LOOKING AT RENEWAL

The growth chart had slipped from the playroom wall because the tape on its corners had become dry and brittle. Five-year-old Jordan hung it up again, meticulously working to get it straight. Then he stood his sister against the wall to measure her height.
'Mommy! Mommy! Anne is forty inches tall!' he shouted as he burst into the kitchen. 'I measured her,'
His mom replies, 'That's impossible, Sweetheart. She's only three years old. Let's go see.' They walked back into the playroom, where the mother's suspicions were confirmed. Despite his efforts to hang the chart straight, Jordan had not set it at the proper height. It was several inches low.

We easily make Jordan's mistake in gauging our spiritual growth or importance. Compared to a shortened scale, we may appear better than we are. Only when we stand against the Cross, that 'great leveler of men' as A.T. Robertson called it, can we not think of ourselves 'more highly we ought to think. "Christ, Himself, must be our standard." Robert H. Heijermans, Leadership.

I believe we also hang the 'growth chart' too high and so, comparing ourselves to this lengthened scale, appear far worse than we actually are. Regardless of whether we hang the chart too high or too low, the end result spells disaster for our spiritual lives: we are out to touch with the truth concerning our relationship with Jesus and so are either haughty or depressed.

We are hanging the 'growth chart' on the wrong peg and get the wrong reading about the state of our spiritual life whenever we compare ourselves with one another. I'm certain it is the same for you: I can always find someone against whom a comparison leads me to believe I'm a spiritual giant. On the other hand, there are enough 'spiritual giants' around (many of whom are self declared) who make me feel like an onion. Wrong comparisons will always yield wrong results. We all need to get back to the basics - personally and corporately.

Renewal is a complex, often misunderstood concept in the church today. Complex, because in many ways, its expression is entirely contextual. That is to say, what constitutes renewal for one parish might not even make it on the chart for another parish. Misunderstood, because renewal manifests itself in many and varied ways - sometimes in liturgical renovation and innovation; sometimes in corporate and structural change; and sometimes not It is altogether too easy to understand renewal as upbeat worship or a plethora of programs. But that might simply be hype and busyness and as far from renewal as you can get.

Real renewal is growth in fulfilling our mission - both personally and corporately - and as such it is nothing less than sovereign work of the Lord. Renewal begins with the transformation of the individual; it moves through corporate submission to the Headship of Jesus and it flows out into the community in ministry empowered by the gift of the Holy Spirit and motivated by the love of the Father for His people. Renewal is the process in which institutions become organic, old wine skins are regenerated to become new wine skins (to be sure - it takes a great deal of the oil of the Spirit), and a church anchored in a maintenance mentality or clinging to survival mode becomes vibrant and missional in its motivation.

Let us all remember: we are who we are in the Christian family solely because of Jesus who took the cross on our behalf and who, through our confession of faith, lives within us through His wonderful and most precious Holy Spirit. The only standard that matters in the evaluation of our spiritual stature - our renewal - is the degree of intimacy and obedience we experience in our relationship with the Lord and the extent to which we are prepared to go in order to be open to His developing this relationship.

We are masters of making simple things complex. The point is this and it seems so very simple: we are to fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith. (Heb.12:2) This is the beginning of true renewal.

I believe the Father would have us know that we are each (both as persons and as parishes) His unique creation, each called to a special purpose, and each gifted so as to accomplish our part in His plan. It is entirely opposed to His will for us that we be (or try to be, or think we ought to be) all the same. That is why Jesus calls and nurtures each and every one of us (again, as persons and as parishes) in an intimate one-on-one relationship with Himself. He does this in order to preserve our uniqueness which we in the foohishness of comparing and measuring ourselves against one another would forfeit to bland sameness. In Him alone will the community of faith, His Body the Church, the whole 'building', be joined together and rise to become a holy temple in and for the Father. (Eph.2:21)

What does my heart tell me about my relationship with the Lord Jesus?

In what ways is it strong and vibrant?

Where is it weak and in need of healing?

What are the spiritual chal-lenges I am encountering?

Am I addressing them so as to deepen my relationship with the Lord?

How do I need to be stretched during this season of my hfe so as to be open to His call to ministry?

ARM believes the issue of renewal is the issue of our day for the Anglican Church. It is our vision to see a network of parishes in the process of renewal linked across this nation and aiding each other in resources, and by this, awakening and encouraging our Church.

It is part of our comprehensive vision to provide leadership training for both clergy and laity alike through our Leadership Training Institutes. Through our Ambassador, Bishop Malcolm Harding, we want to encourage dioceses and parishes towards renewal and we desire to speak hope into the hearts of faithful parishioners. Through the medium of our magazine, Anglicans for Renewal, we are committed to present articles and reports that address contemporary issues of renewal for Anglicans across Canada.

Our vision is to also provide, through the giftedness of our many and diverse conference facilitators, the human resources needed to introduce, support or advance the renewal of our Church. But, precisely because of our understanding of renewal, we do not believe, and neither would we advocate, a one-size fits all approach. We believe this ministry of renewal is fostered best via partnership with a local parish. Then together we are able to devise an approach or create an event that is context sensitive; that is, an approach which addresses the felt needs and character of a parish in relation to their present understanding and involvement in renewal. Renewal can never be about duplication or comparison - only about the present and ongoing life of the Holy Spirit and what the Lord wants for you.

Contact the ARM office today and let's begin the dialogue of how we might be of service to you.

My prayer this summer is that each one of us, and the parishes that we represent, will continue to grow deeper in our love for Him and so find and establish our unity in His Precious Heart!