You will see from my ‘reading’ list that I have just started to read ‘The Provocative Church‘. I picked it up at the emerging church conference the other week. (by the way … does anyone know how I get the text to wrap around a pic like the one above so I don’t waste so much space by starting to write below it?)

I’ve only read the first 2 chapters but thought I’d mention a bit about it so far. I was thinking of writing and then Gordon asked about it so I took that as a sign!

Graham Tomlin has started by making the point that as church we seem to be trying to answer questions that people are not answering – nothing that will shock us there then! By this, he means that we are assuming that people want to be ‘saved’ and have a desire for God. Actually, people are generally ‘happy’ and do not see a need for God and neither do they feel that they need rescuing. This kind of sums up the churches approach over many years which has been how can we persuade them that it is true?’

Our real aim, Tomlin says, is that we should be looking to provoke a reaction or a desire within people. Then our question would be something like ‘how can we make them want to know more?‘

I think I would generally agree with that outlook ad I certainly do feel that we take too much for granted and just assume peop,e want to know – all we need to do is find the right answer. I have a fear that this book is going to try and suggest the ‘answer’ to all the difficulties but I amy, and hope, I am wrong. (Not because I think I already know but because I do not believe there is or can be one answer … but saying that there could be one principle I guess … maybe … on certain days!)

Tomlin then moves on to say that one way of generating that desire or interest in God is by our lifestyles. Are our lifestyles different or are we the same as our neighbours. This is quite a challenge.

Are my interests distinctly different to my neighbours. Do I stress about the same, often material, things or am I different. Is my church a little club for like minded people or is their stuff in our life and worship that peoople look in on and say ‘I want some of that’?

The end of Acts 2 says (Message version):

Everyone around was in awe ……. they followed a daily discipline of worship followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, joyful and exuberant, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every their number grew as God added to those who were saved.

I find that quite amazing, and a great challenge. In our communities, when people look at us what do they see? Do they want what we have or cross the street to get away from us? Do they want the quality of life that we have? Should we be looking to provoke this kind of desire?

The second chapter talks more about evangelism and introduces Jacques Ellul and Walter Brueggemann. Ellul states that the major weakness of the Western church has been a failure to live a distictive Christian lifestyle. To rediscover how to live a distinctive Christian lifestyle is the key to rediscovering Chritainity in our country.

Too often, says Ellul, we have acceoted the world as it is despite the fact we know that Jesus can change things. We need to acknowledge how bad the world is, understand that it does not have to be like that, and realise we need a revolution headed by Jesus for it to change. And, I think this is the good bit, Jesus is here and so the revolution has started!

Bruggeman states in Biblical Perspectives on Evangelism that evangelism is an invitation to reimagine our lives, an invite to switch lives, to exchange the gods of despair, boredom and disadvantage for the God of Jesus Christ. This calls for imagination and a belief that things can be different.

In a way they are both saying dissatisfaction with life cause the beginnings of interest in God. Disatisfaction with the way things are and a deep instinct that things could be different are starting points for anyone who wants to engage with Jesus.

Its an interesting view that I am digesting. I must admit I warm to it quite a bit. I guess they are saying that if people really are happy with life then they will not give Jesus a look. It is only when you sense things can and should be better that they do.

I don’t know anyone that is not disatisfied, so I find myself asking ‘why aren’t they all flocking to Jesus?’