Press Releases
From platforms to pillars
“The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God.” Revelation 3.12
“You also, like living stones, are being built into a temple of the Spirit to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2.5
Preparing for renewal involves a change in character, Mark Sayers explained in his second talk for the Hopeful Renewal event hosted recently by the Church of Ireland’s Pioneer Ministry team in Dublin. Around 80 people gathered at Holy Trinity Rathmines on Saturday, 31st May, to hear about cultural and personal trends that can precede a renewal of the Church through the Holy Spirit.
Our world, he remarked, is at a “peak platform” stage – in a mentality where people expect individual desires to be met, people expect to be affirmed and seen by others, and a platform is built for us to meet our needs. However, at the same time, the institutions that are subject to these self–centred demands are “buckling”.
A platform, by definition, is “an artificial structure where you put something on it for something different to happen” – most obviously a stage for actors – and people are “pushing to live this performative life”. Performance also becomes a “constant evaluation” between ourselves and others, with constant scrutiny and self–criticism when we don’t live up to our preferred standards.
So cities build similar skyscrapers, even though tourists come to see authentic streetscapes. In church life, it’s really easy to look at other places of worship online, draw comparisons and copy others.
The idea of a platform goes back to Ancient Egypt with its creation story of mud being raised above water, for Pharoah to sit above his people on a throne. In contemporary society, though, there is a sense that everyone should be on a platform which conversely means that no–one really is and “you begin to live in a way so that you are oppressed by your own self.”
Church, in its essence, gives different approach to living life. It’s a communal activity, with kneeling and bowing in some traditions, and a sense of opening ourselves up and worshipping God: “I turn up and give to others.”
Mark took an example from Australian culture – the acknowledgement of Aboriginal lands, their traditional land holders and their elders – to illustrate the concept of ‘pillars’. The role of Aboriginal elders in leadership, passing on teaching, and living for others contrasts with the attitude of “live your best life … no–one else matters”.
To be a pillar of the community is to be a person of wisdom, strength, reliability and character who provides support for those around them, and someone who has earned that description through a process of personal formation.
Picking up on the reference to “living stones” in 1 Peter 2, Mark pointed out that the supporting structures of a building are not always seen but help to keep up a roof and a create space for the presence of God.
In contemporary Christianity, he added, the presence of God is sadly sometimes replaced by the presence of self but His presence – rather than hype – is what many young people are now seeking: “To find peace, a sense of the divine, to meet the person of Jesus.” However, it may not exclusively become a movement among young people as renewal can take place within different generations or ethnic groups, in various countries at different times.
Renewals can take the form of “flash floods” which last a few years but have little long–term impact, or longer spiritual renaissances through which institutions and cultures change. To see this happen, we must set our mind to the creating pillars – people of prayer and presence who are “consequential for others.”
A pillar will see the impact of what they have done “through heavenly eyes” by accepting that he or she will not know the full impact of their ministry. It’s a matter of not underestimating the little seeds that we sow spiritually, and instead trusting that others will nourish them and take them further in good time.
Young people, he suggested, should not automatically look to others as pillars to lean upon but become pillars themselves. For all of us, this formation allows us to become “custodians of the ancient ways of renewal” which have been such a strong part of Ireland’s story.
The event was attended and led in prayer by Archbishop Michael Jackson and Bishop David McClay, as Chair of the Pioneer Ministry Governing Council.
Pioneer Ministry is an initiative of the Church of Ireland to reach those with little or no connection to church. Emerging from within to encourage, support and release a movement that has the capacity to reach people in new places and in different ways.
Administrator/PA to National Director
Abby Garner
c/o Atlas Language School Residence
96-98 Rathmines Road Upper
Dublin
D06 Y684
[email protected]