the red pill

A Pastor from Beverley, East Yorkshire, a membership of 155, deacons meetings agendas that include issues around the timing of Sunday evening services, provision for elderly members, the needs to engage with the local community in both mission and evangelism. Excitement about growth, questions about the suitability of the current building, the needs of young people rising up the agenda, and structures being changed to make the most of opportunities given to Tabernacle Baptist Church. Sounds familiar? This is us today. But not just today. I’ve had the pleasure of looking through some of our archived minutes today, and in 1952 this was a picture of where the church was at. It’s a discovery that has had me smiling (what are the chances I’d not be the first pastor from Beverley here?), delighted there have been some great moves forward (a stipend of £350 wouldn’t quite work) and also questioning why we’re dealing with such similar issues today. Maybe it’s because every generation has to...

I remember an episode of “The Waltons” that had quite an affect on my then rapidly developing sense of justice and morality. It was set in the late 1930’s and the local reverend had arranged a good old book burning, telling folks to bring all their German books for the fire, it would be an act of rejecting that evil Nazi philosophy, of cleansing a community from the very words that would lead to such dreadful warfare. I remember John Boy protesting, and the crowd shouting him down, until he pulled a book from the fire that hadn’t caught yet and asked if anyone spoke German. A little elderly lady steps forward, a German immigrant if I remember, a woman who’d been ostracised by the town. She reads the beginning of the book in German, then translates it; “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...” This scene impressed itself upon me, and is probably what formed in me lasting unease about censorship, and a sense (not unquestioned) that free speech, access to literature a...

Loving this - my personal choice for World Cup Anthem. We want another star on the shirt!

We’ve taken the unusual step of calling the church to a day of prayer and fasting on behalf of the leadership team in the church. The reason for this is that a significant number of the leaders have been struggling and suffering recently (indeed a number of people in the church have been struggling greatly). I wouldn’t normally rush to a conclusion that we’re under some kind of spiritual attack, however there have been just such a large number of the team who have affected recently that we are made more mindful of Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (TNIV) What does this attack look like? For some it is the recurrence of chronic and painful illness, for others it’s a sense of being overwhelmed by the pressures of life, for others it is close friends and family members who’ve been ta...

Every week I lead a class for small group of people who are recent followers of Jesus. We use some excellent material from All Nations college (SEAN Courses) that I highly recommend. The group meets at the home of an Iranian family, who are part of our church, and this week, instead of our usual study, we celebrated together the Iranian New Year ( Nowruz ). Part of this celebration is to look at the Haft Sin table, a place where seven items that begin with the letter S ( Sin in Farsi) and have symbolic meaning are placed. Here is their Haft Sin table: On this table you can see several items, each with a symbolic meaning. For the Christian couple these are used prayerfully at the start of the year to ask God's blessing in key areas. The traditional  Haft Sīn  items are: sabzeh  - wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish - symbolizing rebirth samanu  - a sweet pudding made from wheat germ - symbolizing affluence ...

The following article is reproduced with kind permission of David Kerrigan from his blog Thinking Mission . David is General Director of BMS World Mission, and I reproduce this as I consider it an excellent statement and reflection from a Baptist leader. the limits of dissent [A personal view - not an official account - of one aspect of Baptist Union Council this week.] I returned from BU Council on Wednesday, feeling that this had been three days well spent. Recent Councils have been excellent in grappling with substantial issues in ways that restore your confidence in the principle of the gathered community discerning the mind of Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I commented on this in relation to last November’s Council here . These last three days have had a major focus on “Women in Leadership among the churches of the Baptist Union of Great Britain”. This wasn’t a debate about whether women can exercise ministerial leadership. That was established back in the 1...

Following recent European election wins for the BNP, the mini-pogrom against Romanian immigrants in Northern Ireland last year, and concerns about immigration issues and the increased appearance of the BNP this comes as a timely read. This book is accessible and comprehensive. Beginning with a biblical reflection on diversity in the Church, Spencer argues a strongly biblical and missiological case in favour of multi-ethnic congregations. He then very helpfully goes on to give an analysis of the current situation, and the patterns of migration that have led to where we are now. Something very valuable in dealing with and defining both a distinctively Christian, and positively truthful response to many of the claims and lies made around this subject. This is also a very practical book, with a section on terminology that will be helpful to many, and with chapters offering valuable advice on developing diverse memberships, and planning mission in multi-ethnic contexts. From here in...

John Drane (over on 2churchmice's blog ) has linked to this excellent online resource . It's called "Awaken the Spirit" and is being released over a period of time. It's a great way of exploring and entering into the scriptures, and well worth a look.

I'm not sure which it is I'm meant to be doing, so I'll just do both... I’m currently staying at Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick and attending the Heart of England Baptist Association’s (HEBA) annual Ministers’ conference. Some things have changed since I was last here, such as the breakfast (which used to be a highly unsatisfactory affair) which has improved tremendously, as has all the food. It’s such a shame I’m on a diet! The other thing that has changed is the layout, it’s been modernised in the downstairs of the main hose, and looks all the better for it. So, what does one do at a Ministers’ Conference? Well, I arrived yesterday evening (after conducting the funeral service of our oldest member, may she rest in peace and rise in glory) just in time to hear Elaine Storkey speaking on 1 Peter. She was good, as always, mixing both the theological study and the very practical application, something she continued this morning in our worship and teaching time. I al...

So, Let's be gracious with each other. Thanks to Jon @ ASBO Jesus for this

The Two agencies I'd like to point you to for making a donation are the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and Baptist World Alliance . Clicking on the picture for each agency ought to take you to thier site. The DEC is a coalition of 13 humanitarian aid agencies: ActionAid, British red Cross, CAFOD, Care International, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision. Baptist World Aid (BWAid), the relief and development arm of the BWA, is mobilizing search, rescue, and relief teams. A team from BWAid Rescue24, the search and rescue arm of the international Baptist aid organization is in Florida in the United States awaiting clearance to fly into Port-au-Prince, or to travel via the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Negotiations are under way to have another BWAid Rescue24 team of 12 person s, who are experts in search and rescue missions, to travel from Hungary to Hai...

Over on the God's Politics Blog, Jim Wallis written a thoughtful piece about the current crisis in Haiti. I'm republishing here, but if you look at the original article, you'll find the comments as well. Haiti: God Is Suffering With Those Who Are Suffering by Jim Wallis 01-14-2010 There are times when events make everything else pale in comparison. I’m in Los Angeles today on my book tour, but the news of Tuesday’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake hitting Haiti is one of those times. Over the past few hours, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off CNN. The tragedy in Haiti is unbelievable — the pictures of the pain and destruction are haunting. My heart breaks for the families and the victims of this tragedy. Information continues to develop, but what we already know staggers the imagination. Both the Haitian prime minister and consul general to the U.N. have said that as many as 100,000 people are likely to have died. The International Red Cross estimates that one-thi...