Book Review: Lost Church

This book, "Lost Church" by Alan Billings, is one of a selection (another being "Ezra, Nehemiah and Esteher for Everyone" that SPCK have kindly sent me for review. This is probably the one I was most interested in, because of its intriguing premise, which is set out clearly on the back cover;

"When we try to understand the relationship of the British people to religion, and specifically to Christianity, we tend to say that people believe - or do not; attend - or do not.

The argument of Lost Church is that the majority of people do not really fit either of these categories."

An interesting starting point! As one can easily glean from his wikipedia page, Billings is well placed to write a book about how Church fits into the mish-mash of people's lives in our modern culture. He opens optimistically, even in the face of alleged massive church decline. Indeed, the publication of this book is timely given the statistics on belief that we saw from the most recent census which seemed to be a little damning for the faithful.

Some of what Billings writes will infuriate some readers. There were times when I grew a little frustrated about the way he defined 'being a Christian' (though in fairness that isn't exactly what he is writing about), but its worth noting this regardless. The opening part of this book (and arguably the opening into his argument) is that the traditional touchstones of church attendance, as put on the front cover, are wonderful opportunities to realise the real size of the Anglican Church. Many Evangelical Anglicans I am friendly with make a similar observation; the gospel opportunities at certain things are wonderful. I reproduce below what Billings sees as important events that tie together his idea of 'belonging';

"Remembrance Sunday
Mothering Sunday
Harvest Sunday (and school assemblies)
Midnight Mass
Baptism
Funerals
Easter
Christingle
Christmas Carols
Midnight Mass
Weddings"

It is a potentially exciting idea that the average person might come to several or all of these events in a year. It presents the Church with an opportunity to demonstrate to visitors or irregular attenders the value of the presence of God, the love of Christ. The danger with this approach (and it is seen in Billings [in my opinion] unfortunate comments on same-sex relationships) is that accommodation can become such a priority that we lose some of our Christian distinctiveness, or even potentially faithfulness. However, throughout this book there is a real sense of some important lessons to be learned for all church leaders, not just Anglican ones.

Billings writes from an Anglican perspective - and actually much of what he writes is a powerful apologetic for a National Church. Nowhere is this more apparent, in my opinion, in his exploration of (in his chapter on 'Believing') the tension between mystery and reason in our engagement with the Truth of the Christian Gospel. I reproduce a weighty quote to demonstrate this;

"It is true that creeds and confessions are embodied in worship, and all Christians will want to know that a rational case can be made for the faith. It is also true that some people do find their way to Christ by exercising their reason... Yet for many ordinary worshippers - belongers and attenders - Christianity is primarily about the heart and the will; it is an emotional and practical matter before it is something cerebral - if it ever is" (p. 75)

The four chapters of this short, readable book follow the line of Billings' argument; "Belonging", "Attending", "Believing", "Reclaiming Lost Church". They present an interesting, if not in my opinion totally compelling blueprint for the resurgence of the Church in England. I would recommend this book, with the minor cautions expressed above, as a useful and thought-provoking read for anyone who leads a Church - Anglican or not - in a culture which is generally secular - England or not. I enjoyed Billings' style and tone, and felt like I took away a number of useful thoughts and principles to further advance my understanding of what 'Church' is.