Am I a Don Quixote seeing churches as windmills for producing food (flour)

DON QUIXOTE -  WINDMILLS OF THE CHURCHES

In a story by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra,   a short sighted Don Quixote and his farmer friend Sancho Panza,  rides around Spain charging at windmills in the mistaken view they are giants that need pulling down as they were terrorizing the people.   I sometimes wonder if I have  been like Don Quixote within the church,  except instead of giants I see God’s presence and instead of bringing down the windmills,  trying to make them work.

Everywhere I go I see windmills (churches) with shafts of light coming down from heaven and surrounding them with God’s glory so I charge towards them wanting to be part of what God is doing there.    As I get close,  I see people struggling to till the soil,  grow wheat on barren land and feed their children.    It is though clear that although the mill is bathed in light,  the wind blowing and the spirit moves,   the sails of the mill barely move or even turn at all.      The tenant mill owners and their worker instead of producing  flour from the grain the farmers bring,   are standing  around,   bathing in the shaft of light they are rejoicing because the wind is blowing and are crying out for the spirit to move even more.    Puzzled I ask the tenant mill owner why with all this wind,   the sails are not turning and  grain turned into flour and he says God supplies all the people need to eat.    The workers are happy dancing and singing and have all they need so why do they need more.    To that  I reply,    look around you,  the farmers do not have enough.   The people in the fields around you are ill through lack of food.   The mill could supply all the food needed if only your workers worked the sails that flap idly in the breeze.   The tenant shrugs his shoulders and asks what do I know of these things.   “Look”  I answer  “even though I may not be an engineer,  even I can see the sails flapping and hardly  turning no matter how strong the wind blows.   The mill stone is moving ever so slowly and the wheat we have does not make enough for ourselves,  let alone the farmers whose wheat it is.   Surely the owner of the mill would want us to do better than that.”    As I look around puzzled that so little is being achieved,  I notice the brake on the sails is not fully off.   The belt drive connecting the cogswheels on the sail to the cogs on the millstone is slack and slipping.   A couple of the beams are also missing.    I therefore ask the mill owner if I could fully push the brake lever on the sail to the fully off position.    Maybe take up some of the slack on the belt drive and possibly replace one or two of the missing beams.     Immediately I am jumped on by the workers standing by him.    I am bungled out of the door and before I know it put back on my horse and told to find another mill to harass.        Scratching my head,  I ride into the distance only to see another windmill with a shaft of light beaming down on to it.    I ride towards it and find again a similar story.    Again to be bundled out of the place and sent packing as soon as I ask why is there not more food for the people living near the mill to each.   And so it goes on.    Each time I see a windmill with the sun beaming down on it and a strong wind blowing,  I take it that God is there.    I therefore ride towards it as fast as my little steed can take me,  only to find the same story repeating itself.    I upset the owners and anger the workers.

After many such experiences I have to ask myself,    am I so short-sighted and mistaken.    Are the churches windmills,  which should be producing flour from the crops in the fields that surround  them.   Or they just dancehalls.    A place to come for a good time.    A place just for dancing and singing.   A place just to party with God?      The bible would tell me otherwise.    Christian stand up and preach the same things I am saying.     Even in the cool of the day,  over a pint as evening draws in,  I am told what I am saying is right,   so why do I evoke such strong responses.    Ah they say.    It’s the way you are saying it.    You are being judgmental.    You are judging them.   You have to wait for God to move.    You just have to be patient,  when God is ready,   He will move.    He will provide in His own time and in His good way.    You should just say nothing,  join in the dance and wait.    And in the meantime,   people go hungry,  people die for the lack of flour that is needed even though the fields are full of corn.

Reflecting more on this and why I provoke such anger by saying if we just release this lever,  tighten this belt or replace this beam,  I wonder.   The mill owner insecure and feeling criticized,  knows the mill could do more but he is busy as it is.    He has far too much on his hands to start with.    If he released the brakes,  the sails would move faster  and he could have a breakdown.       The deputies and senior hands.   If the tenant owner had wanted the mill to produce more flour,  he would have said so,   wouldn’t he?    Anyway who’s this young upstart saying he knows more that we who’ve been here all our lives?   The workers too are upset.    If the sails moved faster or the belt didn’t slip as much,  we would have to do more work.    The grain hoppers would empty and we would have to keep topping them up.    Then think of the flour,   more bags to fill.   To lift and carry outside to the wagons and distribute.     Even the neighbours would be upset,   think of the noise as the sails turn round faster.   The activity around the place,  all that coming and going.   The traffic,  think of it,  more and more grain brought on site.   The flour needing to be taken away.    No,  it’s better all round if the Don Quixote just kept quiet.   Kept his opinions to himself.   Better still just went away and pestered someone else.    As for the poor people,  the people around us desperately needing food.   That’s not our problem.    If they need feeding,  why don’t they do like we do,   come into mill and enjoy the dance.   What’s that,  they’ve not been invited.    Isn’t that the work of the Holy Spirit.    God’s responsibility not ours.    Come on let’s dance.   The music is starting up again.

For those contemplating getting their lawn mowers out this Spring

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW

GOD:	Hi Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. Tell me,  what in the world is going on down there?    What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan.    Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now.   But all I see are these green rectangles.
ST. FRANCIS:	It's the tribes that settled there, Lord.     The Suburbanites.    They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.
GOD:	Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?
ST. FRANCIS:	Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.
GOD:	The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast.  That must make the homeowners happy.
ST. FRANCIS:	Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it ~ sometimes twice a week.
GOD:	They cut it? Do they then bail it like hay?
ST. FRANCIS:	Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.
GOD:	They bag it?   Why?    Is it a cash crop?    Do they sell it?
ST. FRANCIS:	No Sir.     Just the opposite.    They pay to throw it away
GOD:	Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow.    And when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?
ST. FRANCIS	Yes, Sir.
GOD:	These Earthlings must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.
ST. FRANCIS:	You aren't going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.
GOD:	What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself.   The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil.    It's a natural circle of life.
ST. FRANCIS:	You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.
GOD:	No.   What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?
ST. FRANCIS:	After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.
GOD:	And where do they get this mulch?
ST. FRANCIS:	They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.
GOD:	Enough. I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine,  you're in charge of the arts. What movie have they scheduled for us tonight?
ST. CATHERINE:	"Dumb and Dumber". It's a real stupid movie about.....
GOD:	Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

Stubborn Love - Michael W Smith

 STUBBORN LOVE       (Michael W. Smith)

Here again, is your faithless friend,

Don't you ever tire of hearing what a fool I've been?

Guess I should pray, but what can I say?

Oh, it hurts to know the hundred times I've caused you pain.

The "forgive me" sounds so empty when I never change,

Yet you still say again and again I love you still, 

Forgiving me time and time again

It's your stubborn love that never lets go of me

I don't understand how you can stay.

Perfect love - embracing the worst in me

How I long for your stubborn love

Funny me, just couldn't feel;

Even long before I knew you,  you were loving me

Sometimes I cry and you must cry too, :

When you see the broken promises I've made to you.

I keep saying that I trust you though I seldom do.

Yet you still say again and again I love you still, 

Knowing some day, I'll be like you.

It's your stubborn love that never lets go of me

I don't understand how you can stay.

Perfect love - embracing the worst in me

How I long for your stubborn love

How do you know God’s Will - Thoughts which brought us back to Plymouth

HOW DO YOU KNOW GOD'S WILL

I have always been brought up to believe:-

1. God speaks
2. The Spirit within witnesses to the truth of what is heard
3. It agrees with scripture and in keeping with what you know of God
4. It is confirmed by others
5. It comes about (in due course)

Just over a year ago in January 2008, both Julie and I felt that our time in Stroud was coming to an end as both our jobs in the area was about to finish.    Julie was then offered a job as a Community Manager for one of the Salvation Army Centres in Birmingham     A job which I would have given my eye teeth for but it was only offered to Julie although I could have helped and supported her.     During the interview Julie felt the Lord saying it was not for her and so turned it down.      At the same time though both felt the Lord was saying that each church should be a Christian centre,  Worshiping God and flowing from that serving man.    Serving man should lead us to God for only He can solve the issues of man and give us the grace, strength and wisdom to meet man’s needs.    The church should therefore be a both a centre for worshiping God and a centre for serving man.     It should in effect be a community centre worshipping God..     We also felt that it was time to return to Plymouth where our children had remained when we left there to move to Stroud.     

In February 08 we arranged to “house” sit and look after the grandchildren whilst Sue joined John (my son) for a week in Dubai.     Whilst in Plymouth  that week  we explored the possibility of returning permanently.     House prices seemed high but compatible with what we could sell our house for in Stroud.   We went to our old church and found that although it had changed and part had reverted back to it’s roots as City Church with Kit Mason and Roy Beaumont whilst the other remained as Church of The Nations,  Although both had moved to different locations, we felt as though we had come back home.   Even though there were only a few people left at City church,  it felt good to be back.    We also caught up with what was happening in the City, renewing acquaintances with Colin and Lorna Trent and learnt about what they were doing with regards to debt counselling.    There was also the talk of setting up a Food Bank in Plymouth,  both of which we were involved in, in Stroud.    Add to that during the week there,  three independent and totally unconnected people told us on different occasions about  Tony Jopson and how he often needs help with his accountancy practice.    It therefore seemed right on our return to Stroud to take steps to put our house on the market and take steps to return to Plymouth.

In the first three or four weeks of putting our house on the market we had had 6 or 7 viewings but financial market was on the verge of collapse and no one made any offers to buy.  Shortly after putting the house on the market and without warning both Julie’s and my job came to an end.   Despise the housing situation and first signs of the global credit crunch we still felt it right to return to Plymouth and so arranged to live with my daughter Joanne for a while until our house was sold.

In June we returned therefore to Plymouth and revisited old friends and acquaintances, worshiping on a Sunday at various churches and fellowships as we sought to find out where we should become a member and work out what God had laid on hearts.

We felt God was saying that each church should have a vision for the lost and a driving desire to build up the the Kingdom as they sought to meet the needs of the local community in the area that they had been planted.    We therefore were seeking a church where there was:

1.  A lively place of worship where we felt we belonged
2. An active driving desire to grow    and
3. Serving the community from the centre where they were worshiping that we could play some active part in.

So we began to look for a church that we could set down roots and play a part in the building up of the Kingdom.   Alas even now 6 years later that search continues

God has given us a clear sense of church which should be like a light set on a lamp stand (Matt 5 14-16) with all the para church organisations as it were drawn back under the umbrella of the church.   For too long the church has been hiding it’s light under a bushel,  staying in the shadows whilst the serving heart of the church has been expressed through either individuals as they go about their daily work or through para-church organisations with inoffensive names like SALT,  Plymouth Focus,   Plymouth Foodbank etc etc.     The man in the street therefore does not necessarily see these organisations as Christian or if they do it’s such a low key connection that it doesn't really matter.    As for church,  it has no relevance to their lives or place in society any more than any other club or organisation.    God would rather have it the other way.    The church in the foreground with the para-church organisations in the background playing a supportive role..    People would then again see the church playing an active role in the community and when they are in need say to one another let’s go down to the church for they will be able to help us in this hour of need.    It may well be that that particular church is too small to have the resources or particular expertise and will need to draw on the resources of other churches or para-church organisations nearby.    In this way churches will once again be seen as relevant and have something to say on particular matters.    God will once again be given the glory for help that has been received and a connection made between the help provided during the week with the worship that takes place in the same building on a Sunday.

7 years on God is still saying that but the churches are they listening?   Or is me and it I who have got it totally wrong?

Missing Limbs - an article from 16th October 2006

A BODY WITH MISSING LIMBS

I  was watching a really fascinating programme on BBC2 called “Beyond Boundaries: The African Challenge” (Sundays at 9pm).   A group of physically disabled people with apparently no help from able-bodied folk are attempting to walk across Africa and this week they will be the first group (able or disabled) to walk through the Etoshia Game Reserve where there are about 500 lions as well as elephants, rhinos and other big cats roaming wild.     I am saying apparently because apart from the expedition leader and a doctor,  the impression is given there is no one else with them except the camera crew recording the trek.  Apart that is on the occasions when they have to hire guides or as in tonight’s episode need to take a number of game wardens with rifles in case the wild animals get too close.     In the group there are three amputees (one having lost an arm in an accident,  the other two, one a leg in a car crash, the other when a tree fell on top of her.)   Then there is a person who was born with no arms and has learnt to dress, feed and wash himself with his feet.   Another two people are in wheel chairs,  another has no control over her muscles, walking on two crouches with a very tiring and awkward gait    Three others who are the closest be being “able bodied” two who have been deaf from birth and the other with Tourettes.

What is really fascinating and amazing is not just how they have overcome their physically disabilities which is fantastic enough in normal everyday life but how they are pushing themselves through  really difficult terrain which would defeat most “normal” people,  let alone those with serious handicaps.    None of the group had meet each other before trek and so on arrival in Africa there was a meal and the opportunity to get to know each other over fun and food.    It was only though as they trekked through swamps,  torrential downpours,   deserts and wild inhospitable wildernesses,  did relationships develop.    That first evening together they had a really good party with plenty to eat and laughter,  each talking about who they were,  why they had come and what they hoped to get out of it.   It was only as the going got tough and the tough got going,  did they really find out about each other and relationships were forged.     One thing soon became obvious though as they set out the next morning,  despite all that they had been told,  despite all the fine words about this being a team effort and they all had to work together,  they were all strong minded individuals who had never given a thought for anyone else,  let alone worked as a team.    Understandable when you come to think of it,   they all had enough to worry about with their own problems without worrying about someone else.    They had enough pain of their own to overcome,  to give any thought for what someone else was going through.    Also,  all their lives they had battled to overcome difficulties and develop an independence so not to have to rely on other people.    The expedition leader though from the very outset was concerned as he repeatedly reiterated that if they were to get across Africa they had to learn to work together as a team

 As I am watching it I could not help thinking of what someone had brought to share at the Family night the previous evening and again thought just how wrong what she was saying was.     As the group progressed on their journey through Africa,  there were quick glimpses of their lives, how they had become disabled and the struggle they go through everyday to overcome the difficulties.    At no point though do you get the impression that they would rather not have their missing limbs back,  or that they lived quite happily without them.    Without their limbs,  life was one big struggle and they have to fight everyday to overcome the handicaps they suffered and the walk across Africa demonstrated that even more so.   The man who had lost his arm said he was in a deep depression for about 6 years after losing his arm and on a number of occasions wanted to die.    It was only later did he start to “pull” himself together,  learn to manage with one arm and now has quite a good life with only one arm to do everything.    The girl who lost her leg had to have numerous operations before she could have an artificial leg fitted .   The long slow process of learning to walk with an artificial leg,  followed by more operations and fittings as the stump,  which is all that’s left of the leg,  grows,    Each time it grows even a little bit,  a new artificial leg has to be fitted.   Then there is the replacement of worn or broken ones.   Each time there is more struggling to adapt,  more pain to endure.    As well as all that,  the stump easily gets infected, blisters, rubbed raw and so constantly needs to be looked after and so more pain.    One thing is certain,  losing a limb was not taken lightly or glibly dismissed, as the article would seem to imply

The man with no arms was the first to give up.    Although still fit and could still have gone on he was finding it increasingly difficult to wash himself in the trek situation.    He became therefore increasingly concerned about his personal hygiene and fearful of his feet becoming damaged or diseased.    He became fearful that if something did happen to his feet then he would not be able to look after himself in anyway what so ever,  so became the first to drop out and fly back home.    He certainly was concerned about losing a limb and gave up his dream to ensure he didn't lose another one.     Others were to drop out as the weeks went on and it was fascinating to see how they coped as they struggle across the desert, dealt with the heat and the ever presence danger of wild animals.

I don’t have a copy of the article that was read out and I may therefore have misheard but the gist of it was we need the church but the church does not need us,  which seems in total contrast to what Paul said in 1 Cor 12:14-21 especial when in v 21 he says The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"(NIV)

The article went on to liken the church to the body in that if the body loses a limb,  life goes on and it doesn't die.    The limb though that is lost does and is fit only to be thrown on the rubbish tip or destroyed.    That of course is true if you see people like limbs just pieces of flesh to be thrown away or discarded.    If you stop and look more closely though,  not only does the body need all it’s limbs if it loses one,  it will die without some very radical and skilled surgery when that limb is damaged or lost.     Take as an example those people in the TV programme,  each one who lost a limb almost died but for speedy intervention.     Each of them,  whether it was the person trapped by a falling tree or involved in a car accident,  would have bled to death if help had not been quickly at hand to stem the bleeding and rush them to hospital where highly skilled surgeons then operated on them.    The same would happen to anyone who loses a limb,  no matter how small or insignificant it may be,  even chopping off a finger or toe would have the same effect if the wound was not quickly bound up and the bleeding stemmed.    Even if the bleeding is stopped,  unless the wound is treated and looked after for some time afterwards,  infection would set in and poison the blood stream.   This if not treated will in time kill the person.     As for the limbs,  although Christ said it is better to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to be cast into hell (Matt 5:29-30)   I don’t think he was in any way implying you do not need your eye or hand,   on the contrary he went about healing the withered arm (Matt 12:10) and re-attaching the limbs back to the body.  

The limbs are, contrast to what the article would appear to be saying,  such an important part of the body that we fight tooth and nail to keep them and only at the last resort are they removed and cast into the waste bin.     In an accident where a limb,  whether it is just a toe or a major organ,is severed,   everything is done to save it.   At the scene,  people search until they find the missing limb.   They then wrap it up in clean cloth and if possible,  pack it in ice before rushing it along with the patient to hospital.   There the hope is the surgeon will sew it back on.    Even where a limb is diseased and may have to be removed for the health of the patient,  the doctors are reluctant to do so until all else has failed.    For example my father who was 86 has had to have his toes removed on his right foot.    Even though he was 86 and only had a few years to live,  the doctors did everything in their power not to have to remove them.   For months,  he went into hospital on a regular basis for treatment.    Even when it was obvious they had to be removed,  the doctors continued to try and save them,  cutting away only the bad bit, time and time again hoping  the flesh that was left would recover.   Eventually though they had to give in and remove all of the toes.   Why?   if it doesn't really matter about the limbs and the body can function quite happily without them.    Yes,  dad eventually managed quite well without toes on his right foot but  several months after the operation,  the wounds hadn't properly healed and the district nurse had to go in every other day to dress his foot.  He had also to go regularly to the hospital to make sure it is healing properly and infection hadn’t set in.

Is the lesson to be learnt here not as the article would seem to imply that we need the church but the church does not need us but rather the church needs everybody.   We need every limb and we should be fighting tooth and nail to keep everyone that Christ gives us.    If through accident or disease a limb is detached from the body then we should gently and carefully rush them to the Chief Surgeon to be re-attached and when the operation has been done,  to dress the wound until it is fully healed.    Alas,   instead we have taken the artilce to heart.    We say it doesn't matter that we have lost a limb or a member.   The body can manage without an arm, or a leg or even a little toe.    Look again more closely at those who have lost a limb.   See what they went through in order to survive without the limb and ask ourselves again if the mantra “We need the church but the church does not need us” is really true and is that really what Christ is saying     

More thoughts in 2010 - A networking church

MARRIED   -  FAMILY  - FELLOWSHIP  -  NETWORKING CHURCH

At the beginning God created man and in Genesis 2 v 18 said  "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him”   So God created woman and presented her to Adam as an helpmate   and Adam said:" This is now bone of my bones  And flesh of my flesh;   She shall be called Woman,  Because she was taken out of Man."   ²⁴Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh.

God’s plan and model has always therefore been a man and a wife joined as one flesh to bring up children and become a family.    Satan’s strategy therefore is to break up the family,  separate man and woman and say “did God really say “it is not good that man should be alone”   Think of what fun one can have as an individual,  without responsibilities,  without constraints of responsibilities which comes from having a spouse,  without having to worry about children and all that means.   And in recent years that plan has worked.    People have swallowed the lie and have developed the culture of the individual.   Of not having any responsibility for one another.   For each to be able to do their own thing without the slightest worry of consequence for one another.    If there is any problems,  if there are children,  if there is sickness,  disability or infirmity through old age then let someone else look after them.    Better still  let the state take over that responsibility.   

Over the years the church has allowed the enemy of our souls strategy to work simply by the church just remaining silent and taking marriage for granted.   It has not actively been teaching the congregation what and why marriage is God’s best plan.   So when people say why do we need to get married we have no answer except custom and respectability.    Nor have we celebrated marriage except on the day of the wedding.   (How many churches as a congregation for instance celebrate wedding anniversaries?)   As we really have no answer to why we need to be married,  under the guise of compassion,  understanding,  tolerance etc we allow our congregation to not be married but just live together.   Likewise for the same reasons single parents become not an issue.    Because the slippery slope is gentle and easy to slide down,  we did not notice until we now found ourselves in a position where we struggle against the idea that all life styles are equally valid and there are numerous models for “family”.     Satan’s strategy has worked.

One of the Christian church’s tasks therefore must be to counter the lie and restore the family as God intended it to be.   Firstly,  by restoring marriage back to its rightful place then teach people how to bring up children and   Finally encourage people to take responsibly for each other.    Help them overcome debt which is one of the biggest contributor to the breakup of family.   Restore self respect,  esteem and help avoid debt by helping to find jobs or voluntary work.

This individual churches have spasmodically tried to do,  according to the mood of the moment or space in the church programme.    This has always therefore been ineffective and amateurish.    The alternative has been the creation of para-church organisations which although overcoming the problems incurred by individual churches,  it easily becomes separated (divorced even) from the original church from which it sprung.    Growth and success means more resources (people, funds etc) and so the para-church starts to draw on non-church resources.   These resources although sympathetic to the Christian beliefs and values,  end up drowning out the Christian voice.    The alternative is for the para-church organisation remains small and amateurish and even shrinks as church funds are diverted to other worthy causes.   Another disadvantage with para-church is they so often give themselves names which don’t readily tell the world they are a Christian organisation.   They then find for fund raising purposes not offend or upset those they are trying to help, downplay their Christian values and concepts.     Another problem which eventually arises with the advent of para-church organisations as it stray further and further away from it's church roots is churches become seen as irrelevant as far as the world is concerned with no answers to people’s problems or needs.

A third option would be to create church network.    Each activity remaining within it’s own church  / structure,  promoting it’s own church and growing within itself but at the same time supported and helped by other churches in the network where and when needed,    e.g. training,  more specialist help,  expertise etc.   Shared manpower for instance.  Each individual church  grows (or shrinks) according to it’s own efforts and resources at it’s disposal.  Each can decide to specialise in a particular area depending on the vision of that particular church,  commitment and abilities.   The specialised church can then offer it’s skills and resources to the other churches in the network.   Provide training for the other churches and more detailed in depth skills for the other churches who have need for a person with more expertise than they can provide.   For instance,  all churches can provide within their resources befrienders who encourage those who need such befriending to their own congregation.    Within that congregation “listeners” can be trained by trainers from one of the larger or specialist churches.   From the team of “listeners,  counsellors trained to meet more in depth needs.   Each counsellor remaining within their own congregation and called upon by other churches as needed.

The advantage of networking

1.      Each group is accountable to it’s own leadership and part of the local vision

2.      People in need of help are drawn to/directed the local church and so help build up the local fellowship

3.      Local churches are seen as relevant to the needs of the area

4.      Funds/resources remain within the local fellowship and can be seen as benefiting the local community

5.      Relationships built with other churches especially the larger churches without it being seen as the “mother” church

Edward Noble

25 October 2010

Notes I made in 2010 - As anything changed?

NEW WINE INTO OLD WINE SKINS   

Matthew 9¹⁷ Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

Mark 2²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

Luke 5³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.³⁸ But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.³⁹ And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.' "

God is wanting to pour out His new wine into the church but it seems the leaders want to hang on to the old wineskins that is the way it has always been done,  the old rules and principles and are waiting for God to pour out His new wine into the wineskins they are holding up to Him.    Where is the fresh radical thinking.   The radicals of the past.

God laid on my heart a radical view of church which requires an hand to God and an hand to man or in the old Salvation Army motto “Saved to Serve” i.e. worship God and practical acts of service to men.    A couple of years ago God brought me back to Plymouth with a fresh stirring and passion to put that into practice with a vision for a new type of church in north Plymouth.    My first encounters in Plymouth were The Ark,  a community project running from a school in Widewell,   a children’s work in Belliver,  and the churches Carmel (now Engage) New Life and NPCC.

THE ARK.    A community project set up by the head teacher of Widewell Primary school,  mainly funded by NCF & Royal Sailors Rest (important connection for me seeing my Navy past and my son's present involvement although totally unknown by me at the time).     Set up following an Naval helicopter crash killing 8 marines all of whom had children in the school.   The need therefore for counselling and pastoral support for the wives and children at school.    How that came about the head teacher saw could only have been of God.    She also had a desire / longing for a church to operate from the school and looking for ways to bring that about.

THE CHILDRENS WORK.      Pete and Marlene  moved to a house in Belliver 20 odd years ago whilst members of PCC.   Ran a house group from their home and started working with the children from the area.    PCC pulled out of Belliver and Pete & Marlene consequently left the church but continued working with the children and now have 40 or so children coming to 3 different clubs they run from their home with great testimonies of how God has sustained their work.    They too were looking for God to set up a church in the area.

CARMEL.    I went into the church on the day in August 2008 that they announced they were taking over the small AOG church in Whitleigh and 30 of them would be going over to be part of a radical new church plant there.    My heart leaped and my spirit burned within me with a desire to be part of it.    After less than 10 weeks it became obvious the people they had hoped would go over did not want to leave their mother church.   Whitleigh AOG was (temporarily) closed down and everyone returned / started to go to Carmel.       In April 2009 they reopened the AOG in Whitleigh.   In recent months they have had a vision to sell the two church buildings (in Milehouse and Whitleigh) and have one large church in Whitleigh.  ( Later note.   They dropped that idea,  closed the AOG church and moved everyone back to Milehouse after renaming the Milehouse church "Engage.   A few months later sold the building in Whitleigh)

NEW LIFE.    I first met up again with New Life in November 2008 at a Crossline training day when 13 of them were taking part in a Crossline listening course.    13 people out of a church of around 50 involved in pastoral care!!   That seemed awesome.  A few weeks later I learnt New Life was moving into Widewell school with a view of starting a radical new type of church closely linked to The Ark and the children’s work in Belliver.    Although the intention was good and the vision God gave them is still as strong nothing further came of it.   The Ark has not developed any further than an aspiration by the project worker based at the school.    Likewise the children’s work in Belliver.    Shortly after New Life moved into the school,  the residents association in Belliver had a fresh burst of life and with the incentive of £70,000’s worth of funding from a legacy which was due to be lost if not used by the middle of 2010 is attempting to set up a community shop in the village.   Keith the pastor is awaiting the completion of that project and the children’s work moving into the building to provide the base from which New Life can grow.

NPCC.    Have had a tentative connection with NPCC from it’s birth in 1980’s  and both my sons being active members for 10 or 12 years.    In 2008 though the church had a totally different concept of church than the one I have always had.    We had therefore a fundamental difference of vision regarding church.    In around December 2009 at the Plymouth Foodbank’s AGM Wendy and Mike (lead members of NPCC) gave a presentation of an exciting new vision of project they were launching in January 2010.    That again stirred an excitement in my spirit and another confirmation of the vision God gave me in June 2008.     Reach and the satellite food bank has now been running in a small way for 10 months but a cofrontation with the minister of Central Methodist church and the manager of the Plymouth foodbank forced me to step down from the Foodbank and the lack of support from the NPCC leaders meant I was unable to become part of NPCC

Standing as it where on the outside it would seem no matter however hard I try, I cannot get involved with or become part of any of the churches much as my heart burns within me to do so.   So I stand as it were at the door of each knocking and asking to be let in but none will open to let me in as my radicalness does not fit in the old wineskins of the past.

Each of the leaderships believe the old ways of doing “church” is still the right way.   That membership requires an exclusive commitment to attend every and all meetings of that particular body.    To come into the congregation and act,  behave in a way that does not disturb, question or challenge the status quo or upset the most gentlest and quietest of the people there.    Over time the congregation then learns to accept then love you.   Only then can you be part of the church and the people listen to what God is saying through you and so able to be part of what is happening.      The drawback to that old way of doing church is it is no longer working.    It does not take into account what God could be saying nor does it address the needs and hurts of my own journey.

THE OLD WAY OF DOING CHURCH IS NOT WORKING:     In the last two years or so the church has shrunk still further.    Carmel (Whitleigh) had to close down and start again.    New Life’s congregation has halved and it’s hope is on the Residents Association being successful (and welcoming) in Belliver.   Both have postponed their visions until next year and the possible new buildings.    In the meantime talking to my son John the other day, he says that despite the size of the congregation there are few people to do all the task / work in hand,  thus the need for several complicated rotas.    Also although people say we should have this or need that when it’s put in place very few people attend/support it.    Keith says the same about New Life

WHAT GOD IS SAYING.    I am told time and time again to seek out God and listen to / do what He is saying.     Yet when I do there is no space or vehicle  for me to bring back to the leaders what I believe He is saying to me.    It would appear that God can only say what the leaders are thinking / saying or which fits in with their concept of church.    Either that or God can not possible say or do anything through me until I have changed and become acceptable in their sight.   Despite that God is slowly but surely putting place,  bringing about everything I have been saying over the past few years but either through blindness or bigoted they cannot see it.

NEEDS AND HURTS FROM MY OWN JOURNEY.    It is fine to say go away and wait or come back when you have changed.    Who is to help me to change if not the church.    If my posture,  mannerism language causes offense or upset,  if no one will come alongside and show me what is so upsetting about me and how it can be changed how can I change.   For instance Rob says my aggression comes out of frustration and so people avoid me.    Who is going to help me overcome or change that which is causing the frustration.   Without that help,  the frustration only becomes a bigger and bigger problem and people avoid me even more. 

Edward Noble

20th October 2010 

That help never came and so here I am,   in January 2015 still chasing the God of my youth in a church still trying to pour new wine into old oilskins

Frank Lake's Dynamic Cycle - An observation on babies entering this world

FRANK LAKE’S DYNAMIC CYCLE

Frank Lake (1914 – 1982) was one of the pioneers of pastoral counselling in the United Kingdom. In 1962 he founded the Clinical Theology Association with the primary aim to make clergy more effective in understanding and accepting the psychological origins of their parishioners’ personal difficulties. However, the training seminars in pastoral counselling, which he began in 1958, eventually enlisted professional and lay people in various fields from various denominations.

After obtaining a degree in medicine at Edinburgh University he studied parasitology at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.   Part of the studying of tropical diseases required him to compare healthy plants with diseased one in an endeavor to discover what had gone wrong and the effects the disease had on the plants he was studying.   In the process he began musing on the idea of  if only there was a perfect specimen of a man who could be studied in the same way.    As he contemplated on such possibilities friends pointed out that Christians believe Jesus was such a man and so he began exploring what the bible said about Jesus.   Shortly afterwards he became a Christian,  convinced that Jesus was indeed a perfect man who could be studied in the same way as he was studying tropical plants.     From there he became a missionary for the Church Missionary Society and was sent to India.

On his return he trained as a paediatrican and In the early 1950s, he retrained as a psychiatrist.     It was during this time he began to observe how when a child came into this world often unplanned or  it was accepted by the family, the group and his or her needs met.    Food,  clothing,  warmth,  comfort and love.   Through that the baby developed a sense of worth, value and status.    The whole world or so it seemed revolved around him.   Criy and someone came and picked him up no matter how busy that person had been or what they had been doing.    Felt uncomfortable,  wet,  cold and his nappy was changed and made comfortable again.   Hungry,  again someone rushed to feed him.   The baby did not need to do anything except let it be known he needed feeding,  his nappy changed or another blanket needed.     This confirmed his value and status in life and he didn’t have to do anything to earn it.   How could he not but feel good.   Feeling good he smiled,  waved his hands,   reach out and grabbed something.      This made him even more acceptable.   More people came and talked to him.    Now people gave him toys to play with,  even more eager to feed him,  change his nappy even though they could stink to high heaven.    People picked him up and played with him.    He must be really important and his status increased.   He felt even happier now and waved his hands even more.   He grabbed the rattle and waved it.   Tried to pull himself up,  smiled and made more baby noises.   More people came around,   his parents picked him up and beaming showed him off.   He feels even more accepted,  given more food,  more needs met and the cycle moved on.   More sense of worth,  more playing,   more acceptance.  More needs met and so it went on and in a good life that continues until the day he died many  years later.    Even then his last need was met.   A coffin and many people around to say good bye.  

From those observation Frank Lake developed his dynamic cycle (see above).    Of course very few people live 
that perfect good life.    Not all babies come into the world and are immediately accepted.    Not all babies have food when they need it.   Not all baby’s needs are met or have that sense of well being,  of being valued of having status and so do not become as active as they could have been.    A classic demonstration of this was when the Iron Curtain came down and people were first allowed into Romania.    Christians going into Romanian orphanages were shocked to see babies lying almost lifeless in cots.   Not moving,  not making any sound.     It wasn't long though with training and encouragement,  the staff started to pick the babies up and play with them.   Soon life came back into the orphanages and the noise of babies and children playing started to echo around the place.    

I experienced something of that in South Africa,  when Julia and I were taken to a Salvation Army children’s home in Johannesburg.   Only a few months earlier the Salvation Army had been asked to take over and run an orphanage where children whose mothers had died of Aids were being looked after.    Nobody wanted to touch,  let alone pick up and play with babies whose mothers had Aids let alone died of it.    So the babies laid there in their cots being given the minimum of attention.    When the Salvation Army officers first went in there were just row upon row of silent babies.   No sound, no movement.     It took time to get the staff to understand they needed to stay and talk to the babies,  let alone pick them up and play with them.    By the time we visited,  some babies were sitting up in their cots.   There were laughter,   noise and movement but they still had a long way to go.    There were still cots were the babies were silent,  who did not move but there was progress.   The staff were coming round to the idea of playing with the children and though still fearful,  picking the babies up to feed them and play with them.

Babies come into the world.    They didn't ask to come in,  to be part of the family.    They just came.   They knew though they were wanted and accepted,   whether perfectly formed with all limbs and faculties or not.   It doesn't matter whether some limbs are missing,  deformed or seem ill.   They are wanted,  they are accepted.    How do they know.   Parents,  relatives,  friends,  neighbours, who ever.   All come over to where the baby lays and talks to it,  makes silly cooing baby noises.  Picked up,  cuddled and played with.   They are swung about,  everyone laughing and the babies are left in no doubt they are wanted,  they are accepted and part of the family.    Food is provided,  on demand,  on the hour,  every hour if needed.   Other needs are met,  the baby only has to cry and someone comes running.   No wonder it feels good.    No wonder it feels of value, of worth, has status and it hasn't done a thing.    It has done absolutely nothing.   Nothing whatsoever to deserve all this attention,   to earn any of it.   A healthy,  happy child soon does though.   It waves it hands,  tries to smile,  play with toys.    Not to earn it’s acceptance.   Not to feel good, for it is already feels good,   it knows all it’s needs will be met by the group,  for it knows it was accepted right from the beginning.   And it continues like this throughout it’s childhood and into adulthood and into old age.   Or at least it would if life was as perfect as it was when the child was born.

Is there anyone out there with whom there is a spiritual connectivity

IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE - NO SPIRITUAL CONNECTIVITY

Is there anyone out there.    A silly question of course there is.     I now have 20 “friends” on Facebook and in just a month I have received over  630 hits or pages views on my blog site but still no comments nor response to either the blog or Facebook posting.    I did though have two replies to the emails sent out to the church ministers and Christian friend I know,   Both are Baptist ministers,   one a friend I had worked with 18 months or so back and still meet occasionally for coffee.    The other was initially interested in what I had to say in the email and after a couple of emails suggested we meet up for coffee.   I readily agreed and asked where and when.   He alas must have had a change of heart for I never heard from him with a time and date.   

One person though did respond to my request to be "friends" on Facebook with a number of messages.     Having no previous experience of Facebook when I started it at the beginning of January, I took up it’s suggestion to invited the minister of Grace Christian Centre in Mutley to be a Facebook “friend”.     In the meantime I had found their web site which gave their address and times of service on a Sunday and followed what I hope was God’s prompting to go to their Sunday evening service.   Alas the web site had not been updated for sometime and they no longer had services in an evening.    The next week I had a Facebook message from the minister saying he had received my Facebook request but did not accept invitations from people  he did not know.    I therefore told him a little about myself and that I had tried to go to their evening service the previous Sunday.   There then followed a series of message exchanges as I tried responded to his questions and observations on what I was saying.    After a while he ended the exchange,  saying he is spending too much time on Facebook these days and “blocked” any further correspondence.     It does therefore seem the lady who said I have no spiritual connectivity and should have no part in any Christian Group is right.   If this is so then there is nothing else I can do but to accept that for reasons no one is prepared to tell me,  I have been “blocked” from being part of the church.    Or is it that I haven’t committed some mortal sin worthy of being ex-communicated from the church as would first appear but the God of my youth is not the God of the church of to-day.   

The last two or three blogs have been to say to the friends of old,   tell me what I have done that offences.     Jesus said  “if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,  leave your gift there in front of the altar.    First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”  (Matt 5 v23-24).   It is though difficult to be reconciled if no one is prepared to say what it is they have against me.    Only that like the elders of the church in Tavistock said “|Their first duty and responsibility is to protect their sheep”   From me?.     If so then all the church leaders have the same responsibility to protect their flock from me.

It of course may not be some sin that I have to be put out of the church for,   like Paul instructed Timothy but a fear that the leaders have.    A fear that I may not be a Christian after all but a wolf masquerading as a sheep.      If so test out what I am saying as I continue with the exploration of the past. 

No Spiritual Connectivity

NO SPIRITUAL CONNECTIVITY

It is difficult to know whether or not the lady had had a word from God that I had no spiritual connectivity and shouldn't be part of a group.   As I said yesterday I don’t know what is meant by spiritual connectivity or why I don’t have it.   Is it a recent thing linked to the incident with the Food bank.   Or something that has always been an issue ? 

 A year or so after the incident I went back to the Methodist hall and spoke to the minister.  I told him that on reflection it was a wrong thing to do and sincerely regretted my action following the confrontation.   As a gesture of that sincerity I also made a substantial donation to the Food bank.    If there is any connectivity it hasn't yet been restored and begs the question of forgiveness and being restored.    Paul says in his second letter to the Corinthians about a man who had grieved him  “If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely.  The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.” (2 Cor 2 v5-11)    Or Galatians 6 v1-3 “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently”   If I have allowed the acrimonious disagreement and action by the minister to lead to action I later regretted which may be counted as sin,  no one who lived by the Spirit would come alongside me to act like Barnabas and reconcile me to the church as he did with Paul (Acts 9 v27).   I did ask for help from leaders of New Life where I was a member at the time.    I also endeavored to talk to Rob and Wendy Clift,  whom I have been friends with since my early days in Plymouth.   All felt they could not get involved.   There then became a possibility of reconciliation through a  minister from the Methodist regional office,  who role was to resolve disputes between ministers and the congregation.    He though became seriously ill shortly after he was approached and there was no one to replace him.    So I was on my own.    As an aside,  as well as the numerous scriptures on forgiveness Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal son (Luke 15 v11-32).   We focus on the relationship between the father and the son but how many people in the church without realising it behave like the elder son,   v25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound. ' 28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in.”    How often have we acted like the older son and at the very least insisted that the prodigal live in the servants quarters.   Proof himself worth of being restored say for 6 or 12 months before he can have back the ring and cloak of authority which the father so readily placed on him.

I believe as I have repeatedly said over the years the purpose of church is

a)       Worship.      Most if not all churches are public venues and anyone can go to a church service to worship God.    It was this that made it such a shock to be told Julie and I cannot go back into the church we had been going to for the past 6 months or more.

b)      Friendship.   That raises the interesting question of what we mean by friendship.   The church would though like to use the word fellowship.   That is more "spiritual" and less demanding than friendship

c)      Service.    Likewise to be told my service is not wanted even though having now retired I have all the time in the world as well has having 50 years or more in a caring environment

Since returning to Plymouth,   I have tried seeking out a church where I could find the three but to no avail.    I have tried on at least 2 occasions to become a member a of church in Plymouth but each occasion I wondered whether God was wanting me to part of that fellowship as I found no warmth or welcome.     On each occasion when I tried to talk this through with the leaders I was told I have to regularly attend their church for a good 6 to 12 months to show I am of good character and committed to their fellowship.    To befriend people in the church and in due course they may befriend me.    As for service,  this in the main seems to have been contracted out to para-church organisations such as the Food bank,  Street Pastors etc

As well as the Food Bank therefore I’ve asked if I could help with:-

Crossline.     Julie and I originally were Crossline listeners with Gordon Wright and for quite a while Julie was their secretary.   Although I did the Crossline listeners course again on return to Plymouth and am also been a qualified counsellor for over 20 years,  I was told they cannot use me as I still have issues which despite “counselling” has not been resolved.

SALT  (Sexual Abuse Listening Therapy)     Like Crossline,   I helped set up SAIF (Sexual Abuse in Families) and did the SAIFLINE training course.     On return to Plymouth did the SALT training course again only told there is little or no requirements for a male counsellor as clients are all women.

Plymouth Options. (Debt advise service)   Although a Financial accountant dealing professionally with company debt,  budgets and all matters of business finance,  I did the initial online Debt Advice course and was a volunteer debt adviser but although they were short  of committee members and were needing trustees,   I wasn’t acceptable.

DATA (Debt Advice Tavistock Area)    Applied to become debt advise volunteer when it was first set up.     (I live close to Tavistock and was at the time going to St Andrew’s church in Whitchurch).      Although I felt the interview went well was turned down as I hadn’t been a member of a church in the Tavistock area for the previous 12 months.

Street Pastors (Plymouth)  was not selected for training after an initial interview.

Tavistock Food Bank      I was asked to represent Kings church on the steering committee setting up the Tavistock Food bank.   After a while I got the feeling I was being frozen out especially when it came to transforming the steering committee in to the Management committee and it then obvious there was no room for me in the organisation

All these people cannot be wrong and must indicate therefore there is something seriously wrong with me.    None though could or would tell me what it is or how I can obtain it.    Having said all that the common denominator in all this is a close knit Christian community where it is easy to see how my reputation will have gone before me.    Or if I had initially been accepted like when I was on the steering committee for the Tavistock Food bank,  my reputation caught up with me.     Again if this is true whatever has happened to the gospel of the second chance or the forgiveness that could be found in the church of my youth.

On the other hand the lack of spiritual connectivity may have nothing to do with any of this but either something I never have had or was lost  sometime in the past.     Something I have never been aware of or no longer can recall.    In the model of Johras Window,  something buried deep in box 4, the hidden window.    Something that only God can restore in His good time.

Maybe I had no spiritual connectivity from birth and why my birth father pressed my mother to abort me then when she would not left her before I was born.    Could that be why my legal father never connected with me and the marriage didn't last.   Then again when I first encountered God was the connectivity made then as part of being “born again” and we become spiritually live.    May it though have been lost when I chased after the Holy Spirit and became baptised in the Spirit,   thus becoming neither fish or fowl.    Neither a good Salvationist or good Pentecostalist.     The running away to sea  rather than going into the Salvation Army Training college.    Or in the early 80s when the Lord called me to be a watchman over the house of Israel.   Something I will explore in a later blog.     Each of them significant changing points in my life  when something major in the heavenlies may have taken place.   If the person is right,   whether by my own sinfulness since coming to Plymouth or in the depth of my past until God reveals it either by divine revelation or through His people I have to live with it.     Until then,  I can only echo Paul  in that His grace is sufficient." (2 Cor 12 v7.)

On the other hand maybe I have no spiritual connectivity with the church of to-day because I have not moved on or changed with the times.   The God whom the church follows today is not the God of my youth and so the church of to-day is not the same as the church of my youth.