Stepping out in faith

In his first column, the Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson why the Church needs to be at work in the world in moving forward.

PICTURE the scene: less than 24 hours earlier I had encouraged commissioners to the General Assembly to go back to their parishes and communities and build together the church of Jesus Christ. In that message, I shared with them an annoyance I have when travelling… when others step off an escalator and stop to take stock of where they are going next: left, right or straight ahead. They do so completely unaware of the resultant pile-up of people behind who cannot, as a result, get off the escalator. My message was that we all need to step out, step forward, in the confidence that the Holy Spirit is with us.

Well, as Christine and I were making our way back to Strathaven with four heavy cases between us we struggled to the train station to discover the escalator wasn’t working. There was a large queue for the lift and so it was a tortuous trip down a flight of stairs. I couldn’t help but smile as I would much rather have a pile up at the bottom of an escalator than the aches and pains of using the stairs.

“Even with all the changes and challenges, the church has not stopped but has “ continued to step out and step forward.”

Jesus calls us to follow him. At times we may not have a clear sense of where we are going, or (to use the illustration above) where we will step off the escalator, but we follow Christ knowing that he will be with us on the journey. God will help us use our talents, our gifts, and our abilities to make a difference in other people’s lives. In the short time I have been travelling around the country preaching, meeting, sharing, I have been amazed to witness the incredible force for good that the church offers in the communities it serves. Even with all the changes and challenges, the church has not stopped but has continued to step out and step forward. I am already seeing for myself how congregations in so many different ways make a positive contribution to those around them. It is wonderful to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ at work with so many building together to share God’s love and the Good News of Jesus Christ. I am seeing scripture in action: [For], ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these members of my family, you did it for me!’

While it’s always good to take stock of where we are, we must not stop. Every single one of us has to think of how we care for others, of how we fulfil that great commandment to love our neighbours. Yes, preaching is an integral part of ministry and it is great that so many of our congregations now have worship leaders and that we have moved beyond it being the minister’s job, for we are all ministers. But we also need to get out of the pulpits and the pews of a Sunday morning and be the church at work in the world… we need to continuously review the needs in our parishes, the issues that people are living with and respond. We need to keep moving forward.

What I have already witnessed in these early months of my tenure fills me with encouragement, for I see the evidence of Christ’s love at work everywhere I go. ¤

The Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson is minister at Strathaven: Trinity and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2024/25.