Tuesday 2 June 2009

What's the gospel for Reggie Perrin?

I loved the first version of Reggie Perrin with Leonard Rossiter. The new version with Martin Clunes is, in my view, equally good. Both have encapsulated the pressures of modern living. Both are disturbingly accurate portrayals of contemporary society - even if now the Rossiter version is dated. It reflected life when it was made.

The programmes have raised, for me, the question of what the Church and Christian faith have to offer for the countless Reggie Perrins at work today. What would happen to Reggie if he ventured through the door of his local church?

Would he be told that coming to church would give him what his leaflet wielding "counsellor" at work can't? Would it help, or would it just add another source of pressure, of things that he should do to his already hopelessly overfull diary?

Would he be signed up an a Christian Basics/Alpha/Emmaus/... course? But in his process driven world would being processed in this way make any difference?

What Reggie needs is a community in which he can behave like a unique human being and be treated like one. Wouldn't it be good if churches could provide that!

1 comment:

Andrew said...

My church is full of unique human beings!
And what a joy they can be . . . . . . .