Let’s talk about Jesus… or not

A very interesting report on “perceptions of Jesus, Christians and evangelism” in England has been published under the title Talking Jesus:

http://www.talkingjesus.org/research/upload/Perceptions-of-Jesus-Christians-and-Evangelism-Executive-Summary.pdf

[Caveat: although this research is C of E-endorsed and professionally conducted, I can’t personally vouch for its accuracy. I’m sure people will be assessing the methodology and analysis over the coming days.]

Some of the findings are really very startling. For instance, going by the findings of this research, 43% of adults in England believe Jesus was raised from the dead – even though only 60% are convinced he actually existed at all!

There’s good news and bad news for the church, too. Perhaps the most depressing finding, and kind of ironic, is that ‘talking Jesus’ is more likely than not to backfire. ‘Interpersonal evangelism’ is what we’re all being encouraged to do more of – and indeed people who come to faith (including me) say it’s a key factor – but on balance the impact is slightly negative. Having said that, I suspect respondents didn’t ‘count’ all the conversations in which faith featured, but were thinking mostly of explicitly evangelistic interactions.

But the most surprising thing for me was the basic demographic data about Christians. Practising Christians are far more likely than the general population to be educated to degree level – and under half were brought up in a Christian home. All this time I thought I was a bit of an outlier, and it turns out I’m reasonably representative! On the one hand, that may confirm the criticism often made that the Church is predominantly middle class. But it certainly does not support the idea that Christians are unable to think for themselves! I’ve certainly found it an advantage to be able to say no, I haven’t ‘inherited’ my faith, and no, I haven’t been indoctrinated – our Old Testament Studies tutor was a devout atheist! Perhaps this is some of the good news we should be talking about…

Praying World?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an ordinand at college will put on at least a stone in weight. I hadn’t really been planning to do anything about this, but I started looking at the Slimming World website for some sermon prep (as you do) and one thing led to another. So once I had got over accusing the bathroom scales of being faulty and the BMI chart of being libellous, I took the plunge. As St John the Baptist so rightly says, I must decrease… although I’m glad to say locusts don’t feature on the Slimming World “Extra Easy” plan.

There are two parts to the Slimming World approach. One is the diet itself, and the other is the support group sessions. So far, I’ve stayed to two group sessions. As someone who often leads small groups myself, I was interested not only in what I could learn to help me with my weight loss, but also in observing the group dynamics and the techniques used by the leader. In many ways the approach is kind of corny – quizzes, competitions, certificates and stickers, the kind of motivational techniques you might remember from school. And yet the proof is in the (low-fat, hold the custard) pudding. It works!

Within weeks, I’ve found myself developing a loyalty to the group and the programme. It is the kind of thing that can become an identity – a couple of times already I’ve mentioned Slimming World and found an instant bond with someone else who turns out to be doing the same. And I have my certificates stuck up on my fridge with no sense of irony. It all seems to be a lot more straightforward than I imagined – even if not quite Extra Easy.

One of the best things so far has been remembering I do have some self-discipline after all! But why is it that I can make a positive change and (mostly) stick to it when it comes to my weight, which wasn’t even high on my priorities, when my prayer life has remained half-hearted in spite of being my designated number one area for improvement for years? How come I can stick to a commitment to eat less and exercise more but not a commitment to sin less and pray more?

I started to think how wonderful it would be if I had a Slimming World group for prayer. Okay, the equivalent of ‘weighing in’ would be difficult to devise – what would measurable progress in prayer look like? Would we have certificates for ‘disciple of the week’? But the key thing at the SW group is that we are accountable to one another. Unless you ask her not to, the leader reveals your progress (not your actual weight) to the group. At the same time there is no shame or judgment because we all feel we’re in the same boat and we all know what it feels like to be judged, by ourselves if not by others. We take it week by week, learning together and rooting for each other, and if we need support during the week we can turn to the Facebook group or contact our group consultant, the glamorous Shelley. Wouldn’t it be great, I thought, if I could have that in my spiritual life?

But hang about! Isn’t that what we call ‘the church’? Isn’t that a group of people who come together weekly, usually with a leader or teacher, out of a shared commitment to a new and healthier way of life, to learn from one another and to be accountable to one another? So how come the SW group is empowering its members to live out a commitment to a way of life week by week, at a cost of £4.95 a time, whilst the church with all its initiatives and discipleship programmes seems to have a hard enough time convincing its members that changing their life is even what they’re there for? I wonder if Shelley ever has to say, “Guys, it’s great you come to the group, and great you pay your £4.95, but have you considered trying the weight loss bit?” Does Slimming World ever have to launch a Year of Dieting?

Now I realise my perspective is very much from one part of the Church of England. There are parts of the church which do have ‘accountability groups’ – though they seem to get a mixed reception:

http://www.waynestiles.com/3-benefits-to-having-accountability-group/

http://www.covenanteyes.com/2014/08/01/christian-accountability-fails/

http://redeeminggod.com/why-accountability-groups-dont-work/

I’d be interested to hear other people’s experiences of these. But for most of the Christians I come across, that is not their experience of church.

The slogan of Slimming World is ‘touching hearts, changing lives’. You’d kind of think, after two thousand years, we might have that market covered. I wonder if we have something to learn here? I don’t know yet what that might be, but it’s certainly given me food for thought – which is good, ‘cos I’m not getting so much of the other type of food! The Christian life is never going to be Extra Easy, but if I could see as many lives changed in a year as Shelley does I would be one happy priest!