How can we be a GREAT church?

Heavenly Father, I pray that you would give us each here today a fresh vision of your kingdom.

!

And I find myself on the annual meeting day. Very exciting, eh? And so I thought I'd take the opportunity very early on to just share my thoughts with you about where I sense God is leading us as a church.

And so this isn't about me sweeping in as a vicar and, you know, giving you my 20-point mega plan, you know, that sort of thing.

At this stage, this is a process. And this is a process of seeing what gifts, we might call them charisms from the Greek, what charisms has God already given us as a church?

And seeing how he wants to fan them into flames. It's about seeing who we are in God's sight and what God is calling us to become.

And some of that is about noticing afresh. And it's great to come in sort of from the outside and to see already what God has placed into our hands and into our hearts.

And then, as we move forward, through prayer, it's about perhaps letting go of those things that God doesn't want us to hold on to,

but holding fast to the things that God wants to bring into fullness and to fruitfulness.

And that's really my role as leader, is to help discern these things, to articulate and show you what God is calling us to become and calling us towards.

And then releasing the whole people of God into that vision of the future until it starts to become a reality for us,

making a difference to our individual and collective lives together and the difference to our surrounding community.

And for me, that process didn't start just a month ago, but it started when I saw the job advert for this place.

And that was back last autumn, which I believe was nearly exactly the same time as you were doing a 24-7 prayer initiative.

Coincidence?

Coincidence?

Coincidence?

And so I saw on paper what was on your heart for this church and for your community.

And I know as that document was put together, a lot of care and prayer went into it.

And that also came with a list of strategic priorities that you were already committed to.

And what I saw excited me.

And I know that the type of leader you were looking for fitted really well with the type of person God was also making me to become.

And so I came to interview, that's in December.

And as that sense of God calling myself and my family to be here with you became increasingly clear,

obviously I heard more about the church and its character.

And I read some of the history and I started to meet some of you wonderful people.

And now, a month in, as I say, even though I haven't met everyone in here yet,

and I've barely learned how to open the door.

It's a real struggle.

It's been a hard time.

God has been incredibly gracious.

And though my human insights and knowledge are only partial,

God's already laid on quite a clear sense onto my heart about some of those charisms,

some of those gifts that he sees amongst us and wants to fan into flames.

And I've tested a few of those out with a few of the team.

And they've confirmed that these kind of resonate and they could be from the Lord.

And so on this annual meeting day, I thought, great.

This is an opportunity to share with you just what I'm discerning because it's exciting.

And just to say, as I share today, do take a note of what resonates with you,

what strikes you, because at the annual meeting,

I'll just open up the floor to maybe hear a little bit about how your sense God is responding to this.

So something to look forward to later.

And to help me in all of this, the Lord led me to the passage that Deb read

from Matthew chapter 18, the verses 1 to 5.

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

And I realised that another question I could be asking, we could be asking ourselves,

if you forget all that preamble that I've just said, forget all of that.

The question is, how can we be a great church?

How can we be a great church?

Now, if that sounds a bit crass or you might lead us into comparing ourselves with other churches,

let me, okay, I'll reframe the question.

We'll have the question up on the board though.

How can we be a great church?

Maybe how within the kingdom of God can we be a great church?

I think it's a good question.

It's a fair question to ask.

It's a question that I'm asking as I begin here.

So if that's the question, are you ready to hear the answer Jesus gives to that question?

Yes.

Are you sure?

Because it's going to make you pretty uncomfortable, I can tell you.

It made me uncomfortable, okay?

So brace yourselves.

Because, of course, this question is a similar question to the one the disciples were asking Jesus.

Verse 1 says, approaching Jesus,

Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Now, I suspect there was some comparison and some ambition behind this question.

Here they are, the disciples.

They're following this charismatic young rabbi from Galilee,

who they've just come to realise is actually the promised Messiah.

The one appointed to bring in God's kingdom into the earth.

And if that's what he's up to, they're thinking,

I want to be an important part of that.

Let me in.

So before we continue, let me just be clear.

Let's get clear on what is meant by this phrase,

kingdom of heaven.

Kingdom of heaven.

Matthew's gospel is the only gospel to repeatedly use this phrase.

Well, the other gospels, Mark, Luke and John,

they refer to, quite constantly, the kingdom of God.

As I mentioned last week, if you were here,

Matthew's particularly writing to a Jewish audience,

who, as a way of honouring God,

would not usually utter or write his name.

So the kingdom of heaven is, in fact,

a sort of shorthand way of referring to the kingdom of God.

So they're the same thing.

But biblically speaking,

the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God,

it's not about some far place off above the skies,

mainly there for when we die.

It's the reign of God.

It's a domain where God dwells and rules.

And it's a realm, if we want to use that word,

it's a realm separated from the realm of the earth.

And we're separated because of sin.

But it's still a realm that's closer than we think.

God's kingdom still interacts with our earthly kingdoms and our lives,

but only partially.

There's a kind of rupture.

There is a divide between heaven and earth.

And that divide will continue until we're told,

until Jesus comes again,

to renew heaven and earth,

to unite them together.

And then the kingdom of God will be fully come,

and God and humanity can be fully one together.

And that, if you like, in a nutshell,

is the future hope laid out in the Bible.

And so we now,

we can enter a kingdom that is now but not yet.

It's a phrase that's often used to explain this idea

that God's kingdom is available to us,

but it won't be in its completeness

until the future when Jesus comes

to bring the home of God to us.

So I just wanted to put that as a definition,

because some of us may be thinking

about heaven being in the skies.

That's not really what is being talked about here.

And so the disciples are not asking

who will be greatest in heaven

when we die and go to the skies.

No, it's as God begins to break in

and rule on earth,

who's going to be at the top table?

That's what they want to know.

And there are three things that happen

in Jesus's response to this question

that I think we need to take note of

as we seek to be a great church

in the kingdom.

And the first is this.

Jesus calls a little child

and places the child among them.

Now, this would have been surprising.

Children have no real place

among adults in that culture.

And we find, in fact,

that in the next chapter of Matthew,

that when people bring the little children to Jesus,

the disciples resist it,

presumably thinking that it was a complete waste of time.

So in this one act,

Jesus is challenging the prevailing culture.

He places a child among them.

Now, of course,

much has changed

in our attitude to children

since the first century.

And much of that

is to do with how Christianity

has helped change our values

and our culture.

But nevertheless,

I feel that this act

of placing the child among us

helps us to identify

one of the charisms

of our church.

Now, I know that Christchurch

has long had

a passion for children

and youth work.

We've invested in children's workers,

we've invested in youth work,

and we've got a whole lot going on

for children and young people

on Sundays and midweek,

not just in this building,

but in schools as well.

But here's the challenge.

How many under-18s

have you talked to this morning?

And where are all the younger adults

in their 20s and 30s?

He says,

sounding like an old man at 43.

There we are.

Where are they?

So the question I'm asking

that's been stirred within me is,

what would it look like here

to further place the child among us?

Now, some of you

are already panicking.

If I start using phrases like

child-centred

or growing younger,

your heart sinks.

It feels a bit like,

and I'm going to be deliberately

provocative and political here,

it feels a bit like

I might as well be saying,

America first!

Okay?

The concerns of one group

to the complete exclusion

of everyone else.

No.

Let's say a big no to that.

But what I am seeing

is God wanting to make us

to become

what I'm calling

increasingly intergenerational.

Increasingly intergenerational.

You see,

I like to think of

the church

as it gathers

as being a bit like

one of those

big family Christmas gatherings.

Now, forgive me

if this isn't your experience,

or hasn't been your experience,

it wasn't mine,

particularly as I grew up,

but I'm sure you can imagine

grandparents,

parents,

aunts,

uncles,

cousins,

nieces,

nephews,

a few waifs and strays

thrown in,

all pitching up

to celebrate Christmas

together.

Now,

if you think about

the chaos that that is,

the actual time

you spend together

in the same room

is actually fairly minimal.

You know,

maybe for pulling the crackers,

maybe for eating together.

And when you are together,

you kind of have to make it

about being about the children,

or else it doesn't really work.

Yes, it's a bit noisy,

but also that's where the joy is.

And of course,

if you think about that Christmas day,

other points in the day,

the kids go off to play

with their toys together,

and the grown-ups

get to spend a bit of time

and quiet on their own.

Some adults,

usually me and my house,

spend most of the day

putting batteries into toys.

Others gather around tables

to do puzzles.

Others go for a walk, maybe.

The fact is, though,

and through experience,

if you try to get everyone

to do the same thing

at the same time,

it's very hard work.

And it's never going to work,

in fact.

And when it comes

to the washing up, though,

you might say,

you might have young and old

rubbing shoulders together

as they share stories,

and as they look after the homes,

they tidy up.

Now, I grant you

that that's all a bit idealised.

Certainly in my household,

if I try to get young people

to do the washing up,

they run a mile.

It's incredible

how quickly they move.

But do you see

how just that picture

gives a sense

of what it means

to be intergenerational?

What if our gatherings

on Sundays

and across the week

felt a bit more like Christmas?

Yes, a bit more mess.

Yes, a bit more noise.

But yes,

a lot more joy.

And I'd love to see,

as I see moments of it here,

different generations

learning from one another.

You know,

the reason why Jesus

places a child in front of us

is because he knows

there's so much for us

to learn from our children.

What would it look like

to serve together

all ages and stages,

following Jesus together?

And I really do believe

this is already

within the DNA of our church.

If you think of things

like our Transforming Lives

for Goods project,

that's a real model of that,

that intervention work,

people going in,

helping children.

And I just really feel

that the Lord

wants to increase this gift,

this charism within us.

And I just,

as I say,

I haven't got a 20-point mega plan,

but I'm just saying

that I want to explore

along with you

what this could look like,

bespoke for us

here at Christchurch

in this new season.

So that's the first

of the calls

that I sense God

is making to us,

is to be increasingly

intergenerational.

The second

is to be increasingly

inclusive.

Let's just skip

to verses 4 and 5

for a moment.

Jesus says,

therefore,

whoever takes

the lowly position

of this child

is the greatest

in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoever welcomes

one such child

in my name

welcomes me.

So Jesus is saying

that childlikeness

is the key

to greatness

in God's kingdom.

Now there's always

some debate

about what quality

of being a child,

what quality is it

that Jesus is inviting us

to become?

Is it their innocence?

Is it their openness?

Is it their playfulness?

Is it their dependence?

And I think all of these

have their place,

but actually Jesus

is clear

about what it is

about a child

that makes them

great in the kingdom.

And it is

their lowliness.

Their lowliness.

He says,

whoever takes

the lowly position

of this child.

Now,

as I said before,

children at that time

had no status.

Their only rights

came through their father.

And they had no

political power

or worldly importance.

They were

marginalized.

They were vulnerable.

And it's this

humble state

that Jesus says

makes someone great

in the kingdom.

And we are to welcome,

let's call them,

the lowly.

So it's not just children,

but all

who in society

feel cast

to the margins,

who are made

to be vulnerable.

Those are the ones

we are especially

to welcome.

Because it's

the lowly

who are,

if you like,

the celebrities.

They're the royalty

in the kingdom

of heaven.

Jesus says,

blessed are the poor

in spirit,

for theirs is

the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those

who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will

inherit the earth.

You know,

it's like we're called

to be kingdom

celebrity spotters.

Okay?

The vulnerable,

the marginalized,

the least,

the lost,

the lonely.

They are those

who we are to

particularly welcome

and bless those

who Jesus says

he blesses.

And actually,

you'll see,

just to kind of

drive the point home,

if you read on

from these verses

when you get home,

you'll see that Jesus

saves his strongest words

for those who hinder

what he calls

the little ones,

the lowly,

the marginalized,

from entering the kingdom.

And right after that,

Matthew places

the famous story

of the lost sheep

straight after it.

And it's like he's

ramming home the fact

that it's the father's heart

and his joy

to leave the 99

to make sure

the wandering little one

is included

and safe

in his flock.

So again,

inclusivity

is already

within our gift

here at Christchurch.

I've already met

so many of you

whose vocations

are to work

amongst the vulnerable

in social care,

in teaching,

in care work,

et cetera, et cetera.

But more importantly,

I've met many among us

who have probably

put themselves

within the categories

of being

the least,

the lost,

the lonely.

And they are

the celebrities

of this church.

So it's already

part of what God's

calling us to do

and be,

but could we make

our church

more accessible

to those with

learning difficulties,

financial difficulties,

physical difficulties,

relationship difficulties,

mental health needs,

those who've

experienced trauma?

Could we cater

better for those

who are neurodiverse?

Could we include

all more centrally

into the life

and the heart

of our church community?

You bet we could.

And as we do so

in Jesus' name,

we will be welcoming

Jesus increasingly

into our midst.

And that is what

the Bible defines

as inclusion.

Now again,

there'll be some

sitting here

whose hearts

are sinking a little bit

because perhaps

this has not been

your experience

and this all sounds

to you like

the vicars come here

to maybe dumb

things down a bit.

Let me give you

an example

why that is not so.

How increasing

accessibility

and meeting

additional needs

can actually be

a blessing to all

and will be

a blessing to all.

Amy and I

were discussing

with our

children's needs

with their new

teachers at their

new school

and we shared

about how they

really appreciate

having a visual

timetable,

sort of drawings

about what goes

on in the day

and where.

And it really

helps them

navigate the day,

helps them feel

sort of safe

and understand

what's coming up.

And the teacher

said yes,

actually yeah,

we've already

got a pupil

who needs that

and we've put

one together

and we've

displayed it

in the classroom

and actually

we've found

that all the

other pupils

really appreciate

it and they

benefit from it

and it gives

them a stronger

sense of structure

and rhythm.

So even in

that example,

what if

that's a step

we could take

even here on a

Sunday?

Imagine if you're

walking here for

the first time,

that's great if

that's you,

very warm welcome

to you by the way

and don't we want

to see more people

coming in for the

first time?

Oh yes.

Perhaps you're not

so good with words

or you learn

visually rather

than orally.

How are you

expected to

navigate your

way for a

strange and

unfamiliar service?

One thing we

could do is to

display some

kind of visual

cues if you like

outlining the

service at the

beginning and as

we go through

the service.

And if we did

that I can tell

you I think some

more regular

attenders could

also get a better

sense of what's

going on and that

probably includes me.

So there are

things we can

do that we

think actually

as we become

more inclusive

actually it's

about mission.

Do you see how

becoming more

inclusive is

actually about

mission?

It's like opening

the doors wider

to that big

family Christmas

gathering.

Come in.

Come in and

enjoy and be

able to join in

with what God

is doing amongst

us.

So the

direction God

is leading us

is to be

increasingly

intergenerational

and increasingly

inclusive and

the last, yes

of course it has

to begin with

an I,

increasingly

inspired.

Inspired.

I'll tell you

what I mean by

that in a moment.

Verse 3,

Jesus says,

truly I tell

you,

unless you

change and

become like

little children,

you will never

enter the

kingdom of

heaven.

So if you

weren't already

uncomfortable with

Jesus' answer to

becoming great

already,

this gets even

more uncomfortable,

doesn't it?

Jesus says that

unless we become

lowly,

like a little

child,

we ourselves

will not even

be part of

God's kingdom.

What does he

mean?

Do we need to

become immature?

No.

Do we need to

stop thinking

like adults?

No.

Do we need to

give up our

jobs and

positions in

society?

Not often.

Do we need to

give away our

possessions?

Sometimes,

especially if

they're becoming

a hindrance to

us becoming

lowly.

No, at its

heart, to

become lowly

like a little

child is to

actually recognise

that in and

of ourselves,

we bring

nothing to

God.

We have no

status.

In fact,

little children

bring, as far

as I can

remember,

only tears,

sleepless

nights, and

poo.

The Bible

tells us we

bring nothing

but poo.

We are dead

in our sins.

We are, in

our fallen

nature,

rebels, like

oversized

toddlers,

throwing tantrums

if we don't

get the thing

we want,

who, when

we're told

not to do

one thing,

we do

exactly the

opposite.

And to

make it

worse, we

just laugh

at it,

or cry

if we end

up hurting

ourselves.

You know,

we don't

deserve to

be in this

realm of

the perfect

God.

God.

So,

entry into

the kingdom

of heaven

actually begins

with recognizing

that we are

lowly.

It's to take

a humble

position.

Our situation

alone before

God is

actually worse

than many of

us want to

imagine.

And yet,

and yet,

God loves

his little

children,

like the

perfect

father that

he is.

He delights

in his

little

children.

He can't

stop smiling

at them,

looking into

their eyes,

hugging them,

kissing them,

longing for

his children

just to be

close to

him.

We don't

earn his

love, we

don't have to

clean up

ourselves or

do good

deeds.

He loves

us because

he loves

us because

he loves

us.

And the

damage that

we have done

in our

rebellion against

him, that's

all been

dealt with on

the cross.

us, just

as we were

singing earlier.

Jesus cleans

up that mess

on our

behalf.

He's been,

as it were,

chastised for

us.

And that

demonstrates

just how

much God

loves us.

And so,

if we are

to enter the

kingdom of

heaven and

to continue

to experience

the kingdom

of heaven,

there are two

things that

have to

happen.

Two things.

Firstly,

recognise

ourselves as

lonely little

children.

And second,

receive the

unconditional

love of

the father.

My voice

dropped there.

Receive the

unconditional

love of

the father.

So this

is an act

of our own

willpower,

like, come

on, let's

go, let's

enter the

kingdom.

No, it's

all grace.

It's the

work of the

Holy Spirit

who convicts

us of the

truth about

ourselves and

then brings

new life and

love into

our lives.

And so it's

not so much

about actually

entering the

kingdom of

heaven, it's

about the

kingdom of

heaven entering

us.

And this

lies at the

heart of

spiritual renewal,

bringing life

to lost

sinners,

starting with

us, that

flows into

us and

out into

the community.

And if we

do desire to

be increasingly

intergenerational

and inclusive,

spiritual renewal

is essential

because otherwise

we won't, our

desire to do

that won't be

there and it

was going to

cost us too

much, it

would be

challenging.

It's what

revival looks

like, is to

open our doors

and see just

God do his

thing.

It will

change the

atmosphere.

So we need

to be

inspired.

And that

word, I've

chosen quite

carefully, that

word, inspired,

literally means

to breathe or

to blow

into.

Spirit

breathed.

And of

course God

again has

given us

here, has

given all

his church

everything we

need to

see this

happen.

He's given

us his

inspired word.

2 Timothy 3

says, all

scripture is,

that was a

pause to fill

in, God

breathed is

what we're

looking for,

sorry I

could have

given you a

bit more

warning there.

All scripture

is God

breathed,

useful for

teaching,

rebuking,

correcting and

training in

righteousness.

And the

second thing

he gives

us is the

promise of

his spirit

to blow

into us

and transform

us.

Spirit and

truth.

If you were

here for my

first Sunday

sermon, I

talked about

how this

empowers

true worship

and leads

us to

Jesus.

and last

week I

also mentioned

word and

spirit as

it's the

thing that

fuels our

discipleship,

our

apprenticing to

Jesus.

Without

word and

spirit we

cannot do

those things.

And of

course it's

God's spirit

that releases

among us his

gifts for

healing, for

prophecy, etc.

etc.

And it's

this spirit

who brings

his fruit

into our

lives.

Love, joy,

peace, forbearance,

kindness, goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

self-control.

And it's the

work of the

spirit who

also releases

the other

childlike

qualities

among us.

Openness,

dependence upon

our father,

generosity,

playfulness,

creativity.

That's what I

mean when I

feel that the

Lord is

calling us to

become increasingly

inspired,

blown by the

spirit.

And as this

happens we

experience the

kingdom of

heaven in

our midst,

flowing out

among us.

Church, is

this what you

want?

For one

person, that's

amazing.

it begins

if we do,

and I've

just sprung

that on you

and I don't

expect,

specifically in

our culture,

for people to

jump up and

down, but I

know that this

has made some

of you hungry

and thirsty

for this,

for the Holy

Spirit to blow

in our midst,

to be actually

turning us

inside out in

the shape of

the kingdom,

upside down,

like the

kingdom that

Jesus taught.

Spirit of

God, Spirit

of the living

God, fall

afresh on us

here, releasing

us all that

you have made

us to be and

to become.

Thank you for

those who are

talking to you

right now about

a desire to

enter your

kingdom, to

enter your

kingdom more

fully and to

live out lives

that Jesus

wants us to.

see.

And thank you,

Lord, for us

as a family.

Thank you that

you want to do

great things

amongst us,

great kingdom

things, which

include love,

grace, mercy,

the inclusion of

those who feel

left out, the

love of all

ages and

stages.

come, Holy

Spirit, fill

us again.

Amen.