RITE AND REASON: A few months ago, as I was quietly reading through Ephesians, five words jumped out at me: "Live a life of love." They bring us to the practical centre of Christian theology, the place where the rubber of faith hits the road of daily life, writes Ken Newell.
The flowering of an authentic relationship with the risen Christ will always show itself in his love flowing out of us towards others, especially those who are different in some ways from ourselves.
This can apply to people within our own Churches, those we work with day by day, or people who have been hurt and damaged by life. It definitely should impact naturally on the inherited animosities associated with the tensions between Protestants and Catholics, Nationalists and Unionists and Republicans and Loyalists.
The three years my wife Val and I spent as missionaries in Indonesia with the Timor Evangelical Church broadened our horizons. We were able to enjoy the company of a local Muslim family who invited us to their daughter's wedding, a Hindu-Balinese doctor who kept a check on our health, a Catholic priest from Dundalk who would join us for dinner, and a vibrant Church of one million members.
Instead of viewing such diversity negatively, we learnt to look for the best in other people's faiths and attitudes. We also prayed that they might see the best in us - the love of God and the light of the risen Christ. On returning to Belfast, we made a conscious decision to retain a similarly open lifestyle.
At one time I considered "evangelical" and "ecumenical" as convictions in conflict. Now I see them as inter-connected. For me, being "evangelical" means being shaped by the "evangel", or Gospel, the whole of the Gospel, the parts that I traditionally feel comfortable with, and the parts that shake my inherited prejudices like an earthquake.
A central thrust of this Gospel is the unity of the Father's family. But today, sadly, the family is split into hundreds of denominations. Being "ecumenical" means for me being "universal and inclusive", desiring to embody the vision of Paul: "There is one Body, one Spirit, one Hope, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all mankind, who is Lord of all, works through all, and is in all" (Eph 4:4-6). I want to be a Presbyterian for other Churches, not against them.
The writings of John Calvin have awakened in me a strong commitment to the continuing reformation of the Church. "Reformation" has in the middle of it the word "form"; the Reformers were undertaking the challenge of reshaping the Church so that it takes on the "forma Christi", the form of Christ.
Reformation is always about asking the big questions, then and now: "Does our community see in the Church the face of Christ? Does it hear in the Church the voice of Christ? Does it experience from the Church the love of Christ?"
Most Sunday mornings in Belfast, in a street of 160 houses, only about 20 doors will open with people going to church. We discovered that most of them will never develop a renewed interest in the Christian faith if they do not first respect the person or congregation connecting with them. What wins respect more than anything else is our lifestyle, in short, living a life of love.
If our congregations are not connecting with people, then we have got to look into our hearts, look into the way we operate as Churches, and be willing to learn new ways of interacting.
Churches today that are growing often present the message of Christ with freshness, creativity and relevance. People feel "He's talking about my life, my world, my relationships and the way I look at life." And that's not just in preaching; it includes the songs, the music, the friendliness of the worshippers and the ministries we offer.
The Church should be a community of genuine faith and true Christian love, not a place where everybody is identical, but where there is space to think and grow and belong and be yourself for Christ.
People today long for "significance". They don't want to be part of a Church that's going nowhere. They realise they have only one life and they want it to make a positive difference in the community and wider world.
For the cause of communicating Christ we must be open to undertake courageous change that will reshape our lives individually, congregationally and denominationally. To live a life of love is not for the faint-hearted or the spiritually content - but it is an inescapable challenge for the Church in every century and in every location.
Rev Dr Ken Newell will be installed in Belfast this evening as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland