Competent to Correct

It was Jay E Adams in his book Competent to Counsel. (Zondervan. 1986. ISBN 0-310-51140-2) who first opened my mind to the biblical principle of nouthetic counselling.  I was immediately excited by what I read there and it has been a guiding principle in my pastoral ministry ever since. I haven't got space here to expand sufficiently on this topic so I commend the book.  Try your local Christian book shop first but if all fails it is available on Amazon, with a Kindle version also available.

Adams draws on a number of passages in the New Testament where the Greek word nouthesia (or a related word) appears.  It is usually translated as to correct or admonish.   As you will see from the various Bible references I will provide in a moment, this is something that all Christians should be able to do - but it does require a level of maturity.  But that is something we should all aim to attain.  Adams argues that the process involves confrontation or challenge, but that it is always offered in a positive, loving and helpful way.

Such a biblical approach is in stark contrast to the harsh, accusing, censorious and acerbic rebukes that are all too often used whenever one Christian sees another coming short of the standard of conduct he believes to be correct.  What regularly distresses me is that we so easily become legalistic about so many things, abandoning the greatest commandments of all in the process.  I have also noted that sincere evangelicals are sometimes among the most guilty, while they are often the most vocal against legalism!  We all need to search our hearts.  If we do not have love then we are clanging gongs, worthless and having and gaining nothing (1Corinthians 13: 1-3).

Jesus had something to say about this that involves trying to remove some small matter from the eye of a person while failing to see the much larger matter in our own eyes (Matthew 7: 3 - 5).  Now, the eagle-eyed (pun intended) will have noted Matthew 7:1 which seems to state clearly that we should never judge another person.  But if that is understood as a categorical forbidding to judge then it would contradict other passages of scripture as well as making nonsense.  We cannot go through life without making judgements about  what is right and rong, who can be trusted, and who cannot be trusted, etc.  What the opening part of Matthew 7 is warning against is the exercise of a harsh and critical spirit.

So let's look at a few key verses that refer to this better (nouthetic) approach to correction. Please remember that the basis on which any confrontation and attempt at correction is made must always be based upon a loving concern for the welfare of the other person and must include support and help.

In Romans 15:14 we read,  "I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct (noutheteo) one another."  The word tranjslated here in the NIV as instruct is not the Greek word for teach.  This is corrective instruction.  Here is an indication that all Christians should be able to offer such help, but we note that the qualifications for competence are a sufficiency of goodness and knowledge.

Sometimes the Greek word is translated "warn" such as in Acts 20:31 where Paul refers to his ministry at Ephesus over three years - but note that he did so with much compassion as he refers to his tears.  We also find it translated as "warn" in 1 Corinthians 4:14 where it is used in a loving sense.

Colossians 3:16 sets the process of admonition in the context of worship:  "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."

In 2 Thessalonians 3 Paul writes about professing Christians who are determinedly idle, disruptive and living lives contrary to what was expected of Christians.  Paul tells the others to dissociate themselves but always to treat them as brothers or sisters and not as if they were the enemy.

Spiritual maturity is seen not only in the ability to admonish others properly but also to be admonished by others.  As Paul writes in 1Thessalonians 5:12  "Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you."

It is all too easy to become overbearing and judgemental concerning the faults we see in others but we are likely to more effective when we can see our own weaknesses.  For two years during my training I supported myself by working in a small Valuation Office in Hastings.  At tea breaks all the staff (except the tree top bosses) gathered together.  Criticism was not unusual, but a dear older man would say softly, "The faults we see in others are most often to be found in ourselves".

If we are to move on in our faith, grow closer to God, and have churches that reflect Christ's glory, then we will need to learn to admonish one another from a basis of healthy self-criticism, with a spirit of love and generosity that is always caring, supportive and helpful.  We can do better in this area, and we might need to start by apologising when we have failed.

From the diary
Thank you for praying for my activities over the past week.  We had an excellent time at the prison on Tuesday which was followed in the evening with a productive meeting as a group of villages plan activities under the Hope Together banner.

On Wednesday and Thursday I was engaged in various meetings in East Sussex.  Some of these are of a confidential nature and I value your continued prayer that I might be wise in dealing with these.

On Saturday I was in Leeds meeting with about a dozen Salvation Army Officers and a key person from the Roman Catholic Church exploring safeguarding matters.  I was very encouraged by the warm comments at the end of the day.  It was a fruitful but tiring week.

This week I will be spending most of my time working on our charity accounts and preparing for our trustees meeting.  I will be in HMP Gartree as usual on Tuesday afternoon.  There is a staff management meeting on Wednesday evening and a Bible Discussion meeting on Thursday morning.  On Saturday Doreen and I will be supporting an Induction Service for a new minister at a church near Leicester.  On Sunday we will be back at Yelvertoft.

Thank you for all your continuing prayers.

Barry

The main thing is...

One of the classic quotes regarding efficient management is "The main thing is that the main thing must remain the main thing".  I suspect, however, that all of us find it difficult to stick with the main thing occasionally.  Probably my favourite illustration in this regard is a company that was created some years ago when good quality clothes cost more money than most people had to spend.  This company's mission was to provide quality clothes at an affordable price.  Over the years they developed a significant reputation and if you had, for example, a jacket with their label in it you knew you had a quality garment that had been purchased for a reasonable price.

As time went by market trends changed.  The high street shops, to whom that company sold their clothes, started to disappear to be replaced by department stores and even supermarkets selling clothing.  As the business looked into the face of disaster an emergency board meeting was held at which a young director suggested that they should negotiate with one of these low cost outlets for an exclusive deal.  "After all", he claimed, "we are still able to produce high quality clothes at amazingly low price.  We just need an outlet."

The idea caught on and the board discussed what the implications might be.  A higher level of output would be needed but they had space to expand their premises and there would be no problem in taking on and training new staff.  It all looked positive until one of the older directors asked for one final think about what they were about to leap into.  What, he wanted to know, might be any other consequences?  The young director thought for a while then added, "I guess they will want their label in our products."

Suddenly there was an uproar.  They had built up their reputation over years.  Our label means something to people.  The older directors were horrified at the idea that a supermarket label might appear within their garments.  The proposal was overturned.  The company struggled on for a few more years but just before it died it was bought out by a supermarket that sacked the board, expanded the business and continued making quality clothes at an affordable price.

The lesson of this story is that the older directors had forgotten the main thing.  Their mission was not the perpetuation of a reputation but the provision of quality clothing at affordable prices.  Occasionally I find myself having gone into a room in my house but unable to remember why I went there.  Sometimes I go back from where I had come to see if it jogs my mind.  On other occasions I will just find something else useful to do and hope that the real reason will come back to me.  I fear that this is what most of our churches are doing.

The late Professor Donald McGavran, pioneer of church growth thinking, used to say that the reason most churches were not growing was because they were busy doing lots of things they should but at the expense of the thing they must.  All over the UK church members are pouring money and energy and spending irreplaceable time doing good things but at the cost of doing the one thing that Jesus asked his disciples to do.  And how is that working out in our personal lives?  How much time are we devoting to the main thing God wants of us?

This challenge took on special relevance for me this week as I sent off a form withdrawing from the MPhil research programme with Winchester University.  I have not stopped - nor do I intend stopping - the actual research work, exploring how evangelism is understood and practised within rural England.  My problem has been that by doing it as part of an MPhil it required such a high amount of time that it threatened my ability to engage in other aspects of ministry.  I had to ask myself "What has God called you to do?".  At this stage in my life the Masters Degree would have been nice but not necessary.  If pursuing that interfered with my ability to be available to minister to the needs of others then I would be wrong.

Fortunately, the journey so far with Winchester University is not wasted.  It has provided focus for carrying out the research.  I have undertaken and passed modules on research skills.  My university supervisor has offered continuing support at any time and has been very encouraging.  But taking the step of actually sending off  the withdrawal form sent me into an emotional roller coaster.  I struggled to be sure that the main thing was still going to be the main thing.  Letting go and giving up does not come easily to me.  But focus is vital for efficiency.

Jesus had something to say about this in Matthew 23:23-24.  Here he warns the Pharisees and teachers of the Law that their religious particularity was at the expense of core values of justice and mercy.  It was as if, concerned not to swallow something unpleasant they strained out gnats from their drink but swallowed a camel!  Jesus was not condemning their concern to honour God by the giving of tithes (though hey did take it to ridiculous extremes) but it was the fact that at the same time they missed the main thing.

So what might the parallels be for us today.  God calls us to a life lived "in the Spirit", that is to be like Jesus.  In the Gospels we see a contrast to the teaching of Jesus and that of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.  They fussed over rules and regulations and nuanced interpretation of the Law.  Jesus majored on love, healing and forgiveness - for which he paid the ultimate price.  Even then, on the cross, he was still ministering to those around him and praying for forgiveness for those who harmed him.  I'm not just concerned about the hurt and harm done within and between churches by our devoted particularity with doctrine and obsession on stamping down on anyone who fails to perform to standards we have set them (though I am sure the heart of God aches at the trail of damage we leave behind us).  I am also concerned that those who have not yet discovered life in Jesus fail to see the power of love, healing and forgiveness.  The tragedy is that they often spot the camels we are swallowing while we can only spot the gnats.

In our personal lives, in our relationships in church, in our relationships between churches whose practises vary from ours, in our relations with those around us whom God loves so fantastically, is love the main thing for us?  It's time to stop and to ask ourselves whether the main thing is still the main thing.  if it is not then the main thing for us is to put it back.  For far too many of us we need to stop our obsession with gnats if it is leading to swallowing camels.

So, in asking for your prayers this week, I ask that you pray that in every sense I will know and then act upon those things that God would have me to prioritise.  I promise to pray that for you too.

Other matters for prayer from the diary
Sunday 4th May 10.45 Yelvertoft Congregational Church; 6.00 Harborough Congregational Church

Tuesday 6th May HMP Gartree in the afternoon and a 'Hope in our Villages' planning meeting in the evening.

Wednesday 7th I travel to East Sussex for various meetings and activities related to Action for Christ through Wednesday to Friday 9th lunch time.  Some of this time my colleagues and I will be dealing with difficult situations that require wisdom.

Friday evening I travel to Leeds, Yorkshire ready to work through Saturday 10th teaching on the Salvation Army Safeguarding Programme. Then back home, ready for Sunday ministry.

It will be a busy week so please pray that in the busy-ness there will remain quality time with God.  I also value your prayers for Doreen during my absences from home.

Thank you.

Barry

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

Counter-cultural?

I guess that for many of us events this weekend have marked a distinction between our personal faith and the culture of those around us.  I refer to the enactment of the law regarding marriage between  those of the same gender.  Of course, it is possible that some who receive this blog by email or who read it will not have a problem with the change in definition of marriage.  But for others it will seem yet another step down a road to a society from which they feel increasingly alienated.

In the UK for many years in the past the general moral standards of society were those influenced by scripture and religious conviction.  Now we recognise that essentially ours is a secular society that tolerates (sometimes with difficulty) those whose personal faith is the source of their moral values.  While many Christians in the UK (and possibly people of other faiths) find that difficult, this is what many Christians in other parts of the world are doing all the time.  Living out our faith within a cultural context that has values that contrast with ours is a challenge we should always be ready to accept.  Part of that challenge is to demonstrate a responsible attitude to the civil authorities and a loving attitude towards others whose lifestyle and values we might not find personally attractive.  I believe that it is possible to do so with integrity.

What we need to guard against is simply going with the flow.  These days this is what seems to be the position of the UK government that makes laws on common standards rather than other moral values.  So unless you believe that humankind naturally seeks to live righteously we are blindly following a pathway that could lead to steady degeneracy. Living by the "everyone does it" standard is not a moral justification.

However, I return to the challenge of living by values informed by our faith within a secular context that has alternative - if not contrary - values.   On my first period of ministry in East Africa which kick-started our ongoing ministry in Kenya I was taken by surprise to find myself living among and working with people who practised polygamy.  But I soon discovered that this was not driven by sexual appetite but was a positive response to a social and economic need.  Widows were provided with security socially and financially by being taken as second or subsequent wives.  The Christians with which we were working were part of this culture but chose to superimpose their understanding of Christian morality upon it.  So where a man became a Christian, having several wives, he was expected only to have a sexual relationship with his first wife.  Where a young man who was single became a Christian he was expected to only take one wife.  Beyond these regulations they were happy to accommodate the normal standards of the society in which they were living.

The Bible is not a great help when it comes to addressing the issue of marriage and sexual relations.  There is no non-contradicted categorical statement though there are grounds for a case for a monogamous married state intended to be permanent.  However, by Moses time (if not sooner) divorce and remarriage was common enough for the law of Moses to accommodate and regulate this.  Divorce and remarriage is therefore presented as something that God could accommodate but that was not ideal.

There are copious examples in scripture of polygamy, the use of concubines, and of surrogate motherhood.  I find the words of 2Samuel 12:8 rather strange in this respect.  By contrast we have the situation during the restoration from the Exile in which certain wives had to be "put away" (See Ezra chapter 10).  Then there is the encounter of Jesus with a woman who had had five husbands and was currently living with a man to whom she was not married (John 4) where there is no explicit condemnation.

It has been argued that the churches are rather obsessed with the issue of homosexuality to the neglect of other important matters.  I concede that there are grounds for such criticism.  However, in a society that is happy to endorse same sex relationships and go so far as to grant them absolute identical status in law and society as that of heterosexual monogamous marriage, Christians have no alternative than to determine how we relate to the wider cultural context in which we are called to live.

There is insufficient space here to rehearse all the arguments for and against approval of loving, same sex, monogamous and permanent relationships being acceptable.  I think I have heard, read and considered these.  I hope that if you haven't done so you will do so and guard against the dangers of either blind bigotry or going with the flow.  My own personal position at the present is one that cannot endorse homosexual relationships as being God's ideal and consequently I still see marriage as being an exclusive and permanent relationship between one man and one woman.  But I have friends and colleagues who have been divorced and remarried and a few in same sex relationships.  I do not feel that I have to be censorious or unloving or disrespectful towards those who have chosen a different way of life or towards those whose personal faith and conscience leads them to a different position to my own.

The real problem for Christians is when those who hold contrary views and values seek to impose them upon other people.  Such was the situation that my good friends in Cornwall found themselves caught up in when they declined to provide a bedroom in their guest house to an unmarried couple (which was a policy clearly published on their website and not aimed particularly at homosexual relationships).  The outcome was that they became targeted by those who campaign for acceptance of standards that many Christians still feel unhappy about.  Dragged before the Courts and the world media my friends maintained a gentle, loving and reasonable attitude.

So far the law of the UK enables Christians (and those of other faiths) to hold and express (with reasonable restraints) convictions that are contrary to those held by the wider society.  In our churches we can decline to provide services of marriage and other services on the grounds that it would be contrary to our beliefs.  What God does not allow is for us to act in a way that fails to express his character of mercy, compassion and love in positive and non-patronising ways.  Asking, "What would Jesus do" is not a bad habit.

Called to be salt and light (Matthew 5) inevitably means being called to be counter-cultural at times.  Paul, in his letter to the Philippians has something to say about this (see chapter 2 verses 12 to 18).  While speaking about the lives of the Christians in that city as being as distinctive as stars in the night sky he also hints at a terrible price that this may require.  Someone once said that Jelly Fish go with the flow but a fish can stand against the tide because it has a backbone.

Be good, try to be holy, and work at being loving and caring to those who are different to yourselves.  In so doing we will spread a little light without blinding anyone, and a little salt without making people want to spit it out!

From the diary

It was a privilege and joy recently to share in the CTE party thrown in honour of the Rev John Bradley, Methodist Minister and former staff member at Churches Together in England.  Redundancy coincided with a period of ill health for John who was already coping with Multiple Sclerosis.  John is also a trustee of Sunrise Ministries (Rural Mission Solutions) and a long term friend and prayer partner for our ministry.  John has come through major surgery.  Friends from around the country came to pay tribute to a man who has not only done a good work but also been an inspiration.  He is seen here receiving presentations from the Rev Dr David Cornick, General Secretary of CTE.

There have recently been encouragements in my work at HMP Gartree, the largest prison in the UK for men serving life sentences.  Numbers in the choir have grown.  They are very appreciative and responsive not only to my conducting but also to various short talks about the background to Christian songs (e.g. O Sacred Head Once Wounded).  Please pray for "J" who is struggling with problems in his life.  Pray also as I take the morning service there this Sunday 30th March.

We held our fourth event at Yelvertoft recently as "Get Messy for Mothering Sunday".  We saw an increase in numbers and had two mums who stayed through and joined in marvellously.  We now have a young family as part of our church so please pray as we make appropriate adjustments to include them fully.  Pray for more young families and for our work with the families coming to Messy Church.  Our Lent Bible Discussion meetings each Thursday are going well.  This Sunday our meeting will be led by Angela Berry.

Toward the end of this week I will be travelling from the East Midlands to north Devon at the request of the members of Brayford Methodist Church (picture from the circuit website).  This is a scattered community that has undergone change as people have moved in.  Members are seeking to explore their future in the light of change and an ageing congregation.  Please pray for a safe journey both ways, for sensitivity and wisdom on my part.  The church is located in an area in which I shared in many missions in the past.

Research has always been an important part of my rural ministry.  I have sought to understand how village life works socially and politically, how churches can be made more effective in their life and witness, what helps churches to grow or helps new churches become established.  The current programme exploring how evangelism is understood and practised in rural England is an ongoing project requiring significant time.

All our activities needs your prayers please - and we need to return thanks to God for blessings.  None of the rural mission work - which is the core ministry of Sunrise Ministries and Rural Mission Solutions would be possible without financial support.  Thanks are due for the small but faithful band who share in making the blessing of others a possibility.

Every blessing,

Barry

That Sunday Morning Feeling

His mother said, "Come on Son - out of that bed ; it's Sunday and we're going to church".  He pulled the bedclothes around him and answered, "Shan't!".

"Come on son!  Out of that bed!  We always go to church on Sundays".

Again he sank deeper into the welcoming bedclothes and answered, "I don't want to go!"

His mother reasoned again.  "OK, give me two good reasons why you don't want to go to church today".  He replied, "I don't like the people and they don't like me!"

"Not good enough" said his mother, "Get out of that bed.  It's Sunday and you are going to church!"

"Give me two good reasons why I should", he retorted.

His mother thought for a moment and replied, "You are 45 and you are the vicar!"

It's an old joke and you have probably heard it before.  But I wonder, as I write this early on a Sunday morning, how you have greeted today with its opportunity of going to church.  For me, after a very busy week I look forward to the time I will spend in two churches today (though I still have preparation to do!).  This morning I will be at the church where I am part time minister.  Meeting again with the members - all of whom I love - will be a delight.  After the morning meeting we will share lunch and then discuss together the onward journey on which God is taking us.

This evening I will be the guest speaker at the anniversary services for a church near Nuneaton.  It will be my second visit but my first to take the service.  What a privilege to share with them as they too look forward and give thanks for the journey they have been on.

As I have indicated, this has been a busy week.  Last Sunday I took the morning meeting at Yelvertoft in Northamptonshire, then in the evening Doreen and I went to a small village near Rugby to take the evening meeting for the URC.  On Monday I travelled to Coatbridge just outside Glasgow where I spent the following day working with my good friend, Dean Juster, speaking on the Salvation Army's safeguarding programme for some of the SA officers in Scotland.  After travelling back on Wednesday I had an evening staff management meeting near Leicester. At 9.00 on Thursday it was my privilege to lead a communion service for the staff and volunteers of Torch Trust for the Blind in Market Harborough then Doreen and I were off to Yelvertoft for the second of our Lent meetings.  First thing Friday I was off again, this time to Leeds to share in the Enabling Group meeting of Churches Together in England.  A busy week but a blessed one.

Of course you too may well have had a busy and demanding week and I hope that like me, you face Sunday and the opportunity of church with joy and anticipation.  For many of us it isn't a day of rest exactly and we find other ways of building recreation into our timetables (well, I normally do!).

I am thankful that for many years I ministered in a tradition where all the congregation was expected to come to church having spent time in prayer and waiting on God to see if we could take to the meeting something that might bless others.  It might be something that God had used to speak to us through scripture, or a particular hymn or song, or a word of encouragement.  But the very act of preparing for church in this way meant that among the mix of people that came there was always something that touched me and, I hope, something I took that touched others.

Such an open gathering becomes difficult once the numbers grow beyond a certain level.  Paul wrote about this in 1Corinthians 14:26.  Paul also emphasises the need to exhort one another, to encourage one another and to edify one another.  Such activities are not restricted to Sunday meetings but should be part of our everyday Christian living.  But what a wonderful experience church would be if every Christian asked God to give them both the opportunity and the wisdom needed to do at least one of those things for at least one person every time we go to a meeting.

Many years ago while ministering at Egerton in Kent I met an older Strict Baptist brother in Christ as he walked in the opposite direction on the main street.  He stopped and told me that the Lord had put a verse of scripture on his heart.  He felt it was for him to pass on to someone else so he was passing it on to every Christian he met that day.  It was from the book of Esther and was just what I needed to hear at that time.  Whose was the greater blessing, do you think?  His or mine?

Si when it's Sunday and you should be going to church but perhaps are tempted to have a little extra "me" time, just think: someone at the meeting might have just what you need and what God wants to give you.  Or perhaps God wants to bless you by using you to bless someone more needy than you might imagine.

This week
Sunday 16th 10.45 Yelvertoft CC, Northamptonshire followed by lunch and Church Meeting
                       6.30 Stockingford CC near Nuneaton, Warwickshire - Church Anniversary
Monday 17th School Assembly, Lubenham, Leicestershire
Tuesday 18th School Assembly, Yelvertoft followed by my regular work at HMP Gartree
Thursday 20th Lent Bible Study, Yelvertoft
Saturday 22nd - our third "Messy Church" event at Yelvertoft
Sunday 23rd - Family Service at Yelvertoft (please pray as we seek to reach out to families)

Thank you.

Barry