Strictly Come Praying

On Sunday, a few of us from Claremont went to an event run by S.U Scotland called “Strictly Come Praying”. It’s an event run for those in P6-S6 (and the youth workers that lead them). Myself, Karen and Andy took 5 of our kids with us to Grangemouth.

There was a whole day of prayer stations, seminars, worship and talks. We even got a dinner too! I went last year to the event, and it was really good to be back at it and learn some more about Prayer – the one thing that many of us struggle to do and make time for.

The whole day was wonderful, especially seeing 200-plus young people all coming together to worship and learn how to pray. There were a couple of chances to be quiet and just pray, and it was during these quiet times that I really noticed the presence of God.

I love finding God in the quietness of prayer, or just sitting contemplating.  The day really inspired me, and I’m gradually getting ‘better’ at praying and making a connection with God.

Elijah found God in the whisper in the wind; Jesus met God in the stillness of Gethsemane. It’s all about being quiet and opening your heart to hear the voice that said “Let there be light”.

God Bless, Morrison.

Grace, Grief and Growing Leaders.

We had another "Growing Leaders" Course meeting on Monday.

It was an excellent night, a great part due to the crepes & many condiments we were offered at the end due to it being Shrove Tuesday the next day.

We looked, as a group, over being "Chosen" and how 'being chosen' does not mean privileged to the exclusion of others, but does put a stress on our belonging, our being important to God. It's still something I struggle with sometimes as it does seem from what I hear from other Christians how one person was chosen over others, by God - the ultimate love. Might need to think about that one

 We then looked at Grace - all of us realising we weren't quite sure what it meant, despite the fact it is used so often in church circles.  Again, something else I need to look more at.

Another thing that made me think was when we looked at two cycles: the cycles of Grief and of Grace.

We considered the cycle of grief - which goes from achievement to identity, to drivenness, to acceptance.  And the cycle of grace - from acceptance to sustenance, to identity, to fruitfulness.  
(more information on p2 and p4 of this link:  http://marpleparish.co.uk/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=966s0kBdFOg%3D&tabid=2322&language=en-US )

We knew we should try to follow the cycle of grace, rather than grief; I realised I needed it also. Too often people in the Church are driven by 'bums on seats/pews rather than souls in heaven' (I remember hearing that somewhere). I am just as guilty of that. I want all of the 50-odd kids I deal with on Wednesday's (at Kidzone and Crossword) to be at Church that Sunday, to know Jesus, to become committed, adult Christians who love wholly, give generously and have an abounding faith. But, I need to realise that not even Jesus converted everyone - I'm not going to convert all 50 of these kids or others I meet. I need to realise that I am already accepted by God, I do not need to work to receive his love and grace - I do what I do out of love and desire to see the kingdom grow.

I've lots to think about this week.

God Bless,
Morrison

Trying to copy the master Evangelist!

I’ve been reading a book for the last few days entitled “Jesus the Evangelist” by a Robin Gamble, a ‘Diocesan Evangelist’ in Bradford. He goes into all the aspects of the Evangelism Jesus carried out; the ‘What, Where, Why and When’ of his Evangelism. It’s a powerful book, and as I read it, I can feel it speaking to me in the work I do I do at present, and for the future. At the start and end of each chapter, there are small poems to do with the themes contained within.
One chapter was titled “The People’s Evangelist” which goes into all the different sorts of people Jesus encountered, and who we encounter today, but tend to forget about evangelising to. In the section called “Outsiders” there’s this great poem which really made me think, and I think we should all take note of:

                Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?

                My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

                Racists and wrongdoers,

                Hen parties, HIV positives and the homeless,

                Gays, goths and gamblers,

                Swearers, smokers and skateboarders,

                Sex-industry workers and small-time drug-pushers,

                Depressed, debt-ridden and drink-sodden,

                Fox hunters, fur wearers and child fondlers,

                Alzheimer sufferers and all-aloners…

                The ‘God forsaken’?

                Or just the ‘church forgotten’?

                Maybe the ‘for whom I came’

                The ‘for whom I myself became

                The forsaken by God.’

I don’t know about you, but it certainly resonates with me. Too often we (the Church in general) is happy sticking with those we know. For the majority of Churches in the UK it would be White, Middle-Class people we aim for. Yes, we give to others, or even provide care for the homeless etc. but we never do anything in words – we do loads of work in Christ’s name, without actually saying ‘Why’ we’re doing what we’re doing. I’ve never agreed with disputed quotation, supposedly by Francis of Assisi stating: “Preach the gospel and if necessary use words”. No, we need to use words to tell people why we’re doing what we are doing, of the miraculous love and grace of God and the beauty and horridness of the Cross.

The author has a discipline called ‘A Seeker a Week’ where he tries to establish a relationship with someone, so that he can ascertain if they are a ‘Seeker’ of God. He then spends time with them, and encourages them to take the next step of the journey (i.e. inviting them to a friendly church service, an exploratory group etc.) I’m going to try this more; I need to try this more! I have 30 or so teenagers at Crossword. I’m sure that some of them, regardless of who and how much was preached to them, will never take a step towards knowing God, but I also know that in amongst that bunch there are some people who are seeking. I’m going to try to work on this small group of seekers, and ask them probing questions: How do you feel about God? Would you like to know more? Would you like to come to this event/exploratory group the Church is having?

Over the past week or so, I’ve noticed more and more times where I can evangelise and tell people who God is. Someone really close to me has a Church connection, but not a God connection. It’s been hard – especially when it comes to big questions, but all I can do is pray and show them God in my life and hope they follow. I managed to invite a friend who hadn’t been at Church in a while back to our Third Day service (and they responded afterwards saying they’d like to come again).

Jesus never managed to get everyone on board, in fact, he told the disciples to effectively walk away from those who have no interest (note to all the Christians out there trying to convert the likes of Mr. Dawkin’s). All I can do is work with the small group of seekers, and hopefully move them onto the next step until one day they can become the ones training and encouraging the next set of disciples.

God has a plan, and I’m loving it as I watch it unfold.

God Bless,
Morrison.

Lord of the....?

I’ve just finished reading “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”. It’s a brilliant book, but it’s taken me ages to get round to reading, despite seeing the 3 Lord of the Rings films, and having bought the book from Oxfam about 4 years ago.

All throughout, you could see the glimpses of Christian thought in it.  Summing it up, it’s basically about one person on a quest to destroy the world of evil. Lord of the Rings, or Lord of the Cross – both have the exact same message in it.

Firstly, in some of the Characters, we see the different qualities of Jesus:

• We have the protagonist, Frodo, the one who carries the “One Ring to rule them all”. He carries the burden of the Ring as Christ carried the burden of sin. He receives a wound in his chest, much like the spear wound Christ had on the Cross.
• Sam Gamgee, Frodo’s best friend. He sticks by him no matter what. He pretty much would die for Frodo, summing up Jesus’ command: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)
• Gandalf is the teaching side of Jesus. He leads the Fellowship, and he is their guide – both as a mentor and a physical guide.  This is much like God. We can rely on God to direct us both in our physical way (what we’re going to do, our future etc.) and also he shapes and guides our thoughts, feelings and attitudes.

• The ‘One Ring’ is sin – it’s the forbidden fruit everyone wants. Gollum calls it “my precious” (how often do we try to keep our sin to ourselves, and not really admit it?). Everyone wants it, even though they know it does no good, and will destroy anyone who had it. It was made by an evil person – just like Satan tempts with sin.
• Many other Characters say or do things that are very ‘Christian’ or God-Like. The journey with the ring is like the Via Dolorosa that Jesus carried his cross upon, with the Ring being the Cross.  The book is just FULL of sneaky references to Christian theology!

If you haven’t read it, get reading it soon!

God Bless,
Morrison

Role Models.

Whilst I was on my way to Kidzone and Crossword tonight, I used the Bible Application on my iPod to read a bit of Scripture. I ended up reading 1 Thessalonians. Chapter 1 in particular struck a chord with me.

It talks about being a model for others. That is how we can tell people about Jesus – through being a model and an inspiration (?) to others. If you’re terrible at playing basketball, then you’re never going to get your friends to join your team. 

I started playing guitar because one of my friends was really good at it, and I wanted to be like them. People are inspired and want to be like those who are good at things. People talk about the legacy the Olympic Games will lead, and how, or so ministers hope, many more children will be inspired to take up sport. If it was a bunch of amateurs competing at the Olympics then no one would be inspired in the slightest to take up sport. You shove on the very best in the world, and it’s much more likely people will want to be like them.

I was watching a programme this evening about Kevin Bridges, the Glaswegian comedian. He interviewed Frank Skinner, the very man who inspired him to become a comedian in the first place. We all need people to inspire us. Jesus should be the first person we look to.

If I want people to know Jesus, then I need to be like Jesus. I need to tell them that I am like I am because of Jesus, and because of the way he has changed me.  That’s something we all need to think about, especially when we’re leading others in whatever shape that may take; be it youth-work, ministry, or even a ‘secular’ role. Whatever we do – we need to have Jesus as our inspirer and our role model for all we do.


God bless, 
Morrison

Jesus for real men!

Youthwork is difficult sometimes. On Sunday morning, we (Crossword youth group) were planning the next ‘Third Day’, our alternative modern worship service for March. We were looking into various Bible verses regarding peace, anxiety, worry and patience. I was with a few younger boys and tried to help them look at them and understand them.
Boys, being boys, tend to carry on/get distracted easily. We had food on offer, so every 5 seconds one was up to get something to eat. If it wasn’t that, they were nudging each other or irritating each other. I’m in the middle of them trying to encourage them to take turns reading the verses, or trying to work out how that applies to life. But, lo and behold – it just wasn’t happening.

It’s just difficult sometimes dealing with it. I’m here on one side of the line, passionate about the bible and God, and there’s these kids, the future of the church, the people who will be in the congregation of Churches I may lead and they’re just a bit apathetic towards it.

Part of me wants to shove it in their face and scream how important this book is, and yet I know I can’t make them believe, or read it. There has to be a balance somewhat – but as long as they take the right path in the end. I guess I need to trust in God that the work I’m doing is worthwhile. I also need to realise that Jesus didn’t manage to convert everyone, or encourage everyone to follow him; but that’s not a reason to be complacent – things can change. All of us just need to have faith, and pray more about it (something which I know I need to improve upon).

There’s an American Pastor called Mark Driscoll who has a Church (Mars Hill) with an average weekly attendance of around 10,000. He’s passionate about stopping the image of Jesus being some hippy who runs around hugging everyone and cuddling sheep. In his words: “the church has produced "a bunch of nice, soft, tender, chickified church boys. … 60% of Christians are chicks, and the 40% that are dudes are still sort of chicks”. I feel much the same. We have a few young guys at Claremont, but I worry that they’ll abandon Church because the Jesus we teach doesn’t play football, have a drink at the pub, or work as a builder. Instead, they see Jesus as a long haired, sheep carrying, pushover. I feel my ministry needs to continue like this – tell people Jesus was a fighter – not a coward in the corner!

God Bless,
Morrison

A week of many things.

I haven’t done this for a while. Many apologies.

Quite a few things have happened over the past week – really noticed God in my life, and feeling blessed to do so.

Last Tuesday was the Congregational Board meeting. It’s a privilege to be a part of this group of people within Claremont who can make decisions on behalf of the congregation for some matters.

Wednesday I helped at both Kidzone and Crossword. I really see the work that God is doing with the children I am blessed to be in the lives of. It may be a slow process, but I see God working through me, and the other leaders and children to show the love and grace of God to the young people in this community.

Sunday was a good, yet bad day.  I, for some reason, wasn’t feeling brilliant. Just felt a bit dejected – but during the service was the song “Be Thou My Vision”, which is one of my favourite hymns. It’s a really inspiring song – and it truly lifts your mood. Went home feeling a lot better that day.

The last couple of days I have been planning and writing for the Midweek Fellowship, a small service which I’ve been invited to lead. It’s wonderful that I am getting this opportunity to lead this. So many other churches wouldn’t give a 20 year old a chance to lead a service by themselves, but I am blessed to be given this chance. I’ve been writing a sermon on John 8:1-11 “The Adulterous Woman”. It’s a bit of an eye-opener looking into the context and the things that we can read between the lines in this story. It’s a wonderful tale of forgiveness and redemption.

The last week I’ve also started to really get a passion for telling people about God. I just want everyone to know. I’m not quite at the stage of singing hymns on the bus, or running about screaming “Repent! The End of the World is Nigh!” Evangelism is built on relationships, through love and care – not just a flyer on the street etc.

But, until I become a minister (if that’s what I end up doing), then I’m going to stick in at the ministry I am involved in at present. Youth groups, small services, and through the relationships I have with friends and family.

God is moving – I know it.

God Bless,
Morrison