Humpty was looking pensive. ‘Humpty, would you say you are melancholy?’
Eventually he replied with: ‘Try falling off a wall and see what that does for your composure. I’m as Anglo-Saxon miserable as the next man but I make the best of it.’
‘OK,’ I replied. ‘I only asked because somebody once said that we have a melancholy duty.’
‘You’re referring to Gibbon, I suppose?’
That took the wind out of my sails. I never think of Humpty as a church historian. But, like it or not, he is clearly familiar with Gibbon and his use of the word ‘melancholy’ Here is Gibbon putting the word to good use: ‘The theologian may indulge the pleasing task of describing Religion as she descended from Heaven, arrayed in her native purity. A more melancholy duty is imposed on the historian,’ said Gibbon.
Whether or not we have any claim to be historians, it is a melancholy duty to face the facts. It’s all very well to live carefree and footloose in La La Land: sunshine, sandy beach, no thought-police. But in good times and in bad the Church has a duty to announce, persuade, convince and entice our fellow men and women to respond to the Gospel directly or indirectly. Paul put it like this: ‘Preaching is something God told me to do, and if I don’t do it, I am doomed.’ (1 Corinthians 9.16 CEV). Paul did not mince his words. He grasped the nettle. We cannot all be St Pauls. We can all do our duty.
We Christians live in troubled times – along with everybody else. Our distinctive trouble is decline. People are deserting the churches. This is not a problem that will be solved by better management. Saturday’s ‘Times’ (6 February) drew attention to this. A headline ran: ‘Clergy eased out as church puts its faith in managers.’ The achievement of an efficiently functioning Church is one thing; the effective proclaiming of the Gospel is something else.
We must join St Paul in rejoicing that by whatever means the Gospel is proclaimed. He did not blink. ‘What does it matter/’ asked Paul, ‘One way or another, whether sincerely or not, Christ is proclaimed; and for that I rejoice.’ (Philippians 1.18). We need something of that generous spirit. Cheer up, Humpty!
C3 GLOBAL
Hope City Church, Sheffield was launched in 1991and is part of a worldwide connection of 500 churches with a Pentecostal emphasis, a fresh vocabulary and a youthful approach. The Sheffield church, from which others have originated, meets in an old tool factory that it calls a megacentre. It also meets in 11 other centres in Sheffield and engages in church planting. In Frankfurt there is a Hope church which has services in English.
LIVING ALONE
Christ Church, Sidcup runs a weekly blog on lockdown wisdom. Adam Curtis has learned how to get the best out of living alone. Laughter has a place in it. See the church website. If you live alone you may find the website offers encouragement.
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