He took some time out to speak to Christian Today about the contribution that ordinary Christians can and should be making in their local communities today.
CT: The sceptics are saying the church is dead and Christians have nothing to offer. What would you say to them?
MD: I think organised religion is dying but I think Christian faith and Christian spirituality has never been more alive and I think that dichotomy will continue.
What I am deeply excited about is that God is giving us a revival that we never asked for. We prayed for revival and we thought revival would mean services full and buildings bulging at the seams – and that’s part of revival. But the revival that God is giving us is a rediscovery of connecting with our communities and the biblical mandate for justice and mercy and whole life transformation. And that is happening all the way across the United Kingdom.
I think we are going back to what Christianity was birthed to be. In 312, Emperor Constantine became a Christian and at that moment the church became a partner with government in all the ways that we were not called to be. And we thought that we had political power and special privileges and special rights. That has never been what our power has been about. Our power has always been a power birthed out of an authentic spirituality, an authentic connection with Jesus. And if we want it to be real and last, that’s where it needs to stay.
CT: What about Christians who feel overwhelmed by the need, who feel a passion to do something but also at the same time think ‘how do I even go about doing this’?
MD: I think very often what Christians think they need to do good in the community is more money and more funding, but one of the interesting things about Faithworks is that most of the projects that we work with, whether they are small or very large, began with this one person who decided they needed to do one thing. God never asks us to do what we can’t do. He asks us to do what we can.
It’s not the bits of the Bible that I don’t understand that cause me a challenge. It’s the bit that says ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. I know what it means and I know how to do it and it scares the life out of me. That’s not about money, that’s about a commitment to serve your neighbour.
The Colchester Nightstop has a budget of £500 a year but has brought 55young people into a whole life experience. It’s not about money or about a big plan but about people doing one thing.
CT: What about Christians who feel it is difficult to run a service that is distinctively Christian?
MD: It is hard, it is. But just because it is hard doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing and we exist to help them – and to help them to understand exactly what authentic Christianity means and what it means to share the Gospel. You don’t need to lose your identity to serve other people. You don’t need to pretend not to be Christian to engage in services for your community.
