When it rains...

I am in the midst of the most interesting answer to prayer for a while. I have been 'living by faith' - as in, without any proper income, for over a year now. I applied for all sorts of jobs, I placed bids for all sorts of programming and web projects, I tried everything I could think of, all to no help. We survived, barely, but we've been sinking deeper and deeper into debt. The crunch point was when the bailiff came at our door, regarding the money we owe towards the council tax. We just didn't have them.

So that is when I told the Lord that I can not go on like this. I came here knowing that this is the church the Lord called me to, and we have seen the Lord working in people's lives, and in the church. By his grace, this church that one year ago was contemplating closure, is now growing and planning with confidence for the future. But the thing is, my family and I are sinking. I had to do some deep sould searching to see if I shouldn't just look for some other place, some other church, some other ministry. But in the end, I told the Lord that, as long as his calling does not change, I am here to stay, even if we end up homeless or worse.

Well, last week I earned a bit over £50, which is an insignificant amount but better then I've been earning lately. On Sunday, as we were getting ready to leave for church, I struggled woth the idea that I should take £5 to give in the offering - even though we don't have enough to survive another week. Somehow, I said in the end, "Lord, I trust you. You promised to look after us. I am here at your call and doing your work - I trust in your faithfulmess."

Aas a background - some 5 months ago the church voted to pay me a very modest salary, but the treasurer refused to pay it until now. And some 4 months ago we were told that the Baptist Association approved a small mission grant towards my salary as well. But then nothing came of that either. Meanwhile my computer work has completely dried out.

So back to last Sunday. I went through the service, and gave those 5 pounds in the offering plate, and then - at the end of the service - the treasurer goes to my wife and hands her the cheque with my salary for October! It's not a lot, it would only cover half of our regular house bills, not including food or anything else for us - but it was a gift from God! And then, on Tuesday, she comes and gives me the back pay for the last 4 months. Which is just enough to keep the bailiff off our back! Also on Tuesday, we got word that the grant from the Association is on its way. And during this week I've been in discussions with a company in the US for a fairly major database project. I don't have the contract in hand yet but it looks like it's firmly on. And then yesterday a brother from an advertising company calls to say that the project they rejected a month ago is now back on the table. And then another former customer calls to give me some work. And tonight yet another former customer called to ask if I can do some work for him. In the meanwhile, the city sent a letter saying I only owe them half of the council tax.

So I got all this for £5??? It's not the money, I know - the Lord is faithful.

Another month...

So it's been over a month since the last post.

The greatest thing was the baptism we had a couple of weeks ago. It was such a priviledge to baptise two of my own sons! There are few things that are as moving for a father, as leading his own sons in the covenant of baptism. Of course, it was great to baptise Matthew and Cynthia too.

The Walk study went well so far - I love the interaction and discussions we get every Tuesday. It's great to see new - and even not so new - Christians 'getting it' and growing. I am a disciple maker at heart, I love this more than any other aspect of being a pastor, and being in this church has been a true blessing.

And then, we are still living our faith adventure. It is great to see how the Lord leads us on, one step at a time. When it looks like we are finally sinking, He throws us a lifeline and we're continuing to 'float' a while longer. It's not the easiest kind of life, but it is a life in which we are keenly aware that every day we're alive, every day we have a roof over our heads and food on the table, it's by the direct action of the Lord, and by His grace. Someone asked me if it's difficult to have faith when you go through a time like this. Well, it is difficult to NOT have faith - when you have no choice but to rely completely on God, and when you see His hand at work every day, there's no place for doubts. You get to know God personally and intimately, because He is a real, tangible part of your everyday life.

And finally, next Saturday it's my induction service. I never knew what an induction service was, until now - we don't have that kind of ceremony in Romania, and I never heard of it in the States either. Leave it to the Brits to come up with interesting ways to celebrate the beginning of a new faze in a pastor's ministry. It's a lot of hustle and bustle, but I look forward to it. And after next Saturday, I'll be the 'properly official' pastor of Ford Baptist Church. Maybe I should be driving a Ford too?!?

the great adventure

Sorry, guys and gals, I've been so busy that posting here just faded in the background.

We had a wonderful Open House yesterday, the openness and love was so evident in everyone present. Ford Baptist, I am so blessed to be your pastor!
I was looking over what the Lord has been doing in the last few months. The first growth spur seems to have plateaued at the moment, but I have no worries - it will start again soon. A few people became part of our church family. Four people are waiting to be baptised next Sunday. I can see lives being touched and changed. A few people are battling with depression, and they find help and support here. Someone's gotten in trouble with the police, and is now back with the Lord and looking for help to put his life back together. New Christians are growing closer to the Lord. A few parents are staying on for the service rather than just dropping their kids to church and picking them up again later. Although that in itself is really amazing too. We even had a dog in church today - no kidding! The Lord is doing great things in people's lives here, and my family and I are so priviledged to be part of it! Evelina is really back in her element, gathering a flock of friends and being the soul of everything going on.

But what blesses me most is the love you can feel in the church. It hits you as you walk through the doors; people laughing and smiling and chatting and making this such a wonderful place. It hit me when a visitor from another church told me at the end of a service - "I can't believe how much love there is in this church!" Yeah, Lord! That's what it's all about. We can't convince people into the kingdom, I can't preach them into the Kingdom - but if we love them into the Kingdom, we're doing it the right way.

Yes, sure, it's an adventure, and I'm back at it with a vengeance. Over the years I had forgotten what it's like to live by faith. When you're down to the last pennies, and there is no food in the fridge and no money to pay the bills, it gets scary and stressful. But God is our Daddy - he's never let us down yet, and he'll never fail in his faithfulness. Oh, I wish I could come even close to deserving it - but it's all about His grace. That amazing, wonderful, never-ending grace.

Oh yes, I love the Lord, and I love this little church, and I'm enjoying every moment (well, almost...) of this adventure. There is nothing I'd rather do and no place I'd rather be. And definitely no church I'd rather be a part of.

the day we murdered God

We had a great Good Friday service, if I may say so myself. :-)
Apart from the regulars and the visitors from the Morice Church, we had two visitors from the community. One is a lady who was on her third visit, so I'm hoping she is getting stuck with us. Another is a man who lives just up the road, we had a nice and looong chat after church. I hope for lots more visitors for the main service on Sunday.

I didn't have this problem for a long time, but I choked a bit during the sermon; now, if the preacher impresses himself to tears, maybe it wasn't too bad. I had lots of people commenting on the sermon after the service.
This is the bit that had me choked:

God came to us, and we arrested Him; we treated Him like a criminal; we condemned Him in a mock trial; we laughed at Him; we slapped Him in the face; we put a crown of thorns on His head; we flogged Him; we spat on him; we pulled the hairs of His beard out; we paraded Him on the streets of Jerusalem, carrying a heavy, wooden cross; we drew nails through His hands and feet; we put Him on a cross, and made Him die a slow, painful, horrible death. We did this to God.
Throughout history, we humans have done a lot of sins. Lying, stealing, murder, adultery, hatred, war, genocide, terrorism, gossip, slander, hatred... the list goes on and on. There are so many bad things we've done. But the worse, the most heinous, the most disgusting sin we have ever done, was that when God came to us, we tortured and murdered Him.
This is what we are celebrating today. Good Friday is the day when we tortured and murdered our God. Good Friday is the day we, the human race, committed the worst sin we've ever done. Good Friday is the day when we rejected God is the worst way possible. All the sin of all of humanity in all of time, culminated in the sin we committed that day.
By all accounts, that should have been the end of the human race. That should have been the day when God would wipe us out of existence; that should have been the day when God destroyed the whole of creation. Because on that day we took our rebellion against God to its final conclusion. That day, we showed God how much we hate Him.
That wasn't “Good Friday” - it wasn't even just bad Friday, or worst Friday – it was the worst day ever. In the whole history of the Universe, that was the worst day.
And God used that day, and He used that sin – the worst sin we've ever done, in order to show us who He is. He took “worst Friday” and turned it into “Good Friday.” He took our worst sin and made it into the gateway for our salvation. He took our worst display of rage and hatred and rebellion in order to show us His love. He took that moment when we tried to break with Him in a complete and final way – and made it into a door for reconciliation. The day we murdered Him, was the day He made it possible for us to become His children.
If we ever wonder who God is, we just have to look at that day. He is the God who would do all that for us – in order to save us. He saw our broken lives, our loneliness, He saw how lost and miserable we are, He saw the tragedy of our lives – and He decided to do something about it. He took the greatest tragedy and turned it into salvation. He took the greatest sin and turned it into grace. He took the greatest display of hate and turned it into love. He came to those who tortured and murdered him, and called us to be his beloved children. He took our hell, and offered us heaven.

God's faithfulness

"God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." (1 Corinthians 1:9). Such a simple statement, isn't it? God is faithful. He called us into fellowship with His Son, and He is faithful - He will keep His word. This is the unshakeable foundation of our faith.

I was reminded of this last night as I listened to the presentation of Shekinah Mission. They started as a work of faith, in response to a need, and the Lord has been faithful. They are now touching countless lives, and the Lord is transforming them and calling them to Himself. A small group of people, who had no funds or buildings or organisation behind them - people who had a dream and were ready to run with it - placed themselves in the hands of our Lord, and He used them to build what Shekinah Mission is today.
I am being reminded of this every time the Lord answers a prayer, or a need, or when He draws a new soul into the fellowship of His church. Yesterday's passage was all about grace (John 8: 1 -12). Jesus, the light of the world, showing His light in grace towards a woman who was just a pawn in the game the Pharisees were playing. Jesus, showing grace even to the pharisees who were there to trick him into breaking the law. Jesus, showing that He is not about power and coercion, but about love and forgiveness and freedom. About opening up a new door of hope. I live because of His grace. Ford Church is here because of His grace. God is faithful, and because He is, we have a hope and a future.

thinking about the future

I feel a bit like Mary, who used to keep in her heart extraordinary things happening in the early years of the life of Jesus - and wondering what kind of man He will grow up to be. Events continue to sweep over me, and I'm trying to make sense of what the Lord is doing in this church.

Last week I had lunch with Baroness Cox, with the Lord Mayor of Plymouth and his wife, and a few other dignitaries. Both the baroness and the mayor gave me their cards and asked that I contact them, and I had interesting discussions with them. The mayor wants to come and visit our Boys' Brigade and Girls' Brigade - to show their support for the work we do with the children. Baroness Cox wants to put me in contact with a few people she knows, regarding ministry in Eastern Europe and to Eastern Europeans here in the UK. I have no idea why I ended up meeting with a member of the House of Lords and the mayor and his wife - I'm not interested in politics - but somehow the Lord arranged things so I got there.

People continue to just come and contact us, there Lord is drawing people in before we even get a chance to do anything about it. Last Sunday I was away preaching at a different church, but at Ford there were about 60 people. We got to the point where we need to start meeting again in the main hall, we don't fit any more in the middle hall we've been using over the winter. I've been praying that the Lord will give us at least 100 people regularly during the Sunday worship, before the end of the year. We seem to be getting there ahead of my schedule - a great problem to have! I look around and there is so much need for love, for grace, for a vision and for encouragement. We had the Baptist Association's meeting last Saturday, and I could sense the discouragement and feelings of helplessness in many of the people present. Churches have been shrinking, a few have closed down and there are a few more that face closure unless something is done about it. One church building burned down recently. And yet, all around us there are hundreds of thousands of people who need the Lord, and many of them are somewhat open to the Spirit - they just need the right community, and need people who would lead them to the Lord. I hope we get to be that kind of church. I feel like the farmer standing before a great harvest - one I did not sow or worked for. It's only His grace.

Monday!

We had a smaller group yesterday in the morning service - but a bigger number than usual in the evening. Quite a few people were away, and we had only a few children.

But things are happening. One young man from the neighbourhood came for a visit in the morning, came back in the evening, and is already interested in joining the church. Last week I distributed a trial run of 50 leaflets on a street by the church - and he is the first result.
One man found our website and contacted me, first to ask about some local history, and then to tell me that he is moving in the area, wants to visit the church, and would like to eventually be married in our church.
Last night, just after the service, a young lady came to have a look around. She is moving in the area, is getting married, has never had a church home and is looking for one. Very soon we were talking about her desire to learn more about faith, to be baptised, to become part of our church. We will have to start baptism classes after Easter - she is the third person asking about baptism.

It feels like events are just taking over, pushed by an invisible hand. The only time I experienced something like this was when planting the church in Barlad. It is as if the Lord had people already open and looking for a church, and He was just waiting for the church to get a grip. Morice Baptist, our partner church, is experiencing the same thing - after years of decline, suddenly new people are coming in, all by themselves. This is what I was hoping for, but not really what I was expecting.

Of course it does not mean we can stop reaching out; it is our duty as a church to go into the community and reach people for the Lord any way we can. But what I think is happening is that the Lord already had people whose heart was open, but the church was not ready for them. We are not there yet, there is a long way to go, but the feel of the church is definitely changing. The Lord is at work - we just need to try and catch up. I need to catch up - I'm still in a bit of a daze and haven't quite got a grip on things.

Last night I had troubles with the sound system, and one of the songs (Beautiful Lord) was more or less murdered. The sound guy wasn't there and I could not find the wire to connect my laptop to the amp. We survived it, but I have to learn where everything is and how everything works - we can't have this happen in a Sunday morning service. The evening sermon was a bit undercooked; I haven't quite managed to catch up with my message schedule. I'm getting there. I'm a visiting preacher somewhere else this coming Sunday, and then a bunch of meetings around Easter are coming. And then we kick start our Living with Christ small group series. I've got to get all of that ready soonest. And to plan the baptism and membership class, and to make my preaching plan for after Easter. Things are getting really interesting and exciting! I've still got a few things dragging me down - particularly the whole financial thing - but then, I've got to put in practice what I was preaching last night: step out in faith! The Lord is faithful - it's just a question of me, and us as a church, being faithful.