Howard's Blog : Ethos

THURSDAY, MAY 27

Life on the Edge

The emperor penguins secret is huddling as an extension of the "be big" method of reducing surface area to survive the extreme cold. Emperor penguins have developed a social behaviour that when it gets cold, they huddle together in groups that may comprise several thousand penguins. In this way for most of the group, where their feathers end, instead of all of them having to face the biting wind and relentless cold of being on the outside, most of them have another warm penguin blanket to shield them instead. Of course it's not quite so great for the individuals who are on the outside of the huddle. So for emperor penguins there is a continual movement from the centre of the group to the outside as the warmer and more protected penguins move to the outside where they will take their turn in the worst places against the wind and raw cold.

We love those penguin pictures perhaps because they demonstrate a togetherness too often missing in our communities. We work our way to the middle of our social group, our workplace, our club, our church and then aim to stay there! We believe in "be big" organisations where we enjoy the warmth and influence that go with being on the inside, all too easily forgetting what it's like on the outside. The truth is when you have felt the warmth of belonging it's easy to ignore the cold winds of feeling that tug at those that are excluded. So often our social groups and sadly our churches don't show the dynamic movement of the emperor penguins with those in the centre moving to the fringes to draw into the warmth of community those that don't yet belong.

As I sat in the staff room of the school where I work part time, struggling to attach myself to conversations between teachers who had worked at the school for years, I reflected on how vulnerable it feels to be on the edge.

If I were to use "inside and outside" language to frame the last ten months church planting in Cheltenham, then it has mostly been an "outside" year.

Yes the church we currently attend as a family have been big hearted, serving our 11, 12 and 14 year olds really well, and the leader in particular has been warm and supportive, but knowing we are planning to launch a new church this September has meant that Naomi and I have deliberately stood on the edge, against our instincts to commit and serve whole heartedly, so denying ourselves the warmth that comes from belonging. At times as the cold wind of being outside tugs at me I can understand why it seems so much easier to huddle in Cheltenham's "be big" church.

As any church planter knows, particularly if like me you plant in contexts were you start with a family sized group,  there is no warm core in which to sit and huddle, and the cold reality is that to survive long term you need a bigger huddle. But in those early years whilst "be big" is someway off you are reminded what it feels like to being on the edge. But why church plants like Godfirst have a part to play alongside bigger established churches is statistically new churches grow quicker as a result of a determined ethos to create that dynamic movement that draws the outsider quickly into the heart of a Jesus focused community.

My hope is that everyone in the Godfirst launch team feels the warm of real community but also as we grow, continually feels the mission to gather in those on the outside. It was great when Kath, our 80 year radical joined us saying "it's wonderful to get to know everyone and feel you belong so quickly".

I see Jesus' mission as drawing those outside into the community of God's love. He left the warmth of heaven laying aside his glory to come to earth to gather those living outside his Father's love. "I longed to gather you" he says. He gathered a close community of friends that shared their lives together but also constantly challenging his followers to move to the outside, to gather in tax collectors and prostitutes, unclean lepers and foreigners so that they would find forgiveness, love, healing and acceptance. Even on the cross, crucified outside the city wall, Jesus drew a thief crucified next to him inside the eternal loving community that is Almighty God.

So as Godfirst grows I am determined to never let us become a turned in huddle of insiders existing for our own warmth. Building Godfirst is never about comfort but about the faith to constantly live on the edge, in order to bring people into the warmth of God the Father's embrace.

 Howard