It Sounds So Simple

One of the actions listed in our Church Development Plan is to equip our people with more practical advice on talking about faith. When I, Grant the churchwarden and Celine from the congregation had our session with the diocesan facilitator, she asked what thought had been given to how, if possible, activities such as the Toddler Group might have scope to lead those who take part to ask questions about faith. 'Everyone will just discount what you say because you're the clergyperson', she told me reasonably, 'So it's the laypeople who have to do the work'. I think you have to be careful with the Talking Jesus stuff: some years ago there was a study - I wrote about it here at the time, but now can't find the reference - that produced the shocking result that more non-Christians reported feeling more negative towards faith as a result of talking to a Christian that those that felt more positive. But if we are even to have a fairly open and receptive conversation with a non-Christian society, somebody has to start that conversation, and it will by definition have to be us. 

So I've begun looking through a set of resources on the diocesan website which is intended to help church leaders think about evangelism. Now to me the word 'leader' is one that gets my back up instantly, but in fact the material I've scanned rapidly through so far seems quite honest, modest and straightforward; it may turn out to be like the full-on Alpha Course and go batshitcrazy before the end, but for now I'm surprisingly favourable. In one short video Dr Sandra Millar of Gloucester Diocese outlines some findings of the research on how people outside the Church of England perceive it and, when discussing how contacts made through the occasional offices can affect those perceptions, advised us always to offer to pray with people. After all, she says, the worst people can say is 'No thank you', and no one else is going to.

Strangely for someone who gets paid to devote their attention to the spiritual life, I have always found this really hard to do. Occasionally if there has seemed to be an issue I particularly want to lay before God - a funeral with circumstances which may prove difficult, for instance - I do pray in my meeting with the next-of-kin, but mainly I'm acutely aware that the people I'm dealing with probably won't be used to praying, and fight shy of doing so, leaving me with the feeling that I've short-changed the Lord and them. 

Prayer starts not from what you think you ought to say, but what you want to say. What do I want to say to God about the souls I meet? How can I put it simply - because simplicity is what they will need, not a display of eloquence and would-be insight? I might say something like this:

    Lord, please bless these good people.

    Please hear their hopes and fears.

    Please strengthen them in all they have to do. 

Perhaps it's always been that straightforward.