There are some significant shifts going on in our culture right now. If we are going to be effective in our times we need to be aware of them so that we can discern how we can faithfully witness to the good news of Jesus through our words and actions.
Too often the Church is quick to criticise our changing culture and slow to act. Now is the time for us to shine, thanks to five big challenges we face.
1. An increasingly divided society
Globally the gap between rich and poor is increasing. Oxfam says that the richest one per cent own more than the rest of us put together. But the gap between rich and poor within our nation is increasing too. In the UK, Oxfam reports that the richest one per cent own 20 times more total wealth than the poorest fifth. Fewer than 1 million Brits are worth 20 times as much as the poorest 13 million.
Oxfam argues that this contributed to the Brexit vote. Whatever our personal views on Brexit, we must recognise not only the huge gap between the rich and the poor that it may have revealed, but also an ideological gap between remainers and leavers. These gaps are likely to increase as the economic and political implications of Brexit play themselves out.
With a decrease in what sociologists describe as 'bridging social capita'l, the bonds between different social groups are fraying. We have less and less in common with one another and so are willing to sacrifice less for one another, to serve each other less. Robert Putnam's classic book Bowling Alone documented how there has been a decrease in engagement with the political process, voting, serving on public committees, party membership and volunteering. Is this what we are seeing, not only in the UK's ambivalence towards the EU, but also in the US, with the rise of Donald Trump and his divisive policies?
In this situation the Church has an opportunity to shine brightly. Essential to our vocation as Christians is the ministry of reconciliation. We are to model the reconciling work of God. The Church is the place where God's reconciling purposes between rich and poor, between the young and old, Jews and Gentiles, black and white, men and women, leavers and remainers are to be worked through. This allows the Church to model an alternative reality, which comes with the persuasive force of being the future plans of God for the universe.
2. Increasingly long life spans
A child born in the West today has more than a 50 per cent chance of surviving to be over 105 years old, while by contrast a child born over a century ago had a less than one per cent chance of living to that age. According to a fascinating new book, The 100 Year Life by Lynda Grattan and Andrew Scott, one of the many implications of this is that retirement takes on a very different shape. Instead of the usual three-tier life of education, work and retirement, Grattan and Scott argue that we will see new stages in life develop. Most economic commentators argue that we will have to be working for many more years than is currently normal in order to afford to retire.
There are some very positive implications for the mission of the Church. Longer life should mean more opportunities for people to hear the gospel and more opportunities for different kinds of service to God. We can rejoice in nutritional, medical, political advances that have brought about increasing longevity while also recognising a big disparity between life span in rich and poor countries. Ministries to those in the "third age" of life will need to adapt to the range of different opportunities and needs of older population as 'old age' now covers a very wide range of abilities and interests.
One trend that I have noticed is that many of our churches have relied for their volunteer support on retired people. But this bank of volunteers is likely to diminish. In the days to come those who are physically able are likely to be working into their seventies and eighties. How will the Church both staff and finance what it is doing? We will need new models of volunteering and funding for the Church to reach its community.
3. Diminishing public funds
Many local councils are cutting back on public services including libraries, children's centres, education and disability provision. This cutting of public spending seems unlikely to stop any time soon. With diminishing public funds perhaps the church may become the means by which the government commissions services that it used to do itself. The Salvation Army recently won the contract to provide safe accommodation for people who have been trafficked. More churches are housing post offices, running local libraries or taking responsibilities for schools.
The more churches are able to work together to overcome the differences between us, the more we can stand shoulder to shoulder to fight poverty and witness to the transforming power of the gospel, the greater impact we will have. Groups like Gweini and Cinnamon Network have captured some of the social impact through their Faith in Action Audit. Reporting on just 2110 churches and faith groups they recorded that they were involved in 16,068 projects, mobilising some 139,600 volunteers, serving 3,494,634 beneficiaries. This kind of impact reporting is vital, not just for local projects but as part of a larger apologetic to our culture in demonstrating the value of the Church. It's a form of contextualised evangelism that is able to point to the hard numbers when people ask what has Christianity ever done for anyone.
4. Increased race-related violence and intolerance
There are more refugees and migrants in our world today than there have ever been in history. Many are escaping war and terror. Others are seeking to escape poverty. The Church has played an important role in shaping the national response to refugees. Even the Guardian newspaper recognised that it was faith leaders putting pressure for the government to receive refugee children into the UK from Calais that led, eventually, to some action. The question will be whether this is a fad. When the newspaper headlines fade, is the Church locked in for the long term on these important issues?
The explosion in racially based violence offers an opportunity for the Church not only to model something very different, but to overcome our tendency towards racial division ourselves. Most churches are monocultural, despite the fact that according to a study by the Social Integration Commission, churches "are more successful than any other social setting at bringing people of different backgrounds together, well ahead of gatherings such as parties, meetings, weddings or venues such as pubs and clubs". There is of course something to celebrate here, but it is also a glaring indictment of the divisions in our society. It must motivate us to move forward and forge and model increasing inclusion across racial lines.
The Church is described in the book of Revelation as a multicultural, multilingual multitude, gathered around the throne of Christ offering praise to the Lamb who was slain. In our divided nation we have a powerful opportunity to model the transforming power of the gospel in our personal lives and in our corporate life as God's people.
5. God's continued commitment to the Church
It's worth betting on the Church, despite new figures showing 810,600 attended a Church of England service on an average Sunday, which was two per cent down on the previous year and five per cent down over a five-year period. Despite the revelation that one in 20 Anglican parishes has only four worshippers in it. Despite the fact that those of us from other denominations have little cause for optimism either, as overall church attendance is still in decline. Despite claims that the UK only values the Church at Christmas and Easter.
Yet I am as confident now as ever in the future of the Church. God's purposes for the Church are not over; his promises endure. What the church attendance figures are demonstrating is simply the end of nominalism. The sociological factors that used to drive people to church are driving them away. What is being revealed gradually, once the age profile of the Church is factored in, is that our churches are increasingly made up of those who really believe rather than those who attend out of social convention. God's purposes for his Church have not changed. This moment in history gives us the opportunity to demonstrate our confidence in the gospel and not just our position in society.
Like the moment of truth when a child loses stabilisers and we discover whether they really can ride a bike – so now the moment of truth for the Church to shine has arrived. How will we respond?
Dr Krish Kandiah is the founding director of the fostering and adoption charity Home for Good. He is the author of the award-winning Paradoxology: Why Christianity was never meant to be simple. He spends a lot of time tweeting @krishk
