Down from the Mountain

I'm not sure when or how a copy of Marvin Fieldhouse's devotional book Seed for the Sower came into my possession but the spirituality reflected in its pages found an echo in my hear from the first page I read.  Marvin was a missionary for many years in Japan and was associated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, having come to faith in their Tabernacle, in Calgray, Alberta.  I hope to get hold of a collection oi his poems.  Some are sprinkled through the book.  It was the first one that grabbed my attention and which I particularly wish to refer to here.  It is entitled Go get thee down.

Before I share the words of the poem I wish to take up its theme both in the light of this coming Sunday (sometimes referred to as low Sunday) and also Doreen's and my recent experiences at the Leaders Conference run by the Congregational Federation.  I am also reminded of an occasion where I shared in a Prayer Meeting at Moriah Chapel, Loughor in south Wales.  It was here that Evan Roberts grew up and where prayer meetings held here became a significant factor in what developed into the Welsh Revival of 1904.  We were there to help promote rural evangelism in Wales.  At the end of the meeting one lady said to me and her pastor, "Ar y mynydd gyda Iesu" (On the mountain with Jesus).  It had certainly felt like that.

While we treasure such mountain top experiences these are not usually places where we have to abide, despite the ideas that Peter, James and John had when they were on the mountain with Jesus (Matthew 17:1-8).  Moses also had his mountain experience with God, such that his face radiated the glory of God for some time afterwards (Exodus 34:29-30).  But these were momentary episodes and the work to which God called all of them called them down from the mountain.

It may be that you have had a brilliant Easter (I did) or like me have had the blessing of a time at a Christian conference.  It has been a mountain experience for you - and I hope you will have many more such experiences but God calls you and me to come off the mountain to respond to the needs of others.  HJere's Marvin Fieldhouse's poem based on Exodus 32:7.

Interrupted Communion

"Go, get thee down!" The mount of vision darkens,

And clouds arise.

The voice that spoke

Spake loud, and with surprise.

"Go, get thee down!" And with communion gone

I too must go.

I make great haste

To find the road below.

"Go, get thee down!" I choose to quit the mount

In mortal pain.

But quit I must

To find the common plain.

"Go, get thee down!" Folk that are needy

And unfit are there.

They wait, and need

Some rapture you can share.

"Go, get thee down!"  The meditations sweet 

And long and oft

Can gender sight,

And some may look aloft.

"Go, get thee down!" O my soul, tarry not

At th sweet fount!

Go down, and bring

Another to the mount!

I like the line "I choose to quit the mount in mortal pain"  There are times when re-engaging with work, or school, or the children (?), or the church (think of Paul's words about that which comes on him daily in 2 Corinthians 11:28) are not as welcome as perhaps they should be.  It is the cost of what we must leave that makes it painful; not what we return to.

I have often pondered on what Philip might have felt when God called him to leave the revival that was happening in Samaria with attendant crowds in order to go firstly to a wilderness place, and then just to speak with one person.  I wonder why did Philip have to go?  Were the apostles and Christians in Jerusalem (just up the road) all too busy?  Had some experience in cross-cultural ministry made him the right person, perhaps?  God sometimes calls us away from the place where we have felt we should stay.  This was true when I had to leave the work of Mission for Christ after 25 years.  It was also true when suddenly I had no alternative than to walk away after 21 years of ministry (it overlapped) at The Tabernacle in Hastings.  It was true yet again when the time came to leave the exciting work we had helped to establish at Herstmonceux.  Are you facing a call to leave something where you would rather stay?

Fieldhouse filled Seed for the Sower with many excellent meditations on scripture.  But he chooses to conclude with one more poem, added after the readings for December 31st,

Dester Experiences

Go down to the desert, O Philip.

Go down to the desert today.

To Gaza, the gateway to sand dunes.

Be up, and be gone, and away!

The angel so spake, and I acted.

I went at his word and I found

That the road was a track for a camel,

And all was a wilderness 'round.

I thought, I should be with my preaching -

The crowds were attentive and near.

What purpose could God have in sending

A Philip like me over here?

Oh, stop it! You blasphemeing reason!

It's God, not the work, that's your goal.

Go on in the place that is desert,

And let him commune with your soul.

Is silence a sin in the desert?

Relax from your beehivish strain!

Tune into the quiet of heaven;

Let Jesus in solitude reign.

"So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means ‘queen of the Ethiopians’). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet..."

Being called down or away is always costly, but our wonderful Saviour left more than that for you and me. Remember "It's God, not the work, that's your goal."

From the diary

We thank God for Easter experiences including new adults and more children at the Family Service on the Sunday at Yelvertoft.

We tank God for blessings through the Leaders Conference that followed through the week; for rest, refreshment and new ideas and insight.

Sunday 27th April I will be leading our worship at Yelvertoft Congregational Church.  This is followed by a relatively quiet week which will allow me to catch up on some important administration and prepare for various events coming soon.  However, I plan to be at HMP Gartree on Tuesday afternoon and back to Yelvertoft on Thursday for the Bible Discussion meeting.

On Friday evening I will share in a meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee.

Thank you for your prayers and the many messages that we have received that reflect on how this blog is appreciated.  Do encourage others to visit http://ruralmission.blogspot.com if you find it a blessing.

Thank you.

Easter and Me

Fifty one years ago I had an amazing Easter experience.  It was wholly unexpected and changed my life completely.

I was born just after WW2 and it was customary in those days for most children to go to Sunday School.  Miss Hatton, the lady who lived six doors from our home was already taking my brother and several other children each Sunday and was glad to include me at a very early age.  This was in the days when TV was a rare thing and all shops and businesses closed for Sundays.  My typical day was to go to church in the morning (being allowed to leave at half time), then back for Sunday School in the afternoon, and then usually back in the evening.  In the summer there would be an open air service after church on Hastings Seafront.

A passion for a career in the Royal Navy had led me to join Sea Cadets as soon as I was old enough and this provided an opportunity to forsake the church routines.  I remember arguing with my parents that I was not abandoning church as there was always a Church Parade at Sea Cadets on Sundays.  I also remember arguing with myself that by abandoning church I was not actually abandoning God.  But I did abandon holiness and my lifestyle for several years was pretty corrupt and included organising sordid parties for year 11 school friends and our girlfriends.

On one such occasion I had to take a friend to hospital after his eye had been badly cut by a girls shoe being thrown around.  While at the hospital I saw a man brought in paralytically drunk and bleeding profusely from a cut nose.  Apparently his wife had smashed a glass in his face as she didn't like the way he was groping a young girl on his lap.  This was described as 'having a good time''.  I sensed a voice saying, "This is how you will end up if you don't change".

I tried changing but found it very hard.  Then one day a man called John Eaves, who I didn't know, gave me a gospel leaflet in unusual circumstances.  John went home and organised prayer for me to become a Christian (also unknown to me).  Not one word had passed between us but he knew God had a plan for my life.  Ironically,  I was on my way to Sea Cadets when he passed me the leaflet, and he thought I was a sailor as I was wearing uniform.

Later, in the privacy of my bedroom, I read the leaflet.  It had a ridiculous story but was so relevant to my own life.  It also had one verse from the Bible: "[Jesus said,] Whoever comes to me I will never turn away" (John 6:37).  I prayed, "If this is true, please accept me as I am with all its mess."  There was no angel choir or anything dramatic but my life began to change from that day.  I became less self centred.  I had doubts about my career and chose instead to try to become a school teacher specialising in underprivileged children.  I joined a youth group at the church I had abandoned where I was cunningly manipulated into speaking on my favourite Psalm.  I spent a week preparing a talk on Psalm 121 but on the night I spoke on Psalm 23 in which I acknowledged that I had been a sheep that had gone astray and that Jesus was the Good Shepherd who had sought and found me.

Rosemary, a girl I had hoped would be present to hear my talk was unable to go that evening and I got on my bike to ride home alone.  Only it wouldn't move!  It was if it had been set in concrete!  I turned to find the church minister, Gordon Hunt, had gripped the saddle.  "Now that I know where you stand, when can I baptise you?" he asked.  Unable to come up with a good answer quickly enough I found myself roped into a series of pre-baptism classes in this Baptist church.  Others enrolled included the brothers of my girlfriend.

The event was to take place on Easter Sunday 1963.  I had done the course.  I knew and understood what it was all about but this was mostly at the level of mental acknowledgement only.  Gordon had been plugging an event on Easter Saturday where Sylvia Smith, a young female evangelist would be speaking.  Sylvia, we were told, worked among London's strippers and prostitutes.  It sounded interesting so I went along and sat at the back.

After telling us about her work Sylvia slipped seamlessly into a talk based on the words of Jesus on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing". She cleverly gave a verbal portrait of each of the main characters whose action or lack of it had led to the crucifixion of Jesus.  In every one I recognised myself.  After each character Sylvia repeated the words of that prayer, "Father forgive them..."  Something extraordinary began to happen as I listened.  I felt God's love for me.  I knew that the mind-blowing love that enabled Jesus to pray those words was the love he felt for me!

As we sang the closing hymn I prayed for God to help me to mean the words we sang: "Love, so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all".  I surrendered.  The following evening, before a packed church, I blurted out some words of testimony and was baptised by immersion.  We sang two great hymns.  'And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour's blood?' and 'To God be the glory, great things he has done'. Now that the gospel had spread from my head to my heart I sang with unbounded enthusiasm.

Miss Hatton, John Eaves, Rosemary Ralph, Gordon Hunt, and Sylvia Smith were just a few who influenced my life up to that point in Easter 1963.  I thank God for them all and pray that this Easter 2014 something of the power that changed my life that weekend will be found in the words I share in leading worship this Sunday.  Easter - it's when new life begins!

For your prayers this week  
I will be leading and speaking at Yelvertoft Congregational Church this Sunday and on the following Sunday.

Doreen and I will be attending a Church Leaders' Conference from Tuesday to Friday.  We pray that it will be a time of spiritual and physical refreshment for all attending.

No other major activities this week.

Have a great Easter.

Barry

Guilty or Not Guilty?

I wonder what your personal and private response has been to outcomes from recent high profile sex crimes trials.  My own response has been to regret that such trials are dealt with by juries and of course that the media are unhelpful.

There is little worse than finding yourself as front page news as a result of accusations that are false.  Such false allegations can ruin careers and lives even if they are found not guilty by a jury of their peers. The recent series of high profile cases has brought some criticism of the CPS but I wonder if it might be helpful if I share some of my own insight into the system.

A man I know lived with the knowledge that an older and senior Christian leader had entrapped him in what he considered to be inappropriate sexual activity when he was very much younger and naive.  It had left him feeling dirty, guilty and confused.  But he had forgiven the older man, warning him that if he ever discovered that the older man had acted similarly to others he would blow the whistle.

Life went on apparently normally for about another 20 years until he heard of another young man who had allegedly suffered similar experiences as he worked with the older man.  Immediately he took steps to encourage a thorough but discreet investigation through the local church and Christian organisation in which the older man worked.  All attempts proved useless even after several other men made sworn affidavits (the same as testimony under oath) alleging sexual misconduct by the older man.  It also meant that the first younger man had to talk about personal things he felt to be shameful.  That would have been costly. All this happened some years ago when churches and Christian organisations were not as well informed about reporting allegations to the police.

Another twelve years passed at which time the original younger man - now middle aged - became concerned that others might be at risk.  By then he had discovered that sexual abuse can often become habitual and even addictive behaviour.  Though he hated to do it he felt he had to talk to the police.  To reveal that improper behaviour had taken place in a Christian context felt shameful.  However, he was shocked when the response of the police was to state that what had happened to him those many years before was criminal and not just inappropriate.

A detailed statement was recorded and the police asked to see the affidavits.  But the solicitor who had been entrusted with the documents had shredded the files!  A statement was taken from the second younger man (now also middle aged) and the information passed to the CPS who decided there was sufficient evidence to bring the matter to court.  On being arrested the older man confessed to the activities reported but claimed that he was the innocent victim and not the perpetrator.  The case eventually came to court after several more years and the older man pleaded not guilty.

The not guilty plea meant that the two who had been the victims of his abuse had to relate graphically the things that had been done to them. The younger man who had blown the whistle spoke clearly and confidently as he was led through his statement and then cross examined.  The other younger man shook visibly and wept as he gave his evidence and was cross examined.  Both found this an ordeal.

The barrister acting for the CPS had arrived late and refused to talk with the prosecution witnesses before the trial began.  It soon appeared that he could have been better prepared.  By contrast the barrister representing the man on trial had come prepared with material that might have been refuted if the CPS barrister had been more prepared.  An additional problem was that a significant proportion of the jury were younger men and women who would have had difficulty in understanding the culture at the time the original alleged offences took place.

Ironically the man was found guilty on all charges relating to the second younger man but not guilty on all charges relating to the younger man who had blown the whistle!  The police and CPS were shocked at what they saw as injustice.  However, the court of law had passed its verdict.  Knowing the man who had blown the whistle I have no doubt as to his integrity.  For him it had been a costly journey over many years.  He would be left with the shadow of the abuse he had experienced hanging over him with no proper closure.  I cannot help but wonder whether there are complainants in recent cases that might  find themselves feeling similarly.  But men have stood trial before their peers and proclaimed innocent.  In the eyes of the law that is what they are.

Before the CPS bring sexual abuse cases to court they have to be strongly convinced that the evidence is sufficient to obtain a guilty verdict and, where there are several witnesses, that there is no conflict of evidence.  So coming back to the story I have shared with you (one of a number of cases with which I am familiar) what have I concluded?

It is clear that there are guilty people who are found not guilty and innocent people that are found guilty.  The outcome in a court depends substantially on the experience and skill of the barristers.  Courtrooms are places where a drama is performed with several actors. A witty and well prepared barrister who can make a passionate case for his/her client is of value.  A barrister who has not invested time and emotion in engaging with the case is a liability.  Court cases are costly financially so if the prosecution or defence has sufficient funds they will be able to employ the best firms to represent them.  That is not just.  It is not only about the facts; it is about a performance that convinces - or fails to convince - the jury.

In my opinion bringing such cases to court using the present system carries risks to both parties and is incredibly painful either for someone innocently accused or those who have to relate hurtful experiences.  Furthermore we are risking justice itself.  I would much rather have such cases heard in private before a panel of judges and determined on a majority decision of that court.  I believe this might be the case in France.

But no human system of justice can be 100% perfect.  By contrast, this is not he case when we stand before God.  In Psalm 51 David pleads guilty to the dreadful crimes he committed.  He offers no plea of mitigation.  He describes himself to be a sinner and uses all three concepts of sin within Hebrew understanding.  I love his statement about the one before whom we will all one day stand "...you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge."

Many men and women might boast "I was found not guilty" but might know in their hearts that they are guilty, But the fallible courts in which we stand on earth will be eclipsed by that greater time of judgement that is inevitable.  Better to plead guilty here and hear God's gracious words of pardon now than to plead not guilty here only to hear that overturned in eternity. What matters most is not our state in the eyes of the law but our state in the eyes of God.

Thank you for your prayers
Were you praying for me around 4.30 to 5.00 last Saturday afternoon (5th April)?  If so, thank you as I was saved from a potentially serious accident when driving home from Devon.  It had been a very busy but fruitful time there.  On Thursday, after the morning's Lent Bible Discussion, I had travelled from Leicestershire to Brayford in north Devon to work throughout Friday with the Methodist Church.  On Saturday I had called in on a Congregational Church on Exmoor to encourage the minister, and then enjoyed lunch with old Christian friends near Tiverton.  Thursday to Sunday was an intensive time of work (approximately 48 hours of work over the four days).

We had also had a profitable day on Tuesday, firstly with the visit to Gartree Prison in the afternoon and then with a planning meeting for Hope in our Villages that will involve our church in Yelvertoft, Northamptonshire.  I had experienced a very blessed service on Sunday 30th March at Gartree Prison, and numbers in the male voice choir have been growing each week for three weeks.

Please continue to pray for the churches and people following all these activities.

On Palm Sunday I will be preaching at Yelvertoft Parish Church at a Joint Service in the village.  On Wednesday 16th we are holding our next Messy Church event.  See www.yelvertoftchurch.org.uk for more information about our ministry there.

As we celebrate Easter over coming days I pray that your heart will leap at the wonder of the gospel we proclaim.

Happy Easter.

Barry