St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Body parts or bus passengers?

One of the most interesting trends in the church today is the growth of interest in “cell churches”. St John Bowling is one church which has pioneered this, and Rev’d Howard Astin has written a book about it: “Body and Cell” (Monarch, 1998).

Before asking “What do the words ‘cell-church’ mean?” or “How does a ‘cell-church’ work?”, one should ask “Why?” Why would a church want to change from the traditional way of running? You know, services on Sundays and midweek groups and activities to cater for a wide range of people?

The answer is all to do with Pentecost. The bible tells us that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and transformed their lives. In the church which was born, the members shared possessions, made close friendships, met in each others’ homes, served each other and their community, and God worked through them. Read about it in Acts 2.

But the majority of churches aren’t like that now. Why not? What has gone wrong?

In a big church meeting, the congregation becomes a bus instead of a body. There get to be a few people driving it (the clergy and one or two activists), and the majority act rather like passengers. It stops being the ‘body of Christ’ as the bible says it should be.

Here are some of the problems. It is hard for people to contribute to worship, because the service is too big. It is hard to learn the faith, because you can never ask the questions that are on your mind. It is hard to make friendships, because most of the time is spent listening to someone at the front. It is hard to be prayed for if you’re ill or sad, because of the embarrassment of making a fuss in front of lots of people. And it’s hard to bring others, because church is at a fixed time in the week (hopeless for Sunday workers and one-parent families) and the pattern of worship can’t bend to welcome a newcomer.

Don’t midweek activities help? Yes and no. Yes they do help some people, and a good housegroup does overcome all these problems - in fact, that’s what a good cell-group is! But no, most people aren’t helped by them, because the activities often compete for attention, and you might get to know people slightly better but you don’t form consistent friendships that way.

‘Cell-church’ is about making cell groups in which people can do all these things, and making the life of the church serve the cells. The details of what it looks like and how it works are worth considering in a future Link, but that’s the aim which we should keep in mind.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. May 2002, Page 1.
Home Page. Index of articles. Vicar's Letters: index, New Year, Church & School, Autism, Christening, Body & Cell, Cell Love. In this issue: (May 2002) Vicar's Letter, Christening, Basement, Question.	Body parts or bus passengers? One of the most interesting trends in the church today is the growth of interest in “cell churches”. St John Bowling is one church which has pioneered this, and Rev’d Howard Astin has written a book about it: “Body and Cell” (Monarch, 1998). Before asking “What do the words ‘cell-church’ mean?” or “How does a ‘cell-church’ work?”, one should ask “Why?” Why would a church want to change from the traditional way of running? You know, services on Sundays and midweek groups and activities to cater for a wide range of people? The answer is all to do with Pentecost. The bible tells us that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and transformed their lives. In the church which was born, the members shared possessions, made close friendships, met in each others’ homes, served each other and their community, and God worked through them. Read about it in Acts 2. But the majority of churches aren’t like that now. Why not? What has gone wrong? In a big church meeting, the congregation becomes a bus instead of a body. There get to be a few people driving it (the clergy and one or two activists), and the majority act rather like passengers. It stops being the ‘body of Christ’ as the bible says it should be. Here are some of the problems. It is hard for people to contribute to worship, because the service is too big. It is hard to learn the faith, because you can never ask the questions that are on your mind. It is hard to make friendships, because most of the time is spent listening to someone at the front. It is hard to be prayed for if you’re ill or sad, because of the embarrassment of making a fuss in front of lots of people. And it’s hard to bring others, because church is at a fixed time in the week (hopeless for Sunday workers and one-parent families) and the pattern of worship can’t bend to welcome a newcomer. Don’t midweek activities help? Yes and no. Yes they do help some people, and a good housegroup does overcome all these problems - in fact, that’s what a good cell-group is! But no, most people aren’t helped by them, because the activities often compete for attention, and you might get to know people slightly better but you don’t form consistent friendships that way. ‘Cell-church’ is about making cell groups in which people can do all these things, and making the life of the church serve the cells. The details of what it looks like and how it works are worth considering in a future Link, but that’s the aim which we should keep in mind. John Hartley
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