A TROUBLE-MAKER WITH A VISION

A Trouble-Maker with a Vision

George Fox was born in 1624 in Leicestershire, England. These were troubled times: as a young man, Fox lived through the Civil War and the execution of the king.

His parents were devout churchgoers, but Fox records how from an early age he was disgusted with established church trappings and longed for a Christianity that would consume his whole being. He drifted around the country in a search for God. He sat in orchards reading the Bible, which convinced him that the only true church was the gathering of reborn people. He found no biblical grounds for special buildings, Sunday religion or paid clergymen.

At the age of 23 he finally found salvation and with it an experience that today we would call being baptised in the Holy Spirit. He saw a vision of heavenly glory, an ocean of light and love flowing out to cover an ocean of darkness. He knew the inspiration and revelations of the Holy Spirit, and was overwhelmed with a longing to save the lost.

In 1652 Fox felt led to climb Pendle Hill in Lancashire. Here he had a vision of thousands of souls coming to the Lord. He set off in the direction shown in the vision and, as a result, came into contact with the Westmorland Seekers (in present day Cumbria). These were groups of Christians disenchanted with denominational churches, who met together to pray and study the scriptures - much as many "de-churched" Christians do today.

In time, Fox was accepted and acknowledged as their leader. One sermon was preached to around a thousand of these Seekers at Firbank Fell, and a plaque there declares this to be the birthplace of the Quaker movement. The name came from an occasion in court when Fox told a judge to tremble at the word of God.

This new life, allied to a bold and outspoken nature, was very volatile! He sometimes wandered into a church service and addressed the people after the vicar had ended the sermon. He then fearlessly declared the narrow way of following Christ. On occasions he was set upon, beaten or put in the stocks, but always one or two who had received his words would rescue him.

The poor received his words gladly. Fox records in his journal that during his imprisonment in Carlisle in 1653, when he came near to being hanged, the rich came to gawp and triumph, while vermin-infested beggars and thieves showed him love. In time, some of these poor, uneducated folk were transformed by the Holy Spirit into valiant missionaries for Jesus Christ.

Quakerism is usually thought of as having been an intensely individual faith with its accent on personal salvation and receiving the ‘inner light’ – living in the Holy Spirit. But this overlooks a key thing. At first his network used names like Children of the Light or the Friends of Truth, which placed the emphasis on the experience of each individual. But Fox believed in Church as ek-klesia – those called out in order to be together. The assembly was important, and it was in the assembly that God was speak His prophetic word. So it was that, under Fox’s guidance, the name finally chosen for the movement – and which it still has today – is the Religious Society of Friends. Each word of that name can be meditated on, and together they present a pretty good theology of what any church is meant to be..

Note: The issue of what Church really is occupies a lot of Friends (Quakers) today, especially the younger generation. Chuck Fager gives a useful overview, which you can read here.

Radical CHURCH History (2)

The Moravians, who produced the hymn quoted in my last post, are a good illustration of what I am calling "Radical CHURCH History". They knew renewal in the Holy Spirit and did incredible missionary outreach, planting communities from Lapland to South Africa years before William Carey, the so-called 'Father of Modern Missions'. But for the Moravians, Church came first.

A motley crew were offered sanctuary and religious toleration on Count Nicholas Zinzendorf's estate in Germany. They couldn't agree, there was tension and rivalry - as I have no doubt there would be today if you threw together a random bunch of evangelical-charismatic Christians and told them to work it out! It nearly blew apart; Zinzendorf was sorely tempted to shut the thing down.

But in his heart he knew that CHURCH, the 'called-out ones' of Jesus, had to be the starting point. It was what Jesus had died for, after all. So Zinzendorf took some bold, practical steps.

We do well to note these steps. They are a world apart from today's notion that you have to start with anointed worship, seeker services, mums'n'tots groups and a youth program. But they were certainly radical - in their biblical conservatism.

He made a covenant with several brothers who shared his mind (1723).
They laid the foundation stone of a church building (1724).
They built a visible and distinctive residential community (1724).
He drew up a Church Constitution which set out the requirements of membership (1727).

Was this just Germanic efficiency? I fancy it was rather the actions of a covenant-committed core group standing by the road and looking, and asking for the ancient paths, where the good way is (Jeremiah 6:16).

The annals of the Moravian Church are quite clear that it was these concrete steps which brought an amazing change to the atmosphere and prepared the way for the much-publicised move of the Holy Spirit in a Communion service in 1728 which empowered the community for all that was to follow.

Radical CHURCH History (1)

It strikes me that, to most people, "radical church history" probably translates subliminally as "RADICAL Church HISTORY". History because, okay, that's where we're going to find some gems. Radical because hey, that's what we're wanting to get inspired by - and towards. But Church? Well that's just the context because we're Christians, isn't it?

Part of what burns in my heart and makes me do this blog is that I want to restore the value of CHURCH. I'm no Luddite, but I can't go along with the line I read in several newsletters I receive, that "we are now at last emerging from the dark days of priestly systems into the true kingdom of spiritual believers". Am I the only one who picks up behind these words a spiritualised version of everyone did what was right in their own eyes (Deuteronomy 12:8)?

Church as a living, committed band of brothers and sisters, an incarnation of the kingdom of God in shared, sacrificial lives - that to me is radical and totally relevant today. The whole "Belong - Believe - Behave" school of thought requires there to be something warm, alive and identifiable to belong to.

Christians of old understood this far better. John Cennick (1718-1755) was an evangelist and church-planter with the Moravian Church, predominantly in Ireland. He was also a hymn-writer, and today I simply offer, without comment, one of his hymns about being joined to a radical CHURCH.

Hail, church of Christ, bought with his blood!
The world I freely leave.
Ye children of the living God,
Me in your tents receive.

Bride of the Lamb, I’m one in heart
With thee, through boundless grace,
And I will never from thee part;
This bond shall never cease.

Closely I’ll follow Christ with thee,
I’ll go the appointed road;
Thy people shall my people be,
And thine shall be my God.

Now am I, Jesus, one of those,
Who in thy fold have place,
Who, gathered at the Saviour’s cross,
Enjoy redeeming grace.

O yes, nor would I change my lot
For all this world can give!
By grace I’ll keep the place I’ve got;
For thee alone I’ll live.

The Archbishop Gunned Down At The Altar

I notice that on March 24, 2010, President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador issued a public apology for the murder of Oscar Romero. His countrymen have waited 30 years to hear it!

In the 1970s, El Salvador was ruled by a brutal dictatorship. The poor had their land confiscated; any who protested were never seen again. Mutilated bodies clogged the mountain streams. The Catholic Church, by not opposing this, was seen by many as supporting it. But in the darkest hour, one man stood up.

Oscar Romero had been appointed archbishop of the capital, San Salvador, because he was a safe option - he never troubled the waters. But when right-wing militias began executing 'rebels' one hundred at a time, Romero could hold back no longer. He spoke out against injustice.

‘The church’s place is beside the poor, the outraged and rejected, to speak out for them’, he declared. ‘Is our preaching so spiritual that it will not cry “Idolators!” at those who kneel before money and power? Jesus brings a kingdom where we share our wealth, so that nobody is without what they need for a dignified life’.

The powerless poor took him to their hearts, but people of influence were too afraid to join him. Posters went up: ‘Be a patriot – kill a priest!’ All his clergy drew back from him, except one, who got murdered. Romero refused to be intimidated. ‘Soon it will be my turn to die for what is right’, he declared - and continued to speak out against tyranny.

In the West, Romero was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (but Mother Teresa got it). Back home, he was top of the hit list. In 1980, while taking a friend’s funeral, Romero was gunned down at the altar by a death squad. He was 63. Even at his funeral, attended by 250,000 people, gunmen opened fire at mourners.

Yet today, democracy is bringing growth to El Salvador and churches are growing at a rate of 90% every ten years. The people are in no doubt: it is God’s blessing on the radical leader and martyr, Oscar Romero.

"One must not love oneself so much as to avoid getting involved in risks. History demands risks of us. Those that fend off danger will lose their lives."

Oscar Romero

Passionate Past

In this blog I want to explore the Christian church's passionate past. In it you'll meet Christian radicals, the movers and shakers of past centuries. They have a lot to bless us with!