FORMERLY BUGB MAGAZINE
Solar driven church
BUGB at the party political conferences
‘A minority within a minority’: South Asian Christians in the UK READ ONLINE AT WWW.BAPTIST.ORG.UK/BAPTISTLIFE
We will remember them OCT - DEC ‘09
INTRODUCTION by Paul Goodliff - Head of Ministry Department, BUGB
MINISTRY IN MISSION-MODE Calling a new minister after a period of pastoral vacancy is one of the most significant mission decisions in the life of any church. Ministers are not just those who offer pastoral care to the existing church, but are agents of challenge and catalysts for mission to those who live in the local community. Ali Boulton (see below), Paul Walker and Malc Reddaway (Home Mission stories, p3) are three vivid examples of this important element of ministry. Chaplaincy is also on the front line of mission, and for military
chaplains, literally so. Cole Maynard’s moving story on his role in preparing young officers for actual service, on p8, reminds us that ministry in missionmode has a huge variety of expressions, but just one aim: to make Jesus Christ known in today’s world. I hope you enjoy this issue of Baptist Life as we unpack these themes.
BUGB DVD Update Ali Boulton’s story of her call into training for ministry and starting a church plant in Swindon is on the latest BUGB DVD Go! Here Ali gives us an update on life since the film was made in March: “I finished my degree at Bristol Baptist College and was ordained at the beginning of July. My family were the first to move into the new housing area (Wichelstowe, Swindon), so we have been able to greet new people and deliver welcome baskets which has been great. Over the summer, a group of 13 of us gathered for prayer and worship at my home with a view to establishing a new worshipping community. We have continued to work alongside the community and deepen our friendships with local churches. Working in partnership with others, we hosted a community event in September. To help us engage with local people there are plans to have a temporary hut called The StoweAway, where free tea, coffee, papers and croissants will be offered on a Sunday morning. We have many ideas but pray we will be open to God’s leading as we seek to bless this developing community.” For more information go to: www.baptist.org.uk/dvdfollowup
In this feature, we focus on churches or ministries that have received a BUGB Mission Grant from Home Mission. All of the stories in Baptist Life benefit from Home Mission in some way. For more on Home Mission go to: www.baptist.org.uk/homemission
In it for the long term
“There are always going to be places where full time ministry is not going to be viable without support and we are one of them.” So says the Revd Paul Walker, minister of Highgate Baptist Church in Birmingham (Heart of England Baptist Association) since 1983 and continually supported from that time by Home Mission. Over the last 26 years, Paul and the church have ‘worked with others in the community to improve the community’ including providing a popular after-school club and a children’s counselling service. Paul is a school governor, chaplain at the local Air Training Corps and Royal Naval Association, and a trustee of the Human City Institute in Birmingham which carries out community-centred research into finding solutions for urban problems. “We are bringing a perspective of the Christian faith to the social realities and the challenges that face our community. Highgate Baptist and it’s mission would not be in the position it is now without Home Mission.”
Building relationships from scratch Roselands Community Church in Paignton (South West Baptist Association) has had one mission goal this year: make sure that the community know they are there. The Revd Malc Reddaway, who, thanks to a grant from Home Mission, became the church’s first full time minister last October, has implemented a communications strategy that has included giving free candles away at Christmas and hot cross buns at Easter, developing an attractive website (that subsequently won the Best Content Award at the 2009 BUGB Communications Awards) and launching a new community magazine for residents on the housing estate where the church meets. The response so far has been very favourable. “Many people didn’t know that a church had met at the school for the last 12 years. We want people on the estate to know we are here and we are here for them,” says Malc. www.roselandscommunitychurch.org.uk NEW online - Find out about what Roselands Community Church are doing to engage with their community this autumn in the video at www.baptist.org.uk/baptistlife
Marshalswick Baptist Free Church
Heaton Baptist Church
Revd Mark Elder
Solar driven church We may not have seen much sun this summer but for two Baptist churches it is providing heat, saving money and helping the environment.
CREATION CARE
Marshalswick Baptist Free Church installed solar panels on their roof in September 2008. The church celebrated its 40th anniversary last year and felt led to choose ‘foundation stones’ for the next 40 years, and solar panels was one of them (others included new blinds, audio visual system and a new youth worker). “The aim of the foundation stones was to modernise the way we worshipped so it is more relevant to the community,” says minister, the Revd Graham Clarke. “The reason we chose solar panels is that climate change and being conscious of caring for creation is going to be one of the big issues over the next 40 years.” Thanks to grants from the Government and an electricity company, the church was able to afford to have the solar panels installed. Since they became operational, the church premises uses electricity generated from the panels, getting additional power from the National Grid when they need it. If the church premises are not in use, any spare electricity generated from the panels goes to the National Grid with the church being paid once a year for what it contributes. The church has yet to get its annual payment but its electricity bill has already reduced by 50%. Heaton Baptist Church in Newcastle installed
solar panels on the roof of their new community centre (called the Life Centre) which opened at the end of April. The solar panels do not provide electricity but help heat water at the church, something which is especially useful for baptisms as they no longer need to heat the baptismal pool water overnight with an immersion heater. Instead, a special thermostat mixer connected to the solar panels automatically regulates the water at 43°C so they can fill the pool just two hours before the baptism, saving time and energy costs as well as helping the environment. For both churches, having solar panels has become a local talking point. At Marshalswick it has challenged church members to become more environmentally minded and intrigued those outside the church. “People stop you in the street and talk about it,” says Graham. “It is the most significantly visible thing we have done since the church was built.” At Heaton it has led to interest from the media. “There has been a lot of interest in the building,” says minister, the Revd Mark Elder. “I have found myself doing a range of interviews. What is interesting for me is that at last people are realising that Christians are bothered about environmental issues, and are not leaving that agenda just to the new age or green movement.”
For more information go to: www.mbfc.org.uk, www.heatonbaptist.org, www.futureshape.org
WORKING WITH OTHERS
BUGB at the party political conferences
Did you know that senior representatives of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) attend the three main political party conferences? Every year we join with the Methodists, United Reformed Church, the Quakers and Salvation Army to host prayer breakfasts and talk to MPs during the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative party conferences. BUGB’s Head of Faith and Unity, the Revd Graham Sparkes, believes these are deeply significant occasions. “There are MPs in all three parties seeking to faithfully live out their Christian faith in the political arena, and our presence, support and prayers matters to them. The fact that we represent different church traditions is a sign of our unity, and it strengthens the witness we bring. It gives greater weight to what we are able to say to politicians as we address important issues of social policy.” NEW online - Watch video footage from a party conference prayer breakfast at www.baptist.org.uk/baptistlife
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Children in Church: Keeping them safe and secure If you work with children at church, you have probably filled out a Criminal Records Bureau form so you can be checked and approved to do so. Sally George administrates the BUGB’s Safe to Grow guidelines for child protection at Hope Baptist Church in Bridgend and also trains churches on the topic across the South Wales Baptist Association. Her husband Stephen also leads some of the training and is the deacon for safeguarding issues, advising deacons at Hope of legislation changes. The church has adopted Safe to Grow since it began in 1994, adapting to the guideline changes and will continue to do so in 2010 as the effects of new government legislation kicks in (Sally is helping with writing the new Safe to Grow book, due out at the Baptist Assembly 2010). “It is just like any health and safety legislation,” says Sally. “By adhering to it we are saying that we want to protect our children, young people and adults.”
Get into the picture! This year, why not connect people with the Christmas story in a fun and imaginative way by encouraging them to participate in a nativity scene and giving them a free photo of their experience?
EVANGELISM
Visit www.getinthepicture.org.uk to find out more.
south asian christians: a minority within a minority
BAPTIST IDENTITY DIVERSITY
This October, Christianity from a South Asian cultural perspective will be explored at the BUGB multicultural event, The Gathering. Baptist Life looks at the challenges that face South Asian Christians here in the UK.
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From the age of four, Jesus had caught Cham’s attention. She had been invited to a church youth group in Smethwick by the daughter of the Jamaican family lodging with her family and had found the teaching, as well as the jelly and ice cream, appealing! When the Jamaican family left them, Cham kept going to church into her early teens. Then suddenly one day after family friends had conveyed their disapproval, her parents pulled Cham in and commanded, “You are forbidden to go to that white church down the road.” The problem? Cham and her family were Sikhs. “My family then policed me on Sundays,” recalls Cham. “On the odd occasion I would sneak out into the back alley and go to church but would get caught and reported to my family. I was escorted to the Gurdwara (Sikh temple). It was a very difficult time as my heart was in a different place.” Cham made a commitment to become a Christian whilst at university, leading to further conflict with her family. For the last ten years, the Revd Cham Kaur Mann has been a Baptist minister and is currently serving at The Regeneration Centre in Birmingham. It is only now that she is noticing a thawing in her family’s response to her becoming a Christian. London Baptist Association Regional Minister, the Revd Kumar Rajagopalan, rejected his Hindu roots due to his disillusionment with the caste system. He became an agnostic until a university colleague, Neil, shared the gospel with him, and the sermons of Aberdeen Baptist preacher Douglas Hutcheon led him to Christ. The hostility Kumar faced from his family for becoming a Christian included being branded a ‘coconut’ by his brother (brown on the outside, white on the inside). Kumar started to question if he could be an Indian disciple of Christ. It was when he met with followers of Christ from Muslim, Sikh and Hindu backgrounds at a special bible study group that he started to see that there were connections between his culture and being a disciple of Christ.
BMS World Mission Council of Reference member and former BMS Trustee, Rebecca Ridgen Green, is the daughter of Waheeb Chowdhry, a Pakistani who set up one of the first Urdu and Punjabi language congregations in the UK in the 1960s and regularly attended High Road Baptist Church in Ilford. Coming from a Christian family meant she did not fit in at school. “It was very confusing because there were distinct racial divisions where we lived. I was not white and so not part of the white gang, and not a Muslim so not part of the Asian gang. Our parents taught us from an early age not to get our identity from religion or race but to embrace the love that Christ has for us.” According to Ram Gidoomal, one of the founders of Christian charity South Asian Concern, in 2009 there could be as many as 100,000 South Asian Christians in the UK, from which he estimates over 5,000 may be Baptist. This year Ram has helped to establish the South Asian Evangelical Alliance (SAEA), so they have a better voice. “South Asian Christians are a minority within a minority. Therefore the Government hear the Muslim, Hindu and Sikh views but not the South Asian Christian view. SAEA will raise our profile at Government level and encourage community cohesion and religious freedom, not only in the UK but also highlighting persecution in South Asia.” In the past Cham, Kumar, Rebecca and Ram have felt that a predominantly white middle class church in the UK has not always understood them and their cultural backgrounds. Things are improving and Kumar sees The Gathering this October as one step in that process. “At a church where I ran a series on racial justice, one lady said to me ‘I believed that white middle class culture was biblical culture until you came along’. Baptists from across the Union are starting to see that having different forms of worship, different cultural perspectives help to expand a church community’s perception and appreciation of Jesus.”
For more information on The Gathering (10 October, Edmonton Baptist Church, London) go to www.baptist.org.uk/training_events/thegathering_09.html
Opinion
‘We
will remembeR them’ The sun was setting over Oosterbeek as the crowd of 200 plus assembled at a small cemetery in Holland. I stood with the large Portland stone cross behind me as I began to address my congregation. Around us stood the stone sentinels of 1,680 soldiers who took part in that failed attempt to end the war in 1944 by the seizing of seven bridges, the final one crossing the Rhine at a place called Arnhem. The emotion of the event was evident in the faces of my congregation who had just completed a two-day study into the battle. These young people, all officers, were completing a nine-month course, which rooted the reality of their profession in a study of this particular conflict. Surrounded by these stone warriors they were also moved by the presence of four surviving veterans and two Dutch ‘daughters’ of the conflict; one a child of a resistance leader, the other the daughter of Kate ter Horst, the ‘Angel of Arnhem’. Tears flowed unashamedly down cheeks, voices wavered, and men shuffled whilst others fought to retain a check on their emotion. Several veterans struggled in the twilight as the white of the Portland gravestones morphed into the long lost faces of the men who lay under them. Men who, in September 1944, were full of youth and the heady optimism of Montgomery, as the war neared its fifth year. And they nearly succeeded. Six bridges were
secured, the seventh at Arnhem was held for four days until at 18:00 on 20 September they sent their final message: “Out of ammunition. God Save the King.” Here, surrounded by such a cloud of courageous witnesses, it is easy to be moved as you study the faces of veterans who lived through those terrible years. Yet for many of us we were affected not only by their sacrifice but by the faces of colleagues who so recently had made this sacrifice on the fields of Iraq or Afghanistan. I was transported back to Basrah or Helmand Province and found myself walking yet another Union-draped coffin onto the back of a Hercules aircraft. In an age where it is easy to rant about hoody-wearing, knife-carrying youths, I have witnessed first hand the bravery and courage of young people continuing the struggle against evil. Yes, war is evil and the sin of it is great but in that cauldron many great sacrifices are made by those who respond to the nation’s call. It is these people that we honour with our remembrance. The Reverend Cole Maynard, Deputy Assistant Chaplain General 42 (NW) Brigade
Resources All these resources are available from the Resources section of the BUGB website: www.baptist.org.uk or by calling Publications on 01235 517708
Discovering New Gifts This popular resource has been redesigned with a more contemporary look and rereleased. Use it for personal study or for house groups/ discipleship groups to work through together. Selling price is just 70p each.
Communities of Conviction In this the 400th anniversary of the beginnings of Baptist life as we know it, Ian Randall has written a fascinating book on the regional beginnings of the European Baptist family. It tracks how, born amidst persecution and struggle, the Baptist movement has grown into a diverse and vibrant expression of the Christian faith. Selling price is £13.00.
Du lc ea’s Diar y
2009 Pastor Steve Dia ry Ent ry No 269 20 Septem ber My Dear Diar y,
ching. I couldn’t get What a word . That is what I call prea PTL! Prai se the Lord ! Prai se the Lord ! Bolt ’s. Past or Steve n e legs were mov ing faster than Usai home fast enough to tell you. My littl ng to THE Body of belo they n whe y body can be Somebod knows how to deliver the word . “Any one. Halle lujah ! into er King and Barack Obam a all rolle d g and I was Chri st”! It’s like havi ng Martin Luth thin good a was ster mini havi ng such a young t it used to wha The Lord knows I was not sure that be but if he keep s this up, this church could susp icious of all that colle ge lear ning be. wan ts to inst all come with some new hi-te ch idea s. He But things are going to change. He has n Book alth ough Hym what’s wro ng with the Rede mpt ion into all thos e one of the proje ctor things. I can’t see be to seem le peop g youn thes e days . But the ld he. But Jesus the prin t is gett ing a bit fine for me shou why r because Jesus neve r wore one so too fancy for gadgets. He refuses to wea r a dog colla He’s t. shee e whit a and als or Steve in sand didn’t wea r a suit eith er! I can’t see Past that. home whe n you wou ld s harvest. It remi nds peop le of back Then there’s harvest. This church love for Sund ay. But y read rate deco and church on Satu rday bring the crop s from the field to the the food will go to that tell me now, a tin harvest? He says be supe rma rket Past or Steve wan ts a tin harvest. You to nt mea not It’s er. long it will keep much what we leave s the homeless char ity and if it’s in tins time have to be so fast ? I just won der some t agricultu re swee p. I’m all for prog ress but does it abou much know not t migh t him too much . He Lord’s the behi nd. Any way I can’t com plain abou ing reap be he did this mor ning , we’re going to bringing cing rejoi but if he keep s on sow ing word s like come l shal We ves! shea ves! Bringing in the harvest at last. Bringing in the shea in the sheaves. Halle lujah !
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INTERVIEWS WITH PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE BAPTIST UNION OF GREAT BRITAIN.
THE BAPTIST UNION OF GREAT BRITAIN. INTERVIEWS WITH PEOPLE FROM ACROSS
Eli Hassoun is a minister in training at Northern Baptist Learning Community. His placement is at a church plant in Melling, Liverpool (North Western Baptist Association)
Favourite verse: Deut 8:3b: ‘that man (& woman) does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD’. Favourite Film: It must be The Naked Gun. I remember when I first watched this film I couldn’t stop laughing. Favourite Food: There is nothing more tempting than fresh bread. Give me fresh bread at any time.
Eli
How are you finding ministerial training at Northern Baptist Learning Community? I feel it is the best place to be equipped for ministry as I have been exposed to all sorts of conservative and liberal beliefs. The main thing that I will take away from Northern is that I have been changed for the better and am now a more merciful person. Your student placement is a church plant. Is it changing how your see being a minister and doing mission? It is preparing me well for ministry. I am learning to depend more on God for direction and resources, and feel more equipped to serve both outside and inside the church.
Roger Standing, Tutor in Mission, Evangelism and Pioneer Ministry at Spurgeon’s College (London Baptist Association) Favourite Bible verse: Ephesians 2:7: ‘in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus’. Favourite film: Gladiator What food do you find hard to resist?! Almost anything Italian. What do you enjoy the most about being a Baptist college tutor? Walking alongside women and men as they seek to equip themselves for God’s call on their lives, and having the opportunity to share my passion for mission.
R og er
You are a tutor in Mission, Evangelism and Pioneer Ministry. What is pioneer ministry? Pioneer ministry is about innovative missional activity that goes where there is no existing path and leaves a trail. Are there many in the Baptist Union doing pioneer ministry? Should there be more? There are lots of people doing pioneer ministry around BUGB, though many may not call it that. For some it involves planting ground-breaking new churches, for others it is exploring creative ways to engage with contemporary culture or serve their local neighbourhood. Should there be more? Absolutely! For more information on colleges, visit www.baptist.org.uk/baptist_life/baptist_family/colleges/colleges.html
Prayer G Prayer Guide
The following are extracts from the 2009 Prayer Guide.
For more information on each week’s prayer focus go to: www.baptist.org.uk/prayer_worship/diary09.html
4 –10 October Connexion
Pray that the Connexion network will effectively offer friendship and support for men and women married to UK Baptist ministers and missionaries.
11 – 17 October Baptist World Alliance (BWA)
Pray for Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the BWA, as it helps feed the hungry and addresses the root causes of hunger.
18 – 24 October Harehills Lane Baptist Church, Leeds
Pray for the church’s full time worker with Asian women and families, and for its interfaith work.
25 – 31 October Eastern Baptist Association (EBA)
Pray for the EBA Council and the three Regional Ministers Paul, Sheila and Richard.
1 – 7 November Marshalswick Baptist Free Church, St Albans
Pray that the encouraging relationships that have been developed with local schools will continue to grow.
8 – 14 November BUGB Council
Pray for God’s guidance on the decisions to be made at Council.
15 – 21 November Chaplains
Pray for the 200 plus Baptist ministers in England and Wales involved in chaplaincy.
22 - 28 November East Midland Baptist Association (EMBA)
Pray for churches in the association developing new ways of engaging in ministry and mission.
29 November – 5 December Faith and Unity Department
Pray for the team as they seek to serve and equip us.
6 – 12 December The Baptist Times
Pray for imagination and vision on the part of the editorial team.
13 – 19 December Lode Chapel, Cambridgeshire
Pray for the RE:NEW church plant meeting every fortnight.
20 - 26 December Christmas
Pray for all those involved in carol services and other Christmas festivities; that they will be inspired and refreshed by God.
27 December – 2 January Worship
Pray for those involved in leading worship in its various forms across the Union.
BUGB President
the Revd Kingsley Appiagyei’s
Prayer Call
21 NOVEMBER 2009
www.baptist.org.uk/news_media/era_of_hope.html www.baptist.org.uk/news_media/era_of_hope/SEPTEMBER09.html
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ww Please send any comments or ideas for future editions to Communications Baptist House PO Box 44 129 Broadway Didcot OX11 8RT telephone 01235 517756 facsimile 01235 517715 email communications@baptist.org.uk Website www.baptist.org.uk Registered Charity Number 1125912
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