The leadership at St. James' the Greater Anglican Church and St Michael’s Church are seeking to encourage and empower Christians in Bermuda to embrace the ministry God has for them through a series of lectures by Archdeacon Emeritus and Rector, Dr Arnold T Hollis.The four-week series is based on the vision statement, “Where the Lord Leads,” which was developed in 2009 as the Anglican Church of Bermuda celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christianity in Bermuda with the unexpected arrival of the Sea Venture.“I was inspired,” Dr Hollis shared, “as a result of the Faith Venture in 2009, that was hosted by the Diocese of Bermuda.”He had been inspired and spiritually challenged to help other believers expand that vision and better minister to others.“It's about the mission of the church and how God is willing and able to use us in this mission,” explained Dr Hollis, who has more than 53 years of ministry experience.Dr Hollis began to put these thoughts and reflections down on paper, which turned into a paper entitled, “Where the Spirit Leads”. He shared the paper with only a few others, including the Rev Carl Williams, who encouraged Dr Hollis to share this wisdom with not only the parish, but the whole community.The world we live in today is very different from the one the church has long been accustomed to, Dr Hollis says. Many, in this post-modern society of ours, lack the traditional foundations that many have had in the past, and as a result, they question the authority of the church, and also the authority and existence of God.“Most of the men sitting on the walls are somebody's children. They've not lost their faith in God, but lost their faith in the church. Most of the time, we sit back and wait for them to come to us, but we need to go out in the highways and bi-ways and bring them in,” Dr Hollis explained.The series of presentations, which will be held at St James' Church Parish Hall on four consecutive Wednesdays, are essentially one extended conversation on Christ's commands about the mission of the church and the role of the church in obeying those commands today.“Most of it is about speaking the truth in love, and how do we do church better.”A part of that will also be looking at how we do church, and the understanding that Christians shouldn't just be doing church, but that they are the church.“One thing we have to realize is that Pharisees are alive and well. The challenge comes in thinking about where you are in reference to the church.”It comes down to a comparison between the Reformation, in which the church was freed, and the need for a new reformation, in which God's people are freed from the church.Dr Hollis also compared these two different thoughts between that of two churches seen in the book of Acts - the Church in Jerusalem, which was heavily burdened with legalism, and the Church in Antioch.In addition to those who attend the Sandy's parish churches, Rev. Hollis hopes to see many others come to the presentations as well.“I would be pleased to see other clerics or clergy from other denominations to join with me to better see how we can speak the truth in love and share the vision of the Christian faith in the community.”The sessions will run on June 6, 13, 20 and 27, beginning at 7.30pm.