Connect Salt and Light
June 2019
Living the dream or living the life? Summer comes. Nightmares over Brexit briefly lessened. Sunshine and salsa tempting us with taste of good times ahead. Headlines and celebrity stories that shock and pepper us amidst headlines of tragedy and catastrophe around the globe. Escape is good. Life goes on. All of us want to live the dream. Or do we? Every life tells a story. Is it a dream? What is the plot and what do people see in us? Retreat into fantasy and escape, whether by drink and drugs or TV and Internet, is so easy. Doors closed. Blinds drawn. Phones switched to silent. Nothing to taste and nothing to see. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. ‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5.13-16) The thing is, it’s no good just shutting the door. Nor keeping the blinds closed. The phone has to go back on. And the kettle needs to be filled. Yes, I need rest and peace. But not all the time. Isolation isn’t good for me. Isn’t good for family. Isn’t good for others. Isn’t good for the Gospel. How to live the life, a Jesus-shaped life? Because that’s what being a disciple is about. Spicing up others and being a beacon, a life that brings light. To people. Good for us, good for them. It begins simply. Opening the doors and the blinds. Seeing who might be stuck in tasteless, darkened despair. Looking over the forgotten contacts on the phone. Putting on the kettle or going to have a coffee.
When you first invited Jesus into your life, He brought you flavour and He gave you new life. With Jesus in you, through the presence of the Holy Spirit as a stream of living water, there’s something that’s to be shared, poured out, savouring and shining with hope to others. Don’t hold it back. Forget the dream. Live the life.
Rev Dr Jim Purves
Mission and Ministry Advisor
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 9th June
6pm
East Fife
Leven BC
Sun 9th June
6:30pm
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!)
Wed 4th Sept
6pm
North Edinburgh Churches
Leith Bc
Sun 29th Sept
6.30pm
Highlands
Alness BC
Fri 4th October
7.30pm
Glasgow
Bearsden BC
10 years of being salt and light on the streets of Glasgow Street Pastors have become a common sight on Friday and Saturday nights in many towns and cities in Scotland over the past decade or so. Many people within our union of churches are involved in this important ministry. I recently heard about one street pastor who gave lifesaving CPR to a member of the public while out volunteering with Street Pastors – such is the importance of this ministry of care to people on nights out. This year, Glasgow Street Pastors celebrates 10 years of ‘being the gospel’ to people in the city centre in the wee small hours. The article below written by Stuart Crawford, Coordinator of Glasgow Street Pastors, gives more insight into the aims of the ministry. In January 2009, trained Street Pastors began patrolling on Saturday nights in Glasgow City Centre with 50 volunteers split into 4 teams. Ten years on we have 101 Street Pastors in 8 teams covering both Friday and Saturday nights, 17 Safe Zone Pastors and 21 Prayer Pastors. Street Pastors has a simple mandate as we take the church outside its walls and that is to ‘listen, care and help’. Our desire is to ‘be the gospel’ by assisting in any way we can members of the public who may become vulnerable due to alcohol, drugs, personal issues, homelessness or who simply require a friendly face or a listening ear. By ‘being the gospel’ we are often asked, ‘why do we do this?’ which can lead to conversations about life and the Christian faith. Recognition of our tenth year started in January with our annual ‘In Day’ at which Rev Peter Dunn from BMS was our guest speaker. In June, Sunday the 9th will be used in churches to highlight the work of Street Pastors nationally and Glasgow City Council will recognise the contribution of our volunteers with a civic reception in September. We thank God for the great things He has done over the past 10 years and look forward to welcoming new volunteers who will ‘pick up the baton’ and carry us forward into the greater things still to be done in the city.
One of the first Street Pastors with one of the newest recruits!
The Prayer Baton Reaches Shetland Sunday 5th May saw the Prayer Baton arrive in Shetland along with our General Director, Rev. Alan Donaldson. Of course, this is the furthest north it can travel within our family of Scottish Baptist Churches. “It’s as well we had it made in two parts,” Alan quipped in Dunrossness Baptist on Sunday morning, “so that it could fit into my suitcase for the flight here!” Alan’s message to the Dunrossness Church family was powerfully challenging, based on the hugely relevant question so clearly put in Ps.137.4: “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” He encouraged us to live in hope and with hope firmly rooted in Christ. The Shetland-wide gathering was held in Lerwick Baptist in the evening with folks from all four Shetland Baptist Churches. We heard the story of the commissioning of the Baton from 150 year-old yew and beech. Alan shared his personal journey in deepening stages into the meaning of the verse inscribed on the Prayer Baton “Give me also springs of water” (Judges 1.15), finally encouraging us to split into small groups in the service to pray for the work of the Gospel, not just in Shetland, but in the whole country. And so, another two names have been added to the scroll within the Prayer Baton as it continues on its nationwide journey …… Rev. Dr Ian H Thomson (Regional Pastor for Shetland)
New Northern Hub for the Scottish Baptist College Exciting times lie ahead for the Scottish Baptist College who are, in conjunction with the Baptist Union of Scotland, developing a Northern Hub for the College. The Northern Hub aims to allow the College to expand its provision of education to Baptist Union of Scotland churches across our nation. As a first step in this process, Professor Andrew Clarke has been appointed to operate from a Northern Hub. Under his supervision the Northern Hub aims to deliver training and education as an extension of the College, and facilitate flexible learning opportunities for church members. The Northern Hub is also designed to initiate conversations with churches about training and education opportunities, as well as advise ministers about courses delivered by the College that will enhance their work and offer opportunities for Continuing Ministry Development. It is also being established in order to support students, individually or in small groups who are undertaking College modules on a blended-learning or distancelearning basis. SBC Principal, Rev. Dr. Ian Birch, explains the vision behind the project: “For a number of years we have been dreaming of making the resources of the College more accessible and more available to more people across the Baptist denomination. At last we can see this vision being fulfilled and we’re glad for this partnership with Andrew who is the ideal person to head it up.” Andrew Clarke has taught New Testament for 20 years and is an Honorary Professor at the University of Aberdeen. His research focuses on ways in which the earliest Christians formed communities of learners, and the different models of leadership they adopted. Over the past 12 years, he has helped to develop a model of Simple Church in North Aberdeenshire, exploring ways of sharing faith and expressing worship in all-age groups. He is committed to working with students, pastors and church leaders in exploring holistic ways of integrating faith, life and mission. The Northern Hub will facilitate wider access to SBC’s modules, as well as further training opportunities for BUS churches. It will be operational from September 2019 and enquiries can be directed to graham.meiklejohn@uws.ac.uk. For more information on all courses see www.scottishbaptistcollege.org.
New Venue – Same Amazing Day Out! PPT+ Saturday 15th June 2019 12-8pm Errol Airfield Showground, Perth Last year BUS Younger partnered with PowerPoint Scotland to hold the first ever PPT+ day, which saw hundreds of young people from across Scotland gather together in early June at Stirling University Sports Centre. This year PPT+ will be at a new venue, the Errol Airfield Showground just outside Perth, which has a massive covered area as well as outdoor spaces – in case of rain! PPT+ is a great way for young people of secondary school age across Scotland to meet together, worship God, receive fantastic teaching and be equipped to share Jesus in their schools, churches and local communities. As well as fantastic sung worship and teaching, there will be loads of other activities including: • • • • • • • •
Creative Zones DJ Food Court Inflatables Seminars Sports Stalls And SO much more!
For booking details and more information: http://powerpointscotland.com/pptplus/
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
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