FWIW The musings of a webmaster Sunday 18 February 2007 What's this?

Learning to jump - living the message of Velvet Elvis

We live in a cynical world. Indeed, the world we live in can condition us to be like that.

When we see things done and said in the name of God, things which we abhor and believe that our God would want nothing to do with, it is a natural enough reaction. We doubt the validity of our faith, the righteousness of our church, the integrity and worth of our fellow Christians. Our faith is corroded by the bitterness and hatred which surround us in the world at large and before we know it we too are becoming jaded and hard. We lose our sense of commissioning and empowerment. We lose faith, we lose hope, and we lose each other.

But here is the good news.  It doesn't have to be like that.  As Rob Bell emphasises in his book Velvet Elvis we can choose to reclaim our innocence.

 

We can choose to reclaim our innocence together.  We can insist that hope is real and that a group of people who love God and others really can change the world. We can reclaim our idealism and belief and our confidence in the big ideas that stir us deep in our bones.  We can commit all the more to being the kinds of people who are learning how to do what Jesus teaches us.

That bears repetition: "We can commit all the more to being the kinds of people who are learning to do what Jesus teaches us."

God has spoken, the rest is commentary

Here is a book for the church of the 21st century. Accessible, exciting, challenging, invigorating. Written by a man who is a natural communicator but has the humility to say to us "don't swallow this uncritically. Think about it. Wrestle with it. Just because I'm a Christian and I'm trying to communicate a Christian worldview doesn't mean I've got it nailed.  I'm contributing to the discussion.  God has spoken, and the rest is commentary, right?"

Indeed, there are those out there who claim that Rob Bell has got it very far from nailed. One American conservative Christian website describes him as a "false preacher" and a "pitiful example for a Christian pastor". These arrogant but not unexpected comments reassure me that Rob is probably on the right track.

I have read this book twice in as many months.  I read it when depressed but still felt lifted and energised by it. Katharine has read it and finds it as exciting and motivating as I do. So what is the next step? Certainly we feel moved to share it with others, and if anyone is interested, to discuss it.

Learning to jump

So here is a suggestion. Let's use summer 2007, the summer of our interregnum, as time to read this book and allow it to act as a catalyst for conversation and action about what it means to be Christian, and what it means to be church. It doesn't matter whether or not we agree with everything that Rob Bell writes. In Chapter 1 he invites us to get on the trampoline with him and learn how to jump. So let's jump - it could be fun!

What I have in mind is that we read the book in sections over three or four months during the summer, and meet once a month to discuss what it it says to us, how it challenges us, how we can live it in our church and our lives.  Katharine and I will be happy to host these gatherings.

If this appeals to you, and you would be prepared to be open and honest about what this book says to you, and would be equally happy to listen to others compassionately and non-judgementally, feel free to  me. Who knows where it might lead? Maybe these discussions will enable us to commit all the more to being the kinds of people who are learning to do what Jesus teaches us.

Perhaps what I have in mind is best summed up by Rob himself in the final paragraphs of his book:

I am not going to stop dreaming of a new kind of faith for the millions of us who need it. I am not going to stop dreaming of new kinds of communities that put the love of God and the brilliance of Jesus on display in honest, compelling ways.  I am not going to stop dreaming of new ways to live lives of faith and creativity and meaning and significance.

 

But I can't do it alone. I need you. We need you. We need you to rediscover wonder and awe. We need you to believe that it really is possible. We need you to join us.

 

It's better that way.

 

It's what Jesus had in mind.

Could we could be one of those new kinds of community, putting the love of God and brilliance of Jesus on display? Even more than we do now?

Blessings from all of us at St. Andrew's Church in Taunton.