Saturday 28 August 2010

Praise, Prison and Prayer

Another week has almost come to an end.  I look back with thankfulness for God's blessings in so many ways.  The Psalmist speaks of proclaiming God's love in the morning and his faithfulness at night (Psalm 92:1-3).  It seems to me that starting the day with an awareness of God's covenant and unfailing love then enables us to be conscious of those many acts of goodness we might otherwise not have noticed.  This leaves us at the end of the day praising God for his faithfulness to us through another day.  Sadly, praise and thanksgiving seem to be absent or rare in the lives of many Christians.  How about you?

Readers of the blog will be aware that last Thursday I had an appointment with a session by the Department for Transport Road Safety Unit.  This was a penalty for exceeding the speed limit marginally recently.  The session took up the whole morning and I found myself one of around twenty others.  Most were middle aged or older (except for women where the average age was lower).  Sixty percent were male.  It was a valuable an enjoyable morning - very informative and great at enabling us to recognise our faults.

One of the early exercises was for each of us to state where we had been caught, whether we considered the speed limit fair and why we exceeded it.   Almost everyone confessed that the speed limit was fair.  The majority of reasons were "going with the flow", and "lack of awareness".  In fact, when it came to stating what the national speed limits are many in the group were woefully ignorant.  One man thought that the black diagonal line across a white circle meant you could travel at any speed!

The instructors confessed that they too had at some time exceeded the speed limit.  One said, "We all fail because we are all human.  There was only one perfect man!"  How right he is and how breaking the law regarding speeding mirrors sin generally.  While some deliberately transgress, others do not realise the limits and why they are there, and still others sin because they are careless.  The big difference is that some speed and get away with it while all will have to give account for sin.

Talking of which I'm in prison tomorrow morning with Steve, Liz and Margaret from Theddingworth.  If you are reading this before 9.00am please take a moment to pray for us.  If you are reading it after the event please take a moment to pray for those who received our ministry.

In the evening I will be leading the meeting at Theddingworth.  Other activities in the week include a meeting of the Congregational Federation's Pastoral Care Board on Wednesday and a meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee for the Area on Friday.  Next Saturday we will enjoy a visit from one of our nieces and her husband and their little daughter.  We will also welcome into our home the Revd Sandra Turner and her husband John.  They will be special guests in Yelvertoft on the Sunday and I have been busy trying to encourage folk from other churches to come and meet Sandra.  She was part of a small network of mission enablers I nurtured several years ago.  Apart from my own term as President in 2001/2002 there have been two other mission enablers elected to this office.  that's encouraging.

I am still playing catch up with writing items - especially for the group preparing a report on the support of sexual abuse survivors within the Church of England.  Please pray that I will be able to make sufficient time this week to complete this.

Wednesday 25 August 2010

Miscellany

On Monday I drove to the Uttoxeter area (90 minutes from home) to take part in interviewing an applicant for accreditation with the Congregational Federation.  Fortunately, the worst of the heavy rain had passed over before I set out.  However my car had developed an intermittent starting problem and I had to bump start it down a short steep drive to get back home.  On the way home I dropped off some p.a. and other items of equipment at the Congregational Church in Leicester.  We are very grateful to one of the members of Herstmonceux Free Church who donated the p.a. speakers; when I was Minister there we used them for our "Fresh Expression" of church established some time before "Fresh Expressions" was in existence.

On Tuesday the car would not start.  It appeared one of the battery cells had failed not long after the one year guarantee expired!  With a new battery in place I set off for Gartree Prison for the afternoon.  We have attracted a few more choir members.  In the evening we used some of the time to plan for the service next Sunday morning at the Prison.  These are precious opportunities and we seek to move in the Spirit of Christ on such occasions.  I shall value your prayers.

Working on admin in the office I had a call from a Lutheran Minister from Germany researching rural evangelism.  He and a colleague will be visiting me (among others) in about three weeks time.

Alfred Lavender -
gospel artist/evangelist
Finally, I had an interesting dream at about 3.30am and woke immediately afterwards.  In the dream I had been sharing in an open air meeting with my old friend and former colleague, Alfred Lavender.  Alfred was singing the hymn "We've a story to tell to the nations".  I couldn't remember the verses but followed Alfred's lead, joining in harmony in the chorus after each verse:  "For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noonday bright.  And Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth: the kingdom of love and light".

I have no idea why I dreamed about Alfred or why this particular hymn.  But it was a great spiritual experience!ender

Sunday 22 August 2010

Rachel and Kyle tie the knot

Rachel with her proud dad!
Doreen and I drove down to Hastings shortly after finishing Holiday at home on Friday.  On Saturday we went to the wedding of Kyle and Rachel.  We have known Rachel since she was about six, and watched her grow up in our church.  Her father, Paul, was my right hand in ministry for many years and he and his wife Janice are treasured friends.

Paul has been unwell for several years but was determined to walk Rachel down the aisle.  He did so - good man!

Two years ago Rachel's eldest brother, David, died in a tragic accident and I took his funeral.  It was so good to share on a happier note yesterday.

There are some wedding photos on my facebook page.

Today, shrugging of tiredness, we had a lovely meeting at Yelvertoft this morning and joined with friends at Walton Baptist Church, Leicestershire, for a Sankey service this afternoon.  I enjoyed it greatly.

Saturday 21 August 2010

This Week

During the past week I have been taking part in a "Holiday at Home" programme in Market Harborough.  This is primarily a social programme but it offers a link with Christians and opportunity to share some of the good news of salvation and life in Christ.

The programme was spearheaded by the Rev Brian Kennard (a former associate evangelist of our and now the local Methodist Minister) and is backed by Churches Together in Harborough.  We offered morning activities over four days plus a day outing.  My role was taking two sessions on internet issues, working with a friend on leading a singalong session and doing one of the "Light Bite" God spots.  Two ladies spoke with me specifically about seeking after God, and a third indicated something similar.  Other than that I was happy to act as a general helper.  Pictures are on the right of this page.  Click any to enlarge

Saturday 21st Doreen and I are back in Sussex for the wedding of one young woman who grew up in our church at Herstmonceux.  Rachel is the sister of  the young man whose funeral I conducted a couple of years ago after he died in a tragic accident.  It will be good to share with the family on a happier occasion.

This coming week
Working on a community questionnaire for a Parish in the Southwell and Nottingham.  Working on various aspects of the Rural Evangelism Network.
Sunday - ministry at Yelvertoft, Northants.
Monday - Interviewing an applicant for accreditation with the Congregational Federation (Derbyshire)
Tuesday - Gartree Prison
Thursday - back to driving school!  This is the penalty for exceeding a speed limit!
Friday - pastoral visits in Yelvertoft
Sunday 29th - Morning meeting at Gartree Prison with team from Theddingworth.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Saturday 14 August 2010

A short break?

The past week was scheduled as a break for Doreen and me and possibly a proper holiday, but it was not to work out quite that way.  Last weekend Doreen was taken ill. In over 35 years of marriage this was only the second time that she has felt ill enough to take to her bed for a while.

Dick takes a rest at Foxton Locks
Timing was not good as we also welcomed Pastor Dick Pymm into our home for a ten day visit.  Dick was largely responsible from Doreen  becoming a Christian as they worked together in a printing firm where Dick took every opportunity he could to witness for Christ.  He is still an irrepressible evangelist and has been witnessing to folk while here.

St. Mary's Parish Church, Lutterworth
Last year Dick's wife was called home to be with the Lord after several years of illness, and this has been the first break since then.  We have managed to take him out on some days to local sites including Foxton Locks, Rutland Water and, today, to Lutterworth which is where John Wycliffe, the 14th Century Theologian and Reformer, was vicar.

Appropriately, Lutterworth is also the location of the headquarters of Gideon's International through whom I received a New Testament while at school that served me well once I became a Christian several years later.

Various visits to the doctors had to be slotted into the week as did also my weekly visit to Gartree Prison and a planning meeting for school assemblies in Yelvertoft and a practice for one of the events within the "Holiday at Home" programme which will take up most of next week.  So not a lot of rest!

This Sunday morning (15th) I will be at Yelvertoft where we also welcome a guest presentation on the work of Hope4, a mission to homeless folk in Rugby.  Talking about homelessness, what about the situation in Pakistan where 20 million have apparently lost their homes!  This evening, I was reflecting on the fact that Jesus came into this world in inadequate housing, exercised his ministry with "nowhere to lay his head", and was buried in a borrowed tomb.

As already mentioned this week is Holiday at Home led by my good friend Brian Kennard who is the local Methodist Minister and who many years ago was an associate evangelist with us.  This is not overtly evangelistic but we seek to bring good news in various ways through the week.  Please pray for wisdom to know when to speak and what to say.

Friday afternoon we will set off to Hastings ready to join with friends at Herstmonceux where I was pastor for 15 years.  One of our young girls, now a woman, is getting married.  God has been working in her life and we would not want to miss this.  Hopefully Doreen will be fit again by then.

Hanging over my head is the sense of guilt at some tasks uncompleted by the time deadlines were hit.  It leaves me frustrated as I hate letting people down.  Please keep praying that God will raise up administration help as well as those to whom we will be able to pass the baton of this vital ministry.

Sunday 8 August 2010

"Where two or three..."

Only those familiar with rural ministry will have some appreciation of what today has been like.  In a village of 1000 people to have a congregation of 20 is generally considered good.  Even 10 is proportionately not bad.  I live in a town of 20,000 people and it is unlikely that any one church had a congregation of 200, let alone 400, which would be the equivalent attendance figures.  But it's holiday time and extra absences coincide with the regular absence because of ill health.

So this morning my congregation was five in Yelvertoft (population 1000), and my evening congregation at Theddingworth (population approximately 200) was just three.  In both cases one of these was Doreen's old pastor (now 84) who has come to stay with us for a few days.  Incidentally Doreen's health that has been very poor since Friday first thing has taken a turn for the better.  Thank you if you prayed for her.

Many would question whether meeting with so few is worthwhile.  All I can say is that God had given me a word to share in both meetings, and that just as Jesus often shunned the multitude to minister to ones and twos so I too feel that we cannot evaluate our ministry by the numbers we reach.  In both cases I dare to think that most urban Christians might have thought they were at a Bible Convention, such was the quality of fellowship, the earnestness of worship and the ministry of his precious word.

This morning we considered how David, in going against Goliath not only looked to God to give the victory but also had confidence in his chosen weapon.  While we too need to look to God we need to have confidence in the spiritual weapons that God has given us that are capable of pulling down strongholds (2Corinthians 10:4).  In particular we need confidence in the power of God's word and the power of prayer (see also Ephesians 6).  We considered how the work Nehemiah completed was birthed and sustained through prayer, how Esther - supported by prayer - risked her life to save God's people from annihilation, how Peter was set free and the plans of Herod thwarted through prayer (Acts 12), and how the early disciples responded to threats by praying.  We too face challenges but as we look to God and engage with the enemy using the weapons God has given we shall overcome.

This evening we looked into the life of Esther - the only book in the Bible where God is not mentioned though his footprints can clearly be seen.  We reflected how God had the right person in the right place at the right time.  Often we would rather serve God is some other way; perhaps something more dramatic or possibly with a much larger congregation, but it's not about that.  It is about being faithful in the role in which God has placed us.

As we left the Chapel in Yelvertoft this morning a man walked up to me.  Although I did not recognise him I knew at once that he was the man who had phoned me in the middle of the night the week before (see "What would Jesus Do?" posting).  He shook my hand warmly and told me that things were looking better.  I now have an invitation to visit him.  So keep praying!

48 years ago a man I did not know put a gospel tract in my hand.  He then went home to his wife and told her that he had given a tract to a sailor and God was going to save him and had a special plan for his life.  That faithful servant was not well at the time but he had been obedient in going out to give out these tracts on a damp and cold autumn night.  The only person with who he gave was me - a young man in naval uniform on his way to sea cadets.   That night this man and his wife stayed up all night praying for the unknown sailor.  Then they sent out prayer letters to friends throughout the world asking people to pray for the sailor.  They repeated this over the following months until, having heard their side of the story through a mutual friend who had not realised he had been praying for me(!) I knocked on their door and introduced myself both as the sailor and now a Christian brother.

Please don't undervalue the power of prayer or the humblest of service opportunities that God gives you.

This week is partly holiday but I have a few appointments on Monday, Tuesday and possibly Thursday.  Next Sunday I'm back at Yelvertoft, knowing that even if there are but few of us there we can still count upon God's presence and once again it will be worth sitting at his feet.

Please take a look at www.ruralmissionsolutions,org.uk and drop me a line.

Thanks.

Saturday 7 August 2010

What Would Jesus Do?

It was about five past midnight early last Sunday when the telephone rang awakening Doreen and me from our much needed sleep.  I managed to reach the phone in the office just before it switched over to the answer phone.  "Is that Barry Osborne?" said the voice on the other end.  I assured him it was and asked what I could do.  "You probably don't know me but I live in Yelvertoft", he went on.  Getting a call in the middle of the night from someone I probably don't know who lives in the village where my church is situated had me imagining bad news.  "We met at John Wale's funeral", he explained.  Now I was anticipating that someone had just died and, tired as I was, I already imagined I would soon be driving the 14 miles from Market Harborough to support someone suddenly bereaved.


But I was wrong.  Over the next few minutes I discovered that the man on the phone lived alone and was feeling incredibly low.  It seemed to him that nobody cared whether he lived or died.  He was really depressed.  Although his speech was clear I suspected he might have been drinking.  Sure enough he confessed he had already drunk too much but was not intending to drink any more that night.  Was he feeling that it might help if I travelled over immediately, I enquired, only to be assured that he did not see this as necessary.


It was about then that he realised how late it was and apologised for waking me.  I told him not to worry and that if he wanted to talk I would be glad to listen.  So for the next half hour Doreen lay in bed praying and listening to my half of the conversation while I teased his story out of him and tried to say all the right things.  At times like this with alcohol affecting the mind of the person  there was not much point in preaching at him.  My main concern was to be sure that he was not likely to do himself harm or anything stupid.  Slowly he became more rational, the depression clearly lifted as the presence of someone prepared to get out of bed and talk with him was counteracting how he had been feeling minutes before.  He even ended up telling me jokes!


Arriving at church a few hours later I found a nice note thanking me for being there for him and putting up with his bad jokes.  I would have rather seen him but the letter was certainly better than nothing.  I plan to get round to visit him.  He knows full well what I stand for and has heard me share the good news at John's funeral.  Will you pray for him please?  Sometimes, for some people, the good news starts with just knowing that someone cares and he has heard me say how much he is valued by God.  Who knows what God will do in his life!


Your prayers for Doreen will also be valued.  She has been quite unwell for the last 48 hours and so far medication given by the surgery has not had the desired affect.  It's not often she is ill and it's not good timing as we have a friend - her former pastor - staying with us for a few days.  He also needs to feel God's touch a he is still struggling to deal with feelings after losing his wife after several years of coping with Altzheimers.  So maybe it would be good to pray for Richard.  Come to that your prayers for me will be appreciated as I prepare for and then lead two services tomorrow.


"And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God" 2Cor 3:4/5.