Building Bridges



Crossing a bridge
in Peru last year

Building bridges, reasoning and debate seem to be integral to sharing of faith in the New Testament.  Jesus debated with the religious teachers in the temple courts as a child (Luke 2:46-47) and with people throughout his life on earth.  Paul ‘reasoned’ in the synagogues (Acts 17:1-4) and debated in the public arena (Acts 17:16f).  The early church was encouraged to ‘always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have’ (1 Peter 3:15).

Over the course of 24 hours this weekend I found myself in some different contexts where I needed to build bridges and reason about issues surrounding faith.  Firstly, with folk who have made lifestyle choices that they feel have put them at odds with the church as an institution.  While rejecting church, they hold onto certain values that are very Christian in nature and remain attracted to the person of Jesus Christ.  Secondly, I met with someone of another faith who feels the church to be a place of welcome and inclusion.  Much of this positive response comes from the opportunity to enter into genuine relationships and to have dialogue with Christians.

In these different contexts of debate I found my own faith to be challenged and stimulated.  I trust that this was also the case for those that I spent time with.  So what are the lessons to reflect upon:–

·         To what extent is church a hindrance or a help for folk exploring the Christian faith?  There is much baggage to deal with here, but equally an opportunity for authentic community to be an attractive witness to the Gospel.

·         How are we equipping one another to reason and debate in a world of competing ideologies and belief systems?  Basic skills around listening and understanding of those that we meet, and relevant apologetics for our differing contexts.

·         In what ways can we effectively point people to Jesus, who remains attractive to many?  Faith sharing frequently majors on the cross, but benefits from more emphasis upon the incarnation.

It was Blaise Pascal who said, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in every person and it can never be filled by any created thing.  It can only be filled by God, made known in Jesus Christ”.  This resonates with the words of Ecclesiastes, “He (God) has set eternity in the human heart” (Eccl 3:11).  I have been encouraged to encounter this searching over the last weekend and challenged as to how best to build bridges.

Lessons from the road

I am in the midst of seven Sundays on the trot around the UK speaking on behalf of BMS.  I must confess that at times this can be daunting and draining, but whenever the day is done I am so grateful for the warmth of the welcome and the encouragement given by those who faithfully support the mission that we are engaged in across the world.  Most who listen to the stories of BMS mission will never have the opportunity to see first-hand as I often do, but in acts of confident faith pray and support.  In some ways I am going to give, but I find myself receiving from the faithful encouragement of those gathered.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews describes faith with these words, ‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.’ (Hebrews 12:1).  I suppose that we can all relate to doubting Thomas who needed to see the wounds in the hands and feet of the risen Jesus.  We struggle to have faith in what we do not see.  Jesus calls us to live by faith, not in ourselves, but in him as the resurrected one.

As well as being encouraged by the faith of God’s people, I am also struck by the importance of listening.  There is the old saying that we are given one mouth and two ears and should use them in that proportion.  Whilst I am invited to preach and share stories of BMS work across the world, I really appreciate the opportunity to listen to what God is doing in and through his people.  It is easy to be unduly influenced by stories of church decline and struggles in the UK, but I am encouraged to see signs of life and God at work.

After Woodley, Kirkintilloch, Bookham, Dumfries and the churches of north Oxfordshire, I now have Leigh-on-Sea and Horsham to go.  I am looking forward to seeing more faith and hearing more of what the Lord is doing, but then it will be good to have a break!