'Christians have a window of opportunity to establish the church' - Malcolm Duncan

|PIC1|Malcolm Duncan is the leader of Faithworks, the Christian movement committed to seeing Christians put their faith into action to make a difference wherever there is need.

He took some time out to speak to Christian Today about the contribution that ordinary Christians can and should be making in their local communities today.


CT: The sceptics are saying the church is dead and Christians have nothing to offer. What would you say to them?

MD: I think organised religion is dying but I think Christian faith and Christian spirituality has never been more alive and I think that dichotomy will continue.

What I am deeply excited about is that God is giving us a revival that we never asked for. We prayed for revival and we thought revival would mean services full and buildings bulging at the seams - and that's part of revival. But the revival that God is giving us is a rediscovery of connecting with our communities and the biblical mandate for justice and mercy and whole life transformation. And that is happening all the way across the United Kingdom.

I think we are going back to what Christianity was birthed to be. In 312, Emperor Constantine became a Christian and at that moment the church became a partner with government in all the ways that we were not called to be. And we thought that we had political power and special privileges and special rights. That has never been what our power has been about. Our power has always been a power birthed out of an authentic spirituality, an authentic connection with Jesus. And if we want it to be real and last, that's where it needs to stay.

CT: What about Christians who feel overwhelmed by the need, who feel a passion to do something but also at the same time think 'how do I even go about doing this'?

MD: I think very often what Christians think they need to do good in the community is more money and more funding, but one of the interesting things about Faithworks is that most of the projects that we work with, whether they are small or very large, began with this one person who decided they needed to do one thing. God never asks us to do what we can't do. He asks us to do what we can.

It's not the bits of the Bible that I don't understand that cause me a challenge. It's the bit that says 'Love your neighbour as yourself'. I know what it means and I know how to do it and it scares the life out of me. That's not about money, that's about a commitment to serve your neighbour.

The Colchester Nightstop has a budget of £500 a year but has brought 55young people into a whole life experience. It's not about money or about a big plan but about people doing one thing.

CT: What about Christians who feel it is difficult to run a service that is distinctively Christian?

MD: It is hard, it is. But just because it is hard doesn't mean it's not worth doing and we exist to help them - and to help them to understand exactly what authentic Christianity means and what it means to share the Gospel. You don't need to lose your identity to serve other people. You don't need to pretend not to be Christian to engage in services for your community.

On the other hand I think we've understood what it means to be Christian, and engage with others, in a very confrontational way. I think what we are trying to do is help people understand that issues like identity and conscience must be protected but they are not protected only by legislation.

Nobody can legislate my conscience away. I can only give it away. And if I refuse to give it away then I will still be a Christian first and I will take the consequences of being faithful to Jesus.

Christians should not sell their birthright for £10 million worth of funding. It's not worth it.

CT: So you are saying stay Christian and work through that?

MD: Yes. And do the hard job. Don't avoid the hard job.

CT: Where do you see Christian engagement heading in terms of working with Government?

MD: There have been huge improvements since 1997. The irony is that the Government likes our works. They like what we do. But they are still unsure of who we are. What I want to do is work out a way to help Government use a language that understands faith properly and sees faith as a motivation.

I am not a Muslim, I am not a Hindu, I am not a Sikh, I'm not a Buddhist. I have a unique allegiance to Jesus. That doesn't mean I can't work with Government but it means they've got to understand who I am and what motivates me, not just what my works are in the community. I do what I do because I am a Christian.

I think the big challenge is for the Government to understand faith as our motivation, not just our works. I think it is easier now than it was 10 years ago and I think it will be easier 10 years from now.

I believe we have a window of opportunity to establish the church and our witness as an authentic expression of our Christian faith. And if we don't build it in the next 10 years it will close. My generation has the responsibility not only to look after ourselves, but ask what kind of church do we want to hand over to the people who come after us? If it is not engaged then it is not worth having.

CT: So it is a very urgent time.

MD: Yes, deeply.