Reed Fleming

I was pondering the other day how it came to be that churches earned tax exempt status with the government and how donations to churches became tax deductible. I surmise that during the ‘Christendom’ era that churches were seen as making a positive contribution to the communities around them and society as a whole. In so far as these assumptions are true the current system favouring churches makes good public policy. I wonder though whether there might not be a change coming in recognition of a church that does not particularly bless its community or the society outside its walls. The ‘maintenance’ model of church where the great preponderance of resources, both human and financial, is invested in self perpetuation may no longer deserve these favourable regulations.

The assumption in these regulations is that the church is a missionary enterprise with a missional focus. I believe it is a matter of integrity that the church live up to the expectations of society in general regarding this issue of mission. So to paraphrase John F. Kennedy “Ask not ‘How your community can bless you?’ but rather ask ‘How can we bless our community?’”

When we were first planting Up Town, we began with a lot of community meals. At these we sat and listened to people. We walked the neighbourhood and chatted with people on their door stoops. Out of this we identified a couple of needs we felt we could address. We started offering healing prayer for a community that suffered from a variety of illnesses and a inefficient health care system. As we opened the doors of our “Healing Clinic” we did so with a lot of nervousness. Would people come? Would God answer our prayers? We took a risk and we met a number of people who honestly shared their pain. We came to love people and they came to like us. We did not witness extraordinary miracles but we did see God move in our community. Ron came to us our first clinic night asking for prayer. He needed a kidney transplant quite badly. We prayed. The next week Ron wasn’t there. I became concerned and asked around. I found he was in Halifax recovering from transplant surgery. Ron is one of our core members at Up Town today.

As we walked the neighbourhood, prayerfully, I noticed that buildings did not exhibit dyer vents. As I asked people about this I found that the rooming houses did not have laundry facilities. In further conversations I asked how people handled their laundry. Many folks would simply not do laundry. They would dispose of clothing that became too soiled and go to a clothing bank for more. Over time with mostly volunteer labour we renovated an unused spot in the basement and put two washers and dryer in place. We charge $1 for a green garbage bag load of laundry. During the 2 hours it takes to do laundry we have engaged in meaningful relationships with our friends. Through these times we identify more and more ways that we can bless our community. Other neighbourhoods are now looking to our laundry as a model for their outreach.

Out of the soil of these missional activities has grown a beautiful church. At Up Town we describe ourselves like this “Up Town is an honest accepting community of broken people who are: experiencing the Father’s love, finding wholeness in Jesus and performing acts of kindness in the power of the Holy Spirit”. Through our ongoing emphasis on acts of kindness we keep our missional focus. I can’t help but feel that as we bless others God is blessing us.

 There are all sorts of people talking these days about planting churches. The difficulty is that many people who are planning to plant churches have in mind what kind of church they want to plant. In general this is a good thing. Any farmer ought to have in mind what kind of crop he hopes to harvest but at the same time a good farmer examines the soil to see what kind of crop it can grow and sustain. This was the downfall of church planting missionaries in past centuries. The crop desired was a model of church which was in the planters mind without respect to the culture of the currently unchurched. The new wave of church planters can make this same mistake. They think that the model they have experienced or conceived is ‘the’ model for church and that the crop of new churches ought to conform to that image.

I believe that we must know, what are the irreducible elements in being a Christian church, and to hold on to these relentlessly. I would suggest that this might be quite a short list but it ought to then be absolutely non-negotiable. All else then ought to be open to cultural expression.

I think that Christian culture (if this is not an oxymoron) unthinkingly assumes that we share the same culture with the vast majority of folks in North America. This is patently not the case! In fact there are currently 6 generations alive on our soil and least 5 different culture expressions which distinguish them. Planting a ‘Boomer’ church will be different from planting a ‘Gen X’ church. Planting in suburbia is different than urban which is different from rural. High Density population in high rises or trailer parks are distinct from single family dwellings. Wealthy, middle class and the poor each have distinctive and we haven’t even begun to describe racial and ethnic differences.

When we speak of incarnational ministry we talk about following the example of Jesus as he came in flesh to a particular culture and time. In that context he gave us the essentials for living out the Gospel in every culture.

I am a firm believer in church planting. I have been involved in leading a church plant for the past 6 years. It has not turned out at all like I had conceived it (thank God) but we have found a way of being the Body of Christ in Uptown Saint John, and in doing so we have discovered the most authentic church in my experience. I hope to take all I have learned about contextualizing the Good News, and plant another church, some day but even as I dream that I know it won’t look like Up Town but it will share the essential DNA which must be present in all faithful churches. Not only is that okay but I believe it is preferable!

The prophet Joel speaks of “the valley of decision” and I think it is here that we ought to meet and engage people in our efforts toward mission and evangelism. People who are in valley of decision are considering a new way. They are pondering different options. They are seeking for answers or light or truth. It is at this juncture in life when our friends are open to new possibilities that lie in the Gospel. There may be times when collectively we are in the valley of decision. I remember there being a new questioning after the Twin Towers crumbled and our safe North American world was shaken. But the valley of decision is more often travelled by solitary sojourners. He is struggling as he faces unemployment. She is seeking answers as she watches a friend waste away of illness. A young person seeks to ‘individuate’ but doesn’t know yet who he or she really is. The executive has been climbing the corporate ladder but now wonders if it is leaning against the right wall. All these are in valley of decision though it may seem like being stuck in indecision. These scenarios and millions like them are being played out all around us and we cannot afford to be oblivious! It is in the situations that people are ready to hear the Good News as it is shown as relevant to them. Thousands upon thousands of people are in this valley at any given moment. Writers, who are wiser than I, call this experience “liminality”. It is describe as that space between letting go of the old and latching on to the new. It is the place of change. It is the valley of decision. Liminal is from a Greek root which would translate into English as threshold. People find themselves each day in this liminal space. This place of deciding to let go but not yet firmly decided to latch onto something new. It is here on the threshold that we can best meet and influence people toward decisive Gospel oriented outcomes. If we are waiting for these searchers who are in this liminal space, to come to church for answers, we will be a long time waiting. As I have written earlier the institutional attractional church has already been discounted by 21st Century seekers. But when we engage in incarnational and missional activity, when we meet people as we engage culture in relevant ways, we can meaningfully impact folks in these liminal spaces. That we don’t have opportunities is our shame. I believe that the fields continue, as ever, white unto harvest. But the harvest is in fields not in the church. We find that we engage people most effectively in what are described as ‘third places’. These are places that are not our homes or our work but are places where we feel a sense of belonging and comfort. There are many such places where we can comfortably meet people and if there are not we can create them. This is what incarnational mission is all about. Creating third space is not the goal though. Building trust loving relationships is the goal and third place is a convenient venue. As we build these relationships our friends will share with us their “valley of decision” that is their liminal space where all decisions are made. Through the integrity of our lives and the power of the Gospel people may well consider God as they decide, if not this time then perhaps next time for we can be sure that we will all visit the ‘valley of decision’ again in the not too distant future. In conclusion, let me ask you to be prayerfully sensitive to the liminal spaces your friends are experiencing. Lovingly share the reason for the hope you have. Let’s continue to build trusting loving relationships, finding or creating third places to be homes for our incarnational mission.

Last Sunday I went to the church where Xchange student, Rachel, has her placement. She has been working with a group of young actors preparing a drama. Rachel loves drama and Rachel loves the Lord so I thought this would be a good thing to see. A big banner across the front of the sanctuary read “ENOUGH”. The drama was a very fun one which challenged us to be satisfied with Jesus, that He is enough for us and that nothing else will ever be enough for us.

We live in an avaricious culture. We too often measure our lives by what we have. I spend quite a bit of time with people most of us would consider poor and they are not exempt from this worldly point of view. The issue isn’t what do I have but what don’t I have. Either way the question shows what I call a “gimme, gimme” heart. The younger son in the Parable of The Loving Father demonstrates this “gimme” heart when he asks his father “give me my inheritance”. The older brother shows the same heart when he says “you never gave me even a young goat…” Both suffer from this pervasive heart condition but the younger son has a change of heart! He says “I will arise and go to my father and say make me…”, and in saying this he transitions from a “gimme” heart” to a “make me” heart.

Our culture gives us a scorecard that measures only accumulation. Even successful churches are measured by attendance figures and budgets. This begs the question “How did we get like this?” but perhaps the better question is “How do we change?” The Bible suggests the only way to true change is repentance. As we acknowledge our wrong and culturally biased attitudes and seek with His help to follow a renewed path, God can enable us to be the distinct “peculiar” people we are meant to be.

The scorecard then for Christians and for the Church will be love. The questions will be “How well have I loved?” and “How well are we loving?” To be a ‘sucessful’ Church ought to mean finding the best answers to these questions in a local context. This is not just a challenge for the Church. It is the challenge! This challenge will drive us to Jesus where we will find that He alone is enough.

This has been a hard week! Several weeks ago I told a bit of Carolyn’s journey with us. I first met her via an online course on the Book of Romans. She turned in an essay which I thought was less than her best. I sent it back saying I could give it a pass but if she wanted a better mark she should re-write it. I didn’t realise at the time that she was a very sick woman going through chemo . She typed a new essay from her sick bed and did get a much better mark! It was only later that I learned that I had commanded a re-write from a critically ill woman!

When Carolyn arrived to begin her first term she was still very sick. She had lost her hair in treatment and could barely walk. Students here shaved their heads in solidarity and our journey as a community of love began in earnest.

Through the past two years Carolyn has continued to battle cancer. Before she was to start her summer placement she was again bed ridden but she arose to have a dynamic summer that the folks in King’s Cove NL will not forget.

Over the Christmas break she was again very ill and it was only in after fervent prayer that she was able to rejoin her family here at Taylor. With her arrival we celebrated one more miracle among the assortment of miracles which trailed Carolyn’s life these last few years. But these last weeks have shaken us. Cancer has returned with a vengeance and there appears to be no more miracles for Carolyn.

Yesterday, we all gathered in her apartment for one last time and Bruce Smith gave her a certificate recognising that God had long ago commissioned Carolyn to be an Evangelist. It was a grand graduation full of tears and laughter!

Today we waved goodbye as Carolyn and her husband Charlie left us to return to Newfoundland for what are likely her last days.” We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; …. struck down, but not destroyed.” (2Cor.4:8-9)

It has been a hard week and we know God is good. If you can remember :Carolyn , Charlie, her mom, children and grandchildren in your prayers I would be grateful and if you could remember a hurting Taylor College community that would be good as well.

Eden, has been taking courses at Taylor, part time, for 5 years now, as he commutes from Moncton. This year has been much more intense for him as he has taken classes 2 days a week. Eden is in the second half of life and is excited about seeing Jesus change lives and particularly those of young men who find themselves in trouble with the law.

This year he will graduate but he couldn’t wait until then to start ministry. He has already done a lot of leg work and has launched Street Hope Moncton. They have a space above Community Chaplaincy and a van and a good number of keen supporters. He knows he is coming to this later than some and is anxious to make the most of his time.

So Eden continues to operate his business, part time, attend classes two days a week and open and operate Street Hope Moncton. If that doesn’t impress you I don’t know what will! I ask you to pray for Eden and our other students as they seek to be radical followers of the wild messiah, Jesus.

One of my favourite books is “Mere Discipleship” by Lee C. Camp.  The discipleship he describes is anything but ‘mere’! He writes about our ‘western’ culture “Perhaps in our well intentioned efforts to bring all thing’s under the lordship of Christ, American Christianity (Canadian too) has been guilty of baptizing unrepentant social systems and structures. Is it sufficient to “sprinkle” the culture of a city or nation-state and dub it “Christian”?” (page 22)

This would seem to me to be the lingering effects of the Constantine Curse. While society has thrown off the remnants of Christendom the church does not look critically enough at the social systems which may be antithetical to the teachings of Christ. Paul reminds us that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but with principality and powers. The world systems which do not express the heart of God ought to come under our severest scrutiny.

A discipleship which rescues people who are swept up in the currents and under toes of life is a tremendously important one and I heartily endorse this kind of ministry. In fact much of the time spent at Taylor College is intended to equip people for just such service. But an equally if not more important service would be to see why it is that people are falling in the stream in the first place and erecting fences to protect people from such a fall, or if people are being thrown in to stop that activity.

It strikes me that we cannot do that if we blindly buy into the political and social systems of the culture around us. I am not advocating a particular response, though I have some definite opinions, but I think that we must give our careful critical attention to these systems. Some suggestions to look at are : the mental health system, the welfare system, poverty, racism, equality, environmental stewardship …. the list can go on. It is of the upmost importance that as a part of our discipleship we find our way and our voice in ‘speaking the truth in love.”

I recommend reading Camp’s book as a start.

In our class “Introduction to Social Justice” we have be looking at an old study series put out by Christianity Today, based on the life of William Wilberforce. Each week has an article about Wilberforce’s life accompanied by a scriptural study and discussion. We also watched the movie Amazing Grace.

All of us have become real fans of William Wilberforce. As folks who are heading into ministry it is hard to find a better human role model. His persistence, his varied interests, his winsome personality all sit as stirling examples of Christian virtues.

We also long to be world changers and this course has ignited a passion for lifelong dedication to justice rather than just us!

Seeing the excitement and being a part of the discussion is one of the highlights of my week. I wish you all could join in!

Lately I am doing a lot of thinking about what we, in the western church call, discipleship. What often passes for discipleship is a course of some kind. In this course we share what a new believer should know in order to live this new life. I wonder if our new Christian friends don’t feel like we have pulled a ‘bait and switch’ on them. They become attracted to the Faith through language of love and relationship only to be thrust into an intellectual exercise of learning doctrines and disciplines.

As someone intimately involved in education I don’t want to dismiss intellectual pursuits but I do propose that the western church relies too heavily on this one facet of knowing God to its own detriment. There are other factors some which may actual be more important that intellectual knowledge.

1. Belonging or an appreciation of the corporate nature of relationship with Jesus. We belong to Jesus. We belong to and with one another. In Christ, God has banished the aloneness (separation) which besets fallen humankind. This is not simply an intellectual proposition but must be demonstrated, experienced and felt. Communication of an unconditional belonging must be a priority in true discipleship.
2. Experiencing, or having a real encounter with God. We have been so leery of sensationalism we have yielded the senses solely to the enemy who makes full use of them. God longs to be experienced in intimacy. Discipleship ought to include opportunities for people to experience God!
3. Ministry, or using ones gifts and talents is important. Many years ago Amy Grant had a song “Fat Baby” describing Christians who only suckled and never served. We want people to grow into maturity. This means taking seriously the Priesthood of all Believers. I do not advocate making the error of thinking that ministry is what blesses the church instead ministry is what blesses the world. At Up Town (the church to which I belong) we emphasize a ministry of kindness which we all can practise. Following Jesus requires service!
4. Disciplinary, or learning the habits of the Kingdom is vital. We need to learn to pray (not just about prayer). We need to learn to be nourished by the Word and we need to learn the habit of living lives of mercy. These are a few of the habits of the Kingdom we ought to model, encourage and teach.
5. Morality or the values of the Kingdom. These are not so much taught, though they ought to be taught, as they are caught. We ought to live ‘peculiar’ lives, distinct from the world. We ought to know why we live these counter-cultural lives. We must model Kingdom values, treasure them and pass them on not as rules but as the very expression of membership in the Kingdom of God.
6. Cognitive or intellectual knowledge. We are better at this than the others and it is equally valuable in the process of discipleship.

Please do not get the idea that we work our way down this list as some sort of chronological guide to discipleship. Real discipleship is much messier than that! What I want to encourage is a reflective means of discipleship that seeks to cover all facets of discipleship so as to form whole disciples who can impact the whole world.

As I write, I have the great joy of being with our Church Army community in BC. This group like all of our others is made up of tremendous people, who spend their lives in mission to the least the last and the lost. It is a privilege to be associated with them. Before our regional conference began, we joined a meeting at a local addictions recovery home. It was humbling to meet these guys who are working so hard to turn their lives around. They are finding hope where there had been only aloneness and despair.

To witness Jesus touching and transforming lives was a tremendous experience. I am so pleased to be able to call: Dave, Randy, and Alistair colleagues in the Church Army. Watching them and their ministries makes me determined to continue to equip others for these kinds of vital services.

Please pray for Taylor College that next fall our residences will be filled with students who share this same passion to see people’s lives transformed and Jesus glorified. The fields are white unto harvest pray the Lord of the Harvest might send workers. The need remains great but the workers are few.

If you know of someone who might benefit by our training please simply sit down with them and play the video from our web site www.taylorcollege.ca If they want a further conversation have them get in touch with me at reed.fleming@taylorcollege.ca or toll free at 1 866 693 8975 ext.225. There is a great need. We have a great college. It seems like a perfect fit!