7 mins
Reflections from the Moderator-Designate
The following are brief reflections on the passage which the Moderator-Designate, the Rev Dr Martin Fair planned to use during the week of the General Assembly.
‘ONE day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.’ Mark 1:16-17
Day 1 Last year, the General Assembly, and therefore the church, committed itself to both the Radical Plan and the findings of the Special Commission. Since then many folks have been hugely busy working out how to translate these various ideas, goals and principles into practical out-workings. Naturally enough, much of the effort has been directed at the business of restructuring – the reshaping of the central bodies and the creation of larger regional units (‘super presbyteries.’)
But deep down, we’re all aware – or should be! – that restructuring in itself will prove to be of little help to us unless it is accompanied by a wholehearted recommitment to the mission to which Jesus called us. To put it another way, unless our new shape frees us up to do that which we are primarily called to do then malaise and decline will doubtless continue unabated.
Is this a counsel of despair? Not a bit of it! I for one remain entirely hopeful. I’ve said on numerous occasions that if I thought there was no hope for the Church of Scotland then I’d quit ministry and find something more useful to do with the remainder of my working life.
But here I am. Still here. Not going anywhere.
God isn’t finished with Scotland and will, I pray, use us powerfully in the days ahead as a channel through which his love, joy and peace will be known afresh to the peoples of our nation and beyond.
So as we continue with the necessary business of redesigning the way we operate, let it go hand in hand with a full-blooded, no-holds-barred, commitment to what Jesus called those first disciples to: fishing for people.
Day 2 I have some wonderful memories of growing up within the family of the church and not least within the infant department of the Sunday School. Maybe that’s because my best friend and future wife was one of my young classmates!
But alongside that, I can remember us singing and of all the choruses we sang, I will make you fishers of men was among my favourites – the words and the accompanying actions! During my seven years of Summer Mission on the beach at Girvan, that song was still a fixture in the repertoire of songs that we’d use in our engagement with the local kids and families.
Times have changed. The exclusiveness of the language is problematic now. The song is certainly of its time, a bit dated we might say.
But while we might want to sing a new song, let’s rejoice in the timeless truth that Jesus is still calling us to follow him and, as the gospels have it, to ‘fish for people.’ The most serious mistake we could make – and perhaps have? – is to tell ourselves that the task of fishing is ‘of its time’ and somewhat dated now. How we go about it must be worked out anew in every time and place but that we do it is not up for debate. It’s why we’re here – not an optional extra.
The seas around our coastlines may have suffered from seasons of over-fishing. We caught too many fish. In terms of fishing for people, in this season we’ve barely got into the boat.
Day 3 There are some wonderful old black and white pictures of the fisherfolk of Arbroath – the town in which I’ve lived and ministered throughout the whole of my ministry. What strikes me most in these grainy old images is that everyone was involved – the bairns, the men and the women and the grandparents. It might have been the menfolk who went to sea but the land-based part of the endeavour was equally important; baiting the lines, mending the nets, gutting the fish and of course heading off far and wide to sell the catch. We can be sure that nobody was sitting around with time on their hands!
Recovering the essential mission of the church – fishing for people – will require that all of us are involved. There may still be room for the occasional rally featuring a renowned evangelist but the basic business of fishing for people is more to do with what each of us is about in the day to day ordinariness of life. And while some will still be called to ‘leave what’s known and dear’ in answer to a particular call, for most of us our fishing ground will be right where we are – among our neighbours, colleagues and friends.
Though having a working knowledge of what our faith is all about will of course help, you won’t need a doctoral degree in systematic theology. More important will be your love for people and your willingness – like those first fishermen – to be obedient to Jesus’ calling.
Day 4 Fishing for people does require that those of us who have answered Jesus’ primary call to follow him are ready and willing to speak of the one to whom we have committed our lives. Silence isn’t golden.
But the speaking part should be woven seamlessly into the whole of our living.
Jesus promised those first followers that he would teach them, or show them, how to fish for people and we might argue that the greater part of those few years that he was among them was given over to fulfilling that promise.
When we reflect on the gospel accounts, and see then what he ‘showed them,’ it’s abundantly clear that there was plenty of ‘doing’ alongside all of the ‘speaking.’ It’s clear that Jesus cared for people – not just because he said so but because he showed it to be so. He healed the sick, ministered to the crushed and broken in spirit, sat with those who were excluded and marginalised, ate with those who knew only that they didn’t belong and were despised.
All of that was integral to the business of fishing for people. And it still needs to be today. We’re a long way from that time when we had some kind of right to preach – and a long way from any realistic expectation that many were interested or would listen.
That’s why the doing and the serving and the caring are so vital in this age.
If we want the opportunity to stand up and speak, first we need to kneel down and serve. Fishing for people demands nothing less.
Day 5 I’ve never been keen on fishing and therefore know very little about it. Nor I suspect would I have the patience for it. From what I’ve seen, it seems to involve a lot of hanging around doing, well, not very much!
But I do know this much; you need some kind of bait. I once took my boys fishing while on a holiday abroad and was advised that the best bait was chunks of Kentucky Fried Chicken!
I wonder if that’s perhaps how we’ve thought about church, and mission – the whole business of fishing for people? Maybe we’ve told ourselves that if we come up with the right bait then the fish – people – will come swimming right up, and in. Have we imagined that if we got our music right, or changed the version of the pew Bible, or projected the words, or served better coffee, or installed nicer toilets that people would come?
If so then we’ve been guilty of using the wrong bait. There’s nothing wrong in any of the above but ‘doing things better’ is no substitute for offering the love of God made known in Jesus. When first present, people were drawn to Jesus. That hasn’t changed.
But there’s something else about the idea of bait. By implication it involves luring, or drawing fish, to us. What if, in sending us out, Jesus means for us to… go out! So we’re not to ‘stay in’ and lure people to us; we’re to ‘step out’ and take with us the greatest gift we have to offer.
Jesus.
This article appears in the May 2020 Issue of Life and Work
If you would like to view other issues of Life and Work, you can see the full archive
here.