“Everything new must be better”. This must be the mantra on anybody involved in selling anything – that the new thing is better than the old because it is newer. But as we’ve seen with new and old version of the same cars this isn’t true.
Also, just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Marmite Easter eggs? No thanks!
When we think about styles of worship in churches, it’s easy to relegate robes and spoken prayers as so old fashioned and, therefore, no longer relevant. And yet robes worn by a minister can be tremendously helpful during a funeral – it helps the minister deal with the grief of a family; dog collars are a great way of assisting your local vicar visit you in hospital. It’s just a helpful bit of uniform! And it keeps you warm in a colder or draughty church: just sayin…
Written out prayers are not pointless either – if anybody tells you that, just point them to the most commonly known prayer in the world in the words that Jesus taught us a template, that we commonly refer to as the Lord’s Prayer. There are many people I’ve met over the years who would be much happier writing their prayers out, and crafting them, prior to reading them in a church context.
I’ve visited and worshipped many churches over the years and there is only one constant - there are many people who love Jesus in all sorts of settings – whether that’s a church using the Book of Common Prayer and strictly hymns, or a stage lit Pentecostal church with smoke machines and sound systems that render congregational singing redundant.
I’ve met Christians who remain in their Catholic church, their Jewish synagogue – because that is where they feel God is asking them to be, in order to win their friends to Christ.
There are people who love Jesus everywhere, and that is a good thing!
So, please don’t ever discredit people who worship differently from you. And don’t forget that God is looking at your heart so, if you’re prone to looking down your nose at ‘that church down the road’, remember that you’ll have to answer to God for that unpleasant perspective, just as much as you would for murder or gossip or theft. You’re saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on a cross, just like everyone else.
As a naïve teenager I refused to say the part in the Book of Common prayer about being part of one catholic church. Little did I know that the lack of a capital letter was rather crucial here because there truly is one church, and the word catholic merely means that we’re part of a broad church!
And WHAT a beautifully diverse church it is!
Just a thought…
Andy B
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