Earlier this week I posted an item about a local footballer, Cyrille Regis, who had accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
There are two things about this post that have bothered me ever since.
Firstly the source. Secondly what Cyrille said.
There was a third point as well about which I won't dwell: most Methodist bloggers received this item for publication, but this blog was the only one to use it. Perhaps I just jumped at a local story?
Let us start with the source. Unbelievably, given its content, this item came courtesy of the Methodist Church Head Office. It came from the connexional communications team. Now it didn't make a press release, but just a quick look at what has been published by the comms team this year shows just how unusual this sort of item really is. It would be so good to have more material like this.
What really struck me was the content. It seemed so unlike anything that a "modern" Methodist would say.
Cyrille was to the point "My greatest experience, greatest lesson was to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour". He described what happened when he first understood. He had read a book by Michael Green. He suddenly found a great peace. He knew that Jesus was in the room with him.
I knew immediately what Cyrille meant because I had an identical experience on Friday 25 March 1966 at about 8.45 pm. Just fifteen minutes before I was explaining why I was an atheist. Then one minute I felt lost, uncertain, and confused. The next minute my life was changed.
Now a modern Methodist will sing about such a experience: "Long my imprisoned spirit lay Fast bound in sin and nature's night; Thine eye diffused a a quickening ray. I woke, the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off, my hear was free. I rose went forth and followed thee" (Hymns and Psalms 216).
But we shy away from sharing that experience in our sermons, Bible studies and personal witness. To prove the point: when did YOU last hear a testimony of the transforming power of Jesus from a new believer in a British Methodist church?
I would love someone to come on here and tell me that I am wrong, that there are Methodist churches where people speak of the experience that both Regis and I know.
We as Methodists no longer speak in that way. Why not?
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8 comments:
Two points of disagreement.
First, I have used my testimony in sermons, talks, conversations on many occasions. I was born again at about a quarter before midnight (the allusion is deliberate) on Nov 6th 1971 in Otterburn Hall in Northumberland during a Methodist circuit youth weekend. It was a powerful Damascene conversion which led directly to a call to preach and ministry. So some of us DO talk about it, because it's still real.
Second, I'm not sure about your definition of a 'modern' Methodist. I was intrigued for years at the ability of many folk to use hymns to articulate their faith - not having been brought up in the church, I didn't know them well enough to do so. I can, now, but it isn't my style. The ones who do it are not 'modern' - indeed, I think most of them are the MHB generation. I suggest that 'modern' Methodists are now increasingly unable to use hymns in that way because of the number of churches which use other music sources and do it by Powerpoint, so we never hold the books and never get to know the texts.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'modern' Methodist, but I'm fairly sure that using it as a pejorative suggests we're both getting on a bit...
David,
are you suggesting the Methodist Church needs renewal.
I think "renewal" is a very weak word to describe the change that we need.
I commented earlier this morning. Was there something wrong with what I said? Or is it just that I disagreed with you about the Israel issue?
Tony thanks for your excellent (earlier) post. For some reason it did not show up on my email account and I just clicked through the one comment that did appear from Paul W.
I talk about 1967, you talk about 1971. Will anyone from a Methodist Church be speaking in those terms about 21 November 2010?
The phrase you use is interesting and one that I recognise "It was a powerful Damascene conversion which led directly to a call to preach and ministry." But that is my point I can no longer see much of today's Methodist Church understanding or using such language.
Is it an age gap (to which you alude) or has there been a major shift in the way Methodists speak about our faith. That is why I am disturbed. I'd feel more comfortable about the future of Methodism if we had more people of today using the sort of language as Regis.
You go on the other Methodist blogs as I do. I don't get the sense of expectancy and urgency that lives can be changed round by an encounter with the living Jesus.
BTW, when are you going to write the gurest article for the guest blog?
Hi Methodist Preacher - I have been reading your blogs of interest of late. I am NOT a methodist but in fact a Pentecostal believer from Smethwick (not far from yourself).
Cyril Regis' family (in the loose sense of the word) are a church family and this may explain his language... I know his adoptive Grand mother and Cyril was regularly seen at our usual church events (christmas etc.)or some years. I think his language more than likely stems from this association and having been around this pentecostal environment.
Although, I also agree with your sentiments. In my own church new converts and those "back slidden" returners rarely use these type's of expression, even with a modern twist.
Myself, I was born and raised in the church - but as a late teenager I had a powerful and almost surreal experience with God that brought me toa greate understanding and relationship with Him in a way I had never known.
When I listen to our new converts everything seems very flowerly with very little impact - -- anyway those are just my thoughts.
This is quite an interesting conversation and I too have used my testimony and because I have been in Pentecostal churches have tried to use the 'Has anyone a word of testimony' approach in Methodist services. It did not work at all any more that trying open prayer worked (except at my home church.
I suspect that the difficulty here is that in my opinion most of our congregations expect the person up the front to do it all and their involvement is to sit or stand and sing the hymns and perhaps say Amen at the appropriate points.
Heaven forbid that we should ask them to do anything over and above that.
I note too the comments about Methodist blogs and the lack of urgency but then part of me says we need to look at what the blogs are there for - what is the purpose of their existence? Are they a little like the parable of the sower where the word is sown, probably quite gently and we leave the Lord to bring the increase? I don't really sense that any of the blogs are what I might call 'Preaching' blogs specifically.
I think there may be a danger in adopting the urgency approach that you actually turn people away from reading the blog and it then becomes counter productive.
Perhaps there is a place for a blog of this type but I think that someone doing this would need to be quite upfront and indicate that reading the blog could change your life.
If I am totally honest I think we are missing out on an important vehicle for communicating the Good News but then I am not sure this is unique to Methodist blogs.
Thanks CBJ and Fat Prophet.
I can remember hearing Methodists speak in these terms. During my twenties I went to events at Kingsway Hall (where Donald Soper was the Minister) and heard people speaking in this way. "The Doctor" as he was known would be far to evangelical for many in today's church.
In my own church, City Road Methodist Church, we used this sort of language and testimony until about ten years ago. I;m not certain CJW that it is just a pentecostal cultural thing. I feel its because we don't any longer expect that wonderful change to happen.
FP I take your point about other blogs. Angela at The Kneeler infuriates me on occasions but at least she is talking about Christianity as a personal relationship.
I'm a bit puzzled that this story didn't go further on the blogs.
Is it just that we are in West Brom territory that we noticed it?
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