by Pastor Mur

Most of us have heard the scripture that states “God so loved the world…” This means that God loves each of us. God loves you no matter where you are or what the circumstances of life that you may face.

I have a friend named Jack who is wheelchair bound. He broke his neck in a motorcycle accident twelve years ago, and will never walk or work again. I know a woman whose seven year old daughter was run over by a drunk driver. That little seven year old girl is now in her early thirties, and has been unable to function in any sense of that word for almost a quarter of a century. I know a chap who is dying with Aids and a man who has lost his leg to diabetes and others.

I am in regular touch with an inmate at one of our correctional facilities. He became a Christian in prison several years ago; his wife and children need him at home, and he wants to be the man that God wants him to be, but his last petition for parole was turned down. I know a hundred and more other folks who lived through similar tales of hurt, abuse, neglect, sickness, disappointment, betrayal, violation and every type of wound or horror that one can suffer.

If I had time to tell you the experiences of these several hundred, you would find that a common thread, a crimson thread, runs through all their stories. That thread is that they all cried out to God, seeking an answer to the question, “Why me?” and asking for relief from what they faced. A few can tell of instant miraculous deliverance from their dilemmas, but the great majority will tell us that God turned their tragedy into triumph as day followed day.

Scripture tells us to give thanks in all circumstances of our lives; that we are to rejoice in all things for they are the will of God for your life. Does that mean that God wills we experience tragedy and overwhelming losses? No, that is not what is intended here. God so loves us each of us that he allows us to choose our paths through life, to do what we want, and to pass on how our choices affect others. God’s will for each of us is what we will or want to do, and at times, the affect of time and chance, deserved or not, through which we all travel.

Todd D. Hunter, Giving Church Another Chance: Finding New Meaning in Spiritual Practices (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2010), 167 pages, ISBN 9780830837489.

Formerly national director of the Association of Vineyard Churches, USA, Todd Hunter is now a Bishop in the Anglican Communion of North America with the responsibility of church planting. Giving Church Another Chance is a piece of Hunter’s Anglican story; however, what he says in this book stands on its own merit and is worthy of consideration.

The Table of Contents can throw the reader off-message. Each of its nine chapters deals with an element of the Anglican Liturgy (order of worship), something many Pentecostals might find needless. Do not be fooled: give attention to the book’s Preface and Introduction before moving ahead. Understanding Hunter’s foundational thinking allows the rest of the book to unfold in unexpected ways.

Hunter’s first main pillar is the inescapable connection between Jesus and the Church. To embrace Christ is also to embrace Christ’s people. Hunter does not permit the notion that the Church is a nice thing or even a useful thing; rather, the Church is a necessary thing. The migratory behavior of congregation hopping, seeking for the latest blessing, is labeled “consumerism” (what is in it for me instead of how does this honor God?). Hunter focuses on the godly relationships between flesh and blood people Jesus brings together in the congregation and on disciplines done together as primary factors in spiritual development. Hunter says that the issues that seem important to us such as worship style, type of music, etc. are usually undergirded by a prideful “we do it right, and you do not” mindset. The ultimate issue should be doing the Church’s mission regardless of the configuration of the congregation. There is no right form, only right mission.

Hunter’s second main pillar is summed up in his term repracticing. Its central thrust is Christians doing what they do as means to an end and not an end in itself. Daily scripture reading can be done for reasons that center on the many benefits to the reader, or scripture can be read to make one aware of what God is doing and how the reader can now be a part. Done this way, the practice is re-practiced. Hunter quotes Peter Senge:

Mainstream Christianity throughout the last fifteen hundred years…has been for the majority of practitioners not a practice-oriented religion but a Sunday religion of “do what you want as long as you subscribe to the right things and you show up on Sunday to keep the institution going” (33).

Pentecostals might agree, but insist they are not part of the problem. Hunter, however, says no part of the Church is innocent. Returning to scripture reading, Hunter notes that significant time is taken debating the meaning of a text and what doctrine might come from it, but extensive discussions on life-practices found in the passage such as humility and kindness are almost non-existent.

Repracticing is the operative word for the remaining chapters. Though each focuses on one part of the liturgy, it is the implications of those parts lived out that guide the discussion. For example, the singing of the “Doxology” (“Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”) leads to the practice of radiating the glory of God as part of one’s mission. There is no allowance for showing up Sunday, giving an offering, believing the minimum, and then leaving with no intention to change. Hunter wants beliefs actualized. The influence of Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy (Harper, 1998) is very evident, which influence Hunter acknowledges. Both writers focus on the necessity of vital Christian living and on the method of pursuit Jesus gave.