Global

City, Global Perspectives, LBA Ministers Conference Jan 2016. Thinking Glocal

Session 3: Thinking (& speaking & acting & living) Glocally

[S37]
Sister Marie Keyroux
[S38]

Ephesians 3
This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for* Christ Jesus for the sake of
you Gentiles 2for surely you have already heard of the commission of
Gods grace that was given to me for you, 3and how the mystery was made
known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, 4a reading of
which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of
Christ. 5In former generations this mystery* was not made known to
humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets
by the Spirit: 6that is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members
of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the
gospel.
7 Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of Gods
grace that was given to me by the working of his power. 8Although I am
the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the
Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, 9and to make
everyone see* what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in* God who
created all things; 10so that through the church the wisdom of God in its
rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in
the heavenly places. 11This was in accordance with the eternal purpose
that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12in whom we have access
to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.* 13I pray therefore
that you* may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your
glory.
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,* 15from whom every
family* in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16I pray that, according to
the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your
inner being with power through his Spirit, 17and that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
18I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints,
what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the
love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all
the fullness of God.
[S39]
Is it a good thing or bad thing that we have Congolese congregations,
Korean congregations, white British congregations????

Global City, Global Perspectives, LBA Ministers Conference Jan 2016. Thinking Glocal

Seems to me it can be either in the purposes of God it falls short of the
ultimate good but it can very definitely be a penultimate good.
[S40]
Baptismal service in Bosnia. Tell via Dave Skeets story 1996/7
Ultimately we have to step out of the silos
[S41]
The vision of the church is not the melting pot but the stew pot where
each ingredient is recognisably itself while also taking on flavour from
other ingredients and in turn lending its flavour back too.
A healthy cultural ecosystem depends on there being a variety of
cultures to stimulate learning growth and development
[S42]

A little bit of this and a little bit of that, thats how the newness
comes.
Salman Rushdie

Mission is about giving over the gospel to the other as new news. But it
is also about receiving the gospel back from them as renewed news,
enriched by their experience and culture. It is renewed news in the sense
that I could not have seen it that way had I clung onto it. It cannot be
enriched if we insist on retaining control.
[S43 - 45]
Jazz image summer time how different cultures play same tune but
bring something new, and enriching to it.
1935, 1936, 2008
A decentred, locally rooted interconnected community of people
dancing to the tune of the spirit of God en route to a rich new
kaleidoscopic identity whos beauty is only possible because of its
variety.
Pentecost was not a total reversal of Babel, rather it was Babel
redeemed people still heard in their own language. What was overcome
was the confusion of Babel but in such a way that maintained diversity.

Global City, Global Perspectives, LBA Ministers Conference Jan 2016. Thinking Glocal

The ebb and flow the centripetal and centrifugal the systolic and
diastolic the inhale and exhale of the glocal.
[46]
If we are not to respond to Globalisation by entrenching our inherited
identity, the alternative is to embrace identity as a project. As well as
being rooted and connected we are en route. In fact it is only because
we are rooted and connected that the journey is possible.
We can neither settle for a call to a unity that masks an insistence that
other conform (cf the experience of the windrush generation) neither
can we tolerate for ever an atomistic isolationism, an ecclesial version of
the silo approach to multiculturalism. Getting it right wont be easy and
perhaps especially for Baptists experiment with new forms of church
Hard but journey anyway
The route to fulfilling the project of a new identity has to pass
through the broken middle, (or the wilderness as the bible calls it.)
We travel beyond what is familiar into a risky unknown way.
We see the way through a glass darkly, we see only in part.
Those who walk as if they see clearly, walk only by their own light
and will go astray - confidently
Those who for lack of clarity fear to move will miss so much,
But those who know that we walk not by sight but by faith but
walk on anyway, they are the ones who are likely to bump into
God.
Our attempts will be flawed, we will have to try and try again, but unless
try we will never learn God meets us in our imperfections and redirects.
[S47]
Leonard Cohen Anthem
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

Global City, Global Perspectives, LBA Ministers Conference Jan 2016. Thinking Glocal

As you journey on offer God your crackpot efforts looking for the light,
remember:
1. Hospitality is about receiving as well as giving.
The west is not normative and neither is western Christianity otherwise
non-western people will only ever be exotic aliens. Until we treat
Christians from the South and the East as equals we shall not know
ourselves or them. It is very difficult to learn truth from ones
subordinates.
2. We must re-frame the terms of the dialogue its not just
about the west and the rest
cf MCCC is almost entirely Chinese but at the same time very much more
multicultural than many a white or African church that I know.

Conclusion
As local theologians rooted in the local and connected to the global your
task is not always to give the answers, sometimes its to convene a
conversation, to serve as host, to spread the table, invite participants and
curate a conversation. Just because you are the pastor, it doesnt mean
you have to have the last word. Learn the delight of having a word that
starts a conversation.
As local theologians you will know that we are a mustard seed kind of
people we believe the local can impact the global.
As local theologians you are the ones whom I hope will be able to see that
through glocalisation God is giving this generation in the church a
glorious opportunity to grow the kind of community speaks of divine
possibility.
This will be hard
Ive challenged too much let me encourage the good new is I finished
Eph 3 early:
20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish
abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21to him be glory in
the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

Global City, Global Perspectives, LBA Ministers Conference Jan 2016. Thinking Glocal