Difference – following Jesus in a complex and divided world

I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but the world appears to be in a bit of a mess. Sadly, the church also seems to be in a bit of a mess. So we should probably assume that much of our community, and many of our households and relationships are in a mess as well.

Soon the world will hang its collective head in shameful acknowledgement of it being 500 days since the largest massacre of Jews since the holocaust, and not long ago it was 1,000 days since the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine began. With The State of Israel’s brutal response, with North Korean troops sniffing around in Eastern Europe, and with a Trump Presidency in the Divided States of America underway, what will the remainder of 2025 hold for the Middle East, Eastern Europe, for the UK, for the world?

And more to the question - how well are we equipping our church communities to navigate conflict, and to be salt and light in such an uncertain and broken world - not only in relation to global issues, but also (and more realistically) in addressing the fragmentation that exists in our own lives, and that of our households, our churches, our broader Christian community and inter-church relationships, and our neighbourhoods, with their various cultures and worldviews?

We hold a deep conviction in the fundamental importance of reconciliation in the gospel – we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, and have been given the ministry (or message) of reconciliation. If the Mission of God is the summation of all things in Christ - of Shalom - then how can this become a reality unless we grasp the centrality of reconciliation in the gospel? Whether we’re in church or at work, watching football or stuck in a traffic jam, we, the grateful community of the redeemed, are called to be those who gather, not divide; those who build bridges, not walls.

And so, on behalf of Together for Ipswich, Simon Barrington and Alan Cutting offer “Difference” – a five-week exploration of some of these issues, with the aim of equipping maybe 15-20 key activists from our Ipswich churches – Christ-followers of different confessions, ages, backgrounds and ethnicities - to explore, to understand and begin to seriously contend with issues of conflict, angst and fragmentation within our society. How can we commit to gather and not to divide; to build bridges not walls? How can we take the necessary steps towards building peace and experiencing shalom, be it in our workplaces, our churches, our families - and in the secret place of our own hearts?

We’ll be using material from The Difference Course - https://difference.rln.global/ - which “explores what it means to follow Jesus in a complex and divided world. Participants are equipped to cross divides, navigate disagreement, practice forgiveness, and pursue a just and flourishing world.”

NEW DATES. The course will take place at the Salvation Army, 558 Woodbridge Rd, Ipswich IP4 4PH, on five consecutive Monday evenings, starting on 3rd March 2025, at 7pm.

Please message or call Alan Cutting on 07834 693144, or email him on ahcutting@yahoo.co.uk if you would like to join this course, or to hear more about it.

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