Curious .... but then, maybe not

I tick the relevant boxes meticulously, I follow the instructions as carefully as I can…and still I am besieged by all manner of unsolicited letters, many of them relating to financial services of one sort of another.  I am sure that my response is the same as countless other people and I marvel that there is still any mileage in companies resorting to this kind of ‘pester power’… still, I suppose that there must be some, otherwise the comparatively expensive practice of mail-shots on a grand scale would cease.  Talking of ‘pester power’, I also wonder about the effectiveness of the tactics used by the young adults who represent all manner of charities on the streets of central Birmingham: I know that the charities argue that this relatively ‘personal’ approach yields good results, but the vast majority of people stride by, eyes firmly averted or else deep in conversation.

Read the gospels…and it seems to me that there is no evidence that ‘pester power’ was used in an attempt to solicit a response to the teaching of Jesus.  People came to Jesus and spoke aggressively, persistently – and I know that Jesus told the curious story of the widow and the unjust judge – but Jesus used a very different kind of ‘power’ in ensuring the people listened to, engaged with and offered some response to his message.  What was the secret – and what can we learn from it today?

Clarity, relevance, profound knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of humankind, a genuinely holistic approach, the absence of a self-seeking hidden agenda…it is difficult to know where to begin in response to this, but the last point is supremely important.  As those entrusted with a message to share, we are not in the business of building up or shoring up the church, though this remains the justifiable perception of a great many people.  We are in the business of building up the Kingdom, something – thankfully – which is profoundly different.

As I accumulate more years in ministry, it sometimes seems to me that I should actively be working for the dismantling of the church, in order that the message of Jesus might prosper.  Curious…but then, maybe not.