Thriving churches, Hayward says, \u2018are very intentional about what they do. They are very clear in their beliefs\u2019 \u2013 particularly about the urgency of accepting Christ, since one\u2019s eternal destiny is at stake. \u2018Rather than, \u201cWell, everybody here believes something, and we\u2019re not really sure what, but we can always put on an event and maybe somebody will come along.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n
A week after my visit to the Pentecostals, I attend a service at a United Reformed Church \u2013 which is the fastest-declining of any UK-wide church. The service is led by the Moderator of the URC, the Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson, described by her church as \u2018a womanist practical theologian\u2019 who has a particular focus on \u2018uplifting ethnically-minoritised women and communities\u2019. The URC itself, according to its website, \u2018is not rigid in the expression of its beliefs, and embraces a wide variety of opinions\u2019.<\/p>\n
The Gospel reading is about forgiveness: a \u2018contentious\u2019 subject, Dr Henry-Robinson concedes in her sermon, but \u2018we can begin almost immediately by asking forgiveness for how we buy into containing and using God\u2019. Such as? Pronouns, apparently. \u2018I am not asking people to be on the same journey, but I am trying to be intentional about not using \u201che\u201d or \u201cshe\u201d or \u201cit\u201d or \u201cthey\u201d to identify God\u2026 not limiting our language in identifying a God that is limitless.\u2019<\/p>\n
The trade-off is that so limitless a God may also be too fuzzy to see clearly. At the back of the Elim church is a cross, a reminder of Jesus\u2019s saving death. At the back of the URC church is a stained-glass depiction of a tree with tongues of fire in it, a general image of life and renewal.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThriving churches\u2026 \u2018are very intentional about what they do. They are very clear in their beliefs\u2019 \u2013 particularly about the urgency of accepting Christ, since one\u2019s eternal destiny is at stake.\u201d https:\/\/t.co\/LKYwQNZPOO<\/a><\/p>\n — Fr Chris Phillips (@phillipsc) September 22, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n