Distinctive?

So you are a Christian, and an architect, and the thing that is distinctive about you as opposed to the guy who sits at the next desk is that you go to church. Not just Sundays: you’re really involved. You’d like him to come along some time.
Why would he?
(I wouldn’t go to my current placement church if I didn’t have to.)

Okay, so you’re a Christian, and what is distinctive about you is that you aren’t cheating on your wife.
So what? Christians cheat on their wives at about the same rate as non-Christians. So, it’s as likely that the guy at the next desk isn’t cheating on his wife either; or that you are cheating on your wife after all.
The world is full of people who aren’t cheating, even if it is full of people who are.

You’re a Christian, and you’re an architect because you want to change the world, and this is the arena from which you are best-fit to do it.
Now that’s distinctive.
Not necessarily unique to Christians. But it’s distinctive.
That might engage the guy at the next desk.


I want to be a Revd because I want to change the world. I want to be a Church of England Revd because I want to change the world in and from this place. And I want to change the world by equipping and releasing congregations to change the world.
And you might say to me, Good luck, mate! But why else, as a follower of Jesus, would I want to do anything with my time?


[Having written the above, I’ve just turned on the News and heard the Prime Minister deliver a sound-bite about changing the world, one life at a time. Just for a fleeting moment, part of me is gutted – the ungenerous part, that doesn’t want ‘my thoughts’ undercut; the cynical part, that doesn’t think much of politicians…
…But, whether I like the dreams he is dreaming or not, here is a man who is dreaming, the very thing I’ve been reflecting on the need for us to do. And just because it is a messy business, that doesn’t make it any less crucial. In fact, it is a messy business in part because we cannot do it in isolation.


Change the world. Even the Prime Minister thinks it is a good idea.]