Article by James Catford, Group Chief Executive of Bible Society
Where will the church be in 2063? That was the question posed by Archbishop Justin Welby at the launch of the HO ! 20"# initiati$e last wee%& 'n a powerfully prophetic speech he set out so(e of the characteristics that we will need to see in the people of )od in fifty years* ti(e + if we are ,oin, to flourish and ,row& -uch of the focus of Archbishop Justin.s speech was on unity between /hristians& He had a $ision in which the nu(ber of churches ,rows si,nificantly0 while the nu(ber of deno(inations and sectarian splits declines& He spo%e with passion and con$iction + as if he really belie$ed that this was possible within a ,eneration& 1rowsin, throu,h the e2cellent ,lossy boo% HOPE the heartbeat of missio! that acco(panies the pro3ect0 ' spotted the ad$ertise(ent for !$an,elical Alliance and its stron, call to /hristian unity .one people one $oice one hope.& 't see(s that /hristians0 for so lon, di$ided and scattered0 are co(in, to,ether a,ain in the cause of /hrist& .'s this how the /hurch should be. as%s !$an,elical Alliance? 'n answer to its own question it replies e(phatically that .Jesus thou,ht so.& What i(presses (e about HO ! 20"# is the e(phasis on unity in the cause of (ission& This doesn.t feel li%e the %ind of superficial $eneer that has often characterised /hristian unity in the past& 4ran%ly0 as ,ood as they are0 '.$e beco(e tired of $a,ue state(ents fro( church leaders that affir( $arious initiati$es but don.t result in acti$e participation&
HO ! is different& Throu,h the articles and stories in the HO ! (anual it is clear that the unity de(onstrated here is deeper0 broader and (ore authentic than al(ost anythin, ' ha$e seen before& 't is worthy of our attention0 our ti(e and our prayer& This really could be the effort around unity for which we ha$e been searchin,& 1ut there.s (ore& The e(phasis on (ission in HO ! 20"# is also hu,ely i(pressi$e& Within the wide scope of acti$ities that the pro3ect anticipates ne2t year is a ,enuine blend of both words and actions& 5ot an alliance of initiati$es that sit unco(fortably alon,side each other0 but a wholehearted inte,ration of spea%in, and doin,& This is (uch (ore than the rather cynically e2pressed .paintin, railin,s for Jesus. that so(e ha$e called it& 5or is at an atte(pt to use social action as a %ind of .bait and switch. where people are attracted to the )ospel by our act of lo$e and (ercy0 only to find there is a hidden (oti$e 3ust below the surface or after the first cup of tea& Today.s ,eneration of /hristians loo% set for a %ind of inte,rated (ission that we ha$e not seen for a lon, while& We (i,ht call this .whole Jesus discipleship.& 5ot that it has ne$er e2isted0 but it has so often been drowned out by other noises and other distractions& Two of the (ost politically incorrect words in the !n,lish lan,ua,e today are .sal$ation. and .ar(y.& 6o why is the 6al$ation Ar(y so respected as a brand today? The answer is ob$ious& 1ecause it does all the thin,s that HO ! 20"# stands for and li$es out the whole (essa,e of Jesus in what it says and what it does&
All HO ! 20"# is doin, + althou,h it is no s(all achie$e(ent in doin, it + is to reco$er the call of )od to .be the Word.& To si(ply and strai,htforwardly li$e out the life of Jesus in front of a needy and bro%en world& -uch li%e Willia( 1ooth did in the 6al$ation Ar(y and John Wesley did before that with his ,roup of .enthusiasts. and their .(ethodis(.& Here we can see an e(phasis that is beyond the public (andate for HO ! 20"#0 and ri,htly so& What sits outside the scope of this e2citin, opportunity is the depth of relationship with Jesus /hrist that is ,oin, to fuel it and ,i$e it life& 't.s beyond the brief of HO ! because it is a brief for the whole /hurch of )od to e(brace& To start to turn people bac% to )od it is ,oin, to depend on an inner life of Jesus that he offers us freely& This deeper life needs to be ,i$en the sa(e e(phasis in our con,re,ations as (ission& Without it HO ! initiati$es will fi77le and die and the people who en,a,e in it will be burnt out and left disillusioned& This does not need to happen if we stay connected to the source0 the audience of One that ,i$es us power and life and lo$e& The three le,s of $ibrant and sustainable discipleship to Jesus /hrist are unity0 (ission and life with )od& 1alanced to,ether they reflect and declare the $ery 8in,do( of )od& Here is a wonderful (o(ent in the life of the /hurch to ta%e Jesus to e$ery $illa,e0 town and city in our country& 't pro$ides practical ways to be li%e Jesus to the outside world& When connected to a deep0 profound and abidin, relationship with Jesus /hrist hi(self0 ' belie$e that ne2t year we ha$e a hu,e opportunity to chan,e the nation&
4or (ore infor(ation about HO ! 20"# and to ,et in$ol$ed $isit www&hopeto,ether&or,&u%&
