Rev Malcolm Duncan: The Audience is Listening

I want to challenge the view that the term 'harmonious evangelicalism' is an oxymoron - although I do admit that there's an element of orchestral discord in the music of evangelicalism. When it comes to mission, in my analogy, the true Church of Jesus Christ is the orchestra, evangelicalism one section of that, our society is the audience, and God is behind and in it all.

|PIC1|Our job as an orchestra is to play the piece together and in time. To follow the lead of God's Spirit, focus on the subject, which is Jesus, and faithfully play the music as composed by the Father. When we do that, the sound is not harsh, bitter or resentful.

Instead it is a music that shows the audience that the message of the Christian Gospel is beautiful, challenging and life-transforming. We don't play a piece we have written ourselves - we play the music of the Master. We don't overshadow the subject - that is always the Son. We don't caricature the conductor - we allow the Holy Spirit to do the work of 'a person without a face', leading us in such a way as to illuminate the stage upon which Jesus stands in all His wonderful glory. Such an orchestra would be beautiful.

Too often, however, evangelicals become entrenched in arguments amongst themselves over what they believe or don't believe. Sometimes we think we're not just a section of the orchestra, but the entire thing! If not that, then at the very least, we are the most important part of the orchestra, we tell ourselves. Worse still, we end up playing our own tune no matter what the conductor wants, what the score says or what the other musicians are doing. Whilst such attempts at 'originality' might be really interesting to the musical techies in our midst, our actions can put the audience of our society right off. We continue with what we are playing, though, determined to finish the piece. Meanwhile the auditorium is emptying of the people we are actually trying to touch. Our conductor is knocked off the podium, and not surprisingly, we go off message.

Now picture an evangelical community with mission on its heart. A Church that allows its structures and traditions to be shaped by its mission - its job of glorifying God and sharing His love and truth. A Church that serves and worships God through honouring people and treating them with dignity and respect. A Church that is a reforming influence in the world, on every level, whether as a local fellowship or individuals in different areas of work. An evangelicalism that is bold enough to sound a chord of justice, gracious enough to operate in an atmosphere of mercy and lowly enough to learn from others and serve in humility.

I don't know about you, but I believe in that kind of music. And I know that millions of others across the United Kingdom do as well. I meet them every week in church buildings up and down the country, in para-church organisations, in conferences, board meetings and communities. People who understand their faith are seeking to live it out and are making a difference in their worlds for Jesus. They are playing the right note at the right time, following the right score, with their eyes firmly fixed on the right conductor. It isn't easy for them, but they are making wonderful music. And the audience is listening - intently.

|QUOTE|I've played in orchestras. I've practised so long my lips were sore and my head was throbbing. When I lost sight of the beauty of the music, because I'd been playing so long and trying so hard, my role in the orchestra became a chore. At those moments, the conductor would stop us to remind us of the wonder of the music and inspire us with a story of the composer or the journey of the piece we were playing. He would allow us to remember that each section sounds weaker on its own. Then slowly the brass, wind, strings and percussion sections would get more and more of it right until the whole symphony sounded amazing.

Now there has never been a perfect performance of a symphony by any orchestra anywhere in the world at any time. The experts will always hear something that isn't quite right. Conductors will see areas of potential improvement and composers hear pieces that are wrong. But there has been a lot of amazing music!

The Church may not be perfect. We may not get it right. We might disagree, argue and dispute amongst ourselves. But we must remember that we are the only orchestra God has chosen - and there are millions of people who need to hear the symphony of His love.

So whatever the challenges we face, let's play our part and allow the music of God's heart to ring out.


The Reverend Malcolm Duncan

[Rev Malcolm Duncan is the leader of the Faithworks movement, and previously worked as Head of Mission at the Evangelical Alliance UK].

You can find out more about Faithworks by clicking here.