New Church in the Highlands part two

Emerging groups

Local focussed activity will bring a closer fellowship that should be promoting the positiveness of the Gospel and Church as a body of Christ. Many denominations need to be in dialogue with their office bearers and members to persuade them to be active in their locality, trying out new ways and activities to accommodate the church in their area and culture. It will surely be different, for the Church in Caithness, Glasgow, Stornoway or Dunbar.

There is a need to lay down prejudices from the pastors, ministers and leaders to show brotherly concern among the churches for the sake of the kingdom. Perth Christian Centre's, Monthly leaders meetings in Inverness is a step in the right direction.

The aspects of “Renovare”, focus prayerfully and intelligently on supporting the Church. Their encompassing work has a contemplative form of which will be mentioned later. In the meantime it is encouraging to see work in the Americas and now in Europe (Renovare Britain and Ireland) that embraces a wide spectrum of practises in a spiritual manner. “The Spiritual Formation” is at the heart of the work. This work will grow in the following years.

The way forward is spirit filled work across Churches and communities engaging both Christians and those with no present faith. The church has not learned the lessons of the 19th century that Christians need to be involved in community life.

In Scotland and the rest of the UK there is a gap, which has arisen during the past two generations, of no real involvement in the community (there are some exceptions) plus the change in culture. The culture change is one that needs address.

We have less and less social/nominal Christians going to church which clears the way for a genuine work of the spirit. People are less interested in turning out to be seen as a community figure head. Added to this we have a culture quite different from America. In the UK the post-modern era requires a different form of Evangelism!

For church to work in this new age its not simply a lesson of four laws, a template, a plan. In fact internationally the emerging church is looking at how to be the community first rather then look at plans.

The tee shirts in America that say “Don't go to church” and on the back say “Be the church” says something very profound - its not just going to meetings its giving over to God.

There is a danger here that meetings, agendas, time allocated work, compartmentalised church life, in turn this creates a church and non-church divide, this so called secular and non-secular arena. Again rather than a subculture that acknowledges the God spots in the week and all else is “worldly”,how about a culture that has input from practising Christians in the community. Elizabeth Fry's influence on community came from her community life driven by her personal faith.

There were times of revival to touch Caithness in the Church’s history. Perhaps most notably was that of the 1920s when the ministry in singing and preaching of Jock Troupe, of the Salvation Army, saw churches, including Wick Baptist Church, and places like the Braehead and Market Square in Wick, packed out. It cannot be denied that the Church as a whole in this country has declined in numbers since those days but many believe there are signs of change.[Wick Baptist ]

Going back to the 1830's, and the Ten Year Conflict, this maybe a large concluding step, the result of underlying movement from the Irving, Erskine, Campbell revisit of Scriptures and the New Testament church? In these years in question there was a change in Society, a moving away from old style thinking and doctrine. This gave a fresh opportunity for Godly things that may have been curtailed in the Calvinistic straight-jacket. 

New Church in the Highlands ...Take stock Part One

A brief look at the Baptist Witness and increase in particular for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland by Brian Robertson

Background

With some years working in the Highlands, then away and back again several times, I have had the opportunity to be in church circle and observe the changing state over a 25 year gap.

During that time I have been in leadership in Alness, Thurso, Perth, Dingwall, Pitlochry and now back in Perth. In two of these situations I was privileged to see a fresh growth in maturity and numbers in the Church. I have also spent time South of the border and seen other church situations. I draw on this experience with also my Baptist origins in Stirling to comment on the Highlands and Islands work.

But before that, it is important to consider the current situation in the Western world.

Why must the Western Church study Culture today?

• Because of the incarnation. Jesus did it.
• Cultural understanding is essential as good mission practise
• Christendom and Modernity are in rapid decline
• The West is in the midst of a huge cultural shift
• The Church is in decline (numerically)
• Current church practises are cultural accommodations to a society that no longer exists
• Primary modes of communications in the Western world and culture have changed.
• New culture means new organisational structures are required.
• The “Boomers”(over 46's) are the last generation happy with “modern Church”
• Increase appeal of Spirituality derived from other religions
• Many Christians no longer follow the religion of their parents' 2^nd generation not coming through!

However it would be worth the Baptist community considering the future “state of play” so that we can be effective where we are in the changing world. This, with the Spirit of God blessing the plans, and activity could turn the community around and increase the Kingdom. This is particularly relevant to the Highlands who, as a new generation, are looking for spirituality but all they know is Presbyterianism.

The days of Sankey we know are over but, so too, the days of Hillsong and other Modern large praise events are probably on the decline.

Some churches are doing a “new” old church, when maybe the answer is a “new” new church!

I sense with others that the new generation of believers are looking for reality in Christian practise, no religiousness, more reflectiveness, less clutter and a strong “missional” discipleship under the code name in America of “Spiritual Formation”. (“Google” Spiritual formation!)

It is not a simple matter of the Church re branding. The changes in culture have been too great for church to change in “window display”. Recall in the past the printing press and the education of the community linked to the church. The corresponding requirement for an engaging church in the community, that is not a sub-culture, but is, or changes, the culture is clear. This has not to be a liberal or compromising stance but rather relevance, rediscovery,and, in fact more biblically based mission. The “Hillsongs” mega churches might not survive even if they don't ever make an impact in Highland Scotland.

The church needs to be looking at ways to deal with those who want to be submerged in the culture and not seen to be different from others and to the individualists who make a stand on their pet conviction. A tough task. Yet I think there are those being groomed by God for the job, some closer than you think.

What is happening

Pockets of interest have been formed who want to move towards a commitment together. In November 2007 15 were baptised as believers in Brora- did the Union know? Were they invited?

There are “Baptistic” gatherings in Castletown, Dornoch, Lairg, Brora, Tain.....

Thirty years ago it was impossible to think of a Baptist Church in Dingwall , yet it has been constituted for more than 10 years. In fact there is another “baptistic” Church in the town.

Stornoway, New Elgin, Argyll, and Fort William have glimmers of hope. Kinlochbervie has like-minded folk.

Possible future

So how does the Church invest in the future in a new church framework that caters for the Highlands and Islands? How does the Baptist Union look at the Highlands?

Is it a duty we better do something or is there a burden to help those who want to press their heads above the Presbyterian plateau? How do Scottish Baptists facilitate the “promotion” of “baptistic” gatherings in areas where Scottish Baptists are simply not known? Especially when these groups have not considered all the Baptist principles that Baptists adhere to. How does a Union accommodate Baptistic groups still on a road of discovery, without it looking like the Union is shoving the group through a Baptist programme, like a mincing machine with groups coming out with the same inclination at the end. North of Inverness Baptists are placed in the group of “strange” people like Mormons and JWs.

How does the Baptist Union promote to non-baptists that there may be similarities in thought?

There are many in the Highlands who watch God TV and want to participate in modern worship. Many have moved to settle in the Highlands with a wider church life experience.

 

I carried out a small survey with a group in Brora who were considering setting up a fellowship. They marked high, Worship, and regular Communion - Baptism was an agreed assumption - their conviction was “believers baptism” .

Reasons for a Baptist Church - Brora feedback Oct 2006

  

Missional

In an age after the post-modernist the structure and effective communication of the Church to the unchurch, requires a total re-think. This is particularly hard for the Highland Presbyterian churches who work from a dated template that in some quarters has lost its relevance. Activities to the unchurch that worked say 20 years ago will not work these days. While the message must stay the same, and there was a danger in the 1970's that the method change messed up the message (not a problem now), the presentation must be appropriate to the audience and age. In a culture of switches, electronic media, i-pods and downloads, there is a clear need for a professional presentation to the masses that engages them before they even enter a church building.

When the large PLC market a new brand or product there are hours and hours of getting the message across and the need for the product goes before the product launch. The hype for X-box 360 started before a box had been created.

I would suggest that today the norm should be power point presentations to support the preaching and words for all praise on visual screens.

One cannot consider the "neglecting the saints .." as a constructive way forward but new ways of communicating new ways of fellowship are inevitable for future generations. 

 

Electronic communications

Role of Internet-Hyperspace is not as relational as face to face.

There are many Internet Churches throughout the world and, although this form of fellowship is good, it does lack the personal relationship with the face to face. Scottish Christian website is a solid communication assisting the church. Interestingly the logs linked to the website have a large number of Scottish Episcopalian contributors. I wonder if this is a denominational preference or an aspect to the age of the ministerial staff. It might also be that one individual had an influence on other clergy colleagues. Nevertheless the use of logs is widening the communication among themselves, their sheep and the wider bloggers. One American church leader said “I engage with the community. If they want to hear me preach, I preach on my blog!”

known as...congregation and the underlying issues, missional, pastor

You need to read the part three and part four to follow the recent conversation.