James Duff May 29th 2016 ~ Engaging with the World

Another AMEP done and the staff team have set new goals and targets for the upcoming year. Many of the targets are what you may term ‘steps’ as they are only small. We have done this purposely so we are able to build towards our larger goals, which in turn reflect the vision of St Philips.I read an article this week that quoted the Archbishop of Canterbury lamenting that, over the next 30 years, the Church of England will decline numerically by at least another 30%.  Although there is growth currently in the church in England, it is still top heavy - that is, it is still the Babyboomers and older who fill the majority of the pews. The growth-rate needs to roughly double in generation X and younger for it to keep its proportion in the current population.The Church of England recognised this ‘slump’ a long time ago and it has been churches such as St Thomas' Sheffield and Holy Trinity Brompton who have been on the front lines, engaging with the culture, planting churches and experimenting with mission to win people for Christ.Malcolm, the staff and the PC recognise the fact that St Philips is also top heavy. We know, as well, that it is no longer the case that mission and evangelism is taken up by nominal Christians, as it was in previous generations. Today the church no longer sits in the heart of the culture; she has been kicked out. Her reputation is no longer strong enough to drag people in, and I believe our society is far poorer for it. We are now engaging a culture which is mostly unchurched and the church is seen as quaint at best and irrelevant and even evil at worst. What is the solution to this problem? Is there a silver bullet or a magic wand that can make it like the good old days? The answer is no.People who recognise the problem and are prepared to experiment and take calculated mission risks, should be drawn back to the scriptures. In the scriptures we read the promise of Jesus to be with his disciples to the end of the age; that the Father and Son will send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit to empower us; that Jesus - not us - will build His Church.As leaders, we are trying to position St Philips in the best place for conversion and discipleship to occur. This will take a commitment to change from us - and most of us don't exactly love that idea. The good news is that we have started the change process by setting small targets. We are not going to radically change what we do in one clean sweep. We are taking small steps as we trust in the Holy Spirit to guide us, Jesus to lead us and the Father to rule over us.We look forward to a year of discerning God calling us out to engage with a world that He so loves that He gave his only Son.BlessingsJames