This week's Church Times includes a provocative piece by Daev Hopwood - on the perennial propblem of the church's 'missing men'. Here's a brief extract...
WORKING at a conference centre, I regularly meet men who are frustrated by the nature of Sunday church. I hold sessions where I talk honestly about this and give them a chance to tell their stories. I am often asked: how would you do church? I have thought about it a great deal — but I have not been able to come up with an adequate answer.
The very question comes loaded with baggage about the nature of church in general. Gatherings where people sit in rows, sing songs, pray respectable prayers, listen to one person deliver their own thoughts on some aspect of the faith, and engage in celebrating a “feast” which offers only a morsel of bread and a drop of wine: I would not start from here if I were to attempt to redefine church.
I would go back to the Bible with a simple question: how did Jesus teach the men who were following him?
It is a difficult question because Jesus was a man operating in a culture very different to ours today. He was a rabbi, not a vicar. He grew up under oppression in a small Middle Eastern community. The climate, the culture, and the sensibilities of the day were very different. But, I believe, there are still fundamental, timeless lessons that can be learnt from the way Jesus taught the men around him.
I once sat down and worked my way through the first nine chapters of Mark’s Gospel, noting the aspects of Jesus that appealed to me. Here are some of them:
The very question comes loaded with baggage about the nature of church in general. Gatherings where people sit in rows, sing songs, pray respectable prayers, listen to one person deliver their own thoughts on some aspect of the faith, and engage in celebrating a “feast” which offers only a morsel of bread and a drop of wine: I would not start from here if I were to attempt to redefine church.
I would go back to the Bible with a simple question: how did Jesus teach the men who were following him?
It is a difficult question because Jesus was a man operating in a culture very different to ours today. He was a rabbi, not a vicar. He grew up under oppression in a small Middle Eastern community. The climate, the culture, and the sensibilities of the day were very different. But, I believe, there are still fundamental, timeless lessons that can be learnt from the way Jesus taught the men around him.
I once sat down and worked my way through the first nine chapters of Mark’s Gospel, noting the aspects of Jesus that appealed to me. Here are some of them:
- Jesus offered his followers a job.
- He gave them nicknames, and tasks to do.
- He took them travelling, went home with them, and ate with them.
- He allowed them to break sabbath laws.
- He made use of their working skills.
- He told stories about men and workers, about violence, revenge, danger, and justice.
He showed them that they were part of something, and displayed his power in the context of their daily lives.
Jesus made following him risky and challenging, and sent them out on tough assignments. Afterwards, he gave them the chance to debrief. He listened to their stories. And he made himself vulnerable.
Daev Hopwood is creative arts director at Lee Abbey.
