Christian
Outreach
Notes for an address by
David Kilgour
To the Congregation of Timothy
Eaton Memorial Church
230 St. Clair Avenue West,
Toronto, April, 18
1999
Your invitation to discuss
Christian outreach in this
influential pulpit is a great honour. Your minister, Dr.
Andrew Stirling, is much admired
by the Christian community
in Ottawa for exemplifying
fundamental United Church
principles well. As a Presbyterian
out of Anglican roots, I appreciate
his skilful ability to keep
focused on Christ’s Gospel.
Outreach arises often through
business and professions.
Telling evidence is right
here – a church memorializing
the witness of a Christian
who applied in his store principles
learned in his Methodist worship.
A friend whose father was
a devoted Eaton employee for
about 40 years said his dad’s
loyalty came from respect
for the founder’s practices
such as:
- discouraging window shopping
on Sunday by drawing the
curtains,
- banning the sale of tobacco
and liquor products,
- challenging conventional
practices of "buyer
beware" with the policy
"Goods satisfactory
or money refunded,"
- strict truth in advertising
copy and sale prices,
- paying non-contributory
retirement allowances to
long-service employees and
benefits long before a general
pension plan was instituted
in 1955 and public health
insurance enacted. During
a bout of rheumatic fever
in the '20s, my friend said
his father was visited regularly
by a company-paid nurse.
Small wonder that Eaton’s
gained such wide acceptance
across Canada by offering
a firm Christian witness,
revolutionary at the time.
The Great Commission reading
from Matthew (28:16-20) has
arguably done more than any
other in the Gospels to change
the course of human history.
Jesus, once resurrected, met
first with eleven of his disciples
in Galilee before appearing
to other contemporaries. His
message to them was astoundingly
ambitious. I must point out
that Jesus made a subtle change
here to their reason for being.
The word ‘disciple’
means ‘learner’.
One sent on a mission is known
as an apostle. Henceforth
believers have a mandate to
be apostles, rousing people
everywhere to become learners
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
If anything is clear in history,
it is that the disciples took
the direction seriously. All
but one I believe – John
– paid with their earthly
lives as martyrs. I’ve
had the good fortune to see
where John is buried at the
church of St. John near Ephesus,
Turkey. Mary, the mother of
Jesus, is believed to be buried
not far away. When I told
one student in my Sunday school
class this a few years ago,
she was surprised, saying
something like, "You
mean, Mary really lived?"
Something wrong with her teacher,
don’t you think?
Anyway, the mission field
for the disciples began on
the mountain where Jesus appeared
to them. The mission field
for you and me is no longer
China, East Africa, Belarus
or Fort Smith. It’s outside
the doors of this beautiful
church. Indeed, I’m told
that in one church in Orlando,
Florida there is a banner
over the parking lot which
reads, "You are now entering
the mission field." It’s
the person beside you on a
flight somewhere, or with
difficulty in the subway,
or over a back fence, or on
an Internet chatline. Our
task is much easier than that
of early Christians because,
according to most opinion
surveys, approximately eight
in ten Canadians believe in
God at least nominally.
Canadians
Listening
I’d argue too that these
days more and more of our
fellow citizens are interested
in questions like, "Is
something right before God?"
Which of the other gods –
the phoney ones have not fallen
in recent years – existentialism,
atheism, -isms of virtually
every hue? Consumerism is
still obviously important
to many, but what thoughtful
person doesn’t eventually
outgrow it?
Let me say in the context
of the above a word about
Easter, which we celebrated
three Sundays ago. Easter
removed timidity among many
Christians of the day, comforted
those who felt abandoned,
including sceptical "doubting
Thomas", whose faith
depended on proof. How many
of us are like Thomas? How
many of us require Jesus to
say to us what he said to
him, "Put your finger
here?" You and I and
thousands of Christians in
this city and elsewhere have
to care in the name of our
Saviour and say to wounded
believers, "I’m
sorry such and such happened.
We’re not perfect. Come
and believe again."
Easter released the Spirit
into the church. That Spirit
doesn’t produce or require
great deeds – it simply
requires faith. Faith is life
lived in the belief that Jesus
is here in our world. The
church is here among people
who feel fear, who are suffering
loneliness, futility, estrangement
from God, from themselves,
from one another, from life.
Easter means that there is
also the possibility of change,
of joy, of life now. Jesus,
risen and ascended, doesn’t
mean we are alone. God, who
was in the flesh in Jesus,
gives His Spirit to the world
through us.
Christianity
Today
What is the place of Christian
faith at the end of the second
millennium? An answer at one
level would be that it has
probably never been stronger
around the world. Statistically,
one reads estimates that there
are worldwide today 1.5 billion
Christians in a total population
of 5.8.
It has been my immense good
fortune to travel widely since
the Cold War ended in 1989.
In virtually every country
I’ve been, including
China, Vietnam, Malaysia and
Taiwan in Asia, Russia, Ukraine,
Belarus, Turkey, Bulgaria
and Albania in Europe, approximately
25 countries on the continent
of Africa and most nations
in the Americas, I’ve
been struck by the vigour,
confidence and optimism of
local Christians. I wish every
Canadian believer could have
had the same opportunity to
see Christianity abroad.
This is not to say for a
moment that in some of these
lands Christians have it easy
– quite the contrary
– but at least there
is now more tolerance and
growing congregations even
if they must often meet in
secret. For example, several
of us Canadians were permitted
to speak of our faith at a
private dinner with National
Peoples’ Congress officials
in the Beijing room of the
Great Hall of the People in
China’s capital. In Moscow,
the Christian Embassy of Canada
hosted a brunch for elected
members of the State Duma
a few years ago. One of those
attending had earlier distributed
Bibles to a large number of
members of the Russian army.
The collapse of ideological
competition has virtually
everywhere made it easier
for both Christians and other
faith communities. The "crisis
of the soul", to use
the phrase of Aleksandr Yakovlev
(the advisor to Mikhail Gorbachev
and former Russian ambassador
to Canada), which afflicted
the Russian people for decades
has clearly begun to change.
There are plenty of bumps
on the road, but a vitally
important process has begun.
No one here this morning
needs to be reminded that
the persecution of Christians
is undiminished in other parts
of the world. A recent series
of very troubling articles
in the Ottawa Citizen
by Bob Harvey reminded us
that fully half the Christians
who have died for their faith
since AD33 probably have done
so since 1900. The estimate
of those martyred in the 20th
century is more than 35 million
– about 163,000 per year
at current levels.
For Canada herself, a fair
answer to the state of Christianity
today is difficult. The Charter
of Rights protects freedom
of religion, but believers
of most faiths, including
our own, have plenty of critics
in the media and elsewhere.
Statistically, I understand
that more Canadians attend
church services weekly than
sports events. Many who don’t
are non-practising believers.
Regular attendees of religious
services are more likely than
others to say they are happy
and satisfied with their lives.
The author Ron Graham concluded
in his book, God’s
Dominion, several years
ago that "for all the
talk of Canada as a secular
and materialistic country
there seems to be more and
more attention to spiritual
issues". Do you not agree
here too with C.S. Lewis:
"I have discovered that
the people who believe most
strongly in the next life
do the most good in the present
one"?
Christianity
in Canada Today
Numerous Canadians before
and since Confederation founded
towns, colleges, universities,
and a host of other institutions
out of religious convictions.
The YMCA and YWCA are but
two of many such bodies. The
Christian faith sustains many
of them down to the present
time.
Interestingly, one of the
myths Christians must often
dispel today is the notion
that being religious makes
one intolerant. The American
pollster, George Gallup, demonstrated
many years ago that practising
Christians are much more accepting
of other creeds and philosophies
than are non-believers. His
study also indicated that
people of what he termed "strong"
religious convictions were
more ethical in personal dealings,
more tolerant of persons with
different backgrounds, more
apt to perform charitable
acts, more concerned about
the betterment of society
and happier than others.
Data gathered by Reg Bibby,
the Canadian researcher on
religion, indicates that teenagers
who attend church services
regularly "are considered
more likely than teens who
never attend services to place
a higher value on such traits
as honesty, forgiveness, concern
for others, politeness and
generosity". Any thoughtful
parent, teacher, legislator,
social worker or young person
should be interested in such
a conclusion.
Bridging
Right/Left Divide
Our ecumenical movements
have worked to develop unity
among Christian denominations,
but it has become increasingly
apparent that one of the greatest
threats to unity is not the
gap created by differences
between denominations but
the gap found within denominations
… between those who are
sometimes called "the
religious right" and
those who are sometimes called
"liberals or activists."
Thus Anglicans are divided
against Anglicans; United
Church members are divided
against United Church members.
A Roman Catholic who is a
social activist tends to feel
more affinity with activists
from other denominations than
with a fellow Roman Catholic
who is theologically conservative
and whose concerns focus on
the personal.
The unity for which Christ
prays allows for different
cultures, preserving individual
historical organizations,
cultures, ecclesiastical interpretations
of worship style. Our common
acknowledgement is that Jesus
is the Son of God and our
only Saviour. In Christ, as
God reminds us through the
Apostle Paul’s writing,
"there is no longer Jew
or Greek, male or female,
slave or free. There is common
Good News that God so loved
the world that He gave His
only Son’s life to redeem
it."
How do we come together?
How do we bridge this Right/Left
gap? It is an important challenge
for it is clear neither side
alone has the answers which
are needed to address the
critical problems of our society,
problems such as loneliness
and poverty to name only two.
Those who advocate personal
spiritual renewal while turning
their back on issues of social
justice reject the direct
revelation of God as given
in Micah 6:8: "He has
showed you, O man, what is
good, and what does the Lord
require of you? To act justly
and to love mercy and to walk
humbly with your God."
Those who focus on personal
spiritual renewal, while ignoring
social justice needs, are
rejecting this divine word.
Those who speak only of social
justice distort the Gospel
of personal faith. Our denominations
desperately need an ecumenical
movement showing these two
views, called left and right
– the evangelical and
social activist – are
parts of the whole, inseparable
if Jesus’ work is to
be done effectively.
What is urgently needed in
our churches is a renewed
ecumenical movement which
seeks to find common ground
between the Left and the Right,
between the evangelical and
the liberal, between those
whose primary concern is social
justice and those whose main
concern is personal faith.
Prophetic
Spirituality
Can common ground between
the so-called Left and Right
in many congregations not
be found in the "prophetic
spirituality" which is
described in so many of the
stories of the Old Testament,
where concerns for righteousness
and justice are melded into
one? Is not such common ground
epitomized in the person of
Jesus himself, who not only
preached personally turning
to God in faith, but also
proclaimed good news for the
poor who were oppressed by
systemic injustice?
When someone attacks a Christian
– or any – faith
community anywhere in our
own country unfairly, wouldn’t
it be more effective if members
of other denominations –
or better perhaps the leaders
of them – were to reply
immediately? More specifically,
if a media outlet ridicules,
say, the Catholic church,
Protestants should come to
its defence thoughtfully but
with vigour.
None of us here needs to
be reminded of the awful things
done in the name of our faith
in the past, including the
Inquisition, the Crusades,
and Canada’s residential
schools. Most of us deeply
regret these acts. Today,
like you, I’m delighted
when Christians stand shoulder-to-shoulder
with other faith communities
on issues of persecution of
any human being for their
faith. In Edmonton, for example,
Christians participated with
Muslims in a large rally at
City Hall a few years ago
over the persecution of Muslims
in ex-Yugoslavia. Kosovo is,
of course, on all our minds
today. Christian MPs and senators
of all parties were members
of the Parliamentary Group
for Soviet Jewry in the 1980s,
and so on!
Yes, there is much we can
do, but at the same time we
know the individual churches
to which we belong are good
places to be. Philip Yancey’s
recent book Church: Why
Bother?, has much to say
to us. He notes that when
critics say a particular parish
fails to live up to the New
Testament’s high standards
in some respect, "anyone
who enters the church expecting
perfection does not understand
the nature of that risk or
the nature of humanity. Just
as every romantic eventually
learns that marriage is the
beginning, not the end, of
the struggle to make love
work, every Christian must
learn that church is also
only a beginning." None
of us has perfect parents,
children or spouses, so why
give up on a parish church
because of imperfections?
Many have done so. Let us
do everything in our power
to invite them to give the
church a second look.
I am reminded here of something
that one of Canada’s
greatest writers, the late
Gabrielle Roy, noted in her
autobiography, Enchantment
and Sorrow, about her
return to the church:
Many years later, God’s
presence throughout this
world seemed very clear
to me, leading me to consider
the Church’s practices
not so puerile after all,
since they had helped keep
the light at its nucleus
alive for me. I won’t
deny that when I returned
it was partly from a nostalgic
desire to be kneeling again
beside my dead mother, and
how could I do this except
through God.
Eating
Tears
The New Testament holds up
the model of a church which
exists primarily for the sake
of non-members. Most parishes
fall short here, but many
have enormous outreach in
their communities. In Greater
Toronto, I understand churches
are involved in shelters for
the homeless, ministries to
street people, safe places
for abused women and food
banks to name only a few.
I am especially impressed
with the work of L’Arche
founded by Jean Vanier. The
late Henri Nouwen of Toronto’s
L’Arche community wrote
often about lonely abandoned
people without people to love
them. Nouwen tells of a young
minister who has nothing to
offer an old man facing surgery
except his own loving concern.
"No man can stay alive
when nobody is waiting for
him," he wrote. All of
us, priests, ministers, and
laity, can fulfil this role
of eating tears for someone.
Yancey thinks our parishes
should ideally be "God’s
neighbourhood bar, a hangout
like the television show Cheers
for people who know all about
your lousy boss, your mother
with heart trouble …,
and the teenager who won’t
do what you tell him; a place
where you can unwind, spill
your life story, and get a
sympathetic look, not a self-righteous
leer." Can anyone disagree?
The suggestion has been made
that AA in its meetings is
very close to the early Christian
Church such as the one in
Corinth.
No-one can be a Christian
alone for long. Parish churches
exist primarily to worship
God; His reconciling love
transcends all differences
of nationality, race, age
and gender. In the words of
Blaise Pascal "the real
strength of Christianity is
that it is adapted to all."
Conclusion
My own conclusion is that
each of us, you and me and
the persons sitting in the
row ahead of you, have a duty
to reach out to others. Someone
wrote that personal faith
is like a candle; it’s
only useful when lit, attracting
other people to it.
Why don’t all of you
resolve to speak to one person
you meet or already know next
week about Christianity? If
as many as eight in ten Canadians
believe in God, the chances
are that the person you speak
to is already a believer even
if only nominally. Why not
see if you can get him/her
to come here to Timothy Eaton
next Sunday?
There is probably a greater
need for committed Christians
in every walk of life today
than at most other points
in human history. We believers
in our own lives must place
a high value on the empathy,
grace, kindness and numerous
other qualities associated
with Christianity. Our lives
must somehow manage to remind
others that there is a Redeemer
for our "tormented public
and private world."
Should Christians each in
our own way and space not
also attempt to do what the
Apostle Paul and millions
of lesser-known believers
have done down through the
ages? We could use C.S. Lewis
as a model for our age. If
Lewis was the twentieth century’s
most influential Christian
author, was he not also, as
Dorothy Sayers put it, "God’s
terrier"? Believers in
any situation should be terriers
for our Saviour too. Each
day presents new opportunities
for ministry.
Let me in closing quote from
the highly-respected Czech
President, Vaclav Havel:
A modern philosopher
once said: ‘Only a
God can save us now.’
Yes, the only real hope
of people today is probably
a renewal of our certainty
that we are rooted in the
earth and, at the same time,
the cosmos. ... Politicians
at international forums
may reiterate a thousand
times that the basis of
the new world order must
be universal respect for
human rights, but it will
mean nothing as long as
this imperative does not
derive from the respect
of the miracle of being,
the miracle of the universe,
the miracle of nature, the
miracle of our own existence.
Only someone who submits
to the authority of the
universal order and of creation,
who values the right to
be part of it and a participant
in it, can genuinely value
himself and his neighbours,
and thus honour their rights
as well.
God bless you all!
