In an age of change the Very Rev Albert Bogle calls for the protection of good people and good places.

WHILST congregations and presbyteries begin to prepare to think radically about the future of the Church in Scotland we need to be careful that we guard the good.

At this time of the year when gardens are being prepared for the winter, the gardener, while pruning and removing weeds and overgrown plants, needs to be careful not to throw out the good with the bad. So it is when an organisation undergoes a momentous change that care has to be taken to ensure the core values remain. We certainly require to be radical as a national church, but we also require to be passionate about the essential things we believe in that make us radical. Often these things are expressed better in signs and symbols as well as words.

I remember the huge backdrop made for the National Gathering of the Church of Scotland in 2008 at Ingliston. It read ‘All You Can’t leave Behind’ Above each of these five words was five things we need to be Church. Water to baptise, and make new followers. Bread to sustain and turn followers into disciples. Wine to renew the life of the Spirit in the church. The cross to deny self and follow; and the Word like a torch to direct our path. These signs and symbols were a reminder to us that a ‘Church Without Walls’ needs to travel light but also needs to travel with content that will nourish and sustain and grow followers into disciples.

Guarding the good is no easy task. It’s not just about precepts and principles. It’s about people and places and the willpower to protect the good from the evil that seeks to diminish and uproot the voice of compassion, generosity and kindness and beauty. This struggle can be seen in our world at present. The struggle is not only in the places of political power, it is carried out in the places where we work and play and within our family circles.

It’s not General Assemblies, or Presbyteries or even Kirk Sessions that eventually guard the good. It’s people like you and me who are called to live in such a way that we are prepared to speak out when we see injustice and evil prevailing. We need to be prepared to protect good people and places when they are being ridiculed and undermined, be it in public life or in the workplace or in our circle of friends. Very often good people don’t stick up for themselves. There is a humility they carry that can be both winsome and worrying. One thing I know is that there is something good about that old fashioned trait that says don’t boast about yourself. This philosophy flies in the face of our marketing world that has turned too many people into boastful competitors.

Good people may refuse to self promote when it comes to the annual work review. They may choose never to blow their own trumpet. Sometimes others need to stand in the gap and speak the truth on their behalf. The popularity of Twitter and other social media platforms as a mode of communication means that too often the most inappropriate things are said by celebrities and politicians, people who know better but choose to use inflammatory language to win popular approval. This kind of dialogue and mindset Good people may refuse to self promote when it comes to the annual work review. They may choose never to blow their own trumpet. Sometimes others need to stand in the gap and speak the truth on their behalf. The popularity of Twitter and other social media platforms as a mode of communication means that too often the most inappropriate things are said by celebrities and politicians, people who know better but choose to use inflammatory language to win popular approval. This kind of dialogue and mindset

“Guarding the good is no easy task.

If we require to guard good people we also require to guard good places. The rise of pollution in our seas and landscapes means that many places of natural beauty are being destroyed by plastics and other contaminates that are polluting our planet. Finding ways to guard the good places in our world is essential if our planet is to survive.

All of this impacts upon our lifestyles and our willingness to make the radical changes required by the signs and symbols we say we believe in. Sanctuary First has a service outline entitled ‘Guard the Good’. It is based around the parable of The Sower.

The take home symbol involves a seed planted in a pot and a scarecrow made out of a traditional wooden clothes peg. It’s a reminder to guard the good. This is time to start protecting the seeds of truth you’ve planted. Raising your symbolic scarecrows to guard the good can be both creative and courageous and effective.

The Very Rev Albert Bogle is a Pioneer Minister of Sanctuary First Church Online at www.sanctuaryfirst.org.uk