The Shaping of Things to Come

The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21^st Century Church

Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch 2013 Baker Books

Here’s a brief summary of this book that I’ve referred to before. It’s by two Australian writers who share a broadly Evangelical outlook and have experience of working with new missional projects in Australia. The section on Jesus as Messiah is particularly relevant for my theme.

As I’ve been reflecting on our need to engage with popular culture throughout this Sabbatical one thought keeps coming to me. The established dying (Western) church needs to live out the sacrifice of Christ by releasing their resources so that a new generation might believe.  The time has come to say to those who wish to hold onto their buildings, established but failing patterns of being church,  that it is time to let go, to give thanks and praise for all that has been accomplished, but then to release what they have for those who are being and becoming church in new ways. As previous generations risked all in missionary endeavour funded by the established church, so must today’s cross-cultural missionaries who risk much be supported in prayer, money and good will by those who cannot do the work themselves but can allow it with their blessing and support.   With these thoughts in my head I turn to the book itself:

Frost and Hirsch call the church to see itself as a missionary movement, not an institution (the Methodist Church in UK has been trying to refocus itself in this way for a number of years now!). An oft-repeated theme is that we must engage in culture without compromising the gospel:

The Church that Jesus intended was meant to be a permanent revolution and not a codified civil religion; mere chaplains to the prevailing Empire (31).

The writers argue that today’s church is still living in the outmoded Christendom model (where the church had power and influence across the globe). This sees the church as

·        Attractional (expecting people to come to its buildings to receive the gospel)

·        Dualistic (living with a separation between spiritual and earthly things:  Christian life and community is separate from the world).

·        Hierarchical in its organisational and thinking.

The church needs to become:

·        Missional

·        Incarnational

·        Messianic

·        Apostolic

Provocatively, the writers state:

...the death of Christendom and the emergence of postmodernism and the new global culture have highlighted the bankruptcy of the existing church and its inability to have a positive effect on Western society. (86)

The book uses example, Biblical material and other insights to unpack each of these four aspirations.

MISSIONAL

Quoting from Gerard Kelly the writers point to what the church should become:

The Church will focus on core faith, on minimum essential order, on people and their gifts, on flexible patterns of life held together in communion and on a shared sense of community. (33)

Several examples are given of church as shared projects, community enterprise and emergent faith community.

Again the writers stress the importance of holding onto gospel values and the need for the missional church to combine the liberal emphasis on community development with the evangelical desire for personal and community transformation. As a way of understanding this, they offer the model of church as ‘Green space’

Green is of course made up of yellow and blue.  Yellow space represents a personal Christian spirituality: Bible study, church attendance, personal moral/ethical behaviour. Blue space represents other-focussed Christian spirituality: justice seeking, social concern, public moral/ethical behaviour.

Green Space, created from blue and yellow is occupied by Green People where ‘story and context, the individual and the communal, the interior world and the exterior world, the religious and non-religious, find genuine  meeting. (46, emphasis added)

INCARNATIONAL

The enfleshing of God in Jesus is the central motif of our faith yet we have so often separated Jesus into the Spiritual and the earthly; this dualistic thinking has seeped into church life, order, doctrine and teaching over generations. It is foundational thinking for many if not most Western Christians.

The incarnational church will do as God did in Palestine 2000 years ago, enter into our world (John 1). As God’s people, the church needs to enter into the context of the people among whom we live. There is a role for gifted evangelists (specialists) but also a significant role for all believers in both supporting these specialists and engaging with others day by day.

The incarnational church is one where the church can relate to a people group in their context, recognising their culture, identifying with them and living among them without compromising the Gospel:

To identify incarnationally with people will mean that we must try to enter into something of the cultural life of a ‘people’; to seek and understand their perspectives, their grievances and causes; in other words their real existence, in such a way as to genuinely reflect the act of identification that God made with us in Jesus. (57)

Drawing on agricultural life in Australia, Frost and Hirsch point to the metaphor of Fences and Wells. Operating across thousands of acres it’s almost impossible to keep herds in one place by erecting fences although many try and are thwarted in the attempt.  The Christendom model church is good at defining its limits; who is in and who is out; it has a ‘bounded’ sense of its own identity.

The missional church however is ‘centred.’ A more effective way of working with the herds is to dig wells that draw the animals to the centre. This model of church has a clear identity, strong Jesus-based core values which provide refreshment and nourishment and encourage people to go out into the wider world knowing that they are free to return to that centre. There are no defined outer limits.

An incarnational church is one that is contextual and goes beyond cosmetic changes to seating, worship content and music in an attempt to draw people into a traditional ‘Sunday slot’:

To contextualise is to understand the language, longings, lifestyle patterns, and worldview of the host community and to adjust our practices accordingly without compromising the gospel. (111)

MESSIANIC SPIRITUALITY

In this section a contrast is painted between Jewish and Greek spirituality. So much of the early and subsequent church’s thinking has conformed to Greek patterns which favour aesthetic thought and practice over the Jewish approach which is essentially earthy, practical and holistic. The ethereal dualism between body and spirit, embodied in the creeds has done a disservice to the God who dirtied God’s hands by becoming human. Ironically we are at a point in history where people are often attracted to the historical Jesus but not to a church which focusses on the aesthetic, spiritual practices of religion:

We need [Jesus’] model of holy laughter, of his sheer love of life, of his infectious holiness, of his common people’s religion, for our day. We want to say that being Christ like is not only hard work; it is a load of fun. At its best, worship is play. (145)

The section on ‘The Redemption of Pleasure and the Missional Task’ chimed with me especially as from time to time during my Sabbatical (and on these pages) I have wondered if my topic was too trivial, not sufficiently weighty for serious theological reflection and contemplation. As I enjoyed myself at festivals I even felt tinge of guilt….

Frost and Hirsch strongly argue that the disconnect between God and pleasure has resulted in droves turning away from the church as our message appears out of touch, oppressive and negative. Is it any wonder that many people associate Christianity with a list of things that shouldn’t be done or enjoyed, that we get into so many tangles about what happens in the bedroom? People can meet with God in and through their experience of, and love for, life itself. Pleasure can be a greater motivator for God than pain or threats:

Missionaries and leaders do well to learn that people are motivated by their deepest pleasures, and if we can connect these to God, we will have established a vital bridge into the lives of ordinary people. Clearly Scriptures teach us that God not only made the orgasm and the taste buds and the spices and garlic* but that we should enjoy what he has given us within the framework of his moral will revealed in Scripture. (157)

(*I might add camping, popular music, street food and dancing to the list!)

So here’s a call for the rediscovery of the Messianic or Jewish roots of who Jesus is. This means finding God in the everyday, in all aspects of life and certainly in the unexpected.  It’s time to stop drawing false distinctions between secular and sacred; spiritual and practical; active and intellectual. The Lord our God is ONE!  Therefore deeds are as important as faith. Whilst the writers do not argue against the centrality of salvation by faith they have no time for aesthetes who are disengaged from the daily reality and struggle of life:

The reclamation of the deed as a means of grace is vital if we wish to sustain a vigorous missional engagement in our respective contexts. (163)

Such spirituality requires us to accept the challenge of Jesus to go out into community in twos and threes, to integrate God, world and church in our daily lives working as partners with God, remembering that wherever we go, God is already present ‘wooing, forever courting, constantly wowing, and acting redemptively by drawing people to himself’ (200)

APOSTOLIC LEADERSHIP

Drawing on Ephesians 4: 1-16, the writers call for a rediscovery of distinctive five-fold leadership gifts in the missional church APEST*). They offer both theological and sociological insights to these gifts which they argue are essential to the missional church and can be found in both lay and ordained people:

*Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd and Teacher (APEST)

Frost and Hirsch combine theological and sociological thought to produce a scheme and I’ve mapped some of Belbin’s leadership styles just because I’m more familiar with them:

PROPHET – QUESTIONER Knows mind of God on issues related to church and speaks to community effecting transformation and growth. Disturbs, agitates.  PLANT

EVANGELIST – RECRUITER  Passionate communicator of organised message, recruits to the cause                 RESOURCE INVESTIGATOR

SHEPHERD- HUMANISER Carer, social cement/glue COORDINATOR/TEAM WORKER

TEACHER – SYSTEMISER Philosopher, translator IMPLEMENTER

APOSTLE – ENTREPRENEUR Moving the church forward. Pioneer, strategist. Innovator, visionary SHAPER

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_83.htm

Frost and Hirsh stress the need for these aspects to co-exist and to relate to one another:

Paul seems to be saying that without a fivefold ministry pattern we CANNOT mature.  If this is true, it is impossible to estimate what terrible damage the church has done through the loss, even active suppression of this crucial dimension of New Testament ministry and leadership. (209)

The importance of leadership is stressed as is the recognition that a good minister is not always someone who has the gift of good leadership.

Their final section highlights the need for imagination which is perhaps to be prized above knowledge if we are to see a new beginning for the church;

And it’s one of the core tasks of leadership to help the community to dream again. (271)

This must involve empowering people, listening deeply to their longings and dreams – the management of meaning.  Nothing less than paradigm shifts will do. Keys to making this possible are: Encouraging Holy dissatisfaction, embrace subversive questioning, becoming a beginner (reverting to a child-like mind-set rather than donning the position of expert), taking more risks and creating a climate of change.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS

When I read books like this I am left with the sense that we must get on with it, yet also a little nagging doubt as to how on earth we can get from where we are to where we want to go. The book concludes with some church planting models which are interesting but in many ways less radical than the examples and thoughts that have gone before. There’s a call for the raising up a generation of new leaders which is pivotal and timely:

Much of our future lies in the precarious hands and hearts of a generation that finds it a difficult task to decide and commit. Our heartfelt prayer is that our youth will find the necessary courage to break with the enslaving power of the habitual and familiar. (281)

True and Amen to that BUT what about the existing established church? How can we just write off years of tradition, generations of faithful witness and building up of resources? Risk taking entrepreneurs are not confined to the younger generation in church. Indeed in some churches it’s very hard to find the younger generation. Where they exist, they are so often busy people but they are also amongst those who are disengaged from the structures of the church. The very people who according to Frost and Hirsch hold the future in their hands, are the people who are living in the contextual world of popular culture where the incarnate Jesus is so often hidden.

So what’s to be done?  I return to my opening thought that a resurrection church which believes in the sacrificial death of the Incarnate God needs to challenge itself to practice what it believes, to be willing to sacrifice the resources that we have built up because they are not ours to keep, to free these up so that those with Spirit filled vision and imagination can be released to explore new ways of creating an innovative and imaginative incarnational mission church for 21^st Century. A contextual church that lives within, celebrates and enjoys popular culture and discovers afresh the living Jesus who goes before and offers life in all its messiness but also in its abundant glory?

Festival Reflections No. 6

Should anyone have been meticulously following these blogs (as if!) they will think they’ve caught me out! The last reflection was number 3 so what happened to 4 and 5?  Well, No 6 was the title of the festival that I’ve just attended in the grounds of Portmerion Village North Wales. Number 6 as everyone must surely know was the number allocated to the Patrick McGoohan character in the 1960s cult TV series ‘The Prisoner’ set in the village (more of that later). 

As mentioned in the last blog, I prepared for this festival with a degree of ambivalence, reflecting upon national and international events, a refugee crisis and terrorism threat (which has got even worse - as I write this on the morning we learned about a drone attack in Syria which killed two British citizens- turned ISIS fighters). However my subject is my subject. Popular culture shouldn’t be separated from wider issues of the world. Indeed at various points these situations were brought home to me – in the experience of being a stranger amongst so many Welsh speakers, in the (very minor) irritation of coping with a damp tent and in keeping abreast of the news. There were also collecting points for those in need throughout the festival. So on we go….

 

ABOUT FESTIVAL NUMBER SIX. /WORLDVIEW

Now in its fourth year, it claims to be ‘A festival unique, unlike any other; in a place like any other.’ True! The ‘boutique’ nature of No6 limits the size to around 15,000. Like Latitude and Greenbelt, it bills itself as an arts festival. There are live music and DJ stages scattered throughout the village and surrounding areas but also poetry reading, comedy, talks, films, discussions, street theatre and all sorts of unexpected happenings! Children are catered for in their own area and many came with parents to the various activities. There were fewer school age children, this being the first week of school for many. Whilst the bands generally were not from the TUPF (Topping Up their Pension Fund) bracket, quite a large number of festival goers were from the SUPF (Spending Up the Pension Fund) bracket)! So I didn’t feel out place!

This is the blurb from the festival website which sums it up better than I can:

Welcome to a festival like no other, in the most stunning festival setting in the world.

The picturesque Italiante village of Portmeirion is our home, and was the original inspiration behind our desire to create a new type of festival. Arriving in Portmeirion for the first time it’s easy to feel overwhelmed… surrounded by sub-tropical vegetation and surreal Mediterranean architecture, there is a distinct sense of being somewhere serene, spiritual and very, very special.  (Note the use of ‘spiritual’)

Headline acts tended to eschew the big crowd-pleasers (I had wondered if this was to do with money….) in favour of the quirky, so we had Metronomy (electro-pop). Belle; and Sebastian (blending electro-glide baroque balladry with giant sized European-hooks - unique and unpredictable;  and Grace Jones (multi-sensory assault of disco, pop and punk and everything in between). I’m quoting the programme here of course; even I couldn’t be that pretentious!

There were plenty of other acts to enjoy; a real eclectic mix from string quartet to hip-hop; male voice choir to disco; folk to techno and everything between and beyond.  One of the sheer delights was just walking around the site, through the village and into the woods and experiencing different musical genres at every point; often finding them merging into one wall of sound. For eclectic music lovers (a group into which I dare to place myself) it was quite magical (yes! I use that word with care).

MY No.6

As suggested above, I had a listen to most things. I counted up 20 bands and 12 other performances. Highlights included James Bay,  Belle and Sebastian, Gaz Coomes, Rae Morris, Slow Club, Ghostpoet and the Gypsies of Bohemia (look them up!) and the stunning spectacle of 60 strong Brythonaid Welsh Male Voice Choir singing traditional Welsh anthems as well as songs by New Order, Happy Mondays and Elbow (see later for a spiritual note).      Street parades and entertainers were also captivating. And for the first time,  in my 60^th year I went clubbing! That deserves a blog of its own.

Probably my least enjoyable camping experience, on a slope, noisy field and poor sanitation but as I mentioned above NOTHING compare with what many are enduring day after day.

A word about food. No 6 prides itself on the range of cuisine on site. There are Michelin star long-table banquets as well as permanent Portmeirion hotel restaurants. I stuck with the equally appealing range of street food on offer. All the festivals I have attended have had really good, varied world cuisine available for reasonable prices. There must be a whole industry out there supplying such events with cuisine from Mexico, France, USA, Vietnam, Spain, Italy, Thailand, India and of course UK….. The list goes on.

Another unexpected feature of No6 is the space. It was quite possible to escape the crowds and go for a walk in the woods or on the beach and see no one else. I was thus able to go for a prayerful walk through the woods on Sunday afternoon.

A few other reflections: this was very much a Welsh festival. Forgive my English chauvinism but I hadn’t really appreciated just how important the Welsh language is. I have driven through the country and seen bi-lingual signs without really giving second thought. However No6 deliberately sets out to showcase Welsh acts and attract local people and many of them are Welsh speakers. So often I was surrounded groups of people speaking a language I couldn’t understand. As mentioned this made me reflect on being a stranger and sojourner. There was also a contingent of Scots, equally proud of their flag and heritage. The English flag is sadly often seen as a symbol of narrow-minded nationalism. I felt a pang of envy; it’s hard to imagine how ‘Englishness’ can be turned into a positive ethnic identity.

Then costumes. No6 makes a big thing about getting people to dress up. Many had glitter face paints but quite a number of festival goers donned complete outfits – everything from animal onesies to Red Indian chiefs, harlequins to matadors. There were at times resonances of an exuberant Gay Pride march.

And movement. At all the festival music events without exception there is constant movement. This initiaqlly took me by surprise. People are coming and going, edging farther toward the front; sometimes a snake-like procession of dancers holding hands weaves itself through ever-decreasing spaces to get closer to the front; there is often conversation and beer-drinking going on all around; people vote with their feet if a particular act doesn’t appeal, knowing that there is a different experience to be had on the other side of the field. How different from the experience offered in most church services! (Maybe that’s an unfair comparison; you wouldn’t expect such behaviour at classical concerts, theatre or lectures.)

Then of course there was ‘The Prisoner’ I have been an avid watcher of the series whenever it has appeared on TV. It’s the story of an unnamed secret agent who resigns his commission, returns home and prepares to leave the country, falls asleep then wakes up in his bedroom that has been mysteriously transported to a strange Village. The agent is given number and warned that the village authorities want to extract information from him. The series which becomes ever more surreal as it goes on, shows the various attempts made by the village authorities -embodied in its constantly changing leader, number 2-  to extract information and no6’s various foiled attempts to escape. He strives to express his individualism amidst the cloying niceness of village residents who all seem content with their numerical lots in life. His trademark slogans ‘I am not a number I am a free man’ and ‘ I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own!’ say much to 21^st century Cameron-land about the quest for identity and individualism. I’ll ponder on that a bit more when I reflect on my clubbing experience.

There were two performances of a Prisoner ‘3D Immersive’ with actors, music and various reinactments from the TV show. Great fun and some serious messages. I was captivated (excuse the pun!) to be spending time in No6’s very own Village. (Yes, I admit to being sad!)

GOD AT NUMBER 6

A reminder that the festival itself claims:  there is a distinct sense of being somewhere serene, spiritual. There was a Spiritual thread with ‘Yoga, Sacred Female Space, Earth, dance, windflow and Cacao ceremonies’ on offer. (No I didn’t)  Interestingly the architect of the Portmeirion Clough Williams-Ellis made a point of excluding a religious building. Although the village included a cupola and he was asked by various denominations to have the church consecrated, he refused. Having asked Bertrand Russell to lay the foundation stone, he felt this would be hypocritical!  So Portmeirion is essentially a secular domain.

 

There were no Street Pastors or Samaritans present this time.

However God can be found where God is sought and I did experience God’s presence at various points:

*As mentioned in the solitary prayerful walk, enjoying the beauty of the woods, sea and mountains.

*In conversations. I found this was one of the friendliest festivals I had attended. A couple of conversations backed up the ‘Spiritual dimension’ because people recognise that the music, the atmosphere, surroundings and village itself merge to give one a sense of ‘something beyond’

*In life affirming song lyrics.

*Specifically when the Male Voice Choir sung ‘Amen/This little light’ to rapturous applause and cheering. Immediately afterwards, a woman from the crowd asked the conductor to announce that she had received a proposal of marriage (during this song?)

* In a flier handed out to all festival goers by a DJ/rave/dance collective which included ‘A universal prayer’ with a direct quote from Genesis 1

* When standing in the middle of the arena with three different styles of music being played, people enjoying the experience, lights, costumes and celebration. Incarnation!

FINALLY

Yes, this is my final festival. So much to think about. I estimate that something in the order of at least  500.000 people must attend festivals each year in the UK then there are thousands of staff. I have glimpsed something of what draws them. I think I can learn from the experience as can the church. I am sure we know a God who loves Festivals – the Bible is full of them; occasions when people gather and enjoy one another’s company, rediscover  themselves, give thanks, eat and drink together and celebrate the presence of the Divine in their midst. More thinking and reflecting to be done… (More research and writing????)

During my Sabbatical I have had to be reminded that this is primarily a gift to equip me as a follower of Jesus Christ which may in turn help my ministry. The temptation so often is to reflect on where the church is now and what needs to be done and then so often to feel powerless to make any changes. However as I draw these festival reflections to a close I must record something that I read whilst at No6 and it chimed with me although coming from a very unexpected place and from someone who I would never normally wish to quote or be openly in agreement with. However in an article about the Queen’s 63 year reign in The Independent on Sunday (sorry I don’t have the writer’s details) David Cameron (no less) is quoted – he has written a preface to a book about this long reign:

In the 1950s, it might be hard to imagine, but the UK has become a country where a woman can become Prime Minister; where gay people can get married […] In just 60 years we have made huge progress in building a multi-racial, multi-faith democracy.’

That’s the world in which today’s UK church exists. This is our context. Those festival goers with their quest for shared experience and identity, their  pick and mix approach and openness to something intangibly spiritual, symbolise the world of popular culture which is so often outside the walls of our churches; however they are the people that God loves as much as regular pew-sitters. The challenge is for us to wake up to the reality of that permanent change, to celebrate it and express God’s love within it.

I’ll leave the last word to a woman in the 7.00 am Monday morning queue for the bus to get back to the car park. As her friend was wiping away the last traces of glitter facepaint, she sighed ‘Ah well, back to normal now’

Or is it?

A Fusion of ideas

A weekend of contrasts! Not just in the weather – gloriously warm and sunny on Saturday, dull, wet and cool Sunday and Monday – but in the events I attended. The decision to juxtapose Greenbelt and Fusion seemed like a good idea at the time and I would probably have enjoyed both even more if I had attended them both all the time – however I think I got a lot out of the two events and reflecting on what each said to the other. So here I’ll share my thoughts on the fusion of ideas that emerged as I moved from Greenbelt (Kettering) to Fusion (Birmingham).

Main arena at Greenbelt with Boughton Houise lake in foreground

I shall go onto a bit more detail about Greenbelt elsewhere but just to say that it is a festival of ideas, arts and music where faith and justice meet. I arrived on Friday afternoon, settled in, found my way round and went to various events. Saturday dawned fair and I listened to a talk by Madeline Bunting before heading off to the sunny Cofton Park to spend the day with maybe 10,000 people (many families and young people as well as a few old dudes) listening to 9 pop acts – indie, hip-hop and house included. The big draw for me was Clean Bandit (my favourite techno-house classical fusion band, as mentioned weeks ago!!) but I was also impressed by Labyrinth, Sigma, Ella Henderson and Rudimental to name but a few.

Back to Greenbelt. Madeline Bunting (Writer, Social Activist and Guardian Journalist) was speaking about ‘mindfulness’ – a new trend that is making big inroads into the workplace and life generally. The basic idea is that we should discipline ourselves to spend at least 10 minutes a day centring down, focussing on our breathing, and avoiding distraction. The mindfulness movement has some scientific backing and has demonstrated that the techniques can relieve stress and tension and improve wellbeing. It’s being seen as a significant way to reduce the reliance on prescription anti-depressants. A key element is being aware of the inner narrative which is so often judgemental (about self and others) and interrupting the flow of these thoughts so as to focus on positive thoughts (I simplify of course!).

It is becoming popular because it has no creed, dogma, institution or priests (although scientists behind it are looking for some codification and recognition). It is wholly experiential – not reliant on outward practices and it is seen as a practical response to the exhaustion of our 24/7 culture.

Madeline herself has now left the Catholic Church in which she was brought up and favours a Buddhist way of life. Questioners at her session compared mindfulness with Christian (e.g. Ignation) contemplation and she noted that in this tradition there was more reliance on the use of words (not wholly true?). What saddened and surprised me most was her response to a point made about Jesus who said ‘blessed are the meek’ and himself practiced spiritual discipline. Madeline who had clearly been scarred by religious experienced commented (I paraphrase) ‘If you have managed to find the hidden thread of compassion in Christianity – good luck to you’

Here we see yet another example of contemporary people turning away from Christianity (or perhaps more accurately the Church) because they do not associate it with love, compassion, wellbeing or a meaningful response to the problems of contemporary life. (I could further critique this by commenting that Madeline’s notion of mindfulness is firmly rooted in western society – what would it have to say to those refugees immersed in a 24/7 struggle for survival?)

So with these thoughts ringing in my ears and the words from ‘The Shaping of Things to come’ also swirling round I approached Cofton Park. In their book, Frost and Hirsch several times consider how the church relates to people outside. Using the example of bikers gathering on a Sunday, they suggest that few bikers would probably come to a special biker-friendly service at the local church, but more would be influenced by Christians who joined their bikers group. The same can be said for many other ‘tribes’ not least pop fans (see the segway there?)

So Fusion, like the many other festivals happening over Bank Holiday weekend attracted huge numbers of people who enjoyed the music and atmosphere. Someone I bumped into at Greenbelt commented how much they enjoyed festival because for one weekend a year they could be someone else, they could be anonymous. The same can be said for Fusion and the festivals I’m sure.

Once again I was struck at how well the crowds knew the words of the songs.  I’ve been listening to ‘New Eyes’ by Clean Bandit for months but can still only manage to mumble a few  choruses. The fans knew all the words to all their songs as well as many of the other acts. How do they do it? I can only imagine it’s because they take the songs with them on various devices wherever they go, and through numerous repetitions they sink in. Just like the Psalms, Wesley Hymns Taize and Latin chants; we’ve surely lost something of that in the modern (Western) church haven’t we! Perhaps because we only ‘do’ church on a Sunday, unlike the music fans who are constantly plugged in to their music or indeed my dear Mother in Law who would sing Wesley hymns when dong the housework!

Reflecting on Madeline Bunting’s talk and the upsurge in interest in Mindfulness I was struck how many lyrics were about people seeking their identity, recovering from abuse, standing up for themselves, seeking and finding and loosing love. Once again there were numerous spiritual themes and even references to Biblical narratives in many of those lyrics that I could make out:

I keep going to the river to pray
'Cause I need something that can wash out the pain
And at most I'm sleeping all these demons away
But your ghost, the ghost of you
It keeps me awake

(Ella Henderson: Ghost 2015)

And when we started out
Out in those I Love You days
The days that seemed so bright
You brightened up inside
The side of you I loved
The love we had you crucified

(Ella Henderson: Pieces 2015)

One performer introduced her song by saying it was for anyone who had been treated badly by another person and asked for a show of hands of those in the audience who had the same experience. Over half of the young hands I could see in front of me shot up in the air.  Surely these people need mindfulness. Surely they need to know love, hope and forgiveness. Surely they need the gospel! But will they go to their local church to find it or do we need to release Christian pop fans to get alongside them??

Here’s just one example of lyrics that have deep meaning:

Even when you let me down
I forgive you in the end
What goes round comes back around
So I'll wait for you till then
If that's not enough, oh, no, no
Tell me what would be enough, be enough, be enough, be enough

And what is love
If you're still searching for something?
And what is love
If it's building up to nothing?
We'll never see how far we've come
But we keep looking at the sun
So what is love
If we're still searching for something?

Get higher, higher, higher
We keep looking up
Higher, higher, higher
But we're still not high enough
Higher, higher, higher
We keep looking up
Higher, higher, higher
But we're still not high enough

(Sigma ft Labyrinth 2015)

And as well as the lyrics there was the sense of closeness, community and togetherness. When ‘Shine like a diamond’ was sung the crowd made diamonds with their fingers and held them up high. As Clean Bandit sung ‘extraordinary’ every hand in the arena went up as if the crowd was joining in the search for something special, something beyond the ordinary, maybe beyond the daily lives that would summons them back to normality in two days’ time?

Something extraordinary
Something real
To fill my days and nights with something
That I can feel (I can feel)

(Extraordinary Clean Bandit 2014)