I’ve just finished listening to BBC Radio 4s ‘Thought for the Day’. For some time now there’s been an ongoing debate as to whether the content of ‘Thought for the Day’ is relevant to people today, also whether the views of non-religious contributors should be aired on the daily three minute slot, or whether the slot should be scrapped altogether. After listening to what I’ve just listened to – from a Christian contributor – I have to admit that I’m left wondering if the third of those options above should be the one to go for.

I wonder how we Christians come across to people who listen to such broadcasts. The whole issue of how Christians express themselves and communicate with others has been in my thoughts for some time, and I’m led to ask if people are bothered about a Christian presence in our society? Do they still listen to what Christians have to say? Or, as critics of Christianity claim, don’t they care any more?

To listen to some critics of the Christian faith, people have already decided for themselves, which is why, they say, statistics show a steady decline in church attendance. Certainly, the Church takes statistics seriously and any decline in numbers attending a church indicates that something is happening, and this can’t be anything but worrying. The question is what is happening and why? Statistics can’t totally answer this last question without asking more questions. Such is the nature of statistics. There may be many reasons for the decline in church attendance – a falling out with religion being just one of them. Another reason might be that people perceive the Church as not keeping up with the rate of change in society as it should, and because of this it’s in danger – by default – in making itself irrelevant. The public might see the Church ‘at war’ with itself, unable to reach compromises and solutions to contentious issues that secular society has long since reached or is reaching, or they hear Christians making comments that they regard as ‘out of touch’ with the way that people live today.

I don’t believe it to be the case that the Church has become irrelevant, but in a culture where change is rapid it might be more accurate to say that the Church hasn’t yet found the right words with which to communicate to people living through rapid change.

The last thing that the Church needs to do in the face of negative criticism is to place itself in a state of siege and to start looking inwards. One justifiable criticism, from both those inside and outside the Church, is that looking inwards is exactly one of its problems at the moment.

All this detracts so much from what is happening at local levels throughout the Church. Many churches – of all denominations – are ‘grounded’ in the life of the communities they worship in. The activities of these churches not only answer the requirements of the gospel imperative to be of service, but also contribute something that is beneficial to the communities they live in. This goes some way to debunk the notion that this is a Church looking inward on itself.

Easter is the greatest of the Christian festivals as it celebrates the victory of the risen Christ over death: and not just death, but all of the negative attitudes in this present life that threaten to send us into a spiral of apathy and inactivity too. The message of the Easter gospel is that it gives ‘good news’ and hope to all people.

There is a lot that we can criticise the Church for, a lot in its past that hasn’t been good, but don’t let’s allow ourselves to be persuaded by its critics that Christian influence in the spheres of many aspects of our common life as a society hasn’t been a positive one for good as well as for radical change. Many of the social reforms of the past have come about partly as a result of Christians engaging themselves in the wider life of society.

At Easter Christians affirm their belief in the unchanging nature of God – the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. However, if God is unchanging this doesn’t necessarily mean that the Church must be the same. Rather it has to be otherwise. What has enabled it to do its work in the past is its ability to adapt to different situations and to the needs of the time. The principles that underpin the work of the Church and its engagement with society remains intact, what changes is the way it engages and also how it communicates with the culture of which – I might remind everyone – it is a part.

Robert W. Williams.

Yesterday, my wife, grandchildren and I called in at the Wesley Centre, Chester, for something to drink and eat.

I would just like to comment and say it was one of the most welcoming places I had visited in some time. The place was (to use a modern term) buzzing with people of all ages.

What an imaginative use of Church premises in the heart of  the city and a fine example of what it means to be missional. It is so nice to see an expansion at a time when we hear too many stories of retreat and contraction

We pray God’s blessing on all their endeavours as they minister in Christ’s name.

Check them out here

However, one  year in particular is etched on my memory, 1981. It was in that year that my first computer came on the scene, the good old Sinclair ZX81. That was quickly followed by my first ( legal) CB Radio. In that one year my love of computers and mobile communication technology was born.

In a short time the ZX81 gave way to the BBC computer which in turn was replaced by a succession of  PC’s. The CB was replaced in 1983 by my first mobile phone, a simple device which just made phone calls and needed the battery recharging twice a day!

Next came phones that offered SMS, then WAP followed by a very cut down mobile version of the internet. Now I have a device that seems to do everything but make a cup of tea. Where will it end, what is waiting round the corner? The internet is full ideas and rumours as to what the next great thing will be.

In the technical world there is an assumption that each new device will be better than the one before. Adverts no doubt will try to persuade us that we cannot cope without this or that  latest gadget.

But what about the most technically advanced device on the planet – human beings – have they improved with each successive generation? People would like to think so and our Victorian forebears certainly believed it to be the case. After all, hadn’t Darwin shown this to be true?  Well, not really, it was simply people reading into Darwin what they wanted to believe. It is interesting to note that the Victorian idea of the  evolutionary pinnacle seemed to be white, protestant and male!

Some people know that my other passion in life is history, not just reading about it but as far as possible re-creating it. The more I read and the more I put things into practice, the more I become to realise that the lives of the people I try to recreate were no different to mine. I may have the ‘advantages’ of  technology, but I have discovered that  peoples’ reaction to the hopes and fears of life remain fairly constant whatever the age.

That is why I find the Bible and its message important. However far I go back in its page I see in the life of its people many of my own characteristics. They may have dressed differently to me, spoke a different language, but they knew all the emotions, all the hopes and fears that I feel in this 21st century. Because of this the message of the Bible stays constant and up-to-date. It is as relevant to now as it was millenia ago. My copy may now be found on my iPhone rather than  bound between covers of black leather but the message is the same: one constant in a changing world

My Evangelical friends would suggest it is a case of WWJD (which stands, for What Would Jesus Do.) Well, Jesus, to my knowledge, never used a mobile phone or joined a social  networking group but he did leave some valuable teaching which can help me decide.

Despite what the Church may seem say, the teaching of Jesus is quite simple when it comes to  actions. Jesus’ message was all about relationships; my relationship with God and my relationship with my neighbour. Therefore, whatever I do has to have one of two aims: It either has to increase my love of God, so bringing me into a deeper relationship with Him, or it has to increase my love of my neighbour, again deepening my relationship of those made in the image of God.

So, let’s assume I decide to give up my phone for lent, what matters is my motivation. Am I going without because of duty  or obedience to my Church, or am I doing it so that I can spend more time with God and my neighbour?

With regards to the message of  the Church of England, both the  Facebook group and Twitter present me each day with useful suggestions. “Buy a coffee and give it away on the way to work”. “Walk around your neighbourhood and pray about what you see.”  Again these are worthy ideas, but if I do them to simply feel good about myself and not for love of neighbour, it is a futile exercise.

Well, I’ve chosen to stay with Facebook and Twitter, I’m not too sure of my motivation but I know many of the suggestions challenge me. If I give up my phone in all reality I am not likely to use that time with God.

What the debate has brought to light in my mind is my need to examine my actions more carefully, and not only in Lent.  The big questions must be, what is my reason for blogging?

I’ll go away and think about that!

What are you doing?’ asks the Church of England this Lent as it connects with people through the social networking site Twitter and a new Facebook application designed to get people to share their top tips for helping each other. The initiatives are designed to mobilise a viral movement marking Lent with simple acts of generosity and thoughtfulness in the real world.

I’m not sure how it will work but as someone who is both on Facebook and is a fan of Twitter, I will be very interested to see the outcome.

More details can be found HERE

Go direct to Twitter HERE

Facebook App HERE

Why bother with the internet? Isn’t Christian faith about real people experiencing a real God in real life? So writes Gareth Squire, Director of the Christian Enquiry Agency in this months Church of England Reader Magazine.

Gareth goes on to answer those critics that see the Internet as either irrelevant or a force for evil. The internet is neutral and can be used for god or bad and there are many reasons why Christians should bother with it.

Two of the reasons Gareth gives  are:

• The internet is an increasingly significant aspect of everyday life and that access to it has been described as a human right.

• Television and the internet are rapidly merging. When the BBC renames television as ‘Vision’ you realise something is afoot’ , he says

Gareth’s argument is that for the Church to communicate the good news it needs to be on top of these seismic changes which are taking place in communication. This includes the latest technology in mobile phones.

Much of the article is then taken up with examining some of the best of Christian websites over the last couple of years; (too many to mention here)

But one part that really grabbed my attention was the section entitled Cyber Chaplaincy. There are those who visit our sites who will be undergoing some personal or spiritual crisis; some may have questions of faith which they would like to talk through with someone else. What does our website offer such people?

Gareth gives some good advice. Make sure your website focuses on what an outsider may need. To do this we need to ask those outside of the Church walls. How we do that may vary from parish to parish, but without doing so we miss an opportunity to be really effective. Websites become a one way conversation and not the interactive dialogue they have the potential to be.

The internet has some huge advantages for Christians over other ways of operating… as a means of prayer and spirituality, as a means of building community, as a means of educating people and as a tool for mission

USEFUL RESOURCES

Christian Enquiry Agency Blog

Hope Info

rejesus

Life 4 Seekers

All this got me thinking about how we communicate the Gospel. Since the days of the first Christians the two pillars of preaching and the written word have dominated. In all honesty, the Internet is just an extension of the latter. It is the written word in electronic form. Yes, we can make it more exciting by adding pictures, video and sound files, but it still has its basis in writing and the ability of the viewer to read.

That is why I was interested in our Reader training last Sunday. The theme was around presenting the Gospel to those who, cannot or do not read. The speaker was our local project worker for an organisation called Unlock. I don’t think our Readers quite expected what was to happen when they were sent off to do all sorts of practical tasks rather than just sitting and listening. Judging by the Feedback forms they were more than happy and not a bit challenged.

With literacy levels in some Inner Cities quite low, it is essential that we find new ways of communicating. Unlock has some great ideas and so I am happy to link to their website where their is more information and  some great stories.

I trust that all of us who attended the meeting learned, in the words of the cartoon, to trickle more

Unlock Website