I wonder if you are aware of the term “buzz-phrases”?
You see, the term buzz-phrase is ironic in itself. Buzz-phrases are terms that our society uses frequently in order to drum up emotive reactions or draw people to a cause. Phrases like:
“We’re living in unprecedented times”,
“You absolutely smashed that!”, or
“Tell me I’m wrong…right?”
Why it’s ironic, is that the phrase “buzz-phrase” – is now itself a buzz-phrase. People use it to try and get away from sounding like the social norm – and that is where the irony is.
It’s funny because we have these buzz-phrases within our church or Christian contexts too. They are phrases like:
“We are all one Kingdom”,
“we want to work collaboratively”,
“All sin is equal”, and
“I’m pushing on the door, and I’ll see if God opens it.” – like God is a 24/7 concierge for a fancy hotel.
Many of you will know that Swindon youth for Christ have been undertaking a piece of research over the past month with the churches in Swindon. As always, interestingly, a common theme of working collaboratively comes up as a priority amongst more than 80% of churches – however, as I have met with representatives to discuss what this means, I largely get 2 types of responses:
- “Well, it all depends on whether it fits into my vision for the church”, and
- “I would love to work collaboratively with other churches, however, can it be in my building, because….”
Working in collaboration is defined as:
“Collaboration is a working practice whereby individuals work together for a common purpose to achieve a [mutual] benefit.”
You see the problem with this type of collaboration, is that it doesn’t talk about us laying aside our own agenda or compromising on your ideas for the greater good. We can get so caught up in how we want things to happen, that we miss a greater opportunity in front of us and the blessings that come with it.
As we move out of the pandemic, I am more sure than ever that God is calling his bride to work together, not necessarily to scrap expressions of church, but work on things that we can all agree on for the sake of the Kingdom.
Often one of the stumbling blocks in churches collaborating over youth work is the fear that “that church will steal our young people!”, and young people can be seen as some type of weird currency. Until we move past this heretical fear – as though young people were ours to own in the first place – I believe our churches will only suffer.
Can it be hard to do? – Yes
Does it take energy? – Yes, and often more.
Do we want the same thing? – Yes.
Does it mean we have to sometimes compromise? – On our ideas – yes. On the gospel – no.
Do we sometimes have to keep our mouth shut? – Yes.
Is it worth it? – DEFINATELY!
And so, this week’s prayer blog is praying for churches, our leaders, and of course the young people within them.
Let us pray for:
- The eradication of fear mentality within our churches,
- Families as they take on the mandate of teaching their children in the faith,
- Young people as they explore what a living relationship with Christ means in today’s culture,
- Our leaders as they look to work together. That they can find similarities and areas that they can partner on together for the sake of the lost coming to Christ.
- Swindon Youth for Christ, as we continue to speak with churches about how we can best facilitate reaching out with the gospel to every young person in Swindon.
Written by Dave Clarke, Director of Swindon Youth for Christ.