2½

I sat in a group of about eight or nine vicars during the summer, pity me, none of whom were from this area and one of whom asked this question: ‘Does any one of you seriously want everybody on the planet to become a follower of Jesus?’ As I said ‘yes’ I realised that mine was the only hand that went up in the room—which really rather surprised me. I thought about my answer for a second, just in case I’d made a stupid, idiot mistake, or to consider whether it was a trick question. (I always remember the quiz contestant on TV who when asked who wrote Beethoven’s 5th Symphony answered ‘was it Handel?’) But then my maths A level came charging to my rescue, and I said ‘2½.’ Now it was their turn to look bemused back in my direction. ‘There are approximately 7 billion people on the planet,’ I said,  ‘and approximately 2 billion Christians of one flavour or another. Now if each of the 2 billion Christians were to be so inspired and flowing with love, mercy and truth that 2½ people become followers of Christ though their witness, well that would mean 7 billion followers of Jesus on the planet; job done.’

On reflection it was an over simplistic answer and not much of a mathematical model. On reflection I wonder why some people are vicars. And on reflection I think a more honest answer would have been 3½; because although I might have a half decent chance with the other 2½, I consider the turning of myself into a follower of Jesus to be a lifelong project with plenty of bumps on the road. But I’m glad that I did the maths. Because when somebody asks me why we work so hard to raise our game with our welcome and hospitality at the Abbey, when somebody asks me why we put on richly creative projects like Advent Carols Services and Skate Parks, and when somebody asks me why we cram about 175 people into weekly discipleship groups and will be running Alpha Courses incessantly, I know the answer—2½.

PS Please invite 2½ people to church this Christmas. You bring them along, we’ll tell them about Jesus.