Connect Costly Hope
April 2019
Costly Hope I think we should call it Resurrection Day. ‘Easter Sunday’ sounds like a date in the calendar, along the lines of Spring Bank Holiday or Boxing Day. Resurrection Day sounds like a celebration, in the same spirit as Christmas Day. Resurrection Day is our great celebration of hope. The risen Lord Jesus Christ is the promise and the proof of the coming kingdom of God. The powers of death and destruction that put on their best (or worst) show at the cross have been overwhelmed. What Jesus called ‘the renewal of all things’ is irreversibly on its way. Living under the lordship of Christ now is a foretaste of life in his future kingdom. Amidst the political confusion and racist violence that have dominated our news recently, we are confident in God’s ultimate victory. Righteousness will have the last word. But there is no way to Resurrection Day without first encountering Good Friday - the place of sacrifice, where God in Christ acted once and for all to reconcile the world to himself. As followers of Jesus in Baptist churches around the country, we recognise our calling to walk the costly path of humility, service, forgiveness and reconciliation. We can only witness to the history-transforming power of the resurrection with a demonstration of life-transforming cross-shaped love.
Rev Martin Hodson
Ministry Development Coordinator
Disciple-Making Movements One of the topics of interest at recent Mission Initiative Group meetings has been that of Disciple-Making Movements (DMM). There are many of these movements around the world, many found in the global south. The one that many in Scottish Baptist circles may be familiar with is Ben Francis’ organisation, Big Life Ministries. The idea behind these movements is that they are simple, replicable groups of people who are deeply committed to sharing the good news of Jesus; relying entirely on the Holy Spirit as they live out their shared studies of the Bible - a simple model based on finding people of peace in the community and working from there. It doesn’t sound like anything particularly radical at first, we have all done these things to some extent or another. However the numbers are staggering - in a 15-year period, Big Life has established around 23,500 groups like these. That’s 23,500 churches planted and hundreds of thousands of people converted to faith in Jesus. What would a DMM in a Scottish context look like? Might we have something to learn from our sisters and brothers in the global south? Could we take some risks and try something different like this? These are the questions MIG are considering. We have no answers right now, but we are excited about learning about this innovative way of reaching those who are unlikely to ever walk in our church door on a Sunday morning.
Peter Dunn, Director for Mission at BMS World Mission, has helpfully created a short video which explains more about Disciple Making Movements, what they are and how they work. You can view the 6 minute video by using the following link: https://vimeo.com/318813388
Dreaming and Discerning One of the best parts of being at the Scottish Baptist College (SBC) is being in the position to dream about and discern the future with students. Together we dream about the future of church; together we help discern callings and vocations; together we dream about how we can change our world. Often the process starts right at the Open Day, from the first point of contact, and this year has been no different. On March 20th we assembled around 15 people who all shared the desire to know more about SBC and studying theology. It’s always encouraging to meet people from all walks of life interested in learning more of God: from near school-leavers to third-agers; those new to faith and those who have travelled the path for many years; Baptists who know the College to be their home and non-Baptists who think the College could be their home too. And so we dreamed and discerned together – what might study at SBC look like for them? Where is God calling you? The response of Isaiah comes to mind in such times: ‘Here I am. Send me!’ And it’s good to know SBC can have a role in fulfilling that calling. Our vision statement says that we are here to ‘help students discover and develop their call, inspiring them to reach their full potential’ and we firmly believe in doing that! You might be reading this and thinking “I wish I had been there!” Don’t worry - due to the success of the Open Day, on June 10th at 7pm we’re going to have an Information Evening – a slimmed down version for anyone who couldn’t make the Open Day. You’ll get the nuts and bolts details of studying at SBC, as well as some time to dream and discern. We hope you might consider joining us on June 10th to start your journey with SBC. For more information or to register your interest contact graham.meiklejohn@uws.ac.uk or check out our Facebook page / website.
See you in Court! Usually if someone invites you to “see them in Court”, it’s a cause for concern. However, the congregation of Stonehaven Baptist Church will be delighted to welcome you to Court any Sunday! When the Scottish Courts Service closed several Courthouses in 2014, Stonehaven was one of those affected. A local business partnership acquired the Courthouse in 2015, with a view to making space available to local businesses and charities. Then nothing seemed to happen for a very long time. We had been keeping an eye on developments and, in May 2018, “by chance”, i.e. God’s providence, an article in the local paper led to an email being sent, a quick phone conversation and an unexpected visit to the Courthouse to view what was the only remaining available room at that time. Needless to say it was perfect for our requirements, but we really needed a smaller room too. There was then another lengthy wait while all the legalities on both sides were sorted out, and renovations completed, but in the meantime the smaller room became available too! God has indeed opened doors for us, and reminded us that His timing is always perfect. We were all very excited to hold our first Sunday service on February 3rd. We are still settling in and finding our feet, but please do come and visit us in Court any Sunday. We’re on the main street so we’re easy to find.
150th Anniversary Prayer Baton For the last 3 months, the Anniversary Prayer Baton has been travelling the length and breadth of our nation. Its purpose is to act as a visual reminder of our Union together and the call to pray for all the churches of our nation. Carved from 150-year old Scottish beech and yew wood, the Baton was created by Rolf Buwert and harvested from trees in the Drumlanrig Estate in Dumfries and Galloway. The baton is hollow and contains a record of its creation and a record of the places it has travelled to. At the end of the year photographs of the Baton’s journey will be placed inside as a record of the year. On every occasion that the Baton is present in a local church, the congregation is invited to pray for our nation using a prayer written by Fiona Stewart based on Alan’s Assembly address “Give me also springs of water” prayer on our Weekly online Prayer liturgy found at https://www.scottishbaptist.com/praying-together/ Already the Baton has been present at the launch of the Dumbarton churches ‘Awake’ initiative, the opening of the new Ellon Baptist Church building, and the joint prayer gatherings in Perth, Fife and the Borders. It was present to mark Larkhall’s 100th anniversary as well as at a recent gathering of the new church plant in Portlethen, Aberdeenshire. It will be travelling by ‘plane later in the year as it makes its way to Shetland and may also find its way onto a Calmac ferry! You can follow the progress of the Baton and the movement of prayer it is encouraging on facebook with the hashtag #BUSprayerbaton
Woodturner, Rolf Buwert with the finished Prayer Baton
Regional Prayer Gatherings
As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations we are encouraging our churches to hold regional prayer gatherings throughout the year. A number of gatherings have already taken place. A National Team member will attend each gathering, where possible, bringing the Prayer Baton as it travels around the country. So far, the following regional prayer gatherings have been confirmed:
Date
Time
Region
Venue
Sun 28th April
7pm
Tayside
Panmuirfield Baptist Centre, Broughty Ferry
Sun 5th May
6.15pm
Shetland
Lerwick BC
Sun 9th June
7pm
East Fife
Leven BC
Sun 9th June
7pm
West Fife
Viewfield BC, Dunfermline
Sun 23rd June
7pm
Central
Albert Halls, Stirling
Sun 18th Aug
6.30pm
Renfrewshire
Greenock BC
Sat 31st Aug
1pm
South West
Milestone Christian Fellowship, Girvan (The Big BBQ!)
Sun 29th Sept
6.30pm
Highlands
Alness BC
Fri 4th October
7.30pm
Glasgow
Bearsden BC
Public Theology Videos
BUS recently hosted a conference on Brexit and how Christians can engage with the wider issues stemming from this topic, with helpful input from CARE, EA Scotland, JPIT and SCPO. A series of short videos were made of the talks given: • Stuart Weir, National Director, CARE for Scotland – Forgiveness and Trust • Alan Donaldson, General Director, BUS – Hospitality • Norman Graham, Chair of BUS Public Theology Group – Submit to One Another • Kieran Turner, EA Scotland - Unity • Chloe Clemmons, Scottish Churches Parliamentary Officer – Hosting Community Conversations These videos can be accessed using the following link: https://www.scottishbaptist.com/public-issues/
Join us on Facebook Live every week at 9:45pm on Tuesdays for our Prayer Night, as we pray for churches and organisations in Scotland and to see springs of water bubble up again in Scotland.
@scottishbaptist Tuesday nights from 9:45pm Keep up to date with the latest news and events on our website
scottishbaptist.com
The Baptist Union of Scotland Ltd is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland Registered Office: 48 Speirs Wharf, Glasgow, G4 9TH Company Number: SC620266 Registered Scottish Charity Number: SC049047