I am in Cape Town, South Africa at present, where they have an old tradition that still continues to this day. At midday an old cannon is fired, which is now fondly called the noon day gun. In the past it was fired to indicate to the local townspeople that a ship was entering the harbour with goods from Europe and the East. The entire town would scurry to the harbour jetties and congregate in anticipation of all the exotic and luxurious items that these ships would bring to the Cape shores.
Today it continues to be fired every midday, but now nobody takes any notice – except the occasional tourist who is frightened silly, if standing near when it is fired.
It got me thinking about the church. I wonder how many churches are firing their best cannons every Sunday – but no-one is listening. People no longer run to the local church because it is Sunday morning. Times have changed. People have changed. The ships no longer come and dock at the local church with all the finest things that people need.
To be honest some churches are now like quaint old cannons – being fired every Sunday. Maybe it is time to find out what this generation needs and instead of waiting for some spiritual ship to come in – that never arrives – or if it does it still comes with the finest from decades past that no longer appeals – maybe change how you do church to meet the needs of the people now crowding the old jetties having a latte and some fine food, or shopping at some trendy market.
We must find out what their needs are today, and present our faith in a way that causes them to gather, anticipating something that appeals and meets their needs.
Church should still be the most exciting event of a person’s week. If you are going to fire your cannon this weekend – make sure the ship has docked, and it is laden with stuff that people need and want in their lives today. The last thing I would ever want to be – is a blast from the past. SJP
