From a seed to a harvest

"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (John 12:24 NIV)
 

The words quoted above were spoken by Jesus regarding his own impending death, and we are part of that great harvest.  But Jesus went on to speak of those who would follow him and the importance of self denial.  It seems to me that these words also have relevance as we come to terms with the home-call of my friend and colleague for 40 years - Monica Cook who went to be with Jesus last Sunday.

Monica's journey of faith started in her childhood  Her early life was spent as a Primary School teacher both in the UK and in Australia.  It was a job she loved and she was good at it.  Then, towards the end of her 20's Monica began to fee that God was wanting more from her.  But letting go would not have come easily.

She enrolled in what was then the Birmingham Bible Institute. Any of her contemporaries reading this will know that this also brought a challenge to faith and Christian commitment.  It was here that I first met Monica Cook.  I was a visiting speaker presenting the challenge of rural mission within the UK.  After the presentation she asked, "What opportunities does your organisation have for women in Christian service?".  My feeble answer was, "We are able to fit them in".  Monica later recalled thinking, "That's the last organisation I would want to be in; I dont want to be just 'fitted in'"

When we learn to die to self, though that is often painful, we discover great things.  Within a year Monica had enrolled onto a training programme I was running at the time.  Seeing her potential I encouraged that she be invited onto the staff of our evangelistic team.  For the next 13 years she took part in evangelistic missions, taught  on our training programme, set up children's clubs to follow up the missions and produced material to nurture new young followers of Jesus. In 1988 there was another challenge to self.  Doreen and I had left that organisation and were looking to place greater emphasis on enabling rural churches to become truly missional in character. Monica took the bold step to join us though we had no resources to be able to pay her.

In 1995 we agreed she should go to Kenya following a visit I had made.  I asked her to focus on the village of Obambo.  She came back to the UK fired up with a vision.  What she has since achieved in that place is amazing as she proved herself to be an effective 21st Century missionary.  Other invitations from around the world started to come in and in 2002 Sunrise Ministries granted her autonomy to go wherever she felt God calling her.  That has taken her t,around the world including countries in Africa, South East Asia, New Zealand and Australia.  Wherever she has gone she has shared the gospel with children and adults alike.  She has provided training for children's workers and so much more.  And along the way hundreds of children have become followers of Jesus.  As they grew up she often found herself teaching and reaching their children.  One seed that fell into the ground has produced an amazing harvest.

Self-denial and sacrifice did not always come easily.  Monica liked certain creature comforts.  But she happily gave these up to travel rough roads in developing countries, to run the gauntlet of armed gangs and secret police, to eat strange food and survive when sometimes hygiene was barely basic.  None of this came naturally to her.  To all of this some might add she took on the challenge of working with me for forty years!  But she did it all - and did it gladly - because she knew that self had to die for the fullness of the blessing of the Lord to be realised.

Now Sunrise Ministries is looking at ways in which the harvest time of her life might continue.  The harvest from her life produces seed that themselves have been leading to more harvests.  We value your prayers  as we seek God's guidance.  Firstly, we are committed to encouraging those who have been supporting the work in Obambo to continue faithfully  The future of the children in this remote Kenyan village are in our hands.  This will be managed by a separate organisation that Monica set up with others called "Friends of Obambo".

Then we are also considering whether Sunrise Ministries could appoint someone to take on Monica's role within the UK.  This is a ministry of evangelism but also helping rural churches and others to develop appropriate, effective and self-sustainable programmes of mission to and with children. Is there, I wonder, someone who is the fruit of Monica's ministry who will answer this call?  We need prayer for guidance please.

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Other Matters for Praise & Prayer

We have closed down the office in Battle where Monica was based.  All her email communications have been routed to the office at Market Harborough.  The past week has been extremely busy and I have sought to be helpful and supportive to those in Battle and the surrounding area.  Getting communications out and sorting out administration has been demanding.  Doreen and I value your prayers as we deal with these matters.

Please pray for Monica's brother Michael and for Pauline.  Pray too for Monica's sister, Jean and her family.  Remember all who will gather for the funeral on Friday 3rd July at Loddon and for people around the world who will meet or pray at the same time (14.00BST; 13.00GMT).  Especially our friends in Obambo.  I have been asked to speak about Monica at the service.

Pray for the trustees of Sunrise Ministries as we seek God's guidance, and for Clive Mills and the committee of Friends of Obambo.  Pray also for her many friends who will miss her including those at her church in Battle, East Sussex.

Give thanks for a Christian friend who has provided some space for Monica's files, publications and other material from her office.

Pray as we continue the programme of Rural Mission Webinars over the coming weeks.  The schedule will be appearing on our website.

Over the next few weeks I expect to be working with one church in Kent with an Away Day looking at friendship evangelism, and another church in Kent helping them with constitutional matters.  I also have a church in Norfolk that I have to visit for a mission consultation and several requests for resources.

In addition to this I have my regular responsibilities with ministry at Yelvertoft Congregational Church on the next two Sundays and on Thursday before setting off for Loddon.  I will be in HMP Gartree on Tuesday.

I am very grateful for those who have emailed or phoned to assure me of their prayers for me at this time of bereavement.  That has meant a great deal.  Thank you.

Yours gladly in His service,

Barry

Contemporary Lessons from Nehemiah

I have always found the account of Nehemiah and the re-building the walls of Jerusalem inspiring.  There seems so many important lessons to learn from it that it is difficult to know exactly where to begin. I just love using it for a Bible teaching series or using it as conference material.

It seems to me that it speaks into our current political situation in the UK and there are two aspects that I would like to comment on here.  The first of these is the rapid turnaround in the situation and how that was achieved.  The other aspect is Nehemiah's concern for justice.  That both these aspects are well documented together in one narrative is also significant.

The fact that the walls were re-built and all the gates completed and hung within just 52  days seems more amazing than the team of experts on the TV programme DIY SOS manage to achieve. It is a testament to sheer hard work but I love the fact that everyone rolled up their sleeves including people who would not normally do manual work such as silversmiths and priests.  See Nehemiah Ch. 4) They were committed to a common purpose, recognised that the task was urgent and got on with it.  There is probably significance in the way in which the task was delegated so that there was personal vested interest and possibly some competitiveness in pressing on.

UK productivity levels are still disturbingly low.  We are unlikely to see the economic situation improve without real commitment by employers and employees in industry working hard together.  Some already do so but clearly there is a need for more willingness to work.  We have a common problem and we all need to roll up our sleeves.  In what ways might this also apply to the task of evangelism and winning your neighbourhood for God?

While some of my friends are delighted that the Conservatives won the election, others are deeply concerned that some of the governments decisions could leave others in economic and/or welfare crisis.  It would be difficult to find anyone more single-minded than Nehemiah.  He had a task to complete and he wasn't going to be distracted by those who opposed him.  However, when he discovered situations of injustice he took time out to deal with them. See Nehemiah Ch  5.

It would indeed be a tragedy if, in the pursuit of economic targets, individuals and their needs get overlooked or, worse still, ignored.  In God's economy people matter.  Tragically, there are some churches and Christian organisations where while pursuing certain aims the pastoral care of individuals has suffered.

Both the example of getting on with the task unitedly, and the example of justice and caring have much to teach us about society and church society today.  But the fact that both co-exist  is also a valuable lesson.  In the life of any Christian church or organisation we need focus and commitment in our mission but also compassion and compassionate action.  Feeding the hungry and providing refreshment at a party might not seem to be priorities in the ministry of Jesus but there were situations where this was what was needed at that time.  On an urgent task to get to Jairus' home as quickly as possible, Jesus took time out to respond to the needs of a woman with a haemorrhage. 

We all need to keep purposefulness and pastoral care in balance.

In the News for Praise & Prayer
It has been just over two weeks since I last wrote to you.  The reason for this is that both weeks have been very busy with engagements and on the days between engagements there has been pressure of work administratively and pastorally.  Here is a brief summary.

On Sundays 3rd, 10th and 17th May I have been teaching about the life of the early Church as it began to engage with the task with which Jesus had left his followers.  This has included 'Accepting the Baton', 'Whose Authority?', and 'Breaking New Ground'.  I hope to have a summary of these topics on the website of Yelvertoft Congregational Church.

From 3rd to 5th May I was in East Sussex for various tasks connected with Action for Christ.  Some of this relates to the closure of the AfC office and I value prayers as I seek to sell various items of equipment and stationery no longer requires but in which financial resources for mission were invested.  While in East Sussex I visited Monica, my colleague.  Her initial radiotherapy for her brain tumour completed she is waiting to learn of the outcome.  She was in good spirits and thankful for the prayers.

I travelled home on the Tuesday (5th) with minutes to spare before my regular work at HMP Gartree. My musical colleague has retired and we had already had the retirement of a senior Christian chaplain.   Choir practises have gone well over the past two weeks.  I will also be helping to pick up on some extra ministry in the prison until we get a new chaplain appointed.  Prayers for the Christian chaplaincy team please.

In the evening of the same day (5th) I travelled by train to London ready to teach on the Salvation Army's Safeguarding Course.  There were 22 people attending and reading the response forms I find an encouraging response to what is always a demanding day.  I was back home on Wednesday evening preparing for a Bible Discussion on Thursday morning.  We were fewer than normal for the Discussion but it was a profitable time exploring Timothy chapter 1.

Saturday 9th was the Annual National Assembly for the Congregational Federation in which I had a very small part.  It was a good day ending a very busy and tiring week.

On Monday and Tuesday 11th and 12th May I took School Assembles in Lubenham (Leics) and Yelvertoft (Northants).  I love this aspect of ministry.  Packaging the biblical message in story telling form for children aged 5 to 11 is an challenge but as the children engage and respond it is so encouraging.  There were also nice comments from staff members.  There were two more meetings on the Tuesday.

On Wednesday I shared in a planning meeting for Holiday at Home in Market Harborough. There has been an excellent team that has planned and run this event.  However several of us have felt the need to retire. One good man has already gone and a couple will retire after this summer's event.  I have managed to recruit one very good person for the team and others who will support the event following a talk I gave at a village Parish Church.  We still need more volunteers and value prayer that God will enlarge the team before the summer. Holiday at Home is a programme that serves older people in the community.  While not overt evangelism it is evangelism nevertheless.

Last week ended with 'Get Messy' at Yelvertoft where our theme was the Wedding at Cana. This is a form of Messy Church that reaches children and parents.  I give thanks for a great team of volunteers.  One of these was Louise who is currently undertaking a training course for which I am her mentor.

And so to this week where the key activities include organisational activities for theChurches Rural Group (which I Chair until our next meeting), Bible Discussion on Thursday and a wedding on Friday (the first in our church building for many years).   Next Sunday (24th) is Pentecost and I will take the meeting at Yelvertoft.  On 31st I will be taking the morning service at HMP Gartree.  In addition to various other activities next week I have a hospital appointment on Wednesday, an early morning communion service at the prison and a meeting with other leaders from rural missions on Thursday,

Please give thanks for the Lord's enabling over the past few weeks, for safe travelling, and for blessing on the ministry.  Please pray for the various activities and aspects above.  Please continue to pray for the financial provision to keep the ministry going and for the moving of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all who sit under our ministry.

Other Information: There is a conference on Making and Growing Disciples in the Countryside during June.  For more information see the Rural Evangelism Network website.

Back to Nehemiah
All that Nehemiah accomplished has its roots in his tender heart that caused him to weep over the sad state of Jerusalem.  This then led to a season or earnest and honest prayer.  See Nehemiah 1: 4.  May God grant us hearts that can be moved by the needs of this world, a commitment to pray, and a readiness to go.

Barry