For some years now we as a church have had much teaching based around the Nazareth Manifesto (Luke 4: 18, 19) and similar passages. But, just how much are we putting this into our corporate church life and into our personal lives?
In the current issue of IDEA Magazine published by the Evangelical Alliance, there is a challenging article titled “Choosing to spend less”. It gives details of one church’s journey along the road the Nazareth Manifesto is calling them to follow. It’s Southampton Vineyard, and they even refer to the passage as the Nazareth Manifesto on their website (http://www.southamptonvineyard.org.uk/Jubilee2009.htm). They are challenging their members to simplify their lives from clutter. They are suggesting that their members voluntarily give up, for a month at a time, such things as TV, the internet, and supermarket shopping, and using only public transport instead of private. Those are just some ideas and no doubt you can think of others.
In February, as part of a ‘Jubilee 2009’ series of activities, they chose to spend less in order to identify with the poor. They decided to live as if receiving benefits for a whole month. In so doing they discovered what it really meant to live simply, ethically and generously. They signed up to donate leftover money to a selection of local and international charities. As a result over £23,000 was raised, over and above regular giving to the church, and this was given away.
Southampton Vineyard’s example has challenged the Evangelical Alliance to encourage churches and individuals to take place in Simplify, which is a practical outworking of the Alliance’s Square Mile campaign. Simplify asks us to take a fresh look at our lifestyles, priorities and purchases, at the stuff we collect and what the word need really means. At the same time, it prompts us to be generous and practically show our solidarity with people who are all too familiar with need.
The initiative, part of the Evangelical Alliance’s Life Beyond Debt campaign, aims to stimulate Christians across the UK to live on the same amount of money they would receive if they were on benefits for one month, giving any excess money to charity.
We in Bristo try to take the Nazareth Manifesto seriously. Can we, therefore, rise to this challenge from the Evangelical Alliance? More details will be available from the Alliance in October. Meanwhile, read the article in IDEA and click on ‘Simplify’ in the Campaigns section of the Alliance web site and read what’s there at present. And then start praying and thinking about what we can do. Perhaps we too can ‘simplify’ our lives by spending less and giving more to those on the Father heart of God.
Robert Mill
