12 • resources

Lashed to the mast

THE BapTisT TimEsThursday, September 13, 2007

Chris ellis

faith matters

euGeNe Peterson, translator of The Message and author of a number of fine books on spirituality and pastoral care, once told the story of an early crisis in his ministry. he had been minister of a Presbyterian church for a number of years, but one day told the board of elders that he wanted to resign. They thought things were going well, so why on earth did he want to go? Peterson told them that he was always out and that he wasn’t doing what he had come to the church to do. he was always busy chairing committees and running errands – running the church. ‘I want to preach, to lead worship and spend time in people’s homes. That’s what I want to do. I want to be your spiritual leader; I don’t want to run your church.’ They said, ‘Fine. We’ll run the church and you can teach people to pray!’ he stayed 27 years. It’s a good story and we shouldn’t spoil it by being defensive. A pastor is indeed called to lead as well as nurture – yet his point is still well made. Time and again in his writings Peterson challenges

pastors to reflect on their priorities and invites them to reflect on the heart of their calling. one of my favourite pieces is his essay, Lashed to the Mast. he recalls the story of ulysses (also known as odysseus) and how in Greek mythology he stuffed his sailors’ ears with wax so they couldn’t hear the voices of the sirens enticing them to an inevitable shipwreck. he wanted to hear the siren voices and survive, so he had the sailors lash him to the ship’s mast. he then argues that the promises a minister makes at ordination are like being lashed to the mast. There are many siren voices encouraging ministers to do other things and to leave their calling as ministers of word and sacrament – while still remaining ministers. Now I know that there is a wide variety of view on ministry among Baptists. one of the ways in which we negotiate this diversity is to use the word ‘minister’ but mean different things by it. Yet, because the church has many ministers and many ministries, the word ‘minister’ becomes difficult to pin down

John William Waterhouse’s painting Odysseus and the Sirens shows how Odysseus was lashed to the mast

and the calling of the minister becomes elusive. Personally, I believe the word ‘pastor’ has far more content than the word ‘minister,’ because it carries the shepherding images of leadership, feeding and protecting. of course, these ministries are undertaken in partnership with others in a fellowship – but they coalesce in the calling to pastor. As the Gathering for Worship induction service puts it: ‘By your example, will you lead this church in all godly living and devotion to Christ through prayer and the reading of scripture? Will you be faithful in the leading of worship, in presiding at the table of the Lord?’ And: ‘Do you accept the charge from Christ to care for his people with all diligence and compassion? Will you care

for the weak, bring Christ’s healing to the broken-hearted, lift up the downcast, and pray regularly for those committed to your care?’ A while ago, I read a magazine article on Christian leadership cautioning pastors not to be sucked dry by caring for ‘high maintenance people’. The implication was that the pastor should focus on ‘leadership’ – which presumably means strategic, organisational, visionary leadership – and not get sidetracked by people with needs. Yet the ordination promises lash pastors to the mast of being Christ to those in their care. And how is this ‘being Christ’ to be embodied in the very practical relationships of a local church? Sometimes it will mean being sucked dry by very human needs – as Christ was sucked dry on the cross. ‘I thirst,’ he said.

Regularly it will mean opening Scripture and reading it again in the light of the Resurrection as God’s word for today. In his new book Tokens of Trust, Rowan Williams speaks of the inspiration of Scripture as ‘its capacity to be the vehicle of the holy Spirit, making Jesus vividly present to our minds and hearts, and so making his challenge and invitation immediate for us’. That challenge and invitation should be the constant concern of the pastor. Regularly I believe it should require the exploration of ‘spiritual conversation’, an oldfashioned term which I believe deserves revisiting. Pastoral care – and pastoral visiting – should have this as their staple diet. Walking the ‘emmaus walk,’ where the cares of the world, the anxieties and depressions of friends and

strangers, result in reflecting on personal stories - struggling to hear the Good News of God through a fresh look at Scripture. This is the calling of the pastor – to walk this road back to Jerusalem through the disappointments and triumphs, the hurts and crises of socalled everyday life. In paying attention to the other, while engaging again with the stories of God’s faithfulness, Christ is known in the breaking of bread and the companionship of the road. Leadership? That comes in the invitation to walk and talk and read Scripture together. And the walk becomes more and more animated as we rush to tell the others that he is risen.

The Revd Dr Chris Ellis is pastor of West Bridgford Baptist Church, Nottingham

words for worship

Lord God of all creation, teach us to come to you as children, because we seek to worship you as our Father. Free us from the grudges that we love to nurse, from the hatred that we love to harbour, from the bitterness that we quietly foster. Set us free to sing your praises. How majestic is your name in all the earth. Creator of the Universe, we praise you both for your infinite glory, and for your closeness to us. We thank you that you have not wound up the world

and left it to tick. We thank you for your presence with us. We praise you as the one who does not keep a safe distance from us. How majestic is your name in all the earth. We acknowledge that you have called us to be stewards of your creation in our day. So help us not to use the world as our ash tray, not to be swept along with the current of consumerism, not to rob our children of the earth’s resources. Instead, may we honour you, the King

of Creation, with our daily living. How majestic is your name in all the earth. We pray for fair trade rules and justice among governments and leaders, that the poorer nations of this world may have a fair share of the fruits of this world. How majestic is your name in all the earth. O LORD, our Lord How majestic is your name in all the earth. BUGB

prayer foCus • release international fears for Chinese grandmother facing abuse behind bars

ChRISTIANS worldwide are being urged to step up their prayer and campaigning efforts for Chinese grandmother Shuang Shuying whose health is fading fast in jail. Shuang Shuying, who is in her mid-70s, was arrested with her son hua huiqi in January as they walked through Beijing’s olympic Village. olympic Games police beat them and charged them with offences they both deny. hua, a house church activist, has campaigned on behalf of the poor and persecuted Christians. he was jailed for disturbing the social order and was imprisoned for six months. Shuang, a diabetic, was sent down for two years. her daughter-in-law, Wei Jumei, says that the elderly Christian from Beijing is now ‘in extremely poor health’ after seven months in prison. She has lost a quarter of her body weight due to sleep deprivation and relentless psychological pressure. In a letter to China Aid following a visit she made to Shuang Shuying in her Beijing prison, Wei Jumei writes: ‘The jeers and

verbal abuses she gets from fellow inmates and the police’s terror and psychological pressure have made the old lady all the more miserable. her hands are trembling and she looks very pale.’ Wei Jumei also writes that police have visited hua huiqi since his release in July and told him that his mother is considered a ‘hostage’ to make him stop his religious rights work. The prison authorities proved as much when they threatened hua behind bars. ‘You should always remember your mother is in our hands,’ they warned him. In the same letter, Shuang’s daughter-inlaw recounts that Shuang is no stranger to oppression. her father was executed for being a ‘counter-revolutionary’ in 1950, and her husband served 20 years in a labour camp for the same ‘crime’. hua and his mother turned to Christ in the early 1990s – and have been persecuted ever since. Release International’s Ceo Andy Dipper says there is action we can take to help. ‘We can pray and we can campaign. Please ask God to strengthen and uphold Shuang

Shuying during this trial of her faith. Pray that the Chinese authorities would have a change of heart and set her free. ‘Please also write a polite letter of concern about Shuang Shuying’s welfare to: Ms Wu Aiying, Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, No 10, Nan Da Jie, Chaoyangmen, Beijing 100020.’ n If you would like to take action to help persecuted Christians Release International is looking for volunteers from around the UK and Ireland to be church representatives. Your core role would be to receive and disseminate information, and encourage prayerful support for Release International’s ministry within your church. ‘How you develop the role depends on the amount of time you have to give,’ says Andy Dipper. ‘Church Reps are a vital part of the RI team. Please consider prayerfully if you can join us – and pray that many others will take on this role too.’ ‘For details, call: (01689) 82349 or visit: www.releaseinternational.org.’

what’s on

Saturday, September 22, Cumbria Christians and the Environment Conference The Revd Dave Bookless, director of A Rocha will lead this conference, which will be held at Centre for Practical Christianity, St George’s Church, Castle St, Kendal, Cumbria between 11am-4pm. The conference costs £10 per delegate. For more information, e-mail: hilarybinks@btinternet.com, or call: (01539) 727207.

Saturday, September 22, Exeter Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Chapel Service The service will take the theme of Water, and run from noon at exeter cathedral. In conjunction with this, Devon Churches Green Action will host a display which will run during September in the chapel.

Saturday, September 22, Guernsey The Leprosy Mission sponsored walk STARTS at St Peter Port, Guernsey, and will be a level walk by the sea. Refreshments will also be made available and all money raised will go towards the work of The Leprosy Mission. For further information and a sponsorship form, call Brian hankins on: (01884) 820354.

Sunday, September 23, Bradford Slow Sunday – have a Car Free Sunday BRADFoRD Diocese earth Care Team are encouraging the Diocese to take part in a Slow Sunday, taking time to appreciate what we have by having a Car Free Sunday.

Tuesday September 25th, Northallerton Alpha supper with Jonathan Aitken FoRMeR journalist, banker and cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken will speak at New Life Baptist Church Northallerton’s Buffet Supper which will launch its next Alpha Course. he will speak on the theme From Power to Prison to Peace. entry on the evening is by free ticket only, available from the church office. Pre-booking is advised. The event starts at 7pm. For more information, call New Life Baptist Church on: (01609) 775396, or e-mail: info@nlbc.org.uk

n Send your listings to: features@baptisttimes.co.uk
THE BAPTIST TIMES Thursday, September 13, 2007

feature • 13

Moving forward in prayer

Jonathan Edwards explains why he hopes every church will push out the boat to take bold new steps in prayer

The TempTaTion to become clockwork Chris­ tians is never very far away from us. it’s so easy for us to get lulled into a dull form of dutiful religiosity which has all the life and vitality of a limp lettuce. God calls us to something very different. he calls to accompany him on his mission to our world and prayer is the way in which we show our commitment and openness to him. i am more and more convinced that our vitality as Christians is utterly dependent on the quality of our prayer life. Without prayer all our strategies and activities are a waste of time. in last week’s article i observed some of the high­ profile developments in prayer ministry, from huge football ground prayer meetings and 24/7 prayer vigils to new forms of monasticism. These things should be a stimulus and blessing to us all. in this article, i want to look at the other ways in which we can encourage prayer in our local churches. Prayer in worship services prayer is the air we breathe and cannot possibly be confined to a corner of our lives. however, prayer needs to have a very special place within our regular worship services. if prayer lies at the heart of our Christians lives then it clearly needs to have a dominant place within our corporate worship. Baptist worship is unlike the worship of many other denominations. We are free to bring together worship in whatever way we choose. This is a wonderful privilege but also a staggering responsibility for those who are called to lead worship. When i was studying law, my college chaplain observed to me that a Baptist church service led well was the best of all possible worlds, because the worship leader had the freedom to pluck material from any number of sources. But he went on to say that a Baptist church service led badly was the worst of all possible worlds, because there was no brake upon the ignorance or insensitivities of the leader of worship. he used this as an argument for the benefits of a set liturgy, pointing out that even the most incompetent leader of worship would be bound to make use of lots of Scripture and pray many prayers. Worship in Baptist churches has changed enormously over the past generation. When i started to preach in 1974 it was easy to describe a Baptist church service – the basic four­hymn (five if there was communion) pattern was used up and down the country.

But these days there is no common pattern. in many ways that’s exciting and stimulating, especially for those of us who find ourselves in a different church each week. There are obvious and enormous dangers in this. it is easily possible for the reading of Scripture and prayer to become sidelined and that has undoubtedly happened in some places. i love to sing worship songs but we dare not let them push crucial elements of Christian worship to the margins. it is clear from Scripture that there are at least four major areas of prayer and it is good that these should be reflected in our weekly worship. Prayers of adoration are a necessary response to the holiness and grandeur of God. he is our Creator, as well as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There needs to be space, quite apart from prayers of thanksgiving when we gasp at the greatness of God afresh, and well chosen songs and hymns will help us to express our adoration.

Prayer is the air we breathe and cannot possibly be confined to a corner of our lives

Prayers of confession are vital because of our awareness of our sin and our constant need to admit our failings before our loving Father. Such prayers will benefit from careful preparation so that they can powerfully express our dependence on a loving and forgiving God who delights in setting us free from our sin. Prayers of thanksgiving are an inevitable response to the generosity of our loving heavenly Father. i have been blessed by many imaginative times of thanksgiving prayer. These have often been at their most powerful when the whole church has been invited to offer their own prayers of thanksgiving. Prayers for others are a crucial part of our worship, because they allow us to open our hearts and minds to God’s love for people within and beyond our own fellowships. Worship without outward looking prayers is almost a contradiction in terms. For the God of mission draws us together specifically so that we will be able to share with him in his mission to the world. i have been thrilled by the imaginative way in which prayers for others have been led

are going to pray. others send out letters to residents asking for prayer requests. This is something that any church could do. a small church might only be able to send out a dozen letters, but what a wonderful way of reaching out into a community with the love of Jesus. Some churches have found it helpful to send out a letter informing residents that somebody from the church will visit them a week later to receive their requests for prayer. others have identified a place where prayer requests can be sent. The thing that particularly appeals to me about this initiative is that it is so simple, and every church can shape it in the way that suits their community. probably the greatest encouragement to me is that churches are being so imaginative in their prayer ministries. Space doesn’t permit me to make reference to all the prayer breakfasts, prayer picnics, quiet days and prayer groups which i have heard about. But i hope that every church will seize the opportunity to push out the boat and take bold new steps in prayer. in that way, but only in that way, will our Baptist family grow in strength and vitality.

Public opinion polls consistently reveal that the majority of people pray

in many churches. Sometimes a local newspaper has been used as the basis for prayer; sometimes a powerpoint presentation has opened up an area of need to the congregation; sometimes people have been invited to speak about their daily work or a local charity and sometimes people have been invited to pray in small groups. every church needs to look carefully at the way in which prayer is expressed in worship ... and every church has more to learn on this exciting journey. Prayer and the community public opinion polls consistently reveal that the majority of people pray. it is equally clear that the majority of people would not understand prayer in a conventional Christian way, but we would be foolish not to seek to build a bridge with those who see prayer as a significant part of their lives. i have been interested to hear about the number of churches that have specifically opened their doors to the community when they have had times of prayer. Some churches have set up ‘prayer labyrinths’ in which they have offered people a variety of different prayer spaces with music, paintings, poems, candles and flowers to stimulate their prayer. others have offered six­week courses on prayer as a gentle way of introducing people to the rich and varied expressions of Christian prayer. as a nation, we have experienced some heart­rending crises in recent months. We have all been deeply affected by the mounting death toll in iraq and afghanistan, the disappearance of madeleine mcCann and the appalling murders of people on our streets. it has been encouraging to see that the report of almost every disaster is accompanied, even in our secular media, by an account of a church at prayer for the grief stricken families and communities. as Baptists, we often assume that the Church of england will perform this role, but there many occasions when it would be helpful and appropriate for Baptists to be more proactive.

our ministry of prayer needs to reach deeply into our communities. a college friend of mine is a member of parliament and an anglican, and he was delighted to tell me that one of the first churches to write to him when he became an mp was a Baptist church which wanted to assure him of their prayers. But they have gone further. From time to time they have invited him to visit their church and have asked him for items for prayer. he has been deeply

encouraged by this. This may be an initiative that others could take. or how about writing to your community policeman, or a councillor, headteacher or businessman informing them of your prayers for them, and inviting them to share their prayer requests in a service? i have been delighted to hear that many churches have adopted a systematic way of praying for their communities. Some announce every Sunday a different street for which they

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