The Power of Story

A hotel executive tells this story:

'The hotel I manage is located near a renowned hospital. Recently, we noticed that a man and a boy were visiting regularly and surmised that they were father and son, and that the son was undergoing treatment at the hospital. One evening, the father sent the boy up to bed and called over the head waiter. "My son is about to start chemotherapy tomorrow," he said. "He's really upset at the prospect of his hair falling out, so he's decided to shave it all off tonight. I'm going to do the same to support my son. When you see us tomorrow morning, please don't react."

'The head waiter was touched by the story and briefed his colleagues. The next morning, father and son came down with bald heads, feeling rather nervous. But, as they went in to breakfast, they gradually realised they weren't the only ones who looked a bit different that day. No fewer than ten members of staff had shaved their heads out of solidarity with the boy.'

'That,' she concluded, 'is how my staff live the corporate value, "Show you care."' (As reported by Hashi Syedain in People Management magazine.)

It's no surprise that business is beginning to exploit so movingly 'the power of story' for its capital gain. It's only natural, surely: we make sense of life by sharing stories with each other, so why shouldn't we make sense of our work in the same way? It seems there is life after 'death-by-PowerPoint', after all.

And what of our faith? We talk much, in Christian circles, of 'the power of story', as custodians of the Greatest Story Ever Told (GSET). But do we still prefer to leap to the 'moral' of the tale, rather than inhabit the story itself - with its unresolved tensions, suspense and wonder?

It takes courage to reflect upon our own story: where we've come from, the characters who've played their parts, the times when the plot has twisted for good or bad. And it takes creativity to demonstrate how it fits with the GSET - the masterful narrative that imbues our smaller stories with meaning, yet is somehow, mysteriously, shaped by their very unfolding.

Hardest of all, perhaps, is to attend, with grace, to the story of others. Yet surely the power flows most fully between those who are usually denied a voice, and those with ears to hear. Thank you for listening.

Brian Draper (LICC)

Hero or model?

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

I had a friend whose father was a very well known church minister. She had two heroes, her father and the apostle Paul!

Paul a hero? Yes, surely - a man courageous, single-minded, passionate, motivated by love for God and humanity. A man who changed the course of history, launching a movement that has shaped human values and behaviour for 2000 years.

But are our biblical heroes intended to be models for all Christians at all times? What about Jacob, Samson, Jephthah, Ruth or Daniel? All were used by God in significant ways. We can learn positive lessons from some, but mainly negative ones from others. These were real fallible people, behaving in certain ways in particular circumstances. God used them, certainly, but that doesn't mean that we, whose personalities and situations may be different, should seek to emulate them in everything.

So what did Paul mean when he wrote 'Follow my example', or when he resolved to make himself 'a model for you to follow' (2 Thes.3:9)? Never is he so arrogant as to set himself up as perfect: in each case he is illustrating a particular principle that he embodies in his own behaviour. So we do not have to imitate Paul's personal attitude to women and marriage, for example, any more than we have to imitate Gideon's experiments with a fleece (Judges 6:36ff).

Even in the case of Jesus, we don't know WWJD (what would Jesus do?) - all we know is what Jesus did. And perhaps what we need to know is what Jesus would have me do. Jesus washed his disciples' feet, and told his disciples to do the same (John 13:14-15). Some Christians, in spite of shoes and changing culture, obey this literally (though more as a ceremony than an everyday act of hospitality). But each of us, according to our personalities and circumstances, must seek to live out Jesus' example of humble servanthood.

In a society that is desperately short of positive, wholesome role models, all of us - in our gloriously different ways - should be seeking to embody the principles of the gospel, which were so perfectly exemplified by Jesus and earnestly pursued by his less-than-perfect apostle, Paul.

Helen Parry (LICC)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3170908278495640769

Stick to the plan

sunrise Scarborough
MJ 2007

.

.

.

.

.
'I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU.' JEREMIAH 29:11

Today God is saying to you, 'While in process, stick to the plan!'
Nothing takes God by surprise. He's a master planner.
Joseph discovered that when your family turns against you, your friends let you down and you finish up in trouble, God still has a plan. Looking back Joseph could say, 'You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good' (Genesis 50:20 NIV).
When your situation seems too hard to handle and downright impossible to explain, remind yourself that God said, 'I know the plans I have for you.'
Some of us are not sure God has made up His mind about us, so we keep trying to earn His favour. Give it up! Receive the truth that God, for Christ's sake, has decided to bless you. And when God decides, temporary situations or the actions of others don't change His decision. There's nothing the enemy devises against you that God hasn't already made 'a way of escape' for. Paul writes, 'God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it' (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Observe that:
(1) In times of testing you discover how faithful God is.
(2) He knows what you can handle.
(3) He will 'make a way' so you can exit this season stronger, and ready for what He has next. So stick to the plan.
The fact that you have a problem is a sign that you have a promise. It's only a matter of time before God reveals the solution.
Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him, yet He didn't stop him. He could have summoned twelve legions of angels to help Him, yet He didn't call on them. Under the weight of our sins He cried from the cross, 'My God, why have you forsaken me?' That's because He understood it was all part of God's plan for Him. His words, 'God, where are you?' teach us that:
(a) You can be in God's plan, yet at times feel overwhelmed and alone.
(b) When God doesn't answer, you must stand on the Word He has given you.
(c) the pain of this season will eventually give way to the joy God has awaiting you on the other side of it.
So stick to the plan; that's what disciples do. The word 'disciple' means to be disciplined. It means sticking to the plan when you're under attack. It teaches you how to function when you don't feel like it.
The enemy will come against the plan of God in your life, because that plan is like a hedge of protection around you. As long as you stay in God's plan, nothing that the enemy does can destroy you.
So, when you feel like you've reached the end of your rope tether and you can't go another step, do what Jesus did; - pray, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit' (Luke 23:46 NIV). Give it to God! Look up and say, 'Lord, I'm trusting You to do what I cannot do. Bring me through this. Here it is; I'm turning it over to You. My life, my future, and my all are in Your hands!'

Peter proved that as long as you keep your eyes on Jesus and stick to the plan, you won't go under.
Notice:
(1) Before you get into something, make sure it's God's will for you! Peter said, 'Lord, if it's you, bid me to come to you on the water' and Jesus said, 'Come.' Before you take on something like water-walking, pray and be sure God's in it. In other words, get God's plan and stick to it.
(2) Don't expect everybody in the boat to go with you. Water-walking is a lonely calling; it sets you apart from those who are timid and security-minded. It also tends to bring criticism from those who think you're making them look bad by contrast.
(3) If you wait for good weather you'll miss your moment. When Jesus said, 'Come,' they were in the middle of a storm. Face it; we'd all like the stars to line up, or some big donor to underwrite the whole project before we make a move. But how often does that happen? Peter wasn't walking on the water; he was walking on the Word! What has God told you to do? Stop waiting for ideal conditions and start doing it!
(4) Don't expect a mistake-free performance. Nobody walks without fluctuation. The Bible describes its heroes in one sentence: 'Whose weakness was turned to strength' (Hebrews 11:34 NIV). All the great men and women of God you admire, go through sinking spells when they cry out, 'Lord, save me.' And do you know what? He does! And He'll do the same for you.
Peter didn't walk on the water all by himself, he did it with Jesus. Today Christ invites you to walk with Him and experience His miracles.
Why don't we see more MIRACLES in our lives?
Because:
(1) We don't pray and believe God for them. Jesus said, 'If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you' (John 15:7 NKJV). Your prayers give God an invitation, an entry point and a channel through which His miraculous power can flow to change your circumstances. But you have to pray and believe Him to do it!
(2) We think the day of miracles is past. The Scriptures declare, 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever' (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV). In reality there never has been 'a day of miracles,' there's only a God of miracles, and He never changes. So don't limit Him!
(3) We allow sin to sabotage our confidence. John writes, 'If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him' (1 John 3:21-22 NIV).
(4) We look at the situation instead of the Saviour and our faith falters. When Jesus told Peter, 'Why do you doubt?' He was saying, 'Don't allow this storm to overwhelm you. I'm right here with you. Your problem is under My feet, therefore it's under your feet too. Just keep your eyes on Me, keep walking by faith and stick to the plan!'


Thanks to 'The Word for Today' Aug 2008 www.ucb.co.uk

A new earth?

sunset MossYard
Solway Firth MJ 2005

Then whoever invokes a blessing in the land shall bless by the God of faithfulness, because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my sight. For I am about to create a new heavens and a new earth. Be glad and rejoice for ever in what I am creating. Isaiah 65:16-18

'I believe in the resurrection of the body.' However many millions have repeated those words in every continent and time, in thousands of languages, we still have a tendency to believe that heaven is somewhere above the bright blue sky and that's where our disembodied souls go leaving their bodies and the earth behind.

But we also say, 'I believe in Jesus Christ, who on the third day rose from the dead'. If Jesus' battered dead body could come alive again and be gloriously restored, so that he could stand beside the lake in the early morning and cook breakfast for his friends, then I believe the words of the Lord that come to us from Isaiah and are repeated by John in Revelation. There will be a new earth and I, as part of the physical universe, will live in it in a new body.

All the delights of our earth will be restored and recreated. The fractures between God and humanity, between human beings, between humanity and the natural environment and between God and his creation will be mended,* totally and for ever, through the cross of Christ, who is the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15).

Sunset and rainbows, roses and redwoods, paintings and music - all will be ours to enjoy, unspoilt. The damaged earth healed, the lion eating straw beside the ox. Perhaps we will all understand and rejoice in the poetry of each others' languages; perhaps we will meet and recognise with joy 'the infant that lived but a few days' (Isaiah 65:20). Maybe we will live in cities - the promised new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2).

When we pray, 'Your will be done on earth as in heaven,' we are 'invoking a blessing in the land', and promising to do all we can to continue the process of restoration and redemption that Jesus began on the cross, not just in individual lives, but in the world around us. Our work, whatever we do, is to make our earth more like his heaven until he comes again in glory and creates a new earth. Margaret Killingray (LICC)

The Interface

Introducing www.theinterface.org.uk: where Christianity meets Culture

Is the UK populated only by cynical people who are unable to have faith in the sincerity of others? Where are the people of hope? The writer of this article asks if she is alone in thinking that the current media approach to politicians and leaders of large institutions is demeaning and cynical.
Does believing in God lower your IQ? A recent declaration stated that intelligence is a predictor of religious scepticism and that a high IQ turns academics into atheists. What do you think?
These are two of the issues under debate on the interface website. The site was created with the aim of providing a friendly space for Methodists to discuss hot news topics and their implications for our faith.

www.theinterface.org.uk

Staying in God's Presence

How long should I stay?

“…THEY SOUGHT GOD EAGERLY, AND HE WAS FOUND
BY THEM…” 2 CHRONICLES 15:15 NIV

You’ll keep returning only to a place of pleasure, so stay in God’s presence until you create memories strong enough to keep bringing you back. If you don’t, you’ll be lured away by lesser things. Memories of the good times he’d spent with his father were what eventually brought the Prodigal Son back home (Lk 15:17). And the right memories will draw you back into God’s presence, time and time again. “How long should I stay?” you ask.
(1) Until you’ve truly repented. Listen: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret…” (2 Cor 7:10 NIV)
(2) Until your mistakes have been dealt with. Listen: “People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy” (Prov 28:13 NLT)
(3) Until your anger subsides. Listen: “…My [own] peace I now give…to you…stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed…” (Jn 14:27 AMP)
(4) Until your fear leaves. Listen, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you,” (Isa 41:10 NIV)
(5) Until your pain is healed. Listen: “I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord…” (Jer 30:17 NIV)
(6) Until your strength is renewed. Listen: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isa 40:31).
(7) Until change begins. Listen: “But we all…beholding…the Lord, are changed…from glory to glory…by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18)
(8) Until you understand His plan for your life. Listen, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer 29:11 NLT)
(9) Until you recapture your motivation. Listen: “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living…be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Ps 27:13-14 NIV)
(10) Until you receive His wisdom. Listen: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you” (Ps 32:8 NIV)
(11) Until new ideas are born. Listen: “See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you” (Isa 42:9 NIV)
(12) Until Christ becomes the centre of your life. Listen: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:4 NIV).

Have you been spending enough time in God’s presence lately?

thanks to UCB.co.uk THE WORD FOR TODAY

Living hope

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15

Just over 100 years ago, looking forward to the 20th century, Thomas Hardy heard the song of a frail thrush on a bleak mid-winter evening. He wrote:


So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.

Hope. Surely we, too, have few grounds for hope. In spite of the vast technological progress of the past century, in spite of unprecedented prosperity, people are more depressed, the inequalities of the world are as great, resentment and envy breed hatred and potentially apocalyptic terrorism, and a new economic crisis threatens our comfortable lives. Most people, particularly in the West, seem to be deeply pessimistic about the future, often hidden behind a mask of cynicism.

And yet it is hope that Peter describes here as the distinctive mark of the Christian, a mark so distinctive that it will arouse curiosity and elicit questions. Always, he writes, be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

So what is Christian hope? Peter is clear about its origin: we are born again, he declares, into a living hope, into a heavenly inheritance (1:3-4). This is not just pie in the sky when I die: it is based on the historical fact of Jesus' resurrection, and on the merciful character of God. But it is far more than the individual assurance of salvation. It embraces the whole world. It is a hope that God can change individuals and that through them he can change societies; that God has good purposes for people and nations; and that eventually he will make all things new.

What is it that makes you different? That's a question that we shall never hear while we affect the cynicism of those who, being without God, are also without hope. Perhaps being prepared to give an answer doesn't involve a prepared formula for presenting the gospel, but a spontaneous response from a heart overflowing with hope.

Helen Parry LICC

God in Everything

Thanks to Roger Johnson for this:

I’ve just returned from a staff meeting where the opening devotions centred upon the theme ‘God in Everything’. People shared how they had experienced God in the simple, everyday things of life. We reflected upon our journey to the meeting and the way in which we had been surprised by a special moment in which God’s presence came upon us unexpectedly.

For some it was a smile shared with a complete stranger at the petrol station or when walking in the street - for another it was a sudden flash of sunlight on a desolate landscape – for another it was sad news being received in a gentle and warm manner.

Many books have been written about the way God has shown up at the most unexpected moments – a time of depression, a time of bereavement or a similar time of struggle when we felt that God was distant. It’s not that God plays ‘hide and seek’ with us but rather that our expectation of God’s presence is too closely tied up with good times and not difficult times. The Bible is full of divine encounters which happened when people were at a low ebb – Elijah in the cave, Job assailed by disasters, Simon Peter after the resurrection beside the Sea of Galilee – you can probably add many more.

Sometimes God breaks in to our lives in strange incidents which only become meaningful months or years later. I remember when I was a very young Christian that I was in a Christian bookshop in Cambridge. As I browsed the shelves I knocked a book on the floor. As I stooped down to pick it up, although I knew nothing about it, I felt compelled to buy it. The book was ‘The Imitation of Christ’ by Thomas à Kempis. It was only later as I started to benefit from these ancient meditations that I realised I was treading a well-worn path.

As some of us will be winding down for a summer break, perhaps this is a time to ask God to reveal himself to us in new ways which will energise us when we return in September. The photo at the top of this bulletin* is a reminder of the beauty, harmony and intricacy of nature – something which, if only we take the time to observe, is rich with revelations of God’s nature. Jesus was constantly pointing people to natural things around them when explaining the truth about the Kingdom of God – a man sowing seeds, yeast in the bread, mustard seeds, birds of the air and so forth. Indeed he helped us to realise that the Kingdom of God, rather than being ‘otherworldly’ can be experienced in the ‘here and now’.

Stephen Cottrell in his recent book ‘Do nothing to change your life’ advocates regularly switching off and doing nothing for three minutes in order to experience God’s presence in your life. He stood on a London station giving out egg-timers to help people to do this.

There’s no better time than on holiday to practice the discipline of seeking God in the unexpected and everyday moments of life.

*the photo is mine, not Roger's, and shows part of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path West of Cardigan

Driven to Distraction?

Youngest daughter is currently learning how to drive. I hope she passes her test sooner rather than later !!

Teresa Clarke finally passed her driving test this week - after 27 years. It was the thirteenth test she had taken, after a total of 450 hours of tuition, at a cost of £15,000. Naturally, she was delighted; or, as her relieved driving instructor put it, 'she went absolutely bananas.' Well, wouldn't you, after 27 years?

Truth is that many of us would have given up long before. However, despite all the setbacks she encountered, Mrs Clarke insists that she, 'never wanted to give up learning to drive.' The primary reason why her success is newsworthy is because such perseverance is a rare thing in our 'instant society'.

Perseverance, of course, is the hallmark of true discipleship (Luke 9:62). However, in seeking to demonstrate the relevance of the Gospel to contemporary culture, we need to be careful not to create the impression that culture is the authority that authenticates the Gospel. Rather, as those believing in the divine authority of Scripture, we should seek to help people view culture through the lens of a biblical worldview, in order that they see things for what they really are.

In the case of Mrs Clarke this means celebrating her achievement for what it is - perseverance in passing her driving test - but steering clear of the temptation to interpret it as what it is not - an object lesson in persevering in discipleship. We don't need Mrs Clarke passing her driving test to teach us to persevere in discipleship - Jesus does that in the Bible. However, Mrs Clarke is an example of the difference a commitment to a biblical worldview makes in everyday life.

Mrs Clarke, you see, is a committed Christian, and it is in this context that her perseverance in learning to drive should be understood. 'I'm looking forward to taking people to church, to not having to ask my husband to take me shopping and to going to see my daughters', she commented after passing her test. Her perseverance in learning to drive was motivated by a desire to serve others, relieve them of their burdens, and be a blessing to them. These are thoroughly biblical values - testimony that Mrs Clarke's faith has informed her thinking as regards what's worth persevering with in life. In our 'instant society' she refused to 'conform to the pattern of this world', but was 'transformed by the renewing of [her] mind' (Romans 12:2).
What do our ongoing commitments say about our perseverance in the faith?
Nigel Hopper (LICC)

Take it to the Streets

On Wednesday Church Leaders from Scunthorpe met with Les Isaac, founder of 'Street Pastors' in the UK.
Arrangements are under way to train and introduce Street Pastors in Scunthorpe, probably on Friday and Saturday nights, maybe as soon as Christmas.
Watch this space for more info.

Today I got this article from LICC (Godincidence!)

Being a policeman is not an easy task. Take the other night, for example; the PC visiting the youth group I help out with had the unenviable task of giving a talk on police policy for stopping and searching young people. A fairly routine PR exercise for the boys in blue, but in this instance the speaker knew not only that many of the youths had first hand experience of being stopped and searched, but also that it was he who had carried out those searches.

Talk about making yourself vulnerable to criticism.

And, of course, this wasn't just a routine chat. In the light of 17 deaths due to knife crime in the capital alone this year, stop and searches will become more frequent; so improved dialogue between young people and the police is an extremely positive step.

But there is another solution to seeing crime on our streets reduced: flip-flops.

This is the story of a Christian woman who carries flip-flops around in her handbag. She has done so ever since meeting an inebriated young woman on the streets at pub and club turnout time (when the potential for violence is at its highest), who'd lost those fancy, but ever so flimsy high heels she was wearing. So the Christian woman resolved that whenever she went out at night in future, she would take a supply of flip-flops, to help revellers in a similar state get home safely.

Of course, this woman wasn't alone; she was part of one of the many Street Pastor teams that are rising up around the country. These teams - coalitions from churches - man the pavements outside bars and clubs, and take care of those minor incidents that swallow up so much police time. Like making sure vulnerable, single women get home safely, and that rows don't escalate into fights, and calling an ambulance when it's absolutely necessary.

This isn't about random acts of kindness; it's about intentional kingdom living (Matthew 25:31-40). This is living out God's rule of compassion and mercy on the streets, and giving hope to paramedics and police, as well as the punters in the pubs.

It's fantastic that police forces are keen to dialogue with churches and youth groups. But, as the Street Pastor initiative has been doing, let us be equally keen to initiate talks, and bring rescue to our violent streets, by seeking to actively serve those who serve us so willingly.

Jason Gardner