On Saturday I had arranged to meet a friend at Camden so that we could visit the famous ‘Camden market’. We had arranged to meet outside Camden underground, as this was the place both of us were familiar with. I arrived bang on 12:30pm as planned and found that most of the people visiting Camden had decided to meet outside the underground. Now it’s not a very big space outside the underground, the width of a pavement to be exact. So you can imagine it was very busy and I wasn’t quite sure I would be able to see my friend when she arrived (for any interested parties! Family, friends etc this was not a date). Within this mass of people there was so much going on… it made for very good people watching. After a couple of minutes of waiting I received a text saying that my friend would be about 15mintes late so I decided to sit back take in what was going on around me. To my left was a man with an advertising board which read ‘reduced prices on Dr Martins! Interested? See this man’ with an arrow pointing downwards towards him. In front of me it was a constant routine of meetings and greetings. Some people greeted one another like they hadn’t seen each other in ages. Others high-fived, some snogged and some jumped up and down with excitement. It made for very interesting observation. At one point I got approached by a guy with an Oxfam petition, with time on my hands I spoke to him about the work Oxfam were doing and also the work of the Oasis Trust. I signed his petition and he gave me two free badges (Yessssss!). During this time the guy with the advertising board went off and returned soon with a bag of chips (they smelt really good). Then something happened…..
A guy (about the same age as me) walked out of the station and sat on the railing beside me. Shortly after his arrival he tapped me on the shoulder and in a London accent said “s’cuse me bruv, don’t mind if I smoke do ya?” Without any hesitation I said, “yes” because I really didn’t mind. Then when I thought about it I was amazed at his willingness to ask in this seemingly selfish city. So, I turned and told him that I really appreciated him asking my permission to which he replied that he felt really bad about smoking close to people. Smoking is quite a big issue in my larger family. I have very clear memories of a family meal at the ‘Wheel Inn’ where my auntie made a massive fuss about the couple who had started to smoke close to our table. Which is fair enough because it’s not a nice smell when your eating but my auntie really did create a very uncomfortable atmosphere for the smokers…. Smoking really affects my eye’s and so I’ve always struggled with people who smoke in public spaces. But here in the midst of a buzzing street where hundreds of people were moving around this young guy asked me if he could smoke….amazing. Yet with that wonderful experience I came across one not so memorable.
I have to say that when my auntie made a fuss about the couple smoking I felt uncomfortable both for them and within myself. This was a similar feeling to when I saw across the road from the underground an outdoor Christian evangelist. No, in fact I didn’t feel uncomfortable I felt angry…. internal anger. I realise that the guy with the microphone has great intentions but does he realise the destruction he’s doing to the state of the church, Britain’s impression of Jesus, the Christian faith…? I watched people walking past so intent on ignoring the speaker. Intent on ignoring what they’re being told because either they’ve heard it all before or they don’t particularly want to be preached at on the one day they can enjoy away from work. I think the big question is how do you evangelise to a busy city like London.
I had a meeting with my manager last week and he talked about the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. He spoke of how Jesus wasn’t just concerned with their spiritual well being but also they’re physical well being. This is shown in the fact that he wanted to feed the people who had come to listen to him. I think the evangelist on the street offers a spiritual message but what is he doing for people’s physical and mental needs. In a city like London people work long hours and as a result their mental well being suffers. At Church.co.uk our aim is to offer a holistic service that meets people’s needs. We aim to offer a counselling service, an advocacy service, alcoholics anonymous meetings, gig nights (for the indie kids), a buzzing coffee shop, sporting events, social events, aerobics classes, mothers and toddlers groups, parenting classes, after/before school clubs, breakfast clubs and homework clubs. And then if people choose too they can learn more about why we offer such a service…. Church.co.uk is just a small part of the larger Oasis vision for establishing community support (google: Oasis academy Enfield). Does anyone really want to be talked at these days (in reference to the outdoor evangelist)…. Would it be more effective to support people with compassion through action…. And words if their interested.
2 comments:
The coffee shop isn't exactly buzzing ... yet, but with time it will be the best around.
Good blog man - mine feels somewhat inferior ;)
Just a genuine question.
How do you apply the principles of holistic mission in reaching the rich and successful who do not perceive themselves to be in need? Perhaps some people just need the message of sin and redemption!?
I've had some good spiritual conversations with people because of some pretty weird street-evangelists! The people walking with me have seen these street preachers and said to me, "you're a Christian, shouldn't you go over there and join them yelling at folk?". That's given me the opportunity to talk about Jesus and what he means to me, and why I am NOT yelling at people in shopping centres about him!
I don't use the methods of the street preachers, but I admire their courage and have also benefitted from their witness (even if sometimes defining my own faith in contrast to theirs).
And yes, I do find it embarassing to be thought of as being associated with such people. But hey - they are my brothers in Christ too, and even the best families have some eccentric uncles who appear from time to time!
The challenge that the street preachers give me is, "Am I pursuing what I believe God has called me to do, as wholeheartedly as some of these guys are? (even if they are wrong)"
Hope you don't mind my thought for the day!
Post a Comment