tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449677811690616608.post2581831103139847880..comments2023-12-15T21:49:46.651+01:00Comments on Pluralist Speaks: Reverse Missionary (but just pop down the road)Pluralist (Adrian Worsfold)http://www.blogger.com/profile/01922153724523820866noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449677811690616608.post-25281394115495785142012-03-30T03:31:01.158+02:002012-03-30T03:31:01.158+02:00Adrian
Just a few points to make here.
Of course...Adrian<br /><br />Just a few points to make here.<br /><br />Of course Pastor John's assistant was from another church - there are hardly any young people at the Congregational church he visited, so what else could he do? The lack of young people there was the focal point of the programme!<br /><br />You also seem to be saying that because there are some young people at the charismatic church in a neighbouring area (not the same area, I think), the Congregationalists have no right to develop their own work with young people. That's a strange attitude. Shouldn't every church want to work on developing its presence in the community? After all, it's not as if they're all fighting over the same few people - there are plenty of people in that community who don't have connections with any church. <br /><br />I agree with you on some points, however. It makes little sense for two churches to try to be clones of each other. But I don't think that's what was being attempted. In fact, I was quite suprised that the show didn't actually take us to the young woman's charismatic church to show us 'how it's done'. I imagine that the TV makers didn't want viewers to compare the two churches in that way. The comparison they wanted to push was between two churches of the same heritage, one in Malawi and one in Scotland, and quite right too. Pastor John was deeply committed to the legacy of Livingstone; he didn't make any mention of 'Pentecostalism'. And the programme sensibly highlighted Pastor John's realisation that he couldn't expect the Scottish church to be a clone of his own church, but that he had to be culturally sensitive.<br /><br />I do think the show focused too much on liveliness as the defining factor in attracting young people. Theological exploration was only hinted at, and nurturing, small groups, etc. were absent. But Pastor John was only around for a short time: those things will have to be developed over the long term by the church as part of their strategy. It's a pity that we don't know what kind of follow-up there's been. <br /><br />It was good that Pastor John wasn't in Scotland to make judgements about the local church's theology - and you surely would've disapproved if he'd tried to do that! Yes, he was somewhat critical of the local church for it's unwillingness to get stuck in to the job of reaching out to the community, but his focus wasn't on criticism, but on how to stimulate people's interest in Christianity in a very basic way. He wisely left deeper theological issues to one side. (Or at least, those views weren't left in the final edit.)<br /><br />Finally, I think your explanation of Pentecostalism is rather too dismissive. And it's a bit rich for a Unitarian to criticise Pentecostalism for being 'middle class'! I do understand that you disagree with Pastor John's religious beliefs, but there's nothing stopping more liberal religious groups (or Muslims, or Jews, etc.) from setting up worshipping communites in areas like this. There's room for more diversity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449677811690616608.post-5645340153698417062012-03-24T15:51:42.919+01:002012-03-24T15:51:42.919+01:00Communists? What communists? There are enough chur...Communists? What communists? There are enough churches on the ground to blow any communists away. If you mean people forced over time to live in poverty and seek collective politics as a means of redress then that's part of being this-worldly and effective. Denominations were invariably middle class.Pluralist (Adrian Worsfold)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01922153724523820866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449677811690616608.post-85361818728168363722012-03-24T06:24:10.907+01:002012-03-24T06:24:10.907+01:00There was a mention in the programme about young k...There was a mention in the programme about young kids having things like ipods, ie being materialistic. This is a red herring. The ground has been prepared for decades by communists and their fellow-travellers to remove religion from public life, and this is why it has all but disappeared from private life.Joe Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13813771610543530480noreply@blogger.com