TableTalk

Recently I came across a pithy quotation from John Stott. John Stott, of course, is quite full of pithy quotations; here is yet another:

Instead of always being one of the chief bastions of the social status quo, the Church is to develop a Christian counter-culture with its own distinctive goals, values, standards, and lifestyle a realistic alternative to the contemporary technocracy which is marked by bondage, materialism, self-centredness, and greed. Christ s call to obedience is a call to be different, not conformist. Such a Church joyful, obedient, loving, and free will do more than please God: it will attract the world. It is when the Church evidently is the Church, and is living a supernatural life of love by the power of the Holy Spirit, that the world will believe. (Obeying Christ in a Changing World; London: Collins, 1977)

It is this last phrase, in particular, that caught my attention: it is when the Church evidently is the Church There are, perhaps, different ways to understand this common adverbial phrase. Perhaps Stott uses the language quite casually, as in, evidently it s Monday. Perhaps he uses it somewhat unwittingly, or simply to fill out the paragraph. But I think not.

This adverb has deeper substance. It is when the Church evidences its nature as the people of God that the world will believe. It is when the Church shows its true nature as the redeemed in its practical life and its concrete behaviors that the world will be challenged to believe. It is when the Church is evidently the Church.

But when the Church only plays at church, when its practical life does not match in the least its confession, the world will remain unimpressed. There is no evidence of anything extraordinary in this kind of church. This kind of church is not evidently the Church at all.

Christians are called to evidence in their lives the faith that they carry in their hearts. It will mean lives of non-conformism, to borrow language from John Stott. It will mean living outside the usual box, beyond the familiar and comfortable, in risky commitment to our counter-cultural Lord. I appeal to you therefore, said St. Paul, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1,2).

Let us hear, together, the call to be different. We are called to be Christians evidently and in our daily life and our practical walk.