1. You know one of the expressions that we use
in the communion service.
SLIDE 1 We are the body of Christ.
Well every body is different. Every body is
unique.
Every church community is different. Each one
is unique. Always our aim must be not to try to become like some other church,
but simply to allow ourselves to become the unique expression of the body of
Christ, that God is calling us to be.
SLIDE 2
But different as churches are… they can have
a similar shape. Just as people are all different .. but we do have some things
in common, a similar shapes. The other week I attended a workshop in which we
were presented with a way of thinking about the different shaped churches that
we find.
SLIDE 3
A
c. 45%
of the congregations in the
SLIDE 4 A Pastoral Shape Church In the Church of England
this shape of church is often seen where there is a vicar, and maybe a couple
of lay readers or a curate. This sort of
shape of church might have anything up to about 100 folk worshipping on a
Sunday. Around 45% of congregations have a shape something like this. The vicar
probably knows everyone, or at least is able to convey the impression that he
or she knows everyone. There is a limit to the size of church that can function
like this. After you get to a point where there are about 90 people in church
on a Sunday, it is starting to be beyond the capacity of a single minister to
pastor everyone effectively. And often
churches grow up to about this size with this sort of shape, and then start to
lose members as people feel a bit uncared for and drift away.
SLIDE 5
The
Slide 5 A
Doesn’t
take much imagination to see that (apart from the references to the Minister)
what is being described here is something that is a little like the shape of
church that, under the guidance of God, we are becoming. And this short session
encouraged us to think about some of the challenges that face congregations who
are growing into this sort of shape of Christian community.
SLIDE 6 Chart
Look at this chart. It’s simple really. In
1997 the churchwardens filled in the annual return form to the diocese 55. Each
year very small increases. But the pattern of steady increase means that the
latest figures I’ve got… from Jan to May gave an average Sunday attendance (across the three services) of 124 adults… (not
counting all those who are under the age of 16. (if include children for the same period figures were 165 each Sunday.)
In a situation where the shape of the church
is changing.. where the church is growing… there can be problems. As a church
grows people may not know everyone else who is worshipping with them on a
Sunday. It makes it all the more important that we do make sure that we develop
strong and good relationships with people in Real groups or in other small
group settings. If we don’t.. then a church can grow to around this size and shape and then
starting losing people as they feel uncared for or feel as if they don’t
belong. That can be a pattern that keeps on repeating itself.
Now why am I talking about this.
SLIDE 7 Jesus will build
Reminder.. not trying to become anything
other thatn what Jesus wants us to be. I said at the last annual church
meeting, and at the one before that I really do believe Jesus wants his church
to grow. Within not much more 10 min minutes walk in any direction from this
church you can walk to a boundary of our parish. And within those boundaries There
are eleven thousand people. I believe that Jesus intends us to grow, to outgrow
this space. To plant other Christian communities that in turn will take root
and grow. I believe that he wants each and every church of every denomination
to grow. Jesus wants the people of
Burntwood to know him. His command to us is clear. Go and make disciples. So, if growing this church is part of Jesus’
intention then part of our laying hold
of his vision is for us to say Ok Lord..
you want to grow us, now what do you want US
to do, (each one of us)so that we become a strong and effective body of believers
working together and being Jesus to the people of this community. And It
seems to me that one of the areas that
we have to pay particular attention to… and something that we have been
talking about at the ministry team over the last couple of weeks, is the way in which we relate to one
another.
2. It is very easy for people to come in
and become a part of the worshipping
community on a Sunday and it can be very easy for people to leave because they
have failed to form lasting friendships and relationships with others in the
congregation. In a church of this size
and shape, it is possible for someone
not to be here for two or three weeks before their absence is noted.
3. Over the last eighteen months... a lot of
good and generous ministry has been done in the area of Pastoral Care. Members
of our prayer ministry team have continued to be faithful in coming here to
pray at
But over the last couple of weeks thinking a
little more about Pastoral Care, about how we keep track of people, about how
we notice who is here and who isn’t, about how we welcome new people into the
family at
SLIDE 8 RELATIONSHIPS
Our commitment… we will
love one another and welcome all those who God is adding to his church.
I would love to talk lots more about this
whole area.. but the reason I am talking about this now is not just that I have
been thinking about some things that I think are very important for us to
understand but there is a connection with the bible passage.
4. The
passage says something to me about what it means to have effective pastoral
care in the church, it helps us to understand how we can test whether or not our relationships are developing and
growing as they should. Read: James 5:14
Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church
and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
SLIDE 9: Are any among
you sick
By the way we can be sick in body, 9A. with all sorts of pains
and problems - that will always be a part of our lives But God’s word tells us
we should pray about our pains and sicknesses.. and we know that when we see
signs of God’s healing at work then we thank him because he has shown us a
glimpse of that glorious day when we will receive the new resurrection body
that God will give to all those who belong to him, and pain and sickness will
be no more..
We can
be Sick in mind. 9B Depression, anxiety, grief, fear, all those sort of
things can stop us enjoying the gift of the life that God wants us to live now.
We can be sick in in
Spirit…
9C
we can become weary in our walk with
Jesus, we can be engaged in ministry in giving out to others that we can
sometimes feel spiritually empty. In the passage this morning James reminded
the church that.. Elijah was a man just like us. And even a great prophet like
him sometimes felt like running away and hiding in a cave. And that’s what he
did. Even Elijah needed to have a fresh experience of the presence of God… and
so do we sometimes. So we can be sick.. in body, mind or spirit… and the bible
says… Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the
church and have them pray over them,
Slide 10 : pray over
them
Are you able to say to other members of the
body of Christ, Will you pray for me?
A church where people are in the habit
of praying for one another is likely to be a church where people are in the
habit of caring for one another.
Slide 11: anointing
them with oil
Anointing with oil is not something that
we’ve done a lot of. I think we should do more. It’s a symbolic action… like
the sharing of bread and wine later in this service. The things that we do with
our bodies can be used by the Holy Spirit to minister the presence and power oF
God to us. Could mention
George and Pauline at this point…. Service on Maundy Thursday.
Slide 12 : the elders
of the church
The bible doesn’t talk about Anglican vicars,
or Lay Readers, or Ministry Team members … it simply establishes the principle
that in every local congregation there will be those who are entrusted with
ministries of leadership on the grounds of their commitment to Jesus and their
maturity as his disciples.
In our situation, the concept of “elders” people with ministry
responsibility could apply to the leaders who have been entrusted with responsibility
for the Real Groups, to our pastoral team members who have been entrusted with
the ministry of visiting, to prayer
ministry team members who have been commissioned for that service, as well as
to those who have been ordained like me, or licensed by the Bishop like the Lay
Readers, or commissioned by the whole local church like Ministry Team members. We are not short of “elders” in the sense
in which that term is used in the New Testament.
5. Lets look at the verse again…
Slide13 : If any one of you is sick, let them
call for the elders of the church, Now we have already seen that in the
shape and size of church we are becoming pastoral care is not and can’t be the
work of just one individual. But this verse says that pastoral care is the responsibility
of all of us.
We often behave as if the bible passage reads
something like this… SLIDE:14
NOT JAMES! Is any of
you sick. Then let the elders of the church find out about it and make sure
that they call. COULD ADD - (And if the elders of the church do not find out about it
and call, then complain about the elders of the church and their lack of care
for you.)
But actually the bible says SLIDE:15
we are each responsible for making our needs
known to others within the church, and
to God.
Are any among you
sick? THEY should call for
the elders of the church…”
MISS OUT There have been times when I have asked a
member of God’s people if we can pray together, and that person has said “No.”There have been times when I have
urged members of God’s people to join with others in the congregation in
prayer... and they have refused. And there have been times when a member of
God’s people has told me that they have “felt
uncared for…” because someone from the church didn’t call round to see them
when they were not well or facing some problem or situation.
But I have never had anyone say to me.. “Well, I asked for someone to come and pray for me.. and no one would come.”
There have been times when I should have
asked someone to pray for me… and didn’t. That is MY responsibility. And that
is something that God has to sort out in me. I can’t blame other member sfo the
church for not coming up to me and saying “God has told me to pray for you”.
God has already told me in his word that when I am in need, I should ASK for brothers and sisters to pray
for me.
So before I feel a grievance towards my
brothers and sisters and felt that they are not caring for me as I want them
to.. then I must make sure that I have been obedient to God’s command, and asked
for others to pray for me in my situation of need.
That what we each have to do.
The bible says that as God’s people, each one
of us have a responsibility to make our needs known to our brothers and sisters
in Christ and to ASK them to
pray for us.
Let’s do it. Let’s do it more often.