Evangelism Bulletin 237 – Stuck in the Past?

An Old Testament verse I often quote is Isaiah 51 verse 1 which says ‘Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug’. Different translations render this verse in different ways but the gist of it for me is that our present is shaped by our past. The chapter goes on to remind the Israelites how God had been at work in the lives of their ancestors and would continue that work in the present and future, if they remained faithful.

We are told that Skegness has been urged to change its name because of the negative image associated with its present name. For me that’s unthinkable. Skeggy will always be Skeggy, no matter what they call it in the future. But for the hoteliers whose trade is suffering because of its poor image, it seems a reasonable option.

Kodak, the once renowned, market-leading giant, which was synonymous with all things photographic have now filed for bankruptcy protection. The chief reason is that it failed to take the digital age seriously. They proudly display their once-famous Brownie 127 or Instamatic and despite attempts to bring out cameras in different colours and selling fashion accessories to match (a bit like iPads with their coloured cases), the tide towards digital is unstoppable and they have been left behind.

I remember many years ago in the computer industry how the world’s number 2 manufacturer, DEC, refused to recognise an up-and-coming operating system and, despite having their own brilliant equivalent, their refusal to move with the times cost them dearly.

We hear news that Nottingham Forest are gearing up for life in League 1 by considering the sale of some of their top players (I use the work ‘top’ loosely). For a long time they have been a team with a great future behind them. We could look at institutions like the Post Office and libraries and ask serious questions about their future because of the rapid changes taking place in society and technology.

So – what about the church? The picture accompanying this bulletin depicts a Methodist Church which, in its day, was packed to the seams with worshippers but is now closed. How do we decide in this day of declining church attendance which church buildings to release and which to keep and invest money in for the future? Of course, we are all aware that closing a church building is not the same as closing a church because the faith community still remains – it’s just their meeting place which has become unsustainable.

We have all sat in church buildings during a worship service and asked questions about its appeal to outsiders. What do people think when they cross the threshold of a Victorian building in order to attend a sevice? Do they think they are being forced into a time warp? Do they think that God is a 19th century being who has never really come to terms with the modern age. The hymns that are sung, the language that is used, the furniture people site on and look at all speak about an age gone by.

And yet, cathedrals are experiencing a renaissance. People flock to them as tourists, and some may do the same as pilgrims. We’re off to Budapest soon and will visit the many baroque churches in the city. It’s not the same for a visitor coming to Nottingham or Derby and visiting the warehouse-style buildings occupied by some new-stream churches and yet these are the churches which are growing numerically. The sale of telescopes has increased by 400% since Prof. Brian Cox, the rock star turned scientist, has been presenting his Star Gazing programmes. We still see people driving around in VW Beetles and Mini Coopers, cars which have long-since been replaced by modern equivalents. What a dilemma!

As the verse from Isaiah says, our identity is shaped by the past. But we need to recognise that our future lies firmly in the future which, for most of us, is an unknown. But to God …

Evangelism Bulletin 236 – Life-changing moments

It came totally out of the blue. The manager of our training department, Gerry, was on a visit to Nottingham where I worked in the computer industry. He asked for a chat with me and so we sidled off to a vacant office. ‘Would you consider coming to work in the training department in Stevenage as a lecturer?’ he asked me. It was one of those mind-racing moments where a thousand questions hit my brain cells all at once.

Although I had attended programming courses at the training centre and met some of the lecturers in the past, I had no experience of lecturing and certainly had never seen myself in that role. So, why Gerry had asked me was a mystery. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after visiting Gerry and his wife for a chat in Stevenage and talking it through, my wife of less than a year and I decided to uproot and live in Biggleswade – a place we only knew through comedian’s jokes and tales of people using it as a stop-off for London on the A1.

It didn’t take me long to settle into the new role. I can remember painstakingly preparing my notes for the first week-long programming course I was scheduled to lead, single-handed. To my surprise, five minutes into the course, my copious notes were laid on one side and I was in free-flow, teaching from the heart. I was also amazed at the course appraisals which the students filled in at the end of the course. I had never seen myself as a lecturer and yet Gerry had clearly seen something in me that was bursting to get out. We joined a Baptist church in Biggleswade and I launched for the first time into a preaching career – mind you, most of this was in the dozy village chapels on a sultry summer’s evening where the biggest challenge was not preaching the gospel, but keeping them awake!

Now, as a Christian, I would like to tell you that all this fell neatly into my simple perception of how God works. I would like to tell you that Gerry was a Christian and was guided by the Holy Spirit in inviting me to go to Stevenage. The first part is not true. I can recall a conversation over lunch with Gerry where I tried to impress upon him that the plight of those in the third world was our responsibility in that the life-style we live can deprive them of a living wage. He wasn’t convinced. It was over a decade later that a foul-mouthed Bob Geldof proclaimed the same message and raised millions through Live Aid and all that followed.

But what I do believe is that Gerry’s visit was the work of God. Completely unknown to us, God is at work in and through our lives and can bring about life-changing moments at the drop of a hat – and through some of the most unlikely sources.

Last night at Grannie’s Tea Room in Cotgrave, Rev. Dr. Robert Foster led us in the first session of a course he has co-authored entitled ‘I choose to follow you’. This is an introductory course into discipleship and week 1 focusses on the account of the calling of Levi, the tax collector, in Mark chapter 2. As always in the gospels, we have only scant details but it would appear that as Jesus was passing Levi’s tax booth, Levi dropped everything and experienced a life-changing moment as he followed Jesus.

Just like me, as a recently married young man with all my family and friends in Nottingham, the thought of dropping everything for a new home in Biggleswade and a career which I had no previous experience of, Levi had no idea of what he was letting himself in for.

But that leads me to yet another aspect of the Christian life – prayer. I know that many people around me both in my family and among my friends, were praying for me. I had only been a Christian for about a year and had no church upbringing to rely on. It was all new to me. But I’m sure that life changing moments like this don’t happen by chance. Being a Christian is not about following a set of rules and attending a church. It’s about being open to the Holy Spirit who is constantly seeking to work in the lives of responsive people. I believe prayer is like the oil in my car. Without it the engine seizes up. With it the car functions smoothly and reaches its full potential. You may be praying today for someone, not knowing what the consequence may be. Take heart – because your prayer may be the catalyst which brings about a life-changing experience for the person you are praying for.