Wanting to bless others

It was a great joy to meet with our friends at Stamford Free Church (Lincs) last Sunday.  It has been several years since the last time I had this pleasure, but the church has taken a continuing interest in our ministry for which we are very grateful.  It was suggested that since some in the fellowship would not have met me previously I should say something about the ministry as well as bringing something from God's word.  I decided to merge both purposes and, apart from a malfunction with the projector, it seemed to work effectively.  I used some of the time to set out the biblical principles behind the Tailored Mission Strategies programme.

Part of the week has been spent preparing for the International Congregational Fellowship Conference starting this Monday and running through to Friday.  Doreen will be with me at this event at Bruinel University, West London.  As part of the programme I will be leading a workshop on Tailoring Mission Strategies to fit and suit a church.  While I often speak to this in UK rural settings, it is another thing to provide a talk that is culturally relevant for churches of various sizes located in other countries with different cultures.  So it is a case of paring back the talk to fit the time and the context.

That has not been unhelpful and as part of the process I have been working on the production of the long overdue Workbook for Leaders.  Our trustees and management team have been pressing me to do this for a long time.  The problem is that the key to the success of the process is the facilitator plus the content.  I have relied on my own theological training, management experience and teaching skills combined in delivering this process for churches.  While I have offered training for leaders of the scheme there has been zero take up.  So it's time to take a leap of faith and produce the Workbook for Leaders with the course contents included and pray that appropriate leaders will emerge to use what is an excellent process in their own churches.

Teaching teachers is an interesting exercise and no doubt one we have all that chapters for the course written up and published, we will give our attention to aspects of appropriate development and training for leaders of small and rural churches.  My friends at the Arthur Rank Centre already have some excellent leadership development programmes they have developed and are piloting so I will certainly be talking with them.  For many years I was responsible for the leadership training course run by Mission for Christ in the seventies and early eighties.  There is a sad dearth of appropriate training of this kind.

Effective leadership of small and rural churches is very different from other aspects of church leadership.  We once had a brilliant pianist on our mission team.  He was concert standard and could make a meeting come alive.  The problem was that if he played to less than around 50 people he didn't know how to adjust.  He became conscious that what he was doing was inappropriate and floundered as a consequence. Unsurprisingly, he left and went back to playing in major events with large gatherings.  Like that, leadership of small and rural churches calls for special skills.  So we need to train the leaders.

Our Bible Discussion Meeting on Thursday looked at Isaiah 6.  We have had such good sessions at Yelvertoft both with the Thursday mornings and Sundays.  The quality of discussions and comments made would greatly enrich a large town or city church.  That is so rewarding, and not untypical of rural ministry.  Sometimes the bigger churches do not know what they are missing!

Mission for Christ and Action for Christ
I need to take a little space here to bring you up to date on matters relating to Mission for Christ and Action for Christ. Despite the limited time available progress is being made on the production and filing of annual reports.  This had been neglected by the former lead trustee who had also taken many thousands of pounds from the charities illegally.  The plan is that once all the administrative matters for Mission for Christ are complete it will become a shell charity under Action for Christ, which has been set up to continue the original vision and ministry.  But this administrative work has to fit in with other responsibilities we have.  We are grateful for the work of Heather, our part time and ad hoc administrator.

Heather, a single mum with two teenagers lost personal income when Mission for Christ/Action for Christ hit the crisis last year.  She survived financially doing cleaning, ironing and some bookkeeping for various people but this was interrupted partly through a health issue and partly because she took a principled stand when it came to financial management regarding some clients.  On top of that she received notice from the landlords of the house she occupied that they needed the property for themselves and she would have to move.  Throughout all this time she continued to give as much time as possible to help the Mission and keep the office running on a voluntary basis because the charity funds were low.

This Thursday she should be moving into a new home.  Her church has provided some practical assistance and God has been answering prayer.  using the office facilities in Bodiam, East Sussex and Heather we are able to offer bookkeeping and typing services to churches and organisations who might not have their own resources.  If this work could grow enough clients we would look to employ Heather for regular hours or even full time.

Two areas of legal complication have yet to be finalised but almost everything is in place.  Mission for Christ/Action for Christ has drafted an Agreement with  a charity we were working with in Yorkshire.  This should benefit both them and us.  We are waiting for their response.  The other legal complication relates to a transfer of trust related to a Will.  All the documents are ready but we are waiting for a signed document from the former trustee.  Emails and letters to him are not producing a response so far.  We only have a work address and work email and do not know where he now lives.

Personal Health
Since I was diagnosed as borderline diabetic in March I have lost one and a half stone through diet and exercise.  The exercise regime was interrupted by the minor operation in June but is due to recommence when the sun is not so hot as it has been recently.  As far as I know I am  reasonably fit, though my eyesight has deteriorated recently and I have a hospital appointment on 4th August.  Since both reading and driving are important to my work I value your prayers.

Praise & Prayer Points

• Give thanks for the blessings on ministry at Stamford and at Yelvertoft.
• Give thanks for the support received for our own rural ministry.  This is still smaller than we need but we rejoice in God's goodness.
• Pray for more rural churches (or others) to catch the vision for supporting our ministry, especially with regular prayer.  "How can they go unless they are sent" (Romans 10:14-15)
• Give thanks for the provision for a new home for Heather and her family.  Give thanks for her service for the Lord.
• Please pray for the development of the bookkeeping and typing service.
• Please pray for the ICF Conference this week (and for my session in it).
• Please pray about my hospital appointment next Saturday.
• Please pray that the Leaders Notes on Tailoring Mission Strategies will prove a blessing to others.  Pray for my colleague, Monica, and me as we distil many years of experience into written and video material. (See tailoredmssion.blogspot.com and www.ruralmissionsolutions.org.uk)
• Beyond the Week:  The Holiday at Home event in Market Harborough is August 12 to 16.  A good number have booked in.  This is probably best described as per-evangelism but the good news will be shared.  I have a number of appointments in coming weeks related to the University Research Degree recommencing in October

Wow!  If half of the people reading this pray at least some days for these items we will be so blessed!  We need your prayers and are very grateful for them.  Thank you.

Barry

If it looks wrong...

Regular readers will know that I try to begin these with something encouraging or inspiring.  This week I have a verse from 1 Thessalonians on my mind.  You will find it among a cluster of short exhortations towards the end of the chapter five.

"Steer clear of evil in any form."
J.B. Philips Version

This was a verse that was impressed upon me from an early stage when I became a disciple of Jesus. At that time the King James Version was most widely used by protestants and that translates it "Abstain from all appearances of evil".  I have been looking it up in various translations and it seems that different translators have dealt with the Greek eidous in either of two ways.  On one hand they have taken the "evil in any form" or "evil of any kind" approach (as does JB Philips).  On the other hand there  has been a slightly different interpretation, taking up the sense of the outward perception (as does KJV).  I want to come down on the side of the KJV on this occasion.  We could paraphrase this as "If it looks wrong or bad, keep well clear of it".

Have you seen any news clips of soldiers in Afghanistan walking or driving?  The slightest sign of something abnormal in or beside the road and they take evasive action.  It could be an IED!  Ignoring it could be fatal!

There's an old sermon illustration about a man who wanted to hire a new chauffeur.  There were three applicants so the man had planned a test route that included a narrow and precipitous mountain road.  The first to demonstrate his skill drove with amazing confidence just a few feet from the edge of the road. The second, having seen the skill of the first driver, drove with nerves of steel even close to the edge.  When the third driver had his opportunity he abandoned any thought of dare devil driving and kept as far from the edge as possible.  He got the job.

God calls us to holiness because it is good for us.  Our lives are also an unspoken witness to our relationship with God.  In a sense his reputation is on the line by the way we live out our lives.  For his sake we dare not take risks.  If it looks remotely evil in any way (without exclusion) steer clear.

In the past I have had to deal with situations where a Christian leader's conduct has appeared inappropriate. Sometimes the leader concerned was found to have definitely been acting inappropriately.  In other situations he was proved innocent.  It is all too easy for a reputation to be lost by a single moment of carelessness.  A farmer friend sometimes reminds me that a yard of hole undoes a mile of fence!

While I believe it is healthy to recognise that none of us - not even the most apparently saintly - is perfect, this is no reason to become casual about matters of holiness. How we act, what we say, and where we look are often noticed by the very unbelievers we would long to come to know the Lord.

So, if I may take a leaf out of Paul's book and mix my metaphors we had better watch where we are driving as we repair any holes in the fence.

Things causing thankfulness...

• It was great to spend time with Rebecca and Maureen during the past week.  Both are employed part time by the Congregational Federation East Midlands Area and I am their line manager.  I also have a small team that together forms the support and accountability structure for them. Rebecca is responsible for children and family work and we talked strategy and expectations over coffee.  Maureen's responsibility is mission development and I joined her on a visit to a village church that has exciting potential but seems stuck and not making progress. Both workers are faced with more challenge than encouragement and I am grateful for their commitment.
• On Wednesday I met with my own group responsible for my accountability and support.  I am thankful not just for the time they give but the advice as well.
• Sunday 14th at Yelvertoft was interesting.  I was joined by Carl, a young man exploring his ministry.  Carl shared in leading the service but I planned a highly interactive session in which the congregation would discuss a Bible passage and then unpack their thoughts after discussing the passage in groups of two or three.  We read the account of David and Goliath and some real treasures were shared afterwards with thoughts on relevance for us today.  There were four people who had never been before and I nearly backed out of my plans.  I needn't have worried; they loved it!  So did I.
• The East Midlands Area of CF has also a small team collecting information to maintain an up to date prayer diary.  I am expecting great things as we learn to pray more effectively.
• Another request for a rural consultation day came in very recently.  This is an opportunity to deepen understanding of how rural churches can become more effective in mission.
• During the week, plans moved forward with the university research programme into how evangelism is understood and practised in rural communities.
• I welcomed the Church of England's decisions in Synod about caring for victims of abuse.  Part of this was about further promotion of "Responding Well", a report I helped to write.  It's available on line and although it was written for Anglicans it can be adapted for other denominations.  I still have copies of "Time for Action", which is the other great pastoral resource.  Please ensure that your church/minister has a copy and that it is read.
• I am writing this on Sunday evening 21st.  This morning Doreen and I travelled to Stamford in Lincolnshire where I took their morning meeting.  It was a great joy to meet friends here that I haven't seen for such a long time.  I even discovered that one woman in the congregation sang in a wonderful choir in Hastings under the conductor, Edmund Niblett, my Junior School headmaster!  More than that she had known well the RE teacher in my secondary school who played a part in my faith journey!

Items for Prayer...

• For the work of Rebecca and Maureen.  For wisdom and patience.  For the ability to inspire and envision.
• For the trustees and management teams in Sunrise Ministries.
• For the work of Action for Christ. We are thankful for prayer and financial support as we seek to continue this ministry.
• For 'J', whose activities and failures have devastated the work of Mission for Christ/Action for Christ.  Our God redeems.  He needs it as well as the organisations.  Pray for fellow trustees and new trustees coming on board.
• Please pray that our material needs will be met.  God has al;ways been good to us but some of our regular supporters grow old and are called home.  Please pray that churches will adopt our mission work and share their giving with us.
• Key activities this week include HMP Gartree on Tuesday, The Bible Discussion meeting on Thursday and Yelvertoft next Sunday.
• From 29th July to 2nd August I will be sharing in the International Congregational Fellowship Quadrennial family Conference in Brunel University.  There will be all kinds of ministry.  I will be leading a session on tailoring mission strategies to fit churches. I also have two official functions within ICF and am hoping to pass these on to younger people.
• All kinds of ministry needs the breath of God within it.  Please pray that I and all my colleagues and associates will be constantly refilled with the Holy Spirit.
• Pray for more opportunities to inspire, envision and enable inherited rural churches to engage in sustainable and effective tailored programmes of evangelism and mission.

I cannot thank you enough for your interest in our labours for the Master.  Your prayers and gifts are so encouraging. Thank you.

Barry

The Power of Prayer

Last Sunday at Yelvertoft I found myself returning once more to the importance of prayer. We reflected on the privilege, the purpose, and the power of prayer.  Hopefully, these are all aspects with which you are familiar.  However, it will not hurt to reflect on them again here.  It is an immense privilege to be able to commune with the Almighty God, to know that he listens to what we have to say, and that he cares to listen to what we say.  In writing to the Philippians, Paul tells them not to become anxious about anything but, instead, to pray about everything. When Jesus responded to the disciples' request to be taught how to pray, he began with the words, "Our father..."  Take a moment to reflect on how amazing that statement is.  We are able to talk to the Creator of the universe as easily as a child brings its joys and worries to its father.  That is privilege.

When it comes to the purpose of prayer I have always been intrigued by the statement of John Wesley: "God does nothing but in answer to prayer". It's a bold an provocative statement and well worth pondering upon.  It is 'whoever calls upon the Lord' who is saved. Before I discovered for myself the wonder of God's saving grace, my parents, my Sunday School teachers, possibly a school teacher, and certainly the man who gave me a tract to read - all these prayed earnestly for me.  It is not that God cannot do anything without someone praying.  Prayer keeps us aware of our utter dependence upon God in every situation. James told the Christians of his day, "You have not because you ask not" (James 4:2).

My favourite Bible story that illustrates the power of prayer is found in Acts chapter 12.  Here we read about Peter's imprisonment.  How important is that "but" in verse 5.  An absolutely impossible situation became possible because the church turned to God in prayer.  I am not sure that they were praying for Peter's release, or just general deliverance in the face of hostile opposition.  But what God did in answer to prayer was clearly more than they had expected. Such is the power of prayer!

George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilisation, was a great influence in my life after I had made a commitment of 100% of my life to God.  As OM took off in the UK his passionate sermons on spiritual warfare stirred our hearts.  I remember his story of a lone Japanese soldier still fiercely defending an island long after WW2 had ended.  The news of the cease fire had not reached him.  The trouble with so many of us is that we live as if the spiritual cease fire has been reached when the reality is that the battle is still on.  As Paul writes to the Christians at Ephesus, We do not battle against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness.  Our unseen enemy has cunning strategies.  To stand against such an enemy we need all of the armour God has provided, and the courage to take our stand.

It is against this background that Paul makes an impassioned plea for prayer. "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."   I also know my utter dependence upon God and the need to ask friends to pray.  Satan would delight if we thought that somehow there is no battle field in rural Britain. There is a front line here.  There is an enemy presence here.  If we do not feel it perhaps it is because we have settled for less than we ought, and failed in our ambassadorial responsibilities.

As always I find much to praise God for including...

• Encouraging school assemblies at tow village schools during the past week.  I thank God for the interest and attention of the children and the great relationship with the staff.
• Continued encouragement at HMP Gartree.  Last week we spent almost the entire practise time working on "The Holy City" which has a great gospel message. I am thankful that a change in prison routine has provided us with extra time each week!
• Plans for the Holiday at Home outreach in August have progressed well and a good number of people have already booked to attend.
• We had yet another exciting Bible discussion in the village looking at Isaiah chapters 2 to 5 last Thursday.  So much that Isaiah describes seems to resonate with our situation today.  But so does the warning.
• On Friday I had the very real joy of meeting up with an old childhood friend and namesake.  We had not met for over 50 years.  What a joy to hear how Barry and his wife, Carol, had come to the Lord and been called into ministry, including prison chaplaincy.  I wonder if this is yet another illustration of effectual prayers of others.

Prayer Requests

• This Sunday I will be at Yelvertoft as we seek to see the Lord do great things in the village.
• On Monday 15th I will be meeting with Rebecca, our CF Area Children and Families Worker.  It is an opportunity to review progress together.
• On Tuesday 16th I will be at HMP Gartree
• On Wenesday 17th I will be meeting with my local support and accountability team.  I am grateful for their fellowship and ask you to prayer for them and for our trustees.
• On Thursday 18th I will be meeting with Maureen, our CF Area Mission Development Worker, and joining her on a visit to one of the churches she is assisting.
• On Sunday 21st Gordon Temple will be taking the meeting at Yelvertoft and I will be at Stamford Free Church.  This is one of a very few churches that support our ministry financially for which we are very grateful.  It is my first visit there for many years.
• By the end of this week I have to ensure that the annual reports of Action for Christ and Mission for Christ are ready to be submitted.  Please keep these joint organisations in your prayers as we continue the rescue work.

If we pray and believe together for greater things from God, what might we have to share in a weeks time!

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24

Barry

It's a matter of trust

Trust is an interesting concept.  Sadly, these days there is a tendency sometimes to discourage trust.  A few week's ago I was out for an energetic walk and met a young boy and girl pushing their bikes up the steep hill I was walking down.  After a friendly exchange of greetings they took the opportunity of having a rest and we chatted for a few moments.  On such occasions I am always careful to ensure there is clear space between us.  They chatted away very happily but were then joined by their mum and dad who came puffing up the hill some way behind them.  I greeted them politely and started walking again.  However, I could sense a little concern on the part of the parents as to who the strange man was and why he was talking with their children.  Of course, they were right to be concerned as they knew nothing about me.  Parents have a duty of care, and being too trusting in some circumstances can be dangerous (though I hasten to add, not in this case).

I suppose trusting always carries a certain amount of risk and requires trust.  When Abraham obeyed in faith the call of God to leave home and friends and travel to an unknown destination (Hebrews 11:8) he must have known there was risk, or the element of faith would not be needed.  Walking by faith, like natural walking, requires a willingness to move from security and lose balance.  It takes a little time and some bumpy experiences before a toddler learns that after losing his/her balance he/she can recover it again and move forward in the process.

It seems to me that from time to time our ability to walk by faith gets tested.  Abraham's certainly was.  He had to wait many years for a promise to be fulfilled.  He even had to trust in an extreme way when offering his son.  We can't be sure what went through his mind, though Hebrews 11:19 suggest one explanation.  Haven't you ever reached a place in your life where you wonder just what God is up to?  Or maybe you have wondered whether he has forgotten to look after you and is busy somewhere else!

This week we received in the post an appeal letter from Guide Dogs. The envelope and the papers inside were illustrated with a photo of a friend of ours, Mike Townsend, and his guide dog Tom.  Mike and Tom found themselves caught up in the bombing in London in 2005.  Mike had been staying at the Tavistock Hotel and had just left on his routine walk to the offices of the RNIB in Judd Street just 8 minutes away.  Suddenly he heard an enormous explosion and was aware of people running past him in panic.  A bomb had gone off on a bus ripping it apart and killing many. The police then rapidly closed down a number of roads, making it impossible for the usual route to be followed.  Amazingly, Tom found a new and rather circuitous route to the offices.  Mike told me, "I couldn't understand why Tom was taking me the wrong way, because I couldn't see what was happening.  Then suddenly we were at the office.  Tom had found the way."

What Tom did is a great illustration of how we sometimes experience God's guidance.  Our limited vision makes us confused.  But just as Mike had to totally trust in Tom, we have to trust in God, even if it seems the way we are led is not what we expect.  God sees the bigger picture and knows the right way to get us to where we need to go.

Recent News

• It was good to share in teaching 32 second year cadets at the Salvation Army College recently.  The cadets had just received news of where they would be stationed and were shortly to be commissioned as officers. Please give thanks for their commitment and pray as they take up this ministry.
• Our enthusiastic Bible Discussion Meeting at Yelvertoft has chosen to work through Isaiah and we recently held our first session.  Give thanks for the desire to learn more of God's ways.
• Jonah was the subject for the service on Sunday 3oth June at HMP Gartree as we explored the challenge of obeying God's call to share his word, and the fact that our God gives second chances.  Give thanks for the Christian presence in the prison.
• Give thanks that I am almost fully recovered following the operation and fully back to work.
• Give thanks for an encouraging meeting recently with an Anglican bishop as we lay out plans for the research into rural evangelism.
• Give thanks for a positive response from some to letters I sent out on behalf of Action for Christ. We are grateful for Christian friends travelling with us through difficult times.

Prayers Please

• Sundays 7th and 14th - Yelvertoft Congregational Church
• Monday 8th - Lubenham Primary School, Leics.
• Tuesday 9th - Yelvertoft Primary School, Northants.  Taking our new Children and Families Worker with me.
• Wednesday 10th - Holiday at Home (outreach) planning meeting in Market Harborough.  Pray for the team led by Brian Kennard as we prepare for the outreach in August.
• Thursday 11th - Bible Discussion Meeting in Yelvertoft.
• Friday 12th - Visit to colleagues in East Midlands for renewal of their CRB certificates (now known as DBS)
• Saturday 13th - A bereavement support meeting in Yelvertoft.  This is an experiment and we have no idea who might turn up.
• Health - a recent eye test suggests that the macular degeneration I have in both eyes may be deteriorating and I have been referred to a hospital specialist.  Pray for wisdom and effective response as this could impact both reading and driving.
• International Congregational Conference takes place at the end of this month and we are in the final stages.  Pray for the team led by Val Price, and for all those travelling to London from various parts of the world 
• Action for Christ - pray for an adequate income to maintain this ministry of which I am a trustee.  We are in the final stages of clearing up problems left by a former trustee who devastated the charity.
• Please pray as I prepare to take up the research work, exploring how evangelism is understood and practised in rural England.

Commit your way to the Lord;

    trust in him and he will do this:

6 

he will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,

    your vindication like the noonday sun.
Psalm 37: 5-6

As always, my heartfelt thanks for your fellowship.