The ebb tide of faith …?
Dear Friends,
I’m writing this article just after returning from a fortnight in the Westcountry. Mary and I have enjoyed the time we’ve spent at the seaside, including the opportunity to do some bodyboarding at Bude in Cornwall. When planning a surfing excursion, one of the things we had to be aware of was the daily tide times, so that we could work out when it was best to go into the sea. Catching a good wave on an incoming tide was especially satisfying as it carried us further, sometimes until we reached the sandy shore.
The ebb and flow of the sea has often been used as a picture of the journey of faith.
Back in the 19th century, the poet Matthew Arnold wrote: “The sea of faith was once, too, at the full … But now I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar.” It is widely agreed that Christianity in the West now finds itself caught in a strong ebb tide. Most of the statistical indicators suggest that the Church in our nation has become more marginal to the mainstream culture than it once was, and fewer people - less than half - now self-identify as being Christian.
On a bad day, this can seem rather depressing. Then I need to keep reminding myself that, just as tides ebb, so they also flow. However, the tide of Christian faith will not start to flow again by the Church’s attempts to be trendy or entertaining. Nor will it do so by any structural reorganisation for mission – and, at the risk of not being seen as ‘on message’, this also includes our Minster Communities in the Diocese of Leicester. In their recent book When the Church Stops Working, the theologians Andrew Root and Blair Bertrand write: “The treatment plan commonly prescribed — effective innovation — will only cause your church to remain sick… The problem is not decline. The problem is that the secular age has infected it.”
If we believe that the Christian faith has something life-changing and wonderful to offer, good news for all - a growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ, rather than a legalistic religion to burden us - then we need to trust God. As Andrew Root suggests in his book, we need to “Do less, and know God better”. And the funny thing is, when we do that, the tide does often turn.
With all good wishes,
John Barr, Rector
Dear Friends,
I’m writing this article just after returning from a fortnight in the Westcountry. Mary and I have enjoyed the time we’ve spent at the seaside, including the opportunity to do some bodyboarding at Bude in Cornwall. When planning a surfing excursion, one of the things we had to be aware of was the daily tide times, so that we could work out when it was best to go into the sea. Catching a good wave on an incoming tide was especially satisfying as it carried us further, sometimes until we reached the sandy shore.
The ebb and flow of the sea has often been used as a picture of the journey of faith.
Back in the 19th century, the poet Matthew Arnold wrote: “The sea of faith was once, too, at the full … But now I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar.” It is widely agreed that Christianity in the West now finds itself caught in a strong ebb tide. Most of the statistical indicators suggest that the Church in our nation has become more marginal to the mainstream culture than it once was, and fewer people - less than half - now self-identify as being Christian.
On a bad day, this can seem rather depressing. Then I need to keep reminding myself that, just as tides ebb, so they also flow. However, the tide of Christian faith will not start to flow again by the Church’s attempts to be trendy or entertaining. Nor will it do so by any structural reorganisation for mission – and, at the risk of not being seen as ‘on message’, this also includes our Minster Communities in the Diocese of Leicester. In their recent book When the Church Stops Working, the theologians Andrew Root and Blair Bertrand write: “The treatment plan commonly prescribed — effective innovation — will only cause your church to remain sick… The problem is not decline. The problem is that the secular age has infected it.”
If we believe that the Christian faith has something life-changing and wonderful to offer, good news for all - a growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ, rather than a legalistic religion to burden us - then we need to trust God. As Andrew Root suggests in his book, we need to “Do less, and know God better”. And the funny thing is, when we do that, the tide does often turn.
With all good wishes,
John Barr, Rector