No. 39Mar 2015

Example Given

How many swallows make a summer?

Mark Greene rejoices in signs of change in how we understand God’s mission.

Wisdom for Life - Antony Billington

looks at living wisely in God’s world.

Political Engagement - Paul Bickley offers a broad

vision for politics ahead of the UK’s General Election.

2

2014 felt like a breakthrough year and Mark Greene can’t help but rejoice, give thanks and praise God for signs of

progress in God’s mission through LICC...

How many swallows make a summer?

How many swallows do make a summer?

So far no one has been able to tell me. But it is, I am reliably informed by an ornithologist who can tell a raven from a crow at 100 yards, defınitely more than one. Which I kind of knew – even though, at 100 yards, I’d be hard-pressed to tell a raven from a black cab.

What I am not so clear about is this: when is the right moment to say that I am really, really very excited about how many very encouraging things are happening in the cause of releasing God’s people into daily mission... right across the nation... And beyond. When is the right moment to say that what we are seeing is not just a few,wonderful and inspiring examples... not just fıgs and pomegranates and grapes brought by spies from some far away promised land, but perhaps the fırst fruits of the harvest here...

Of course, we don’t want to let our joy in what God is doing in quite a few places lead us to see a signifıcant national shift where there is none, to assume that a few ripples are actually the harbingers of the big wave that so many have longed for. Still, as Joseph Heller wrote, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you’. So, just because I am by nature a Tigger, doesn’t mean that there aren’t genuinely some things to bounce up and down about.

And, whether the tide has turned or not, there are.

We’ve longed for the day when we would begin to see a broadscale shift in how the scope of God’s mission is

understood in the UK... and we are seeing it. Stories abound from church leaders, from individuals, from denominational leaders.

A Message and a MeansBack in 2004 we offered a strategy for the evangelisation of the UK based on the scriptural, pastoral, missional imperative

of whole-life disciple-making. The thesis was supported by the Evangelical Alliance and Imagine how we can reach the UK was distributed to around 75,000 people. And the EA then facilitated consultations and research. Hardly anyone disagreed.

“Back then”, as Neil Hudson, our Imagine Director, pointed out, “we had a message, now we have a means.”

Indeed, after years working hard alongside pastors and people, we do have a means, some wisdom – a growing body of tried and tested approaches to help

people and churches begin well.

For churches (Imagine Church and Leading a whole-life disciple-making church) and for people (Life on the Frontline, and Fruitfulness on the Frontline – book and DVD).

Currently, the Diocese of London are pursuing this ‘means’ as part of their Capital Vision to commission 100,000 ambassadors for Jesus Christ in daily life – it’s an amazing shift for the biggest Anglican diocese in the UK to formally recognise and honour the ministry

‘WE’VE LONGED FOR THE DAY WHEN WE

WOULD BEGIN TO SEE A BROADSCALE SHIFT IN HOW THE SCOPE

OF GOD’S MISSION IS UNDERSTOOD IN THE UK… AND WE ARE

SEEING IT.’

3

One Degree Shifts To read the report go online at www.licc.org.uk/onedegreeshifts.

Holy Trinity Southall commissioning church members

of all ages as ambassadors for Jesus Christ

of lay people in this way and to seek proactively to resource them. We have had encouraging reports back from the pilot churches and beautiful examples of how they are integrating the emphasis into their worship and community life.

But they are not alone.

Following our joint pilot with Methodist churches, a number of people in key appointments have made whole-life discipleship a central component of their ministry focus. On my desk I have their report, One Degree Shifts, which highlights the many simple ways that the pilot churches sought to help their people make an impact, and the differences they have seen.

Elim made the issue of whole-life disciple-making the keynote of one of their recent national assemblies and continue to fınd ways to integrate it into their theological training.

The Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland have convened a conference this Spring to explore what it would mean for their denomination to be centred around equipping people for their frontlines.

The Keswick Convention has made The Whole of Life for Christ their core theme this year, and Antony Billington and I have developed the Bible Study resource to support it.

Spring Harvest gave the essay Imagine how we can reach the UK to every adult and, this year, the ‘fruitfulness on the frontline’ material features in their seminar programme.

Hope has broadened its missional emphasis, not only offering a wide range of fresh ideas for neighbourhood mission but integrating church-based service with innovative approaches to frontline mission.

Urban Saints is taking the frontline and fruitfulness concepts and developing pilot materials for children and teens.

New Wine, committed as they are to the renewal of the nation, are not only running seminars on empowering

people for the frontline of work but also offering teaching on whole-life preaching.

Well, like some Oscar-winner’s endless acceptance speech, I could go on.

And it seems right to. Because it is not just how many churches and leaders and individuals have engaged

with the whole-life vision, it’s how many want to tell us about what they are seeing and learning

and developing.

The reality is that when you are excited about something, you want to tell someone. Sharing joy with someone completes the joy. A goal, a joke, a child’s achievement, the girl saying, ‘Yes’, to a date... “I can’t believe she said, ‘Yes’.”

So a London priest sends Neil a picture of his fırst all-age group of Ambassadors for Jesus Christ in daily life and a copy of the prayer they all prayed... I’m texted a photo o f t he m i s s ion notice board of a church that’s doing Fruitfulness on the Frontline, and it has photos of a whole variety of people and their frontlines, as well as photos of the overseas work.

The Church coffee morning was just that.

The congregation didn’t know what was going on in each other’s lives.

Minister was only able to visit members who didn’t work

during the day.

I was a single parent and felt a disconnect between faith, life and

church tasks.

Members now ask villagers for their prayer needs.

This Time Tomorrow is led by our worship leader.

Minister visited people in their workplace.

I realised the whole of my life mattered to God.

There is more prayer and talk about God in the village, there is

answer to prayer.

We are closer as a community and pray more for one another.

Members were more confident in having conversations of faith after

the ‘vicar’ had visited.

I fell in love, spend more time with my new larger family, and spend less

time organising church events.

How things were… What was done differently? What changed?

Reproduced with permission from the Methodist Church

4

We’re emailed yet another chapter in the amazing story of a charity shop opened up by one of our Executive Toolbox Alumni... and then we receive an update from another who launched a business to encourage a more ethical approach to asset management. By God’s rather amazing grace he already has 23 founding members representing around $8.5 trillion in assets.

It’s the same for the rest of the team. Brian takes a call about a church that’s so enthused by Life on the Frontline that they set aside a big chunk of their Sunday service for live feedback about the difference

it’s made to their lives... Tracy hops over to Australia and hears a wave of enthusiasm for our materials

from whole-life afıcionados... Charles skypes with the leaders of a church network in South Africa who are rolling out the material to 240 churches...

And all that is ref lected in very high of sales of our resources.

It’s been a fruitful year.

And it is the Lord who gives the growth. Praise God for his grace.

At the same time, we recognise that we simply couldn’t have travelled so far without the loyal and generous support in prayer and wisdom, feedback and fınance that we have received from so many people who share this yearning to see Christ’s name honoured in our land - through the ministry of all God’s people. Thank you.

Looking AheadStill, if 2014 saw the fırst fruits of past plantings, we also continued to invest in developing our understanding of how to empower people for the frontline. And so, out of the work we’ve been doing directly with some 300 people on the frontline of work, we’ll be launching Transforming Work nationally in the autumn. Out of the work we have been doing with pastors about preaching for the frontline, Antony and Neil will be developing material for a book; and out of the feedback we’ve been getting from people on the frontline, we’ve been able to identify at least two areas where there’s a need for fresh thinking and fresh resourcing. And we’ll be starting that. And, because our vision is to see whole-life disciple-making a reality in the whole UK church we’ll be adding three new people to our team – Stefan McNally to help Neil resource more churches more effectively, Ros Turner to help Charles launch Transforming Work and Beth Gaukroger to help get the message out more broadly. As a

‘IT’S BEEN A FRUITFUL YEAR. AND IT IS THE

LORD WHO GIVES THE GROWTH. PRAISE GOD

FOR HIS GRACE.’

Professor of Marketing said to me, “The vast majority of your target audience has yet to hear from you.” So there is much to look forward to.

Still, I want to end with perhaps the most moving moment in my LICC year. I had been invited to speak in a church, a smallish church in a land far, far away. They’d done Fruitfulness on the Frontline and asked me to say something about how they might help one another keep going. There were about 80 people there that morning and I’d already heard a number of stories about how God had been working out on their

various frontlines... in workplaces and among the homeless close to someone’s offıce... And so the service began. We sang and prayed, and there was a short all-age talk about a slow cooker – a fırst for me.

And then the congregation were invited to give thanks in prayer for the ways they’d seen God at work in their ordinary lives during the last week. And gently, seamlessly, person after person prayed: giving thanks for the feel of the mop in their hands as they swished out the hall of the summer camp for the last time before closing it up for the winter; giving thanks for the chance to talk to some neighbours as they walked to work, to develop the relationship a bit before the nights drew in; giving thanks for the diffıcult people they found themselves with; giving thanks for the animals in their lives that give them so much joy; giving thanks for the conversations and sharing of photo albums that resulted from an older woman who’d fallen over as they passed in the street...

It went on a while. And I realised that I had never, ever been in a prayer time such as this: God’s people simply thanking God, one by one, for the diverse ways they had seen Him at work, God’s people walking with him in mission in all of life and enjoying His presence in all of life.

I had been given a gift, a glimpse of what can be... for us all. In him.

And it was too beautiful to bounce up and down about.

Sometimes we just have to be still and know that he is God.

Mark Greene, Executive Director

Grace, grace, grace to you.

5

LICC’s mission is to help the whole Church in the UK empower her people to be fruitful for Christ on their frontlines. In doing this we have set a milestone target: to see 10% of UK churches, ministers and working Christians significantly engage in frontline discipleship by 2024 – that’s 5,000 churches, 3,000 ministers and 200,000 working Christians.

We’re defining a significant engagement as a church engaging in two or more activities such as:

• Attending an Imagine on the Road training day.

• Inviting an LICC speaker to an event.

• Using Life on the Frontline, Imagine Church or Leading a Whole-Life Disciplemaking Church.

• Using Fruitfulness on the Frontline.

Empowering the Frontline

Frontline Resources Distributed

Regular Email SubscribersPraying with LICC

2000 supporters pray for us monthly via email.

6000 supporters took part in a 40-day, workplace-focussed

prayer journey.

Word for the Week

Connecting with Culture

1100 churches are now engaging with LICC, with 220 in depth.

There are 1400 Friends of LICC

who give to this work.

by10%5000

200,000

3000

2024churches

ministers

workersby

10%5000

200,000

3000

2024churches

ministers

workers

by10%5000

200,000

3000

2024churches

ministers

workers

Life on the Frontline DVD

Fruitfulness on the

Frontline DVD

Fruitfulness on the

Frontline Book

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000

Expenditure & Break Even LICC Budget 2015/16In the last fifteen years, by God’s grace and the generosity of our supporters,

we have broken even every year.

In any year, LICC only knows where around 65% of income is likely to come from.

£800kassured

?£395k

1998/99

£1M -

£0.5M -

£0 -2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

6

Wisdom for LifeAntony Billington explores God’s gift of wisdom

so that we might live wisely in God’s world.

These lines from T.S. Eliot’s The Rock were written in 1934, yet could too easily ref lect today’s western culture. We have more knowledge than ever before, available literally at our fıngertips, but are we really any wiser? Any better able to live rightly in this world, live peaceably with our fellow human beings?

Alas, Job ’s question, ‘Where can wisdom be found?’ (Job 28:12), posed around 3000 years before Eliot, seems as pertinent and urgent as ever. And thankfully, the answer still rings out across the ages:

‘Where then does wisdom come from?Where does understanding dwell?...God understands the way to itand he alone knows where it dwells,for he views the ends of the earthand sees everything under the heavens...And he said to the human race,‘The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom,and to shun evil is understanding.’Job 28:20, 23-24, 28

The opening of the book of Proverbs makes the same point: ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fool s despise w isdom and instruction’ (1:7). If, as disciples, we desire to live wisely in God’s world, then the fear of the Lord is the fırst principle. Wisdom cannot come from independence; rather it is found in deep, covenantal relationship with the Lord God, marked by reverence and humility. Biblical wisdom is not merely intellectual capacity, but includes discipline and discernment, shrewdness and skill and it produces a certain kind of character and demonstrates itself in particular sorts of actions.

A wisdom that callsWe see this worked out in Proverbs 1-9, where a ‘son’ is encouraged to follow the advice of his parents as he sets out on the journey of life where he will have to choose between wisdom and folly.

Here, wisdom and folly are personifıed as women who invite all who will listen (men and women a l ike) to wa lk in their ways; to live in their houses (1:20-33; 2:12-19; 4:4-9; 7:6-27; 8:1-36; 9:1-6, 13-18). It’s perhaps signifıcant that they ca l l out in public places, where the hust le and bust le of life takes place, reminding us that wisdom embraces not just private concerns but the whole of life and its various dimensions – how I do my job; speak about others; bring up my

children; conduct my fınances; treat my spouse; and so on.

So, Proverbs 1-9 instructs its readers about the nature of wisdom, and also provides a lens through which the later chapters, with their individual proverbial sayings, are to be understood.

A wisdom that buildsIt may come as a surprise that the book of Proverbs hardly ever refers to the major biblical themes of covenant, redemption, law, kingship, and temple.

As it turns out, wisdom is rooted much further back – in creation – and grounded in the orderly regulation of the world by the creator God, even while acknowledging (as Job and Ecclesiastes do in different ways) that there are great mysteries woven into the fabric of life in God’s world.

So, wisdom is equated with the tree of life in Proverbs 3:18, echoing the early

chapters of Genesis. It is through wisdom God founded the world:

‘By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations,by understanding he set the heavens in place;by his knowledge the watery depths were divided,and the clouds let drop the dew.’ Proverbs 3:19-20; cf. 8:22-31

In using the verbs ‘laid’ and ‘set in place’, Proverbs 3:19 portrays God as an architect and builder who establishes a strong foundation and

‘THEY CALL OUT IN PUBLIC PLACES, WHERE THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE

OF LIFE TAKES PLACE, REMINDING US THAT WISDOM EMBRACES NOT JUST PRIVATE

CONCERNS BUT SOCIAL ACTIVITIES CONNECTED

WITH FAMILY, WORK, AND COMMUNITY.’

‘Where is the Life we have lost in living?Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?’

7

‘HERE IS A COMPOSITION AKIN TO A HEROIC

POEM ABOUT SOMEONE ENGAGED IN EVERYDAY

LABOUR! SO FAR AS WE KNOW, THERE IS

NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.’

secures in place a building’s walls or columns. And he constructs this cosmic house by his wisdom, understanding, and knowledge (3:19-20). Incidentally, these are the same sort of qualities as we see in those involved in the building of the tabernacle (Exodus 31:1-3; 35:30 - 36:7) and the temple (1 Kings 7:14) – structures that are microcosms of

God’s creation, built with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.

But then, wonderfully, Proverbs 24:3-4, using the same words, tells us that we too build in harmony with God’s work, in God’s way.

‘By wisdom a house is built,and through understanding it is established;through knowledge its rooms are fılledwith rare and beautiful treasures.’ Proverbs 23:3-4

So it is that the wisdom used by God in building and sustaining the house of creation is the same wisdom now given to his people, to be eagerly desired by his people, in order to live wisely in his world.

Then, a s the rest of the book demonstrates, the call to wisdom is applicable in different spheres of life – at the city gates and in the market squares, in our homes and in our workplaces, in our bedrooms and in our boardrooms – where God’s people are called to wise ‘building’ in God’s house of creation. Far from being removed from the rhythms of our everyday life, such ‘building’ embraces a range of skills and practices, worked out in the kitchen, on the fıeld, at the desk, in the classroom, wherever God has called us. And wherever that is, the model for such activities is God’s own wise work.

A wisdom that worksSign i f ıcant ly, we reach the end of the book of Proverbs and discover that the model to emulate is not a re l ig ious ‘professional ’, like a priest or a prophet or a scr ibe, but a woman whose faith is shown in her daily life (31:10-31).

In fact, this remarkable portrayal is the Bible’s fullest description of the regular activity of an ‘ordinary’ individual – a woman who ‘fears the Lord’ (31:30), whose wisdom is demonstrated in her everyday activities of being a wife to her husband, a mother to her children, providing for her family, managing her

household, engaging in international trade in cloths and textiles, negotiating the purchase of fıelds, looking out for the poor, and more besides!

Several scholars argue the passage draws on motifs from so-called ‘heroic’ poetry which described the mighty

deeds of warr iors or heroes. Verse 10 of the NIV ca l l s her ‘a wife of noble character ’; though i t c o u ld e q u a l l y b e t r a n s l a t e d a s ‘a woman of strength’, or ‘excellence’, but the word can also carry military connotations, suggesting she is to be understood as ‘a valiant woman’ or

‘a woman of valour’. The woman’s activities are celebrated by the author in heroic terms. This is a composition akin to a heroic poem about someone engaged in everyday labour! So far as we know, there is nothing else like it in the ancient world.

8

Good Reads, Resources & Events

Furthermore, in a book which begins with a portrayal of wisdom as a woman inviting people to come to her in order to receive insight and understanding from God, the woman of Proverbs 31:10-31 is arguably a picture of wisdom itsel f – and so is applicable as much to men as to women. It applies to all because it sets out the ideal of practical wisdom, involving words and deeds, operating in every sphere of life, embracing the daily rhythms of eating, drinking, working, sleeping. So, the book which begins with ‘the fear of the Lord’ as the beginning of wisdom (1:7) concludes with a demonstration of what it means to fear the Lord in everyday life.

Even this, though, is not the end of the story. If biblical wisdom looks back to creation, it also looks forward to Christ.

In several cases, New Testament writers link ‘wisdom’ a n d J e s u s . T h e opening of John’s Gospel, for instance, assigns to the logos (the ‘Word ’), some of the attributes of wisdom highlighted i n P r o v e r b s 8 –

describing the logos in personalised terms, as existing with God before all things, and as being God’s agent in creation. Then, in 1 Corinthians 1-2, Paul writes about the wisdom of the cross confounding the wisdom of the world, and about Christ being

the ‘wisdom of God’ (1:24), ‘who has become for us wisdom from God’ (1:30). Elsewhere in his letters – in the great ‘hymns’ of Philippians 2:5-11 and Colossians 1:15-20 – Paul arguably uses wisdom theology to show that all the blessings of God’s wisdom are now mediated through Jesus, the wisdom of God. He is the one ‘in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (Colossians 2:3).

So it is that, as we explore biblical wisdom, we do so with the confıdence that it will provide a way of orienting ou r e v e r yd ay l i v e s towards God ’s good creation and to his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Antony Billington, Head of Theology

can change it again – through a new renaissance, a restoration of radical faithfulness to Jesus and his way of life, and a committed engagement with surrounding society. The power of Christianity to inf luence culture rests in its adherence to God’s truth and its ability, in God’s strength, to live out the gospel – not just in a ‘faithful presence’ but through ‘transforming engagement’.Antony Billington

The Stories We Tell: How TV and Movies Long For and Echo the Truth Mike CosperCrossway, 2014

TV and fılms are pervasive in their reach and powerful in their ability to reflect and shape our deepest desires. Mike Cosper helpfully explores the

Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the TimesOs GuinnessIVP, 2014

F r o m a veteran in the conversation on cultura l engagement comes th is b r a c i n g c r it ique of w e s t e r n society and c h a l l e n g e to Christians to be an inf luence in the world. While others might be pessimistic about the ability of the church to bring about real social change, Guinness points out that Christianity has changed the world in the past and

connection between the stories we tell ‘with the bigger story that God is telling, and... what these stories reveal about being human, being fallen, and longing for redemption’. Drawing on a variety of examples, from Avatar to The X-Fıles, he explores themes related to the loss of innocence, the search for love, the reality of frustration and fear, darkness and violence, the search for heroes, the yearning for a better world, a n d m o r e . A s C o s p e r s h o w s , a l l these stories are echoed in the bibl ica l story and fınd their deepest answer in the gospel.Antony Billington

‘ALL THE BLESSINGS OF GOD’S WISDOM ARE NOW

MEDIATED THROUGH JESUS, THE WISDOM

OF GOD.’

9

How to Build TrustBrennan JacobyMonday 27 April, 6:30-8:30pm

LICC, Vere Street & Livestream

Worship Matters: Leading Sunday Worship with Monday’s Frontline in MindSam & Sara HargreavesTuesday 5 May, 6:30-8:30pm

LICC, Vere Street & Livestream

Bible Day: A Day in HebrewsAntony BillingtonMonday 11 May, 10:00-4:00pm

LICC, Vere Street

A Wilderness of Mirrors: Trusting Again in a Cynical WorldMark MeynellThursday 18 June, 6:30-8:30pm

All Souls, Langham Place & Livestream

Imagine on the Road WorkshopsConfirmed...

Leigh, Leighton Buzzard,

Prestwick.

Coming soon...

Birmingham, Somerset,

Blackpool, Chester, Crewe,

Lewes, Tiverton, Windermere.

For more information visit:

licc.org.uk/events

The Amazing Technicolour Pyjama TherapyEmily AckermanMuddy Pearl, 2014

I wish this book had been written when I was suffering from ME. With practical advice for all suffering chronic illness, there is also extremely helpful insight for those in a caring role or those who know people who are ill. In The Amazing Technicolour Pyjama Therapy, Emily Ackerman explores the emotional and spiritual issues of long-term illness through the lens of the Biblical story of Joseph and the trials he goes through. Once a doctor, Ackerman became a patient suffering with ME for over twenty years. She shares her own struggles with frankness and graciousness as she articulates what

so many think and feel. In consideration f o r t h o s e w h o s e i l l n e s s e s r e d u c e concentration l e v e l s , t h e short sections make it very easy for the reader to dip

in and out. Highly recommended - as soon as I fınished it, I bought a copy for a friend.Christine Hughes

Joy for the World: How Christianity Lost Its Cultural Influence and Can Begin Rebuilding It Greg ForsterCrossway, 2014

Forster covers similar ground to others on cu ltura l engagement, but is distinctive in naming ‘ joy’ as Christianity’s central contribution to society – where joy is ‘the state of f lourishing in mind, heart, and life

that Christians experience by the Holy Spirit’. Looking fırst at how we are formed th rough an integ rat ion of doctrine, devotion, and stewardship, h e t h e n explores three a reas – sex and fami ly, work and the e c o n o m y , and citizenship and community – reflecting on how Christians can bring the gospel to bear on every dimension of life. As Forster says: ‘Seeking to have an inf luence in our civlization does not imply captivity to the culture. It just means we’re answering the call to be good disciples within our spheres of inf luence.’Antony Billington

52 – A Daily Rhythm of Devotion and MissionCellUK

52 cards in a tin. These attractive postcards will engage you with the Bible and help you develop a missional rhythm for the next 12 months of your life. The cards fıt helpfully in your Bible,

briefcase or handbag and have space t o c a p t u r e your weekly ref lect ions. With contri-butions from 20 thought-l e a d e r s from a wide

representation of church streams and business environments, including four members of the LICC team, your daily devotional experience is constantly refreshed with new voices and perspectives.Jay Butcher

EVENTS

10

A Fresh Vısion for Political Engagement

Fo r a g e n e r a t i o n , C h r i s t i a n denom i nat ions , NG O s , lobby groups and campaigns have been consistent with their message: political participation is not just coherent with the gospel, but a direct entailment of a life of faith. And they’ve been successful. According to the 2009 British Social Attitudes survey, almost 75% of regular churchgoers, compared with 44% of non-religious people, see casting their vote as a civic duty.

But citizenship presumably requires more than exercising our right to vote every couple of years? Political philosopher Sheldon Wolin certainly thinks so, offering a broader vision of what he calls ‘politicalness’. As cited by Luke Bretherton in Resurrecting Democracy: Faith, Citizenship and the Politics of Common Life, Wolin sees us as having the ‘capacity for developing into beings who know and value what it means to participate in, and be responsible for, the care and improvement of our common and collective life’. The signifıcant word here is capacity. This is not just exercising our rights and fulfılling our duties, but learning and expanding our abilities to take part in the common life. Our capacity for political participation challenges the view that politics is primarily an intellectual endeavour – something which ‘clever’ people take care of for the rest of us. Politics can

neither be reserved for the ‘experts’ nor wholly outsourced to them. Political engagement, seen in this fuller way, is one means by which we love our neighbour and – for the Christian – one means by which we also demonstrate our love for God.

Good citizenshipAs Christians, we sometimes assume that we can fulfıl our responsibilities for political neighbourliness by choosing a representative whose views correspond most closely to Christian principles on this or that issue. That may well be part of the answer, though politics can’t be reduced to a theoretical or theological endeavour. It’s about real people, facing real challenges. Nor is

politics something which is just done to us; it’s also what we do – the actions we can take. If Christian engagement remains at the level of conjectural concepts and political positions, then we risk misunderstanding how change actually comes about in society. Our

own political practice matters.

Luke Brether ton h imse l f suggests the need for an everyday reasoning – what he calls a ‘wily-wisdom’ – which will enable us to achieve the best end possible given the existing circumstances. This wisdom combines both v i r tue and cunning, as in Jesus’ paradoxical exhortation for disciples to be ‘as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves’ (Matthew 10:16). For Bretherton, the ideal ruler ‘is not a philosopher king, but a ship’s captain who is able to safely navigate the tumultuous and mercurial sea by means of experience, craft, and quick-wittedness’. By extension, being a good citizen is more than just knowing the issues or turning

up to vote, but of having the savvy, the know-how, to bring about changes consistent with the life of the kingdom of God in a complex society.

Signs of redemptionCertainly, we begin with prayer. So it is that Paul urges Timothy to encourage the young Ephesian church ‘that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that

Paul Bickley examines how Christians can fruitfully and faithfully engage with politics, working towards change in society.

11

‘FOR BRETHERTON, THE IDEAL RULE IS

NOT A PHILOSOPHER KING, BUT A SHIP’S

CAPTAIN WHO IS ABLE TO SAFELY NAVIGATE

THE TUMULTUOUS AND MERCURIAL SEA BY

MEANS OF EXPERIENCE, CRAFT, AND QUICK-

WITTEDNESS.’

we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness’ (1 Timothy 2:1-2). We too can be encouraged to set aside any weariness or cynicism or disappointment we may feel, and renew or maintain faithful prayer for those in positions of power, as we realise they share our own human limitations.

In addition, though, there might well be a God-given desire to do something. That something might not even look ‘political’. It might simply start by actively listening to the experience of our neighbours, or meeting a practical need that faces our local community, or attending a local council meeting. It’s in such contexts that our political questions, priorities and thinking will begin to take shape. How can I love my neighbour, who is constantly troubled by doorstep lenders? How do I love my neighbour, who has been sanctioned by the benefıts offıce?

Then, beyond our persona l and individual responses, we sometimes recognise more systemic issues at play, which may lead to opportunities to work with others to effect small-scale, but meaningful, changes. It could be petitioning the council for adequate lighting on that dark canal path, making it safer for all who use it. It could be canvassing views about the proposed opening of yet another

supermarket in your local area. For ‘ordinary’ people, who are not usually in formal positions of power, and who don’t usually have lots of money, organising action is a powerful tool.

This vision of politics is realistic. It accepts that we aren’t always, or even of ten, in control of the levers of power, and that change can be slow in coming. Yet it allows us a sense of agency, which is what many people feel they often lack in contemporary politics. Likewise, Christians are not m e r e l y p a s s i v e bystanders in such matters, but a sign of

God’s redemptive presence in the world. In this sense, politics is more than that ‘ issue’ which churches are obliged to give attention to once in a while when the electoral cycle demands it. Rather, wisdom-fuelled political action should be a naturally occurring part of the life of churches and Christians who seek to witness to the gospel and serve their communities. This is likely to happen most effectively not only where churches equip their people to be responsible in society, but where churches support the everyday witness of the laity in their vocations, where the grassroots practices of discipleship spill over into active citizenship.

Paul Bickley, Political Programme Director at Theos

The vast majority of Christians (around 98%) spend the vast majority of their waking time (around 95%) in non-church related activities. So just imagine what the impact might be on our neighbourhoods, on our schools and clubs and workplaces, on our whole nation if all of us were really able to help one another to make a difference for Christ right where we are, out on our daily frontlines? That’s LICC’s focus: empowering Christians to make a difference in God’s world, and envisioning and equipping church leaders to help them do it.

www.licc.org.uk mail@licc.org.ukLike us at facebook.com/LICCLtdFollow us on Twitter @LICCLtd

St Peter’s, Vere Street, London, W1G 0DQ.

Tel: + 44 (0)20 7399 9555

All articles available as downloads. You are welcome to reprint articles, please include the credit: ‘©LICC. Reproduced with permission. www.licc.org.uk’

Editor: Jay Butcher, jay.butcher@licc.org.uk · Designer: Brett Jordan, X1 · Print & Distribution: www.x1.ltd.uk

About the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity

Recommended Reading:

Votewise 2015: Making a Difference at the Ballot Box and BeyondGuy BrandonSPCK, 2014

Offers help on how to think from

a Christian perspective about the

issues that affect us: the economy,

debt and austerity, Europe and

immigration, the environment, the

NHS, education.

Faith in Politics? Rediscovering the Christian Roots of our Political Values,Richard Harries DLT, 2014

Written from the perspective that

‘politics is too important to be left

to politicians’, Harries argues that

political values such as the rule of

law, democracy and human rights

are deeply grounded in a Christian

understanding of what it means to

be a human being in society.

To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern WorldJames Davison HunterOUP, 2010

Builds an overall case against what

he sees as misguided attempts on

the part of Christians ‘to change

the world’, arguing instead for the

significance of ‘faithful presence’

in the world. This has generated

considerable discussion since its

publication.

12

Alert to God, Fıt for Purpose.

Mark Greene shares a story of simple obedience – it may not be spectacular, but when God is at work, it’s always amazing.

...and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes

from the gospel of peace.Ephesians 6:15

I met ‘Sam’ at one of our recent Vision Dinners and the day after I met her, Sam went to her exercise class as, indeed, she did every Wednesday. She looked forward to them: the relaxing atmosphere, the variety of routines, the instructor’s style and ref lections. But at the end of this particular session she noticed something different. She noticed that a lot of the things that Michael, the tall, well-built New Zealand instructor, was saying during the warm-down sounded really rather Christian.

She felt prompted by God to mention this to him, and so she, slim, decidedly not tall, and rather Southern English, cast aside the fear that had often beset her and went up to the tall, well-built Antipodean and said: “You know, what you’ve just been saying sounds quite Christian.”

Now, up until that point she hadn’t thought much about how he might respond – perhaps a nod, a quizzical look, an embarrassed laugh, or a disdainful gawp at the very idea that he might be considered Christian? But he said, “Funny, you should say that, but I was thinking about God last night in my f lat for hours. And all of a sudden I started to kind of shiver.”

He sounded puzzled.

And so, just as in Acts chapter 8 where an angel of the Lord and the Spirit put Philip in a position to explain Isaiah 53 to a puzzled Ethiopian offıcial, Sam explained to Michael, “That’s the Holy Spirit.”

And then he said, “It’s happening again!”

A few weeks later she went back to her exercise class and took with her a Bible and a copy of Questions of Life. She gave her gifts to Michael and told him all about Alpha and how she’d be more than happy to go with him. Michael wasn’t quite ready for a course, and because Sam’s shift pattern at work

was changing she told him that she wouldn’t be back to the class in the near future, but that if he wanted to talk about faith at any time, well, “Here’s my number.”

Now it also turned out that Michael, was about to go back to New Zealand for a break, but is that the end of the story? Where does it go from here?

Sam’s at ease. She knows that she doesn’t have to push things. She’s seen enough of the creative way that God works to know that he’s not fınished with Michael yet.

And for her, the encounter with Michael was another example of how God just seems to line everything up – her coming to LICC the night before, alerting her to divine possibilities in familiar places, God visiting Michael the night before, the terrible time that she’d gone through in previous months that left her fed up with being afraid… All perfectly lined up.

Sam simply had to do her bit and leave the rest to God. And she feels privileged, exhilarated to be a part of

what he’s doing.

When we met at the dinner she told me that only the day before, a woman she had fırst come across fourteen years ago had got in touch and told her that she’d

recently become a Christian.

Some things just take time.

Who can tell how God is working today among the people we will meet tomorrow? Who can tell how he has been working in us tonight preparing us for the people and the situations we may meet tomorrow? Who can tell how the things we’ve been through in our wider lives have prepared us to minister in his ways to someone tomorrow?

Daily we make ourselves available.

Daily we play our part, trusting in him.

Mark Greene