What will it take?
by Jeff Fountain
w e e k l y w o r d
26 Sept/05
What will it take?
WW resumes after a six week break, mostly spent in Brazil, 60 hours of
which on buses, 30 on planes and over 100 in meetings...
WHAT
WILL IT TAKE TO AWAKEN THE BODY OF CHRIST to the changing
spiritual climate in Europe today? What will it take to arouse us as
followers of Jesus to engage evangelistically with contemporary
spiritualities?
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a spiritual revolution spreading
quietly across Europe under the radar, gathering more and more
followers from all sectors of society. This revival of old pagan
spirituality, often called New Spirituality, is more likely to shape
Europe's future than is Islam. It is much more attractive and resonates
with Europe's pre-Christian past. That's why we are organising the
consultation, Evangelism in a New Age, in Basel next month: Oct 31-Nov
3. (see www.hfe.org/newsandevents/events.php)
Yet I know of only two ministries on the continent attempting to
engage with these new realities: both in Switzerland. Do you know of
any others? If so, please write to me and let me know. We in YWAM have
not started to take this seriously. None of our many training courses
equip people for such ministry. And as a senior leader in our mission,
that concerns me greatly. Why does this not grab our attention? Are we
so caught up in the momentum of our own programmes that we have become
insensitive to the spiritual climate around us? Businesses with that
approach go bankrupt very quickly.
My observation is that this is typical for the Body of Christ
across Europe. Some ask if there really is such renewed spiritual
interest. Well, stop and take a look at your local bookstore. One
bookshop chain in Holland reports sales of spirituality books being
triple that of any other category. Just around the corner from where we
live is a thriving Reiki centre, in the conservative Dutch countryside.
The children's book week in Holland this year is on theme of magic -
with diplomas in magic being offered to children who complete certain
courses. Glance through the magazines on the rack and see how many
articles reflect a growing interest in spirituality. Look through the
television guide and see how many programmes touch on spiritual issues,
including healing, mediums, fortune-telling, ghosts, angels and
witches.
We need to wake up! Sometimes our first reaction is to pray against
this and warn against that - a natural and sometimes necessary
reaction. But we need a more proactive response as well. Followers of
Jesus shouldn't just be those who are against this and against that.
But what are we for? We should be for vital spirituality, and should be
encouraging those who are seeking spiritual help. But for many, the
church is the last place they expect to encounter spirituality. They
only expect to be confronted with religion in church - and that's not
what most people are looking for. They don't want simply to hear a
lecture about God. They want to encounter spiritual reality.
"I think the established Church could be tried in a court of
justice and ... found guilty of killing off spirituality," said one
outsider, when asked her views on the spirituality and the church.
AWAKENING
Yet last week on a brief trip to England, I made a happy discovery.
Many churches there are waking up and responding in all sorts of
creative ways to the new spiritual climate. A broadly-based Group for
Evangelisation, embracing all the mainstream denominations and major
agencies, has produced several resources to help believers to 'review
the spirituality of their own locality, to reflect upon the
implications for their current church activities and to consider new
methods of engagement with our spiritual age'. One such resource is a
photocopiable workbook, 'Equipping your church in a spiritual age',
with very practical instruction and ideas on how to reach out to 'those
searching on the edge'. A website with more resources is referred to
repeatedly in the book,
www.churchinaspiritualage.org.uk, but the book
seems to be so new that the website is not yet fully operational - so
watch this space.
The contrast between how the Body of Christ in England is
responding with broad cooperation to contemporary spirituality, and the
apparently minimal awareness among leaders on the continent, is
unsettling. Hence my opening question: what will it take to awaken us
to engage evangelistically with contemporary spiritualities?
Let me pose a couple of other questions.
• Can we afford to ignore the changing spiritual climate any longer?
• What concrete steps is our/your church, denomination, organisation
taking to equip members for ministry to spiritual seekers?
• If none, when do you plan to start?
• How about next month, at the Evangelism in a New Age consultation in
Basel?
My question to YWAM readers, will you raise this issue in your
leadership strategy sessions? Will you send a delegation to Basel?
The consultation, at the St. Chrischona Conference Centre, is
initiated by the HOPE FOR EUROPE Evangelism Network, with the support
of organisations including Agape, OM, YWAM, Greater Europe Mission,
Janz Team International, Proclaim International and others.
As indicated above, for information and registration, go to:
www.hfe.org/newsandevents/events.php. Note the discount deadline for
September 30!
Speakers and contributors include:
• Dr John Drane (Aberdeen, Scotland), New Testament scholar and
lecturer, author of 'What the New Age is (still) saying to the Church';
Faith in a Changing Culture; The Bible Phenomenon, The McDonaldization
of the Church and Beyond Predictability: the Tarot and your
spirituality (co-author);
• Olive Fleming Drane, (also Aberdeen, Scotland), story-teller,
clown and writer, mission networker with the Baptist Union of Scotland,
author of Spirituality to Go: rituals and reflections for everyday
life; Clowns, storytellers, disciples; Family Fortunes: Faith-full
caring for today’s families;
• Dr John Warwick Montgomery (Strassbourg, France) Lutheran
theologian and lecturer, author of over 50 books, including
Principalities and Powers: the world of the occult;
• Daniel Hari (Adligenswil, Switzerland) Salvation Army Evangelist
to new agers, author of Healing Jesus Style/ Heilen wie Jesus -
Einführung ins Christozentrische Heilen;
• Stefan Dreiss (Manchester, England) Healing evangelist to new
agers (ex-football hooligan and medium), author: Finding the light.
See you there?
Till next week,
Jeff Fountain
YWAM Europe
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©YWAM Europe
Weekly Words are the personal reflections of Jeff Fountain and do not
necessarily express the official position of YWAM. They may be
reproduced with due acknowledgment.
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