For The City

The video above was created for the kickoff of our 50th Anniversary celebrations as a church. 

The last seven weeks we have been going through the book of Nehemiah.  It’s an amazing story of someone who was used to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.

As the church it is our mandate to join God in the rebuilding of the spiritual city (the church) within our city.  For those of who us have grown up in church we hear the verse Jeremiah 29:11 thrown around a lot.  It’s a great verse, but I think we can often take the verse out of context.  Often we apply it to ourselves as individuals, not realising what precedes verse 11.

Israel once again is in exile.  This time to the Babylonians.  You would think that if you were taken into exile by a particular people that you would expect your God to say “stay away, don’t interact, and shun the pagan culture around you.”

That’s exactly opposite of what God tells Israel to do.  In Jeremiah 29:5-7 God says,

⁵ ”Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶ Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. ⁷ Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

What’s the context of Jeremiah 29:11?  That’s not a statement from God to an individual.  That is a statement from God to a of community people who have been taken over by a pagan culture, yet God instructs them to flourish even in exile.

Seek the peace and prosperity of the city!  That’s what the church is called to do.  We are not simply to be in the city, we are called to be FOR the city!

Sue’s Response

Last week John Miner of the London Free Press published an article on the state of the church in Southwestern Ontario. (You can read the article HERE).  They reported that close to one church a week is closing in Southwestern Ontario.  This has sparked some talk on the effectiveness of the local church in changing times.

Our very own Sue Barnes wrote a response to the article.  You can read her response below:

Dear Larry,

Thank you for writing in response to John Miner's columns this week on Christianity and main line churches.  I think your assumption and life experience speaks for many of us who have moved on and are seeking a deeper, individual relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I am 65 and grew up an Anglican because my parents, although not church attendee’s both were christened in that faith.  In my teens years I began to seek something more and accepted an invitation from my friend to go with her to her church, the United Church in Hyde Park, across the road from the Anglican Church.  I lived on a farm, and not having my license gladly accepted.  I was excited and sought to read my Bible that had been gifted to me.  Eventually I drifted across the road back to my so-called roots at the Anglican Church.  I taught Sunday School and enjoyed being with others who thought it important to believe in a power greater than us.  I was married in the Anglican church and a year later my husband and I were transferred out West where we lived for 20 years before returning to London to be closer to our family.  It was while out west that I again sought to seek more meaning and hosted a non-denominational Bible Study in my home.  It was through that small group that we developed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  He was a friend, a guide, a mentor and someone we could count on to go to through all of our trials and tribulations and know that out of those trials came a joy that is hard to describe to a non-believer.  “A peace that passeth understanding.”

While in Edmonton my friend, (who attended a Roman Catholic church), and I sought out a church that would uphold the Word of God and encourage us to seek the meaning of our lives and how God would guide us through all our comings and goings.  It was not just about teaching Sunday School and fellowship with other Christians on a Sunday morning any more, my faith had expanded to include every day, every hour, every minute of our lives.  God through His Holy Spirit became tantamount in my life.  We found what we were looking for in a Pentecostal church.

A few years later my husband, our two sons and I moved back to London to be closer to our ageing parents.  It would be a few years before I sought out a church but at no time did I give up reading scripture daily and reading voraciously, books on Christianity.  When I did feel the need to return to church it was for both fellowship and to grow in my faith.  I found that church, through the Alpha program being offered, at a Pentecostal church a few blocks from my home.  This church is a vibrant, alive church, where I can sing old hymns, new modern songs, clap, lift my hands in praise, dance if the mood moves me and share with others who have also sought to leave main line churches for a deeper meaning and growth of their faith.  Royal View, is a church that has seen people leave but also many new people come.  We presently are blessed to say that we have people from around the world who come together to worship. Many from a number of different countries in Africa, Vietnam, Portugal, Central America, and Europe. It is a church filled predominately with children, youth and young adults.  The church has addressed where youth are today, and offers worship with drums, guitars, pianos and trumpets.  People come in jeans, t-shirts, shorts, running shoes and generally what they feel comfortable in.  We are a church who supports eight missions around the world.  I myself travelled to Guatemala last year on a mission that was life-changing.   Royal View is available for people who attend the church services but also for those people who choose not to, either through the web site, Twitter, or Face Book.  In addition each Pastor has a blog where people can ask questions in real time and get answers at any time.

Why did I feel a need to write and tell you of my faith journey?  I wanted to illustrate that even though I am considered a senior I did not feel that main line churches filled my need to seek a deeper faith and as you so aptly put it " a search for understanding that would last a lifetime."  Churches have to adapt and seek to reach out to those who have not grown up going to church with their parents.  To survive they have to not focus on the building but on reaching people for Jesus and answering the questions that we all ask at sometime or another, "where did I come from, why am I here, and where am I going."  If denominations fail to help answer those questions through Scripture then they will seek the answers somewhere else, which does not necessarily have to be in a church building.

Thank you again for your excellent article.  You articulated exactly how I have wanted to respond to John Miner's articles "The Problem of the Empty Pew".

Sincerely,

Sue Barnes