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Waymarks on the journey Roy wrote these articles initially as a weekly contribution to the Baptist Times, during his year as President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. He enjoyed writing them so much that he's decided to continue! So they might not be weekly, but they will drop in here as they become available... |
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20th April 2006 No 51 Many and varied are the memories of the Presidency; predominantly good, a few if not bad, then poor, and thankfully only a couple of ugly! I’ve been to places that I never imagined, found myself in conversations with people from all walks of life and met more nationalities in one year than my previous forty eight years. I’ve been heartened by peoples' welcome and their responses to the simple things that I’ve sought to be and do. I draw to the end of my presidency with a deep sense of privilege of having served our Baptist family and an appreciation that I have been, in the words of one of our Northumbria Community liturgies, in the right seat, with the fitting task and with a willing heart. I conclude my serving with valuable insights, many encouragements and a perspective on our denomination together with some concerns about the issues that we must face as we journey on into the future with all its challenges and opportunities. Being President affords an opportunity to pray, observe, listen, relate, represent, discern and that issue that we sometimes struggle with, lead from a different perspective to anyone else. I welcome Council’s decision to revisit and review the ministry that a President can offer. I have just spent five days with the North West Baptist Association which included preaching at an ordination, two churches, guiding people on a retreat, meeting leaders and leading a walking pilgrimage around Tarn Hows in the Lake District. It was all good and great to be back at Hawkshead Hill and to see the emerging fruit of years of preparation, prayer, perseverance and hard work on behalf of those who now see the chapel realising a new sphere of life and ministry with its retreat facilities and ministry to locals and pilgrims alike. I then travelled to Burnley where I was the after dinner speaker at the Football Club. I reflected on my teenage aspirations to become a professional footballer. How life would have been so different had Huddersfield Town offered me a contract, [they may have stayed in the First Division!]. However when I got up and shared about my life and the story that God has woven, I wouldn’t have swapped it for the world. There is no greater honour than being a servant of Jesus Christ and the joy and awe of being caught up in making some small contribution to the kingdom of God is a treasure no money can buy and a privilege no team or status could confer. |
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13th April 2006 No 50 I can hardly believe that the year has passed so quickly. Seventy per cent of my time has been taken up on presidential duties and I am indebted to the Northumbria Community for releasing, supporting, praying and continuing to pay me throughout my term in Office. I love Easter not only because it reminds us of the centrality of Christ, his death and resurrection but because it evokes memories of my own coming to faith back in 1974. From an unchurched background, the call of Christ to follow him and become his disciple began in the Cairngorms of Scotland. A call that has transformed my life. I trust you will enjoy Easter wherever your heart and home lies and that across our denomination the risen Christ will be worshipped and the Easter acclamation ‘Christ is risen, He is risen indeed’ may be heralded across the globe. |
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6th April 2006 No 49 I enjoy listening to people and am fascinated by dialects. Listening to people, often, I confess to overhearing conversations, I try to guess where folk come from. e.g. was that waitress from Eastern Europe and if so which country? Okay so she came from Barnsley! I am also interested by the language adopted and spoken in churches, fellowship groups, clergy gatherings, associations, assemblies and councils. There’s a language which is easily learnt by some worship leaders and preachers. It’s as though many of them have been to a religious language summer school or got the first set of tapes on how to use jargon in leading worship. Language that doesn’t make much sense or worse doesn’t flow naturally out of the experience of either the speaker or those whom they are leading. Having been almost exclusively in the company of Christians for over a week recently I was then plunged into a very different context in a secular, public sector business environment leading a two day seminar and workshop programme looking at issues of motivations, values and relationships in the workplace. If I had adopted the language that permeated the “church culture” they simply wouldn’t have understood even if they had given me the opportunity to talk to them as business managers. In the workshops I led I just wouldn’t have been listened to. Isn’t that what Jesus did? He didn’t confine himself to any religious domain, subculture or ecclesiastical cul-de-sac but lived and shared in such a way as “the ordinary people heard him gladly”. I think we might need to do a little bit more work in how we speak and relate to a culture beyond the church in order for the ordinary people to hear us gladly. |
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30th March 2006 No 48 Inside every older person is a younger person – wondering what on earth happened. That’s me! I do however enjoy the company of young people. I find them challenging and encouraging. It was heartening to see so many of them in the Irish churches I visited recently. By contrast for much of my presidency I have sensed their absence. Earlier in the month I preached in a large Baptist church but counted only a couple of dozen young adults in the congregation. At the Baptist Men’s Movement Conference, which I was privileged to attend recently I was definitely one of the youngsters and at our Baptist Union Council last week there were not too many of us below the age of fifty. |
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23rd March 2006 No 47 I love Ireland; the land, its people and the influence it’s played in my own and the Northumbria Community’s faith journey. So to have spent last week there was both a delight and joy. There are few privileges greater in life than seeing your own children loving God and following Christ. I have had the joy now of baptising all four of our children and was thrilled, honoured and thankful for the pleasure of baptising my eldest son, daughter-in law and her brother on St. Patrick’s Day. Our other three children had been baptised on Holy Island on the Northumbrian coast but the lake at Ballydugan in Ireland last week was as cold as the North Sea in the depths of winter! A welcoming fire and a ceildeh with friends in a warm Irish home soon removed any chill and we left with only blessed memories of a wonderful day. Ireland has been a place of warm welcomes, deep friendships and an expression of hospitality, care and commitment that reflects God’s values and evokes deep appreciation. Last week was no exception and it made me again appreciate the simple God given gifts that money can’t buy but which can make life so enriching and wonderful. These simple joys are holy. Value them, treasure them, appreciate them and enjoy them, both in giving and receiving. |
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16th March 2006 No 46 I was speaking and leading the worship at the Mission 21 Church Planting Conference in Sheffield. It was a fascinating privilege of leading and exposing delegates to Northumbrian worship, many of whom by their comments and responses to the conference Evaluation Forms were really being moved and influenced by something that was not their usual style. Drawing inspiration from the Celtic Saints who were part of a major missional movement back in the 5th to the 8th century which transformed and shaped European culture, planting thousands of churches and establishing communities throughout the Continent, it was interesting to remember that their contribution came from the margins of the church. Looking at the margins is a valuable exercise today. During my Presidency some of the most significant, innovative and encouraging things that I’ve been privileged to witness, participate in and serve have been on the margins of our denomination. Two moments at the conference help illustrate this: Firstly, when Kate Coleman, our Vice President, took the microphone at the start of a session and tried to get people’s attention it was a difficult task before folk eventually listened to what she had to say. It spoke, almost prophetically to me, that we need, at times to stop what we’re doing and to listen to the voices that we are not used to hearing. Similarly when Juliet Kilpin spoke about the vulnerability and fragility of planting a church in a tough urban environment, there was something important to be heard amidst the bold claims and ambitious targets and presentations of “success”. Through what she shared there was the realisation that there are different paradigms for evaluating growth in Kingdom of God terms. It’s also important to hear and respond to these voices, e.g. from the Black Majority churches, our Younger Leaders Forum, from the urban heartlands and from the geographically and socially marginalised, for in them we may hear God’s heart for today. Listening to the Margins has also to be more than tokenism. Otherwise we will miss out on the significance of the movement of God’s spirit. I also spoke to Peter Nielson who was responsible for the ‘Church Without Walls’ report which was presented to the Church of Scotland in 1999 and which has had a major impact on the denomination since. His salient comments in a Talking Heads video interview which will be shared with the Baptist Union Council next week spoke about how the work of God on the margins has had a transforming impact upon the centre and mainstream and has significantly moved the denomination forward into a new era missionally. Yours, as I travel from Northumbria to Ireland - two marginal but significant places. |
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9th March 2006 No 45 I recently attended a Reception which celebrated the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Accord. The occasion was organised by Novi Most International, a Christian charity working to invest in the generation of young people who were adversely affected by the atrocities, including ethnic cleansing, of the war in 1992-95. The charity is seeking to turn Bosnia into a Good News story and there was much cause for celebration and thanksgiving for the signs of that vision being realised in the hearts of Bosnians, some of whom had been flown over to Britain to share with us. As I listened to their stories it struck me that the real heroes who will facilitate significant and lasting change in a divided world are those who have found in God the ability to forgive their enemies and be reconciled with those who have caused their suffering. People who have embraced Jesus command that we are to love our enemies and to forgive those who have sinned against us. I have been watching the television programmes ‘Facing the Truth’, which involved a few of the people effected by the Troubles in Northern Ireland. They were brought together to meet their ‘adversaries’ face to face in the presence of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and two other reconciliation facilitators. I found watching the programme both harrowing and heartening. Observing victims and perpetrators as they shared their stories and listened to one another I sensed that I was invading holy ground. As Tutu himself described, “where it was like something divine had intervened”. I remember the words of Gee Walker the mother of Andrew, who was brutally murdered in a racist attack; At the point of death, Jesus said: “I forgive them, they don't know what they do.” I’ve got to forgive them – I still forgive them. My family and I still stand by what we believe – forgiveness.” Also the brother of one of the 9/11 victims, who declared that, the only way to move on in life is to lay aside hatred and blame. Atrocities such as those committed in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, America, Iraq and on our streets call for retribution. The call for vengeance goes out but forgiveness is the key to healing and a way a forward to lasting peace, reconciliation, justice and transformation. Values and attributes unattainable but for the grace and enabling power of God. |
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2nd March 2006 No 44 I enjoyed the rarity of ministering locally last weekend. From hamlets, remote farms, villages and Border towns, Christians of all denominations and none gathered together to worship God and explore what church is in a changing rural culture. The humility, openness and preparedness to face up to the challenging realities facing the church in a rural area were heartening. I came away from our time together with a real sense that in the questioning and the exploring some renewed, re-imagined or new ways of being church were being discovered. Humility, a dependency upon God and a willingness to both learn and unlearn and let go are healthy signs, not just for the Scottish Borders and Northumbria but for all of us. I then spent some time at Shoreditch working with a film crew and hearing something of the remarkable story of the church’s remarkable ministry and vision for the creation of an urban village with the fellowship integral to the community’s life and work. Another Home Mission supported church, making a difference, led by Sarah, one of our Baptist ministers. The next day was spent relaxing and writing in London before I delivered a lecture at All Nations College. There I met believers from many parts of the world all of whom carried a heart to reach out with the good news of Jesus to their own and other lands and cultures. The same evening I was at St. James’ Palace in London, meeting and hearing the stories of young people from Bosnia Herzegovina. I marvelled at the commitment of Christians from Britain and other parts of Europe, many of them under 30 years of age, who are working to alleviate the scars borne by those who suffered as a result of the terrible atrocities, including ethnic cleansing, during the war from 1992-5. It does me good to be among people whose love of God compels them to serve others in mission. Shirley and I went to a missionary Bible college, a deliberate decision on our part. The values and commitment to mission locally and globally that we gained from our college training have informed our lives and ministry since. |
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23rd February 2006 No 43 We weren’t sure whether to be alarmed or amused but concluded that it was better to burst into laughter than worry unduly at this stage. With our children away, Shirley and I realised that we had just spent an afternoon going on a ‘little drive out in the country’. We consoled ourselves by the fact that we had driven past garden centres and didn’t stop anywhere for afternoon tea! We also comforted ourselves with the thought of having an Indian meal out but it was only 5 o’ clock and with football on the television that evening we decided to return home and relax over a glass of wine. I watched Middlesbrough triumph again! (See last week’s Waymarks) whilst Shirley enjoyed John Le Carre’s, ‘The Constant Gardener’. We love living in Northumberland and appreciate being so near to the Scottish Borders, which I think is one of the most beautiful regions of Britain. Its beautiful and changing landscape of rolling hills and valleys, forests and rivers, lochs, waterfalls, rich farmland and spectacular coastline. For everything there is a season and it’s good to be reminded that whilst the clock is a key component in the operating systems of modern culture, shaping, governing and determining much of our lives, in the Created order, there is beauty and wisdom in natural time. It’s good to be reminded that there is value in drawing from the rhythms of God’s creation which give perspective to life and reminds us, as Gandhi stated, that there is more to life than increasing its speed. It amuses and sometimes concerns me when people imply that to be busy is a virtue. Often it can be avoidance of deeper more important issues or relationships. Of course there is a time to be busy but also a time to rest, a time to be quick and a time to be slow, a time to be active and a time to do nothing, a time to run up mountains and a time to drive around them. |
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16th February 2006 No 42 Being a Middlesbrough supporter I am concerned that we are having a poor season. It so resembles some fellowships when the church goes through a bad season. People fall out with the pastor when things don’t go as either planned or hoped for. The ensuing discontent, hurt, accusations, criticisms and frustrations are evidenced and people withdraw their support, stop coming or move onto to find a better ‘club’. Whatever the reasons for Middlesbrough’s current struggle, a good manager doesn’t become a bad manager simply when their team goes through a bad patch. It may reveal weaknesses but recrimination, fall-out, anger and failure to support both manager and team makes little contribution to the solving of problems and turning the club round. Likewise good leaders don’t become bad leaders when the church goes through periods of seemingly little growth. The expectations and pressures, many of them idealistic and naïve, place many pastors and other church leaders under a huge unrealistic burden to “deliver the goods”. I am not minimising the essential components of godly character and quality competence that should be evident in a church leader’s life. However we must not succumb to the consumer mentality that will do little for any leader and produce an unwanted spirit and attitude within the church that grieves the Holy Spirit and is alien to the values of the kingdom of God. When things go wrong there is need for sober reflection, prayerful discernment and wise decisions but these must be done in the context of covenanted relationships. |
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| 9th February 2006No 41 There’s nothing like a warm welcome. Sometimes I have travelled back home very late, occasionally arriving in the early hours and with the rest of the family well ensconced in their beds and fast asleep, it is left to our Border Terrier, Geordie, to wake up and greet me with his wagging tail, appreciative looks and obvious pleasure at my arrival. Some churches need to get a dog or at least embrace the attitude of our Geordie. Whilst the majority I have visited have been welcoming, a few of them have been about as warm as a butcher’s fridge. Like the time I entered a church to be met by what I assume were meant to be stewards but who with their suspicious looks reminded me of the old movies depicting SS officers and whose interrogation methods led me to find my own way nervously to sit in the church pew until I received further instruction. I was then greeted with a measure of disbelief that I could possibly be the President of the Baptist Union. It was the questioning of my dress code, (which I had taken great care of and which had passed the benchmark test of my wife and younger daughter).By the grace of God the next hour was not as bad as I feared and by the comments post-service I had not been as bad as some in the church had feared! I have to say, however, that were it not for a sense of responsibility I would have left before any service commenced. Thankfully, far more positive experiences could be shared. To welcome is to gladly or hospitably receive another. It’s an act of greeting and begins in the heart before it finds expression in the home or the church entrance. To welcome someone is to honour, respect and make them feel at home which can be done in many ways. I’m not advocating the kind of welcome that is suffocating, where the tentative and apprehensive are overwhelmed by an over exuberant and insensitive approach, but better the warm and enthusiastic, than the cold indifference and disregard. Let’s be a Baptist family who truly express our core value as an inclusive community and welcome one another and a stranger in our midst. |
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Thursday 2nd February 2006 No 40 I was thankful that last year’s Home Mission target was reached. It is an encouragement to the recipients of Home Mission support and to those who have wisely set some realistically targets. I have advocated and encouraged ownership and support of Home Mission through my Presidency and in writing the Home Mission booklet, To love God and Live Generously I am delighted by the response of individuals, churches and associations. Generosity makes a difference. Through the giving and releasing of funds, lives are changed, churches are planted or renewed and aspects of our society are touched and transformed. |
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25th January 2006 No 39 There’s something good about eating together. In sharing, relaxing and serving, conversation and laughter flows and relationships are deepened. Whether it is a special occasion or in the ordinary and everyday meals, the sacrament of being and eating together should be treasured and honoured. I remember the time when we were enjoying a meal in Normandy. I got into conversation with one of the French waiters, who observing our obvious enjoyment of the food, wine and one another’s company commented on how we in Britain had swapped the dining table for the settee and television. Truth sometimes hurts! French meal times are often more relaxed and people eat together around the same table and not only have a greater appreciation of food and conversation but by so doing deepen relationships. My loathing of TV dinners is surely justified. It concerns me that too few families ever sit and eat a meal together on any regular basis. I have continued to appreciate that it is round the meal table that we as a family have gathered and sometimes its been the only period in the day when we have all been together, which is in itself, a precious gift and a relationship builder. Of course the sacrament of a meal can find expression in other contexts. Last night, Shirley and I enjoyed a really good evening with two other Companions of the Northumbria Community which reminded us that we are not just colleagues but close friends. I caught up with six friends in the Midlands last week and it was terrific to spend a couple of hours together over a meal, catching up, sharing our stories, airing our concerns, hearing some of the heartaches, laughing till we cried. I have also enjoyed recently a meal with the L’Arche Community in Lambeth; a breakfast with students from Spurgeon’s College; a cup of coffee and Christmas cake with two of my children as I passed through Oxford, drinking wine and eating the best dates I have ever tasted with Community Companions in Holland, sharing communion at church and sitting round the large dining table at Nether Springs where a simple lunch concluded our Staff Formation and Information morning together. The table where humour abounds, any religious pretension of pomposity is quickly dispelled, where relationships are valued and companionship strengthened. Thank God for the sacrament of the meal table. |
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18th January 2006 No 38 Memories of a Good Person I attended the funeral of my former College Principle’s wife in Berwick recently. Words during the eulogy, Together with her husband David they lived godly and sacrificial lives evoked thankfulness, admiration and challenge. They possessed very little material wealth and whatever they had was used to bless others. I remember being surprised to think that their summer holidays were spent in a caravan fifteen miles from where they lived. It was however typical of them and revealed a contented attitude to life that was able to derive pleasure in simple, unspectacular things. Sitting loose to material comforts they evidenced a freedom that allowed them to focus on the kingdom of God above all else. Having lived and worked as medical missionaries and later theological lecturers in Guyana, South America, India and South Africa among the poor they had a healthy perspective on the lures and compulsions that come with Western consumerism that was challenging in the 1970’s and is an even more relevant critique of life in 21st Century Britain. As a couple they played a significant role as a ‘father and mother in Christ’ to my wife and I and to hundreds of other students who passed through the Bible College under their leadership. Attending the funeral service caused me to be profoundly grateful to God for their godly lives and mentoring. Their love of God, passion for people and, something that perhaps isn’t always as evident today, a deep love for “the lost” was a remarkable characteristic. With no element of showmanship or feigned emotion when David preached or shared about those who didn’t know Christ, tears would well up in his eyes. He was so profoundly captured by the love of Christ, a love that motivated his own life and relationship to those who were lost. He taught me among many things not to major on the minors, words of wisdom that have prevented me and hopefully those whom I’ve served and worked with from pettiness, minutia and a pedantic spirit that wins arguments but damages people in the process. Let’s thank God for those whom we can look back on and thank Him for their influence on our lives and who remain, even after their death, an inspiration. The memories of a good person are a blessing indeed |
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| 12th January 2006 No 37 The God of Surprises I have returned to work after a fabulous Christmas and New Year break, celebrating the festivals and enjoying quality time with family and friends. The only issues that clouded our enjoyment was the awareness of those for whom the season was endured rather than enjoyed, for those who faced Christmas with the unfamiliar and unbidden loss of loved ones, or people who are suffering, like the families of those held hostage in Iraq. Within the first week back at work I have attended a funeral, made a trip to Holland, enjoyed a meal with the L’Arche Community and a day at Spurgeon’s. The family gathering holiday we were altogether, sledging in the hills, building an enormous snowman, eating, drinking and playing party games, walking the beach at Bamburgh and climbing Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, watching The Chronicles of Narnia and driving on packed snow and ice, all seem a long time ago now. However they remain great memories and cause for thankfulness. On the last night of our holiday we went to Cromer for a New Year’s Day firework display. We have celebrated Hogmanay in Edinburgh on many occasions and together with some excellent firework displays in Newcastle, Belfast, Lands End, France on Bastille Day and our children having returned that morning at 5.30 from a party in Westminster where they witnessed a fantastic firework display by the River Thames including the London Eye, my enthusiasm for standing on the cliffs by the Norfolk coast was not great. What a surprise we were in for! They were fabulous. We witnessed a remarkable display lighting up the night sky and thrilling the watching crowds. I wouldn’t have anticipated or expected it to be so good. Reflecting on this experience it made me think about how limited our expectations sometimes are which can often blight us from seeing signs of the kingdom in unexpected ways, places and people. As we move into this New Year, may we all be open to the God of surprises and be thrilled and encouraged not just for a few moments of admiration and excitement but for a significant period in our lives, ministries and mission individually, in our churches, associations, denominations and beyond. May the God of awe and wonder, surprise and grace, fill you with his peace and broaden our openness to seeing him at work in unfamiliar ways. |
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29th December No 36 I gave up making New Year’s resolutions a few years ago. Most of them condemned me when I failed to fulfil them. My attempts to read the whole of the Bible in a year left me a complete failure by the middle of January when I had eighteen chapters of Chronicles, several Minor Prophets and two of Paul’s epistles to catch-up on! Likewise bold vision statements have evaporated not through lack of zeal or commitment but through some reflected realism and my need of a rooted spirituality that delivers me from false aspirations or expectations. I am also pretty weary and a little cynical of some ‘visions’ and anything that purports to inspire and ignite but often deflates and tires, which in turn leads to false guilt and disappointment. It is values that count. Things that money can’t buy and strategies can’t devise Looking back on 2005 some of the most heartening things I have witnessed are where values have been embraced and expressed. For example, just before Christmas Shirley and I went to Portrack for their Candlelit Carol Service. Back in the 1980’s we were privileged to be involved in planting the gospel there out of which formed a new church and with it came values that have shaped individuals lives, the fellowship and community since. Some people have come and gone, others remain, the buildings have changed beyond recognition and the ministry and mission of the church has developed numerous expressions but the essence, the values that speak of God and his kingdom remain. Terrific! As we enter a new year with all the challenges and opportunities it will present, I pray that alone and together we may take a good look at the values that govern our lives in our hearts, homes, lifestyles, churches, denomination, communities and the world. |
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22nd December 2005 No 35 My enthusiasm for church building projects is distinctly lacking. However, a recent visit to Ashford in Kent has helped me for once to get excited about a building project. Not that the building (impressive as it is) is really the important thing. It is simply a facility that allows an incredible work in a local community to take place. I was privileged and delighted on behalf of the Baptist Union to officially open the Willows Centre in South Ashford and to handover the official plaque commemorating a partnership between the church and various agencies funded under the Government’s Sure Start programme. It has to be seen and experienced to be believed. A small Home Mission church with a heart for a desperately needy area of Ashford and its residents has pioneered and established an initiative which employs over fifty people and relates to hundreds of people each week. It’s an initiative that is already making a difference to the lives of children, young people and their families. A committed and dedicated church prepared to take risks for the sake of the gospel who have had the courage and perseverance to create such a centre, winning the hearts and minds of their local community, authorities and the approval and support of government. An amazing story Home Mission story and a real sign of the kingdom of God, an example of a church without walls reaching out with the love and compassion of Christ among the poor and marginalised. The same day, I was taken to another Home Mission funded church that in six years has risen from the ashes of a sad and damaging episode in its previous chapter in the history of the church to become a renewed people of God, restored and restoring the lives of a village community in which it is called to serve. With grace and gentle enthusiasm allied to good leadership and a strong sense of good covenant relationships a rural village church having the courage to think not of its survival but its ministry to those beyond the church evidences another sign of the kingdom. Oh and by the way, they have revamped their buildings to serve the growing ministry and mission of the church. |
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15th December 2005 No 34 The knowledge that so little has been realised in the fight for trade justice, debt cancellation and better aid caused me to walk out of a shopping centre last week. The sight of thousands of people handing over cash or credit cards for consumer goods that neither I nor they really need saddened me given the plight of the world’s poor. How much money will pass through the tills on presents bought, the majority of which I suggest, will only enhance or thrill their recipients for a moment. Imagine the same amount being spent to alleviate poverty, disease and bring healing, help and transformation to the lives of those in the world that lack the most basic necessities of food, clean water and adequate housing. I am concerned and sickened by our driven culture that asserts its right to have and anaesthetises its compulsions, addictions and inordinate desires by shopping, owning and possessing which blinds people to the realities of a world in need. As I looked at the queues standing at the tills, my thoughts went to other queues, where people stand for hours desperately hoping for a food hand out, a blankets or some medical attention that could make a difference between life and death. As my eyes were drawn to the latest sale inducing consumers to purchase a leather suite I thought of the three million people who would be perishing cold, hungry and homeless in the earthquake ravaged Kashmir region of Pakistan. It’s probably too late as people may have done their shopping but if it is still possible lets pray and seriously think about how and where our money is going to be spent this Christmas. There are some wonderful and, if we need it exciting, ways of giving that directly benefit people. For example, our own Home Mission and Baptist Missionary Society, together with Christian Aid, Spurgeon’s Child Care and many other charities working to alleviate poverty, homelessness and disease. I know someone who was given an expensive piece of jewellery as a Christmas present a couple of yeas ago. A visiting African pastor at their church admired its glittering jewels but breaking social protocol went on to say that what was spent on the item would have paid for a nurse, supplied a pharmacy and provided a school teacher for three years in their Mozambique community. It’s a story that makes you think. Make a difference in your own and others lives this Christmas. |
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8th December 2005 No 33 It’s that time of year when your nose runs from being exposed to the chill winds and your feet crunch on frost laden paths and fields and the hedgerows are teeming with red berries. The days have drawn in, darkness covers the land and the earth goes silent, waiting for the promise for Spring but living with both the anticipation and threat of all that Winter may yet bring. I really love the changing seasons. They help me to appreciate life’s rhythms; Summer and Winter and Springtime and Harvest, each one full of promise, provision and pleasure. I also value the seasons in the liturgical calendar. From my earliest days in ministry I have observed Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost, each season providing the opportunity to prepare, focus and celebrate some of the great truths in the Christian story. I have also appreciated the Ordinary Days in the church’s calendar. Woody Allen’s phrase that’ ninety percent of life’ is just showing up is very apt. There’s a place for feasts and special events but thank God for ordinary times. As we lit the first candle on our Advent wreath I was mindful of the God who comes to us in the midst of ordinary life and who touches our humanity. The good news of great joy which will be for all people announced by the angels was not about entertaining or enhancing peoples’ lives but transforming them. My prayer is that through this Advent season the lives of ordinary people, particularly those on the outside or on the margins of the church and society might hear and see in the Christmas story the wonder, mystery and love of a God who comes to us. A God who comes to working class blokes, seekers, young men and women, those fleeing for their lives, the stranger and refugee and also to those who would never have imagined such a thing. For in his coming is the hope of transformation, healing and peace. Do enjoy Advent. May you not be overwhelmed by its frenetic busyness, pressure and consumerism. Rather let it be a season of waiting, wondering, reflecting, sharing and celebrating and may its impact reach way beyond our own lives, churches and communities. May the coming of God into the world bring joy to you and all people. |
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1st December 2005 No 32 In the last few weeks I have been in several meetings. Meetings with MP’s, Council, trustees, committees, leadership teams, church, charities and consultancy events, each one addressing issues of governance and in Church contexts, how we endeavour to seek the mind of Christ. After some of them I am left remembering one of my school reports - ‘could do better’. In some meetings waiting upon God was replaced by a cacophony of words, the will of the majority was carried through cajoling and control, with little evidence of covenant relationships. There were arenas of combative power-plays, where the strongest sometimes most eloquent and persuasive voice dominates and frustration, discord, unrest, hurt and a lack of self awareness prevails and the necessary disciplines of accountability give way to lack of trust and suspicion. Debate, argument, constructive criticism, passionate speech and persuasive argument have their place, particularly in a debating chamber, but there are other ways of discerning the will of God. Although couched in the context of prayer and worship songs, sanctifying such meetings isn’t guaranteed. It’s a bit like the church football league I once played in where to maintain a good Christian witness both teams lined up and prayed to the God of heaven before the kick-off then kicked ‘hell’ out of each other a few minutes later! Thankfully I have witnessed and participated in many more positive experiences of discerning the mind of Christ. Situations where companionship, encouragement, humility, dependency upon God, transparency, trust, openness and laughter exist; where there are elements of hospitality, time and space for people to deepen their relationship with each other and relax together, out of which came decisions which flowed with a greater sense of peace, purpose and significance; a context where people know their hearts, where groups admit they don’t know and need more time, where mistakes are acknowledged, apologies offered and received, a feeling of well-being and accomplishment at the end of a meeting which leads to a deepening of relationships rather than an experience of going for a tooth extraction. Yes, can and will do better. |
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24th November 2005 No 31 You know when you have become a member of the Frequent Traveller club on GNER when the On Board train staff greet you by your first name and ask how you got on since they saw you last week! After another round of journeying which took me from my home in the Borders of Northumberland to Birmingham, London and Swanwick it was is so good to be back in my beloved North. I am writing this article having been for a wonderful walk in the Cheviot foothills; blue skies, sun shining, glorious autumnal colours in the hedgerows, forests and valleys below us; Goldcrests singing in the pine trees and sheep bleating, the only sounds to break a golden silence. Living where I do, on the ‘margins’, affords me a perspective on life, ministry, Living in a driven culture we can so easily be influenced and deceived into thinking that we must constantly be doing things and that busyness is somehow considered a virtue when in reality it can be avoidance of some deeper realities and relationships with God, self, others and a meaningful engagement with the world. I know that I need space, solitude and some silence in order be a disciple of Christ’s in the world. The challenge and encouragement of this Presidential year has been to see how it is possible for me and many others I have shared with to embrace such disciplines in a variety of contexts, far removed from the physical and conducive environment of rural Northumberland. |
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17th November 2005 No 30 I’ve just returned from London. In two days I was on a interview panel, went to the theatre with friends from the business world, the media and the arts. I had a breakfast meeting with the chairman of a charity, surrounded by MP’s chomping on their toast, sipping their Lattes and perusing the Morning papers. As I watched them file out of the pleasant but nevertheless ‘greasy spoon’ it struck me how all the people I’d been with in the City were influential in their different spheres. On the train back home I pondered several questions: Who and what influences them? How is their understanding of people informed? How do they connect with their public, their constituents, audiences, readers, clients, staff, supporters and congregations? I enjoyed the experience and could cope with being chauffeured to a West End theatre, being wined and dined on fine cuisine, staying in WC1, being taken out for breakfast. Very pleasant, quite seductive but a world removed from the realities of life for most people. I guess what troubled me is that many of the people I met with or observed were in danger of operating out of a very narrow cocoon, making decisions and influencing people out of relative ignorance or avoidance, isolated from the ordinary everyday experiences that the vast majority of people whom they seek to reach, relate to and in Of course it’s an issue not confined to this particular ‘set’ but can equally apply to those of us who are church or community leaders who fail to listen, learn and understand those whom we lead and serve. One of the unexpected benefits of the Presidency has been the opportunity to meet people throughout the denomination in their own homes, churches and places of work. In these contexts, you get a much deeper and clearer understanding of the denomination than reading a report, attending a conference, committee or participating in a church service. As we approach Advent, (a good season to observe), it’s a reminder and challenge of Christ’s incarnation that sheds light on my recent experience. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Thank God we have a Saviour who touched and transformed humanity not in isolation or from a distance but as one who came among us full of grace and truth. |
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| 10th November No 29 Highs & Lows I’ve had some ‘Highs’ and ‘Lows’ recently. Coastal paths in Devon, the highest hill in Dorset, High Leigh and High Wycombe. The ‘lows’ were in the Netherlands. Not that Holland wasn’t a really good experience. It’s an interesting country with its windmills and irrigation systems. What worried me was that having read a fairly in-depth report on global warming it slightly concerned me that I was on land that was all under sea level. I am concerned about global warming and don’t trust what many governments and ‘commerce backed’ scientific evidence suggests is not a problem for the world. I am dismayed by our lack of appreciate and respect for the environment and its resources and believe that we are bequeathing a terrible environmental and ecological disaster for succeeding generations. So I asked the Dutch people that I meet, (all of whom are amazing linguists), ‘Doesn’t it worry you living under sea level with the effects of global warming?’ I found a variety of responses. From a resounding ‘No’, to ‘Yes, but we try not to think about it too much’, to those who say ‘Yes but its not the top of our priorities’. There were others who are tackling the issue by developing houses built on moving platforms that will move up and down with the rise and fall of the water levels. Very few people talked about addressing the bigger issue of global warming itself. Responses similar to those found in our own culture. Reflecting on the experience I saw similarities in the way in which we are addressing the issues facing the church in a changing culture. Given the huge challenges facing believers in our changing postmodern culture, where the paradigms of church require radical change, what are our responses? - From, ‘No, we don’t need to change’ to ‘Yes, but we’ll try not to think about it, we have enough on our plate, we’re too busy to give time to address the issue’. Others are responding but many of the responses are outward and external, programmes and activities change, some things are viewed differently. A few people are actually seeing the need of radical change in relation to who we are not just what we do. I believe the very nature and essence of what church is, not just what we do as church, is one of the key ecclesiastical and missiological issues we face. Before we are swept away by the rising tides of post modernity and drowned because we didn’t prepare for the inevitable storms that are coming to the church in Western culture we need to pray, think and act wisely and courageously. |
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| 3rd November
No 28 Love One Another It’s one of those biblical texts that I am both encouraged and challenged by, Love one another as I have loved you, by this will everyone know you’re my disciples if you love one another. John 13:34-35. It’s the call to commit, enter into and embrace community or, as Jesus referred to his disciples, friendship. It’s the outworking of the call to follow Christ and be his disciple. It’s the command and prayer of Jesus and the desire of the Trinity that we may be one as they are One. It sounds great but in practice it’s costly, riddled with both joys and pains, great potential and huge pitfalls. Yet it remains an absolute imperative for every disciple of Christ and its outworking is essential for the wellbeing of the church and our mission in the world. I’ve seen some and been blessed by leadership teams and fellowships that have a genuine commitment to companionship and the air of friendliness permeates all they are and do. I’ve also witnessed relationships among teams, colleagues and fellowships that are tetchy, irritable, combative, insecure, undermining, territorial and controlling. Equally poor is the contentment with superficiality, a kind of bland fellowship where there is an absence of any real deep peace or communion, simply an absence of war and open conflict. All of these things being a denial of the gospel and its outworking in our lives. No amount of fine buildings, full programmes, much activity, great worship, inspirational preaching can fool God or the watching world if we don’t love one another. It’s an issue that hinders a church’s life and mission at local, association, national and international levels. Lord have mercy upon us and may your command to love one another be obeyed and your prayer for our unity be answered. |
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| October 27th No 27 The Long Haul There’s a time and a place for the short-term initiative, the burst of enthusiasm that can break up old ground and inspire commitment and passion for the present. There is also value in the long term commitment to put down roots and identify with a people and place for the long term. I’ve witnessed the good and the bad of both; the quick fix, instant vision which promises much but delivers little as well as the minister who has lost momentum, isn’t growing and through failing to move on either within or from the situation exercises a ministry of a rut. The difference between a rut and a grave being only a matter of degrees! However, it’s been a privilege to know and to witness those who have seen their calling to a church as almost a lifetime’s vocation. I know a retired minister who is appreciated by three generations within the church and because of his humility and ability to let go and only affirm his successors, is a blessing to all concerned. I stayed with a minister recently whose church I’ve known for many years. Like every church it’s had its periods of life and growth, disappointment and decline, manifested godliness and sinfulness. It has regarded its pastor as both a bane and a blessing, at times rejoiced in him and at other times wearied him to the point of brokenness. Yet, by the grace of God and some courage and commitment this pastor has stayed, weathered the storms and holding onto his calling has maintained his a desire to serve Christ and his kingdom. It was wonderful to see now how he and the church are in good heart and his long tenure, far from being a hindrance, has brought great respect both within and beyond the fellowship. He has been there long enough to have rejoiced with most of his people when they’ve rejoiced and has wept with them when they’ve wept. He, like some of my other friends in ministry, having made a commitment to stay for the long-haul of ministry in one place, have been able to immerse themselves and be identified with the culture in which they are called to minister. They have and are being used of God to build strong, deep and lasting covenant communities, i.e. qualities of a good church. I give thanks to God for them. |
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October 20th No 26 Young People - Privilege and Responsibility I have always enjoyed the company of young people. Not that I’m deceived into thinking that I am young myself but find great stimulus, vitality and encouragement in being with and around them. I cannot however do the regular ‘into the early hours’ sessions as I once did. The most enjoyable part of my second pastorate was undoubtedly the many students who made our church the ‘student church’. Young lives, full of potential, with futures before them, many open to all that life and faith presented them. It was a wonderful privilege to pastor, guide and be there for them through the challenges and complexities as well as the pleasures and excitement of university and college days. Ministry among a generation of young people, some of whom would go on to be ‘movers and shakers’ in the public domain; in industry, the arts, media, education and church. |
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| I am mindful of several of our Baptist churches who seek to engage with this important ministry but as a parent of children who have been or are at university I am a little puzzled why most of the big student churches throughout Britain are not to be found within the Baptist family. The privilege and opportunity to reach out and relate to the next generation of leaders both within the church and culture is awesome. Maybe in these days of thinking about the nature and purpose of the church in the 21 st century we might make room for a commitment to reaching students and being more overt in our mission within university contexts. |  |
| As I spoke to a packed chapel service at Regents Park College in Oxford followed by Formal Hall and the opening of the new Senior Common Room, I couldn’t help but imagine where some of those undergraduates who are part of the College community would be in ten or fifteen years time. Likewise walking from the college to stay with my eldest daughter in Jericho passing hundreds of Oxford students I considered the same question. |  |
| That night as I said Compline and looked out over the famous Oxford rooftops, I prayed for the young people I had been with and seen on my walk and asked that God might touch their hearts. I also prayed for our churches that we might be more open and responsive to the needs and opportunities that student ministry affords. | |
October 13th No 25 On the Margins I’m writing this in the middle of a fascinating time with the Southern Counties Baptist Association. It has been a tremendous privilege to visit chaplains, ministers and other folk who are working beyond the context of the church environment. From visiting an amazing Fair-Trade shop in Southampton; the Kids church in Andover reaching out to fragile, vulnerable children and young people; Green Pastures Centre in Poole, celebrating its Jubilee and continuing to care for people seeking healing and wholeness; Bournemouth Airport where the complex commercial issues of running an airport and their relationship to the local economy, environment and community were explored. It’s been very enlightening to meet with our chaplains, hearing their stories in universities and hospitals, hospices and schools, young offender’s centres, industry, shopping centres, together with those who serve in the armed forces and the emergency services. |
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| It was interesting, insightful, challenging and disturbing to spend three hours in Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight, accompanied by one of our Baptist chaplains. I met one of the deputy governors and other prison staff, and had the opportunity to mix freely and talk with patients in the Health Care Unit, VP’s - ‘vulnerable’ prisoners on their wing and in another wing, to a whole variety of inmates, some serving life, others who will be released within a few years. | |
| In the prison the attendance at church services and things like Alpha groups together with the hours that are spent in listening, caring and helping are remarkable. It has awakened within me a call to pray for those who in Christ’s name work on the margins of the church and society. For those who are carrying the light of Christ into some dark places and through their mission in the world are serving the kingdom. |  |
I wasn’t totally ignorant of chaplaincy work before this bit of my Presidential tour but my understanding and appreciation has been significantly deepened. I thank God for those I met and I commend them to you for our prayers. I would also raise the question as to how we might as individuals and churches be more aware of this important work and how we can be more informed in the mainstream of our church life to what God is doing on the margins? Yours on the margins of the South coast! |
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October 6th No 24 Making a difference for good The amount of correspondence through the post and by email has risen considerably this year. You’ll appreciate the task of discerning how, what and who to respond to is enormous. There continues to be a steady stream of invitations for me to endorse and advocate various causes. Several of them, including Make Poverty History I have been able to get very involved with. Last week an invitation to do a voiceover for a DVD that Spurgeons Child Care arrived. I was able to respond immediately and relished the opportunity to spend some time in a recording studio locally. I miss doing radio work. My friends tell me I have a good face for it! It was not however the process but rather the desired outcome that made me say yes. To realise that by doing a relatively simple thing that took a couple of hours I had the potential to encourage thousands of individuals and hundreds of churches to make a difference for good in the lives of children at risk, vulnerable young adults and families who are struggling. On a lesser scale but with the same motivation to help I was able to guide some Italian tourists through the complexities of travelling on the London Underground this week as they passed through the city for the first time and onto the Edinburgh train that I too was catching. Thirty minutes on the Tube, with their broken English they thanked me and left grateful and with some false impression that I was some kind of Baptist Cardinal! In both examples the principle remains true. Each and every one of us can make a difference to the lives of others. The Spurgeon’s Child Care project turned my thoughts to Christmas and left me pondering how the love and compassion that God showed for the world can be both celebrated and shared in our preparations and celebrations for Advent. One way is to express love by giving. I commend Spurgeons Child Care Project to you. Do get hold of their material. The theology and practice of generosity is not complicated; love God and live generously and make a difference for good for someone today and during the coming Advent. |
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September 29th 2005 Number 23 As Others See Us As the Northumbria Community we have just completed a two year period with Building Bridges of Hope, a Churches Together in England project. For us this has meant having a BBH Accompanier journey with the Community in every aspect of its life and work, an outsider who we have given the right to visit, talk, listen, question, examine and discern how they see us. Its quite a vulnerable process and in the early days there was some understandable fears, reservations and concerns about having somebody from outside taking a look at our lives, ministry, mission, how we relate, operate and whether we are living what we are teaching. I am pleased to say that his report finds us in very good heart and the process has provided us with immeasurable help in discerning and developing and freeing the Community as it moves into the future and as its story and its contribution to the renewal of the church and its engaging with culture is freed in creative, organic and dynamic ways. Partly because of who are accompanier was and his immense abilities in listening, evaluating and sharing and presenting his ultimate findings, but also because we have discovered such value in being open, real, transparent and vulnerable in order to listen to what God is saying to us from the voice of one who relates to us but who has been outside of us. There are huge encouragements and affirmations as well as some challenges and issues that we need to continue to address. Much of the report didn’t say anything that we weren’t as leaders aware of but the way in which the report highlighted areas and issues is incredibly helpful and together with all the Companions in the Community, first, second and third generation, we are journeying on alone and together with God. After almost six months of the Presidency and in the light of this recent Northumbria Community experience, I am convinced that there is value for us in our churches and associations of being prepared to be open, not defensive, vulnerable, not perfectionist, transparent not closed, who those who are outside of our immediate situation who might share light and bring a perspective on who we are and what we do. In one sense, the Presidency at times unwittingly allows someone who is both a part of and outside of the immediate to come in listen, learn, pray and discern and where appropriate to offer comments, reflection and observation on what they’ve seen, heard, perceived and experienced. Our Baptist emphasis on independence is both our strength and weakness. For independence can speak of isolation, closure to other perspectives and breed, if unchecked, a pride and arrogance that suggests that we have a monopoly on the truth and how things are done. Its not just arrogance, it’s stupid! There is real value in listening to others and allowing others to speak, with no hidden agendas, into our lives and ministries. It might actually not only prevent some difficulties but actually shed light, inspiration and wisdom for all concerned. I guess the whole issue of what we mean by leadership beyond the local church is one that some fear to ask or address. I’ll leave thoughts on Baptists’ episcopy to future articles if I have the bottle. In the meantime, listen to the voice of the outsider. |
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September 22nd 2005 Number 22 No Place like Home There’s no place like home and I have to admit to a slight struggle leaving home last week to begin a new round of travels. Thankful, nevertheless, for the privilege and opportunity to travel for the love of Christ and serve the denomination this year as its President, the prospect of staying in other people’s homes engenders both apprehension and appreciation. I won’t but I could write a book full of the delights, horrors and humorous experiences of staying with people over many years of travel. For those who have recently been my hosts – relax, there is nothing incriminating in what’s to follow! I love it when homes reflect something of the personality of their residents and tell something of the story of their lives; the choices, colours, furnishings (Ikea much in evidence), styles, photos and artefacts which are in most cases a really interesting reflection and testimony to the lives of those whose homes I’ve been privileged to stay in. I’ve enjoyed and been blessed by the warmth and generosity of people’s hospitality and for those who’ve welcomed me as a friend and guest, when the experience has spoken more of ‘home’ than ‘hotel’. Quality of sharing and depth of relationship is often realised more at the meal table, over a glass of wine or mug of tea or in the washing-up (please note my humility and servanthood together with the plea for more dishwashers in Baptist homes!). Often it is in the home that you get to meet the person beyond the impression or image gleaned in a meeting. It has been my privilege to have witnessed godliness in the homes of those who have been my hosts. In Celtic spirituality there were two focuses, the altar and the hearth, / the oratory and the home. I dare to suggest that people sometimes find it easier to worship in a church service than in their homes and the recovery of “altars” where we live, where God is openly acknowledged and worshipped is of paramount importance. Allied to this is the recovery of the “sacrament” of meals. The damage that TV dinners has made to eating together has permeated many a home and eroded that gift of eating, conversation and sharing among family and friends. May our homes be blessed and a blessing, sacred places, havens of hospitality and the “welcoming of Christ in the strangers guise” |
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September 15th 2005 Number 21 Ministers Just before going on holiday I was speaking at the Northern Light Festival in North Yorkshire. It is a good event, and something I have been privileged to be involved in for a few years. |
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During the Evening Celebration a thank offering was taken with the specific purpose of alleviating a £5,000 debt. A congregation of just over two hundred people gave over £8,000 which was cause for astonishment, much rejoicing and thanksgiving - for it enables the organisers to plan for next year and ensures that the Festival can continue to attract people on low and very limited income. Generosity made a difference as it always does! |
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I have been both the recipient and practising advocate of generosity. I continue to witness the blessing and power that generosity unleashes in the both giver and recipient. What a serving of the Kingdom of God and a transformation of culture would be made were we to grasp this radical call to live generously. So often caution, ‘calculating’ and ‘wise stewardship’ prevents the release and flow of giving and generosity that would make an impact and difference to individuals, churches and society. Generosity is the perfect antidote to meanness and that insidious abuse of using money to control people and situations. |
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| Nationally, I pray that our Government will continue to lead and persuade other nations to make a difference for millions in Africa through acts of generosity which are inseparably bound up with justice. I trust that the creation of an international financing facility to release money for producing vaccines for developing countries will make a difference for many. |  |
As a denomination I encourage us all, individually and together in our churches and associations to support Home Mission. I am witnessing on my Presidential travels some really good things made possible through our giving to Home Mission but my being encouraged is however tempered by the potential I know that remains unrealised because of insufficient funds. A situation that we have the ability to address if we encourage one another to see partnership in the gospel requires a commitment and responsibility to each other and to an expressing of God’s heart for his world through generosity. Let’s encourage a movement of intentional generosity and see what it can do for givers and recipients. Love God and Live Generously |
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September 8th 2005 Number 20 Places Just as every picture tells a story so do places so visiting them with work or on holiday provides the opportunity to discover something of their history. They carry memories of experiences good, bad and ugly and many a place has its resultant “feel”. On holiday in Cornwall, stories of shipwrecks, smugglers, tin mines and havens of delight for artists tell of a county on the margins of Britain that continues to draw thousands each year on holiday with others relocating to settle in a land they hope holds promise. I love where I live, Northumbria. Its gentle hills, rolling countryside and beautiful coastline, its welcoming hospitality are factors but so too because it is a place that resonates with the stories of the Celtic Saints who through their love of God and commitment to the gospel made Northumbria the cradle of Christianity in Britain and from where a movement of monks and missionaries travelled for the love of Christ across Europe touching many and transforming and shaping culture. I struggle to understand the mystery of “holy places” but witness frequently the impact that they have on those who come, who draw inspiration and for many, who encounter God and a deepening faith. I met a young couple recently on Lindisfarne who had come to get some space from work and the demands of three young children. Spending a weekend on the island, they walked its shores, pottered around its byways with no experience or desire for church or the things of faith. Yet waking its ancient paths they encountered something transcendent, something of God. It was only after they had embraced and articulated a renewed love for each other on a bench by the coastguard’s look-out that they looked down and saw inscribed where they were sitting, some words from the Psalms. They came as tourists in need of a break and returned home as pilgrims starting a venture of faith through the experience of a place. Our chance conversation was merely a waymark, helping to interpret their experience in the light of Christ. A few years ago an atheist walking on the moors sought shelter from the rain in an out of the way chapel called Old Bewick. They broke down and cried as the presence of God fell upon them and their life began its transformation. Surely the Lord is in this place resonates in many place made sacred by the prayers, presence and encounters with God within them. |
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September 1st 2005 Number 19 Slow Down You Move Too fast For fast acting relief from stress try slowing down One of the things I appreciate about lazy summer days is the opportunity to read. And by reading, I mean purely for pleasure. Informing the mind, possibly educative, but nevertheless reading by choice rather than because work demands it. From buying the Guardian and reading it cover to cover (I find that way it helps to reinforce my prejudices!). I have just reread Laurie Lee’s Cider with Rosie and in the light of her death am reading Mo Mowlam’s autobiography, Momentum. Another book which has hooked me is one I began two weeks ago and given its title, I don’t feel the need to finish quickly. ‘In Praise of Slow’ is a wonderful mix of researched historical analysis and contemporary statistics, which is both entertaining and at the same time disturbing. It challenges the assumption that faster is better and illustrates Gandhi’s assertion that there is more to life than increasing its speed. – Clearly Ghandi hadn’t driven my Audi Quattro! But nevertheless it’s a compelling read. As one who is concerned by the ‘drivenness’ of contemporary culture - a feature that has not escaped the church - the book helped me to clarify things that I have been sensing or observing. Drivenness, if unchecked, can lead to the ruin of relationships and a dehumanising of life and society itself. I find myself wondering whether there is a relationship between drivenness and the high levels of stress, hypertension, depression, burn-out, insomnia, the general undermining of mental health and the poverty of depth of relationships in the home, workplace and church. In a fast-paced culture, where speed is of the essence, we need to stop and think what it’s doing to the human condition. Snatched conversations, hurried meetings, a quick text, do little to explore or deepen any relationship. They require time - quality time - so I’m proposing that we slow down not because I advocate laziness, but because there is wisdom in the tortoise winning the race with the hare and I contend that by slowing down we actually live life. |
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August 25th, 2005 Number 18 Rest I am in the middle of a period of intentional rest where responsibilities are few and relaxing is thoroughly enjoyed. Every year I have the opportunity to indulge in one of those activities that I dream I might like to do if not fulfilling my calling. I took two days out to drive a tractor; cutting the set-aside on my cousin’s farm. It gave me some ‘still time’. It provided the opportunity to reflect and ponder on the experiences of the last few months and allow my ‘spirit’ to capture and find some recuperation from the demands, commitments, experiences and responsibilities of all that this period in my life has brought. Time to survey the landscape of the heart, my ‘inner life’. Fears that new and extra responsibilities may erode the time for rest and reflection that I need have not been realised. As William Wilberforce said of the need to have such a time: “Blessed be to God for rest wherein earthly things assume their true size”. Rest is an important element to life. It’s an antidote to workaholism and a preventative measure for those who feel that their personal worth and identity is measured in what they do rather than who they are. In creation, we see that God has shown us the principle of ‘still’ time. Each work of creation was concluded by a still time where “God saw”. This remarkable rhythm in the ways of God should be taken seriously. Together with the rhythms of rest we are reminded not only to rest our bodies but our minds and spirits. Our hearts are designed to be still between every beat and in nature we observe growing things needing periods where they are dormant each year. I regard the Sabbath as principle rather than law but an essential element to training ourselves in godliness in the midst of a culture where expectation, work, productivity and pressure drive and demand and are regarded as virtues. The Sabbath principle teaches us to renounce work for a period of rest, otherwise we get captured and controlled by its appetite to consume us. I am enjoying some still times and having some deliberate “watch fasts” when my life does not revolve around clock, the PC or the telephone. I am enjoying wasting time with God, myself and others and feel my spirit being replenished. |
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August 18th, 2005 Number 17 Life can be cruel With some other friends, I had a wonderful few days sailing off the Scottish and Irish coasts recently. A perfect way to rest, relax and reflect on the first three months of my Presidency. The sea can be beautiful. Its changing colours made resplendent by the Hebridean light of sun and moon. We experienced wind speeds up to force 7, sailed over whirlpools and were ‘tossed and surfed’ by gale force winds in very high seas; each crew member strapped with lifelines to the boat, a heavy mix of fear and exhilaration, challenge and accomplishment. Weather-beaten and exhausted the calm and sheltered waters off the Isle of Gigha provided a safe haven following the adventures of our North Channel crossing. The sea of course can be very cruel. It is no respecter of people or boats. Tragedies, losses of vessels and crew abound in the annals of maritime history. Like the sea, life can be cruel and the happiness of our sailing venture was broken by the news that one of my friend’s daughters had died; a young woman who married just a year ago, who in her teens had fought and seemingly won the battle with cancer but who had contracted an infection, which her immune system was unable to fight; pneumonia set in and the life of a beautiful, young woman, daughter, wife, sister, teacher and friend, taken in her prime. Like the sea, life can be dark, tragic, puzzling and mysterious. Whilst comfort and consolation can be found in God, sadness and the darkness of loss cannot be denied. As I together with the rest of my family and friends look forward to holidays and ventures together, I am mindful not only of those who have lost loved ones but who through the break up of relationships in the home, church, work or neighbourhoods are left living with the scars and the pain of loss. As I sought solace and space alone in a small Hebredian chapel crying, raging, praying, all triggered by the news of my friend’s tragic loss, so I prayed too for all those who are bereaved, broken hearted and whose tears flow more with pain and sadness than laughter and joy. We commend them to God’s comfort, keeping and care. |
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Brother Roger Roy Searle accompanied by three other companions of the Northumbria Community, Baptist Ministers Ed Pillar from Evesham, Tom Duncanson from Upper Beeding and dancer, Mel Rogers from Wakefield, visited Taize as part of Roy’s pre-presidential BMS tour in Europe. Roy speaks of the experience as being very profound. He had studied and spoken to several members of Taize as part of his MA dissertation on Communities in transition, but it was his first visit to the Community’s centre at Cluny in France. “I have rarely witnessed or experienced the presence of God in worship in as deep a way as that which we encountered whilst worshipping with over 5,000, predominantly young people in the church there. It was a privilege to be with Brother Roger and the Community he had founded, a Community that was clearly living what it teaches and being an inspiration to thousands across the globe. Welcoming, hospitable, committed to promoting justice, reconciliation and peace – a visible sign of the Kingdom of God on earth.” On hearing news of Brother Roger’s murder Roy said: “This is sad day. The loss of one of the great inspirational servant leaders in so tragic a circumstance; a man of peace who founded a community that has been an inspiration to hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world, a true servant of Christ who prayed and worked for peace and compassion; a visionary, radical yet gentle father in Christ who inspired young people to pray, love God and work for reconciliation and justice in the world. We hold the Taize Community in our hearts and prayers.” |
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August 11th, Number 16 Family & Friends Leaving the Congress I drove to Scotland meeting up with friends and boarding a yacht to sail to Ireland. During a night watch it seemed strange to be at sea, no other vessel or person within ten miles of our craft – a far cry from the busyness of Birmingham. Coming ashore after our 12 hour overnight crossing, it took a while to adjust to seeing people without name badges, Hessian bags and not a choir in sight or sound! I’m looking forward to catching up and spending quality time with family and friends over the next six weeks. They mean a lot to me and time with them is essential to my own and their wellbeing. Depth and quality of relationships are key components to a healthy and well balanced life. I am privileged and thankful to be part of a great family and have some terrific friends, believers and unbelievers alike. It was good to be with some of our Northumbria Community Companions at the Congress; the ease, fun and depth of covenant relationships make work like leading the worship at the Congress Bible Studies a delight – the music, liturgies and ethos flowing out of who we are and what we have become as a Community, built around values not driven by the need to just do things together. I am deeply grateful for the warmth, appreciation, encouragement and affirmation that I continue to receive from so many people within the denomination; it makes the privilege of serving as President a real joy. Some of the highlights of the Congress were those opportunities to meet with good friends from Eastern Europe, Ireland and Africa and to make new acquaintances and deepen fellowship. As I looked up at the night sky as we sailed, I was aware of the many stars in the night sky, each one part of a myriad of constellations illuminating the universe. It reminded me of the many members of our Baptist family each returning to their homes, carrying the light of Christ. I felt very awed by the sight and by the experience at the Congress of being part of so big a family. My hope and prayer is that we might not live isolated from one another, busy and so focused in our own lives and ministries, unconnected to a rich and growing diversity of brothers and sisters within the global Baptist family. |
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August 4th, Number 15 Congress So what memories will I take from the Congress? Birmingham, welcoming and hospitable, meeting up with friends, old and new, speaking to delegates of many nations, thousands of name badges, lots of smiles, greetings and appreciative nods, attending so many receptions, enjoying a curry at the Missional Leaders and Shapers dinner, hearing some incredible stories of faith, hardship, life and growth, praying for David as he assumed the Presidency of the BWA, meeting Jimmy Carter, (who is as good as I had imagined and hoped for), listening to musicians and choirs, being moved by hearing people worship God in their own native language, indigenous culture, wondering why some of them felt the need to sing in English? being part of a buzzing younger generation forum, hearing some inspirational, passionate preaching inciting us to a revolution, committing us to fight for justice and reminding us of our Baptist DNA. There was also the buzz of anticipation, excitement and an experience of the diversity and unity found in Christ across the nations. I loved walking with my wife Shirley around the canals of the city, beautiful, if not so romantic as Venice . Naively thinking that it would take only 10 minutes to walk when with constant and mostly delightful interruptions it could take an hour. Then, security alerts, the arrest of a suspected terrorist bomber, a tornado and news of the monsoon rains leaving hundreds dead and thousands homeless in India, all breaking any cocoon of our Christian gathering and exposing us to the realities of a suffering, broken, fragile and fearful world. In the midst of the scheduled programmes of celebrations, workshops, Bible studies and focus groups, I think that I will remember most the serendipity moments – the unplanned and spontaneous. It is they, probably more than the presentations and pronouncements that captured my heart and engaged me in the “sacramental” moments of real encounter and fellowship. Moments that moved me from being a representative, spectator, a ‘Baptist tourist’ clicking away on my digital camera to becoming a participant in the purposes of God. It was these experiences that will cause me to return home not only to report and tell the stories but to move out again, carrying the torch of the gospel and the hope of God in our hearts to serve and to work for the kingdom, to speak for justice and to build a truly diverse community, united in Christ. I am aware also of the need to acknowledge how we in the West must listen, learn and be led by the church in the Southern hemisphere as we move on into the future as a people of God committed to mission. |
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July 28th, Number 14 Crowds I have come to value solitude. Its discipline and rhythm brings space for prayer, reflection, encounter with God and exposure to the landscape of the heart. In the midst of a busy year of travelling, speaking and meeting hundreds of people in so many different contexts the ‘monastic’ rhythm of contemplation and action continues to guard and govern my life and ministry. In the midst of activity to seek the quiet place, being involved with people yet finding a place to withdraw to be alone, in the midst of doing to find the space to be. Throughout this month I have been among the crowds, each one different in composition and cause. In Edinburgh marching with a quarter of a million people at the Make Poverty History Rally; on the pier at Brighton witnessing hordes of tourists and day visitors enjoying a day out at the seaside; visiting the battle fields of the Somme in France and surveying with tear filled eyes the graves of a generation of young men, over half a million who died in what was meant to be the war that ended all wars; watching the crowds celebrating the news of the successful Olympic bid and then the next day, witnessing the atrocities of the terrorist attacks on the London; standing with many outside Kings Cross station as we paid our respects and prayed for all those affected by the attacks; in Westminster with the many who gathered for the National Prayer Breakfast in Parliament and their aftermath and by contrast now being part of the ‘crowd’ gathering in Birmingham to participate in our Baptist World Congress. I love living in the countryside but I miss the urban environment. I love cities and enjoy coming to Birmingham. Like London it speaks of a city where people of all backgrounds, traditions, languages and cultures can live together in harmony. Two things run with me in my moments of solitude; that of Revelation’s picture of heaven depicted as a city with people of every race, nation, tribe and tongue worshipping the Lamb. But also of Jesus, depicted in the Gospels, looking out over the city he was moved with compassion for he saw people, as sheep without a shepherd. May our coming together as Baptists throughout the world move us out into our cities to share and serve in the name of the Good Shepherd. |
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July 21st, Number 13 Ministers The scriptures say, ‘Honour those who are among you as leaders’. There are certain things about being President that give you the opportunity to meet lots of people in different contexts. From such, one is able to glean patterns and emerging or consistent issues; some good, some bad and very occasionally some ugly or ungodly! There is much to rejoice and to be thankful for, others evoke concern and sadness and a few are troubling. One observation that has troubled me in recent weeks having talked to many Baptist ministers is a disturbing number who are contending and battling with attacks on their character and / or their ministry. Many live under the cloud and at times what feels like a curse of false accusations, innuendo, and an undermining of who they are and what they do. Several leaders invite criticism and opposition because of their wrong grasping of power and control or incompetence but it is not them who I have in mind. Concerned as I am wherever people love power instead of realising the power of love and of those who are in the wrong place or unsuited or unable to a particular task, it is not those issues that I am addressing here. What saddens me most is the damage that is being caused to good men and women of God, who are being blighted by individuals and groups. The unintended misunderstandings and wrong conclusions are understandable and relatively easy to resolve if there is a commitment to relate ‘eye to eye, mind to mind and heart to heart’ ie. not via letter or email! However the weapons of angst, vested interest, hurts, bitterness, jealousy, disrespect, dishonour and other ungodly attitudes and actions are causing woundings to the servants of Christ, ministers of the gospel and are grievous to the Holy Spirit, damaging to the family of God and a denial of kingdom values. It has been my privilege to be received in places where I have been welcomed, honoured and respected. Please make sure that those who serve among you as leaders, who’ve been called of God and recognised by the church, know that they are honoured, valued, respected, loved and prayed for. |
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July 14th, Number 12 ENJOY GOD’S CREATION I derive great pleasure in observing the countryside and being reminded of how beautiful Britain is. In the last couple of weeks I have strolled on heath land in Norfolk, watched bees gorging themselves on foxglove pollen in Suffolk, sat by a lake in Devon hoping to see an otter that failed to show, but being consoled by seeing rainbow and brown trout. I have prayed on a shingle beach at Lyme Regis, listened to the lapping of the sea, being woken up by the dawn chorus in Essex [it was all the clinking of bling!] and walked up to one of my favourite waterfalls near my home in the Cheviot Hills. |
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| The verdant pastures, blooming hedgerows and gardens resplendent in their summer colours are breathtakingly beautiful. Even the motorways are more pleasing because of the countryside that surrounds them! Appreciation of the created world should lead to worship of the Creator. |  |
| I was delighted to receive a bunch of flowers from a church recently and whilst I know they were intended for my wife, as I wasn’t going to be back home for over a week, I kept them. Through the ingenuity of my car’s drink holder, climate control and some inventiveness on my part, a small bouquet of flowers adorned my dashboard for a few days. I might be a Northern bloke but I like flowers and at my funeral people can donate if they want to but I would prefer loads of flowers. They are reminders of God’s good creation, of life, beauty and creativity. They also provide the opportunity to “Say it with flowers”, to express love, appreciation and sympathy as well as beautifying any environment. |  |
I love it when I see flowers in churches. Often they are the most beautiful thing there. Many a time they have provided a helpful antidote to a dull service! I love the idea of Flower festivals and commend those Baptist churches like Gorsley and Chalford for their using such occasions to celebrate God’s creation and to share with people his good news. It’s natural and obvious to do one in the rural areas but how about some in our urban areas? Must dash, I’ll be home within a few hours so am turning off the motorway to find a flower stall and buy some anemones. Take care, Roy |
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July 7th, Number 11 YOUNG PEOPLE Driving up the M5 and passing Glastonbury on a glorious hot, summer’s day, I really wished I had tickets for the Festival. Woken early the following morning in Weston-Super-Mare by a terrific thunderstorm, pulling back the curtains and seeing the torrential rain and flooding, I was glad that I was not at the Glastonbury Festival! The reason for my 24 hours by the sea, walking along the sand and mud was to have some rest and relaxation following four days teaching on the M.A. Missional Leadership Course at one of its centres in Devon. |
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| All of the students were from the SWYM (South West Youth Ministries) Network, an amazing 120+ young people working as youth leaders, schools workers, evangelists and youth pastors in the South West of England, some in Baptist settings, fifteen of them studying for the M.A. After a traumatic year with changes in personnel and the moving on of their pioneering and prophetic founder, they are now led by a 24 year old. It was really good and so stimulating and energising to be with these young people, several of whom had come from as far away places as New Zealand, Tanzania, Canada, America, Czech Republic, Greece and Germany. |  |
Their passion, commitment and potential was unquestionable. They had their fair share of problems and their enthusiasm and optimism had been dented but not broken by the harsh realities of life and ministry in the church but undeterred, here were a group of people, who rightly nurtured not controlled, mentored not managed, could make a real impact for the kingdom. Thank God for young people and for those churches who have the courage to recognise leadership and its potential in the younger generation and who take the risks in appointing them to responsibilities within the church. We need more of them. |
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To a weary and tired generation God raised up the young Zephaniah to proclaim a prophecy of judgement and hope. He was God’s leader and led the people of God into the ways of renewal. Mary was in her teens. Jesus called young men to be his disciples. Take a look around at the young people, [I mean those between 16 and 25 years of age] and ask yourself are they God’s appointed for our day? and have we recognised them? Take care, Roy |
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June 30th, Number 10 Prayer does make a difference! I know from my own experience as one who is called to be a contemplative in a world of action that God invites us through prayer to enter relationship with him and participate in His purposes. I am also aware and thankful for all those who have and continue to pray for me, my life, vocation, ministry and mission; for those in my own family, my friends, spiritual director and Companions of the Northumbria Community who hold me in their hearts and prayers. Their prayers undergird and accompany my wandering for the love of Christ, not least in this Presidential year. |
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| I was very encouraged recently when I was in the Eastern Baptist Association to meet people who clearly were praying for me. I was particularly touched during a Rural Celebration service at Neatishead when one of the Deacons, an elderly and godly brother, prayed for me and my Presidency during the service. |  |
It was good to be in Norfolk where I have relatives. As a baby, some bloke in a dress splashed water over my head. I clearly didn’t like it as I never returned to church until after I came to faith and then had a more significant believer’s baptism when another bloke dressed in the Baptist equivalent of fishermen’s wellies, immersed me in a large baptismal pool. Nevertheless, the importance of my godparents cannot be underestimated. They took their responsibilities as godparents seriously and prayed for me and their unpretentious godliness spoke volumes to me particularly during my teenage years and I believe was a factor in my coming to faith. They, like many of the people who pray, see little of the fruit of their prayers but within the purposes of God their contribution to the kingdom and their participating in God’s purposes is immeasurable. |
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So let me encourage a greater commitment for us all to pray and to hold people, places and situations before God in prayer. May we be delivered from activism that far from being a virtue can actually avoid seeking God and listening to his heartbeat for the world. I thank God for the generations of men and women whose prayers have influenced and shaped believers, the church and the world through their listening to God and interceding. I pray that we may recapture in the midst of our busy lives and ministries the call to prayer. Keep praying and take care, Roy Searle |
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Presidential Diary: On Friday, 1st July, Roy Searle will be at the Northumbria Community Leadership Day at Nether Springs. On Saturday, 2nd, he will be participating in the Make Poverty History Rally in Edinburgh, leading with staff from BMS a Prayer Vigil in the evening and on Sunday morning preaching at Bristo Baptist Church in Edinburgh. On Monday, 4 th July he is having lunch with Bishop Graham Cray and then will be speaking at the Baughton Alaph Christian Festival in Kent from Monday evening through to Thursday evening. On Wednesday, 6 th July, he is hosting an informal reception for Baptist leaders at Imperial College, Wye, Kent. |
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June 23rd, Number 9 It was an act of grace and generosity that the first ball I faced, which removed the leg stump, was deemed a ‘no ball’ and I was able to go on, play a series of magnificent cover drives and sweeps to the boundary. I had a terrific time at Spurgeon’s College playing cricket, lecturing, doing some spiritual direction, chatting and praying with staff, students and visitors. Walking and talking with Nigel Wright, is always enjoyable fun, stimulating and good for mind, spirit and indeed the body as we did our daily three mile walk around Upper Norwood and Crystal Palace. |
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| I thank God and pray for those who are training for the ministry and for those who train them. At Spurgeon’s and elsewhere I continue to remind colleges and churches of the need to recognise, equip and encourage people not only in the academic disciplines of mind and intellect, together with some practical skills and resources but of the need of preparation and nurturing of the heart as an essential foundation of spiritual formation. | |
| An imperative that looks at the character of leadership as well as competency in leadership. It was a theme that I was able to address briefly at the Newly Accredited M | |