Musings From The Manse: Winter 2010
Dear Friends,
Life as a Minister can often be as confusing as it is rewarding. Let me explain….
At the moment there doesn’t seem to be a day goes by without some new initiative or mission opportunity dropping into my post-box or clogging up my ‘inbox’ – all of which call for either my own or Christ Church’s time and energy. There is just so much around to choose from – including the Vision4Life Year of Evangelism (which begins in Advent), and the launch of ‘Bible Fresh’ (a partnership of over 50 agencies, festivals and denominations, including the Methodist Church, who are joining forces to encourage and inspire churches and individuals to make the most of the Bible in 2011 – which is the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible.)
As a church with two parent bodies, each clamouring for the attention of their ‘child’, the danger can often be that we either end up doing too much in the way of mission and evangelism, or not doing anything at all! However, all the material that is around can have the advantage of focusing our collective minds on how we ‘live for Christ, in the heart of our community’ (our mission statement!) – And providing we agree that whatever we do is right for our membership and is the will of God – what’s the problem!!
The problem is that faced with too much, we can become over stretched and overwhelmed – or like me, confused, bewildered!
The solution, I believe, is to firstly focus on the very thing that underpins our church and fellowship – Prayer!
Recently a group of Christ Church folks, met together to discuss how healthy our church prayer-life is (see article in this issue of the Messenger) – and I think we were all encouraged by what is happening – whether we are all aware of it or not. New ideas were expressed, and old ones revamped, but I think we all agreed that at the heart of everything we do, now or in the future, must be the notion of ‘taking it to God in Prayer’. Certainly, as I try to sift through everything that requires my attention, the first thing I try to do is to ask God’s advice – I find he usually knows what’s best for me!
Yours in Christ,
Helen
<><