The gathering of the congregation

In practically every country the Church

today is in a missionary situation. It is no longer true, if it ever was, that society is Christian, the people baptised and taught the faith from infancy. No such assumption can be made. A congregation, if it exists, must be gathered in a literal sense. Called by Jesus Christ More profoundly and theologically, every congregation is gathered because it can come into being only at the call of Christ. According to St. John the Evangelist, Jesus said to the Church "You did not choose me, I chose you." (John 15: 16).

When Christ's call

is heard, and men and women respond, drawn together by their common loyalty to Him and His mission, the Church comes into being. It has been customary in Britain to distinguish between a "gathered" congregation, drawing its members from a widely scattered area in a city, and a "parish church," based rather on a particular geographical area. We must reckon, however, that no Christian congregation can exist which is not gathered by Christ, as His word is heard and understood. Indeed a vital congregation is for ever in the position of being gathered. In the beginning of the Church there appeared to be two clearly distinct methods of gathering. The first depended on the event of a "sign" or "wonder" like the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, recorded in Acts chapter 3.

The miracle drew a crowd,

and gave opportunity to explain the source of power in Jesus and His Spirit. The second method, used extensively by St. Paul, was to go to an already existing group where entry was possible, such as the local synagogue,. and use the opportunity to preach Christ. The essential thing is that the invitation to come into the fellowship of the Church should be heard as a call from Christ Himself. There are at least two notes in that call. The first is that it offers good news to the poor. It is welcomed therefore, not by those who are self-sufficient, but by people who are prepared to reach out, in trust, and accept deliverance. The second note is that it involves a mission to the whole world which Christ has come to save.

It cannot be heard

only as a matter of self-interest, but identifies us with all men. The voice that the Apostles heard was not only an invitation. It was also a commission 'Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men." It may be that some aspects of the Church today, such as the dignity of its buildings, the affluence of the majority of members and the apparent absence of a sacrificial concern for others actually prevent the call of Christ from being heard. What do we do in that case? Do we ignore the Church as it is and set up our own group? That is not a rhetorical question. Tom Allan, in "The Face of My Parish," describes the agony of it. Many of the 'non-churchly" groups already mentioned have arisen from a sense of frustration at the unwillingness of traditional congregations to accept their mission to the world. On the other hand, every congregation present at least the opportunity to make clear what it means to follow Christ. That opportunity is accepted bravely and steadily by hosts of Christian people who, with little encouragement from the majority of their fellow-members, maintain living cells of Christian fellowship and service within the institutional churches.

There are, of course, strong voices which suggest that the process of gathering is unimportant. We are called, so the reasoning goes, to serve our neighbour in his need of friendship, not so as to bring him into the Church, but for his own sake. Christian mission according to their view, aims not to try to persuade people to become Christians, but rather to love them as they are. But if we are truly concerned for our neighbour surely we must hope that he will come to share in the new life Christ gives to His followers. Christian mission unquestionably implies an invitation to come to Church, to belong to the fellowship of the sinners who are also saints. The Human Agency in the Gathering What happens in practice when a new housing area is opened up, and the question arises about gathering a congre-gation? How is Christ's call to be heard there? Surely the many centuries of experience during which the Church has tried effectively and ineffectively to evangelise, have some-thing of proven worth to tell us.

They do indeed.

Without hesitation the testimony is that the congregation is gathered, Christ's call is heard, the Church increases, through the corporate worship of Christians, however small in number, and through the quality of life of its members. It may be that, initially at least, the new fellowship grows better without a Church building to formalise it. Often it has come into vigorous existence even before a minister has been officially appointed. Whether a congregation is in embryonic form only, or highly developed with all the para-phernalia of Churchdom, these are still the two factors that matter, and must remain central in the strategy. Christ's call is heard, His presence recognised, His power felt, in the common worship of those who believe in Him, and in the witness of their lives. We cannot overestimate the power of a corporate or group witness, to convey the meaning of Christian faith.

Every pastor can tell of people

of all ages for whom intellectual and doctrinal difficulties disappeared, when they found a community whose way of life they wanted to share. The majority of people who come from a non-Church background into active membership do so because they have found a Christian way of life in a particular fellowship of Christians. In places where Church leaders-especially lay-leaders- share their thoughts with one another, inevitably they ask how to win the young. It is a real question and hard to answer. But is there not a more serious one? Why do the poor stay away? There are signs that young people when they grow up, marry and have children, begin to drift back. For youth is an impermanent condition. But there are few signs that the really deprived members of society. those who have been left out of the race for money. culture and success, are finding their way into the Church.

Why do they not see the fellowship of Jesus'

disciples as a refuge and as the possibility of a new start? This is the most serious question for the Church today. How can the invitation of Jesus be heard by those whom He describes as the poor? It is at this point that Christian preaching and writing brings in the idea of caring. There must be care for those who are socially deprived. True, but there 4s a kind of caring action which accentuates the gulf between the one who gives and the one who receives. The gathering of the "poor" into the congregation will come when the community measures up to the full cost of caring, which is not a matter of giving, even sacrificial giving. It is even more a matter of accepting into the family circle, those who were thought to be, and thought themselves to be, outside it. The Cost In a Scottish town some young people were converted, and completely changed in their habits of life.

They felt impelled to go out and meet their contemporaries in places where young people gather, and try to tell about their new found faith. The result was that they returned, again and again, with other young people who were impressed by their message and saw Jesus as one whom they could follow. They also brought back on their faces and bodies visible marks made by others who were not impressed, and reacted with customary violence. The experience of these young Christians reminds us not only that the process of gathering the congregation is through the witness of those who believe, but also that it cannot go on without cost. Every form of mission must carry its own form of cross. Jesus said however that there is more joy in heaven at the repentance of one sinner than in ninety-nine continuing safe.

In that case the joy,

as well as the bruising, experienced by a Christian congregation, depends on it being not only gathered, but also gathering. Baptism The sign of entrance into the Church is the Sacrament of Baptism. The normal form of Baptism is when a man or woman who has come to believe in Christ, openly confesses that faith, accepts His Spirit as the power in which to live as a Christian and therefore becomes a member of the Church. Infant Baptism is merely a special case, in which children of those who are already members of the Church are accepted into it.

Baptism implies full membership

of the Church and must never be separated from that understanding. The practice of confirming or solemnly admitting members on profession of their faith is strictly speaking somewhat illogical if, being baptised, they are already members of the Church. It is justified, however, on practical grounds, as giving an opportunity for those baptised as infants, to make their own open confession that Christ has called them and they want to follow Him and to belong in His Church. The Lord's Supper The Lord's Supper is the act which demonstrates better than any words can do, what it means to be a member of Christian community.

The self-offering of Christ

in love for the world, our total dependence on Him to sustain our life, and our sharing what we receive with the whole family is set out with such simplicity in this sacrament, that it must remain forever the supreme sign of the Christian faith. The privilege of receiving the Lord's Supper is open to all who want to know more of Christ, and to come closer within the circle of His followers. We have no right to hedge it round with legalistic restrictions.

The Protestant Churches

generally have displaced the Lords Supper from its central place in worship. The historical reason for this was that false and magical motives about the sacrament had to be erased. It is more than time, however, to bring the Lord's Supper back to its right place as the normal act of worship in the local Christian community. The Churches will be impoverished in their evangelism and teaching until they do so. The Distinction between the Church and the World The fact that a Christian congregation is gathered out of its society means that there is a marked difference between it and that society. The Church today is nervous at this point.

We are not sure how to preserve the openness

of Christ's company to every sort of man and woman, and at the same time preserve the apartness in habit arid practice of those who are disciples. There is no final answer to this question. The tension belongs to the nature of the Christian congregation. It is equally dangerous on the one hand to be so open that the call of Christ to a new life is not under-stood: and on the other to emphasise the difference to the point of judging, despising and excluding those who are not like ourselves. The response to the call of Christ is faith in Him.

Paul was prepared to fight

to the last ditch to maintain the truth, that it is not keeping the law-the Mosaic law or the Roman or any other-that makes us Christians, but simply trust in Christ. The congregation then will have many different levels of understanding, and achievement and status. It will include those who have many talents and those who have few. Some members of it will be outstanding in integrity of character, others will stumble from one folly to another. There is a place in it for the lame, the blind and the paralysed as well as the strong.

What characterises it is the fact that strong or weak,

saints or sinners, the members believe in God, and look to the death and resurrection of Christ for their help here and hereafter. Here is the deep distinction between the Christian community and the world. It is not a question of moral superiority. God forbid that it should be a matter of educational and cultural status. The great divide between the Church and the world lies in the fact that the world trusts in its own wealth, drive, knowledge and achievement. The Church hopes in God. The gathering of the Church is the calling together, by the preaching of the Word of those who are prepared to trust in nothing else than the goodness of God.