value or helped to renew the Church – all these men were teachers of prayer and lovers of Scripture through which they communed with their living Lord”.   We revive when we look up, and in the Scriptures, Prayer, Sacrament receive the food which is offered to us.   We revive when we look up and receive to ourselves “the incomprehensible Grandeur of the Lord.”   “Both for perplexity and for dulled conscience the remedy is the same; sincere and spiritual worship.   “For,” says W...

       In the first mediation we thought together about the central place of worship in the renewal of the Church…   We only deserve to grow as a Church if our devotion in God’s glory is deep, strong, and sure.    Now we can turn to the second means by which the Church is renewed. The Church is renewed by clear, exact, and precise thought.   A living Church always has a definite creed.   If we are to be God’s instrument, we must be able to show truth to the minds of men, and to proclaim that Christianity is not just helpful and beneficial; it is true.   And because it is true, it is helpful and beneficial.   Suppose that some hungry soul were to come among us and then turn away sadly saying, “They’re a vague lot without much to say for themselves.”   Weak reasoning can prevent the entrance of many people into the Church; and one of the interesting things to see is how converts to the Church such as C.S. Lewis, become clear ex...

We stand today in the midst of a great worldwide religious struggle in which doctrines and dogmas are the chief issues.   It is a war of creeds.   And the strength of those who war on the Christian tradition lies in the definiteness of their creed and dogmas, however false or one-sided they may be.   Does anyone think that Communists are fuzzy in their beliefs?   But we have been, and are, as a people anti-intellectual, belittling the importance of creeds, neglecting serious study, wanting noble fruits without the beliefs that bore them.   “But,” says Dorothy Sayers, “if we want a Christian society, we must teach Christianity; and you can’t teach Christianity without definite and precise beliefs.”   People in every walk of life know our world is sick, and, knowing this, they want to know two things: 1) How did the modern world which had so much hope, enthusiasm, and promise get into this trouble? 2) Is there a way out?   Something is wrong,...

       How can we properly organize the Church for its task if we are vague about what the Church itself is?   If we are weak in the knowledge of our beliefs, we will tend to be weak in work.   Without firm beliefs, we grow vague and soft.   Without firm beliefs held in common with the Christian ages, we sever ourselves from the Apostles and our great historical roots.   Without firm beliefs we are tossed about with every wind of doctrine, and our morale rise and falls with the headlines.   And worst of all, without clear doctrine we are prone to preach ourselves.   Show me a parish that understands the sin of man, the need for redemption, an   the nature of the Church; and I will show you a missionary parish.   As P.T. Forsyth says, “One man who truly knows his Bible is worth more to a Church’s strength than a crowd of workers who do not.   If we ask the preacher, he will tell us among whom he finds his real strength. ...

       The Bible takes us back to the Lord who produced the Bible, the Creed, and the Church.   In it we find Him.   It is a means of Grace by which, in which, and through which Christ comes to us.   We must look past the Bible as literature to see the Lord; and then in, by and through the Scriptures hear Him speak to us today. You can see what this means to the Church if you will consider some practical dangers that surround us.   There is the danger that if we are not guided by the objective fact of God’s action for us in Christ that we will simply reflect the world around us.   There is the danger which our tradition sees very clearly, that men will preach themselves, or impose upon others, innovations which are contrary to God’s Word.   There is the danger that we will take as our authority our own “feelings, passions, impulses”, rather than God’s Word.   This world is only going to be saved if we preach God’s truth; and that ...

       So far we have thought about the renewal of the Church through prayer and worship, and through firm and clear belief.   Now we turn to the Mission of the Church, or, as I like to call it, the destiny of the Church.   There are at the beginning two truths which must be stated and held together, for both are important. First , it is true that missionary zeal comes from deepened prayer and a clearer understanding of the faith.   We move in this truth from the inner life outward to good works.   A good tree bringeth forth good fruit .   Works come from faith; and the faith of a Church is revealed by its works. Secondly, and this is sometimes forgotten, works are also a means of Grace, so that faith is deepened by works.   Faith brings forth works, which was our first point; but works also deepen faith, that is our second point.   We have faith, and then we venture: but when we venture, our faith grows.   When we venture ...

       Remember that the vitality of a movement can always be gauged by its missionary zeal.   If people believe that something is true and bears salvation to men, they want to spread it.   The early Christians (and every missionary) had an experience which they wanted to share.   This point, of course, does not demonstrate the truth of a movement (Mohammedanism, Communism, and Christianity have all displayed missionary zeal): it merely reveals its vitality, that its followers believe it is true.   And, under this point, the immediate future of the world lies in the hands of vital movements.   We should remember that our faith is never sure unless it is fervent and that any group of people that has lost its sense of destiny is dying. When, therefore, we come upon a person with no missionary interest, we should remind him of what his lack of interest really means.   It means that he does not believe the faith enough to want to spread i...

       A mistake made by many is the think of the word mission as meaning work carried on somewhere else.   So they hope to send missionaries abroad but carry on no evangelism in their own area.   They send money to Liberia and the Philippines (as they should) but do not consider reaching our to the racial and national groups in their own area.   So, it is not unfair to say that some of you may have a theory of missionary work which “passes the buck.”   The parish does not conceive of itself as a mission station, but sends money on to the diocese fulfilling its responsibility in that way; and then sometimes a diocese passes on the total responsibility to the General Church; and then the General Church passes the money overseas (and we should send more than we do), for that is the only way we can fulfill a great part of our Lord’s command; but we must also see that the failure to be a missionary in our own area hurts the work abroad.   How can...

       Let me now suggest at least the beginnings of a missionary policy which, I believe, could lead our Church to rapid growth; and, for the reasons which I have stated, this should begin, but not end, at home.   These things are, of course, in addition to prayer and study. Every Christian shall be taught that it is his duty to win others to the Lord .   That great missionary bishop of India, Azariah of Dornakal, taught this, and built a vital and effective diocese ina   few years.   He knew that the missionary command is part of the Christian life, and that no adult should be baptized and confirmed unless he sees this.   After a baptism or confirmation the person receiving the rite would place is hand on his own head and say, “Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel.”   Each one was to reach one.   Each one in his own way was to spread the Gospel.   What happened in Dornakal can happen anywhere when we see that the task of th...

  Every Christian shall be taught to work for the Church with his hands.  If we do not have the funds to hire someone to paint, clean, build, or repair God’s House, then let Christians do it themselves.  Let it be taught as a policy in order that fine fellowships may be developed and no House of God look as if it were not loved.                There shall be developed a ministry of the laity.   In such a ministry laymen shall teach, visit, witness, and take part in every service of the Church. The task before us is too great for the clergy, and the great untapped reservoir of manpower is the laity.   We have, without knowing it, drifted into “clergy religion” in which the clergyman is not the leader of a working, witnessing congregation, but rather the man who works for the congregation.             The great task of the Church today is b...

  We have dealt with some observations on the missionary enterprise, and closed with five practical suggestions which, I believe, cold bring new life to our Church.   Remember that we must venture out; and that when the Holy Spirit moves in the Church, many old and sedate assumptions will be broken. Remember that God gives His Spirit to those who fight His battles, and not to armchair critics.   We turn now from these outer observations to inner ones to see before the altar the meaning of mission and the reasons for missions. JESUS IS LORD Let us look up to the Divine Son of God, the Incarnate Word, and see the motion of His life and the meaning of His acts.   He came into this world from above this world to bring it salvation; and He bears an authority, which we see in faith, greater than any authority of earth.   We proclaim Him King of kings, and state that at His name every knee shall bow.   To call Him Lord means to obey Him; and if we do not striv...

  We turn now from these outer observations to inner ones to see before the altar the meaning of mission and the reasons for missions. THE CHURCH IS GOD’S INSTRUMENT Consider next the Church.   As Anglicans, we pride ourselves on our tradition, and tradition rightly understood is our life;   but the danger to Anglicanism is an over veneration of tradition, the making of it into an idol, so that we sometimes worship tradition rather than the Living God.   To look back is right, as Christians we must look back, but onlyprovided that we look ahead as hard as we look back, and that we look back to our tradition in order that God may speak to us through it about our present task.   It is this eagerness about our destiny and our task which one sometimes misses in Anglicanism.   Instead of being frontier fighters serving our Lord, we sometimes appear timid, concerned with what is respectable, concerned with good taste. If our destiny as a Church is not clear...

  The Church is God’s Instrument The Church is that body to which has been entrusted the bearing of the Gospel to all men, the conversion of the world.   Never forget that the Church is God’s instrument existing for the sake of the wide world around us.   When the Church is truly itself, it is filled with a passion for souls; and it is restless and filled with longing when it sees sheep without a shepherd.   It is an army with banners marching out of the past into the future.   It is the Body of Christ in which His Spirit live and through which he carries on the salvation of men.   Missions are not an appendage, a hobby.   The Church is a mission, and if it is not a mission, it is not the Church.   If Christ was the divine beachhead, the Church is the army of Christ that extends the beachhead.   We lose the finest souls if there is a preoccupation with the past, and miss the great opportunity of teaching a hopeful task to a world without ho...

  The Power of the World   It is, next, certainly clear to us that the great ills of the world are caused by pride and self-will, combined with the little perspectives of men.   The world puts itself before God, either individually, or corporately in family, class, race, or nation; and the result is the breaking of community, and anarchy.   But do not for a moment underestimate the power of the world, for it can reach its hand into the pew or chancel and corrupt the Church.   There are guilds, parishes, and parties which seem to think chiefly of themselves; and when this happens, the salt has lost its savour, the devil has conquered, and we bear no salvation to men.   We may sugar the self-will of our guild or our parish with the noble language of the Prayer Book, and we may light candles all around it;   but it is still the self-will ( my guild, my parish) that refuses to consider God’s great will for His people.   This can occur on a local...

  The Power of the World Just as there are selfish doctors in the noble profession of medicine who do not see their selfishness because they are identified with a noble profession and a serving hospital, so there are people in the Church who fail to see their self-will because they are surrounded by holy things in a body which exists for service. The deep question we must ask ourselves is this: What kind of people are we becoming?   When a person is converted to the fellowship of the Church, does he in the ongoing life of the parish begin to grasp the great will of God for his world; or does he merely pick up another form of group selfishness which is more dangerous for his soul because it is obscured by religious language?   The only way to escape the dangers of the world is to preach the glory of God and the outgoing, free giving, missionary work of the Church.   When we sit down to plan, what kind of people are we becoming?   Are we becoming more loving, ...

  God so loved the world  There is a danger that we will fall into another kind of narrowness.   We think, perhaps, that Christ is our God, but somehow that He is not the God of those outside us.   We forget the majestic sweep and grandeur of Christianity and its enormous claims.   We settle down in a comfortable little world while the great Gospel passes us by.   Listen to Bishop Nygren; “We who have been commissioned to preach the Gospel concerning Christ may never forget that this Gospel addresses itself not merely to a certain group of men, but to the world, the world in its entirety.   God so loved the world , that he gave his only begotten Son.   It is the world, all that is called man, that through sin has come under the power of destruction.   So also it is the world which is the subject of Christ’s salvation.   Note how the purpose of sending Christ is stated in the verse which follows immediately, in order that the world th...

  The Demands of Doctrine   Whenever we understand a Christian doctrine, that doctrine makes a demand upon us.   The doctrine, when truly understood, has eyes in it, and comes to us with ethical content.   Take, for example, the doctrine of Creation, which looks at us and says, “You are creatures, formed by God, belonging to God, and thus responsible to Him   Since you are creatures, you should be thankful, humble, and responsible to God.”   We do not admire the doctrine of Creation and gaze at it as though it were a painting in a museum: rather when we understand the doctrine, we find that God is looking at us through it.   Creation means that we are creatures, not gods; and that, therefore, around our little lives are the brackets of birth and death.   Creation means that the laws of Another are to be found in my being.   Creation means that my life has been given to me, and that for it I am accountable to Another.   To understand ...

  The Demands of Doctrine   And what saves us from narrowness and a little view of the Church which denies its catholic nature and destiny is the preaching of missions. Are we apostolic?   Then be apostolic.   Are we catholic?   Then be catholic.   Are we holy?   Then be holy, giving ourselves to God’s purpose and separating ourselves from the world’s small heart. Consider another missionary doctrine: the teaching of sin.   Men are sick, separated from the Source of Life.   They live for the things of this world which have meaning, but not enough meaning.   Man, torn lose from God, is less than man and works out his own destruction.   Separated from God, he comes under the dominion of idols.   Let me list some of these idols: The semi-divine figure of a national leader . A worship of the future so that the precious things of the present are sacrificed to the ever-fading future.   For the sake of a just future, ...

  The Demands of Doctrine   “Either God or an idol,” said a great Christian.   Godlessness is the evil that grips the world, the great enemy. Men are in bondage to the State, to the fear of death, to success, to the future.   They are in bondage to futility.   If you had revealed to you the cure for cancer, would you not be filled with a great desire to spread it into every village and city in this wide world?   When you thought of the fear, the pain, and the blighted lives, would you not say about cancer what Paul said about the Gospel, “Woe is me if I do not spread the cure for cancer!” So it is with the Gospel.   The Good News of Jesus Christ has been entrusted to us.   It is not we who are great;   it is the Gospel that is great.   It is not we who have the power; it is the Gospel that has the power.   We have an enemy to fight and   a Lord to proclaim every time we speak, plan, or draw up a budget.   And I pray ...