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Pioneering something new – “love-relate-create”

September 3, 2021 by Darren Wright

From Rev Andrew Smith
Presbytery Minister – Congregation Futures

Last week in the Presbytery email you were invited to consider whether any of the following is true of you:

You have a nagging sense that there must be a way to be church differently that would resonate with your friends, neighbours, family and work colleagues who are not part of a church.
You’ve heard stories of others having a go at being church differently, so you know there are possible alternatives.
You are wondering whether there are others in your congregation or neighbouring congregations who are thinking the same as you.
If these are a fit for you, then David Male’s book How to Pioneer (Even if you Haven’t a Clue) would be a very handy book for you. He wrote his book for those who want to start a new small Christian community that is for and with those who do not normally go to church. If that is you, then you may well be a pioneer.

You may be thinking that this sounds very similar to what you have heard about Fresh Expressions of Church, and Mission Shaped Ministry, and the Godsend App. I agree, they are similar. Part of the value of these different approaches to essentially the same thing is that one of them might make more sense to you than the others. One of them might inspire you in ways that the others don’t. Together they give us a fuller picture of what is important as we seek to become church for those who do not normally go to church.

David offers three simple principles or habits you need for making a start on becoming church in such a new way. They are “love-relate-create”.

Love is about our motivation. It is not unusual for people to get involved with Fresh Expressions of Church, or undertake the Mission Shaped Ministry course, with a mixture of motivations. Some are concerned about the general decline in their congregation, and want to turn it around so that their congregation will continue into the future. Sometimes this is also about recruiting people to the particular way that we like to have church. But David points out that the ultimate answer to the question of why you are doing this, is love.

It is to know and experience that you are loved by God. Our understanding of God as Trinity tells us that at God’s centre is the communion – the loving relationship – of Father, Son and Spirit. That loving relationality of God is not limited to the Godhead itself, but pours out in generous grace toward the world: ‘For God so loved the world.’ That is to say, so great is the love shared within God’s self, that it cannot help but overflow outwards into the world. The very nature of who God is means that you are loved. Not because of anything you have done, but because of who God is.

We get caught up in this overflow of love, and it sends us outward in love to others. This is the ‘relate’ part of ‘love-relate-create’. David Male writes:

“We begin to comprehend as we are loved by God that so are the many people God has put around us. We start to see and understand our family, friends, neighbours, work mates and others in light of God’s love for them …. People are not targets to get into church but creatures beloved by the Creator”

As we think about relating to those around us, we ask: How can we genuinely love and serve the people in our local community with whom we are in relationship. To start with, we need to pay attention to who we know in the local community, where relationships are developing and where we sense God in those relationships. This leads on to the third stage of ‘create’. What can we, with others, create to help people we know in our local communities reconnect with God – to have the best opportunity of meeting God who loves them and us.

These are David Male’s simple principles or habits – love-relate-create. He points out that the order is important. Often the church gets them around the wrong way, doing them in the reverse order. We get a bright idea of some you-beaut event or program that we want to run. We put energy in to get it ready, and then set about finding the people we can relate to so that we invite them to come along. If they do start coming to whatever we are running, we now have to love them!
It makes a lot more sense to do it the other way round, so that what is created emerges from relationships and love.

To help your thinking about this love-relate-create approach, I encourage you to have a look at this interview with fresh expressions practitioner Dan Pratt about how he started a fresh expression of church called 57 West. As you watch the video, listen out for the stages of love-relate-create.

Here is a link to the video:

Sexuality and Gender Identity Conversion Practices Bill

August 24, 2020 by Darren Wright

Over the last fortnight there have been a number of robocalls and emails received by people in the ACT about the Sexuality and Gender Identity Conversion Practices Bill. The message from these phone calls, emails and articles was being framed in a negative, transphobic way.

I (Darren) received one such email from a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and became concerned that we had not yet provided an alternative voice into this conversation, one that sat alongside our LGBTQI+ kin or SOGICE survivors.

Some of us became concerned that the only message from the Christian Church making the media was one that was not supportive of our LGBTQI+ kin or SOGICE survivors.

What follows is a letter, signed by many leaders within the UCA in the ACT as a response to the recent emails, robo calls and articles in both the Canberra Times and Eternity News. This letter has now been forwarded to all 25 MLAs

A special thanks to Rev. Dr John Squires for penning the letter, and ensuring it is sent to our MLAs before the bill is considered on Thursday.

* The Justice and Community Safety Directorate has put together a good FAQ in relation tho the bill if you would like to know more.

To: Mr Andrew Barr MLA
From: Ministers of the Uniting Churches in the ACT
Re: Sexuality and Gender Identity Conversion Practices Bill
24 August 2020
Dear Mr Barr,
We write to indicate our support for the legislation which has recently been introduced into the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory, to make illegal any activities which seek to change the sexual orientation of an individual (so-called “conversion therapy” or “reparative therapy”).
The Act seeks “(a) to affirm that (i) all people have characteristics of sexuality and gender identity; and (ii) no combination of those characteristics constitutes a disorder, disease, illness, deficiency, disability or shortcoming; and (b) to recognise and prevent the harm caused by sexuality and gender identity conversion practice.”
As Christians, we support this legislation. Not all of our fellow Christians hold this position. However, we are very clear about our commitment to support this piece of legislation.
The Bible speaks of all living creatures being given life by God’s spirit (Gen 1:1-2, 29-30; Ps 104:24-30). Our identity is shaped by God in that process of giving life, of bringing to birth the identity of a new human being.
Furthermore, all creatures are “nephesh”, or sentient beings—we have a soul, a state of being, a life that is fully formed and given by God. All human beings are created with the spirit of God within us (Gen 1:20, 21, 24, 30, 2:7; Job 12:7-10). There are no exceptions to this in biblical understanding.
All human beings exist within this understanding. Our human identity is grounded in the creative work of God’s spirit. Who we are is how God has made us to be—each human being is made in God’s image (Gen 1:27; Sir 17:3).
As further research has been done in recent decades, it has become increasingly clear that gender identity, and sexual orientation, as key elements of human identity, each exist on a spectrum. Neither is confined to a binary state. Humanity is not comprised, simply of heterosexual males and heterosexual females.
There are differences and variety within both gender identity (males, females, transgender, intersex, and third-gender such as fa’afafine) and sexual orientation (same-sex attracted, opposite-sex attracted, bisexual, and asexual). Both of these characteristics exist across spectrums rather than existing in oppositional binary states. And this is the way that God has created human beings.
For this reason, we believe that it is important not to invalidate, undermine, or challenge the identity of any individual. It is vital that, in accepting people as they are, we accept their sexual orientation, and their gender identity, without qualification.
“Conversion therapy” provides a direct challenge to such acceptance. It seeks to intervene and “change” the way that an individual identifies. Because we believe that who we are is a gift from God, we therefore believe that we are called to accept the identity of each individual, as they perceive and understand themselves.
In 2018, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) declared that it “unequivocally condemns conversion therapy, as does the World Medical Association.” (See https://ama.com.au/media/transcript-dr-bartone-conversion-therapy-pacific-islands-forum-and-asylum-seeker-health-phi)
“Conversion therapy is harmful to both the individuals who are subjected to it, and society more broadly, as it perpetuates the erroneous belief that homosexuality is a disorder which requires a cure”, their President, Dr. Tony Bartone said.
The AMA joined a number of other international bodies who have previously expressed this view. The United Nations Committee Against Torture raised concerns about the practice of conversion therapy in 2014 and Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, has reiterated those concerns in July 2020. (See https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26051&LangID=E)
The American Medical Association, The American Psychiatric Association, The American Psychological Association, The American Psychoanalytic Association, The American Academy of Paediatrics, and The National Association of Social Workers (USA) have all said that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and that sexual orientation cannot be changed.
A comprehensive report by researchers at LaTrobe University and the Human Rights Law Centre, Preventing Harm, Promoting Justice: Responding to LGBT Conversion Therapy in Australia (2018), recommended that the State Government “introduce legislation to specifically prohibit conversion activities.”
Other Christian leaders share the views which we hold. In the UK, during a 2017 debate on conversion therapy, Bishops in the Church of England spoke out against the practice. The Rt Rev. John Sentamu, the archbishop of York, said conversion therapy was “theologically unsound, so the sooner the practice of [it] is banned, I can sleep at night”. The Rt Rev. Paul Bayes, the bishop of Liverpool, said LGBT orientation was neither a crime nor a sin. “We don’t need to engage people in healing therapy if they are not sick.” The Synod adopted the proposal to seek to have “conversion therapy” banned.
See https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/08/church-of-england-demands-ban-on-conversion-therapy
and https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/gs-2070a-conversion-therapy.pdf
The Uniting Church in Australia has had a longterm commitment to supporting and valuing LGBTIQ people in our churches and in society, and we see our support for this legislation to be a logical extension of this commitment.
We note that the explanatory statement for the legislation observes that “conversion practices cause harm. Evidence from survivors of conversion practices in the ACT and Australia reveal the extent and long-term impact of this harm”, and lists “depression, suicidality, anxiety, decreased sexual function, poor self-esteem, social isolation, and decreased capacity for intimacy” among the impacts. We do not wish to see any activity that produces such results encouraged.
We urge you to support this legislation when it is considered by the ACT Legislative Assembly.
Signed by Ministers of the Uniting Churches in the ACT:
Rev. Dr Ross Kingham, Co-Chairperson, Canberra Region Presbytery
Rev. Dr John Squires, Presbytery Minister, Canberra Region Presbytery
Rev. Dr Sarah Agnew, Wesley Forrest Uniting Church
Rev. Dr Paul Chalson, Canberra City Uniting Church
Rev. Dr Nikki Coleman, Senior Chaplain Ethicist, Australian Defence Force
Rev. Karyl Davison, Kippax Uniting Church
Rev. Aimee Kent, Kippax Uniting Church
Rev. Riana Kok, Yarralumla Uniting Church
Rev. Chris Lockley, St James Curtin and St Margaret’s Hackett Uniting Churches
Rev. Andrew Mead, Uniting Church Chaplain, Canberra Hospitals
Rev. Dr Neil Millar, St Ninian’s Uniting Church, Lyneham
Rev. Miriam Parker-Lacey, St Columba’s and Canberra City Uniting Churches
Pastor Heather Potter, Canberra Region Hub Chaplain, Uniting
Rev. Elizabeth Raine, Tuggeranong Uniting Church
Rev. Jangwon Seo, Canberra Korean Uniting Church, Reid
Lay Pastor Darren Wright, Gungahlin Uniting Church

The Thing About Dogs…

August 12, 2020 by Darren Wright

He then called the crowd together and said, “Listen, and take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.”
Later his disciples came and told him, “Did you know how upset the Pharisees were when they heard what you said?” Jesus shrugged it off. “Every tree that wasn’t planted by my Father in heaven will be pulled up by its roots. Forget them. They are blind men leading blind men. When a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch.”
Peter said, “I don’t get it. Put it in plain language.” Jesus replied, “You too? Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cussing. That’s what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods, washing or not washing your hands–that’s neither here nor there.”
From there Jesus took a trip to Tyre and Sidon. They had hardly arrived when a Canaanite woman came down from the hills and pleaded, “Mercy, Master, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly afflicted by an evil spirit.”
Jesus ignored her. The disciples came and complained, “Now she’s bothering us. Would you please take care of her? She’s driving us crazy.” Jesus refused, telling them, “I’ve got my hands full dealing with the lost sheep of Israel.” Then the woman came back to Jesus, went to her knees, and begged. “Master, help me.” He said, “It’s not right to take bread out of children’s mouths and throw it to dogs.” She was quick: “You’re right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master’s table.”
Jesus gave in. “Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get!” Right then her daughter became well.

This gospel reading has me thinking about seeing things from the perspective of a dog, in particular what parts of a dinner table a dog can see. It’s probable that the dog can only see the bottom of the table, or it’s edges, dog’s aren’t allowed on the dinner table, but their keen sense of smell would tell them that there’s food on top… somewhere… out of sight. They’ll sit there, hoping and waiting for something to fall, for something to hit the ground, their space, they have faith that something will come their way.

A dog would see the people gathered, at the dinner table the dog becomes ignored, put to the side, silenced. A dog would be attracted tot he noise, the company, the smells of people, other dogs, food newly cooked would fill the room exciting the dog, the dog would start to wait, to beg, the tail would wag in anticipation…

I’m tempted to raise the communion table above the heads of the community so they could only see the bottom of the table. From below the bread, the wine, the body and the blood, the grace and hope cannot be seen, but they can be smelt, the people gathered tells us that there’s something there, and we’d start to get excited, we’d start to wag our tails. Surely some bread, some blood, some grace would fall to us, all we’d need to do is wait.

*in the end I invited the congregation to crawl around on all fours and imagine seeing everything from the perspective of a dog, I gave them crayons and paper to draw their new perspective.

Humans are such wastefull creatures, they don’t know what they have, they eat too quickly, creating crumbs that would fall to the floor, they don;t understand the great feast they have and they throw out leftovers, like it’ll always be there, like they have too much, like they don’t understand the position that they’re in. Surely there’d be leftovers for us, and that’s all we really need, we’d be happy with leftovers.

And that’s all that the Canaanite woman asks for, the crumbs, the Israelites don’t know what they’ve got, they are happy feasting, but they still aren’t aware, the Canaanite though, she wants the crumbs, that’s enough.

And then there’s the interaction that the woman has with Jesus, she challenges his refusal, and in turn challenges his calling her a dog. In this interaction Jesus finds someone who teaches him, who challenges him and his ministry, Is he here just for the israelites, or is his mission wider than that?

Jesus had just spent time telling people that what they “vommit up” comes from the heart and defiles the person then he goes ahead and does this… Is this Jesus using reverse psychology? Why did he insult the woman? Was it cultural? Was it a racist slur? Was he unaware of what he was saying?

Even if it is the Canaanite woman still challenges the oppression, the insult that Jesus just threw at her, she still has the guts to say “I can smell the bread and wine, the healing and the grace and I want the crumbs.”

So, as a church, as a community and as individuals who are our Canaanite Women who are challenging us? And are we able to accept the challenge, are we able to learn from them? AND then there’s the flipside… Who have we called dogs? Who are we calling dogs?

But wait…

There’s more…

Here’s a reflection by Rev Duncan Macleod on the same reading…

What Really Makes People Unclean

Jesus called the crowd together and said, “Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. The food that you put into your mouth doesn’t make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean.”

Peter replied, “What did you mean when you talked about the things that make people unclean?” Jesus then said: Don’t any of you know what I am talking about by now? Don’t you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God. – Matthew 15: 10-20 (CEV)

Have you ever had someone tell you to wash your mouth out with soap? Or have you told someone else to do it? Or have you been told to clean up your act? Here Jesus tells his followers to clean up their attitudes, the values that shape their words and actions. He helps them acknowledge that each of them has a messy thought life. As pure as they might appear on the outside, they struggle with mixed motives when they relate to other people.

So if Jesus wants us to address our inner motivation, where do we start?

In recovery circles, addicts on the mend are helped to recognise ‘stinking thinking’ – negative or twisted thought patterns that lead to further abuse. It’s not just about what we feel tempted to do to others. Stinky thinking can include being dishonest with ourselves, telling ourselves that we cannot achieve anything, writing ourselves off. Recovery can only happen when we recognise stinky thinking for what it is. And that usually means being honest enough with a friend to allow honest feedback in turn.

And then there’s the development of clean values for living in a messy world. Instead of merely conforming to the environment we’re in, we’re called to identify the principles and thought patterns that lead to life-giving behaviour. As parents, as children, as teachers and leaders, we’re all given the challenge of seeing the world with the character of God, seeing people with attitudes that are loving, content, peaceful, patient, kind, generous, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.

Jesus on a learning curve

Jesus left and went to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon.

Suddenly a Canaanite woman from there came out shouting, “Lord and Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is full of demons.” Jesus did not say a word. But the woman kept following along and shouting, so his disciples came up and asked him to send her away. Jesus said, “I was sent only to the people of Israel! They are like a flock of lost sheep.” The woman came closer. Then she knelt down and begged, “Please help me, Lord!” Jesus replied, “It isn’t right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.” “Lord, that’s true,” the woman said, “but even dogs get the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.” Jesus answered, “Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want.” At that moment her daughter was healed. – Matthew 15: 21-28 (CEV)

This could be a disturbing story.

On the one hand is the thought that Jesus could be so rude. From the perspective of the worldview I’m in, Jesus comes across here as parochial, xenophobic almost. But so does the dominant culture in which Jesus lived. There was a sense of God’s favour resting on the chosen people only. Other people are seen as dogs, unclean outsiders.

Some might say that Jesus here is just testing the woman, to see if she has enough faith to break through the cultural barriers that would prevent her from experiencing God’s grace.

On the other hand is the possibility that Jesus is on a learning curve. He’s been confronted by someone who takes him at his word and now challenges him to be consistent. After all Jesus has been talking about purity coming from inner attitudes rather than outward cultural habits.

What I see here is the dynamic exploration of his mission. It reminds me of the emergence of calling portrayed in The Last Temptation of Christ, in which Jesus starts off with the angry prophetic approach shared with John the Baptist. He moves on to the development of the importance of loving relationships. Finally he discovers the call to walk towards the cross.

Dynamic discovery of mission challenges the expectation that Jesus was inerrant and infallible. If we run with Jesus being without sin we have to think carefully about what we mean by that. Jesus would have learnt from experience like anybody else. As a child he would have stumbled as he learnt to walk. As a carpenter he would have gradually improved in competence. As a preacher he would have developed his skills of communication, learning from responses in the crowd.

Of course the good news here is that Jesus is prepared to work cross culturally. He’s open to dialogue. He’s able to honour faith from anyone, no matter what ethnic background they come from. He’s prepared to break out of the classic expectations around what he will do and with whom he will relate.

Jesus calls us to clean up our act

Faith At Home – August 2, 2020

August 1, 2020 by Darren Wright

Are you worshipping at home with your family or friends this weekend?

Here are a number of activities for you to do at home as you reflect on the scripture from this week.

Holy Moly

Check out this week’s Home Brewed Worship email for the password to view the Holy Moly video for this week’s Gospel reading and another on the life and story of Jacob.

All Age Prayer

This prayer is a good prayer for starting each day this week.

Source: Spill The Beans Issue 35

Lord God,
wherever you went,
the crowds followed,
because they knew that you would feed them in body, mind, and spirit.
May we gather friends too
because we are known to be kind and generous.
You found it difficult to have time on your own, may we always have space
to recharge when we are tired.
Help us, Lord Jesus, just like you did,
to always see possibility and potential, and to enhance the gifts of others,
sharing what we have
and being glad of all that others bring.
So may we love and serve you in all things.
Amen.

Story

The Growing In God’s Love Storybible has a great poem retelling the story of the feeding of the crowd (it’s based on the John version, bit still beautifully done). You can access the poem/retelling here.

Action

Abundance Vs Excess

This week’s Gospel story invites me to consider how much my life is one of abundance, or ruled by excess. Excess often means I have way more than we need and our leftovers end up in the waste.

This week have a table conversation with your household about your leftovers, whether it be clothes, food, money or time. How can your household be one that lives out the Kingdom of God, how can you show compassion to others and also, how can you live your life with less waste?

Fast Food

Consider how much you and your household might eat from the many fast food restaurants where you live.

What’s your favourite fast food?
What kind of portions do they serve?
Have you ever eaten too much? How did that feel?
What do you know about the sustainability and waste of the restaurants you eat at?
How can you share food with others?

A Simple Meal

This week make an effort to eat simple meals, perhaps yo might be able to share a meal of fish and bread, perhaps tuna sandwiches.

Why do you think it is important that Jesus used what was offered rather than have food drop from the sky or some other miracle?
Why did Jesus bless the food?
What do you think they did with the leftover food?
What would you have done with all that food?

Picnic Time

Go outside and have a picnic, take some time to prepare a meal, head outside and enjoy time with friends or family.

Imagine the crowd, Jesus and the Disciples in today’s story, how do you think they felt after the death of John? Why did they gather? Why did Jesus feel compassion for them, what does compassion look like, how can we live out compassion in our lives, homes, schools and world?

On Government Restrictions and Community Worship

May 16, 2020 by Darren Wright

Greetings in the name of Christ,

The government has begun relaxing restrictions on gatherings and activities, this week we saw some changes that will enable us as a worshipping community to develop new ways for us to gather and worship, but, for the time being we are still not able to worship together in our buildings.

As many of you would be aware the logistics of keeping a building and those using it safe are complex, and a church community worshiping on site will need to think clearly as to how they manage the building and the worshiping community.

While we have been told that worshiping gatherings of ten or fewer people are allowed, the UCA Synod and Presbyteries have recommended that we not meet in our buildings yet.

I know for some this will be frustrating, but we are trying to remain diligent in our call to love our neighbour at this time, and that means for now we will not be beginning worship together inside the building.

As we continue to think through the issues at hand, and as restrictions are relaxed we may be able to find ways for small gatherings to happen.

For now however we ask people to continue to find space and time together to pray, read the scripture and love your neighbour in any way that you can.

If you would like to speak with Darren about this please feel free to call him on his mobile number. Darren is also able to meet with people on request, either out for a walk or home visit where it’s appropriate.

Here’s a link to the UCA Synod of NSW and ACT’s recommendation to not resume gatherings of worship.

Here’s a link to a piece by Rev John Squires, the Canberra Region Presbytery Minister for Wellbeing reflecting on what it might mean for a church to be safe enough to gather in.