Learning to Walk

what a day!

Wow.

What a day we had, yesterday.  The church was open to visitors from 2pm onwards, right through until the end of the evening service, and at 6.15pm (when we switched counters) we had had 547 people come through the church.  There was a cafe (with home-made fair-trade baking), massage, bouncy castle (for kids), computer games, scalextric, quiet place, prayer room, necklace-making and live music throughout the day - and it was all free.

I spoke to a couple of families who were in complete amazement that we were also a 'fully functioning' church but who also thought that what we were doing was really great (especially considering that we are a 'fully functioning' church).  It was also a great privilege for us to be able to pray with a number of people, one of whom had come into the church, had a hand massage, left, but then felt prompted to come back and ask for prayer.  I am reliably informed that there were a number of people who came in throughout the course of the day and said that they would be back for services next week.

In the evening we had a service which was advertised on all our leaflets which were handed out throughout the day and which we hoped people might invite non-Christian family or friends to.  In true St Silas fashion people were still arriving after 6.30pm and so we started a little late as the first half of the service was all performance (poetry and music).  It was excellent: a great testimony to the incredibly creative and gifted people that we are blessed with.

After that I spoke, making the theme for the (short) talk 'bridge building'.  I used this picture (a must buy for preachers/teachers).  I think it is incredibly symbolic of the way in which we try to build bridges - with God, with people, or in situations - but also of how, although they may work for a while, a new storm will always come along rendering them somewhat useless.  We looked at three great truths from the bible in relation to bridge building:

1. Jesus builds a bridge for us to God.
2. Jesus builds a bridge for us to fullness of life.
3. God expends the energy in the bridge building process.

We then ended with a time of sung worship, culminating in an a cappella version of Amazing Grace.  A fitting way to end an amazing day.

reading (for fun) and the gibson st gala

My college course has required that I do a lot of reading, an experience which has ranged from incredibly useful and enjoyable to incredibly tedious and (seemingly) irrelevant (although I am sure that this has not been the case).  One of the things that I have been looking forward to about finishing is that it means that I will be able to pick up some of these books and read them simply for the sake of reading, without the prospect of an assignment looming in the not-far-off-distance.

Yesterday this was exactly what I did as I read articles concerning aspects of leadership, 'cafe church', and a section from 'Appealing to Scripture in Moral Debate: Five Hermeneutical Rules'.

I also finalised (unless otherwise prompted) my talk for the evening service tomorrow night.  The talk came out of one of the best photos I have seen in a long while and the theme that we will be briefly thinking about is that it is only Jesus who can help us to build lasting bridges in every area of life.  I am really looking forward to tomorrow - to the afternoon and the service in the evening which are both part of this.  If you're into praying then please pray, and if you're around then why not drop by and join us for a while?!

inviting

It is the carol service at St Silas this Sunday evening at 8pm and at this time of year church members go out into the local area and give postcard invitations to every home.  Tonight, at rush hour, 4 of us went and handed out invites in two of the busiest thoroughfares in the West End.  It went really well - we had some good chats with a few people, a few more people seemed incredibly grateful when they heard where we were from, and in all we handed out several hundred invites.  It is something that we will definitely be building on in the future.

life and death

I just read this article on the BBC News site.

An interesting part of the article is the fact that it suggests that there are 3 million people in the UK who have never attended church or who have stopped attending church who would consider going again "given the right invitation..."  The article suggests the 'right invitation' may include a personal invite from a friend, the invitation to accompany a relative, or the offer of help at difficult times.  Amidst what may appear quite a gloomy report, in which Tearfund place the UK in the least 4 observant countries in Europe, this statistic brings encouragement.  We have the hope of the Gospel and, if we were ever to get a bit down and think that our personal effort is to no avail (which I'm sure is the case for most of us at some stage or other), we might take strength from the fact that 1 of those 3 million could be in our school, office or home.

In the words of the hymn, "We have a gospel to proclaim".  Church attendance figures seem to suggest that we have a greater need to proclaim it than in some areas of the world.  And so this Holy Week we must rise to the challenge.  A challenge that may at times seem hard, awkward and uncomfortable, but a challenge which for all of us was, and for many still is, a life and death issue.

worship with the masses

Last Sunday I went to see Manchester United play Aston Villa in what was, for many of the supporters there, a worshiping occasion.  The object of worship was not however a creator God or a servant leader but a footballer; a man whom many Glaswegians have worshiped for years and who, it seems, will be the object of continued adoration for Mancunians - for the next few months at least.

Henrik Larsson may be the hero of the hour - and he was magnificent - but I remember watching not so long ago when a certain David Beckham OBE occupied the position of most adored.  But times change and Mr Beckham, though not without a small monetary incentive, makes his way West to LA.

The thing is this; Beckham, Larsson, whoever comes next, all will be replaced.  But 2000 years on Christ is still receiving the worship of the faithful.  He is standing the test of time.  And he will continue to do just that as his followers respond to his instruction and take the good news not only West but North, South and East also.

ideas

Whilst I was visiting my parents over Christmas I met up with the leader of the church I attended before coming to Glasgow.  'Back in the day' we used to spend a huge amount of time together; he played a huge part in my earliest months and years trying to walk with Jesus and remains a great example to me.  With one thing and another, particularly the 300+ miles separating us, we have naturally drifted a little.  But it was great catching up.

One thing that we both have a particular passion for is finding new ways of reaching out to people, of being a community and of giving people a forum to ask questions and be challenged.  We would regularly come up with a new plan, some of which were put into action, others of which (so far at least) weren't.  Meeting up with him last week has inspired me not to let ideas, big or small, go to waste.

At the moment I have a couple of ideas for a couple of different things.  Tonight I began to seriously put wheels in motion re one of these ideas with the discovery of (and 2 hours spent in) the 'perfect pub' and I hope that sometime during this month it will become a more concrete (should that be fluid?) reality.  The other will involve speaking to someone far more techno-literate than me but it shouldn't be long before it also begins to take shape.

Tomorrow it is back to college and a history module on the Reformation.  Given my track record when it comes to history (dropped (or was that drop kicked) out of A-level history) I am pleasantly excited...

thank God

Tonight as we left the church all that both of us said was, "Thank you God!"

The carol service was incredible and I'm sure that there will be pictures to view on some of the other St Silas blogs.  Six of the team came with their girlfriends.  They were met by friendly welcomers, a warm and comfy church, and a service that was done exceptionally well by people using their God given gifts to bring glory to him.  Every one of my friends was visibly touched/impressed/moved in some way tonight.  "Thank you God."

I have something else that I want to say "thanks" to God for.  I generally try and keep individuals off my blog because I recognise that for some it may be seen as invading private space.  But as I drove home tonight I realised again how thankful I am to God for my girlfriend.  Playing sport can be a tough thing to do as a Christian.  One of the hardest things is the 'off field' side and I have often longed for someone to share that with.  She does that.  She can banter with the best of them but loves God and wants to serve him as well as she can.  Having those guys there tonight I couldn't have stood their chatting with all of them.  But she is there too and between us we can get around everyone, having interesting chats when and where they develop.  I thank God for her.

I thank God.  Full stop.

servants

"Christian leaders are servant leaders, servants of the gospel."

The quote is taken from this article.  It is so important and it is my hope and prayer that many leaders, current and future, will read it and find in it a gentle encouragement or a sharp reminder of one of the defining aspects of their ministry.  Christ, our leader, came not to be served but to serve so why should we do anything different.  A life modelled on him is a servant life.

But of course this doesn't just apply to the people who lead up front at church; the ordained clergy, the church staff or the small group leaders.  It applies to each one of us too, because in some way each of us are leaders to some people.  It may be that you are the only Christian in your office, the only Christian in your class, the only Christian in your group of friends.  And if there is a crisis, a time when they feel drawn towards God, you are likely to be their first port of call.  The one they come to for advice, help, prayer and support.  As such you have become something of a Christian leader to them and so therefore you should also be a servant to them.

At this time of year, a time of year when we remember the birth of the Saviour but so many people don't, perhaps there are ways in which each of us in the groups that we are a part of can display a servant nature.  In the prayerful hope that by doing so, by reflecting the Lord, we might have the opportunity and privilege of leading others to Him.

door to door

Last night a good number of people from church went door to door with information on our Christmas services.  The 2 young ladies (who drew the short straw of looking after me) and I did what could be described as quite a tough patch a few streets up from the church.  Where we did manage to get into the close we often found that people wouldn't come to the door.  After this had happened a few times we decided it was time to pray again, even for just one good conversation, and things did then improve.  We had more people coming to the doors and a few opportunities to chat and explain where we were from as well as being able to advise people in which service might suit them best.

It is hard work sometimes going door to door.  I found it a very different experience to the year before but nonetheless a good one.  If you are into praying then it would be great if you could pray that there will be some people for whom a friendly smile, a kind word and an invitation out, might be the spark that brings them back towards and into relationship with the God who know and loves them.

football

One of my good friends at church manages the St Silas football team.  For a while he has been saying that I would be welcome to go along to training and last night I took him up on that.  The team is made up of a mix of Christian and non-Christian all with an evident passion for the game, scoring goals (of which there were plenty last night - even one from me!) and touchingly, for each other.

It is the first time that I have ever been to a real football training session.  My first touch let me down on several occasions but can only get better.  Comedy moment of the night had to be Darren Darlow, so focused on his role as keeper, running into his goal post!

Do pray for the football team; that their fine run of results will continue and that there would be harmony amongst the team both on and off the pitch.  Also pray for the Christian players who try and live out their faith in a tough environment and the non-believers - that they would be touched by the way in which their team mates do this.

Finally, I asked Darren where he found the boys who make up the team.  His response - "God sends them, and I love them."  'Nuff said.