Ship of Fools: City Hope Church, Bermondsey, London

The Mystery Worshipper

Ship of Fools: City Hope Church, Bermondsey, London

Great heart, wonky theology

Read the full Mystery Worshipper report here

Webbo

You come to our church, to our family of worshippers, to brothers and sisters in Christ, imperfect created beings, trying to do their level best to love God and love each other, and you review us and judge us with a sense of superiority and arrogance that quite frankly leaves me breathless. We are not a business that requires customer feedback. We are a local church full of complex intermingled lives, different cultures, classes and socioeconomic backgrounds who are striving to follow Jesus and his calling on each of us. Vic is a fantastic pastor and a deeply wise and learned man. In 2016/2017 he was having a really hard time of it, a really challenging season of his life. My brother was battling through many things that I couldn't possibly list here. And now 10 years later when he Google's his name, the 4th result down the list is this website and it's "4/10" appraisal of his sermon. Really? Do you really think "mystery worshippers" have the authority to walk into a church family and pronounce judgement over their services like this? Why don't you invite us to your home, and we can judge your wife's roast dinner, and how funny your dining table anecdotes are? We can assess just how your family stacks up compared to others? "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35 . Jesus did not say followers would be identified by debates, theological knowledge, or church buildings, but simply by their compassion for each other. Please allow that to sink in before you harshly judge well-intentioned brothers and sister in the faith.

Bishops Finger

O dear.

FWIW, I thought the Report (which I've only just read) is a fair account of the MWer's visit ten years ago...

Doublethink

@Webbo the discussion forums are not run by the same folk who write the magazine - if you want to raise a concern with them, you can use this link: https://shipoffools.com/contact-us/

Amanda B Reckondwyth

You wrote: "You review us and judge us with a sense of superiority and arrogance that quite frankly leaves me breathless. We are not a business that requires customer feedback."

Mystery Worship reports are not reviews. They are the honest impressions of a first-time visitor who may be looking for a church to call his or her own. Superiority and arrogance have nothing to do with it. If anything, humility and diffidence carry the day. You may not be a business, but you just might benefit from customer feedback. "Is this the church for me, a seeker? Not if everyone is chasing each other around chairs, making choo-choo sounds, and not talking to a stranger." Even so, our reporter saw a "great heart" there.

I personally see nothing offensive in this honest appraisal of what our Mystery Worshipper observed. But if you are truly offended, then, being that the report is more than two years old, someone in authority from the church may request to have it deleted.