"We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28 NIV).
Over recent weeks in my village church at Yelvertoft we have been exploring aspects of scripture and doing our Bible study in various and creative ways. It has been encouraging to see how people have engaged with God's word - and the word engaged with them. Today (Sunday 5th June) I plan to explore how parts of the Old Testament foreshadow aspects of the gospel, and I plan to use the story of the exodus as the main illustration. Thinking about this I returned once more to the thorny issue of why God allows suffering (in this case the bondage and oppression of the people of Israel in Egypt). It is this that took me to the text at the top of this blog post, and a reflection on the past week's activities.
You may be aware that many years ago in my teens I was sexually abused within a Christian mission organisation. I forgave the director of the mission who did this to me and carried on working with him (though not without difficulties) for 25 years before I finally left the organisation. It was shortly after this that I heard that another young man was experiencing much the same abuse which led me to reveal what I had suffered more than twenty years before. Encouraged by the then chairman of trustees of that mission I met with other young men who had worked in the mission and found several others with sad stories to tell. Tragically, neither the trustees of the mission nor the leaders of the church in which he was involved were prepared to investigate the matter further.
More than ten years later, and much wiser, I reported the situation to the police and was surprised that what I considered "inappropriate behaviour" they defined as "criminal". A further few years passed before he came to trial, where he pleased "not guilty", forcing both me and the young man to have to recount in detail what had happened to us. As a result he was convicted and sentenced to prison.
Sexual abuse of any kind casts a long and dark shadow. I still have bad dreams that stem from my days of torment. Of course, today we are more informed about these things and have appropriate systems in place in an endeavour to stop such activities. But there are many like me whose experiences are rooted in more ignorant times.
But what has that to do with Romans 8:28, or does the verse only offer some vague hope that even in the worst of circumstances God can work for our good?
Last Wednesday I travelled to London to take part in an interview with a Christian newspaper relating to a piece of work soon to be published that deals with the provision of appropriate responses to those within our churches who have been the victims of sexual abuse (whether or not it took place with the church systems). This is a document that I and others have been working on for many months and which has already obtained strong support within the Church of England. It follows on from a book that I and others wrote on the same subject that was published in 2002.
While progress that has been made to make churches safer is to be applauded there is still much work to be done regarding supporting those who have been the victims of abuse, whether that is recent or in the past.
After my meeting last Wednesday I also met with trustees of a charity that has developed out of the organisation in which I and others were abused so long ago. It was encouraging to discover how they are learning from what happened back then and continue to seek to act in righteousness in addressing other issues.
Thursday was partly spent preparing material based on my experiences for teaching sessions on the Salvation Army's Safe & Sound Course.
On Friday morning I drove to Sunbury on Thames and in the afternoon a Salvation Army officer and I met with a young woman who had been systematically abused over several years, with one of the alleged abusers an ordained minister. Like so many who have travelled this same dark road she needed people who would listen to her story without judging her and who were able to receive all she said. Listening to stories like hers is far from easy but for those of us who have also experienced similar things it is easier, and listening becomes a means of bringing some release and hope into another person's dark prison. Please join your prayers with ours as we long to see her able to keep moving forward in her faith.
The rest of the day was spent sitting in on the SA sessions. I then spent the morning and afternoon teaching Salvation Army leaders out of my experience to help them understand and respond better within their denomination. As I arrived home late last evening somewhat exhausted physically and mentally by this intense programme focused on unpleasant matters I still had the words of one senior staff member in my head, "In God's economy nothing is wasted - not even the worst things in our lives."
That's not a bad paraphrase of Romans 8:28. While it makes no sense to be thankful for wrong things that happened to me, I repeatedly thank God for his enablement to use that journey to cast light on the path of others. I long ago stopped asking "Why?" and accepted that for us all rotten things happen in life. What excites me is the discovery of how God can work to turn such things to good and to be part of his transforming grace in our lives.
Prayers for this week
Sunday 5th Yelvertoft Congregational Church
Tuesday 7th Planning Meeting for Summer outreach programme in Market Harborough, followed by my weekly activity in Gartree Prison.
Thursday 9th Rural Church Leaders network meeting in Warwickshire.
General work: much of the week will be spent related to my research as I head towards an key assessment period later this month. There will also be pastoral visits and administration work.
Next Sunday 12th I will be back at Yelvertoft for Pentecost.
If anything I have written above touches on issues in your life please feel free to contact me in confidence.
Barry
Over recent weeks in my village church at Yelvertoft we have been exploring aspects of scripture and doing our Bible study in various and creative ways. It has been encouraging to see how people have engaged with God's word - and the word engaged with them. Today (Sunday 5th June) I plan to explore how parts of the Old Testament foreshadow aspects of the gospel, and I plan to use the story of the exodus as the main illustration. Thinking about this I returned once more to the thorny issue of why God allows suffering (in this case the bondage and oppression of the people of Israel in Egypt). It is this that took me to the text at the top of this blog post, and a reflection on the past week's activities.
You may be aware that many years ago in my teens I was sexually abused within a Christian mission organisation. I forgave the director of the mission who did this to me and carried on working with him (though not without difficulties) for 25 years before I finally left the organisation. It was shortly after this that I heard that another young man was experiencing much the same abuse which led me to reveal what I had suffered more than twenty years before. Encouraged by the then chairman of trustees of that mission I met with other young men who had worked in the mission and found several others with sad stories to tell. Tragically, neither the trustees of the mission nor the leaders of the church in which he was involved were prepared to investigate the matter further.
More than ten years later, and much wiser, I reported the situation to the police and was surprised that what I considered "inappropriate behaviour" they defined as "criminal". A further few years passed before he came to trial, where he pleased "not guilty", forcing both me and the young man to have to recount in detail what had happened to us. As a result he was convicted and sentenced to prison.
Sexual abuse of any kind casts a long and dark shadow. I still have bad dreams that stem from my days of torment. Of course, today we are more informed about these things and have appropriate systems in place in an endeavour to stop such activities. But there are many like me whose experiences are rooted in more ignorant times.
But what has that to do with Romans 8:28, or does the verse only offer some vague hope that even in the worst of circumstances God can work for our good?
Last Wednesday I travelled to London to take part in an interview with a Christian newspaper relating to a piece of work soon to be published that deals with the provision of appropriate responses to those within our churches who have been the victims of sexual abuse (whether or not it took place with the church systems). This is a document that I and others have been working on for many months and which has already obtained strong support within the Church of England. It follows on from a book that I and others wrote on the same subject that was published in 2002.
While progress that has been made to make churches safer is to be applauded there is still much work to be done regarding supporting those who have been the victims of abuse, whether that is recent or in the past.
After my meeting last Wednesday I also met with trustees of a charity that has developed out of the organisation in which I and others were abused so long ago. It was encouraging to discover how they are learning from what happened back then and continue to seek to act in righteousness in addressing other issues.
Thursday was partly spent preparing material based on my experiences for teaching sessions on the Salvation Army's Safe & Sound Course.
On Friday morning I drove to Sunbury on Thames and in the afternoon a Salvation Army officer and I met with a young woman who had been systematically abused over several years, with one of the alleged abusers an ordained minister. Like so many who have travelled this same dark road she needed people who would listen to her story without judging her and who were able to receive all she said. Listening to stories like hers is far from easy but for those of us who have also experienced similar things it is easier, and listening becomes a means of bringing some release and hope into another person's dark prison. Please join your prayers with ours as we long to see her able to keep moving forward in her faith.
The rest of the day was spent sitting in on the SA sessions. I then spent the morning and afternoon teaching Salvation Army leaders out of my experience to help them understand and respond better within their denomination. As I arrived home late last evening somewhat exhausted physically and mentally by this intense programme focused on unpleasant matters I still had the words of one senior staff member in my head, "In God's economy nothing is wasted - not even the worst things in our lives."
That's not a bad paraphrase of Romans 8:28. While it makes no sense to be thankful for wrong things that happened to me, I repeatedly thank God for his enablement to use that journey to cast light on the path of others. I long ago stopped asking "Why?" and accepted that for us all rotten things happen in life. What excites me is the discovery of how God can work to turn such things to good and to be part of his transforming grace in our lives.
Prayers for this week
Sunday 5th Yelvertoft Congregational Church
Tuesday 7th Planning Meeting for Summer outreach programme in Market Harborough, followed by my weekly activity in Gartree Prison.
Thursday 9th Rural Church Leaders network meeting in Warwickshire.
General work: much of the week will be spent related to my research as I head towards an key assessment period later this month. There will also be pastoral visits and administration work.
Next Sunday 12th I will be back at Yelvertoft for Pentecost.
If anything I have written above touches on issues in your life please feel free to contact me in confidence.
Barry
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