I did some really hurting experience the other day. It was a day of celebration since the spring is emerging in sweden – it is called “Valborgsmässoafton”. Almost everbody is out celebrating. We had a gathering in our church (with an extremely good band www.loneydear.com Train Master movies ) and I started to talk we a guy. He was about 40 years old. I asked him where he was working. He replied that i he was cleaning (you know putting everything at the right place…) at the university of Lund. There our conversation ended. I hade no more questions (he was a really quiet man – but anyway…) – my university education became a block between us. If he had been a engineer, socilogist or that kind – but he wasn´t. We really have a need for a church that is for cleaners. A church which like music that is not high-cultural. (1 Cor. 9:19ff)
Fredrik Wenell

Last week at youth group some of the guys commented how they felt a bit under the spotlight if they didn’t take communion on a Sunday morning. This is especially so if the person introducing it says something along the lines of ‘if you have unresolved sin then feel free not to take the communion’!

So, it occurs to me that communion has the same root as community and as such is surely something to do with unity and inclusivity within the church. So perhaps we should consider having communion (having community) rather than merely taking communion?

In our rush to take communion aren’t we alienating people?

Sure communion is for people who believe what it is about – Jesus’ death – and as such is obviously not appropriate for ye olde evangelism evente. But hang on, most Sunday morning church these days is open to seekers (et al). So why, in the face of not having communion do we insist on taking

communion?

Is it possible to ‘set up’ a church? I’m not sure.

If you ‘set up’ a church then there is immediately a sense of heirarchy, the founders and the invitees – you also immediately have other structures and practices such as a meeting place and a meeting time. I’m not sure if these things are fundamentally important to being church. I wonder how much they get in the way?

To me, church is about being friends with other people who are also part of Christ’s body. I’m tempted to think that this means I am church with whatever Christian’s I spend time with… even if they already ‘go to a church’ (how bizarre is the term ‘go to a church’?! How can one ‘go to a church’?).

I wonder if the term ‘church planting’ was first coined to overcome this problem of whether it was possible to ‘set up’ a church? The basic concept of the term ‘church planting’ is surely merely the concept of being church, mixing with brother’s and sister’s and then church emerging from that basic root.

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Hi, you never forget your first time… Something from the Swedish front. It´s really interesting to recogise the unity of the church in Sweden at the moment. Almost every church from the official Swedish Lutheran church to the Pentecostal are participating in a huge “Easter Appeal” regarding immigrant children. The thing is that we have lots of children of immigrants who have become apathetic due to the time it takes to receive the permission to stay (or not to stay)in the country. This is not good for a country which regards itself as a human country… Churches of Sweden have reacted in relation to this together – maybe it will be several thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) who sign will this appeal. I really like this because when we have this real question – we see some kind of unity between the churches for the sake of humans!!! It gives me hope!

I have been thinking recently about Jesus being nailed down on the cross. How it is the opposite of movement, fluidity, and much of current theology and certainly opposite to our fast moving culture. Christ was static in his response, both by keeping silent when put on trial and ultimately static when nailed down on the cross. Our current Christology draws much from the elements of incarnation, of Jesus walking and talking with people. I wonder how the nailed down Jesus affects our Christology. In a world that is busier than ever, at Easter when people are moving from place to place to visit relatives in the four day weekend or off on holiday, when the DIY stores host sales and garden centres entice us to get the garden sorted with primroses. What is our mission response? Should it be to simply say you cannot serve God and yourself and sit down? To explain, things, a decorated home, friends are fleeting and sit down? Tomorrow, Good Friday should we simply sit at the foot of the cross and focus on the Nailed Down Christ?

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