On behalf of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches may I take this opportunity to thank the Kirk of the Greyfriars for permitting us to join you in our centenary celebration service. It is indeed a privilege to worship with the representatives of the World Reformed Family in a church of a historical significance. The pastor of your church, Dr Stuart Louden, is a pillar of WARC and a honorary member of its executive committee.

As you know, 200 men and women representing over 140 member churches of the Alliance were meeting at St Andrews in a centennial consultation to praise God and give thanks for his continual guidance during the past 100 years.

This consultation has also been an occasion to stop and look back over what the Alliance has done in his name and for his glory. It has been an occasion to evaluate the activities of the century and plan for the future so that the World Alliance of Reformed Churches may continue to be God's organ of effective witness.

The theme of the consultation was "the glory of God and the future of man".

During the past week we have studied this theme from different angles and perspectives in our discussion groups and workshops, but I am not here to report on that.

This morning let us think together how each member church can help the 20th century man or woman to relate to the first century man - called Jesus. The future of man's share in God's glory depends on his true discipleship to Jesus.

In the Old Testament we see that God's glory for the Israelites was a guidance and a protection. For them it was a liberating and redemptive force. Even today his glory has the same characteristics. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ God is ready to bestow his glory on the believers, provided we are ready to accept him as our Lord and Saviour and are willing to be his true disciples. The assurance of our share in his glory depends on the extent of our discipleship to Jesus. To have a share in God's glory means daily to suffer, die and be resurrected with Jesus as a renewed person.

In the sixties it seemed impossible for a 20th century man to relate to this first century man, Jesus. In the eagerness to join the technical, industrial and material race, we overlooked the liberating and redemptive force of God's glory. Thanks be to the movements of the 70's such as Jesus' Movement, the Charismatic Movement, and others like them which are helping the people to rediscover the power of God's glory.

We are living in a period when the figure of Jesus Christ has suddenly come alive for a great many people. We are rediscovering that Christ's lordship of life is a divine gift which compels us to love and serve one another. The order of God's Kingdom is service.

Has the church been successful in reflecting God's glory to the world? Service has always been the main feature of its mission. The church has and is still reaching out into the world through its programme of preaching, teaching and healing, and yet at times it fails to reflect God's glory in the form of Good News to the hungry, the oppressed, and to those who are confused and have been caught up in the whirlwind of hopelessness. Why?

1. From my observations as a lay person I can say that we have to Change our attitude to the whole approach of service. People in the developing countries are already suspecting the motives of well-planned programmes of social and economic development offered by the churches in the developed world. So what is our motive? Is it for a reward, either material or spiritual, or is it for self-recognition? In order to have a share in his glory we have to lose ourselves. Only then we will bear fruit.

2. Secondly there has to be a change in our approach. Up till now the church has been reaching out to the people from a self-erected platform of charity. We have to come down from this platform and not only identify with the people, but be one of them in achieving a common goal and take the rest along with us in the development of the whole person - body, mind and soul.

3. In some countries the church suffers from an inferiority complex that they are in the minority. In the Old Testament God has used the word "remnant" for the chosen few. Those of us, who find ourselves as minority churches, let us consider ourselves to be God's remnants in the world, whom He has chosen for his glory. Therefore let us take courage and boldly explore new channels of service.

4. Today the church tends to be an ingrown institution with heavy structures, and these structures are powerful. There are more directors and leaders and hardly any servants who are ready to lose themselves for his sake. The church has to detach itself from these powerful structures if it is to reflect God's glory in the world today. The church is a people's movement and not an institution or hierarchy.

5. As I have said earlier, the church has failed to reflect God's glory in its full sense, because it has often indulged in giving moral advice and not proclaiming the Good News. The church is failing to grasp the complete mystery of God's love, which comes through the grace of his Son Jesus Christ. We cannot be his royal priesthood if we do not have the personal experience of his grace in our own lives. If we are not transformed as new beings, we cannot reflect his glory. Often in fear of over-emphasizing the liberating or redemptive power of God's glory, we are guilty of under-emphasizing it. The church must experience a true renewal before it can have a share in God's glory. Therefore in humility let us understand fully the mystery of God's glory and then with assurance go out into the world reflecting this liberating and redemptive power which can be a protecting and guiding force in our fast-changing world.

Mrs Shanti Solomon who is very much involved in women's work all over Asia and the founder of the "Fellowship of the Least Coin" was one of the Vice-presidents of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches during the last mandate of its executive committee. Although no longer a member of the WARC executive committee, she has been reappointed Coordinator for Women's Work.