Is Behaviour So Important

In our most recent Bible Discussion Meeting at Yelvertoft we have been reading and discussing Paul's Pastoral Letters.  1 Timothy and Titus were written earlier than 2 Timothy but all three were written during times of imprisonment.  Paul's ability to visit churches and to do things himself was restricted and he was dependent on others, including these two whom he considers sons in the faith.

I have toyed with the idea of writing a simple commentary on all three letters and entitling it "Letters from an Anxious father".  Our discussion group has got a wonderful amount out of these discussions and have found there are various ways in which we can reflect on what Paul writes.  It was Titus that surprised us.  In our first meeting we considered the first chapter.  Titus, who had apparently done responsible work at Corinth earlier, had now been sent by Paul to Crete to ensure that everything was in order.  Elders were to be appointed in every town (we wondered how many towns) and an appropriate standard was defined by Paul.  We are a mixed group and our different traditions had different understandings of what elders are.  We focused on function rather than status.  Elders were essentially overseers and we noted that the term elder is also interchangeable with bishop, meaning shepherd.

But it was our second meeting that surprised us all. We read the whole letter through and noted that it said almost nothing about doctrine or church order but was almost entirely about how people should behave.  Paul urged Titus to be a good teacher but what he exhorts him to teach is how older men and women, younger men and women, children and parents, masters and slaves should all behave to one another.

None of us (including the preachers among us) could ever remember hearing a sermon in church on how to behave.  But at the time of writing, while Paul was also concerned about soundness of faith and avoidance of false teaching, he majors on behaviour.  Even rebuking and correcting has to be tempered with humility and gentleness.  We noted that in the churches there was no room for a persistently divisive character. Why does Paul seem so concerned about behaviour?  It is so that the testimony of Christ is not dishonoured.

I visit some churches for whom particularity in doctrine is the most important thing.  I visit others that seem to be mostly concerned about worship and inspired revelation.  I cannot remember visiting a church that deliberately majors on behaviour.  Have we been getting it wrong?  But then how much did Jesus teach about doctrine or worship?  He seemed to have more to say about behaviour and attitudes.

The sad thing is that when I bump into people who used to go to church but no longer do so, it is usually bad behaviour in church that caused the offence. It also seems to be a major factor in discouraging people to join a church.  Perhaps we could all do with hearing a few sermons on behaviour.  Perhaps this is what the world is waiting for, that is to say for us to behave as we ought.
 

From my Diary

Sorting out the Children's Department of Sunrise Ministries has continued to take up time in the past week. We definitely plan to build on the vision and work that Monica had for the UK.  This was to enable rural churches to develop and sustain their own appropriate and effective programmes for ministry to and with children.  With possibly one and a half million children living in rural Britain we need missional churches that show the love of God and share the gospel of Jesus.  I need another partner to replace Monica as soon as possible.

I have also been involved in advising Friends of Obambo regarding maintaining Monica's work in Kenya.

Also this week I was part of a group drafting By laws to go with a new governing instrument for the Free Churches Group (the working part of the Free Church Council of England and Wales).

Prison Ministry:  J for whom I asked prayers was back with us this week.  Please keep him in your prayers as he has been through a hard time.

This week I anticipate being mainly desk-bound but there is much important work including getting used to a new bookkeeping programme, so I value your daily prayers please.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Barry

"Never was so much owed by so many to so few"

Most people in the UK will recognise the title as an extract from a speech by Winston Churchill to Parliament on 21st August 1940.  Hitler had planned to invade Britain and air supremacy was vital to his plan.  At the time of Churchill's speech the situation was probably at its hottest.  The Battle of Britain which had begun on 10th July was to last to the end of October and the fight was only won at considerable cost.  The courage and commitment shown by British fighter pilots is legendary. If you wish to read an objective an detailed account click here.

The recent anniversary commemoration of the start of the Battle of Britain caused me to reflect on how often in Scripture we find that it is the one person or the few that have saved so many.  These include such people as the young David, Gideon, Samson (Judges 14-16), and the courageous three.  In each of these account the odds against them were enormous but they placed their faith in God and committed themselves to the task.

Inspired by such accounts, Christians have arisen in the past to undertake extraordinary mission activity, showing equal courage and commitment.  I think of William Carey a founder of the Baptist Missionary Society who famously spoke of "expecting great things from God and attempting great things for God".  I think of CT Studd who stated that “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him. I think of Jim Elliot, a martyred missionary wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

I count it a privilege that my Sunday School gave annual awards of the biographies of pioneer missionaries who were ordinary people who did extraordinary things because of their faith, courage and commitment.  For me this was what it meant and still means to be a Christian, and I have no desire to be a chocolate soldier.  While you may well identify yourself with such sentiments, there are far too many Christians in the western world for whom their faith seems little more than a hobby. More than once in recent weeks I have heard and read of Christian leaders lamenting over church situations afflicted by argument and division brought about by petty mindedness of those who seem to have lost the plot when it comes to engaging in the real war of the spirit.  We have a common enemy and we need men and women to rise up together in common cause to deny his claims over us and to take his territory.

Answering the call of God to follow Jesus is to sign up for war, though we fight with different weapons and in different ways.  We dare not wait for others to act first.  If we are to imitate the qualities shown by the few in Britain's air force during the war, or those outstanding people in the Bible, or the pioneer men and women missionaries, we must each strive to be first in the queue for volunteers.

From my Diary

I am still kept busy working on the consequences following the recent home call of my colleague, Monica Cook.  There is much to do regarding administration and correspondence with her friends and supporters.  We are also looking at ways of building on her legacy both in the UK and also in Kenya.  There are two ways in which this can be done.  Firstly, those who have been supporting the work in Obambo are encouraged to keep doing so.  Friends of Obambo, which Sunrise Ministries encouraged Monica to set up will have a new administration address (our Battle office is now closed).  There is a commitment to support thework with children in Obambo and that must be honoured.

We also hope to build on the vision and work that Monica had for the UK.  This was to enable rural churches to develop and sustain their own appropriate and effective programmes for ministry to and with children.  With possibly one and a half million children living in rural Britain we need missional churches that show the love of God and share the gospel of Jesus.  I need another partner to replace Monica as soon as possible.

Your prayers for both strands of continuing her ministry will be very much appreciated.

The final school assembly for this term at Lubenham was very effective and staff and pupils very responsive.  The theme was trusting God at uncertain times.  We welcome a new head teacher at Lubenham and I look forward to working with her (my fourth head in this school).

My regular half day at HMP Gartree brought several opportunities for pastoral conversations.  Please pray for J who has been going through a bad time recently.

Today, I will attend the induction service for a friend and colleague coming to Market Harborough.  Local work preparing for Holiday at Home also continues.  We are also moving forward once more towards the appointment of a new Children and families Worker for the East Midlands Area of the Congregational Federation.

This week there are activities most days which i will not detail here.  You can keep up to date with these via Facebook and Twitter (@ruralbarry).

I pray that you will have a good week.  Be encouraged in the fight and encourage others into the fight.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Barry

Why Forgive

I started writing these reflections following the brutal murders in Charleston, South Carolina a few weeks ago.  Since then there have been other acts of sectarian violence and murder.  Forgiveness for such acts does not come easy.  I wonder what you thought when some of those at Charleston almost immediately spoke about forgiving the man who had done this terrible act.  They stated that "Hate would not win".

My own reaction was to wonder whether they had acted without due thought.  I also wondered what exactly might have been the motivation in speaking words of forgiveness so soon after the event. Did they feel it was the "Christian thing to do"?  Did they hope that by countering hatred with love the man might become ashamed?  Did they think that it was what God expected?

Such declarations of forgiveness have become a common practise particularly among evangelical churches, so much so that it has become a kind of pop theology.  This in turn can cause some people deep hurt.  For example, one priest in the Church of England resigned her position when she found she could not forgive the people who caused the 7/7 disaster in which her daughter died. She felt guilt for her inability to forgive.  Another friend who was sexually abused within a church context and by a person whose help she was seeking was publicly verbally attacked on a Christian radio broadcast because she confessed she could not forgive her abuser.  In such situations Christians and a poorly informed culture added guilt to the hurt already being suffered.

While it is true that God loves unconditionally, the Bible does not provide evidence to suggest that he forgives unconditionally.  Indeed the Bible makes clear that forgiveness is only possible on the grounds of true repentance.  Love makes forgiveness available.  It is as if it is waiting in the wings, just waiting to bestow its blessing.  If that is how God's righteousness is expressed is there not a danger when Christians speak words of unqualified forgiveness?  Where does God's justice come into the situation?

I fully understand that it can be a healthy thing to be able to forgive.  Certainly carrying bitterness and resentment around can be harmful to our personality and hinder spiritual development.  The Bible counsels against such a situation.  It is therefore a good thing to be ready to forgive those who have hurt us.But when the Bible speaks about the importance of forgiving and places it in the same context as our being forgiven by God, surely this means on the same terms.

We also need to be careful regarding what we are forgiving people for, when it comes to third party injury.  If we have suffered the loss of a loved one then we might be able to forgive the perpetrators for the loss and hurt we have felt.  But we cannot forgive the perpetrators for what they have done to their victim.  God alone can do that.  The young man who committed the murders in Charleston will no doubt feel the full weight of the law and due punishment for his crimes.  Furthermore he needs to know that he is living under the wrath of a loving and holy God.  I hope that he will experience sufficient conviction for his sin that forgiveness might be experienced.

It is commendable that Christians in Charleston felt able at that moment to speak words of love and forgiveness. Personally, I think such words would have greater weight after the shock and pain had really sunk in.  However, I applaud their desire.  But we should take care not to be casual when it comes to forgiveness, and hand it out like sweeties.  Holding people to account for what they have done is often the more loving act.

Monica Cook's Funeral

Friends who had come to know Monica at various stages in her life and who could manage the journey gathered at Holy Trinity Parish Church on Friday as we laid her mortal remains at rest.  It was a warm and pleasant summer afternoon as we gathered to honour her memory and to support her family in their loss. After the service their was warm fellowship  as people shared their memories.

The service was recorded both as an audio recording and a video recording.  These are available for people to download.  In order to access these you will need Dropbox, which is a free and useful programme.  If you do not already have Dropbox please let me know as I can gain the benefit of extra storage space if you sign up on my recommendation.  If you do already have Dropbox please email me so that I am aware of your email address and can share the folder with the photos and recordings.

Please note that the provisional date for the Thanksgiving Event is the afternoon of Sunday 13th September.  Further information will be sent out once this is confirmed.

From this week's diary

Sunday 5th July - Yelvertoft Congregational Church
Monday 6th July - School Assembly, Lubenham, Leics.
Tuesday 7th July - HMP Gartree
Friday 10th July - Taking part in a constitutional meeting for the Free Churches Group, London
Saturday 11th July - attending the Induction Service for the Rev Stephen Haward, Market Harborough Congregational Church.

Over the past few weeks Doreen and I have received many messages of fellowship at this time of loss of a special colleague.  These have been very much appreciated.  It has been a demanding time as I have had to correspond with around 350 people.  If I have failed to respond to a card, letter or email, I hope that you will understand.  The many kind and generous comments about Monica and the ministry we have shared has meant a great deal to me.

Thak you,

Barry

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

Monica Cook receives her eternal reward

On Sunday 21st June 2015 it pleased the Lord to gather to himself our dear sister and co-worker, Monica Cook.

I met her first when I was speaking at Birmingham Bible Institute where she was a student.  Prior to that she had trained and worked as a Primary School teacher and taught in schools in the UK and Australia.  When she left Bible College she undertook some training within Mission for Christ.  At that time I had set up and supervised the training.  I quickly spotted her giftedness and arranged for her to come onto the staff.

We already had a gifted children's evangelist in Alfred Lavender so initially Monica's work was focused on setting up clubs to follow up missions we had conducted.  These rapidly grew.  Later she took on more responsibility for the children's part in the short term missions around the UK.

In 1988 when I left Mission for Christ she was among others who quickly followed.  She shared my vision for encouraging and enabling churches to develop and sustain appropriate missional activity - in her case among children and their families.  This led to setting up what was known as Rural Sunrise.  When the branding was changed to Rural Mission Solutions, Monica continued to operate under our charity title of Sunrise Ministries.  One particular aspect in which she was a pioneer was in developing ministry and mission with and by children, and not just "to" children.  This proved vital in growing young disciples of Jesus.

In the forty years that we have worked together we occasionally hit difficult times but our friendship never failed and she has been a faithful friend and colleague.  It had been my joy to introduce her to Christian work in Obambo, Kenya.  She took this community on her heart and worked tirelessly to raise funds to put children through education and much more.  While I shall miss her, and many more around the world who met her will miss her very much, none will miss her more than her "family" in Obambo.

As the apostle Paul faced the end of his ministry and life he wrote to Timothy, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, .."

Details of funeral and thanksgiving services will be posted on the website.

Barry Osborne

What a Friend!

"I no longer call you servants... instead I have called you friends" (John 15:15)
 

I wonder whether the disciples to whom Jesus said these words realised just how amazing it is.  The one who was from the beginning and without whom nothing was made that has been made, the one who stills storms and feed multitudes with miraculous provision, calls us his friends.

There is a great hymn by James Small which celebrates this. "I've found a friend, oh such a friend, he loved me e'er I knew him.  He drew me with the cords of love, and thus he bound me to hi. And round my hear still closely twine those cords which naught can sever.  For I am his, and he is mine, for ever and for ever!"  Many other Christian hymns and songs, old and new also celebrate this extraordinary relationship.

I love the definition of a friend which says it is someone who knows your faults and loves you anyway. The majority of those who receive these emailed letters I would describe as friends, and hope that it would be reciprocated.  But of course there are different levels of friendship.  Good friendships exist because we are prepared to open up ourselves to them and because we give time to nurture that friendship and show that we care.

Sadly, during much of the first 25 years of ministry I was unable to develop friendships as I wished because of the nature of the organisation I then worked in.  This was also a factor in losing contact with good friends from school days.  But I have been doing my best to renew those links and to make myself a better friend to others

None of us can ever be as faithful a friend as Jesus is to us, but in what ways do we seek to nurture that friendship?  Do we spend enough time consciously experiencing his presence?  Do we start the day by enquiring whether he has plans for us to do together?  Are we careful not to offend him?  Do we stand up for him when others misuse his name?  Are we keen to introduce our best Friend to others that they might enjoy that friendship too?  Can  I really call him "my friend" if I fail to act as a good friend to him?

Changes in Trustees
Among my friends some serve as trustees of Sunrise Ministries which is the charity through which all my rural ministry is exercised. We have been well served by the Rev John Bradley for several years.  John is a friend going back many years to a time when we had the privilege of serving his church in Devon.  He is a Methodist Minister and has served in the UK and in the Ivory Coast.  More lately he worked as a staff member of Churches Together in England.  Despite having Multiple Sclerosis he has served the Lord energetically.  Declining health brought that phase of ministry to an end. His more recent health battle has been with cancer.  Sadly we have had to accept hisresignation from the Board but John continues to give us the benefit of his wisdom and experience as a consultant.  John writes good material including some witty stories and I hope to be able to pass on a link to these or publish them on our website.  Better still I hope to record him reading these.  We owe John (and consequently his family) a big thank you.

Gordon Banks is another good friend and this month joined the Board of Trustees.  Gordon and I have worked together on many occasions.  He is a Church Army Officer and has represented the CA within the Rural Evangelism Network.  He has also held diocesan posts in mission and evangelism for the Diocese of Truro, the Diocese of Chichester and is currently serving the Diocese of Lichfield.  Gordon also serves on the Committee of the Rural Evangelism Network.  He and I have shared in running rural mission consultations in the past and I value his particular perspective.  One of the approaches he developed when serving in the Diocese of Chichester was a way of planning mission and evangelism based upon seasons (climate, ecclesial and local).  This scheme been taken up and promoted by others.  Gordon and I plan to include a series of seasonal ideas for mission in the programme of Rural Mission Webinars.

Gordon joins Mr Chris Knott, Rev Jim Mullin, Rev Graham Wise, and Mr Tim Woodward.  Your prayers for our trustees will be appreciated.
 

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Prayers for Monica
Monica Cook is another special friend and we have worked together for around 40 years.  Most readers will be aware that it was discovered earlier this year that Monica has a brain tumour.  It is a particularly aggressive tumour and although she has had surgery and a course of radiotherapy it seems the tumour continues to invade Monica's brain.  Arrangements have been made for her to have live-in carers as she needs support for even basic matters.  Good friends from her church and other local Christians have networked together in supporting her.  Monica appreciates the love that has been shown and the many messages she has received.  Unable to manage emails and with limited ability to write the best means of contacting her is by phone.  However, she now tires quickly and conversations need to be kept brief.

A few days ago she was admitted to hospital with what turned out to be a pulmonary embolism (blood clot on her lungs).  She has also been found to have high levels of blood sugar.  As I write this Monica is still in hospital and her condition is being carefully monitored. While she has been pleased to have visitors she cannot manage more that a few moments of conversation.  News of her condition is updated regularly on the Rural Mission Solutions Website.  Please keep her in your prayers and pray also for all who are caring for her and for her brother and other relatives and close friends.
 

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Other Matters for Praise & Prayer

We give thanks for a useful trustees meeting last Monday and for my time in Northern Ireland Tuesday to Friday.I was in N.I. as a guest of the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland and as Convenor of the Congregational Federation's Inter-Church Board.  The NSPCI, which was holding its Annual Synod, is a relatively small denomination but they provided generous hospitality and the sense of real Christian fellowship was excellent.  The Synod concluded on Wednesday but I stayed a little longer to assist in discussion between the NSPCI and CF.  Before flying back on Friday I called into the offices of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland (wearing my rural mission hat) to follow up on work I have done before fore them in 2013.

Please pray for the Conference on Creating and Growing Discipleship in the Countryside which will be held this week at Swanwick, Derbyshire.  Unfortunately I am not free to attend but I hope this conference proves beneficial.

Sunday 14th - Yelvertoft Congregational Church (Northants)
Monday 15th - School Assembly, Lubenham, Leics.
Tuesday 16th - School Assembly - Yelvertoft (Northants); HMP Gartree in the afternoon.
Wednesday 17th - Speaking at the Anniversary Meeting of Crick URC (Northants)
Thursday 18th - Communion Service HMP Gartree; Bible Discussion at Yelvertoft

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Holy Spirit - Him or Her?
My piece about "Pentecost Myths?" a few weeks ago sparked off lively correspondence by email and on Facebook.  One or two picked up that I had referred to the Holy Spirit as him or her.  Someone asked if this was political correctness.  It certainly was not; it is theological reflection.  Since writing that piece there has been reports in the news regarding suggested changes to Anglican Liturgy, which makes me grateful that I have a non-liturgical tradition.  Of course God is not human and therefore we cannot suggest that he (or she) has gender in human terms.  The Hebrew concept was certainly of God as 'Father' and that is how Jesus prayed and Romans 8:15 talks of our being able to call God "Abba".  However, God made both man and woman in his image.  The Bible also attributes to God  characteristics usually thought of as feminine. The Hebrew word for Spirit is 'Ruach' which carries feminine gender.  I understand that this true also for Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus.  The Greek word for Spirit in the New Testament is neuter (i.e. neither masculine  nor feminine).

God is a mystery to the human mind and to try to define God or even describe God using concepts with which we are familiar will always prove inadequate.  There are a few more thoughts on one of my blogs.

Yours gladly in His service,

Barry

Where Do I Go to Cry?

Some years ago when I was carrying out some research about rural churches I heard a story regarding an Anglican church building in Devon that had been destroyed in a fire.  Apparently it was situated on a hill top some distance from the village.  To replace the medieval building a brand new modern church was erected within the community.  It was built on sloping land and the architects had cleverly used this to develop a split-level building.  They had also done something very creatively regarding natural lighting.  Apparently light enters through windows somewhere in the roof and in such a way that the whole building is bathed in light.

While this splendid building had much to commend it the one negative comment was that the abundance of light meant that there were no dark corners where someone might sit and weep.  I wonder whether this could be a metaphor for the church experience of others and it is that subject I wish to explore a little here.

In all our lives there are times when either our own circumstances, or that of others dear to us, bring deep sorrow.  But Britishness, which afflicts many, means keeping a stiff upper lip and keeping your sorrow private.  People from other cultures may not react the same way.  We will all have seen scenes on the television of people in the middle east and elsewhere where public displays of distress at times of sorrow are the norm.

My question is where do we go at those times of deepest sorrow and how does this relate to Christian fellowship?

It seems to me that there are two different church experiences that are unhelpful.  The first of these is where there is such an emphasis on triumph and joyfulness that to express sadness would almost seem sinful (too  much light and no dark corners).  The other is orderly church where any kind of emotionalism is not wanted.  But surely church, in the sense of a fellowship meeting, is just the place we should be able to go and weep.  Perhaps that already happens at your church but if not you might ask yourself what would happen if someone broke down and wept uncontrollably halfway through next Sunday's service?  Would it be ignored?  Would it be received sympathetically?  Would it be seen as unwelcome?  Would it need to be 'managed' to minimise the disturbance?

One of the most popular contemporary Christian songs is "As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs after God". It is a song that evokes worship and thankfulness, but which when we sing it we usually miss the pathos behind these words which come from Psalm 42.  While the psalm opens with these words they are expressed in the context of sorrow, if not great agony.  The psalmist goes on to say, "My tears have been my food day and night..."  Three times in the space of this short psalm the writer speaks of feeling downcast.  In verse seven it seems that the writer is describing waves of deep grief breaking over his soul.  It reminds me of Hannah who was in deep anguish at the temple such that Eli thought she was drunk (See 1 Samuel 1).

I don't suppose any of would want to go to church to have a miserable experience, but I hope that we would all want our church gathering to be a context where people can feel free to weep and be open about the depth of their experiences when going through life's storms.  How else can we truly "Mourn with those who mourn"?

A few years ago a Christian magazine ran an article entitled "The Sunday Lie In".  It pointed out that when we arrive at church and someone asks how we are, we feel obliged to say that everything is fine even when it is far from fine.  Why can't we not be honest in church about our feelings whether they are of joy or deep sadness?

Most regular readers of this blog will be aware that my very good friend and colleague of around forty years was diagnosed earlier in 2014 with an aggressive brain tumour.  Since that time she has remained amazingly positive, buoyed up by her faith.  Her attitude has been so positive that some medical professionals have wondered whether she had fully grasped the terminal nature of her condition.  But this has been a hard week for her.  Even as I write this I know that normally she would not want me to share that with you.  But the God who, as Jesus, wept alongside Martha and Mary at the graveside of their brother takes no pleasure in pretentiousness.

Perhaps the best test of the quality of Christian fellowship is when someone finds the courage to weep in our presence.  Please pray for my friend Monica and for others who face similar situations (you know who you are). Pray too for their Christian friends and church fellowships that we might be all that we should be a places where - if necessary - they can cry.  God is able.

Matters for Praise & Prayer
The trustees of Sunrise Ministries (incorporating Rural Mission Solutions) meet on Monday in London.  Please pray for wisdom.

On Tuesday I fly to Northern Ireland where I will be until Friday as a guest of the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church at their Annual Synod.  The NSPCI are a small denomination and in many ways have similar aspects to the Congregational Federation in which I am a minister.  One of my roles within CF is as Chair of Inter-Church Board that has been participating in discussions with the NSPCI.  We have had some precious times of Christian fellowship during these conversations.

The following week contains a Conference on Making and Growing Disciples in the Countryside, which I will have to miss because of other commitments.  Please pray for the conference organisers as they make final preparations for what I hope will be a very special event.

Please pray for my wife, Doreen who had a bad fall and cracked or broke some ribs not long ago.  The fall was probably the consequence of the condition of peripheral neuropathy that affects her balance and walking.  Please pray that she will be safe while I am away over the days of this coming week.

Give thanks for God's gracious provision that has enables us to do so much over the past month.  The 2014 Annual Report and Accounts for Sunrise Ministries comes to the trustees on Monday and will be available soon afterwards.  A small deficit is shown for 2014 but we are grateful for faithful friends and some supportive churches.

Yours gladly in His service,

Barry