Social action

It's long been a criticism of more conservative evangelical churches that we don't get involved in society to the same extent as the charismatic, Catholic and liberal churches. And it's true: in TW, it certainly wasn't the CEs who got Street Pastors or Debt Counselling off the ground (though I'm pleased to say that we are now involved in both). The reasons for this reluctance are well-rehearsed: we don't want to be distracted from the gospel. Yes, it's important to love our neighbour (or even our enemy!) but ultimately, there's no point in making this life a little more comfortable if our neighbour (or enemy) ends up in hell for eternity. The best way to show love to others is to share the love of Christ in the gospel, we say, so we concentrate on evangelism.
Of course there's truth in this, and we must never, never allow social action to overtake or replace gospel proclamation as it has done in so many organisations. However, it has to be right that we demonstrate Christ's love in practical ways to non-Christians and at the same time share the gospel.
So what should our priorities be?
Well, let's look at the state of people's lives in our area. What causes most stress, anxiety & hardship among adults & children? Two things immediately spring to mind. First, work-related stress - whether it be anxiety over redundancy or pressure from bosses & clients or the stress of managing a work-home balance. I meet many, many people who struggle at work, and yet work is often all they have, so they're caught in a trap - work causes almost unbearable anxiety but what else is there to live for? This is especially true for men, who tend not to keep friendships outside work, and if they move jobs or are made redundant, they lose everything that gives them self-esteem and pride (which, although sinful, are motivational forces).
The second is surely relationships, and in particular the breakdown of relationships, and this is not unrelated to the first point. Most people invest everything in two things: career and home. And when the career is stressful, relationships at home are affected. But marriages (I include what used to be called 'common-law marriage' here) are rarely healthy - they're too insular, with husband and wife investing & expecting too much from their spouse. The vast majority of couples spend every evening & every weekend together, and they imagine that this one person will be able to fulfil all their hopes, dreams, desires etc. But no other person can bear that weight of responsibility. Only God can do that, and he gave us marriage as a means to serve him and others, not as a private partnership lived in the prison of a home chained to a TV. And so marriages break down. And, though it's politically unacceptable to say this, the consequences are massively expensive in terms of the price children pay in emotional damage, cost to society (financial and social) end even cost to the environment (why do we need to build so many new homes?).
So... the church would do well to engage with these two areas - a proper attitude to work and a proper attitude to marriage. So 'The Marriage Course' , while not perfect, has been hugely popular, and has helped thousands of marriages to survive. I don't know of a similar course about work, but surely there would be a demand for it?
However, the underlying issue is a gospel issue. Unless people make the Lord Jesus their God, they will always idolise something or someone else - something or someone who cannot supply what they need, and so will be a disappointment. So while it's possible to help people cope better at work for now or to help a marriage for a while, ultimately, only a relationship with Jesus will put these things in their proper place in life.
Of course, having said that, Christians aren't entirely free from the stresses of work or marriage problems. But a right relationship with Christ, and a proper understanding of the place of work and marriage, is the starting point - we're then heading in the right direction - and with God's help, we can begin to get life in its proper perspective again.