Holiday Club - thank you!

It's difficult to measure the significance of last week's Holiday Club.

Those who are involved as part of the team find it very hard work, but they all immensely enjoy it, and there's a wonderful sense of the Lord himself being at the heart of it all.

It's humbling, and itself a powerful testimony, to have so many of our teenagers involved, giving up a week of their Easter holidays to this: and as humbling to see such a number of adults, already employed in tough and demanding jobs, setting aside this week of holiday time to serve as a part of the team: and humbling, too, to have such a number of retired and older folk pouring their all into doing what the week requires.

We receive some feedback, of course. Here's a note that was pushed through my door today -

"Dear All,

I meant to send this card as soon as 'Holiday Fun Club' finished but have been struggling to find a quiet minute to do so!

I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all who were involved with making the church week such fun. What a massive effort from everyone and my children enjoyed every minute they were there. As a teacher, I know how much fun it is to be in the company of children, but I also know how exhausting it can all be! Your hard work is greatly appreciated!

I myself particularly enjoyed the games night on Wednesday and we all look forward to it all next year already!

Thanks again."

That from a family who aren't along at the church at all - apart from this Holiday Club week. It gives them a feel for the life that we live in Christ. Fun, commitment, joy, service.

I'm often wanting myself to say a huge thank you to all the countless individuals who, throughout the year, and not just through that week of Holiday Club, pour so much of themselves into this epic adventure of following Jesus and serving him in this our generation.

What a thrill, and what a privilege, to be surrounded by so many friends who give their all to further Jesus' purposes and make him known to others.

Mike Campbell - obituary

This is the obituary which appeared in The Times today, highlighting something of the courage and convictions of Mike Campbell, the white African who dared to challenge Mugabe. It's a powerful testimony to a man who dared to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord.

Click on the picture to read it.

alone

It's often remarked that 'growing old never comes alone'.

It's a euphemism, of course. A kind way of acknowledging that as the years go by and we move into that stage of life called 'old age', all sorts of issues begin to emerge which we haven't encountered before.

Aches and pains which never used to be there. A decline in our physical stamina. A stiffness in most of our joints. A loss of that sharpness of vision. A slowly increasing deafness. Limbs which will no longer do what they're meant to do. A mind which starts to function less than coherently. A memory slowly going AWOL.

It's simpler, and kinder, I suppose, to observe that growing old never comes alone. We all know what's intended by the phrase.

And yet, a very large part of the struggles of increasing years is that fact that growing old does in fact 'come alone'. An aloneness is often a feature of those advancing years.

The folk who were always there for us, are often no longer there. A person's spouse has maybe died. Their friends have often likewise now departed this life: and those that are left are less able themselves to be out.

And, increasingly confined as often those well up in years can be - at home, in a Nursing Home, or for long spells in hospital - the out-of-sight-and-out-of-mind phenomenon sets in. Folk no longer visit as they used to do.

You can feel very much alone.

Seeing folk today has impressed that on me again. An elderly man in the Hospice. A lady confined in a hospital room on her own. A lady moving up in years whose husband has now died.

Growing old doesn't come alone. Except, of course, it does. Very often with our growing old comes the experience of being alone.

It's an aspect of our pastoral care whose pressing demands lie much upon my heart these days. We're an ageing population - and an ageing congregation, too.

It's a ministry more needful now than ever! We must find the ways to make the words of the song our own - You'll never walk alone!

Holiday Club - day 3

There are close on 160 children now who have been registered for the Holiday Club. The place is simply swarming with children these mornings! It's a wonderful sight, and a wonderful privilege we have in sharing the gospel with them.

The morning starts with them all crowded into the church.

There's a comedy sketch to begin with. Our local hero, Orran McSporran, comes on to compete in a games contest against two other competitors from the team. Today the guy is thoroughly pentitent. He'd been cheating the first two days, which the children all spotted - and so they've been jeering him since. Today the girls who were leading out front changed the script, got Orran McSporran to say he was genuinely sorry, and managed to get all the jeers turned to cheers!

We sing the theme song, Undefeated Champion - a fast-moving, knee-slapping, arm-waving event which all of them certainly love.

After that it's time for the puppets. The puppet show tells the story straight from the Bible. Today it's the story of the feeding of the 5,000 and Peter walking on the water. The children watch and listen with rapt attention. Sometimes you could hear a pin drop it's so quiet.

And remember that's a hundred and fifty high-as-a-kite children!

They split into groups after that - "remember to follow your leader!" - and head off for their games, and crafts and 'group times', when they also get their snack. We've a hard-working 'kitchen staff' and folk who've fed in their home-baking. The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 doesn't seem a million miles away from where we are!

At the end of the morning they all come back to the church.

More singing.

A talk on the story of the day. Today it's my turn. Nothing is impossible for God. Feeding 5,000 with a few small scraps of food? Walking on the water? I tell them of how God met our needs in a previous church in a quite remarkable way. It seemed completely impossible: but he did it. To this day I don't know how! We want them to know how great this Jesus is, and learn to trust him too.

There's a memory verse to follow. We want to get the truths of the Scriptures stored in their sponge-like minds.

The children then pray. Groups of the children come out and say a short prayer. Some of the prayers are quite moving. With child-like simplicity they hit the mark.

Another song. This time quieter. I have a Maker.

There's a game with some of the children out front competing against one another. Today it's who can blow the most bubbles.

Some more singing and then we're done for the morning. Power and might ends the morning on something of a high again. He is the King of kings! He is the King of kings! He is the King of kings!

Louder and louder! A great noise - and a great sight, to see these children praising the Lord like that with all that they are and have.

And that's just the morning!

There's a games night tonight as well. Hundreds are out at that. Twenty different games and twenty different groups of folk moving round the hall. The place is packed. It's a wonderful opportunity to get alongside a range of different people - children and parents alike, all having so much fun.

I've preparation to do, and visits to make as well. People and families to see as ever. And a meeting late on as we work to move things on along the many different 'fronts' on which the work of the Lord progresses in these days.

Sometimes I wonder how it will all get done. But I've to remember as much as the children themselves - "nothing is impossible with God!"

undefeated champion

Our annual Easter Holiday Club started today.

Undefeated Champion is what it's called. And it's a thrill for all of the team to be part of what the Champion continues to do.

It's a busy, full, fun, and presence-of-God-unmistakeably-in-our-midst sort of week.

And this year it features Orran McSporran as a wanna-be champion. Our John missed his career in acting! He's brilliant, and the children all love him.

He won today. And he thinks he's the champ. But is he really? Truly?

Of course not. There's only one undefeated champion. The children are quick on the uptake.

the white African

You remember the Channel 4 film, Mugabe and the White African?

At some considerable risk to the producer, director and camera crew, the film narrated the bold and godly way in which a farmer and his family in Zimbabwe dared to challenge Mugabe.

Mike Campbell, the white African of the film, died today. [See the details in The Zimbabwean]

My brother told me a while ago (and he should know, since he's married to Mike's daughter, and sees them all the time) - he told me that the whole experience aged the man overnight about 20 years.

Mike and his wife have sought to live their lives in obedience to the call of Jesus Christ, and dependence on his promised help. They knew that that is costly. But they also always knew that the cost which they might be called to bear was as nothing compared to the cost that their Lord had borne already for them.

They took to heart what the Lord insists is the heart of his call in Christ - to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Mike and his wife did just that.

They looked to the Lord for everything, and over all the many years they've proved God's loving faithfulness again and again. They've followed where he led. And in challenging Robert Mugabe's attempts to oust them from their home, they were not only convicted of the need to act justly and seek justice in the face of cruel and violent oppression, they were conscious as well of the huge responsibility they had under God for the 500 or so workers and their families who were also being harmed and destroyed by the actions of that leader.

They knew that to walk humbly with their God meant acting justly and loving mercy. And they knew that it might well be a costly thing to live like that and follow Jesus Christ in latter day Zimbabwe.

They were not afraid to walk with the Lord. Indeed, within their hearts, like Paul of old, their desire has always been -

"to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Well, today Mike died, a man whose earthly frame bore the scars of the cross of his Lord.

Those who honour the Lord, the Lord in his turn will honour. Be sure of that.

Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.

To God be the glory.

dark riders

Dark riders from 'the land of Mordor' stalk the land these days.

The moment we start to follow the Lord, we find ourselves caught up in a massive cosmic conflict. We are born (when we're 'born again') into battle. It's as simple as that.

Everything in hell reacts violently to the work of the Lord. If the legions of hell were less instinctive in the way they invariably react, it might well be harder to see what was going on.

But hell is anything but subtle when the Lord starts progressing his work.

Hell cottons on, far quicker than sometimes we ourselves may do, to what the Lord is doing. There's little doubt in my mind these days that the Lord is on the move. Locally and nationally. Something big is afoot. There are tremors all over the place, little, almost imperceptible tell-tale signs of the footsteps of the Lord.

Stirrings in the hearts of different folk. Marvelous works of power. God's Word released in energising, Spirit-powered grace.

Hell takes notice and, convulsed by a certain desperation, panic and horror, reacts in violent fashion.

But the devil invariably overplays his hand. The way that the same assault is replicated in one context after another gives the game away. He's plainly out to undermine that work of God, and between today and yesterday there's been a constant barrage from the pits of hell against the church of God. A vicious, mean and underhand endeavour on the part of hell to set God's people one against the other and fracture any oneness we may have.

The devil knows there's so much strength in unity. So the dark riders from the land of Mordor start galloping out across the varied contours of our corporate life, intent on tearing huge long trenches of ill-feeling and division through our ranks.

As I say, it's the fact that this has been replicated at point after point these last two days - in all sorts of different contexts - it's that which gives the game away. It's really rather obvious what's going on.

Especially on the back of a significant word from the Lord on Sunday, which all of us were deeply conscious of: especially on the back of folk from different backgrounds coming together from right across the country on Monday.

Hell is roused in anger.

We must be more alert than ever and constantly on on our guard.

We must learn to plead the cross of Jesus and apply it moment by moment.

The dark riders are done for. But not by any magic.