The London School of Theology, the Evangelical
Alliance, and Christianity magazine ran a competition
called "Rising Theologian", where the prize was a course of study,
free of fees. To enter, each applicant had to write a 1000-word
essay on the future of the Church.
I won the chance to study a course at the London School
of Theology, and I've chosen to do the distance MA in
biblical interpretation.
The three shortlisted finalists spoke for five minutes
in front of an audience at LST, and were then judged by an
expert panel. It was a bit like Britain's Got
Theologians.
You can read the essay online; but, in a
nutshell, I think the future of the Church depends on Christians'
speaking about Jesus, and that can be an unfashionable thing.
Our culture perceives Christianity as essentially
moralism. It's not the core of what we believe, but it's
what we give off, which is a shame. It's important that we speak,
as well as being loving and caring, and doing all the things people
are quite happy for Christians to do.
I work for Agapé, a charity. It's the European
version of what's called in America Campus Crusade for Christ. We
help students have a chance to learn about Jesus for themselves. I
oversee our student work in the UK, and there are other things that
are going on. I oversee about 45 student staff, and I'm on the
overall leadership team - so I go to quite a few meetings. I speak
at evangelistic events, and do personal ministry on campus.
I enjoy pastoring and teaching - really
listening to somebody, finding out what's going on in their life,
helping them move on. And also doing Bible teaching in a
small-group context. And I preach at my church quite a bit.
I love the Bible, because it's ultimately by
God and about God, and all the best theology is rooted in the
Bible. As an academic discipline, theology is fascinating, but I'm
most interested in knowing God better personally. I also love it
when theology is practical.
I'm not a fantastic academic by any means. I
think I'm good at taking intelligent content, produced by greater
people than I, and communicating it to others in everyday language.
I'd like to spend a good chunk of my life doing this.
I can't bring myself to be a universalist, but
part of me would like to be. I struggle with the idea that,
although God loves everyone, not everyone ends up saved. I've
thought about it, read about it, and am intellectually satisfied -
but emotionally bothered by it.
I've spent this summer with my wife, seeing
friends, going on holiday, at a staff conference with my colleagues
in Agapé, and trying to get some head-start reading done for the
MA.
I was born in Blackpool, have lived all around
the UK - I was a vicar's kid - and studied in Newcastle, which I
now consider home.
As a kid, I had the Western dream: health,
wealth, prosperity, popularity. . . I didn't have any idea what job
I wanted to do.
My parents are fantastically generous, wise,
hard-working, loving people. I aspire to be like them. My wife is
my closest friend. But some of my other close friends are
effectively family - people who would visit me if I was in
hospital.
I'd like to be a more prayerful person. That's
probably more important than what I do as a job, I feel. Eventually
I would like to be, I think, in leadership in a local church,
talking about Jesus, making disciples, and making a difference to
my community.
I think the future of Britain is that we'll be
financially poorer than we are now, but probably happier.
I hope that, as materialism comes to be viewed as an epic worldview
failure - which it is, and will be seen to be so - more people will
turn to the gospel.
Undoubtedly, the most important choice I made was
becoming a Christian, followed by marrying my wife.
Outside those, I chose to spend some time living in the Middle
East, which was extremely formative for me. I think that when you
live outside your own culture for a while, you become better
equipped to see your own culture for what it is.
I was living there as part of a missionary
team, and seeing another culture, not just being on
holiday. It threw a lot of light on the Bible. They have a very
direct way of speaking of things which can seem harsh to British
sensitivities. That experience formed me as a leader, because you
have to develop a thick skin there.
I didn't work as hard as I should have at
school. My school was in the top group nationally for
truancy; so I always felt I was doing well simply by virtue of the
fact that I showed up. The bar was low.
I'd like to be remembered for loving people,
being a good husband, and "finishing well".
My favourite place is Tynemouth beach.
My favourite book is the Bible - genuinely.
That's not just a Christian answer. It's amazing literature. And
anything by Tim Keller; C. S. Lewis's non-fiction; anything on the
history of space flight; Private Eye.
I love Genesis 22, Luke 15, Galatians 3, Romans
8. Anything that expresses God's free grace, in any
literary form.
I feel guilty that the Psalms are my least favourite
part. Whenever I mention that, people look at me as though
I shot a kitten; but I can't get away from the fact that they feel
mostly very samey to me.
My most reassuring sound is my wife's voice,
U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name", and the man who answers the
phone at our local Indian takeaway.
Shamefully, the last thing which made me angry was the
exorbitant cost of my car-insurance renewal. That annoys
me as much as seeing footage of what's going on in Syria.
I'm happiest just hanging out with my wife,
devouring a punnet of grapes together while watching The Big
Bang Theory.
I pray for people, for God's work in their
lives, and for quite a lot of trivial things. But I think God is
interested in the trivial things, too.
I'd most like to get locked in a church with secret
agent MacGyver. He'd have us out in no time.
Matt Walmsley was talking to Terence Handley MacMath.
His essay can be found at the end of a story about him on eauk.org.