There is a truism in the world of fitness… ‘fit for what?’

The question is simple but hugely important.  Fitness is completely subjective.  Being fit to run a marathon doesn’t make you fit to play rugby.

Fitness is built on repetition of specific exercises to build up your capability to do these more efficiently.  So, my training to run 13 miles included long runs, but also sprints to improve the way your body uses oxygen.  But I didn’t lift heavy weights.

Fitness needs a goal.  Something to be fit for.  You can’t get fit without taking part fully.  And you don’t jump right in and run a marathon.  You start slowly.

I often wonder what church is fit for?

To be fit for a purpose the church needs to practice spiritual exercises.

What would those be?

What would a ‘fit’ church look like?

How would it help people to build up their spiritual fitness?

Who would the coaches be?

“What kind of a man is a man who does not try to make the world a better place?”

Balian in Kingdom of Heaven

This week the lectionary takes us to the feeding of the 5,000 (plus women and children).  I’ve been wondering about the story all week, particularly verse 16.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

 ¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

It struck me that we always read this as a miracle of Jesus, but at the very least the disciples were partners in it.  “You give them something to eat” but the disciples look to their very obvious limitations.

Only 5 loaves and 2 fish.

That’s not going to be enough.

But with God’s blessing it is.

So Jesus takes what they have, gives thanks and blesses it, and then gets them to share what they have.

It turns out that the little they have is more than enough.

How often do we look at the world and say ‘It’s too big and I’m too small to change it”?  The disciples fed the 5,000 with Jesus’ help.  I wonder what we could do to make the world a better place with that kind of help?

What kind of a man doesn’t even try?

On Sunday I preached on Jeremiah 31: 27-34.  I think that had I not listened to Rob Bell’s sermon podcast on Ezekiel 18 I’d have preached about something else… but the idea of ‘sour grapes’ and ‘paying for the sins of our fathers’ got me.

‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

I wonder how often we think that we are trapped by the past?  And by the past I don’t even mean our past, I mean the past that has been handed down to us.

That’s certainly how the Israelites in exile in Babylon felt.  They are slaves, born into a brutal life of work and punishment in a strange land… and it wasn’t even their fault.  It was their ancestors who had strayed, their ancestors who forgot how to live, their ancestors who cause this to happen and there is nothing they can do about it.

We do what the did all the time… blame the parents.

In some ways we know that parenting has a huge effect on how children view the world but that can only be part of the story.  At some point we grow into adults and take responsibility for our own lives.  Or we spend the rest of our days being controlled and dominated by our past, or the past that was passed on to us by our ancestors.

It happens in life and in church.

I wonder if our teeth are on edge because our parents ate sour grapes?

I think they might be.

Look at all the stuff we have inherited.  Buildings, forms of worship, patterns of meeting, words, symbols and songs.

But what if they don’t work in this place and in this time?  Do we simply blame our ancestors?  Do we put up with clenched teeth?

Or does there come a time when we must move on?

“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

It seems that Jeremiah was telling the people that they will be judged on what they have done and that the sins of their fathers are not their problem.

So, perhaps it’s time to move on.  Time to build something new.  Time to stop blaming our ancestors for their bad choice in fruit…

On Sunday I was wondering about that little conversation Jesus has with Peter where he ask him three times “Do you love me?”.

Each time Peter says “yes, of course I do!” and after each reply Jesus says something odd.

Feed my lambs.  Look after my sheep.  Feed my sheep.

Odd.

I wondered aloud about the progression.  Are the lambs the spiritual babies?  Do the sheep, the more mature followers, also need guiding and protecting?  What should the sheep be fed so that they remain healthy and strong?

Is Jesus asking Peter to ensure that the conditions for growth are in place?  Is He asking Peter to make sure that the new church takes its members seriously, that they make sure people can grow in faith and that they are supported to do so?

What does that kind of growth look like?  And are we anywhere close to it in our churches?

Are there certain features or practices that make church ‘church’?

Recently I’ve heard people say things like ‘That’s church for them’ and ‘They don’t do the sacraments so they’re not a proper church’.

So, what makes a church a church?  And I don’t mean the building…

Following up on my only two choices post, I thought it would be worth posting the video Jonathan mentioned in his comment:

Two choices… inward or outward.

Which are you choosing and how is it working out for your church?

(HT Johnny Laird and Jonathan Blundell for the video)

St Peter’s Brewery by Jonathan D Blundell is different. In a good way.

Before I tell you why let me first say that Jonathan is my friend and co-host on the Something Beautiful Podcast and he gave me an advance copy of the book.

That could have made this review a little awkward.  At least it would have if the book wasn’t great!

I read it all in one sitting, unusual for me, and was drawn in to this story of Jimmy, a man who has withdrawn from life because engaging is just too painful.

Jimmy finds sanctuary in St Peter’s Brewery, the converted church where he now drinks alone.  His only friend is the barman, Pete, who lends an ear when he wants to talk and knows when to leave Jimmy alone when he doesn’t.

Jimmy’s life is one that so many can relate to.  Things haven’t gone well for him.  Relationships have been broken, work has become a place to escape life rather than live it, life is empty and that’s just fine with Jimmy.

One of the joys of working with Jonathan on the Something Beautiful Podcast is his passion for people and for their stories of life and faith.  He loves to let people talk, to share their own passions and to hear their experiences without rushing to comment or, as the church so often does, judge.  There is something very beautiful about a story, a lived experience.

Jonathan brings that beauty to his first novel.

It is a story of community, sanctuary, redemption and forgiveness.  Jimmy’s life is turned upside down by people, the very thing he’s tried to avoid for his whole adult life.  A motley crew of the most unlikely people including a trucker, a bar tender, a postal worker and a hippy, show Jimmy that he is not alone and that God isn’t anything like he thought.

I like this book.  A lot.  Sure I could be critical about a couple of small parts that seem a little wedged in to make a point that Jonanthan is passionate about, but that would be picky and they don’t detract from the plot in any way.

Jonathan has approached the issues that surround people’s experience and perceptions of the church in a creative and sensitive way.  People have been burned by religion.  Every day people walk away from the ‘church’ because they don’t find the kind of sanctuary Jimmy craves and finds in St Peter’s Brewery.  But every day people find hope and meaning and redemption and belonging in ‘church’.

Where’s your sanctuary?  St Peter’s Brewery could be just the place.  Mine’s a pint of St Peter’s Golden Revelation!

St Peter’s Brewery by Jonathan D Blundell is now available in print for $14.99 (24% off with code: 3YK4MGUP) and on Kindle for $12.64. (I don’t get any money from any sales, just in case you’re wondering!)