All Things New - this is a preview of the January editorial for The Record, which I post here because of its relevance to St Peters.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5

“But all conservation is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white post alone it will soon be a black post. If you particularly want it to be white you must be always painting it again; that is, you must be always having a revolution.”
GK Chesterton – Orthodoxy

We don’t like change. We have just got used to something, just begun to get to grips with understanding it and then it changes. It seems that especially in the modern world things are changing faster – fashions, feelings, families and finances are in a constant state of flux. Which is why so many people like the idea of the church not changing. As the hymn puts it ‘ Change and decay in all around I see, O thou who changest not, abide with me’. Surely in a constantly changing world the church should be reflecting the unchanging God, rather than merely being shoved along with the tides of fashion? We want to be able to come to church as a place of refuge and rest, away from the storms of this world. We want certainty, conviction and comfort.

The trouble with such a view of the church is that it is heretical. The church is not God. And we do not come to church, we are the church. The church is made up of human beings in human circumstances who by definition are constantly changing. You cannot stop change. People grow older. People die. People are born. Society changes. We no longer speak the Kings James English. We no longer live in a society where to travel five miles was a considerable distance. We no longer have to meet during daylight hours on the Lord’s Day for worship.

The unchangeableness of the church is a heresy because it does not recognise the organic nature of the church. We are not a dead institution, to be mummified and preserved. We are the living body of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are the bride being prepared for the marriage feast of the Lamb. Which is why this new year, as we enter 2010, we must celebrate and embrace newness and change. And yes – I recognise and will waste some of my word count reaffirming the truism that change for changes sake is not good. But as Chesterton points out in the quote above, preserving what remains and is about to die, will require constant revolution and reformation. Semper reformanda.

On the weekend of November 28th and 29th, I had the great privilege of seeing a great physical change occur in the church I have the joy of ministering in – St Peters, Dundee. You will forgive me referring to this but it is, I believe, a good example of the kind of change we are longing to see in Scotland. In 1992 we came to Dundee to a church that was dead and dying – something which was reflected in the building – ceiling falling in, grey, dark and miserable, 1950’s curtains and fading dusty pictures of long gone ministers. The whole building screamed – we are closed, and but for the handful of people who worshipped in the building, and the busloads of tourists who came to visit this Protestant shrine, it might as well have been. Fast forward, over several rough and difficult as well as fruitful and joyful years, to Sunday evening 2009. Having already celebrated an official opening, and a beautiful morning communion service, we experienced one of the most blessed evenings one can hope to witness this side of glory.

Over 500 people from all the different evangelical churches of Dundee packed into the renewed building for the annual DECA (Dundee Evangelical Christian Alliance) service. The building was warm, welcoming and a beacon of light on a freezing cold winters night. The spirit of unity and sense of anticipation amongst the people was palpable. From the opening praise, Here is Love, Vast as the Ocean (sung to a simple piano accompaniment), it was clear that the Lord was present. Derek Thomas, who had graciously come all the way from RTS Jackson, spoke the Word of God powerfully and clearly. The singing was outstanding. Whether it was the more contemporary songs such as In Christ Alone sung to instrumental accompaniment, or the final rendition of Psalm 24 sung unaccompanied to St Georges Edinburgh. In fact the latter from the very first word was extraordinary. Over 500 voices singing in unison, harmony and unity almost lifted the roof off – especially when it came to the final Hallelujah’s and Amens! Everyone I spoke to on the way out, had one thing to say – ‘Wonderful – what a change!”.

There is a sense in which for me, the actual changes in the physical building of St Peters, reflect the changes we need to see in the church of Jesus Christ in Britain today. We kept the basic structures – the foundations, walls and roof. And we changed the interior to reflect how we apply the gospel today. Likewise in the church we need to keep the foundations of the apostles and prophets, we need to build on what has gone before and we must never ever move away from the Lordship of Christ and the infallible and inerrant Word of God. But how we apply that Word, how we teach it and how we live it out, will need to change. There is no point in us lamenting that we live in the 21st century and wish that we were back in the ‘good old days’. Just as it was pointless keeping pews which were built for people who were on average a foot shorter and two stones lighter than people are today, so it is pointless in us seeking to maintain structures and customs which were ideal expressions of the gospel in the world they were created in, but have just become fossilised oddities in the world we are in today. Ironically it is those who seek to keep the expressions and customs which were relevant cultural gospel outworkings in past centuries as essential for this century, who are most in danger of undermining the very doctrine which they were expressing.

One final thought. As we seek and even experience renewal we need to be prepared for the backlash. Satan does not attack us when we are sleeping and no danger to his kingdom. He is ferocious when we dare to move out of our comfort zones into what he considers his domain. Twenty three years in the Christian ministry have taught me that it is the attacks from within rather than from without, from those who are closest rather than those who are distant, which are the most wounding. And the church is pretty ruthless in shooting its own wounded. But the even greater danger is the enemy within – my self – my self centredness, pride and ego are the most likely quenchers of the Holy Spirit. Thankfully the grace of the Lord can and does create repentance and reignites the fire. May the Lord grant each of us individually and his whole church collectively, revival, reformation and renewal in 2010. We have tasted and it just makes us want more!