getting ready

some people have put together this blog 25things for advent . have a look, its about getting more from advent.

r.

Words last year from a 93 year old lady who we bury tomorrow- wisdom comes with age

"Even though your work in the community seems slow to materialise, it really will make a difference.
Even small things are remembered for many years to come, helping in so many ways.
One will never know the extent of your Ministry."

written in a card to R.

So on friday I met the Queen, thanks to you!

This last Friday the Queen came to Harold Hill to open the new academy on the Hill.

The Academy opened 2 years ago, but the the key staff have been working on the Hill for the last three years. I was privileged to be invited to have lunch with the Queen, which I thought would mean I be in a room with around 100 others have a bit of grub! This was in fact the case, but the real surprise for me was that I was part of group of people invited to be introduced to her personally in the school staff room. There were five groups- school governors, some of the school staff, people from the local authority, the local primary heads and the builders/ architects of the new buildings.( I was placed with the local head teachers). I informed the Queen that we had done parenting courses and such in the school. I also informed her that my three children wanted me to tell her that they thought she was a wonderful Queen. ( Caleb asked me to say this and Alison and the kids saw her outside the school.) Over all it was an amazing experience and I'm very grateful to the staff at Drapers for the opportunity.

I could write so much more, but the point of writing this in a blog was not to brag, but  to say thank you.

Thank you for your support because I believe I was invited not because I was a local Minister- but because of the way we have worked with the school, and we have worked in this way because others have supported and released us and believed in us and our calling from God to be/live in this way.

When we think about the way we have worked with the school it has been marked out by being relational, willing to work with those families who others have, will to work long term, willing to be openly Christian but not forceful, willing to ask how are you and too listen.

Meeting the queen was amazing, but in a difficult week, it was such an encouragement to realise that the invitation to do so was an outcome of us trying to follow Jesus and live out the lifestyle values he has called us to live out.  Thank you for the support and encouragement to live in this way.

PS- I must say Steve T did loads of work in the school while he was part of the team, so it did feel a little like stealing his glory meeting her, but hey I'm not complaining.

PPS, I think I would call myself a royalist and Her Majesty was amazing, but i'm still a baptist- The church and state should be separated for a number of reasons, but I didn't think friday was the time to bring this up!!!

PPPS yes I did wear a suit and tie!

Thank you for helping us offer an alternative

To be honest i'm not often sure what we're up here on the Hill is making a big difference or not! ( cup half empty kind of week from me!) But you have those moments of realisation that actually some of what we are doing is massive, not because it's clever or 'new', but because it's offering an alternative.
A couple of moments from last week  highlighted this for me.  The main one must be the Ladies pamper night Alison hosts in our home, it's a alternative place for people to come into a place of peace/welcome/ acceptance. This alternative is a gift which Alison offers the Ladies and i believe does not go unnoticed. Jesus was often, if not always offering alternatives to all people, sometimes that alternative coursed great discomfort because it challenged sin and injustice. Other times it must have bought great comfort and hope- the God was with us and near.

I hope your week is a week of offering Kingdom building alternative to those around you.

If the Paralympics changed our perceptions & language around disability, what will change our language and perception of the poor?

So we had the as a family the privilege of attending several sessions at the Olympics and several sessions at the Paralympics. Both were mind blowing and incredibly challenging for all sorts of different reasons. It is now well documented and commented on how the Paralympics  have changed and inspired people to consider their views on disability, understanding what is to be human and who we interact and treat one another disabled or not.

We should not patronise disabled people, and see them only as nice needy people, who will always need help.  The Paralympics have surely reminded us that to just view someone through the lens of their disability is to restrict your understanding of what an incredible human being that person is and their potential and what resource they are for the rest of humanity.

The week after we had been to the Paralympics I had the privilege of attending a significant event on Harold Hill(which for obvious reasons I'm not going to say what was).

The language and attitude of many ( including local political leaders) towards people from Harold Hill was in many ways I think similar to "pre Paralympic" ( very simplistic but you understand what i mean) Caring, compassionate, full of pity, but lacked a sense of Harold Hill people have value and can make healthy positive contributions now. It felt to me as if people were saying they need to been fixed with our methods and understanding of what it is to be human.  We need to rescue them and make them like us. ( again very much generalisation of the views, but still representative i think. )

Last weeks bible passage from James 2 surely reminds us that the poor are rich in faith and many other ways. I personally can say that i'm a better husband, dad and church leader because if what i've learnt from my friends on Harold Hill.

 I would also say if rescuing people means fully integrating them into a capitalist society then I'm not sure that is actually rescuing anyone.

The nameless event was not at a church, but i wonder how different the mainstream view of the poor really in within the church too, it is pre or post Paralympic ?

would you pray this daily for us?

 We hope your looking forward to what Sept has in stall for your church, for those of us on the Hill we can't wait to see how God continues to shapes the little community here, but we need workers( Steve and Lauren left in July). So every day in sept we're praying the following prayer, will you join us in praying it daily with us?

"Father we thank You for Your call to those who serve Your kingdom on Harold Hill. You have given them so many opportunities to share the good news of Your Son, and yet they feel their hands are full to overflowing. We ask that Your Spirit nudge, speak and encourage others to join them and share in this kingdom work."

Mr Grey!

So it seems to me everyone and i mean everyone is reading Mr Grey and most of my mates on Harold Hill are seems to be enjoying the experience (Female mates that is!)
So as a follower if Jesus what should my response be? I did ask the question by twitter, but no one seem interested or had an answer.

So for what it's worth here are some thoughts from someone who has only read the 'contract' part of the book, but has had tons of banter with people who have!

• This is not new, earlier generations had mills and boon! 
• Is this a challenge to men to be engaging in sex that listens to what a woman wants?
• God loves sex, he made it and so I think Jesus would have an opinion on this. 
• The contract part of the book ( the contract is basically about the man owning the woman for sex as he wants it and when he wants it, without relationship or true commitment) made me think that this mirrors the unhealthy way so many men view their relationship with women, just without the contract.  
• Relationship based on this sort of one side contract, could work, but can't be healthy. It seems to my that most of the bible is about us understanding who God is and how to be in relationship with Him and the others around us, these relationships are based on giving for the benefit of the other, not just about taking. I'm not sure Mr Grey is in this for anyone other then himself. 
• It has been suggested to me that Mr Gray is teaching this lady what she really wants and maybe she(and those reading about their sex) are learning about sex, but can you really learn about the wonder of Sex without being in an truly commitment relationship? 
• Most worryingly is this book encouraging a view of sex which is not about sex but about victimising and violence towards women. I'd probably need to read it which i'm not going to do to be able to explained on this point more, but if it is about the abuse of women, even subtly then it's not healthy, women were made by God to mirror who He is not to be 'objects' owned by men!

Note to church leader types! 

• Why is the church so quiet about this book- we don't think sex is bad and our silence about a cultural event shows that yet again we're running behind the real lives of those we would love to know about Jesus and the hope He breathes into our relationships. And if this book is endorsing violence  against women then surely we should be speaking up! 

Kids pamper

Today we have a kids pamper party- letting kids know loved and made by God( while having fun) .

dads

Hi there, sorry it's been a while, Alison and I are spending time working out what we will continue with and what needs to be left until we have a bigger community/ team. Sorry keeping in touch has been neglected, going to try and be better ( i think i've said that before!)

Fathers day, my kids spoilt me rotten and i have an excellent dad so Father day never brings me pain or sadness. ( This year we played rugby in the back garden. Caleb, Anya and me vs Alison, her dad and Jess. Wish i could say that it was good natured game but there was one point there were three kids on the floor crying with the adults playing on!!oops). 

However on the thursday before I had breakfast with some of my mates. One is a widower of 5 kids under 13, one was a step dad for 6 and who didn't know who his own father was, another was step dad to 3 and hasn't spoken his dad for a couple of years.( 4 dads, 17 kids between us) I asked about plans for fathers day and it was not an easy conversation.  It wasn't just that there was loads of pain about my friends situations it just that there was little concept about what it would be like to know a loving male role model. 

I need to think carefully about what to do next year on fathers day in the community, but we also need your prayers. God gives us an amazing and beyond understand of what relationship and parenting is, my hope is that we see restoration of some of these relationships, but that also these men come to know what being a man of God is all about. Only God the father, son and Holy Spirit can do. 

My Pentecost prayer

Loving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Fill us.

Loving God, help us see how You are sending Your Spirit .

Powerful God, remind us that Your spirit has no limit.

God of Mission, inspire us to dream of where You could send Your Spirit.

Faithful God, remind us of how Your Spirit dwells with those who know and follow you.

Almighty God Father Son and Holy Spirit, send the Spirit to make us more like Jesus, to guide us in truth and righteousness.

Father and Creator send the Spirit to renew us into the image of Your Son.

Jesus send the Spirit to enable us to know and connect deeper with what the cross and tomb were really all about.

Spirit come and refine and renew us so that the world would see Jesus in us.

Father, send the Spirit so that we might connect more with the fatherless in our communities

Jesus, send the Spirit that we might follow You in going to the lonely and rejected.

Spirit remind us that You dwell in the young and old, the well and the unwell, the liked and the dispised, the lonely and the popular, the happy and the sad, those who are contended and those who are unsatisfied.  With those who mourn and with those who grief. With those who know where they are going and with those who are desperate for guidance.

And you dwell with them because You Love them, because You care for them and because You are God.

Father remind us that you sent the Spirit, because we need to be filled with God

Jesus remind us that being like you is only something we can do in your strengthen no ours.

Spirit come and fill us for without you we are nothing, but empty shells of the humanity you created and planned for us.

Spirit fill you church that we may serve those whose lives are empty shells of what you created. Those who are poor, rejected, marginised, hopeless and lost. Those who are victims and those who are perpetrators. Those who should know better and those who have never had a Good model or example in life.

Loving God, help us see how You are sending us out in the power of Your Spirit.

Powerful God, remind us that the Spirit which dwells within Your followers has no limit.

God of Mission, inspire us to dream of where and to whom you want to send your Spirit filled Church.

Loving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Fill us. 

Welcome Lily.......

We are pleased to announce that Lily Tinning was born on the 4th May, as a family they are doing great. Here is some of us saying welcome Lily.............

David Dimbleby- Baptist?

Well I'm not sure what David Dimbleby's relationship with God is, but one thing I'm sure is we could learn a lot from him. Being in the Question Time audience was a great, the debate that night was ok, but it was watching David D. in action which was a real eye opener.

As Baptist we believe that our ability to be congregational is one of the values/ practices which set us apart as different. Question Time is not a baptist church meeting because those gathered there aren't a local community, nor are they their to seek the common good for their community, nor, and most importantly, are they their to try to hear what God is saying to them through the whisper of the Holy to their souls and through the others gathered there, but still there was stuff David could teach us about a church meeting and the way we relate to each other at different times as we gather.

Some of these things you can only see if your there as he's not aways on camera.

• At the start he encouraged people to take part! This was to make the debate fun, but for us Baptist we need to be open to hearing many voices bring ideas, questions, challenges, ( all in christ like way!). Are most baptist church happy with a short 'quiet' church meeting or one which is lively, christ like and participated in? 
• He made people aware that he didn't think the panel were more important/ special than the audience. All church members are equal, we trust our leaders, but trusting doesn't mean we don;t have dialog with them. All church members deserve respect, but only together can we discern what God is saying, church leaders need the members and vis verse, which is why it was great to see a discussion take place. Are Baptist church leaders to be left with the role of 'leading' or do we seek to hear what God is saying though the church rather than a few? 
• It was encouraged to challenge! As uncomfortable as it was, it was the challenge of a statement/ idea which created discussion. Something we're not sure if it's christ like to challenge ( read the Gospels if your not sure!) Certainly I've seen people challenge other at church meetings in almost ungodly way, this too should be challenged, but in the discussion what challenged me was I was drawn to the members of the panel, who were most open to listen and changing their mind as a result of a challenge.  Their leadership style was open to the process! Are Baptist church leaders open to this process? 
• We heard the nutters(not a nice way of describing people but it paints the right picture)!! David D was not afraid to hear the nutter's ask questions! God speaks through nutters and often we try to silence them, those with extremist views or mental health issues or a real eye for detail and so ask question after question. Do we value theses voices, if we don't i suspect we don't value most of the writers of the second half of the OT!

There is more i could write, but if non believers can have debate and in many ways behave/ follow practices which are better than many Baptist church meetings- shouldn't we be challenged to go further than the rest of the world and be more like Jesus than they are. I hope that as we develop a Congregational community here the way in which i serve our friends learns from, but goes further than David D.

Love and Prayers.

rich 

What would you ask?

This week Steve and I have seats in the Question Time Audience, it's the mayor of london special and is coming from Harold Hill. We are asked to prepare 2 questions, so what would you ask?

We asked this on Facebook and got some interesting thoughts. However what made me sad was the response of Christians how wanted us to ask heavy questions about giving Christians a break or protecting the right of Christians. I will not be asking a question about the church. I will be asking the following if given the opportunity.

"Several of the candidates accept responsibility for the Olympics, who wants to accept responsibility for changing the fact 1 of 4 children live in poverty in London?"

Why because...

a)nothing the church 'suffers' in the uk is compared to the suffering many innocent children experience.

b) Jesus looks after the church, not the mayor of london/ UK government.

c) Jesus and Paul seemed more concerned with Justice and the Gospel rather then and fate of the church.

d) suffering is something we suffer because of our Gospel and because we stand with those others exclude. To suffer is to follow Jesus.

It's not that i'm not concerned with the fate of the church, it's just as part of the church i think of others before myself!

Have a great day.

rich

wow what a week

this last week has been amazing, kids club was great and we made more contacts had a great time and was supported by a great team.

The passover night was fantastic and we're got some really good feed back.

Good friday i joined a local churches together service and it was such a privilege to be part of it and today as the pub was mental and crazy and good fun. So many families from community meal, families from the pub and families form the holiday club. It was fantastic.

thanks for praying your prayer breath life into what God is doing here. Thank you. we're shattered and so we're going off grid for a week.

Love and Prayers

rich

passover curry!

Here is me explaining some of the passover, a great night and really enjoyed eating with friends.

easter nesw

Hi all easter news is out, hopefully you'll have all got a copy by email, but if not, let me know and i'll email you one.

Happy easter, Rich

thank you

Below is a report we were asked to write for Romford baptist church's annual meeting, but we think it applies to all those who love and support us.

Report from Church Planting team on Harold Hill

Once again thank you so much for your faith in keeping the buildings on Harold Hill available for the people of Harold Hill and the mission of God on Harold Hill.

Over the last six months we have much to be thankful to God for. Here are three things that we hope will encourage you.

Community impact

A large amount of our time has been spent getting to know local people and local organisations. This is now starting to show fruit, people ring us, recommend us and suggest us to others in the community. (This we I have a house exorcism to do at the request of someone in the local authority!!)Now being liked isn’t everything and sometimes being a follow of Jesus means being unpopular, but I think people like us because of what they see us doing, loving and caring for those others don’t want to invest in.

Starting to be congregational

We now have a monthly time set aside in our groups to spend time talking about what people feel we should be doing and how they feel things are going. We point out that as Christians we believe that Jesus is the unseen person helping us in our conversation. Our hope is that this models an approach that allows all to come and have a voice, to be heard and to try to hear what others are saying. This is not a church meeting, but hopefully it is laying the foundations of a congregational community.

Sharing communion

Each week after our community meal, we share communion. Why? Because it helps us to tell the gospel in an accessible, visual and encouraging way. As we have been sharing communion this term we have been weaving the Gospel of Matthew through it. It has been a real time of learning as a team about how to tell the Jesus story. Each week we give people permission not to take it and state that communion is for those trying to follow Jesus. It has created loads of questions and God moments. Our hope is after Easter to do some ‘teaching’ on why we eat so much.

So once again thank you, because of your faith and commitment to Harold Hill and to Jesus, people are trusting the church and seeing value in it. People are having an opportunity to be part of community that believes in God speaking through the collective rather than just the ‘leader’. People who would have never have heard that Jesus Christ died, rose again to forgive sins and give life are hearing week after week after week.

Please ask our gracious Father to continue to lead us and to fill us again with His Holy Spirit as we share the story of his Son.

Thank you.

getting ready for easter

So it's going to be a busy time for us over the next couple of weeks.

We are having a two day children holiday club, a passover/ birthday community meal for me!! Steve and I are taking the Easter sunday morning service at brentwood Bap and then we have our easter 'thing' ( can;t think of a better word for it!) down the pub.

We have no idea who will come, we have no way of even knowing if anyone will come!! Still we plan/ pray and try to discern what God will have us do in these encounters.

Thank you for your support to us here. Over this easter people who would never consider going to a 'normal' church will hear parts of if not all of the Easter story.

A story which i'm still convinced is the one thing we have to offer here on the Hill. People need resurrection life, i can give it, but i can speak of it and live and as we see families come together and people start to hope for a different way of life we can see the seeds of new life growing up.

Next week as a family we're going to a family event of some friends of ours, some friends whose life has been changed by resurrection being found where there was death, God still brings new life to the darkest of places, and i at times a struggle with the faith to believe that we'll see it on harold Hill, but i do believe, please pray we see it over the coming weeks.

what can you do for us? you can ask......

Juls Hollidage asked us a couple of months at what people could do for us ( in addition prayer and giving money)? at the time i wasn't sure. But now that i've thought about it i would say please prayer, give if you feel led too, and ask one question. "Are you being orthodox?"

When asking us this you should expect the answer 'Yes and No'!..............you see what we are doing is a privilege, but it's risky, creative and times making it up on the spot and at times well plan. Were often trying to think about how and what the gospel looks, sounds and lives like when it's set free from the constants of what people conducer normal for the church. However in all this wrestling, stretching, twisting and moulding we still need to be Orthodox to the core values and theologies of our faith.

If what we plant is a nice humanitarian community/ project which is not distinctive as a church of Jesus Christ then we have drifted from what we said we were going to do. So the first time you answer the question- are you being Orthodox you should hear the answer Yes, but don't stop there, ask it again and this time we should say 'No' NO we are not being Orthodox. The baptist union, our friends and family and amazing God has not planted us on Harold Hill to be Orthodox with 'Church', our faith, maybe, but church NO. Give two builders the same set of materials and your still unlikely to get the sam sort of building. PLant a seed and watch a tree grow and you'll unlikely have two tree looking the same. The 'materials' and 'seeds' which when in to growing and building the church are very different from the 'materials and seeds' we are using. Culture is very different and context is very different so it not going to look like an orthodox church of 20, 30, 50, 200 years ago. What frightens me is that with all the church plants going on, they might be a bit trendier, but under the surface they have the same orthodoxy of churches planted 50/100 before them.

We are so so grateful to be given a blank sheet of paper, some fresh materials and seeds. We struggle to not return to the orthodoxy of our youth. But we are commitment to being honourable to this call and opportunity.

So please ask and probe until you are satisfied we are being both orthodox and unorthodox is healthily ways.

we're ill!!

Hi all hope you're well

We could do with your prayers at the moment- the last couple of months have been good, but the biggest challenge has been sickness! this last week we've all be ill again- would value your prayer it's getting us all down a bit.

rich

two interesting months

hi all,

The last couple of months have been interesting and this goes some way to explaining why the blog has been a bit quiet.

In January we like many other were visited by the sickness bug- or rather alison was in a major way. The knocked her out for nearly the whole month, not nice and for those who know her will know this is really not normal. This month has been dominated by conferences. The first for me was the baptist minsters conference, which was enjoyable, each year they invite two speakers it seem that i tend to connect with one more than the other!!

This week alison and i went to the new wine conference for church leaders in urban areas, it was challenging and inspiring for many reason and i found God reminding of some stuff of His which i've put down.

The weekend i'm preaching for a church weekend away and then after that a normal week would be good ( what ever one of those on Harold Hill is!!)

oops it's been a while

Sorry all it's been a while, things haves been good. (lost couple of weeks Alison's been really ill with a bug but we seem to over that now)

We have been in an interesting time time here. We have been having communion at the end of our weekly meal which has been well received and for which we continue to seek wisdom as to how to do well.

I've been asked to be 'spiritual champion for the new youth centre, which is an amazing opportunity to serve God in the community.

We have also been preparing a paper for the leadership of our host church about our future plans.

This month is crazy with Alison and I going to a conference together, I'm going to the EBA ministers conference and speaking at a church weekend.

Most importantly our time continues to be about people and standing with them in their needs. As ever we are humbled to be part of different people journeys and hopefully to be Jesus to them as they travel in valleys of Pain and Darkness.