What is spiritual renewal, anyway?

As we look to the year that lies ahead, we know that we will be well immersed into our Season of Spiritual Renewal. But what is spiritual renewal, anyway? What is it that we are working and praying towards, and how would we know if we got there? And what habits or practices would help us along the way?

These are big questions that we need to give some proper thought to, but as I think about it, I am convinced that there are at least three characteristics that will mark out a church that is experiencing spiritual renewal.

The first is this: a renewed church will be Jesus-centred.

I’ve been in the Church a long time, and perhaps so have you. And I have noticed that there are all sorts of things that churches can get focused on. In the main, they are good things. We can get focused on our music and liturgy, making sure they are the very best they can be. We can get focused on the causes of social justice in the world, showing our faith in practical action in the manner of President Jimmy Carter and his work with Habitat for Humanity. We can get focused on our buildings, caring for them well so we can pass them on to the next generation in good order. I repeat, these are all good things, not to be neglected. But while these things should flow out of our Jesus focus, sometimes they can become an alternative to it. Occasionally I have heard it said that it’s as if Jesus has left the building, and we were so busy with other things that we didn’t notice.

The Church is primarily the body of people called together around the person of Jesus and our faith in him, not just as an inspiring example or a great moral teacher, but as the second person of the Trinity, the incarnation of God, the Lord and Saviour and Redeemer. A renewed church puts Jesus at the centre. When we gather for worship, it’s to worship Jesus. When we do mission, it’s to point people towards Jesus. When we study the bible, it’s to know Jesus, and when we preach, we preach Christ and him crucified.

The second characteristic of a renewed church is a real, deep experience of community. Not just friendliness. Real community, in which we take the risk to know other people and to be known by them, not covering up our struggles and failures, but sharing them and supporting one another in them. This takes time and a willingness to be vulnerable. It takes a refusal to allow gossip or backbiting or resentment into our midst. When relationships go wrong, as they do, it takes the humility to say, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”  And the grace to forgive.

So much of what passes for community in the Church is less than this. We offer a smile and a polite “How are you?” and we think that’s it, and it’s better than nothing, but it isn’t community yet. But we are wired for community, made to flourish there. And so is everyone else. Friends, there is an epidemic of loneliness in the western world today. A church that genuinely builds community will find people queuing to get in.

The third characteristic of a renewed church I want to talk about is ministry; specifically, every-member ministry. When I was a parish incumbent, we would hold newcomers’ lunches, and I would always say, “In a new church, people want to know who the ministry team is. In this church, it’s all of us. Everyone has a part to play.” I think that’s biblical. The priesthood of all believers. The gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out on all of us. Yet, sadly, in most churches there are a small number of exhausted people doing all the work and a much larger number of people coming along for the ride.

A singer performs at St. Bede in Toronto.

Anglicans walk in the Pride parade in Barrie.

Friends, don’t be a passenger in God’s Church. Think about how you can contribute. If you’re not sure what gifts you have to offer, ask someone else: “What gifts or abilities do you see in me that I could use to serve God and others?” Whoever you are, God has called you to be part of the ministry team.

Three characteristics of a renewed church. Jesus-centred. Community. Every member a minister. But how realistic is that? Do these churches even exist?

They do. I know from experience. My first experience of ministry was leading a youth group in my Anglican parish in Salisbury, England, when I was still a teenager myself. By the grace of God, we had a period of a year or two when all of these things fell into place. Real and deep community. Passionate prayer and worship of Jesus. Everyone with a part to play. And new people coming to faith in Christ and joining us all the time. You could call it a purple patch or a high-water mark. I call it a move of the Holy Spirit. When you have tasted this, you don’t forget it. I sometimes think I have spent the last 40 years looking to experience that again.

This Season of Spiritual Renewal is an invitation to all of us to seek the renewal of God’s Church in this place. While renewal is always a gift of God’s grace, there are habits and practices we can cultivate that position us to receive this gift. Heartfelt daily prayer, with others but also on our own. Study and meditation on the scriptures. Generosity, hospitality and service. Being part of a small group.

As you think about your resolutions and priorities for 2025, I want to encourage you to think about how you might build some of these habits into your life more fully in the coming year. The workshops that Judy and Jacqui have been organizing will give you tools to make progress on all of these things and more. Don’t try everything all at once. Choose one or two areas of focus. Learn all you can about them and then put into practice what you learn.

And then pray. Pray fervently. Pray that the Holy Spirit would renew us, individually and together. Pray that this renewed Church would reveal Jesus to our city and diocese. Pray that it would draw many to faith in him. And pray that in it God would be glorified.

Amen.

Dean Stephen Hance preached this sermon at Evensong on New Year’s Day at St. James Cathedral.