In the Doldrums?

Yesterday I took the meetings at Yelvertoft in the morning and Theddingworth in the evening.  It was Pentecost Sunday and I included in both a reference to the Doldrums.  The word means a dull mood and is sometimes used to describe a state of depression.  Geographically it refers to parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans at the equator where the heat causes hot air to rise forming convection currents moving north and south and where they then often cancel each other out.

In the days of sailing ships it was possible to remain becalmed in the Doldrums for many days or even weeks.  With a limited supply of food and water, to become becalmed for long periods posed a serious threat to a ship.  It was not unknown for a ship's master to decide to let down small boats manned with tough sailors and with a line back to the ship.  The plan was that they would row as hard as they could in an endeavour to tow the ship out of the Doldrums and to a place where it could once again pick up wind in its sails.

It would have been hard work trying to tow a large and heavy ship by rowing from a small boat.  Some cynics suggest that the task was undertaken to keep the men out of mischief.  For me, at Pentecost, it provides an image for many Christian's spiritual lives and certainly that of many churches.  The Holy Spirit is the driving force for holiness and power in witnessing to the gospel.  Our worship should have the breath of the Holy Spirit in it.  But instead of feeling driven we all too often lie motionless or even resorting to ridiculous human effort instead of catching the wind once more in our spiritual sails.

Of course the picture breaks down in that there is not any time when the Holy Spirits power is cancelled out, but it is certainly possible to arrive at a place in our lives or in the life of a church where we no longer feel God's mighty power at work.  At such time the correct remedy has to be to pray and cry to God until we have come back to the place where we feel his power at work.

I don't know about you but I have no appetite for trying to tow a ship from a boat!

Incidentally, I finally completed and sent off the evangelism module to my colleague who is editing the Growing Disciples Course.  It's an interactive module and is developed from one I use on church away days, or sessions on tailoring mission to the local church.