An interview

Here is the first in a who-knows-how-many series of interviews! Our first interviewee is Paul Ritchie - a Methodist Minister in Richhill, Northern Ireland. Originally from Cork City, he has been minstering in Northern Ireland for 12 years. Paul is married to Caroline and they have two kids - Anya and Ronan.

What do you find are the general challenges in ministry?
Quite simply, when Paul says, 'Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ' (1 Cor 11:1) I find it a real challenge to say those words and not be a hypocrite.

What are the challenges you face as a Southern Irishman ministering in Northern Ireland?
My first post was a lay assistant in Dungannon. I was given a house in a loyalist area. I tried to buy the paper without using any words so they wouldn't hear my accent! I found that people would say things like 'Don't bring politics into the pulpit.' But over the years I have realised that the same people don't mind politics in the pulpit as long as it is their politics! Over the years, the challenge has been how to be all things to all people and not let me Southerness be too much of my identity.

What challenges do you find being a Methodist minister?
One of the challenges has to be theological. My main theological influences don't reflect the theology of my denomination. Before ordination I wrote a letter to the secretary of conference and had a chat with himself and the secretary of the board of examiners to explain that to see if they could accept where I stood. Also, the system we have in our denomination of moving ministers every few years is not one I think is productive.

Can you expand on some of the theological differences?
Whereas most ministers in the Methodist church are into John Wesley - I am more into John Stott! And a lesser known theologian called Pete Orr has had a significant influence on my theological development!

Can you tell us some books that you have found particularly helpful in ministry?
None hugely jump to mind with regards to ministry in particular. But the three books that have most influenced my understanding are: How Long O Lord by Don Carson because I was blown away by how Biblically rooted it was; The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by Don Carson which was hugely significant in a theological paradigm shift; Showing the Spirit by....Don Carson (!) - particularly for its final chapter which discusses spiritual gifts for the church today.

Related to that Paul, you describe yourself as a Reformed Charismatic - can you tell us why and what it looks like in the practice of your church?
I have always been fascinated by what labels to put on yourself and what to avoid but currently Reformed Charismatic is somewhat of an aspiration. We run a service called Cafe Church fortnightly on a Sunday evening in which we have tentatively sought to be more open to certain charismatic gifts such as prophecy. Sometimes it feels that those who are into prophecy aren't into exposition of the word. We want to keep teaching central and yet by open to using the git of propecy. I would like Cafe Church to be an example of using gifts like prophecy in a way that doesn't move the exposition of the word from the centre.

Can I ask what you think NT prophecy looks like?
My thinking on this is largely shaped by Carson's Showing the Spirit but where as many in Reformed circles might agree with what Carson says (i.e. they would not be cessationists), they seem not to be too keen to put it into practice. I think that the gift of prophecy has a revelatory function - primarily to encourage Christians but must always be weighed.

How do you ensure the prophecies are weighed?
Our plan is that prophecies would be run by myself and David (our intern) who are responsible for teaching in Cafe Church. We would try and ensure that there is nothing that contradicts Scripture in them and explain to the Congregation that prophecies must be taken with degree of tentativeness. We must accept prophecy with a degree of humility in that the weighing of it implying a mixed content. We are at the very early stages of using this gift.

A final question: What do you like to do to relax?
On a Monday afternoon I go to the Movies on my own. And my family is an ever-increasing source of joy. I love Rugby and take great joy in Munster's success [editors note: Muntser are the second best Rugby team in Ireland behind Ulster] and have managed to get to three crucial rugby matches - Munster vs Leinster in the SF of the Heiniken Cup (at Landsdowne Road); Ireland vs England at Croke Park which was the first time that God Save the Queen was ever sung at Croke Park (that had huge historical significance); and the Heiniken Cup final this year when Munster beat Toulose.

Thanks Paul!

A questionable day?

Amanda and I have been away on holiday for the past week, hence the dearth of posts. We got back a couple of days ago, and have been straight back into it all.

Particularly today, when I feel that I have made it as a small town minister. For today I judged the local Catholic school's speech competition. 5 year olds through to 13 year olds. 'Speeches' (and I use that word loosely) ranging in topic from the evils of animal testing to why league is better than union (that kid won - he was brilliant). Mums and Dads popping in to see their kids speak, and the kids themselves urging each other on. it was beautiful - just like you imagine a small town school to be.

Now some of you may mock. Some of you may have questions about this. Some of you may question my use of time in doing this. Some of you may say 'that wasn't gospel ministry'. 'That wasn't the ministry of prayer and the word.' Some of you may question why I, a good, some would say uberconservative evangelical, was going into the Roman Catholic School at all. Wasn't this taking time away from the minister's 'core business'? Couldn't I have been spending time on sermon preparation, visiting, evangelism? Fair questions.

But at the end of the competition I was asked by the principal to give the kids a few pointers on how to speak in public. I asked her if there was anything that she particularly wanted me to get across, and she said 'not particularly, why don't you tell them that while we tell the good news about Jesus in lots of different ways, being able to speak it clearly in public is very important, and this speech competition gives them practice in that.' So I stood up and said some nice things about public speaking, and reminded these 30 or so kids, and the 8 or so parents, and the 6 or so staff about the gospel. That Jesus died for us and offers us forgiveness when we put our trust in him.

A questionable use of time? I don't think so.

An English Addition

Last night I went to hear Vaughn Roberts, who was speaking at a meeting of the Latimer Fellowship. A hugely encouraging night, not least because of the 200+ people who were there, and the large numbers of people in their 20s and 30s.

Vaughn was speaking about releasing the Word - about how we keep the Word central in our ministries, but ensure that we are doing things which keep it central. He spoke in the areas of time (setting aside people who minister the word to minister the word), of contexts (not just restricting word ministry to church - and the way in which we've sometimes turned the 'go' of the great commission into a 'come to church'), and people. He said much on all three areas which was valuable and helpful, but I was particularly struck by one of his last points. In his stress on expanding ministries, and drawing people into ministry, he spoke of recruit - train - deploy. For those of us from Sydney this is a common progression.

But there was an English addition - maintain. Recruit - train - deploy - maintain. Maintain those who have gone into ministry. Meet with them, plan for that meeting, make it a priority. Ensure that they don't drift or become disillusioned after 5, 10, 15 years of hard gospel work. And what struck me, although it wasn't elaborated on, was the way in which this maintenance is not only for newbies like myself, but indeed for all in ministry. For we're encouraged to keep on going as we meet together, to spur each other on, to share the joys and the difficulties. There is a danger of comparison, but the joys and benefits outweigh this (see here). Maintain, people, maintain.

Review - Going the Distance

As part of my final retreat for the Clinical Pastoral Education course this weekend I had to review a book. The following isn't great, but it fulfills all righteousness, and I think Peter Brain has some incredibly helpful and insightful things to say. I found it a very useful book to read, and would strongly encourage anyone in ministry, or training for ministry to read it. Regularly.

Peter Brain. Going the Distance: How to stay fit for a lifetime of ministry. Matthias Media: Kingsford, NSW. 2004. 260pps

Peter Brain, the bishop of Armidale, has a simple purpose in this work, stated in the subtitle. To articulate, enable, and equip pastors for a lifetime of ministry. Working from the position that ministry is a lifelong vocation, and that pastors seek to remain faithful and effective in that ministry for the long term, Brain’s primary emphasis is on self-care:

…intentional self-care on the part of pastors is not a matter of selfish pampering, it is essential to maintaining an effective ministry over the long term. (p10)

It is the nature of ministry itself which necessitates such a conscious and significant level of self-care. Dealing with matters of eternal significance; the voluntary nature of the church; the portrayal of ministry in society; demands for ‘success’ in terms of church growth, as well as the feelings of inadequacy which ministers can feel from comparing themselves to others, or even to their own expectations, all mean that ministry can be a difficult task which takes a toll on the well-being of the pastor. Brain is very clear up front that he is in no way advocating that ministry should be taken less seriously – indeed by the end of the book one feels the weight of ministry more keenly – but rather that in caring for ourselves well we preserve ourselves for the long haul of ministry, and (as he later develops) promote a picture of ministry which is model-able and therefore more effective in self-replication.

Having identified the importance of self-care, Brain then pragmatically turns to consider the issue of burnout. While a helpful chapter, this also highlights Brain’s pastoral approach in the book. He very frequently deals with where pastors ‘are at’ rather than stating the ideal (and therefore potentially discouraging many). This is also seen in the overall positive nature of the book – a variety of authors and sources are quoted – the vast majority (if not all of them) positively. Brain’s purpose is not to show that he is right and others wrong, but to urge faithful pastors to care for themselves that they might better serve God and care for the people entrusted to their care. This works from his presupposition about the nature of ministry – he doesn’t argue for it, but rather assumes a word-based, parish-centred, evangelical ministry. While different theological and pastoral settings would bring some changes, many of the principles would remain unaltered, although his final chapter on justification by faith might not have the same paradigmatic force.

The issue of burnout is treated as a sign that self-care isn’t working, and/or that self-care needs to be implemented. Brain presents a helpful, cyclical description of burnout, noting how it often feeds on itself. Rather than treating it as a problem (although he clearly sets forth the problems of burnout), Brain urges the reader to see it as ‘an invitation to take stock’ (p31), much like the fuel light in your car. He notes that the early signs of burnout are signs to ‘turnout’ – to slow down and take time to refresh, much like ‘drive-revive-survive’ concept here in New Zealand.

Burnout itself is grounded in how the pastor identifies and manages stress – the topic of the next two chapters. Brain is clear that there will be stress in the pastorate, the key issue is how it is dealt with. Helpfully, he identifies that poor (and therefore stress producing) patterns of behaviour don’t emerge overnight, but are often the result of thoughts and attitudes, which result in behaviour, and eventually change character. This progression, however, works both ways – for good and ill. He suggests three areas in which stress can be managed – articulating priorities, being assertive, and saying ‘no’. In all three, the key issue is taking control of the situation, and being in control of ministry. He doesn’t advocate a domineering or selfish approach, but rather to be in control of your ministry – in such a way that ‘we can prepare ourselves to be less stressed [which] flows out of the healthy basis of justification by faith.’ (48) Brain also addresses simply the physiological issue of stress – how God has made our bodies to be stressed, but then to have that stressed relieved. He offers simple and practical advice such as using the diary to plan less-stressful events after stressful ones; to enjoy little things every day; to watch artificial stimulants; to cultivate good friendships; to remind yourself of God’s sovereignty.

Depression is treated next, and in a generalist work such as this, it receives a generalist treatment. Brain is upfront that he is not an expert in the area, and draws on others who are. A helpful distinction made is between endogenous depression (that caused biologically) and exogenous depression (that caused by loss), and Brain focuses on the latter, suggesting that for the pastor there can be four major areas where loss occurs – natural loss (death, friends moving town, etc.); particularly Christian loss (sending missionaries overseas, planting a new church, etc.), issues of conscience (‘genuine difficulty with church or denominational teaching of practices’ (p71)); and sinful causes (loss of power, loss of prestige, the giving up of sinful behaviour, etc.). Turning for a moment to a broader purview than just the pastor’s self-care (although obviously related), Brain suggests that the pastor helps in these areas by both preparing the congregation for loss, and by pastoring them when it happens. For the pastor, six points are made: realise that ministry is full of loss (i.e., be ready for depression!); accept that it is ok; allow yourself to feel loss; healing will come through identification of loss; there is no short, quick remedy; and finally, that a series of ‘bottomings’ can happen, and only after the last one will recovery really be possible.

A series of chapters then deal with:

Anger – a helpful point made is that anger, unless identified and managed, will quickly turn either outward or inward, and that forgiveness (very often a required outcome) is first an act of the will.

Families – Brain here recognises the close ties the Bible draws between the church and the family, but also the difficulties that this can potentially bring for the biological family. Rather than a ‘first’ ‘second’ type system, the proposal is suggested that the primary commitment is to God, and then to act faithfully, lovingly, and graciously in the areas in which we are called to live. This is helpful advice, for it recognises that there will be seasons where one of the two families will take significant priority over the other, and that grace, not law, is a proper way of managing such situations.

Sexual temptation – particularly the importance of the example that the pastor sets in this area, and to be realistic that there may very well come times and people in the pastors life where he will be willing to abandon everything for someone not his wife. Brain flags that pastors who are arrogant, alone, and addicted to work are more prone to failure in this area, but also offers a variety of suggestions for how sexual temptation can be avoided and managed. Central to this is his insight from Crabb (an insight quoted quite regularly) – ‘be hypocritical to your feelings, not your purpose’ (p137)

Friendships – while developing friendships is an act of pastoring, they also support and maintain the pastor.

In the following chapters, Brain turns to think about the way forward – about what a plan of self-care might look like. While expressed explicitly in a few places, running throughout these chapters like a recurring melody is the idea of planning. Self-care is a deliberate, focused, and thought out activity which requires the pastor to plan for it. He starts with eight principles upon which any such plan should be based: a Sabbath rest; the development and use of a network of support; a realistic appreciation of opposition and unbelief in ministry; that justification is by grace through faith (not by being ‘the best’ pastor); the sovereignty of God in all things; the importance of receiving hospitality; taking time for study and reflection; prayer. These principles must then be planned for – take time to plan (i.e., plan to plan) – plan to rest; plan to study; plan to be a spouse and parent; plan to be humble (i.e., development of one’s relationship with God); plan to be accountable. Brain’s advice is essentially to make self-care an integral and deliberate part of your ministry – not for it’s own sake, but to serve and support your ministry.

Recognising that self-care doesn’t take place in a vacuum, three additional chapters are written to church members, church lay-leaders, and to denominational leaders. While helpful and useful advice is given, Brain doesn’t offer practical suggestions as to how the information contained within these pages might find its way to the target audience. Obviously them reading the book is one option, but a discussion about how to educate and help your congregation help you in self-care would have been valuable.

Two final chapters round out the book. Penultimately, Brain addresses the specific issue that ministry is never finished. Unlike most other professions, a pastor finds it extremely hard to measure the real heart of his work. Therefore, the setting of small goals can be of great help. Ultimately, however, it is an understanding of the true nature of ministry – that it is an eschatological work done in a relay-type environment under the sovereign hand of God – which frees the pastor from the successful/unsuccessful feelings.

This leads to Brain’s last chapter, which in one sense is the bringing together of the theological presuppositions woven throughout. He focuses here on justification by faith as the heart of the Christian life, and therefore the heart of Christian ministry. We are saved not by works, but by grace through faith, and therefore our salvation, and our ministry, is all from God. Justification by faith assures us of God’s goodness to me, and also acts as a model for ministry. It provides the basis for our self-esteem (grounding our identity not only in creation but also in redemption); provides and allows for our failure by setting all that we do in the contrast of what we were (rebels) and are (adopted children); provides the basis for all relationships, including receiving correction; leads to real work, for we will work for the one from whom we seek praise and reward; helps us to be grounded in what we are, rather than what we do; and frees me to serve, love, and give wholeheartedly.

Brain’s aim is laudable – to equip pastors for a lifetime of ministry. The positive tone of the book and the gentle yet direct encouragement found in it not only sets forth how to care for yourself and equip yourself for that long-term ministry, it also cares and equips you through the act of reading it. As noted, it presupposes a particular theological position, and because it is grounded on this I’m not sure how transferable some of it would be to those who hold different positions. Nevertheless, his chapters on stress, anger, family, sexual temptation, and others, and particularly the pragmatic advice on planning and managing self-care are applicable to all. It is helpful to have this advice from someone who has run the race, and stayed fit for a life-time of ministry.

Review of Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome - Part 2

The second part of Liberating contains 7 chapters. Each is entitled ‘Success is…’ and then identifies an aspect of biblical success. Each draws on personal anecdotes, illustrations from church history, and biblical exegesis. Much of the exegesis is from character studies of Old Testament saints, but generally avoids the ‘X did this, so too should we’ kind of approach.

The first chapter addresses the heart of the issue – success is faithfulness. They observe that the Bible speaks of God being concerned with his people’s faithfulness rather than their success. Central to this is knowing God’s word, and not only knowing it but doing it (cf. James 1:22). Obedience is vital – they link it with glory: ‘Never are we greater, never do we know greater joy, never are we more successful than when we are obedient to his will’.

I felt that the glaring omission here was that success is not grounded in being united to Christ by faith. I think, to be fair, that this is assumed, and indeed is addressed in later chapters, but it would have been good to have it stated explicitly here, particularly given the stress on ‘doing’ God’s will. It seems that the difficulty arises because while the chapter starts by stressing faithfulness, this quickly moves to obedience. While the two are related (and indeed can’t be separated), by introducing obedience so quickly one wonders if the door is opened to the kind of ‘I do – God responds’ kind of thinking. Clearly the Hughes don’t go this way, but more time spent on the relationality of communion with God might have reduced this potentiality even more. One also has to keep in mind that they have already addressed and discounted (in part one) the idea that when we do things God rewards us with ‘success’. Rather, and here is the heart of the chapter and the truly liberating point – they want to stress that faithfulness is success. This liberates not only ministers but all Christians from a ‘if only I do this, then God will…’ kind of thinking. Faithfulness doesn’t bring success – it is success.

Review of Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome - Overview

By way of overview, the book is divided into four parts. The first is essentially outlining the problems ministers face in thinking about ‘success’. They do this with wonderful candour and honesty in recounting the difficulty that they themselves experienced in coming face to face with the frustration and disappointment of being ‘unsuccessful’ in ministry. After identifying the issue, they turn in part two to address, from the Scriptures, what success actually is. This is the heart of the book, and would reward careful reading and re-reading. Thirdly, they consider the encouragements in ministry – where the pastor can find support and help in seeking to be the ‘successful’ minister set out in part two. The last part is the nuts and bolts of ministry – how the minister’s wife and congregation can actually help him be the faithful servant seen in part two.

In reviewing the book I’ll adhere to the gendered language used by the Hughes’. This is not to say that there aren’t many women in ministry for whom this book will be incredibly helpful. However, I consider that there are issue which the book addresses which are particularly male-orientated (how they address lust and issues of jealousy, for example), and the Hughes’ recognise the ordered nature of the marriage relationship in addressing how the two partners interact and love each other in a ministry marriage.

I will also spend more time on certain areas than on others. Sometimes this is because I think that such a particular area is of more significance to us in our context, other times because I think they are incorrect or have omitted a particular aspect of the issue, and at other times simply because I was captivated by a specific issue and not by another. My arbitrariness should be seen as an encouragement for you to go and read the book yourself!

Review of Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome

I’ve just finished reading Kent and Barbara Hughes’ little book ‘Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome’. First published in 1987, it has been republished as a new edition by Crossway (2008), and is well worth the AUD$24.95. But it here. I’m going to post a summary of the various parts of it over the next few days, but in summary (of my summary), what they are getting at is that ‘success’ in ministry is about who you are rather than what you do. It is about the sort of person you are – your attitude (and corresponding behaviour) to God, your wife, your family, your church.

The book is decidedly North American (seen in descriptions of churches, approaches to ministry, sizes of churches, etc.) and non-Anglican (shown by the stress on being called to a pastorate, the role of the church in deciding salary, holidays, etc.), but nevertheless the principles are easily transferred to EngloAustralisian church life. There are a number of areas where questions might be raised (the place of calling in the minister’s life, for example), and we will address some of these as we go through. However, this is an incredibly helpful book for those of us starting out in ministry, and, I would imagine, for those who have been involved in pastoral ministry for some years. The former will be able to avoid unhelpful thinking and behaviour, the latter rectify it and be cared for and encouraged through the words of a pastor who has been there.

Pop quiz - answer

Well, after the 'flood' of responses, no clear winner has emerged (that's because there were no responses). Dissapointing, Methven's a great place for a holiday!

But the answer is 2 Timothy 4:5

But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Brothers and sisters, it means that at all times (in season and out of season as 4:2 puts it) those of us who are ministers are to do the full work of ministry. We can't hide away for a time because we've said something the church doesn't like, and relationships are a bit cool. We can't claim the 'I’m not gifted as an evangelist' excuse, for we are to do the work of one. We can't let the winds and waves of our ministry slow us down or blow us off course. Even when leaders leave, when saints sin, when allies appear to attack us, we keep our heads, and get on with our work - we discharge all the duties of our ministry.

That's why this verse is (one of!) the scariest in the Bible, because it calls us to a life where we push on no matter what opposition. It calls us to a very hard life. But it leads to this:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the rase, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longer for his appearing.

A sunday evening musing

Today at All Saints we celebrated the harvest, and were joined by the Presbyterian church down the road to rejoice in God's provision and providence. And after a great day (possibly the best Sunday we've had since we've been here), as I sit here receiving with thanksgiving (1 Tim 4:4) the bounty of Cuba and Scotland, I am struck again by God's kindness to us.

We who were dead in transgressions and sins, who simultaneously ignored and raged against our creator, were graciously made alive in Christ. He looked on us in mercy, and in unfathomable love gave himself - made himself nothing - so that we might be made his very own. We have been given everything - life, love, grace, forgiveness, freedom, peace, fellowship, communion. We deserve nothing but receive everything - oh the glory of the cross!

And so now we serve - in freedom and love. We proclaim boldly, love freely, forgive willingly - and in God's grace he even uses us in his ongoing work - through us reconciling sinners like us to himself.

Mondays in ministry can be hard. We look back on opportunities missed and people who appear unaffected by this fathomless love. But don't lose heart, brothers and sisters! God is always at work, his word going forth, always effective as he intends it.

Ordination IV

Another of the questions asked of me was:

Will you so live the gospel that you challenge us with the demands of love?

Sure, I thought. What's the problem with this one - just live the Christian life. No difference here between me and anyone else who trusts in Jesus.

Now that's true, of course, but I've come to realise that in a small town, 'the vicar' (although I'm not!) is always on view. At the shops, as people walk past our front yard and see me playing with the kids, and especially on the golf course, I'm on view. I'm a walking billboard for our Saviour and for the church here in Methven. And therefore what I do and say, even on my day off, even when I'm having a bad day (or a bad round) is seen as a representation of the gospel. And while that is, to be honest, pretty scary, it is also incrediblypowerful. I have an opportunity to declare grace, love, compassion, honesty to a town who will immediately associate what I do with what Christianity is - with what the gospel does in people's lives.

Will I do it?

I will. God give me strength and humility

Ordination III

Part of my ordination required me to agree to a number of statements. Some of my more ‘independently’ orientated friends had me on about these afterwards! One point of contention was me agreeing to this statement:

Do you hold to the doctrines of the faith as this Church understands them?

The suggestion was that I was agreeing to believe the doctrines of the church solely because they were the doctrines of the church. If this were the case then it might be problematic. Exegesis, of course, comes to our rescue.

First, exegesis of the liturgy. The statement quoted above was the second I agreed to. The first was this:

Do you believe that the Bible contains all that is essential for our salvation, and reveals God’s living word in Jesus Christ?

The doctrines of the Church are grounded in the Bible. The ‘the faith’ of the second statement refers to that which is found in the Scriptures upheld in the first statement. ‘The faith’ could be epexegetically translated as ‘the faith revealed in the Scriptures’.

Second, exegesis of the Scriptures themselves. In 2 Timothy Paul urges Timothy to identify and equip men to carry on the work of gospel proclamation. In 2 Timothy 2:2 Timothy is urged to entrust ‘the things you have heard me say’ to reliable men. There is meant to be a progression of teaching throughout time in the church (for part of what these 'reliable men' is to do is pass on to other reliable men that which was passed on to them). And this teaching is described a few verses earlier as conforming to the pattern of u`giaino,ntwn lo,gwn – sound words, or correct, or well grounded words. u`giai,nw is used 8 times in the pastorals and every time it refers to sound teaching, sound faith, or sound words – that is, sound doctrine. Sound doctrine, grounded in scripture, is to be held, believed, and passed on by the church (those reliable men). I think that the 39 Articles are a good articulation of u`giaino,ntwn lo,gwn – maybe not as good as the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, but then, on this side of glory, we live in an imperfect world!

Ordination II

One of the first things to happen in my ordination service was that I was ‘presented’ to the bishop and the church by a minister and a lay-person. I was fortunate enough to have Wally Behan, my minister from St John’s Latimer Square and a very fine expository preacher present me, and also Cam Gracey, a friend of mine who runs Christianity Explored at the same church. However, as a preface to this, the bishop said these words:

People of God, we have come to ordain a deacon in Christ’s holy church. Christ is the head of the church; he alone is the source of all Christian ministry.

He alone is the source of all Christian ministry. What the Bishop says goes on to allude to Ephesians 4 and Christ giving gifts to his church. But it was vital to remember at the very beginning of both the service and my ministry here at Methven that Christ is the source (and therefore the content) of all ministry. This church is his church, the people are his people, he ministers to us by his Spirit and Word, and builds us up into his likeness. He alone is the source of all Christian ministry, and may our ministry be spent proclaiming him alone.

Moving to Methven

I am excited to announce that next year Amanda and I (and the boys) are going to be going to All Saint’s Anglican church in Methven, in mid-Canterbury.

Methven is located here...

... and
the church looks
(at times!) like this.

Methven is a town of about 1400 people in summer, but doubles in size in winter because of Mt Hutt and other local ski fields.

Unlike a normal curacy (a curacy is similar to an assistant minister), I am going to be on my own in Methven – there is no vicar there. The church is about 40 people, which meets on a Sunday morning, with a small Sunday school. From what I understand (which, to be honest, isn’t a huge amount at this time!) the church is broadly evangelical and keen to have a presence in the community – certainly the people I have met already want to reach out with the good news that the church is entrusted with.

As well as being at Methven, I am also going to be involved in two surrounding parishes which have adopted a form of ministry call ‘local shared ministry’. This means that they don’t have a full time vicar, but rather have a team of parishioners who are ordained to specific roles within each church. My role will be to get involved with these teams, to listen to them, to help them think about their strengths and weaknesses, and to offer them support and training as they need. The split is 60% at Methven, and then 40% with these two other parishes.

We’re very excited about going there, as are a number of friends who are excited about having somewhere to stay so close to the snow! In God's kindness the church comes with a large house, so if you are planning on coming through mid-Canterbury, we’d love to have you stop by.

Please thank God with us for his kind provision, and pray that we would be faithful and fearless in serving Him in Methven.

Dave