Wednesday 5 April 2006

I got a nice email today from a guy called Ian Andsell, who runs the Scottish Christian website. He found this site after visiting the blog of Brian Ingraham, pastor at Re:Hope, who seems to have stumbled across my re:view of Re:Hope and blogged about it himself.

Ian says he has added my site to Scottish Christian's list of Scottish Christian bloggers, which is cool. I'm particularly glad it's a list of "Scottish Christian bloggers" – implying it's just a list of blogs by Christians who may or may not write about Christian things. If it was a list of "Scottish Christian blogs", then I'm not sure this one would really count because it's just a blog written by me rather than one specifically about my faith.

If this was to be a Christian blog, though, I suppose there'd have to be an awful lot less swearing and a whole lot more quiche.

Wednesday 29 March 2006

Finally, Re:Hope re:viewed. And I promise to stop doing the re: thing as soon as I think the joke wears thin. Which might not be for a while, I’m afraid.

So yes, this was Sunday night’s church, whose website content I had a rant about earlier this month. It struck me as a fresh, new, controversial and completely leftfield sort of church, and I expected to either love it or hate it. Well, it was one of the best places I have been to in my church-search project so far.

The welcome was instant and genuine. The pastor, Brian, greeted me outside as I came in, took me inside and introduced me to various other people. Nearly everyone was young – either members of the leadership team or students, and there were no more than twenty-five or so in the church. Their building was an old school which had a lovely, almost Hogwarts, feel to it, and it was laid out with candles, decent seats, tables and food! Yes, tons of snack-type grub at the back over which people mingled and chatted before the service. It was a great way to get people talking and meeting, and I found myself being warmly greeted by people there, many of whom were quite new to Re:Hope themselves.

The service, far from the over-the-top, Hallelujah-overload, charismatic sort of gig I feared from an obscure new independent church, it was quiet, contemplative, relaxed, and utterly unintimidating. You could keep munching through the service; the songs were lively, meaningful and easy to sing (not with crisps in your mouth, admittedly); the band (piano, guitar and jembe drum) were talented but not too loud; and the visual aids through the computer and projector screen were useful. Brian’s sermon was excellent – sadly not backed up by powerpoint which meant I couldn’t now tell you what his main points were. However, it was practical, deep, engaging and humorous, and delivered by someone who clearly had a talent in studying and discussing the Bible. And he didn’t put the boot into Desmond Tutu once!

In an extended prayer and praise session towards the end, there was an opportunity to sit and think, go and stock up on nibbles, take communion over at the side, or pray with some of the leaders. It was refreshing that they operated the idea that you could pray or take communion if you wanted but not feel you had either to do or conspicuously opt out of. Like other aspects of the church – such as the food, friendliness and unintimidating layout – it was gentle and non-threatening. This was exactly the sort of church you’d want to bring a non-Christian to.

Above all though, from the service and from chats with folk afterwards, this was a church that was none of your fluffy, shallow, superficiality that many new churches go in for – it was deep, meaningful, focussed on the scriptures and developing peoples’s faith, and with an excellent young leader in Brian Ingraham – who blogs! From hearing more about the work they were doing in the local area and in their midweek groups, they really came over as a holistic Christian experience. More so than many well-established places.

Re:Hope is a sort of church plant crossed with a mission project. It was set up around a year ago by an American group, Christian Resource Ministries, whose aim is to train and send out Christian leaders to work in churches throughout the world. Many of the leaders of Re:Hope are Americans on placements from CRM. This would normally have alarm bells ringing in my head, and would make me think of freakishly pentecostal evangelical pastors with arrogant, right-wing views charging over here to set up churches under our noses and to tell us what we were doing wrong. But was not like that with Re:Hope: they seemed to be working with other churches in the area, were learning lots as they worked, and were bringing in a lot of local people (including quite a few drifting in from other churches) which can only enhance what they do.

Far from the weird, controversial apologists they came over as when I read their website, Re:Hope struck me as a well-led, well-planned, spirit-driven and full-bodied sort of place, and I was genuinely surprised, relieved and inspired by my experience. I hate churches that are either lethargic or over the top in any element, be it worship, welcome or vision… Re:Hope seemed to steer a neat course between the two on nearly all counts.

They definitely pass the cut of round 1, and if this was football, I’d give them a Champion’s League spot.

Tuesday 28 March 2006

I’ll re:view it tomorrow. I promise.

Hopefully.

Monday 27 March 2006

Due to spending the evening seeing Dance Monkey Boy Dance at The Stand, I haven’t got round to telling you about Re:Hope like I promised you in my last blog. Sorry. I’ll do it tomorrow. I was the only person there to have heard of Van der Graaf Generator, though, which showed that it was not your ordinary sort of church.

At Re:Hope, I mean, not at Dance Monkey Boy Dance.

No, DMBD are definitely not your ordinary sort of church. Far from it, it was the usual fun night of depraved improvisational comedy. Guess who won the weekly draw for free tickets? My second time in only three visits! So if you’re kicking your heels on a Monday night in Glasgow, let me know…

Sunday 26 March 2006 (again)

Today’s double-header of a church review kicks off with the morning gig at Partick Trinity Church of Scotland, which meets in a traditional old building near the university. As I walked in, a woman dishing out intimation sheets asked me if I knew I where I was going. I paused for a second, wondering if she was offering me some spiritual counselling, but I realised that she was just recognising me as a newbie, and when I said “no” she press-ganged the first person to pass by into looking after me, who showed me into the church and then afterwards came over for a chat and introduced me to others. So, top marks for the welcome.

The church was a very traditional-looking place, with a beautiful but austere interior, rigid pews (more on them later) and a rather elderly looking congregation. One doddery old bloke carried a huge big bible in at the beginning of the service and set it on the lectern, and took it away again at the end (we all had to stand during this), and looked like each shaky step he took was dangerously close to being his last.

On the other hand, the minister was an energetic younger guy, was engaging, cheerful and humorous in his delivery, and used powerpoint brilliantly as a guide through his helpful and practical sermon. I can’t remember much of what it was about, because I was so tired (see previous post) and was trying to cope with the awful pews. They had cushions on them to minimise posterior damage, but that still left the horrible hard backs, and the pews were set a tiny width away from each other – so close that when you stood up your knees were pressed against your own pew and your crotch against the one in front making it rather uncomfortable to stand up straight during the songs.

Afterwards the church was laying on a lunch as a way of bribing people into staying for their Stated Annual Meeting, and over lunch I ended up chatting to two young guys who had only recent connections with the place about our experiences of visiting new churches. It was so nice to be able to talk openly about what makes a good or bad church. We all agreed, incidentally, that the processing in and out of the Bible was a bit of a sad ritual… after all, we’re called to revere the Bible not a bible.

I also discovered that the horrible pews are due to be replaced at some point in the future by normal seats. It was apparently somewhat of a contentious decision. Contentious?? Why?? How can the choice between comfort and utter lack of comfort be contentious? Honestly. It is an example, though, of new ideas slowly trickling into the church – though I didn’t speak to him, I get the impression the minister and others are gradually dragging Partick Trinity kicking and screaming into reality.

So in short – a bit staid and potentially uninspiring and frustrating in the long term for someone like me, but it was friendly, and there was good teaching and lots of evidence of a thriving, caring, focused church. They just about nose it into round 2.

This evening was the intriguing Re:Hope who I blogged about on 17 March after visiting their website. Did I love it? Did I hate it? I’m too tired to write any more just now, so come back and find out tomorrow!

Sunday 19 March 2006

I slept in this morning, so didn't make it to Partick Trinity. I'll save that delight till next Sunday. Tonight, though, I went to C7, a church plant by huge Australian hands-in-the-air merchants Hillsong. And what an experience it was.

Only started in August, they've been camping out in various venues around Glasgow and are currently using Partick Burgh Hall which is just down the hill from me. At the doorstep I was almost besieged by the welcome team… actually, "welcome mob" would be more appropriate – there were enthusiastic handshakes and cheery smiles all round, which was almost a bit over the top. Seriously, it was great to be greeted by people who actually seemed to care that I visited… just a bit surprising after the lacklustre efforts of other churches I've been to.

Inside the hall was very chilled out and bustling with people chatting, and with non-Christian music playing (I think someone like Supergrass, I'm not sure). Perhaps not the most holiest of atmospheres but maybe a great reassurance to someone visiting a church for the first time. I was greeted by more folk inside, ordinary members, who talked to me, introduced me to others, and generally made me feel well at home. And importantly, it was genuine chat, rather than a shallow "quick, new guy, let's convert him" – I found myself getting to know people within moments.

The hall was laid out very nicely, with tables and stalls at the back, and really comfy seats to sit on, where I was greeted by yet more people, many of whom had only been coming to C7 a few weeks. The stage held the band, who kicked off the service with the sort of tuneless and lyrically anodyne music that makes me hate modern "trendy churches". The band were accomplished, but their singing was truly awful, not helped by the terrible accoustics in the hall and the fact that the guys leading the singing were jumping around like Bez from the Happy Mondays.

The preacher/pastor, Jason, gave a bizarre sermon. He was one of the team sent out from Hillsong HQ in Sydney and his sermon was lively, humourous, and down to earth, but substantially lacking in the way of doctrine or informative scriptural interpretation. Amongst the jokes, audience interaction, and horrendous accoustics, it was hard to figure out exactly Jason was saying. The best I could make out, he was preaching that if we ask God for something and don't get it, we should just keep asking. Not quite sure that's on the button biblically, but I'll leave it to those who know more than me to comment. I'm first to complain about long, boring, irrelevant sermons, but equally I want more than soundbites.

Also, for a church that was very hi-tech (their intimations were by video presentation!), there was unfortunately no use of powerpoint for Bible readings or sermon notes. Oh yes, and Jason was cheered on stage with a big rousing music intro, which I thought was a bit "personality cult", frankly.

There was little of substance in the service – having background music during the prayers made it hard to concentrate, while there was little in the message about developing a deeper faith, only about coming to faith in the first place. With little explanation of what that means.

Afterwards I talked to more genuinely lovely people, including Jason the pastor who I found to be a very nice chap and who hoped I found the right church, whether it was C7 or not. I spoke to another guy who explained about the "lifegroups" they have midweek – allaying perhaps some of my fears about the superficiality of the place.

So, bit of a long blog there, but lots to write about as it was a compelling place. Sure, it was mostly just spiritual candyfloss, but bloody fantastic people and a great sense of community in evidence. This is a new, confident church with lots of energy and drive. They definitely warrant a second visit.

Friday 17 March 2006

I'm throwing in one last-minute addition to the churches I'll visit in round 1. Another St Silesian emailed me the other day, and drew my attention to the very eye-catching, almost over-slick, website of Re:Hope, a church he had not himself visited, but which seems to be a new pentecostal church near where I live.

They introduce themselves as "a brand new church in Glasgow's west end focusing on church for the next generation. This primarily twenty-something church is casual in feel, while being passionate about faith", and on the About page (called, yes you've guess it, Re:Re:Hope) they launch into a diatribe about how "historically, Christianity is credited with more evil than good. Christians have made the mistake of mixing politics with faith and living unashamed hypocritical lives. Christ has been rejected because Christianity has made God look evil instead of emphasizing the good that He is. This is sickening."

Phew. Controversial!

 

Well, re Re:Re:Hope, the mistake of mixing Christianity and politics? Oh yes, that'll be the same huge blunder Archbishop Desmond Tutu is so universally mocked for; that made Jesse Jackson an international figure of shame; that sees Terry Waite booed everywhere he goes.

Good grief! Being socially and politically aware is exactly what Christians are called to do, to get involved in their world, to shape it, influence it, stand up and be counted in it, not to lock themselves away from anything political or difficult. Re:Hope seem to be apologising for, and almost reinventing, Christianity. Re:inventing it, if you will.

Slick design, bizarre message, and the name of their pastor, Brian Ingraham, reminds me of spoof TV news show The Day Today's feckless reporter Peter O'Hanraha'hanrahan. Chris Morris, The Day Today's creator and presenter, must somehow be involved.

Re:Hope do seem very clear about their mission and purpose, though. They "are to be an enfolding community, quick to embrace as our own whoever walks in the door. We actively pursue forging relationships with everyone who comes." It's great to profess to be welcoming, even if coupled with the stress on their primarily twenty-something profile it all sounds more like a dating agency than a church.

I don't think I've ever come across such an intriguing and bizarre church as Re:Hope. They're controversial, confident and distinct. I like that, I think. They will definitely get a visit, but I'm sure I could either love it or hate it. Time will tell.

Tuesday 14 March 2006

On Sunday night, because the snow was so heavy and I didn't want to travel far, I went to Partick Trinity Church of Scotland. Their website is simple and clear, but I'd not heard much about the place. I found it closed, unfortunately – a woman posted at the front door informed me that the service was cancelled due to the snow, which I thought was a bit wimpish in such a densely-populated parish where folk wouldn't have far to go. I had a nice chat with her nevertheless – she asked a bit about me and when I told her where I worked she said that they had good links with the Christian Union at the university. She encouraged me to go back another Sunday, and I will.

As it was just before half past six, I nipped round the corner to the Catholic church I'd remembered seeing a few weeks ago – I didn't see it's name as I rushed through the door. The Catholics were obviously hardier souls because it was packed out with folk who'd braved the snow. I sat right at the back and realised the service was just coming to an end, and with a quick communion and wave of smelly stuff, everyone cleared off without speaking to me. I went home and enjoyed a quiet night in. It was a nice building and clearly a big, active community, but I'm not sure if smells and bells is my scene. Sorry, Benedict.

So three churches in one day – the church-hunting is going well! In fact, it's starting to get some more attention, too. I've had a number of emails in the last couple of days from folk expressing interest in what I'm doing. I suspect most of the traffic has come via David McCarthy who blogged again about the impact of my visit to St Silas, offering six scriptural reasons why being welcoming is so important for a church.

I'll share my thoughts so far on some of these wider issues once I reach the end of round one. Just Partick Trinity and the trendily-monikered C7 to go…

Sunday 12 March 2006

Last night saw a heavy snowfall, so Glasgow awoke to several inches of snow today. I slipped and waded my way through thick snow this morning, dodging snowmen, snowboarders, sledgers and snowball fights to make it to church.

This morning was Wellington Church of Scotland, a beautiful building at the heart of the Glasgow University campus. Not that you’d notice – the church seems to have done about as much outreach to the university community as Ian Paisley has in the Vatican, and it was hard to see exactly what community it felt it was serving, if not the one right under its nose. The congregation – severely depleted to around sixty by the snow – was old in profile, and the service lived up to the stereotype of an elderly church. The minister was all robes and monotone, the choir somewhat lacklustre, the singing was awful, and the sermon felt twice as long as the twenty minutes it took. My yawns, I confess, might have been partly due to me being up until 5am watching Lost Series 2 on DVD, but that’s another story. There was communion, too, with the wine served in those tiny wee shot glasses that never allow you quite enough wine to be able to swish it around your mouth and remove all the dry bread stuck between your teeth. The whole Wellington experience was rounded off by your good friends and mine, Uncomfortable Pews.

On the plus side, I must say the welcome was good – a few hellos on the way in, and some friendly chat over coffee afterwards. People did seem rather apologetic that things weren’t livelier and that there weren’t more younger people around – quite why they’re apologising for this rather than doing something about it and fulfilling their potential by reaching out to the 20,000 students on their doorstep on a Sunday, I’m not sure. The building though, as I say, was lovely, with grand high windows, a beautiful ceiling, ornate interior, and distinctive and foreboding exterior. I couldn’t help thinking it would make a fine nightclub venue, which would certainly be more relevant to the local community than its current use.

So, good marks for the welcome, but it’s not a church that particularly packs a punch spiritually or socially and certainly didn’t make me think I’d grow or learn very much there. Wellington gets the boot, I’m afraid.

On my way back I trudged through the oldest part of campus and took some nice photos (see the pictures page), then came home to find an email from David McCarthy, the rector at St Silas which I reviewed earlier this month (see 5 March). I guess it was only a matter of time before my covert church-reviewing would be discovered by a “victim”! David was genuinely grateful for the honest appraisal I gave, which he plans to discuss with others, and copied it in his own blog. I am so glad that one visitor’s description of his experience (good and bad) has given a church something to mull over. I look forward to returning to St Silas soon.

Not sure where I’m going to church tonight yet…

Sunday 5 March 2006

It’s been a full week, with two days in Sheffield for a training course and then the weekend in Aberdeen. More about all that another day though, because I got back to Glasgow in time for my flatmate and I to try out another church, St Silas Episcopal.

St Silas is well known as a lively, studenty, cheerful sort of place (at least in the evening) and it was recommended to me by a number of people. Its rector (episcopalese for “minister”) is a good friend of Gareth Saunders and writes a compelling blog himself. So I was expecting good things.

And to be honest, that’s what we found. A reasonable welcome at the door led us into a bright, laid back and impressively grand interior, with plenty space around the seated area and a stage with a band and huge projector screen. We sidled in towards the back and sat ourselves down on the very comfy seats. The church soon filled up with a steady stream of latecomers which added to the relaxed atmosphere – though nobody nearby spoke to us.

The service started with a few lively songs, and the band was good but the musicians and indeed the singing was drowned out by the over-enthusiastic drummer. Then after a short prayer we were straight into the sermon. Delivered by an “ordinary” member of the church, it was good – around 50 minutes and based on James chapter 5. It was well-presented and delivered, peppered with a few laughs, and most importantly of both practical and spiritual benefit.

After the service – which ended rather abruptly – my flatmate and I sat around waiting for people to speak to us, and we gave the welcome a second chance to prove itself when we went to the counter at the side to get a cup of tea. Lots of people were milling around and talking to each other, but nobody approached us to say hello or welcome… not even my flatmate when I left him on his own for a couple of minutes to nip to the toilet.

It was a bit of a shame and a contrast to last week’s warm welcome at Sandy H. The church had a lot going for it – decent worship, a young and cheerful crowd, powerful and useful teaching, and a lot going on judging by the announcements and intimation sheet. They just let themselves down a bit by not recognising two people who were blatantly new and looking a bit lost (a look I confess to overdoing just a little to see if it encouraged people to talk to us… it didn’t). Jesus is a forgiving sort of chap though, so St Silas bounces into round two.