Churchinwishaw's Blog

Looking Forward; looking back

Rab — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:01:25 +0000

Here I stand at the beginning of my fourth year in ministry and a wee voice at the back of my head says “naeb’dy said it wid be easy son”. There have been ups and downs on the mega rollercoaster scale – times when it’s all affected my family and me so much that I’ve just wanted to pack my bags and go home to Borrheid. There have also been days where the work I’ve done has lifted me up on the most euphoric high leaving me with an incredible sense of satisfaction that’s lasted for weeks. It’s not just these two extremes either; life ranges from one extreme to the other. In the last two weeks I’ve experienced both but at the end of 2011 it’s “my choice” to focus on the latter.
On Sunday morning as I sat in one of my churches surrounded by what must have been the highest attendance since my induction. My wife Anne was doing her rounds talking to people, my oldest daughter Rebecca whose recently joined the church was warming up with the praise band. The kids were preparing for the Nativity play and my middle daughter Hannah was in a Mary costume and Abigail, the youngest was an Angel; she’d knocked back boring old Mary in favour of wings and tinsel. There was a buzz all over the church – kids were running around everywhere, people were chatting. So engrossed in each other’s lives that for the first time ever in that church I had a little bother getting things started. People caring, people loving, people supporting one another and for the first time since I left Barrhead in 2008 I dared to think to myself “this is home now”.
This is the foundation of my ministry whatever form it will take. In 2012 we’ve got some stuff planned. Across the linked charge we will run our first holiday club since I arrived. We continue with our programme of monthly Sunday afternoon “Lifelink” services which are a series of informal services based on a particular theme – I think the only rooms in the building we haven’t used for these are the loos. Weekly care home services continue and both Berryhill Primary and Clyde Valley High School remain high in our list of priorities. Baby steps are what we’ve taken and are what we’ll continue to take. I haven’t filled a mega church but I’ve met and continue to meet on a daily basis new people. I’ve been allowed a glimpse of lives and in some instances they’ve had a glimpse of ours. People are beginning to come – that’s what the forward outlook is and that’s a blessing I can live with.

Christmas List – A List for Life

Rab — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:09:48 +0000

What a month! As a minister you expect things to get a little busy in December. The season of course places greater demands on your time as do many people in the congregation and community. You can certainly expect a few school assemblies, extra services of worship, maybe even the odd lunch or carol service. In a month like December 2011 we’ve also had a spate of severe weather warnings covering ice, snow and gales which have all restricted movements. Another very unfortunate aspect of this December has been a couple of congregational deaths which at any other time of year requires time and energy but at this time takes just that little bit more. When we pull all of this together pastoring and preaching does become much busier than at other times of the year and when it does and we’re still trying to find time to spend with our families something has to give.
This is where I become a little ashamed because the one I’ve marginalised in this busyness to make time for all the other stuff is God. I’ve managed to get to a place in my life this Advent where prayers have become rushed and bible study so superficial that as I do both my mind is always somewhere else. I thought about this yesterday and my solution is simple – I need a list. Not a wish list but a priority list. I know only too well that when you get the balance between God time, work time, rest time and family time right that things do go well. So what I’ve done is set my priorities for the season and life out on a sheet of paper and laminated it. My daily stuff, my weekly stuff and my monthly stuff and I provided tick boxes for the Lumocolor pen so that each day in the fog of ministry I know that there are important things I must do: talk to God, listen to God, talk to my wife, listen to my wife, communicate with others and listen to others. We cannot restore the balance on our own without God so there definitely exists a need to create that space for reflection and communication. I know better than this; I was trained to know better yet here I am struggling to give God a portion of my time. I have decided to make some changes to allow peace to reign in my life so that I may discern the path that I must walk. To be useful in my vocation that is not only necessary but critical.

Freedom?

Rab — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:08:08 +0000

In the UK we’re prone to ramble on about “freedom” but I suspect that this only applies to some of us. What you actually have is freedom to agree with the politically correct establishment. In recent years the church catholic in this country has been the recipient of this establishments latest onslaught. Our biblical orthodoxy stretching back over 2000 years to the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ is considered dated, without context, even oppressive and in extreme cases evil. As our own church reserves judgement and maintains silence over the issue of homosexuality within the clergy until the report of the special commission to the General assembly in 2011 the world continues to debate these issues without our input. I suppose this somewhat removes the issues from the fore of your daily living but I do have to commend Pope Benedict XVI for his criticism of this nations stance. At a time when people are afraid to be vocal about topics they believe to be true perhaps the church should be taking a lead. There are those who state that the church should have no involvement in politics but if politicians believe that then perhaps the state should extend the same courtesy to the church. Expressing his recognition of this nations commitment to equality the Pontiff said “the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed.” I say to this “well said”. Our religious freedom is much more critical than our civil liberties and temporal freedom. St Paul tells us “we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” The beliefs that dictate our morality, our lifestyle, our attitudes and where our hopes lie in this world and the next far outweigh the deliberations of any politician or humanist. So I take on board entirely what Pope Benedict has said and demand “where is our freedom?”

Free at Last

Rab — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:14:46 +0000

We’re finally above freezing again. As the snow and ice melts and the land drinks deeply from the release of all this fresh water there is a sense of release in all areas of our lives as the tension ebbs with the water. I watched a programme on the Discovery Channel recently that talked about the direction of the Mississippi River being changed in prehistory by a monumental thaw. The ice had formed a giant plug and when it melted millions of gallons of water burst through the breach and cut a new path which is now the St Lawrence River. Sometimes as the seasons change it can have a huge impact on the environment.

Change of season is no less dramatic in our own lives; we can have instances in which change causes a plug to melt and everything comes pouring out. When I was a younger man in the winter of my life I was so incredibly selfish. I believed there was a God but I never knew Him on any level, so consequently I didn’t do anything with any reference to God. I drank heavily and led quite a hedonistic lifestyle and this was all good, or so I thought. I was so selfish in my outlook that I honestly believed that God’s sole concern was MY happiness; other peoples pain never touched me and I didn’t care that much about things that I didn’t benefit from. I suppose my block of ice was my own heart.

Spring came in the form of the love of God; a love as intense as the heat from any furnace and my cold, hard heart didn’t stand a chance. With incredible and immediate life changing intensity the thaw set in. When I encountered this love I became aware of two things: firstly just what an awful self-serving person I’d been as God’s grace opened my eyes to this; and secondly how much my past didn’t matter as God’s love manifested itself in my life though the atoning sacrifice of Christ. I was forgiven.

The summer’s been long and good. There’s been ups and downs and I’m still learning every day. There have been many new opportunities to serve and to share my journey, a journey that began with a block of ice melting in the spring. Times change; things change but in my life the greatest change has been through the warmth and intensity of the love of God.

New Year; New Realisation

Rab — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:50:39 +0000

A happy New Year to everyone! It’s that time of commitment again in which we take stock of ourselves a little and decide how we’re going to get better in the year ahead. We dust off the exercise equipment we shoved in the attic last March; the new healthy eating regime is firmly attached to the fridge door with that magnet from the holidays and we begin to commit again to lapsed hobbies or take yet one more stab at completing that substancial piece of reading we’ve been at since before our hair turned grey. For most of us it’s a little predictable but always with the best of intentions. This doesn’t mean it’s not good to cover the same old ground again; if I’ve learned nothing else from experiencing the Grace of God in my life it’s just how fallible we actually are. In light of this it’s always good to rethink, revisit and walk the old road once again in our minds.

Since I began my own ministry I’ve never quite managed to cut the umbilical cord attaching me to Fullarton Church in Irvine where my probation was carried out. In October I met Neil, the minister, for a curry; those who know me well know how important curry is in my life, I don’t meet for a coffee, I meet for a curry. It’s not all about the food, some of my deepest theological debates have been over a plate of South Indian Garlic Chicken. Anyway, I digress, while chomping on the good stuff Neil recommended a book to me that I’m working through at the moment, “The Prodigal God” by Tim Keller. I mention it here because it’s a book that provoked a great deal of worn shoe leather walking roads again and looking at previous conclusions. It’s challenged me to look much more closely at my relationship with God and to try to get in step with His dance that’s already going on in the world. It basically looks at the parable of the Prodigal Son and by questioning not only the actions of the wayward son but also that of the dutiful son in light of the actions of a father who loves them both. If we thought we were like the ‘good’ son then it’s time to think again. It’s opened my eyes to the prospect of even our best endeavours having selfish motives. Scary stuff, so for the last few weeks of 2009 that’s what I’ve been thinking about. In light of all of this what’s my new years resolution? Simply this: “to do it all for God forever”. To try to breathe every breath for the honour of God, every word an act of praise and every deed a reflection of His love. I want to dance with God through eternity. That’s really what its all about!

White Christmas

Rab — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:31:25 +0000

Who wants a white Christmas? NOT ME!!! As the snow continues to fall the romantic notion of a white Christmas disipates and the harsh reality of logistical nightmares in sub-zero tempratures that confine us to the house takes hold we contemplate the need for such weather. I think that in doing so what we actually do is question the judgement of God and hold him accountable to our own standards. Each day I walk my dog through the woods along the lane at the back of the manse; in my time of doing this I’ve watched the trees and bankings on either side frame the seasons. In the spring life emerges from the ground and buds burst out on the branches of the trees as the cycle begins again. In the summer the foliage in thousands of shades of green presents itself in a canopy so dense that you barely get a glimmer of sunlight yet all around wild flowers litter the woodland floor. Some of it so tiny and so striking you imagine it painted by a miniature Monet. In the autumn the leaves fall to the ground ands seeds of all shapes and sizes are harvested by the multitude of life who habitate the woods. Rotting leaves becomes nutrition for the soil and then winter sets in. That’s where we are now; it’s a sort of nothing season, we describe spring, summer and autumn by what’s happening yet winter seems to be defined by lack of activity. Combine this with the fact that it’s cold and miserable and we ask “What was God thinking of when He created Winter?”

We need to remember the context of God and his loving Fatherhood. He gave us a Sabbath to regenerate ourselves; this was born of his grace and compassion. Winter is the sabbath of the land, it’s the lands time to rest and generate new strength for the new year. This isn’t born from God’s love of the land but His love for us. Out of His provision and genius we enjoy fresh food throughout our lives. As I look out my study window into the falling snow I need to change the way I view it. I’ll take a Sabbath to pray and reflect and to remember as God’s love regenerates the ground His love has also regenerated my life by the birth, life, ministry, death and ressurection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Get on board

Rab — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:48:56 +0000

It’s been very uplifting over the last few weeks as people have brought me things they’d like to try. It can drag you down a little when you spend a substancial proportion of your time trying to create and cast a vision that’s sole purpose is to hear the gospel preached in the community and these efforts are met with apathy. It is changing; people are beginning to stop mourning the historic patterns of ministry and embracing the new. The model of church we find in the book of Acts is a full participation church; a church where all the members play very active roles; we sometimes refer to this as the priesthood of all believers. I’ve recently convened the presbytery’s Vacancy Advisory Committee for a vacant church and this caused to me look closely at the trends of vacancies and the problems that occur as available ministers’ decline. Team ministry seems to be the way ahead so we’re lucky to be a congregation with the opportunity to be a trailblazer in this field. All of us have the opportunity to stand on the brink of something new together; to cast a vision, embrace it and see it through to its conclusion. These are indeed new and exciting times. I’ve always felt this but now others are getting on board. I left industry to help people hear the gospel that changed me; now others in the congregations want to share their life changing encounter with the world. This isn’t just for an educated clergy, Jesus wants us all to play a part. Keep the ideas coming; think outside the box, nothing is insane in the battle for souls. If a massive effort using all our resources brings one soul to the kingdom then that truly has been a worthwhile effort. Let’s get on board; let’s get together; let’s pray and encourage. Jesus wants us all.

Forgive me

Rab — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:05:10 +0000

Sometimes we’re confronted by things that we just can’t ignore. Recently there has been such a thing in my life, something that I can’t shake off and I’m being prompted to action. There have been occassions recently in which I’ve encountered prisoners at funerals. I suppose the immediate reaction is shock as we don’t expect to meet “bad” men in the course of our lives. How bad are these men? As someone who feels he’s been forgiven much I’m inclined to lean towards being charitable so I did something about it. I visited a prison and while I was there I had a conversation with a murderer. There was no sense of being in the presence of evil; this was a man with a family who through an unfortunate series of events found himself convicted of murder. He expresses remorse at what happened so I’m inclined to believe he deserve forgiveness.

If I’m brutally honest I can see a time in my own life in which I could have been caught up in such circumstances. If we all looked really deeply into our own hearts I’m pretty sure we’d see things we didn’t like; things we’d wish no-one to know about us. As Christ hung on that cross, himself a victim of our crueltyhis plea was that God should forgive us.

I’ve resolved to walk a path of support and reconciliation. People in prisons have families so there are children without fathers or mothers; wives without husbands; mothers without children. When things go bad in their lives the family situation is compounded by the custodial sentence. Imagine your child in hospital in a serious condition and you can’t get there to hold their hand. We’re called to compassion, to love and to care. I would not want cruelty done in my name so I feel a need to be a part of a solution. How can the church act between prisoners and their families in a meaningful way? This is the question I’m dealing with, this is the action I’ve been prompted to take.

If we desire forgiveness for ourselves we need to be willing to forgive. Christ did. Can I? Can you?

Good Days

Rab — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:12:56 +0000

Some days it’s just a big uphill struggle from breakfast to bedtime. Other days like today just keep on getting better as it progresses. This morning was “Back to Church Sunday” and we’d done the groundwork, we’d written the letters, we’d tried to talk to people, we’d sent out elders to visit and I done some visiting myself. I went to church half expecting that no-one would come back but there was six, then I heard there were six at another local church and seven at the partner in our linkage. Then I thought, what if this trend is repeated across the presbytery or even across the church. Six people on their own isn’t much but 84 (the number of congregations in Hamilton Presbytery) times six or 1464 (the number of congregations in the statisical return for December 2008) times six these are huge numbers.

We had a family communion this afternoon at the Old Parish. It was to explain and introduce communion to the young people of the congregation. It ran away from us. 45 adults and young folk attended; it evolved into a lunch between morning worship and the communion. We had to fill extra glasses and find more bread. It exceeded our expectations. Everyone enjoyed themselves.

Then there was a wedding rehearsal. It was another situation filled with hope and surrounded by joy. Ever had a day when you just didn’t want to leave the church building; they don’t come that often. A day when one thing after another has uplifted you and raised your expectations. The joy of ministry does not come from committee meetings, it does not come from paperwork or planning. The pleasure is in relationships. Relationship with God and relationship with people. If I write amazing sermons and no-one hears them then what’s the point. Jesus met people where they were and built relationships with them and the church grew. My best days are days like today when I’ve been with people, days when we’ve built on relationships and grown the church a little. I’ve been a soldier, a builder and a student but in all of these I’ve never had days like today. Days when it all feels right, days when you are truly in communion with God and with people. It makes you sure; it makes you truly want to trust God with your family, your future, your congregation and your whole life. It’s all about bringing people to the space where God dwells and basking in His light and soaking in His blessing. God loves us!!!

It’s Good to Talk.

Rab — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:06:19 +0000

On Sunday morning after worship I grabbed a seat in the small hall of the church. I always feel a little drained after leading worship and I need that moment to pull it all together again. There’s always great melee of people and a lot going on at that time; if you can just catch 6 or 7 people on a Sunday morning it can save a whole afternoon or evening during the week when everyone’s scurried off to their own homes. I try to just sit and listen; it helps me get my finger on the pulse of congregational life.

During this moment I was approached by a member who began to tell me how she was getting better; she clearly thought I knew she’d been unwell but I had no idea. She had been in hospital for a substancial period of time with a fairly serious condition, well I was a little taken aback. I don’t believe she was chastising me for not visiting, nor do I believe that this valuable bit of information was kept from me deliberately but it had been missed. There I sat in the midst of all this Sunday morning communication realising that a big bit of communication had slipped through the net.

I love the story in John’s gospel when Jesus sat by Jacob’s Well with the Samaritan woman. Jesus knew everything about her, He knew her life story, He knew her situation and He knew her needs. He had real insight and He understood everything that was going on before she did herself. There’s a gift that would make ministry easy, to have that sense of what’s going on and just know what action had to be taken. I’m not that perfect, I’m not divine; in fact I’m broken and human. So when I sit in that melee on a Sunday morning sometimes I hear the wrong things, sometimes I don’t hear at all and then I just don’t know how to respond or even what to respond to.

It’s far better to be told the important things 100 times than to miss them because everyone thinks that someone else has told you. Christ taught us you can never love too much and there is no boundry to be placed on the care born from that love. That’s why he spent time with the Samaritan woman, that’s why I know who’ll be at the top of my visiting list this week. TV advertising is not a place I generally look for inspiration but I do remember the words of the old BT advert: “it’s good to talk”!!