As we see the the slow lingering death of Christendom in Scotland what will we see take its place.?How will our nation be effected by this?and will it be a good thing for the church?



I guess Christendom was on its last legs as I entered this world 45 years ago what we have now is that slow lingering death brought about by the use of modern medicine .Drugs to kill the pain and life support machines to keep it going .But nothing can stave of the inevitable.Christendom has tried in vain to keep any hold it has on our society for years now .From trying to be trendy and hip with the young team .To getting all righteous about the evils of this world .The charismatics gave us Godly entertainment while to proddies just said yes to everything .The RC church stuck to its guns on most things like the fundamentals eg abortion ,marriage.And nobody but nobody could prevent the death that will surely come.



Sometimes we have to admit that death has won and rejoice and give thanks for what was good.What was good about Christendom in Scotland was the reform to our society that we gained from it .Reform to the way we treated the poor the reform that set free the slaves not only literal but the slaves in the mines and mills.Reform that demanded care or those in most need which led to a social care system and health care system.I know that not all of these things came about directly because of Christendom but it does take some credit.Christendom sent out mission people all over the world with the good news but on that one we have to take the good with the bad.



So where do we go now?I believe its a chance for new wine skins and when I say new I mean new .Not refurbished wine skins but brand new ones.Church can once again become church .A body a community that puts Jesus at its centre and mission as its goal.Church where the value of "one another" replaces the value of me.A community of people able to be honest about there victories as well as there defeats.A community that could not care less about church growth a community that is passionate about healing and the poor.A place where those crazy dreams and visions are welcomed and a community where power is exposed for what it is.



This is a place that will take great courage to be part of it.It s shape will be unknown its ways will be fluid and its people will need to be brave.This is the church the community of the post-modern world and its coming to Scotland like it or not.Gods new thing will I believe shock those of us familiar with the old but excite those who have no knowledge of it.And for me that's the generation that is now coming through.I don't mourn the passing of Christendom I rejoice in it.Being in bed with the enemy made us compromise to much lets stay free from that and see what God can do.This new community must have at its core the kingdom of god no other way will work for us.The modern world was not fluid enough for the kingdom it struggled with the great generosity that the kingdom demands.I believe the post-modern emergent world is much better placed to see what God has in store for us and to be willing to take the risks needed to make it happen.

This years Scottish Network Churches Conference will take place on the 27th & 28th of March in Bishopobriggs community church.This years main speaker will be Wes Sutton .Wes is a worship leader as well as leading Church.co.uk which is part of Steve Chalkes Oasis more info here http://www.oasisuk.org/article.aspx?menuid=10450

As well as Wes there will also be input from some of the Network leaders.You can get info from the Network office network@bishopcc.org.uk

This weekend our small part of the church in Glasgow will commission/pray for the Urban expression team who are living and working in Possillpark Glasgow.Paul & Esther Ede head the team and there are 3 other couples who have all no moved in to the area.I met Paul and Esther and a Network conference and I felt like God put something in my heart for them.Although I had always had connections with Possil.

So this week the whole team will be with us and we will ask Gods blessing on them as they move into mission ,what a privilegefor us .

I have posted on this topic on another Blog but I don't think I have mentioned it hear.I read these facts and it reminded me of why I feel so passionate about urban church's working together.
1. What is the largest single section of the British population?

Answer 1. What is traditionally known as "the working class": 65%

2. Which section of Britain's population is least represented in the Church?

Answer2. The working class: less than 1%
Source Urban harvest Roy Joslin.

So it really is time to try and put things right.But what can I do ?Well I can talk and share and help to facilitate a place for those in urban church's find a safe place to share there troubles.What we need to see are some strong working class people speak up and call the church to see the mission field before there eyes.
All of this must be done in love and humility but we must try and put our shoulders to the wheel.I would love to see some working class people in Glasgow rise up and take some ownership of the church's vision for the city because the figures above are to sad for words.

I don't often mention my church here (Bridgeton community church) but after the last few weeks I wanted to say a big Thank You to everybody in the church and especially to the leadership team.
Its a great pleasure to be part of such a church a safe place a warm place and above all a place where we can find God together.Over the last few weeks we have been working our way through advent in no particular order and I found myself blessed by the faith of the people around me encouraged by there vision and uplifted by there response to what God had to say.It so good to be in such a warm loving place and I know that God has not finished with us yet, and as we thought about the hope of Christmas this morning we could all hear the quite whisper of God telling us again that with him all things are possible.

I spoke about this in an earlier post.

It is my desire to try and have a forum for small urban church's that are struggling to keep going.Glasgow like many of our cities has largely been abandoned and we are having to deal with the fallout of that.
What i would like to do is to create a forum where those church's can come together in a safe place and talk through the issues that they face and to try and find better ways of partnering with bigger suburban church's.This is already being done in Manchester http://www.urbanpresence.org.uk/ and my hope is we can do something along the same lines for Glasgow and other cities.If you are interested or know a church that might be get in touch and I will keep you posted with the plans.

Inner city church.
We all know that the inner city has been largely abandoned by the church.The congregations are growing old and moving out this has been the case for many years.I have lived in Glasgow all my life and I can see it with my own eyes.
What we have left now is a situation where nearly all large,strong congregations are in the suburbs.These Church's are led (in my experience)mostly by middle class qualified pastors or ministers depending on there flavour.I cannot think of many working class people who lead large growing church's I hope you can prove me wrong.As a result of this more and more people bypass smaller church's to attend a church that meets there needs and thus the problem is increased.What we are left with is a smaller amount of church's (which may not be a bad thing) who have most of the resources.None of this is a criticism of people or church's.I have many great friends in church's all over Glasgow and Scotland.Rather this is just a statement of how it is.
So what should be done about this if anything?
I would like to see the small inner city church's get together and have a place to talk and pray about what there struggles are and to find a way to support each other in addressing these issues.This would not be a bashing club for big church's but rather a place where we can think about how and if we address these issues.It may be that people are just to busy surviving.
I know that large church's already do a great amount to bless the city but It would be good to try and look at ways that practical support could be offered to small struggling church's so that we don't have to reinvent the wheel in parts of our city.It would be great to be able to challenge the model of church that tells us we are there to be blessed and have our needs looked after and together to try and see the value of the body as a whole .It is my firm belief that the church in the inner city can and should grow and prosper.That local leaders can be raised up to inspire there peers and show the way forward for a new generation.If not then we will simply write of a whole generation of people who are our neighbours.
Paul wrote to church's based in cities and the Angels delivered letters to them.Jesus wept over his city and I think we should try and help each other to see Gods heart for the lost in ours.



I want to finish with a story form the other night.



I was at a meeting when I heard plans for a group which might be classed as para church but are definitely middle class.They spoke about there plan to raise £250k to buy a bus /trailer that would go around a certain developing country and minister in a holistic way to the people.There is nothing wrong with that plan.

Except we were next told that there sister group in the same country has way more resources than they do and in fact employ nearly 500 people and have a budget that it10 times the size.

I then realised that I was in the room with lots of people from small struggling inner city church's and I felt saddened that there was no plan that included them.

This Sunday we will be visited by a team who are looking to plant a church in Possilpark Glasgow.They were brought together by Urban Expression and are now supported by the Network church's Scotland.The team is headed up by Paul& Esther Ede and at the moment I think there are 8 in the team all of whom have moved into Possil.

This is very exciting for all concerned as some of us have been involved in various attempts to plant and sustain a church in that area for some years.I do believe that these guys will make it because of the level of commitment they have already shown and because I feel convinced God is in what they are doing.

I have know Paul & Esther and a few of the others for a while now and as we are in the same sort of communities it feels good to be able to support one another as much as we can.I don't know if coming to our gathering on Sunday will teach them much(perhaps how not to do church)but our hearts are for them and we want bless them with what we have.

I have had contact from a Revd Alan Hamilton-Messer who is a baptist minister.He is starting a new church in Dennistoun Glasgow.From what he has told me it will be an emerging church in a cafe/book shop.They are opening this Saturday at 11 am and will meet on Sundays from 10.30.I think I will try to go along and see what they are all about and try to bless them in what seems like a new adventure.

Not quite sure if bookshop/cafe church will work in that area but hey what do I know.The address is 343 Cumbernauld Road Dennistoun Glasgow G31 3LP.Maybe see you there.

The photo is a typical Dennistoun street.

I'm of to Perth on the 5th-6th December for the New Evangelical symposium with Alistair McIndoe form the Network church's and this years guest Brian Mclaren.I will be mixing it with the big boys of the Scottish church scene .I had to ask what a symposium was and was informed it was a Greek drinking party which helped swing it for me.If truth be told I don't really know why I'm going other than to spend some time with a few friends and to try and cause some trouble.
I think I may need to take my dictionary with me although Alistair is a great communicator of theology and makes it seem almost interesting and my life is always blessed when I spend time with him and his wife Pat.With Brian Mclaren being the guest there is bound to be some fireworks so I cant wait for that,I may throw a few of my own .Although these things can be very intimidating for the uneducated .