Lasagne and Jesus who could ask for anything more.. ok there is triffle and tiramisu as well… and garlic bread… and salad

Tonight is the start of the alpha course at Emmanuel and I am looking forward to it immensely.  Once again we get the chance to host a discussion on Jesus with those who do not know him. We are able to show Gods love for people by providing food and fellowship for and with them. It has been a while since I last was part of an alpha course, back during my days in Newcastle in the mid 1990’s so it is going to be a challenge to guide a diverse bunch of people on their journey to a new life with Jesus.

The challenge for me is to shut up, think and listen rather than to do what my nature demands and jump in with an answer. Still I do have good listening skills from my job o this should help.  

It has also proven to be a challenge for Mrs Beatthedrum who is administrating the course this year and doing the catering. Luckily we do not have too many dietary needs although Mrs BTD has some of her own of course namely wheat and red wine.

It has been really good for her to take on the admin role and she has done a superb job of it so far especially as the main alpha leader is one of the most administratively crippled Christians I know, you know who you are, and I am sure you would admit it…….. at least in private.

A big disappointment for me is that I have been unable to get any of my friends on the course. I have asked four and two have said no out right, one side they would possibly go on it if it were a different night and the last has agreed to meet up with me for a one to one alpha in the pub. Not a complete failure but not what I was hoping and praying for.

There does however seem to be a lack of enthusiasm for alpha in the church with not many people wanting information or even signed up for the prayer list. This is a pity as alpha is one of the main tools we use as a church to aid our friends on their personal journey with Jesus.

The good news from where I am sitting is that the church is slowly turning outward to serve the community and the individual members are starting to look outwards as well. This can be seen with a number of new initiatives in the church either already underway or in the embryonic phase. This is really encouraging to see and is something that needs to be supported, nurtured, prayed into and commended.

In the coming week we have a church meeting where a number of these initiatives will be given a public airing and I am hoping that as a church we can get behind them as we try and reach our city with the grace and love of Jesus.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

 

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead

Getting to the church on time

Why is it that Monday – Friday people can get up, get their kids up, take their kids to school and arrive at work, all prior to 9am but on a Sunday they cannot get themselves and their kids to church for 10 – 10.30am.

I cannot understand it, well I can really. We are now on time every Sunday.

Why?

Because we have to be!

As we meet in a school Mrs Beatthedrum and I have to get to the building early to set up the crèche every week. So we are there at least 45 minutes prior to the start of the meeting, if I am hitting the drums (anyone got a spare bass skin I punctured mine on Sunday morning rushing to get packed up!) then we are their even earlier up to about 2 hours some weeks.

So why do so many of us trudge late into the meeting? Here are some of my opinions, and as you all know I am a very opinionated fella!

1.       They do not want to come and worship Jesus their Lord and Saviour with the rest of the body

2.       Maybe they only come to church because they are used to doing it, they are in a habit pattern?

3.       Maybe they like to be noticed?

4.       Maybe they cannot get out of bed on a Sunday

5.       Maybe they cannot get the kids out of the house on time together, as the mother is used to the father leaving in the morning and going to work early and he just gets in the way.

6.       Maybe they don’t care that it’s hard for the worship leader to lead the congregation in worship when half the church is missing

7.       Maybe they don’t care that as they enter late in the middle of the worship they disturb all the other people who are already there

8.       They want a lay-in

9.       The morning is not as organised as Monday to Friday

10.   Maybe they are just selfish

 

Would these people be late for work – NO

Would they allow their children to be late for school – NO

Would they turn up late to meet their friends every week – NO

 

Yet they feel it is acceptable to turn up late for church.

 

However, even though we now have a reason to be early, we did manage to get to church early, by at least 10 minutes, prior to being involved in crèche. So what made us change from sluggards to punctual?

1.       We love to worship Jesus for who He is and what He has done

2.       We enjoy being with our brothers and sisters in the church, yes at times they annoy us and I am more than sure that we annoy them just as much maybe even moreso, but they are great people who we love

3.       We want to honour the worship leader, who has a hard enough job as it is without the interruption and distraction of people flitting in when they feel like it

4.       We want to be available to talk to new people to the church. It’s a bad witness if the people of God cannot turn out to meet together on time and leave the visitors milling around with nobody to talk to. The lack of people being on time shows a lack of love for one another and for Jesus and Father.

So the question is how did we do it? Well the answer is quite simple.

We treat Sunday morning just as we would a Monday – Friday morning. Set the alarm clock, get up, get us all through the shower, get dressed, read our bibles, have breakfast, pack car and leave. The best bit is it’s not work and school, its Jesus and the church!

Let’s face it; it’s not rocket science is it. We do it 5 out of 7 days anyway so why should a Sunday be different (any we even get an hour’s lay-in to boot)

OR MAYBE ITS A DEEPER HEART ISSUE…..

Stands back and awaits the lynch mob…………

Book Review – Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels

As a struggling small group / ministry leader thought that it was about time that i go my head around the whole topic of leadership. I seem to blunder from one road crash to another, so i decided to get some help. Having asked around a few people came back with same answer, “You should read Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels”. Standing in the bookshop at North08 i could not see anything that took my fancy until my eyes landed on the book i had been told to read, so paying my handful of quid for it I trudged back to my tent (there was no other way of walking it was ankle deep mud remember!) and started to read.

……. continued in the book review section of the blog