Is it a Church?
An invitation came through the letter slot this week to attend the inauguration service of a new church. Such invitations are frequent in this part of town, and ongoing evidence of a most interesting phenomenon in the British religious scene—the invitation comes from an African-originating church. The missionary nation is now on the receiving end of a new missionary movement.
There is a refreshing vigour in this proliferation of new churches. They are significant evidence of the dynamic nature of Christian faith. Just at the time when the established media are gleefully proclaiming the impending death of the Church, and the irrelevance of religion, on the basis of statistics gathered for the major old-line denominations, these congregations operate ‘below the radar’. People may not be sitting in the pews of the established church, but that does not mean churches are empty everywhere!
And they have fantastic names [see picture]!
The gospel, that is, the good news that God has acted for our sake in Jesus Christ to save humanity from its violent self-destructive tendencies, is not contained by the religious forms of any age; the Spirit of God cannot be held in a monopoly by any human agency. Throughout the history of the Church, whenever any branch of said Church—or human power—has attempted to command and control it, renewal has come from unexpected quarters. The shift of the gravity of Christianity from the West to the South, and particularly Africa, is a phenomenon not yet seriously taken on board by the West—either Church, State, or Media. The story of Christ is not a European story, and the current decline in Europe does not, as is commonly held in public places in Britain, equate to the end of the story. (more)
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