Deconsecration

On an evening several weeks ago, I met up with a friend to have dinner, and to use the popular Christianese-Americanism; to "do life" (i.e. to talk, share, pray, listen and to seek to speak wisdom into each others situations; what a privilege).  

As each friendship has its own inimitable, un-replicable and often undefinable identity; so does ours, and in an act of pathetic fallacy so did our location. The location in question was a relaxed cafe-come-bar based in a converted or "deconsecrated" church now called Frevds (pronounced Freuds) in the Oxford district of Jericho.   

As we sat in this place, my apologist friend and me -the prospective ordinand- I couldn't help but think about the heritage of the building, once a church and now a bar, and the notion of "deconsecration". 

Just yesterday, I was reading an article defining priesthood from a Catenian perspective which notably mentioned: 

"Once [they] have been ordained... there is no turning back; the obligations of ordained ministry are part of [their] life."

As the interior of Frevds continues to bear stained-glass windows, pews, and an altar (visual signifiers pertaining to organised religion and in this context very ostensibly to christian "church") I was struck by the life applications it represented, especially in relation to those in -or perhaps- (contrary to the above quotation) newly "out" of ministry. 

The image that most "caught" my heart from within Frevds, was the altar, no longer bearing materials for sacraments, scriptures, or vestments; instead bearing a banner reading "Frevds" and yet still unequivocally, unignorably an altar. 

I came to this conclusion: each one of us has an altar in our lives;  somewhat like an empty table at the very centre of our heart. The table is always an altar, no matter what your beliefs are, from which the living God who knit us together in our mother's womb (XXXX) designed us to receive "our daily bread" (XXXX) and before which we are to lay down our sacrifices of praise.

In our faith, we are placing subjects on the altar that govern us, become the subjects of our affection and attention, and often the defining forces of our lives. 

Here's the key: though we can put on the altar whatever we like; though we can dress it how we please, with the banner of another faith or none if we so wish; the altar is always God's because He put it there in the first place. It is symbolic of the eternity that He has placed within the heart of every man (Ecclesiastes 3:11). 

Who do we put on our altar? 

What do we leave before it? 

How does this define and change the way we live life?

Are we consecrated to Christ?  

NB: For anybody wondering; I have no idea if the Freud in question is Lucian, Sigmund, or some other Freud altogether. I like his paintings though.

"...if the local church is to act out its God-appointed role, it must first fulfil four conditions. It must understand itself (the theology of the church), organise itself (the structures of the church), express itself (the message of the church), and be itself (the life of the church)."

- John Stott, The Living Church (p.52)

Formation

When a member of the Church of England senses a call on their life to ministry, if the call is recognised by their church leadership, there follows a period of time referred to as "formation". This -like most great words- has multiple meanings.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) :  

formationLine breaks: for|ma¦tion

Pronunciation: /fɔːˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/

noun

1[MASS NOUN] The action of forming or process of being formed:'the formation of the Great Rift Valley'
2

A thing that has been formed:

strange black rock formations

2.1A group of people or things in a particular arrangement or pattern:they sat in orderly ranks in a circular formation[MASS NOUN]: the jets took off in formation

Origin

Late Middle English: from Latin formatio(n-), from formare 'to form'

Check out the original entry here.

As "formation" is becoming manifoldly real in my life; I am seeing the true -sometimes harsh- rock face(s) represented by the OED's definition. Formation does literally mean the construction of something where there was previously nothing; or of purpose where there was uselessness before(see God's use of the word in Genesis).

From Psalm 139:13 and Psalm 139:16 we learn that God not only forms things for us, but He also forms things in us (The image on Christ see Galatians 4:19). 

So... as I walk evermore down a path that may -or may not- lead to ordination; I am finding that I -like clay- am being shaped both inwardly and outwardly by the master potter. Not only is He creating new things from the dust in me; but also bringing life from dry bones, and reforming (from which we get the word reformation...Hallelujah!)or rearranging/ordering/setting in formation His Word and principles in my heart. Thank you Lord :)