|
 LIVING
LOUD!
7.30pm Monday 10 November 2024 at
Cirencester Baptist Church, Coxwell Street
What do people
think?
Christians:
“The church definitely has an image-problem:
endless, boring sermons; shallow, happy-clappy caricatures; frosty
leaders encased in stained-glass buildings; and not a young person in
sight…” - Joel Edwards, Evangelical Alliance.
“Patronising… Desperate for support… Colourless…
Begging for money… Misfits… Goody two shoes… Holier than thou…” -
Female, 25-44.
“I just feel that Christians are religious… they
are very self centred and they just want to talk about themselves and
they are on about religion all the time and they are rarely interested
in other people…” - Female, 18-24.
The Church Service
“It’s cold and it’s long, and it’s not very
inviting. You sit on hard benches… they should have modernised it a long
time ago” - Female, 25-44.
The Church and Money
“You see all those American evangelists and… they
are driving around in like Mercedes and their private jets and stuff and
they say it’s to help them like heal people. It’s just a load of ****
isn’t it?” - [Male, 18-24]
“If you are meant to have this power and it’s sent
from God or whatever, aren’t you supposed to be doing good for people,
not just getting yourself rich through it?” - [Male, 18-24]
Evangelism
“They are always putting on publicity stunts and
that at church. They do stuff like with homeless people… it always seems
so half-hearted… it’s just a publicity stunt…” - [Female, 25-44]
A Desire to Believe
“I don’t think there is a God, but I refuse to
believe that you are born, you live and you die and that’s it…” -
[Male, 18-24
“My head tells me there isn’t a God, but my heart
wants to believe in it…” - Mixed, 45.
“I got a huge amount of support from the church,
because my wife was ill… she was ill for about two or three years, and
when she died my daughter and I, we got a lot of support from them. It
was just the support I needed from fellow human beings… it was totally
genuine. When it’s from the heart there’s a difference. They
didn’t expect me to actually go to church, although I felt as though I
should go…” - [Male, 25-44]
“What good is it, my friends, if a person claims
to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of
you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does
nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way,
faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead…” -
[James 2:14-18]
People won’t
care
how much we know…
…until they
know how much
we care…
Jesus said:
“Let me tell you why you are here…
You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of
this earth.
If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost
your usefulness and will end up in the rubbish.” - [Matthew 5:13]
“You're here to be light, bringing out the
God-colours in the world.
God is not a secret to be kept! We're going public with this, as public
as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm
going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light
stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand -
shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to
others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father
in heaven.” - [Matthew 5:14-16]
Some questions
to consider
What do you consider are the felt needs of our community?
How might people in our community experience God’s love?
What might we be able to do as Christians together that we cannot
do apart?
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