Some of David Jackman’s personal observations on the current state of the church in the UK
David spoke at the TnT* 25th anniversary celebration and this is Iain Taylor’s report for en.
David’s first reminder was that the church belongs to Christ, not to us. He is its head, its builder, its shepherd, its bridegroom. So the church cannot be assessed by the criteria we might apply to other merely human organisations. Our life is hidden with Christ in God.
Our God does not break the bruised reed or quench the smouldering wick. He is the God who causes a shoot to come up from the stump of Jesse, who raises the dead. So, whatever we may or may not see in the church today must be viewed in the greater perspective of God’s eternal purposes. He will have a people for himself from every kindred, tribe and nation, united to him through his Son, a living body in this world and the next, which nothing can destroy.
Because the church belongs to Christ and not to us, we must never write it off in our disappointment or arrogance. The future is always potentially as bright as the promises of God.
Rapid cultural drift
Secondly, in times of rapid change, the challenges remain the same.
For young people, the pressure of social media and their addiction to it, the redefinition of marriage, the gender issues and the insecurity and loneliness, experienced by many, are a toxic cultural mix. Superficially, they often seem to deal well with all the new technology, but just beneath the surface there is a deeper cultural drift, which is more threatening. Life is all about me and my entitlement, my self-fulfilment. The campus debates about safe spaces and ‘de-platforming’ are indicative of this. The social media trends determine the ‘orthodoxy’, which spreads like wildfire, even without any factual basis. Even secular sociologists and philosophers are struggling to come to terms with what is happening and why.
In his book Where We Are – the State of Britain Now, Sir Roger Scruton discerns a movement in our national culture ‘to define goals and ideals … against the nation, the family, indeed anything that makes a claim, however justified, on my loyalty.’ He comments that ‘they are motivated more by hostility to the actual than by love of the possible’.
Same challenge
The church lives in this environment and can easily reflect it. Of course, we must help our young people and their leaders to identify and evaluate this avalanche of ideas. But this is the same challenge that the church has always faced. ‘Do not confirm to the pattern of this world,’ Paul told the Romans, ‘but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ In typical style, he not only pinpoints the problem, but prescribes the remedy (the renewing of your mind). That is where the battle lies for us all. Renewal begins in the mind.
Holding onto Scripture
That is why the next observation is that teaching the Bible is still the greatest need. Because the church is so easily squeezed into the world’s mould, there are two dangers. Firstly, that compromise will become our default position – a gradual erosion of orthodox belief and practice, often encouraged by both synodical and congregational government. Secondly, that we allow the needs and perceived urgency of the situation to dictate our church priorities and agenda.
We recognise that there is a difference between teaching churchianity and Christianity. But there is also a difference between teaching Christianity and teaching the Bible, or between teaching evangelic-alism and teaching the Bible – the Bible’s truth in the Bible’s way, with the Bible’s focus and pastoral purpose. It is that focus which has to be developed to equip the church to be the pure bride of Christ, growing in godliness, and then to be the salt and light penetrating our culture. The same unchanging truth must be taught, but with sharpened focus, so that it is not just biblical knowledge that is conveyed but its life-changing implications, related to the contemporary context.
Me-centred worship
If the Bible is not driving the ministry, human concerns and preferences will take over. Good, generally acceptable things may be said, but the negatives will be excluded – no sin, judgment, hell. Soon there will be no atonement, salvation or heaven. Then gradually the teaching of Scripture and its application gives way to me-centred worship experiences and entertainment and, especially with children, ‘it has to be fun’. The result is an increasingly untaught church membership, wide open to following the spirit of the age and creating God in our own image. The Bible has a word for it – idolatry! And so we begin to drift into a fantasy Christianity of our own making and the Bible, far from the driving seat, ends up in the boot, neglected and ignored.
Having fun is a great byproduct, but it is not the purpose of our groups for children and young people. There is no Plan B. The Word of God has to be taught in every place and to every generation.
New opportunities
Lastly, meltdowns always present new and exciting opportunities. Observing the Christian scene today, we see that meltdowns are all around us.
A meltdown of attendance at church, reflected in the absence of any sort of Christian teaching or encounter in millions of homes and lives, especially of the younger generation. A meltdown of Christian credibility in the public forum, indeed growing hostility to it. A meltdown of denominational structures as centralised bureaucracies struggle to manage decline, caused by the erosion of life-changing convictions. But there are also welcome meltdowns such as the removal of the restrictive barriers between groups of believers, the old denominational tram-lines. This is helping to develop new initiatives, such as church planting, in which the gospel is the central unifying factor and in which all the saints are being equipped for the work of ministry and not just a specially trained elite.
There is so much to encourage! Many new churches are being planted and we need to see many more existing churches being renewed by faithful, Word-centred ministries, although the latter is often more difficult and demanding. Across the country there is the growth of the Gospel Partnerships, the multiplication of a great variety of training opportunities, a huge increase of online and printed resources, in which TnT provides a leading role. Most of all there is a growing number of quality young adults, dedicated to training for a lifetime of service for the gospel.
Unimaginable resources
While the challenges to a Christian mind and lifestyle are great, so also is the opportunity to teach the Bible into the real life issues, which can often seem so daunting. The devil’s primary tactic will always be to encourage wrong thinking or no thinking at all, but today’s modern media present us with previously unimaginable resources for teaching and training. We need to embrace them creatively and seize every opportunity.
Priorities
But, as always, the greatest challenges are directly to our own priorities. They are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but they do require decisions about priorities. Which matters most – programmes or prayer? Mechanics or motivation? Empire-building or sacrificial service? Entertainment or education? Conformity or transformation?
We need divine wisdom, the direction of God’s Word and the energy of the Holy Spirit, for, as Jesus taught us, without him we can do nothing. Let’s keep on keeping on, in faith and hope and love, seizing all the opportunities God gives us to know him and to make him known. Nothing matters more than that.
