Martin and Joni made their way across the city on a cold damp evening to help a member of one of our congregations who was struggling with her mobile phone to access a video that Hazel had made at church. While they were with her in her living room the TV was blasting out a well known United Statesian health and wealth preacher exhorting his congregation to ever greater giving in exchange for promises of ever greater blessing.
It made an impression on Joni in a “what on earth..?” sort of way. He came home and described what he’d seen on the TV, expressing his opinion that this guy’s gospel seemed to centre around different things to the gospel that Joni thought he’d understood. I suggested that what Joni and Martin had just done; crossing the city and showing an old lady that she was worth their time and effort to help her with a small problem, would seem to be quite a lot closer to the example of Jesus that we read in the Biblical gospels. Sometimes I have a glimmer of hope that some of the values that we think we’re teaching our kids might actually be taking root.