The Archbishop said "Yes"

That's him - not me!

I have not long returned from the "Faith & Future of the Countryside" Conference.  It was well attended (around 200 people), had an excellent programme, and great credit is due to the organisers and the staff of the Arthur Rank Centre who serviced the event.  It concluded with a question time to a panel that included the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had graciously included a visit to the Conference within an already busy schedule.

Mine was one of around six questions that had been selected.  It asked whether, in the light of the specific tasks given to the disciples to proclaim the gospel and make disciples, the panel wished to affirm the good work done by some rural churches that had discovered how to combine appropriate and effective proclamation of the gospel alongside presence evangelism (i.e. the witness through the life lived).  To this the Archbishop said, "Yes" and then went on to speak about the need for it to be appropriate in style.

Of course it is vital that our evangelism is appropriately contextualised and that includes how we engage with people, what and how we say it, and how we encourage a response.  There is understandable anxiety about imported evangelists and teams whose personal culture affects the way that they undertake the tasks.  Far better would be if those who are part of the community and know how the village ticks had sufficient knowledge of the gospel and sufficient confidence to share this vital story with their neighbours.

Even better is to include evangelism as part of a general programme of mission that expresses God's love and concern for all.  This is why we run programmes that help churches to design and tailor mission strategies that are appropriate to themselves and the community in which they are situated.  To that end I gave away at the conference around eighty copies of a free CD with a PowerPoint presentation with soundtrack on this very theme.

There was also interest in the "No Ordinary Man" project from a number of church leaders including some bishops of the Church of England.

While I was away we heard that Ken Duffield had passed into the presence of the Lord.  Ken was one of my members at Yelvertoft and had suffered a stroke two years ago.  For the last eighteen months his wife, Joan, had been his primary carer.  Thankfully, Doreen and others in the church provided immediate support with me backing that up on the phone.  In many ways it is a relief for Ken who is now in the presence of the Lord, as is also Joan Taylor - one of our members from my time at Herstmonceux who has recently lost a six year battle with cancer.  Her funeral is on Wednesday in Eastbourne.

I have to be in East Sussex for a Sunrise Ministries trustees' meeting on Monday so Doreen is joining me and we will spend a few days in Sussex to make it possible for us to attend both events.  So other activities this week have been cancelled.  Next Sunday is a Joint Remembrance Service and I will be speaking at the Parish Church in Yelvertoft.

If you would like a free copy of the CD mentioned above please email me at sunrise@ruralmissions.org.uk.