Margaret Silf tells the story of attending a welcome service for a new vicar in an Anglican church. After the service, everyone was helping themselves to food spread out on tables in the hall. The food was getting polished off at high speed, except for one bowl which remained completely untried. The bowl contained a delicious looking rice salad, but it was being ignored and stood untouched at the end of the feast. Silf wondered why this was (and felt terrible for the person who had brought it!) Then she saw what the problem was - the salad didn't have a serving spoon - there was no way for people to serve themselves a helping.
Silf says that we sometimes experience this in the church. The church too is "sometimes like a bowl of salad, full of what people are so longing to receive, so hungry for. But where is the spoon? Do God's people have the means to eat the food he prepares for them, or is it wrapped up in the cling-film of doctrine and set high on the top shelf of theology? And are they too well-trained to dare to mention the problem?"
Silf says that the task of the church is not to make more food - the banquet is already set - our job is to provide spoons. A key part of our calling at WMC is to make disciples of Jesus and to help them grow by feasting at the banquet that God has laid on for us for this journey. Are you feeling frustrated for lack of a spoon? Some of the most effective spoons we offer are in the form of our small groups and service teams. Contact the office or have a look on our app or website for more details.
Silf says that we sometimes experience this in the church. The church too is "sometimes like a bowl of salad, full of what people are so longing to receive, so hungry for. But where is the spoon? Do God's people have the means to eat the food he prepares for them, or is it wrapped up in the cling-film of doctrine and set high on the top shelf of theology? And are they too well-trained to dare to mention the problem?"
Silf says that the task of the church is not to make more food - the banquet is already set - our job is to provide spoons. A key part of our calling at WMC is to make disciples of Jesus and to help them grow by feasting at the banquet that God has laid on for us for this journey. Are you feeling frustrated for lack of a spoon? Some of the most effective spoons we offer are in the form of our small groups and service teams. Contact the office or have a look on our app or website for more details.