‘No time for turning back’

The Very Rev Dr John Chalmers explains why change is necessary for every part of the life of the Church of Scotland.

A YEAR in the life of the Church of Scotland has turned and in what seems like the blink of an eye we are preparing for another General Assembly.

After more than 40 years, this may be the last time that I must set aside the third week in May for the Kirk’s annual meeting. There is something in me that knows I will miss it but there is also something else in me that questions whether this format of Church governance is fit for purpose in the present day.

There is a huge complexity associated with the renewal of almost every part of our Church life. In 2019, through the receipt of a Radical Action Plan and the subsequent work of a Special Commission –a wake-up call for reformation in every part of our life was issued. The urgent need was for the proper resourcing of the local Church and for proper mission planning to happen in every Presbytery. Now, every single issue which is causing discomfort across the Church is a result of beginning to implement actions which were long overdue.

From the reform of the way in which we recruit and prepare people for ministry to the overhaul of our financial contribution system; from the structure of our Presbyteries to the deployment of our ministries, every lever of change is being pulled at the same time and it is not proving to be easy. It is hardly a fit comparison but there are shades of the ancient story of the children of Israel escaping from Egypt. They had only got so far on the journey when their uncertain circumstances prompted ideas of turning back. The promise, however, did not belong in turning back; instead it belonged in continuing the journey. In 40 years of General Assemblies I have never felt quite as close as we are now to a sense of realism about our life as part of God’s Church. We are not there yet but despite the difficulties involved in this journey this is no time for turning back.

Over the years the Church of Scotland may have drifted into a too comfortable institutional framework which is difficult to change. For years we have repeated the annual cycle of Church life but now, like a modern-day Rip Van Winkle, we have awakened to a very different world which needs a very different approach to ministry, mission, governance, management and accountability.

“We have awakened to a very different world which needs a very different approach to ministry, mission, governance, management and accountability.

One of Jesus’ most challenging insights is found in Matthew 9: 16-17 where he says: “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved”.

Jesus could see how the religious structures of his day could not contain the force of the Spirit that he was announcing. Jesus’ gift was that of challenging people to look beyond religious structures to find faith where it might be least expected. And Jesus knew that, while tradition could be an important cradle of truth, there were times when it could not contain the new thing that God was doing.

The complexity of the transformation needed in the life of the Church of Scotland is such that no part of who we are and what we do can escape scrutiny and reform. We have started on the process, but work is far from complete. We have placed many aspects of our life under the microscope, but if we are serious about being a Church which is both relevant and respected, then we need to remember that we won’t get away with stitching new patches onto old cloth or trying to put new wine in old wineskins. ¤