What Might Revival Look Like?

Since the moment God took hold of my whole heart when I was seventeen I have maintained an interest in the subject of Revival.  This was partly because I had grown up in a church where I had been taught the gospel faithfully in Sunday School but where, it seemed to me, there was no real experience of the presence or power of God within the church.  The minister of the church was a good man but was being careful what he preached as he didn’t want to split the congregation.  For me, as a critical teenager, the church seemed pretty dead.  Together with some other Christian young people we decided to do something about this and started a weekly prayer meeting for revival.

Over the following few months the church changed radically.  Many of the teenagers who attended youth club made commitments to Christ.  The weekly church prayer meeting attendance grew and there was new passion in the prayers.  The minister and deacons experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  There was new life in the church services.  God heard and answered prayer.

Our prayers at this time were based upon Habakkuk 3:2

“O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known;
in wrath remember mercy.” (KJV)

Contemporary translations tend not to use the word “revive” but speak of God repeating his deeds.  The only other explicit references to national/spiritual revival in the Bible are in Psalm 80:18 and Psalm 85:6.  God describes himself as a reviver in Isaiah 57:15.

While there have been numerous localised revival experiences the UK experienced two major regional revivals during the 20^th century.  One of these affected people in south Wales and the other affected people in the Hebrides. Both had wide reaching affect upon the spiritual and social life of the areas.  In Wales crime seemed to disappear and the pit ponies were confused when the men working them treated them with kindness!

As a young man I read avidly anything I could find on revival.  Significant among this were the writings of Charles Finney and reports of his meetings in the USA. In his Lecture II “When a revival is to be expected” he includes a section on “When a Revival of Religion is Needed”. Here he lists seven situations including where there is a lack of brotherly love and Christian confidence, where there are jealousies and dissensions, where there is a worldly spirit in the Church, where there is gross or scandalous sin among church members, where there is a spirit of controversy, where the Church is mocked, and where people in society are careless about sin.  I guess this could be summed up by saying when things within the churches are not what they could and should be and our impact upon society is weak.

Revival is not about some ‘new thing’.  It is about the recovery of the way things should be.  Recently I have been unwell having succumbed to a virus that impaired my breathing and speaking, gave me pains and sore throats, and left me feeling bereft of energy.  Now my health is slowly reviving – getting back to normal. While for several weeks I have been acutely aware of the need for my health to revive, I suspect that the spiritual malaise which afflicts so many churches all too easily becomes accepted as the norm.

“Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?“ (Psalm 85:6)

Revival brings a renewal of passion. But that is not mere emotionalism. It is a passion for all that God longs to bring into our lives.  It is a passion for prayer and the reading of scripture.  It is a passion for sharing the gospel and seeing men, women and children put their trust in Jesus.  It is a passion for the coming in of the kingdom of God within the world as it is today.

Jesus promised the presence of God in a new way.  This involves the Holy Spirit within us.  That is within ordinary believers: male and female, young and old, rich or poor. The New Testament reveals the importance of this experience of the Holy Spirit so that we might live holy lives and be effective witnesses to the gospel.  While the early Church was never perfect (or at least not for long) it is revealed as a Church with real and deep experience of the Holy Spirit possessing God’s people.  This is the norm against which we should measure our own experiences.  But we do well to note that it carries a cost.

Revival is most definitely a need today.  It is not so much about how much of the Holy Spirit we possess as how much of us he possesses.  Revival usually seems to start when a few men and women become dissatisfied with the status quo and realise that things could be better.  One person burning with a love for Jesus can catch others on fire. Oh, that it might be me… or you.

From the Diary:

For almost all this month so far I have been unwell with a chest infection and other viral problems.  Consequently there is little to report.  My colleague, Monica Cook has also been unwell and I commend her to your prayers.

The Week of Prayer at Yelvertoft, Crick and Lilbourne was a great success.  Some information is available on the Yelvertoft website and will be updated further.

We are holding a series of Lent Meetings on the theme “Faith through Other Eyes”.  More details here.  The first one starts this Thursday morning.

Because of the health complication I have deferred the online seminar on tailoring mission strategies for rural churches.  Please watch out for information.

We value your prayers for “Get Messy in Yelvertoft” which is a form of Messy Church.  We meet again this Saturday 21^st February in the morning.  Please pray for numerical growth.

Sunday 22^nd February I will be speaking about “Holiday at Home” at the Parish Church in Great Bowden, Leics.  H@H is a wonderful mission programme but we need additional involvement from local churches in the Market Harborough area.  Please pray as I seek to share the vision.

Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer.  Please drop us a line.

Barry

A Man (of God) or a Mouse?

Before any female colleagues suspect me of being sexists I hope to put your mind at rest.   The title of this post came about because of a recent experience I had that has caused me to ponder on my own service for God.

It started not long after I had run a Microsoft upgrade programme.  Until then everything on my laptop computer had been working fairly well.  I had been slowly archiving various documents and accounts to clear space.  I had also upgraded my broadband to optical fibre.  When the problem followed these activities I wondered whether any had contributed but that didn't seem logical.  A perfectly ordinary USB mouse had developed an intermittent fault.  One minute the cursor would move smoothly across the screen, the next it froze and the computer ‘gerdonged’.  Then suddenly it ‘gerdonged’ again and started working normally.  I heaved a sigh of relief, but almost immediately the cursor froze once more on the screen.

Consulting a technical support group failed to produce any help.  Googling revealed that others running Windows 7 had experienced the same problem. I read through a variety of suggestion and carefully checked mouse drivers and the power supply to USB ports.  All to no avail!  I tried the mouse in my tablet and it seemed to work OK for that brief trial.  I was beginning to think it was time to spend on a new laptop.  As a last resort I spent £9.99 on a new USB mouse, though I suspected this would be a waste of money.

It proved £9.99 well spent and the old mouse has now gone for recycling. “Are you a man or a mouse?” is a well-known phrase but it suddenly had a new meaning for me.  I wonder whether my mouse problem was symbolic of how God feels trying to use me.  I know that sometimes I work very well, but that suddenly (and possibly without warning) I probably fail to move in the direction God wants.  I might occasionally stick like my malfunctioning mouse.

At this stage I want to invite the women back in as I reflected on malfunctioning ‘men of God’ in scripture.  There are quite a few.  Jonah (obviously), and David made a mess of things despite once being a man after God’s heart.  What about Moses getting impatient and striking the rock twice when he was told to do it once?  Then there was that prophet who was told not to allow himself to be distracted but did exactly what he was told not to do.  Then there’s Saul who tried to compromise under the excuse of doing God a favour.  I could go on!  In the New Testament there are also examples, such as Demas (one moment praised and the next moment…. Well!).  And what about you John Mark on that first missionary journey!

Others might come to mind, but try to find a similar list of women of God and you will find that is an entirely different matter.  I don’t think that Lot’s wife or Sapphira fir the category.  There are several notable women of God in both the Old and New Testaments but the evidence seems to suggest they were more consistent than the men.  In the light of the steady increase in the numbers of female Christian leaders in many churches, not to mention the preferment of Libby last Monday, is this cause for encouragement?

The God who chose to be humiliated
In the light of recent items in the news demonstrating the anger of Muslims over cartoons of Mohamed it occurred to me what a contrast this is to Jesus.  The Bible reveals the divine nature of Jesus as Emmanuel – God with us.  But we do not have an untouchable God.  We have one who walks dusty roads, touches the ‘unclean’, washes others feet, and allows himself to be humiliated.

The Ethiopian that Philip encountered in Acts 8 is found reading Isaiah 53.  In the version he used it reads, “In his humiliation he was deprived of justice”. An earlier part of the same chapter in Isaiah describes our Saviour as “despised and rejected by mankind”  Isaiah 50:6 reads, “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.”  How amazing is this God who chose a cross rather than a throne!

Recent Prayer Outreach Mission
As part of the Hope in our Villages programme in the villages of Yelvertoft, Crick and Lilbourne we held a special Week of Prayer from 18^th to 25^th January.  Seven churches were involved.  1200 homes received letters to let people know we would be praying for them and an opportunity to submit a prayer request.  Space for private prayer was provided in three church buildings throughout the week. Prayer meetings were held each day when prayer requests were shared.  We also covered the life of our communities in prayer by taking various topics for each day (e.g. schools, doctors, councillors, farmers, etc).  More details are on the church website.

Rural Mission Webinars
We plan to hold an online seminar late February.  Please look out for details coming your way.

From the diary

• January 9-11 I attended a training weekend in order to provide support and guidance for those interested in a vocational pathway within the Congregational Federation.  It was an enjoyable and helpful weekend.
• January 14 my broadband connection was upgraded for an extra £5 per month.  Fibre will ensure better connections during Webinars.
• January 21 I spent the morning and afternoon at the William Booth College teaching on the Salvation Army’s safeguarding course.
• January 18 – 25 The Prayer Outreach (see above).  On 25^th I was invited to preach at our local Catholic Church and welcomed the opportunity.
• January 28 Sunrise Ministries Trustees Video Conference.
• January 29 I took part in an Editorial Meeting for Country Way. Have you seen the latest edition?  You can sign up for this inspiring and helpful magazine designed especially for rural Christians and churches. Please contact me.
• February 1 Yelvertoft Congregational Church, Northants.
• February 4 Pastoral Care Board, Nottingham
• Much of my time this year has been spent on aspects relating to the Week of Prayer.  Consequently there is a great deal of other administration needing my attention this week.

Thank you for your fellowship in prayer.
Barry

Evidence of faith

Welcome to a number of new readers.  I hope that you all have had a good Christmas as we remember again God's gift that is too wonderful for words.

On New Year’s Day Bible Gateway made their text for the day 2Corinthians 5:17. "If anyone is in Christ the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here".  I was suddenly struck by the phrase, "the old has gone".  I wondered for a moment or two whether Paul, writing this letter to Christians at Corinth was being overly optimistic.  After all he was a man with a great vision for what the Christian life is supposed to be like. In what way did he mean that the old had gone?

I'm sure you will have heard the question, "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" Being a Christian is not about making someone 'holier than thou', or even a slightly better person; it is about fundamental change. 

A few years ago a row of Council houses in a village in Warwickshire were radically changed.  They had looked perfectly good to me before, and I wondered why they had started demolishing them. Roofs were stripped, walls knocked down, until what was left could hardly be called a shell. Then what looked like identical houses were built in their place.  Apparently some metal rods in the original buildings had started to corrode and the old buildings would have rapidly become dangerous.  While the new houses looked identical to the natural eye, they were essentially different.  A radical change had taken place. What happens when someone welcomes Jesus Christ into their lives is that a construction firm moves in and starts to make essential changes.  The old, that stood condemned goes and a new situation has taken its place in which transforming work is being undertaken.  The 'new' me is not yet complete and perfect.  The difference to the old me is that now transformation is taking place.  I am a construction site!

The question I need to ask is whether there is evidence of my faith because I am being changed.

Thinking about this radical change also linked with other thoughts I had over Christmas regarding our attitudes to others. I have been personally challenged by Philippi 2:3/4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”  

How might that look if we applied it to our relationship with other churches that are different from ourselves?  One of the most common areas of concern I hear about from churches in rural areas is poor ecumenical relationships.  Where there is a strong and active evangelical non-conformist church in a village, neighbouring Anglican sometimes feel they are treated with disdain.  On the other hand many non-conformist churches feel that they are treated as a kind of supporting act to the ‘main thing’ by the Parish Church.

Is there evidence of our faith in the way churches or Christian organisations relate to one another?  You probably know the joke where the question is, “What is the height of frustration?” and the answer is, “Two Christians wanting to pass through a doorway at the same time!” (i.e. each saying to the other, “After you”.).  John the Baptist set the standard when some of his disciples left him to follow Jesus.  He said of Jesus, “He must increase and I must decrease”.  What might it look and work like if we considered one another better in 2015?

From the Diary

January looks like being very busy which means not only lots of meetings but also a lot of preparation and follow up activity.  Here are some immediate diary entries:

Sunday 4th – Yelvertoft Congregational Church (Covenant Service)

Monday 5th – School Assembly Planning Meeting

Tuesday 6th – HMP Gartree. (Please pray, as we have had an influx of men wanting to join the choir and this has brought some behavioural problems.  Please pray for wisdom and grace.)

Thursday 8th – Inter-Church Bible Discussion Meeting

Friday 9th to Sunday 11th I will be attending a Congregational Federation Training Weekend on behalf of the Pastoral Care Board with a view to discussing vocational issues with students

The weekend activity will mean that the next Praise & Prayer News will come after the weekend.

Among other activities this week will be scheduling and promoting the next on-line seminar, preparing a Prayer Outreach Mission for 18-25 January, and arranging a local Rural Mission Support meeting for the East Midlands.

Thank you for your prayers.  Doreen and I are grateful for the many cards and messages over Christmas.  Please keep in touch.

Barry

Never a Good Time for Bad News

The following was written on Boxing Day 2014; the day that news broke that City Link had gone into administration with the apparent consequential loss of employment for many. In some situations hope is not enough.

For 2,727 men and women this Christmas has brought bad news with the closure of City Link and the loss of their jobs.  Probably, their CEO, David Smith, and Board members will be feeling pretty rotten for some time to come. The company has clearly been struggling from time.  In 2013 Rentokil sold the business to Better Capital for £1 with the hope that some £40 million was going to be invested.  Just a few months ago a number of key people were added to the Board of Directors in a rescue attempt.  It looks as if the firm has been running on optimism since 2007.  Having twice been in a similar management situation I can imagine the painful gut wrenching decision making that has been taking place behind the scene - including the decision of when to break the news to the men and women whose lives have now been shattered.

During the Thatcher years things looked good for some time.  In the town where I lived at that time I had responsibility for a small Christian bookshop that was far from adequate for serving the many local growing churches.  A through business appraisal was undertaken before deciding to love to new and larger premises in a good location.  Although the rent was expensive it was expected that growth in business should bring us into profit within two years of trading.  In the first year of trading customer numbers and sales far exceeded the predictions.  But the second year saw customer numbers increase but sales actually decline.  It was the first indication of the recession that hit the town hard at the end of the eighties and early nineties.

I invested long hours and £6,000 of my own money (almost everything I had) to try to keep the business afloat.  But the independent actions of a new Board member resulted in the loss of a major customer and we were left with no option other than to put the shop into administration.  A plan which involved the establishing of a smaller Christian bookshop and a relatively good settlement for suppliers, sweetened the bitterness of the situation.  But even that was spoiled by the action of one creditor, leaving several smaller suppliers in difficulties.

While the loss of that business was the result of three situations beyond my control it still took several years for me to get over the negative feelings it generated.

Some years later I was asked to help rescue a privately owned academic institution.  The education provided by this college was both unique and excellent.  Unfortunately, it appeared that inadequate business management had led to the crisis in which it found itself.  
The Board of Directors, which by then included me, took several radical steps, cutting operational costs, redirecting capital, and had succeeded in what would have been an effective plan that would have reinvigorated the College.  It began to turn around and light was clearly visible at the end of the tunnel.  The final piece of the puzzle involved some adjustment to staff salaries in hope that redundancies could be avoided. Sadly, a senior academic staff member convinced the owner of the College to act against the decision of the Board and instead to invest more personal money she could not afford to support his alternative plan.

Inevitably, the Board members resigned, the company was liquidated a few years later and the owner lost her investment.  Instead of experiencing some temporary reduction of salaries, the staff all lost their jobs.

Fortunately most enterprises in which I have been involved have not suffered bad news such as on these occasions.  But we live in a world where bad things happen - sometimes as the consequences of our own failings, and sometimes because of the actions of others. In the business world, hope alone is no guarantee of a good outcome.

It appears that City Link has been failing for some years in a business sector that has become increasingly competitive.  No doubt the Board members have been doing all they could do avoid the bad news that has come out this Christmas.  I expect that  all in the firm have been hoping for a better outcome. It is probable that, to some extent, hope that things will get better will have been shattered by circumstances beyond their control.

How well this resonates with the story Jesus told of a farmer who, having experienced and exceptionally good year of business, made plans to sit back and enjoy a comfortable life for years to come.  (See Luke 12:13-21.) But there was a major unforeseen factor beyond his control that would take place within a few hours.  In his situation the final outcome would have been better for him if he had given his surplus goods to feed the hungry and help the poor.

It will not just be the 2,720 employees of City Link that will feel emotional pain, suffer financial loss, and possibly other long term problems.  Other businesses will be affected.  Other family members will be affected.  I pray that, wherever possible, churches will be ready to give emotional support to those who are the casualties of this bad news.  I pray too that hope will not be entirely abandoned, but rather that it will be put into that which is always absolutely certain: the character and promises of God.

The Original Virgin

No doubt many times during this month the words of Matthew 1:23 will be read: "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God wish us."   These words were included by Matthew into the story where Joseph learns in a dream the miraculous nature of the conception and is assured that he should take Mary into his home as his wife.  It is among the best known messianic prophecies but few seem to know the background.

The words were originally spoken to Ahaz, King of Judah.  He was a morally corrupt king who had introduced and promoted idolatry in the land.  He was even guilty of stripping the treasures from the temple in order to pay tribute to the kink of Assyria.  You can read more about him in 2 Kings 16.  Reading Isaiah chapter 7 reveals that Judah is under pressure from the Arameans and the northern tribes of Israel  hat had formed an alliance against him,   Their plan was to bring an end to the Davidic line of kings, replacing King Ahaz.  King Ahaz is in a panic and this is spreading throughout the land.  They are shaking with fear.  Isaiah is told by God to take his son and for the two of them to meet Ahaz with an exhortation to put his trust solely in the Sovereign God.  God's promises previously given to David, which included the eventual coming of the Saviour, would hold true.   He is told the plans of his enemies will come to nothing but he must stand firm in faith if he is to stand at all..

Tragically, this corrupt king disregards this exhortation.  He is then offered the option of selecting any sign he wishes as proof of God's promise.  He declines using mock spirituality.  But the prophet says that God will provide his own sign, and this is where the words quoted by Matthew come from.  The virgin in Isaiah's prophecy obviously refers in the first place to someone within his own time, as the following verses make clear. No one knows for sure who the virgin was, though it is suspected that this was the second wife of Isaiah (his first wife having died after she had born him a son).  That first son bore the prophetic name meaning "A remnant shall return" bringing a promise of hope beyond the coming exile.  But the child yet to be born was to be given the name which means "God with us".  It brought the assurance that in the darkest hour God would be there.

Whether Isaiah saw the future relevance of the prophecy we cannot know.  However, Matthew sees that another child, conceived miraculously, more than 400 years later, brings God's delivering presence to lighten the darkness.  Like the original context of the prophecy the same word comes at the birth of Jesus Christ, and to us today: "Trust in God".  I love the words of John Henry Newman in his hymn, "Praise to the holiest in the height" and have included some of the verses in our Christmas greetings this year: O loving wisdom of our God! When all was sin and shame, a second Adam to the fight and to the rescue came. O wisest love that flesh and blood which did in Adam fail, should strive afresh against the foe, should strive and should prevail.  And that a higher gift than grace should flesh and blood refine: God's presence, and his very self and essence all divine.

Doesn't it make you want to shout "Hallelujah!"?

Introductory Webinar

Last Saturday I ran  an introductory webinar as a practise for the series of online seminars we intend to run throughout 2015, and was encouraged by how this went.  We were a small group but that was half expected and allowed the style of the seminar to be adapted.  Those attending all agreed that this offers significant potential.  My colleague, Monica Cook, and I must be among the most experienced people in rural mission and evangelism.  Not only have we put in many years but we have been priveleged to have broad experience.  In addition to being practitioners in rural mission, we both have a reputation for a God-given teaching ministry and the ability to reflect analytically on practise.  Also both of us have had significant of settled leadership responsibility alongside our itinerant work.  One of the major concerns of our trustees is that we find opportunity for sharing the understanding and experience as widely as possible.  So webinars are ideal.  Probably the major challenge at the moment is breaking down the kind of teaching we do on church away-days into modules of the right length for online teaching.  It was good to have the help of Gordon banks on this occasion.

From the diary

It was good to share God's word at the Torch Trust Christmas Carol Service last Wednesday and good to see it well supported. 

Following the morning service at Yelvertoft today I headed over to the URC in the next village to discuss their involvement in a special Prayer Mission I am helping to lead from 18th to 25th January.  More about this to follow.

Tuesday 16th following the Christmas Staff Lu inch at HMP Gartree I will be working with others with the men in the prison choir.  Recently our numbers increased and I have two new men who apparently have ADHD.  This has raised serious questions as to how we use the time, allow them to feel included but also manage discipline.  This is more sensitive than might be the normal case as their condition may have been a factor in their prison sentence. Please pray for grace, patience and wisdom.

Wednesday 17th I will be leading the Yelvertoft Senior Circle Christmas service in the afternoon. On Thursday morning I will be leading the Bible Discussion Group in Yelvertoft, which always excites me. Then we head into a very busy weekend.  On Friday I will be working with Lubenham Primary School.  On Saturday morning I will be part of the team running "Get Messy for Christmas" at Yelvertoft.  Please pray that we will have growth in numbers.  Then in the afternoon I will be back to share in carol singing at Yelvertoft Marina to the narrow boat community.  In the morning of Sunday 21st we run a Christmas Warmer event at Yelvertoft which is our regular Christmas outreach service.

January 18 -25 we hold the Prayer Mission in three Northamptonshire villages so there will be a lot of preparation work between now and then.  Please pray for Lorna Taylor with whom I am working.

Thank you for your partnership through prayer and practical support.

Barry

Christmas - an event not to be mythed

This is my  annual appeal to encourage Christians to tell the story of Christmas as recorded in the Bible.  The word 'myth' technically does not mean a falsehood but I have used it (incorrectly as a verb) in the sense of a fantasy rather than a true story.  The story is important to the gospel and Christmas provides many opportunities for sharing  it with people who do not normally come to church.  But we do no favours if we embellish the biblical account with all the traditional trappings.

This starts usually with the 'little donkey' song.  I have never been sure that a heavily pregnant woman would have found riding a donkey the most comfortable, and a cushioned cart is probably more likely.  Joseph did not do the rounds of 'Ye Olde Bethlehem Inns' as the word translated 'Inn' is most usually used to refer to an upper room guest chamber.  We even have to be careful about a stable.  Some traditions suggest a cave.  What we do know was that the baby Jesus was laid in a manger.  However the typical manger used in crib scenes is wholly unrealistic as a feeding vessel for animals.  Sheep eat grass, cattle, horses, and donkeys etc that eat hay would not eat it from a trough but usually a basket type arrangement fixed to a wall.  The shepherds hurried off so they must have left their sheep and did not bring a lamb as a gift for Jesus (the sheep would not be their own to give away any way).  There is no reference to angels in the place where Jesus was born.  At the time of the announcement there is no suggestion of them hanging from space.  The wise men (not kings) found Jesus in a house, not a stable and the Bible does not say there were only three of them.There certainly was no little drummer boy!

While I do not suggest we should be so pedantic that we cannot tolerate a little license in the telling, I do ask that as far as we can we stick to facts.  It might be useful to avoid the use of 'fabulous' and 'fantastic' when telling the story too.  There is plenty of fantasy around Christmas with Santa on his flying sleigh and popping down and up chimneys!  That I can live with; just let's make sure we don't confuse the facts and the fantasy please.

An Introductory Webinar

Next Saturday 13th December at 9.00 am I intend to run an introductory webinar as a practise for the series of online seminars we intend to run throughout 2015.  This will last no more than 30 minutes.  I will email you the details of how you can participate in this as I shall need a reasonable number of people.  It will cost you nothing.  You do not need to speak but you will have opportunity to interact and can type in questions if you wish.  I will try to answer all the questions.  All you need to be connected to the internet with either your speakers turned on or wearing headphones.  More information will come in an email to you.  Your presence online for this simple practise run will be very helpful.

From the diary

On Sunday 30th November I took the morning service at HMP Gartree where there was a good attendance.  The meeting focused on  a personal relationship with God and the privilege of knowing God as a friend.  It was very well received and several testified to this making a change in their lives.  On Monday and Tuesday I had two school assemblies where I used a special Advent talk I have written.  This is based on the story that Jesus told of wise and foolish virgins, but there are no virgins in my version.  You can read and download the story here.  On both occasions it was well received by children and school staff.

This past weekend was marked by a commemoration of an air collision between two Canadian Air Force bombers over our village of Yelvertoft.  Large numbers were attracted to the two services I led and we welcomed honoured guests from Canada and other UK locations.  More information is available on the church website.  Pictures have yet to be added.
Sunday 7th December included the annual carol service at HMP Gartree with band and songsters from the famous Kettering Salvation Army Corps. The choir I help to lead sang one piece with the Songsters but also sang a piece on their own.  We had chosen to sing Graham Kendrick's wonderful "Thorns among the straw".  This had a profound impact on the congregation which included many from outside the prison as well as men from the wing.  Some Salvationists testified to being moved to tears as men serving life sentences told the amazing story through this powerful song.
This is a typically busy week but I especially value your prayers on Tuesday when i will be back in prison and on Wednesday when I will be speaking at the annual Christmas Service for Torch Trust for the Blind.  Next Sunday I will be leading the meeting at Yelvertoft.
I hope to meet up with you online on Saturday morning.

Thank you for your partnership through prayer and practical support.

Barry

What is faithfulness

The picture on the left is of Marj Wilding, whose funeral and thanksgiving service I attended on Friday. She had been a friend since around 1965.  Her late husband, Reg, was a Council Member of Mission for Christ - the mission organisation I joined in 1963. Marj was a valued prayer partner.  

Each birthday and at Christmas I would get a card.  During a visit to East Sussex on 3rd November I called in to see her and was warmly welcomed.  We talked of God's faithfulness.  Two days later she was called home to be with the Lord. Amazingly selfless she lived out a deep concern for the welfare of others.  She was a faithful friend.

I have often heard Christians say that God does not call us to be successful; but he calls us to be faithful.  Such a comment is often made in ignorance of what the Bible actually teaches.  All too often the expression is an excuse for poor discipleship.  So let's explore the concept a little  more.

In Luke 19:11 - 27 we have a parable Jesus told in which ten servants were were each given the equivalent of three months wages and told to put it to work while their master was away.  We note that they are given responsibility and also autonomy, but that they remained accountable. On their master's return each came to give account.  Two testify to the growth that came from that with which they were entrusted.  Then a man came who had feared failure and so had done nothing other than keep safe what he was given.  We need to note how each of the servants was rewarded or suffered loss. Who in this story was faithful and how did they demonstrate faithfulness.  It was the outcome that proved faithfulness but their obedience.

Now let's consider the parable of the shrewd servant in Luke 16.  Here is a man who had been given responsibility to manage a business on behalf of his master.  Clearly he also had been given autonomy.  And clearly he remained accountable for his actions and inactions.  He finds himself about to lose his job and shrewdly uses his autonomy to create a better future for himself.  (He might also have done his master a favour by improving cash flow.)  He is commended for his actions which, if he had demonstrated such diligence sooner he might have saved him from being sacked!  In verses 10 and 11 Jesus uses the word faithful (or in other versions: trusted).  Once again faithfulness is demonstrated through action.  

These two parables are all about performance. It is about demonstrating that they were deserving of the trust that had been placed in them.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 4:2 "It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful"

Each Christian is entrusted with the message of salvation God wants us to share with others.  God also grants us opportunities,  and promises his power to enable us to grasp them.  Perhaps it is true that outcomes of our faithfulness might not be considered by others as successful. But before I use the faithfulness argument I need to be careful that faithfulness has been clearly demonstrated by my actions. Each of us have been given some aspect of ministry responsibility - all that we are an have is a trust from God.  Each of us is also given autonomy - we are not robots.  But each of us remains accountable to the one who hopes we prove worthy of the trust he has placed in us.

May the Lord help each of us to be truly faithful.

From The Diary
Last Sunday at Yelvertoft we concluded a series of Bible teaching looking at Jesus through the eyes of Mark. This has been interesting.  Members of the church are also writing the gospel out by hand.

Last Monday Churches Together in Harborough meeting included a review of Holiday at Home, which is a mission activity each year that I have gladly supported.  Please pray as we seek additional representation on the leadership team.

Last Tuesday proved a difficult time with the prison choir.  Please pray for grace and wisdom, especially when dealing with challenging situations.

Last Wednesday we had an encouraging (part 2) local Rural Mission Support meeting for rural church leaders.  One has since written, "Thank you for a very useful meeting. There was a wonderful sense of fellowship and partnership in ministry and I came away feeling very encouraged."  We give God praise!

Last Thursday there was a shortened Churches Rural Group (CTE) meeting at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.  There was a lot to deal with in limited time but it felt a positive meeting.  Afterwards I set off for East Sussex for Mraj's funeral and had booked B&B.  To my delight I found my hosts were Christians and two of my Christian friends from my time in Herstmonceux were also staying there!  Was this part of God's plan?

Please pray for all of Marj Wilding's family (four generations).  It was good to meet again some Christian friends on Friday I have not seen for several decades!

The Coming week
Sunday 30th - I am taking the morning service at Gartree Prison (Leics) and then travelling to Crick (Northants to attend a United "Hope in our Villages" Service.  This is part of an ongoing mission programme in which the church at Yelvertoft is a partner.

On Monday I have a school assembly at Lubenham (Leics).  On Tuesday I have another school assembly, this tim,e at Yelvertoft (Nortants) followed by my regular work in HMP Gartree.

On Thursday I will be leading a Bible Discussion Meeting at Yelvertoft and back in the village on Saturday for a special event.  During WW2 two of our planes collided over Yelvertoft in which all the crews died.  As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of this event I will lead a simple service.  Our church is also the venue for an exhibition and refreshments through the day.  Some relatives of the men who were killed (from Canada and UK) are coming for this event.  Please pray that in what will be a solemn day there will be room for sharing gospel hope.  The Sunday meeting the following day will develop the theme of a sacrificial legacy.
Thank you for your partnership through prayer and practical support.

We are soon launching a series of interactive free on-line seminars (known as Rural Mission Webinars).  You will be able to take part in any of these from your computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone.  There is no sign up fee.  Each webinar will be designed to last 30 to 40 minutes including question and answer session.  We are creating a list of topics that we feel will prove helpful but we welcome your suggestions on anything that might help rural churches and rural Christians in their mission for God.  Please email your suggestions to barry@ruralmissions.org.uk