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What can churches do to help Fairtrade? p5

Resources Building renewal in our lives p12

THE BapTisT TimEsThursday, December 6, 2007

Comment Caring for your colleagues p13

Review Looking beyond the wall in Palestine p20

News . . . . . . . . . . . . .p3 Feature . . . . . . . . . . . .p5 Local news . . . . . . . . .p6 Comment . . . . . . . . . . .p8 Outside Edge . . . . . . . .p9 Rackley’s reflections . .p10 Resources . . . . . . . . .p12

Comment . . . . . . . . . .p13 Classifieds . . . . . . . . .p14 TV & Radio . . . . . . . .p18 Hazel Southam . . . . .p18 Books . . . . . . . . . . . .p19 Review . . . . . . . . . . . .p20 Final Word . . . . . . . . .p20

THE BapTisT TimEs

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Baptists help Didcot dazzle for Christmas Picture:Andrew Mann

By TOM RICHES

BAPTIST House volunteers got in on the act at Didcot Christmas Fair last week as they shared the Gospel and provided food for people in the town. Staff gave jacket potatoes to 480 people and handed out evangelistic literature. The annual extravaganza sees businesses and organisations in the area put on a show of fairground rides, music and stalls

to mark the switching on of the town’s Christmas lights. Baptist Union and BMS World Mission staff gave out cards with Bible verse John 3:16 printed in various languages as well as testimony booklets. BBC Radio Oxford’s Christian DJ ‘G’ played gospel music as part of the Baptist House stall. BUGB mission advisor the Revd Terry Jones helped organised the Baptist House efforts. ‘I cannot recall so

many people expressing their appreciation and amazement that it was all free,’ he said. He added that the teams handing out John 3:16 cards were excited ‘at the number of people not only taking the cards and booklets but also inviting friends back to receive them. Some actually took cards to give to their friends at work.’ Mr Jones said Baptist House staff had ‘meaningful’ and ‘important’ conversations with a

number of people from various countries including Nepal, Germany and Poland. ‘It was a joy to give cards to four Russians, many Poles, a few Slovaks and Czechs, as well as many South Africans,’ he said. Donations were made towards the jacket potatoes totalling approximately £200 which will go towards the work of three Bulgarian orphanages supported by Didcot’s Fleet Meadow Baptist Church.

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December 6,2007
THE BAPTIST TIMES Thursday, December 6, 2007

Hopeful stars will highlight persecuted Church

Home news • 

Leadership call to Yorkshire women

‘Boycott this film’ or not

By TOM RICHES

AS THE race to win TV talent show the X-Factor reaches its climax, Open Doors and the Saltmine Trust are teaming up to host their own search for musical talent. The two organisations will launch a new venture in an effort to find the next big name in Christian music and to raise the profile of millions of persecuted Christians. Beginning in January, Hope Academy will tour nine UK cities where panels of experts will judge Christian soloists, bands and choirs. The best participants will perform to a live audience in each of the cities before two finalists are selected for a grand final in London in May 2008. The winner will get to perform alongside Saltmine Theatre, make a recording of their best song on a music video and receive a chance to perform in Egypt with Open Doors. Open Doors chief executive Eddie Lyle will share stories from the persecuted church at the events. ‘The Hope Academy is a spectacular opportunity to identify a new generation of Christian artist who use their gifts to the glory of God,’ he said. ‘More importantly, we want to provide them with an opportunity to connect with people who have no voice. ‘This fusion of the creative arts and compassion will, we believe, raise the profile of the persecuted church which has never been so necessary.’ Jessica Turner of Saltmine, one of the event coordinators, said they are hoping for hundreds of auditions. ‘Our hope is that those who represent Hope Academy will go on to represent the persecuted church,’ she said. To find out more log on to: www.saltmine.org/ hopeacademy

By JENNY WILLIAMS

THE SHORTAGE of women in Church leadership was addressed last week, during an evening organised by the Yorkshire Baptist Association. Held at the West Yorkshire branch of home superstore IKEA, it attracted around 50 women. The Revd Jane Ledingham, pastor at Gildersome Baptist Church, led the event. ‘It was fun,’ she said. ‘It had a sense of difference.’ The evening provided an opportunity to talk with women already in positions of leadership, and to discover the flexible training opportunities available. ‘The overall vision is that within the YBA we start to network assertively in identifying the next generation of women leaders, and to challenge them to think seriously about leadership,’ she said. Nationally, less than 10 per cent of Baptist ministers are women - a trend reflected in the Yorkshire Association. Although no target for growth has been set, Ms Ledingham said there is a ‘passionate vision’ for more young people and women to become church leaders. And already the event has proved fruitful, with some women in attendance having discussed training options with Northern Baptist College, said Ms Ledingham. While this is the aim, she added, ‘It’s also about women responding to the call on their lives, wherever that may be within leadership.’ YBA regional minister team leader the Revd Ernie Whalley said, ‘It is important that women break through the glass ceiling and fulfil their potential within the body of Christ.’ And Ikea may play a larger role in local church life. The store, which employs around 600 workers, has agreed for Ms Ledingham to become its first chaplain, from early

Christian Aid named top NGO

Picture:Christian Aid

CHRISTIAN Aid was named last Tuesday as the top nongovernmental performer in the Global Accountability Report produced by The One World Trust. The Report ranks 30 of the world’s most powerful corporate, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organisations. The Revd Graham Sparkes, head of the BUGB faith and unity department and a Christian Aid trustee, said, ‘As one of its sponsoring churches, Baptists should be immensely proud of the work Christian Aid does on behalf of the poor.’ The organisation marked the week of World Aids Day in Parliament Square with a red ribbon made up of 5,700 carnations, representing the number of lives lost to HIV every day. Its director Daleep Mukarji said that the Government should be congratulated for its support for global HIV programmes, but warned against complacency. ‘We need to continue and strengthen our

Small can be beautiful too By TOM RICHES

LEADERS of the denomination’s smaller churches gathered at Baptist House last Thursday for a day of networking and encouragement. The event saw 65 delegates from congregations ranging from eight- to forty-strong attending. Dan Yarnell, co-author of Celebrating the Small Church, was the key-note speaker while BUGB general secretary the Revd Jonathan Edwards spoke on ‘encouraging missionary discipleship’.

A former small church leader himself, Mr Yarnell called on those present to ‘love God and take his love to the world’. ‘Wherever Jesus is, there will be hope,’ he said. ‘If we are going to re-evangelise the UK, it will be the smaller churches that make the difference because large churches can’t always get to all places. ‘Large is not always a good thing – this is our time.’ Mr Yarnell encouraged the delegates to believe God can use small churches. ‘Small churches are not large churches in a smaller form – God has called them to a specific mission.

‘You can’t authentically be the church without mission.’ The Revd Ian Bunce, head of the BUGB mission department, said he was delighted with the day. ‘People went away feeling very encouraged,’ he said. ‘This confirms we need to do more of these days.’

Lapsed Catholics are told the door is open for return to faith By MARK WOODS

LAPSED Roman Catholics are to be targeted for the first time in a massive campaign to get them back to church for Christmas. With echoes of the successful Back to Church Sunday campaign in September, the Come Home for Christmas campaign is being resourced by the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (CASE). With the slogan, ‘Whatever your story or journey, the door is always open to you,’ it aims to offer a seasonal welcome to Catholics who for different reasons no longer or rarely attend Mass.

The initiative has proved popular with parishes, and CASE has struggled to keep up with demand for its posters, leaflets and cards, nearly 100,000 of which have been ordered. There is also a dedicated multi-media website for potential ‘returners’. The micro-site includes welcome messages from the Bishops of England and Wales, as well as video testimonies and articles describing obstacles to faith and ways to come back. A ‘Find A Church’ facility is included to put returners in touch with their local church. There are free downloads including prayers and an offer

of a ‘Welcome Home’ pack. ‘People lapse for all kinds of reasons and we want to communicate that we’re not here to judge,’ said CASE director Mgr Keith Barltrop. ‘We want to welcome you and listen to your story, however much time has passed since you last went to church.’ One returned Catholic whose testimony is featured – Dean Meehan, a 45 year-old train conductor from Leeds - ascribes his reawakened faith to reading The Da Vinci Code, the controversial novel by Dan Brown. ‘The fact that I’ve realised that Jesus is my saviour has made all the difference,’ he said.

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By TOM RICHES

A CHILDREN’S film based on a fantasy fiction trilogy has provoked controversy ahead of its UK release tomorrow. The Golden Compass, based on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, has been described as ‘dangerous to faith’ and ‘atheism for kids’, with some groups calling on Christians to boycott it. Pullman, a forthright atheist, once told The Washington Post that the book was ‘trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief’. The Catholic League has criticised the film, saying its aim is to ‘bash Christianity and promote atheism’. The explicitly anti-Christian themes of the books have been toned down for the film – according to an Evangelical Alliance article, possibly because this would have made the film less commercially successful. It says that Pullman’s website ‘lists money and fame as the first two motivations he has for writing’. Meanwhile, other groups and individuals have encouraged Christians to watch the film. Among them is the Revd Dr Anthony Clarke, a tutor at Regent’s Park College and coauthor of Flickering Images: Theology and Film in Dialogue. ‘People ought to go and see it – don’t make judgments without seeing it or reading the book,’ he said. ‘Pullman is writing from a convinced personal position and therefore has some negative comments on faith and the established Church. ‘We shouldn’t be worried but we should be ready to debate with people.’