In the news this week has been the highly amusing tale of the Scottish village Dull. It sounds Scottish because if I say it over and over in my head I can see a video of the great Paul McCartney singing ‘Dull of Kintyre’?
I better not talk about Macka because if I do we will have to mention how everyone noticed that certain people didn’t sing very well at the Jubilee concert. But even that event was anything but dull – after all Grace Jones wished the Queen a ‘Happy Birthday’, and the nation had to admit Tom Jones has still got it!
Scottish Dull was in the news for wanting to associate itself with an American town called ‘Boring’. Have a glance with your mind’s eye and I am sure that you will be able to see the signs they will put on the roadside ‘Dull – in association with Boring’. I imagine there will queues of tourists wanting their photo in front of such a road sign.
We all had a different weekend last week – one which was anything but dull and boring. Almost the last event for most people was the stately and splendid service in St Paul’s cathedral to celebrate the Queens 60 year reign.
As much as the service was everything it should have been for a state occasion, it didn’t and couldn’t show the real face of the church.
Up and down this nation there is a new wave of activity in churches. We know that church attendance has been growing for a few years now. I know that here in York there has been a new influx of ordinary people into our churches in the last 2 weeks; many of them who have never darkened the door of a church before and yet like Zacchaeus they now want to see who Jesus is
Why is this?
Could it be that although the side of church shown on the TV is often a little like the merger between a Scottish village and an American town, that the reality is anything but dull and boring?
In churches today there are a wide range of musical styles, and authentic expressions of ordinary people reaching out to God. There is a style that suits you!
As a teenager I daren’t miss church in case I missed something life changing and I still feel that way now.
The reason that today’s authentic church can be so exciting and fulfilling is that it is not about doing something ‘churchy’ – it is about knowing someone ‘amazing’. Christians have a promise that Jesus gave us – that every time we meet together He is with us. Inside the doors of the church this morning, you may be surprised to find excitement and fulfilment in meeting Jesus.
Last week we saw the value of community at work among the jubilee celebrations. Every week we see Jesus at work in the church and also appreciate the value of community amongst the 2 billion people worldwide who will be in church this weekend. Church may be a lot of things but it isn’t dull and boring!