Transforming Presence: Inhabiting our world distinctively

The opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics and the opening ceremony for the Paralympics have all raised issues of what it means to be British; what there is in our history and culture that can be seem as being distinctively British. Between them they have included our green and pleasant land, the weather, the industrial revolution, scientific and technological discoveries, multi-racial popular culture, the Suffragettes, the NHS, popular music, the Queen, James Bond, Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Stephen Hawking.

While all these have something to do with being British, do they sum up what is distinctive about the British? John Major famously described Britishness as being,"Long shadows on county cricket grounds, warm beer, invincible green suburbs, dog lovers and old maids bicycling through the morning mist." Would we identify with that, living where we do? Perhaps not! By contrast Gordon Brown stated that "Britain's roots are on the most solid foundation of all - a passion for liberty anchored in a sense of duty and an intrinsic commitment to tolerance and fair play." We might be more likely to agree but how distinctively British are those values? Aren’t they values that many around the world would agree with and practice, can we really claim them as distinctively British?

All of which goes to show that defining what makes us distinctive is a difficult task but it is one that our Bishop is asking to undertake together as Christians. Bishop Stephen has written a document for the Diocese called Transforming Presence which aims to give us four strategic priorities to focus on as a Diocese for the next 10 to 15 years.

Bishop Stephen’s hope is that every Christian and every Christian community in the Diocese will begin to prayerfully consider its own response to these priorities and to engage in a continuing conversation across the diocese as we seek to discern what sort of church God is calling us to become. Our Ministry Leadership Team has suggested that we begin thinking about our response to Transforming Presence by studying it in homegroups (some of our groups have already done this and others will begin shortly) and by having a sermon series on it during September (our Stewardship month).

The first priority is the issue that we’ve already begun thinking about together this morning; inhabiting the world distinctively. In Romans 12 Paul speaks about the new life in Christ describing the members of the church as being "one body in Christ" (Romans 12.5) He goes on: "We are members of one another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given us." (Romans 12. 5b & 6) From verse 9 onwards he describes the marks of true Christian living and discipleship. He is saying that the Christian church is the Body of Christ in the world and each individual Christian a member of it, each called and equipped by God for ministry and service. It therefore follows that every Christian has a ministry and that every Christian should live a distinctive life.

Living that distinctive life is the way we worship God and it happens as we stop conforming to the standards of the world around us and instead let God transform us inwardly by a complete change of our mind. Of course this kind of inner transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit. It cannot be achieved by our hard work alone but there are certain things we need to do in order to create the fertile ground in which the Spirit can bring our faith to life, enabling us to live out our faith and give a reason for the hope that is in us.

First among these is prayer. More than anything else, we need to place a new priority on becoming a people of prayer, whose daily lives are formed and punctuated by our relationship with God in Jesus Christ. He is the centre of our lives, and new life in Christ is nurtured and shaped by a life of prayer and a commitment to worship and the discipleship that follows from it.

Therefore – and before anything else – teaching people to pray, encouraging greater biblical and theological literacy and developing a diocesan rule of life must become our priorities and must be reflected in the work that is done at every level of diocesan life: in every church school, in every parish community, in every chaplaincy.

Developing a diocesan rule of life would be so that there is a unity between us over the sort of lives we should be leading as God’s people in this place and some sort of mutual accountability. This rule will encompass those aspects of Christian living that we consider annually during Stewardship Week such as giving, participation in worship, ministry in our daily lives and also the way we inhabit the planet itself, including issues of ecological, social and political wellbeing.

"Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly and be eager to show respect for one another. Work hard … Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers. Ask God to bless those who persecute you . .. Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise. If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody … conquer evil with good."

So giving generously to God, others and our world using our treasure, time and talents is what Stewardship and a Diocesan rule of life would be all about. God loves a cheerful giver, we are told, and whoever shares with others should do it generously.

So, the way we inhabit the world as Christians should be about this kind of generous living and the rule of life would form a basis of expectation about what it means to be a Christian in this diocese but, of course, this does not mean that we are somehow better than other people or that generosity itself is distinctively Christian. It is manifestly true that there are all sorts of good and generous people who are not yet part of the Christian community. It does mean, however, that there should be something distinctive and attractive about the way we live our lives. Conversely, if our lives are indistinguishable from anyone else’s it is then little wonder that people conclude that the Christian faith is our hobby; a fascinating and exhausting pastime, but not the life changing transformation that should be evident in the lives we lead Monday to Saturday.

By 2025 Bishop Stephen wants this to change and says that without this inner transformation no other worthwhile change will happen at all, and we will simply carry on managing church decline as gracefully as possible. None of us want that to happen although we all recognise the challenges we face as Christians and as a church. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age; but if we let its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate us, its injustices anger us, its possibilities inspire us and its vigour renew us then it will be as though we were born for such a time as this.

If we live distinctive Christian lives, as Romans 12 directs us and as Bishop Stephen encourages us then we can make a difference where God has placed us, here at St John’s, here in Seven Kings, here in our family, here in our workplace, here in our diocese, here in our nation, here in our world. Let us pray …

Saviour Christ, in whose way of love lies the secret of all life and the hope of all people, we pray for quiet courage to match this hour. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age; but let its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate us, its injustices anger us, its possibilities inspire us and its vigour renew us for your kingdom's sake. Amen.

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Woven Hand - In The Temple.