Don't dismiss the small church

I remember hearing once that God must love small churches. He made so many of them. We want churches to grow, and that's good, but many churches are in areas where having a big church is unlikely, and many faithful Christians appreciate the feel of a small church. But this isn't a debate about large or small churches.

This is about a small church with a big hope.

I spent last weekend with the youth group connected to the Benalla Presbyterian Church. There was 17 people from grade 6 to year 12, and then on Saturday night some of the families from the church came to join us for the Camp Concert - where I saw a camp skit I hadn't seen for thirty years! And it still made me laugh!!

There are a whole lot of churches with that size of youth in their church who wouldn't even dream of having a youth camp. But this church did. There are a lot of churches who would say it wasn't worth the hassle of organising a campsite and getting someone to cater and all that goes with it. But this church believed it was worth it. And it wasn't just the minister. Some people came to cook the food that other people in the church had donated. Some people couldn't come, but they covered the cost for some of the youth to get there.

What will it achieve? In God's grace, we believe it will lead to changed lives and world impact. Because we can't read the future, we don't know what these young people will grow to be. But that is the same in a big church or a small church. Don't let that stop you from getting people together and sharing the gospel together.

I had a great time at the camp, and I was pleased my son Daniel was able to be there too. We met some great people. Some young, and some not. But all connected.

So don't dismiss the small church. Pray for them. Support them. And if the small church is the one near you, then go there. You might just meet some of God's great people there.

And if you're in the Benalla area, look out for the Presbyterian church. God's people live there.

Friendship and Ministry

The strength of friendship

In the world of ministry, many of us have responded to the call to “forsake all to follow Jesus.” This has often meant moving away from our friends and family firstly to attend a training college, and then to serve as a parish minister which is usually no where near anyone we know. And that’s ok.

But what if . . .

What if we worked with a different paradigm? What if I could travel back in time and instead of leaving my group of close friends, what if we committed our lives to the ministry of Jesus together? We could use the strength of our friendship and the different skills that we have, and a common love for Jesus to build a ministry that might be far stronger than anything we could do on our own. I am now in my mid-forties, and every time I have moved to a different church or a different ministry setting, it has meant forming new friendships – which has been great – but it takes time to build deep friendships.

So if I try to imagine the last twenty years in ministry but now in those thoughts include two or three of my closest friends through those years, I can’t even conceive how different it might be.

I’m not sad about the ministry experience I have had, and I’m grateful for the many friends I have as a result of this; but what if . . .

What if you and your two best friends began to consider how you could impact the world around you in the name of Jesus Christ? What would you do? What could you do together that you couldn’t do on your own?

What could you do together that you couldn’t do on your own? (Repeat this sentence a few times, but read it slowly.)

I think I need to sit and wonder about this a bit more.

A couple of final points. Firstly, I am incredibly grateful for my wife who is my greatest friend, and who has been a part of this ministry journey for nearly 21 years now. Secondly, I acknowledge that anything we can do is by God’s grace.

Big Grace

I've just been reading through another blog and in the middle of describing a troubled period of life, the writer included this phrase,

"I was getting a vision of a very big Jesus with a very big grace for sinners from them."

This got me thinking about how I present the message of Jesus to those around me. When I get the opportunity to preach, do I urge people to live better lives or do I point them to the one who can help them to lead better lives? Do I preach about the condemnation of sinners, or do I preach about the one who gave his all to save those same sinners?

And if I think about this too long, I find myself wishing I could go back through the last 20 years, apologise to some churches for what I have preached and instead urge these people to hold on to Jesus Christ. But I can't go back. (Not that I intentionally misled people. I just fear I have missed the main point too often. Forgive me?)

So, I want to give a vision of a very big Jesus with a very big grace for sinners. And I hope the Church can do the same - but that's another topic all together.

If you want to read the blog I refer to you can find it here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/gospeldrivenchurch/2013/05/15/john-piper-and-mark-driscoll-talked-me-off-the-bridge/

I know nothing about the writer other than what he has recorded in this blog.

Wedding Rehearsal

Tonight I took party in a wedding rehearsal. I didn't have a big part to play,  just playing my bass. But it isn't about me. It is about two young adults who love each other and want to make that relationship formal and lifelong.
The songs and venue also reflect another love - a love for Jesus and a love for the Church. And when a couple love each other, and they both love Jesus, and they love to be in the Church, it provides a solid foundation and the materials for a solid building.
So I wonder what the future will hold for them.  I don't know, but I'm confident it will be good.
And I'm looking forward to Saturday.

Hospital Sitting

There's nothing quite like sitting next to a hospital bed. The person you are visiting often can't get involved in a conversation; there is always other noise around you; and the nurses keep coming in.
But for all that,  most of us know that this is where you need to be.
This week I feel like I have spent so much time in hospital just sitting. So much work is waiting for my attention and has been neglected. There are so many things I could have been doing.
And none of that matters.
This is where I need to be.

More sitting

I'm once again sitting in the emergency room of our local hospital in the wee hours of the morning waiting for my darling wife to see a doctor. The real disappointment here it's that she had been home from hospital for around 13 hours before we needed to come back.
Am I really disappointed though? Not really. 
Around the world there are millions of people who cannot get the medical attention we will receive.
So we might be tired (exhausted actually) but still glad to be here.

My first blog post! How exciting!!

Why "Sit and Wonder"? This is part of a song by Deep Purple called "Soon Forgotten" from their album "Purpendicular". It's not my favourite song by any means, but the opening line is something that is often on my mind:

Sometimes I sit and wonder; sometimes I just sit.

This phrase sums up how I feel sometimes. And it just seemed a good title for a blog.

But will anyone read it? Who knows!