Seek First the Kingdom of God

When we think about Christian life in the world - and as members of CSM we're all in that business! - there are two possible approaches. Some theologians have called them "top-down" and "bottom-up".

In the "bottom-up" approach we immerse ourselves totally in the situation that we are in and we ask questions about God from there. How might God be working in this situation? What does this situation reveal about God? How does God want me to act in these circumstances? In the "top-down" approach we begin with God and work down to the everyday life of the world. Who is God? What kind of Kingdom has God revealed in Jesus Christ? How can I begin to be someone who works for that in the world?

There are problems on both sides. The "bottom-up" thinkers are inclined to be too pragmatic and accommodate their faith to circumstances. In attempting to see God in the situations they face, they may actually reduce the holiness and glory of God to something rather more bland and even functional. But the "top-down" thinkers are always in danger of keeping their "heads in the clouds" and having a pure, idealist kind of Christianity that doesn't actually make much sense in the everyday life of most people. Remember the medieval scholastics who argued about how many angels could fit on a pinhead?

So the reality is we have to be doing both at once - constantly looking for the work and guidance of the Spirit in the situations we face, but also constantly going back to the scriptures, the tradition and the life of prayer to ask God to reveal the Kingdom to us. One of the motivators behind the CSM renewal and change initiative has been a feeling that perhaps CSM has focused a little too much on the "bottom-up" approach for some time. So we want CSM to start praying again, to return to the scriptures, and to understand that praising God is at the heart of Christian life, including the lives of Christians in politics.

Please be a part of that, and pray for God's blessing on the Movement.

James Walters
CSM Executive and Westcott House, Cambridge.

Elections show strong mandate for Renewal and Change

The results of the CSM executive elections show a strong mandate for Renewal and Change, with many Renewal and Change candidates being elected in key positions.

Alun Michael MP was elected as Chair.
Helen Dennis and Kerron Cross were elected as Vice Chairs
Chris Ostrowski was elected as Treasurer
Angela Cheyne, Jonathan Cox, Fred Grindrod and James Walters were elected as ordinary members of the executive.
Richard Robinson, Matthew Rhodes and Allan Davies were elected as National Regional Representatives.

We wish to thank everyone who supported us and campaigned on behalf of Renewal and Change. We now ask everyone - not just those who were elected - to join us in the huge challenge of renewing and changing CSM.

We hope to launch our Year of Renewal consultation soon and we would really appreciate your participation in that process. There is a huge challenge ahead and we would value your prayers.

Blessings,

CSM Renewal and Change Team 2007.

Call for CSM Renewal and Change

Dear CSM Member,

In Proverbs we are told: “Without a vision the people perish”. The Christian Socialist Movement is perishing - precisely because it lacks a clear vision and purpose. Membership is in decline, it is running at a loss and has lost almost all of its reserves, and those who remain loyal are questioning its purpose and activities. Without drastic action to raise funds and recruit members in the next year, CSM may simply perish within a year.

We must repent for failing to live up to our calling. CSM has not been a radical and prophetic witness to the Labour Government - even when its own values speak volumes, it has been silent. CSM has not lived out its own values in its own activities. It is has taken substantial sponsorship from organisations which some members feel are not consistent with the values of CSM. CSM has failed to support its elected representatives and candidates. Moreover, CSM seems to do little to actively “work in prayer and through political action” for its values.

There has never been a greater need for a strong Christian voice on the Left to speak to the Labour Party, the Government and the churches. And that is why those of us who love CSM and recognise its potential are frustrated at its inertia and lack of vision and purpose.

We are calling for 2007 to be a Year of Renewal for CSM. We are standing at the forthcoming CSM elections on a pledge to work for renewal and change in CSM – and to ensure its survival.
We are asking for CSM members, ex-CSM members and all Christians who believe in Christianity, progressive politics and social justice to support the Year of Renewal. We have five pledges to begin the Year of Renewal:

• Prayerfully restore CSM’s values and objects to the heart of everything it does;
• Actively be the prophetic conscience of the Labour Party and a prophetic voice to the churches;
• Boldly take a stand against the religious right and campaign to make poverty, social justice and the environment mainstream Christian issues;
• Sustainably ensure CSM’s financial security without accepting sponsorship from organisations that compromise our values;
• Urgently act to make CSM fit for purpose and the organisation more democratic, accountable and Christian.

This is the beginning of a process of renewal and we do not have all the answers. That is why we are asking for you to sign the Year of Renewal petition, for your ideas on how you would renew CSM, and to support the candidates who support renewal in the forthcoming election if you are eligible to vote. To sign the Call to CSM Renewal and Change 2007 email csmrenewalandchange2007@yahoo.co.uk.

Yours in Christ,

The CSM Renewal and Change Team
---------------------------------------------------------------------

CSM Renewal and Change Candidates:

For Chair:
Rt Hon Alun Michael MP (currently CSM Patron)

For Vice Chair (2 positions)
Helen Dennis (currently CSM Exec)
Kerron Cross (currently CSM Exec)

For Publications Officer
Sophie Harding (currently CSM Publications Officer)

For Treasurer
Chris Ostrowski

For Ordinary Member of Executive (5 positions)
James Walters
Angela Cheyne
Jonathan Cox (currently CSM Exec)
Fred Grindrod (currently CSM Exec)
Gareth Gould

For Eastern Region National Regional Representative
Allan Davies (Secretary of CSM Essex)

For London Region National Regional Representative
Matthew Rhodes

For East Midlands Region National Regional Representative
Richard Robinson


PETITION FOR RENEWAL AND CHANGE 2007

We are calling for Renewal and Change in CSM in 2007. Please read the proposals in this blog, and if you would like to support our call for Renewal and Change in CSM in 2007, then please email csmrenewalandchange2007@yahoo.co.uk and tell us who you are and why you want to support us.

We the undersigned CSM members believe it is time for Renewal and Change and wish to publicly pledge our support for the Year of Renewal in 2007.

Rt Hon Alun Michael MP (currently CSM Patron)
Helen Dennis (currently CSM Exec)
Jonathan Cox (currently CSM Exec)
James Walters
Allan Davies (Secretary CSM Essex)
Chris Ostrowski
Kerron Cross (currently CSM Exec)
Angela Cheyne
Jon Kuhrt
Matthew Rhodes
Rev'd Sam McBratney
Fred Grindrod (currently CSM Exec)
Gareth Gould
Jonathan Alltimes
Rebecca Henney
Sophie Harding (currently Publications Officer)
Stephen Matthews (currently CSM Vice Chair)
Cllr Richard Rackham
Richard Robinson
Anthony Hunt
Paul Burgin
Beverley Hazell
Paul Franklin (CSM Administrator 2000-04)
Simeon Mitchell
Chris Herries (former CSM Vice Chair)
Dr Ann Limb
Harriet Panting
Ashley Riley
Stephen Plant
Michael P. Hornsby-Smith (Emeritus Professor)

We are calling for Renewal and Change in CSM in 2007. Please read the proposals in this blog, and if you would like to add your name to the call for Renewal and Change in CSM in 2007, then please email csmrenewalandchange2007@yahoo.co.uk and tell us who you are and why you want to support us.

Year of Renewal and Change - Consultation

Further down this blog you will find some of our principles and ideas to renew and change the Christian Socialist Movement. However we do not have all the answers - and this is just the start of a process of renewal and change for CSM.

So we are starting a consultation on how to make 2007 a Year of Renewal and Change for CSM. If you have ideas about how you would like to renew and change CSM, please leave them as comments on this blog post or email csmrenewalandchange2007@yahoo.co.uk.

“Where there is no vision the people perish.” [Prov29:18]

CSM in crisis

The Christian Socialist Movement is perishing. Membership is in decline, branches are struggling to recruit members, and the financial situation is bleak. To be sustainable the organisation needs a membership base of at least 2,000 members. The current membership is now less than 1,700. The current officers group and executive committee are aware of this issue and have set a target of recruiting 300 members by the end of 2007.

Despite the best efforts of staff, officers and members, CSM is losing members. In the last eight months 63 new members have been recruited, but 60 have died or left in the same period. On the basis of that trend, it is going to take 66 years to reach the critical target of 2,000 members.

And the membership demographic does not give rise to optimism: almost two-thirds of members are over 50 and half of that proportion is over 70. Many older members are active in CSM, but without a recruitment of younger members CSM will rapidly decline as older members become less active and pass on. Just 8% of members are under 30.

The scale of the task faced by CSM just in order to survive is enormous. For several years CSM has been eating into its reserves to fund its activities, but those reserves are running out and if it continues to do so it will be bankrupt by July 2007. A contingency plan drawn up by the officers group should solve that issue in the short term, but the answer to CSM’s financial problems in the long term is to recruit more members.

Positive developments in CSM

CSM has much of which it can be proud. The recent revision of the values of the Movement helped to refocus our attention on what we stand for as Christian Socialists in the twenty-first century.

A small but vibrant CSM youth movement is meeting for regular fellowship, and organising speakers and residentials.

The new website and rebranding with the focus on ‘Christianity, progressive politics and social justice’ is attracting over half of all new members.

The recent policy submission on Trident clearly translated a core CSM value to a contemporary political debate.

The magazine editions and pamphlets continue to offer a quality service to members, and to showcase CSM to the wider world.

Many CSM members hold positions of influence in politics, the church and wider secular life.
And it should be cause for celebration that many CSM members are endeavouring to live out CSM principles in their daily lives – not to mention the two most influential Labour politicians of our time and the most senior church figure in the UK.

CSM: in need of repentance, renewal and change

However there are many things of which we are not proud and of which we must repent. The decline in membership and precarious financial situation threatens the viability of the whole organisation. Even amongst the existing membership there is a sense of dissatisfaction about CSM and its purpose.

CSM has not been a radical and prophetic witness to the Labour Government on controversial issues - even when CSM has had something to say that springs directly from its values, it has been silent. Why has it not spoken out on issues relating to the environment, international development and asylum – all of which have been discussed in the magazine and can be clearly linked to CSM’s values?

CSM has not lived out its own values in its own activities. It is has taken substantial sponsorship from organisations which some members feel are not consistent with the values of CSM. Moreover, CSM seems to do little to actively “work in prayer and through political action” for its values. Many members are loyal because they are both Christians and Socialists – not because the organisation delivers for them or for their values.

CSM has failed to serve the many candidates and elected representatives within its ranks, offering little in the way of spiritual, moral or political guidance to those making difficult decisions.

The executive committee, elected to hold the officer group and staff to account on behalf of the membership, set CSM’s strategic direction, and share in the work of the organisation, is unable to fulfil any of these requirements. Despite executive committee members sharing financial liability for CSM, its members are largely ignorant of key developments, because it meets too irregularly, and therefore provide little or no scrutiny. This also hampers executive committee members sharing in the work of the organisation. Most National/Regional Representatives (NRRs) are unclear as to their role and admit to having little involvement in CSM activity in their nation or region, their many talents wasted.

Many ideas are suggested to improve CSM, but there is no coherent strategy to make them effective. Furthermore there is little serious evaluation of the activities CSM undertakes in relation to its values and objectives.

“Write down the vision and make it plain on tablets so that whoever reads it may run with it.” [Habakkuk 2:2-3]

Making the vision plain

The Christian Socialist Movement has to make its vision plain. But it also has to develop realistic strategies to achieve sustainability and better work out its values in politics, or it will perish. Hence the vision and the strategies need not just to be developed, but written down and followed: “made plain on tablets so that whoever reads it may run with it.”

CSM is in an excellent position to do this. It has a strong set of values and objects that its members have pledged to work in prayer and political action to achieve. CSM’s values are attractive not just to its members but potentially to many in the churches and in the Labour Party.

Focusing out, not in

However, CSM must work harder to promote its vision within the Labour Party, wider political debate and the media. Its focus must not be on servicing current members – it must look outwards and recruit new members by promoting its values publicly.

In place of attending costly events to recruit more members, CSM should focus on developing clear policy lines, rooted in its values and objects, and pursue a vigorous advocacy strategy – incorporating parliamentary and media strategies to ensure that these views are heard in the Party and covered in the religious press. This is more likely to yield new members via the website at less cost than attending Party or religious events, and it also serves the existing membership by better promoting CSM’s values and objects. Such a strategy may even persuade ex-members back into membership.

CSM should position itself as an organisation with a strong public profile: promoting in the Labour Party the positive contribution that faith can make to politics; redefining typical ‘Christian issues’ to include social justice, poverty and the environment; aggressively countering the religious right in the media, particularly the religious media; prevent further appropriation of the term ‘social justice’ by the Conservatives; and promote CSM to churches and NGOs who share our values and objects as a conduit to lobbying MPs and ministers.

Prayerfully restore CSM’s values and objects to the heart of everything it does

· Restore values and objects to the heart of everything CSM does.
· Assess all of CSM’s current activities and reconsider in terms of to what extent they further our values and objectives
Work to strategies that fulfil the CSM vision

Actively be the prophetic conscience of the Labour Party and a prophetic voice to the churches

· Seek opportunities in the Labour Party and the public square to promote the positive contribution of faith to politics
· Develop better links with and support for CSM parliamentarians and work with them to advocate for CSM’s values and objects
· Provide a strong prophetic voice during the period of transition to a Brown Government
Help the Party reconnect with values as the foundation of policy
Be a prophetic voice to the churches

Boldly stand for CSM's values,against the religious right, and make social justice a mainstream Christian issue

· Switch the focus of CSM activity to engagement in external affairs
· Produce a clear set of media and lobbying strategies to further CSM’s values.
· Develop a policy and advocacy sub-group of the executive committee to plan, produce and communicate CSM policy.
· Redefine ‘Christian issues’ to include poverty, social justice and the environment.
· Take a public stand against the religious right on key issues.
Ensure the Director has the relevant media training and the freedom to respond to and generate media requests.

Sustainably ensure CSM’s financial security without accepting sponsorship from organisations that compromise our values

· Change sponsorship policy to accept support only from those organisations which are in line with our values and objects.
· Refuse support from companies such as Nestle
· Invite high profile members to form a fundraising committee.
· Executive committee to contact ex-members personally to inform them of CSM’s change of direction and focus and ask them to rejoin.

Immediately make CSM fit for purpose and the organisation more democratic, accountable and Christian

· Increase the regularity of executive committee meetings to provide effective leadership and scrutiny
· Executive committee to set strategic direction of CSM
· Formalise policy and advocacy sub-committee
· Ensure officer group shares minutes with the executive committee
· Shift power from unelected and unaccountable regional representatives to elected members
· Break up officer position roles and give specific responsibilities to executive committee members
· Add a Membership Recruitment Officer to the executive
· Allow branch secretaries to attend the executive committee ex officio
Engage members in e-referenda on key issues