Making a start

I'm now in the second week of convalescence after my operation and feel able to start a little work each day.  Today I started to catch up with requests for the "No Ordinary Man" material.  Requests continue to come in - though slower than I had hoped.  We have also started to receive the review reports back and these are encouraging.
The freepost facility is now active and we can provide freepost addressed envelopes for those doing the survey. Tomorrow I will send envelopes on to those who have been waiting for them.
A visit to the doctors today confirmed that all is well following the operation.  I have some discomfort caused by external and internal bruising but otherwise all is OK.  Doreen and I received a pile of get well cards and also good wishes via the internet.  We are both very grateful.  Pride of place among the cards is one signed by members of the Gartree Prison Choir which included a number of witty comments.  It was nice to know they were missing me.
Because I will be unable to go to the Prison for a couple of weeks, and have already missed two weeks, I have decided to go tomorrow providing I still feel OK.
One disappointment from the last few days is the failure of Waitrose to respond sensibly (in my view) to my concern over the inadequate labelling of their bottle of orange juice that exploded in my car a few days ago obscuring my vision and coating everything with juice while I was travelling at 70 mph on the M6.  They seemed more concerned to declare themselves not liable for the cost incurred (£74 for clothes I had to purchase and £50 for car valeting).  I have therefore decided to refer the matter to the Food Standards Authority as what happened to me could happen to another with more serious consequences.
So another day ends with some work done but a long list of jobs still outstanding.  But it will still be there tomorrow and I am more likely to cope if I lay the burden down and sleep.  As Jesus said we have much to learn from birds and lilies.

Palm Sunday reflections

I am still recovering from the operation to remove my gall bladder but both Doreen and I felt well enough to journey the 14 miles to Yelvertoft for the joint Palm Sunday service.  David Lake, the vicar, gave an excellent address drawing parallels from a visit of Margaret Thatcher to the place where he used to live, her popularity and the way in which that popularity vanished.

It reminded me of a zany Palm Sunday family service I led at Herstmonceux several years ago.  I had set up some of the men in the church.  As I welcomed people to the service one man started singing "You'll never walk alone"!  I asked why he was behaving so strangely and he informed me he was a Liverpool United fan and proceeded to tell me how well  the team was doing.  I politely said it was alright to be a football fan but we were here to remember what Palm Sunday is all about so I asked him to take his seat again so I could proceed.  I started to welcome people again and another man started chanting "Come on your Reds!"  I asked what he was doing and got much the same story but he was a Manchester United fan.  Again I listened to his enthusiastic description of team performance and then reminded him we were here to remember what Palm Sunday was all about and urged him to take his seat.  As I once more began my welcome yet a third man interrupted me. This time he was an Arsenal supporter.

By now most people had realised this was a set up but we were all in for a surprise.  As I tried to welcome people for the fourth time a woman who I had never seen before rose to her feet and shouted out "Crystal Palace"!  With a look of mild annoyance I led her through much of the same dialogue as with the other three interrupters.  What a gift she was!  She came from south east London and was a Palace supporter and apparently had not realised I was merely trying to create the same kind of enthusiasm as was exhibited on that entry into Jerusalem.

Jill, as I discovered she was called afterwards, became a good friend.  I think she's still a little embarrassed when she remembers that Sunday but she was a wonderful unexpected treat.  Sometimes greatest order emerges out of chaos - just as the Bible and mathematics affirms.

The Challenge to "Be Still"

Not a great deal to report as I am following the doctors' instructions and taking things easy for a day or so.  What it does emphasise is how hard it is to be truly "still".  I worked on a few very easy things today such as revising and then sending off copies of a booklet I wrote about Congregational Fresh Expressions of Church.  Apparently a church asked the offices for 12 copies and they had none there.

So many fill their days with activities and noise.  The radio is on from first thing.  Ipod earpieces carry music and speech into our minds when we have spare moments.  Background music plays in leisure and work situations.  I wonder how much we actually miss because we have lost the art of being still.  We learn the hard way the value of scripture advice that tells us to be still and know that God is there - ready and able.

This evening a car valet rep came to look at my car which has been parked up since I got back from the journey on which a bottle of orange juice exploded.  Tomorrow they take it away to clean it up.

The manufacturer of the drink (I am currently keeping this anonymous to give them time to take action) has written to say that they have referred the product to their technical department for scientific tests!  If they fail to voluntarily improve their labelling I will refer it to the Health and Safety Executive.  I could easily have been killed or killed someone else if I had reacted inappropriately or driven into someone when the windscreen got coated with juice.

Tomorrow I have a couple of easy tasks lined up and more opportunity to practise being still.

Ouch!

It has been an eventful four days since I last posted anything on this blog.  The reason for this is that I had continuing problems with my gall bladder and ended up in hospital in Edinburgh.  On Tuesday when I left Market Harborough levels of pain and discomfort had fallen and it looked hopeful.  Doreen was being cared for and we both agreed I should go to Edinburgh.  Tuesday night was uncomfortable and almost entirely sleepless, but I was able to teach on Wednesday as planned.

On Wednesday night I slept exhausted but woke in pain at 4.00 and decided there was no point hanging around for my evening flight and hoping I would feel better.  So I washed and shaved and got a taxi to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh.  E&A were super and a conviction grew that it would make more sense to take out my gall bladder here rather than medicate me for a trip home and a further wait for the operation.  This was the first time I had severe pain since early December and I was in no mood for more of the same.

The operation was on Friday morning and took three surgeons 90 minutes (about twice the usual time).  But they managed it with keyhole surgery.  Three hours after I went into theatre I was being stirred by an insistent lady with an annoying whine of a voice.  My first instinct was to plunge into deeper unconsciousness but the whine penetrated everywhere so I decided the only way to turn it off was to do what she kept insisting! 

Now it is Sunday morning and I am cleared to come home.  A Congregational colleague and friend has been looking after me, his wife doing laundry for me and they will be getting me to the station.  At the other end I will be met by Colin from Yelvertoft CC who kindly booked the train for me.  SA friends have kept in touch, concerned that I suddenly disappeared to hospital and my old friend Willie Munroe and his friend Ina came and visited which was great of them.

This has truly proved a Romans 8:28 experience in so many ways both for me in Edinburgh and for Doreen back at Market Harborough struggling with a bad cold and a broken bone in her foot.  Friends have been so kind.  We are also aware that word got around and many have been praying.  God is so good!

News from Scotland

On Tuesday morning I took Doreen to our local cottage hospital which has a minor injuries unit.  She had slept well and at first her foot didn't seem so sore.  But once she had been on her feet for a while it became obvious to me that she had broken a bone.  An x-ray revealed that she had indeed broken a small bone under her instep.  Because of the peripheral neuropathy they would not use a support bandage but seemed to think it would heal itself OK.

Doreen demonstrated her independence urging me to keep my appointment in Edinburgh.  I caught the 14.12 from Marker Harborough and on to East Midlands Airport, and thence to Edinburgh where I was picked up by a local Salvation Army Officer who took me the last leg to Carberry Tower, a Christian Conference Centre/Hotel.

There were around 18 people from various posts in the SA gathered for a Safe and Sound Course.  I had been booked to lead several sessions today.  The photo shows a few of those attending with a couple working through the role play exercise that draws my session to a close.

Last night was horrendous.  I was in agony from the gall bladder problem and had only two hours sleep from 5.00 am to 7.00 am plus very few snatched minutes when the pain reduced.  Paracetamol was not doing anything to reduce the pain.  So I had to undertake around 6 hours of teaching on two hours sleep with some continuing discomfort.  But it all went very well.  It is great to work with Dean and Debbie Juster on these occasions.

It's now 8.15pm and I am so tired!  I hope I will wake free of pain in the morning.  So I'm off to bed now.  As a pain management mechanism I continued to write my biography for around 4 hours last night and managed a good number of words.

Not such a good day

I awoke early and with considerable discomfort from my gall bladder.  This was the worst pain since leaving hospital.  I have been offered a date for the operation but it comes at just the wrong time.  I now await a rescheduled operation and expect this to be mid May. Paracetamol did not seem to do much for it so I went for a walk around 6.00 am and got a little relief.  I rested a little and then started writing on my laptop.  The pain eased to a dull ache as I wrote.

For several years I have been urged to write my biography by my friend and colleague Dean in the Salvation Army Child Protection Department.  I have hesitated about doing this but on my way to Shropshire on Saturday felt that the time had come and I knew where and how to start the story.  I told no one about this but at the end of Saturday afternoon a woman present from Pontesbury urged me strongly to write my story.  Was that just coincidence?

So I gave up the morning to writing the first chapter - 9 pages of A4 paper (5,351 words).  I had just finished it when an enormous crash sounded downstairs and I rushed from my office to find Doreen collapsed on the floor.   She had been asleep and woken to see it was 1.05 and she had not done anything for lunch.  Not that that bothered me as I was half fasting because of the gall bladder problem.  Instead of taking her time and ensuring that her feet were going to work properly (she has peripheral neuropathy) she stood up and immediately fell over!

I'm due to fly to Edinburgh tomorrow and will not be back until Thursday evening as I am booked on flights.  I am very anxious about leaving her as she has hurt her right foot and it is too painful to walk on.  However, Doreen is insisting that I go!  I'm going to sleep on it and decide in the morning.  Meanwhile I still have discomfort from the gall bladder which suggests that there is some colitis.  It never rains but...

The Case of the Exploding Orange Drink

Today went with a bang - well, at least part of it did.  It was loud, unexpected and with terrifying consequences. If you have read yesterday's posting you will know that today I was working in Shropshire with the members of Pontesbury Congregational Church.  They had also booked Brian Fisher to take the morning sessions; I was to look after the afternoon with a focus on prayer.  However, I was keen to get there as early as possible and get a "feel" of how the day was going, and so I set of around 8.30 this morning expecting to arrive by 10.30.

My route took onto the M6 within about 30 minutes.  It was a clear day with a motorway to match.  I guess I had been driving for about 45 minutes since leaving home and was close to Coventry when a really loud explosion sounded very close.  In the nanosecond that followed I guessed a tyre had burst.  But my mind changed a nanosecond later as the view out of the windscreen largely disappeared behind streams of sticky ooze, and orange juice dripped all over me from the roof of the car.  A bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice that had been lying innocently on the passenger seat next to me had exploded.

The offending product had been purchased from a reputable company the previous Saturday.  I had taken just one small drink and the bottle had been resealed and kept in a fridge.  Yes, the sell by date was 7th March and today was the 13th, but Doreen thought it was a healthy drink and had been kept in the fridge and should be OK.  Obviously the brief time it had been opened was enough to start a fermentation process resulting in my being soaked in the stuff and the front half of the car being liberally sprayed.

It was too big a disaster to sort out on the hard shoulder and I reasoned the most sensible thing was to make it to the Service Station which was only a couple of miles further on. Strangely the Service Station had the same retailer as the garage where I had purchased the exploding bottle.  The manager, a lovely young lady called Krystle, showed considerable sympathy and helped clean up the mess after taking photos.  I then had to head back down the Motorway to a branch of Tescos where I was able to purchase the much needed replacements for almost all the clothes I was wearing, which were well soaked, stained and smelly strongly of oranges.  You can see me looking very over-dressed for the occasion posing with the church secretary.

Just as well I had left home early.  I arrived at my destination at 1.05 just in time for the lunch break and just 55 minutes before I was on.  For various reasons numbers were lower than the preceding time I helped to lead an away-day for Pontesbury, but the enthusiasm was great.  Apparently what I said was just what was needed and that made the journey and time spent preparing well worthwhile.  The location for this event is a Methodist Church in the Shropshire Hills cleverly adapted to double as a Conference Centre.  Perhaps more about that tomorrow.

Happily, the journey home was less eventful and I was back home by 7.30.  In all my years of travelling at home and abroad in ministry I have had some sticky situations, but none quite the flavour of this one.  Most of it is now out of my hair and the washing will get done on Monday.  That just leaves the car to be totally valeted!

Preparing for tomorrow

I spent much of today preparing for Saturday's work for Pontesbury Congregational Church in Shropshire.  They use a Methodist Chapel for their away-days that is beautifully located in a rural area set among the local hills.  I was with them a couple of years ago at the same venue and about the same time of year.  There were daffodils and lambs nearby.

On that previous occasion we were looking at becoming a missional church.  Now they are wanting to explore the next steps as they respond to the vision for the church.  My main task will be to encourage them in developing a healthy prayer life that supports their mission strategies.

As part of my preparation I set up a PowerPoint presentation and wanted to have some slides where just some of the many excellent passages of scripture on prayer (especially promises) would scroll like credits.  Fortunately, friends on COIN (Christians on the Internet) came to my rescue and educated me on the topic.  It will provide a backdrop for about a minute while they reflect on the topic.

While talking about clever IT stuff, I was very impressed with www.lookingforgod.com and happily recommend it.

Fellowship and Friendships

My usual ministry in Yelvertoft was cancelled today (I started writing this on Thursday) to make room for what is often still called a fraternal even though there are people from both genders present - as was the case today. This event was for church leaders who are at a church within the East Midlands Area of the Congregational Federation.  This has been badly needed and was the first in what we hope will become a reasonably regular occasion.

There are 34 churches.  Ten have no formal leadership.  The remainder are served by 20 recognised leaders (i.e. a minister, pastor or team ministry).  We also have a couple of retired ministers and an Area Worker.  However, the Area stretches from Grimsby to Bedford and include six counties.  We are therefore rather disparate, with occasional clusters.  Despite a reasonable amount of enthusiasm only five of us were able to make today's meeting.  Some have full time secular work, others have commitments that clashed with the date.


Despite the small numbers we had a really excellent time which included a focus on the pastoral issues related to a situation (in another denomination) where someone went through a gender change.  In today's world tackling these issues "academically" might prove more relevant than some might think.  Maureen (our Area Worker) had been researching a real situation as part of a degree course.  We now need to think how those who missed this might pick up on it.

The event included a really good pub lunch.  When our afternoon session closed, the deacons from Clarendon Park Congregational Church arrived to express thanks on behalf of the church for the pastoral oversight and guidance I have
provided during the last couple of years until the recent appointment of their new minister.  I was deeply moved by their kindness.  They really have been a treat to work with - and that comes from a man with a heart for change and missional churches.

An ecumissional gathering

If ecumenism isn't about sharing in God's mission then I consider it to be a waste of time.  However, good ecumenism is always about mission.  Yesterday I was at a meeting in London of the newly re-formed "Group for Evangelisation" which is a part of Churches Together in England.  The theme for the day was "Confident Discipleship" and a dozen of us represented various church traditions, and we had two guests from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (licc).

The licc reps presented their "Imagine" project.  For me there were no new ideas but it is good to know that licc are sharing in the vision that has already inspired so many of us, and are able to bring their not inconsiderable resources to bear.  What we are called to imagine is churches made up of confident missional Christians who see wherever they are in society as the place of mission to which God has called them.

They emphasised that the ten hours (max) we might spend in church should be equipping us for the work God has for us within the remaining 110 hours we are awake.

We also heard about Biblefresh which celebrates the 400th anniversary since the King James version of the Bible was published.  It's a Bible Society initiative.  Added to that I was able to catch up on what is happening evangelistically through other church traditions and share some of the exciting things happening in the Congregational Federation, which I was representing.

Warm welcome at Heaton Baptist Church, Bradford

Heaton Baptist Church, Bradford, has been celebrating its 186th Anniversary today.  The church is about to receive into membership a lady aged 100 and I guess that must be a unique experience. The photo on the right shows the church secretary welcoming one of the older ladies on Sunday morning.

It was my privilege to bring God's word on this special occasion.  I reflected on how easily we allow clutter into our lives, and that if this is not checked the situation gets increasingly out of hand.  I began with Pam Ayres' poem on the Heap of Stuff attack.  We then reflected on various passages of scripture that emphasise the importance of simplicity such as, David and Goliath, the rich man and the eye of the needle issue, running the race as in Hebrews 12 where we need to lay aside unnecessary weight, 1Cor. 1:18- 2:5 with Paul's emphasis on a simple message, and the story of a frustrated Martha so intent on doing the host thing well.  I closed with a super song entitled "Out of this world and into your presence".  We then broke bread to start the next year in the life of the church.

It was good to have Doreen with me for the weekend (seen left as members share recent personal experiences with her).  Tony and Sue Newnham's church is warm and welcoming and it was marvelous to see Doreen so included.  Far too often the guest speaker's other half gets ignored in my experience.

We were grateful for safe travelling to and from Yorkshire this weekend. we returned tired but happy.

Celebrating a 186th Anniversary in Yorkshire

Visiting Heaton Baptist Church, Bradford,  where our friends Tony and Sue minister.  T&S used to work with Doreen and me (and others) when we worked in MFC. This is their Church Anniversary weekend.  This evening was a meal followed by a programme in song and word.  Tony had played keyboard on a number of my backing tracks.  Lovely time of fellowship.  I will be speaking tomorrow at this church and then heading back home.

Yesterday the trip back from London by train had me sitting with two other people and talking about church most of the way.  He was a Polish Catholic (though I suspect he might have had Jewish roots.  He was keen to emphasise he was a Christian first and a Catholic second.  She carefully did not declare but I suspect she was a lapsed Anglican.  Listening to their views on premises and worship was enlightening!  Historic and inherited tradition certainly gets in the way for many.

New insights gained today

Down to London today to work with others on the report being prepared for the Church of England Bishops on responding well to those in the churches who have been sexually abused.  It was a productive day as far as work is concerned but there were a couple of spin-off aspects personal to me.

During the afternoon I suddenly realised that I had unnecessarily assumed responsibility for trying to get an offender to get right with God and with those that he has hurt.  This was creating an unhelpful situation for me with disturbing dreams, but I am now confident that I need to let go and leave him to God.  I have tried many times in the past to encourage godly repentance but the line has to be drawn now.  If he were to repent and want to put things right I would be delighted, but for now I leave him to God.

The second insight that came today was that often those who experience sexual abuse suffer long term problems because it is the abuse of power and the controlling behaviour of their abusers that led to the sexual abuse that is the problem.  It is possible to be free from the dark shadow cast by the act or acts of abuse suffered but the underlying personality and behaviour of the abuser as a manipulative and controlling person is what seems - at least in some cases - to cast a longer shadow.  Recognising this is a step towards release.

A third insight was how the feelings and emotions experienced at the time of the abuse can complicate future attempts to address what happened.  For example, a young child who has been abused experiences certain emotions, but their immaturity might mean they are unable to process these.  Many years later in adult life, even when they have been able to talk about what happened, those childhood and limiting emotions still provide the context in which they recall what happened, and therefore the emotional context in which they try to work through the consequences.  The emotions might even appear irrational but they are likely to be powerful and hard to address until they have realised what has happened.

So I continue to learn how much damage and mess can be made of peoples lives by those who satisfy their sexual proclivities at the expense of others.  We continue to see the vast majority of Christian leaders ignorant of these issues and so we also see a lot of hurt and damaged people (possibly as many as 1 in 4) either left feeling unable to speak about what happened to them, or suffering from inappropriate and harmful pastoral responses.  Almost ten years on after writing "Time for Action" there is still need for much more action if our churches are to be places of healing.

If you are affected by this post and need to speak with someone I recommend Christian Survivors of Sexual Abuse at CSSA C/O 38 Sydenham Villas Rd, Cheltenham, Glos. GL5 26DZ.  Another useful organisation is MACSAS and they have a website at www.macsas.org.uk

Psalm 23 Reflection

There are many aspects of Christian ministry that I consider an enormous privilege.  One of these is conducting funerals, which provides an opportunity to minister something of God's love to those who have been bereaved.  Today I conducted a service of thanksgiving for Pat Mercer.  Pat was a long term member of my church at Yelvertoft but was already in care and showing signs of dementia when I started my ministry in the village.  Consequently I was unable to form a bond with her, which was a shame.

Preparing for her funeral service gave me the opportunity of getting to know members of her family and that was great.  A grandson now lives in the village and a granddaughter lives not far away.  I hope and pray we might see them again before long.  It was a great village service, well attended, good singing, and fond memories shared.

Key thought for today: from Psalm 23, it is "passing through" the valley of the shadow of death.  It is not a terminal destination, and for those who have experienced God's gracious companionship in life, "passing through" brings no fear, with the assurance of that which is better ahead.

Busy day tomorrow in London.  I put my main engagements for this month on the calendar at ruralmissions.org.uk today which should help those who pray with and for us.

Three "thinning out" situations

Yesterday included a visit ot HMP Gartree.  The choir had received a card and many verbal messages praising the recent concert.  The lads were obviously encouraged.  They work hard and it has a visible transforming affect on them.  Shame the system does not allow it to credit them.  We are losing two of the choir soon.  One who has fulfilled his tariff (minimum sentence) and is still waiting a Parole Board hearing is being moved to another Category B prison.  Another lad has an appeal pending.  Both will be missed but we wish them well.  Both are anxious about the change.  They both need our prayers.

This morning I was involved in a planning meeting for Holiday at Home, an outreach summer programme that has been run here in Market Harborough for the last two years.  It is headed up by the local Methodist Church but others of us support it and share in the programme. Many good ideas are in the pipeline and this will get thinned out to a balanced programme.


In the afternoon I sang and spoke at the local Methodist Wednesday Fellowship Meeting.  I took as my theme cluttered lives and did a story telling version of the Martha and Mary story.  How easily does our time become cluttered with little or no time to sit at the feet of Jesus!  How easily do we substitute our felt need to do things for God rather than being still and receiving what he longs to do for us.

Two encouraging emails

As today was our 35th wedding anniversary Doreen and I went out for lunch and then did some shopping (I'm great at planning romantic outings!).  So I thought there would be little to share with you by the end of today.  Wrong!


Just over a week ago I started the "No Ordinary Man" project since when a number of copies have been distributed - many to friends and colleagues who are going to help me get them into the right hands.  On Saturday I took ten to the Mission and Society Committee and all were taken.  One book and a copy of the review survey book was taken by a colleague from Scotland.  I got an email from her today about the seven hour train journey she had to take from Nottingham back to her home.  In it she told how several times along the way she had some extraordinary interactions with people.  Here's a part of her story.


"On the way home I sat with another young man on journey from Derby to Crewe.  I was reading the Hope book Bob gave us [follow up to the Hope 08 programme] and he began to talk to me about the lack of hope in the world.  He was really open to gospel and I was able to give him the books Barry had give me 'No Ordinary Man'  Can I get another one, Barry?"


Another email today came from a friend in France who has taken ten copies to use there, and has drawn up two lists of recipients.  We are not sure exactly what God will do through these 500 copies of the book but we do believe he will most certainly use them to draw people to himself.  I hope you are praying with us as these books go out.  One of the main reasons for this blog is to keep the prayers and praise right up to date.


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