If you want to follow ME....Luke 9:23

Luke 9: 23-26: part of Living and Leading Like Jesus - Good Morning Girls study.
"Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I’m leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels." (The Message)

I've been thinking a great deal about sacrifice recently. The version of verse 23 which I learnt in song all those years ago says: "If you want to follow me, you must DENY yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me." I know that every time I am faced with a sacrifice, I dont face up to it. I hear myself saying, "No, I don't want to." Or just "No, I...." That little word with huge consequences in the middle of self-Indulgent, selfIsh, self....

So as we approach Easter - the joy and confusion of Maundy Thursday, the agony and sorrow of Good Friday, the hopelessness of Holy Saturday and the breathtaking elation of Easter Sunday - which bit of 'I' do we need to lose? Maybe this week is a good time to review the give and take of forgiveness, and how 'I' gets in the way; or the Inertia and self-gratIfIcatIon of a 'too busy life'; or....

A good week to review how 'I' gets in the way of following Him. With a small i in the middle of His Kingdom.

Praying for strangers

Just read about praying for strangers...this is something I think I need to do.
Not an ought or a must. A need.
Need to pray and read about it, too.

And when I think of strangers, I think of Katie in Uganda. I think of her kindness, her sacrifice, her willingness to give up her life at an age younger than my daughter (who embodies kindness and sacrifice for me too).

These are women of inspiration.

I think I might start a bloggy hall of fame for them. Because I need to be inspired by such as these...

Church - what's it all about, then?

It’s over a year since we felt we had to ‘leave’ our church and go to help a friend who is in charge of a tiny elderly Anglican parish church. (How we came to do that is a story in itself, but there is no doubt about what we had to do.)

The problem is: HOW?

We began by attending an Alpha course with some of the members – well over two dozen in a church which must number between 50 and 100 regular attendees. We’d go to a service occasionally – usually once a month, when there was an alternative evening service.

Then we joined the follow-up home group. And started to realize we needed to attend services more often. Our friend’s leading is evangelical, focused, alive. The service is Anglican, fixed, intent on ritualized prayers and ceremony.

We’re struggling.

We’ve only really been attending Anglican church services in the last ten years and even then, up to a couple of years ago, they have been more non-denominational in flavor than Church of England. Before that, we worshipped wherever we could, but mostly in non- or inter-denominational settings. Fortunately, we have both been brought up with the rituals surrounding the catholic traditions – both Roman and Anglican – so it’s not so strange as it could be.

But we’re still struggling, missing the liveliness of modern worship. We feel as if we're in danger of shrivelling up.

So now we’re having to reassess what 'church' means, why we go, what its purpose is, or our purpose in attending the services...a major reason seems to be just to keep in touch with people! And yet ‘a sacrifice of praise’ comes to mind. I take comfort in knowing that much of the ritual and liturgy is steeped in the Bible, that the rote prayers we say are the living Word of God and that He will accomplish what He wants through our obedience when we gather to worship him, even if it’s not in a way we feel comfortable with or which feeds our emotions.

It's good to review our faith and what it means in practice - just rather a shock after all this time of 'going' to church as well as 'being church'. We are seeing changes in people, though, which is encouraging - but certainly not new people coming along. It's as if God wants to grow IN people rather than increase numbers. We go to the home group at the vicarage which is every fortnight and now try to be more intentional about meeting up with folk in between as well.

It’s certainly much easier just to ‘go’ to church, rather than work out how to ‘be’ church. But I don’t want to be a ‘tick the box’ Christian. I want to help disciple the dear friends we’ve made this last year. I want to be involved…I suppose that is what ‘church’ is all about…