1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12 NIVUK)
 
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has been described in many ways. “Exciting”, “enlivening” and “encouraging” are not usually among the adjectives used; and before I give you the wrong impression, I would say that, in general, the 2026 gathering could not really be described in this way either. Yes, there were matters of some significance and import discussed and decided upon; but the processes and proceedings are hardly inspiring.
 
Yet, there was one report which caught my attention in the lead up to the General Assembly: “Church Decline: Reflecting on the Causes and Building for a Better Future”.
 
How can a report on the causes of decline be encouraging and inspiring?
 
I will admit, the sections tracking the decline of the Church of Scotland hardly inspire much optimism. Yet, I still found them refreshing: this, so far as I have been able to discern, is the first time at a national level that our denomination has acknowledged and been honest about the reality we have been living over the last 50 or so years. That the Church has been in a bad way for many decades; and while some of the decline can be explained away by changes in our culture and world, the Church needs to take ownership of our own failings, and our own poor decisions which have exacerbated the problem.
 
While uncomfortable, it was nonetheless refreshing to have such honesty presented in a report, and then on the floor, of the highest court of the Church of Scotland.
 
Of course, if the report did nothing more than acknowledge past failings, it would hardly be worth any attention. What moves this into the area of being potentially enlivening and inspiring is the call to action; the suggestions that the Church might consider – crucially, not more things we should “do”, but rather, the kind of mindset changes we might adopt to better align ourselves with our main calling as followers of Jesus.
 
Here are some of the recommendations which stood out to me as particularly encouraging to see written in a General Assembly report:
Call on Church committees and courts to embed prayer in the rhythm of meetings – not just at the beginning, but throughout.
Encourage every member to speak more about Jesus than about the church.
Affirm that every member has spiritual gifts, regardless of age or background, and is called to offer them.
Urge members to ask, “who is discipling me?” and “who am I discipling?”.
Promote daily personal and regular communal practices of Bible reading, prayer and, spiritual curiosity.
Encourage congregations to explore fresh worship practices as expressions of seeking God. 
The report itself acknowledges that none of this is a quick fix for the Church of Scotland, but the first step in a process we hope and pray will bring about renewal: renewal of God’s People, renewal of discipleship, and renewal of the Church. Which is the connection to the Bible passage I quote, above: Paul encouraged all who follow Jesus to submit themselves to God’s transforming power, that He might transform us to better follow His ways, and be His hands and feet in our broken world. That is God’s call, and indeed the call of this report, to all members of the Church.
 
And given that such renewal is only possible through the power of God, granted in and through the Holy Spirit; it seems particularly apt to be reflecting on and writing these things, as I am, on Pentecost Sunday.
 
With every blessing,

Stuart
Email: slove@churchofscotland.org.uk
Tel.: 07916 176 873

With every blessing,
Stuart
Email: slove@churchofscotland.org.uk
Tel.: 07916 176 873