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Vol. 1, No.9 |
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"This week’s letter is in three parts but despite that will be brieferthan some of my earlier notes. I want to begin by commenting briefly onHurricane Katrina. Then I want us to reflect on some items for prayerand finally turn to the personal choices that we all need to look at aswe enter the fall.
Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath will have profound effects for manyyears, if not generations to come. We have become somewhat insulatedfrom disasters that afflict our world - from war to famine, earthquakesto tsunamis. We have even become regionally isolated in our own countrywhen we have heard but not been moved from our own experiences ofice-storms, floods, fire storms and droughts. One American leader madethe comment that his own culture "had developed an enormous capacity tohave patience with the suffering of black people". While I agree withhim, it is incumbent on each of us as Canadian Christians to ensure wedo not develop any tolerance whatsoever for the suffering of any in ourland and I wonder who we are willing to ignore and who we are willingto embrace. Let us pray for all those affected by the events of Katrinaand prepare to learn lessons from these experiences. Gary Nelson,General Secretary of Canadian Baptist Ministries, has said that CBM iscoordinating over 75 volunteers from Canada in a relief effort. Pleasecontact them if you would like more information.
I want to emphasize prayer for youth and children in this newsletter. Iam especially concerned for campers and staff returning from ourdenominational camps and the new season of youth groups, Sunday schooland other activities that will be starting soon. Maybe "concerned" doesnot convey the right notion ... in fact I am very excited about thework that is going on in our midst in children's ministry. I wasparticularly challenged to read in the bulletin from New Life CommunityBaptist Church in Duncan this last Sunday the statistic that 83% ofthose who sit in church on Sunday came to faith before the age of 13.That fact says something about the significance of early childhoodcontact with the Faith but also says something about our lack ofeffectiveness in adult evangelism. By the way, New Life celebrates itswork with children by regularly having over 280 out on Sundays....thank you Lord! So let’s pray, encourage, mentor and support ourministry to children and youth as we begin this fall.
Lastly, a story on a personal note. A primer for the fall. I have aterrible relationship with the TD Canada Trust in Duncan, BritishColumbia which is near a cottage we often visit as a family. Whenever Ivisit this particular branch (incidentally, the staff are tremendousand very patient) I am in holiday mode and therefore forgetful. Thislast July was the worst when money that I had taken from my account gotleft (by me) in the cash dispenser never to be seen again. My bankmachine experience is a bit of a metaphor for my requests of Godespecially in this fall season. I go about the usual rituals of askingGod for relationship and much else only to either ignore or neglect toreceive what he has offered. Often in the fall we set out withintentions of personal spiritual formation and growth, asking of Godand others, only to walk away from all that he has for us. I sense thatthis comes from getting caught up in a lot of fairly understandablebusiness rather than beginning with clear, intentional listening timewith God as we enter our fall together with Him and with one another.My wife Kerry has often reminded me (and I need constant reminding)that the word obed (the root of obedience obviously) means “to listen".
Even now Lord Jesus give me a longing and capacity to listen.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy Bell" |
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Vol. 1, No.8 |
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"We left off last week sharing about all the things I had come to learnfrom our Kenyan partner churches. You may recall that the mainparts of that learning experience were their unity in Christ expressedin worship, care for one another and their care for the community atlarge. I was also very much moved by their sense of joy asexpressed to the Lord and to one another. I found it anexhilarating challenge as to how we will become a people in the Unionthat reflect some of those very strong commitments in Christ that ourKenyan brothers and sisters continue to experience—a profound sense ofworship, commitment to church planting, clarity about social justiceand equally concerned that people come to faith and mature in thefaith. Above all, I know that the Lord wishes many of us (thosewho do not already share in God's joy) to re-discover the joy of theLord in our lives. May we, like Nehemiah, experience daily ‘thatthe joy of the Lord is our strength’.
As I share with you some of these deeply encouraging things let mecomment on some of my concerns. Africa has become the funding darlingof so many in the last few years. There has been much comment on thedesperate plight of countless people in this painful continent. So much need and yet so many challenges to meeting thatneed. What can a single denomination do in the face of suchdifficulties such as war, drought, injustice and privation? Ifound myself thrown back on one great declaration that my humanityfound its unity with my African brothers and sisters because we wereunited in a common Lord. I found that my humour (many of myfriends would agree here) and my everyday life illustrations made nosense whatsoever to my Kenyan friends. I constantly wondered howto bridge the gap between us and marveled at how others like theStelcks were able to do so. There was one wonderful moment that stoodout to me. I was trying to illustrate how we need to keep beingfilled by the presence of God with an illustration from BillyGraham. I cupped my hands together and had a student pour waterinto them. I could not contain the liquid and consequently leaked waterall over the classroom. “I need God's constant infilling,” Iannounced, “because I leak”. We all laughed together in ourcommon recognition of God's provision for us in our common need. I came away with concerns that I need to know more about the dilemmasof cross-cultural language and the concerns I had around the issues ofmoney, dependency, social justice and sharing both the faith and lovein Christ. I embarked on some reading that I want to share withyou.
Before my trip I began to read “The End of Poverty” by the Harvardeconomist Jeffrey Sachs. I am reading it in a sort of communitywith those from every political and economic stripe. Its thesisit that we need to help those in the global economy who are showingsigns of improvement and help them to do even better. Sachs hasthe support of those from the left like Stephen Lewis and those fromthe right like the British magazine “The Economist”. The secondbook that I am plowing through is John Reader's award-winning book“Africa: A Biography of the Continent”. Its title needs noexplanation except that it is an exceptional read and explains much ofthe background of African challenges. I am also reading“Britain's Gulag” by Harvard historian Caroline Elkins which is aninflammatory book on the end of empire in Kenya. (I am finding asa person born in Britain that I am both fascinated andchallenged.) Finally, I wish to recommend the biblical andradically hopeful book “Good News About Injustice” by Gary Haugen whichmy wife Kerry pointed out to me in a bookshop at Holy Trinity Bromptontwo weeks ago. Haugen suggests that we are fairly adept atsharing our faith with people and even competent at feeding many whoare hungry but that we have a long way to go in changing the structuresand patterns that hurt people in the first place. Haugen is thehead of International Justice Mission and told a story that moved me inits simple forcefulness. It is a story that reminds me that whenI ask God to feed the hungry he is more often than not asking me totake what he has given me and feed those in need on his behalf. Iwill share the story without comment save to say that it is a storythat I am greatly chastened by.
"A preacher asked me (and the rest of the congregation) to consider ascene that has stayed with me ever since. He asked us to recallthe story of the feeding of the five thousand. The disciples broughtcomplaints about the hungry multitudes to Jesus and he responded bycompassionately blessing bits of food from a boy's lunch of five loavesand two fishes. Then he gave them to the disciples and thedisciples gave them to the people. They ate and all weresatisfied (Matthew 14:19). The speaker asked us to imagine ascenario in which the disciples kept thanking Jesus for all the breadand fish - without passing them along to the people. He asked usto imagine the disciples starting to be overwhelmed by the piles ofmultiplying loaves and fishes surrounding them, yelling out to Jesus,”thank you , thank you, thank you”—all the while never passing along the food to the people. And then beneath the mounting pilesof food, the disciples could even be heard complaining to Jesus that hewasn't doing anything about the hungry multitude."
- “Good News About Injustice” by Gary Haugen
Lord save us from our own blindness and lead us to faithful and fruitful places in You and Your world.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy Bell" |
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