FEBRUARY – MARCH 2013
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ReachOut Citizenship
FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013
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The Best Thing about Heaven Mission in a Million Ways Donegal Town showing Promise Building Up & Reaching Out LOST What's the Problem? Opening Doors Through New Eyes Praying the Saviour's Way Carswell's Column Who approves of you? Stand By Me Church Resources Exhibition The Big Sing Children's Ministry Directions From Embers to a Flame Church Funding Directory Go Teach Classifieds
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Robin Fairbairn, Editor Email: reachout@presbyterianireland.org
The Olympics held in London during the summer of 2012 seem a distant memory. However, there will be images that will live for many years. Tears of joy, relief and pride as individuals or teams stood on the podium to hear the national anthem played and the flags of their country raised - Proud citizens. On the streets of Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland there has been a somewhat different reaction to a flag issue which has divided opinion and communities, and caused major destructive disturbances.What has this in common with London 2012 citizenship? The apostle Paul was someone who took pride in his Roman citizenship.Yet while imprisoned for the cause of Christ, it wasn’t his Roman citizenship that brought him comfort or hope.Writing to the Philippian believers, Paul reminded them and us that ‘our citizenship is in heaven’ (Philippians 3:20).
If people live or die only for the flags of a country, whatever country, what a waste – as it is a waste for people to live and die for anything other than Christ. Mark Driscoll,“Most of our life is spent creating and defending an identity that will ultimately fail. Beauty will fade, wealth will disappear, relationships will crumble, health will decline. If your identity is anything other than ‘God made me’ and ‘Jesus saved me’, you are in for disappointment, despair, and destruction.Your identity shapes your entire life, so choose carefully.” Surely, like Paul, we too must live and die because our citizenship is in heaven.
It is important that as Christians we take our earthly citizenship seriously, but as Tim Keller helpfully reminds us,“The Gospel means I am Christian before I am anything else.” While being a Roman citizen, Paul lived and encouraged others to live as citizens of heaven.What we live by will define who we are; to quote Keller again,“To live by something means to rely on it for our happiness and fulfilment.Whatever we live by is essentially the bottom line of our lives – what gives us meaning, confidence, definition. It is very illuminating to ask, what do I live by? What is my life based on? What if I lost it, would it make me feel as if I had no life left? These are the questions that lay the bare foundations of your life.”
ReachOut, Assembly Buildings, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT1 6DW Telephone: 028 9032 2284 / from RoI: 048 9032 2284 Email: reachout@presbyterianireland.org AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE BOARD OF MISSION IN IRELAND OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND Editor - Robin Fairbairn Design - MarkThompsonDesign.com The views expressed in the features, news reports, letters and book reviews of this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor. Editorial comment and signed articles do not necessarily contain the official views of the Church, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply endorsement of the goods or services. The Editor reserves the right to decline any advertisement or letter without assigning any reason. No correspondence can be entered into regarding non-publication of advertising or letters.
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in a millionways Article by Revd Scott Woodburn, Edengrove Presbyterian Church, Ballynahinch
They may have constantly been on the run but nobody completed missions like the A-Team completed missions! They may have been locked in a barn with only a half- eaten tube of Pringles, some dried up blu-tack and crazy Murdock, but Hannibal’s plan always came together. The PCI may not drive around in an awesome van and the Moderator probably doesn’t smoke cigars (probably) but as a denomination we are not mission-less…Christ has commanded us to go and make disciples. The PCI exists throughout this island from Cork to Coleraine and in every Presbyterian congregation the goal is the same – to see people saved becoming disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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e have a mission and we have all that we need in the Gospel to see our mission accomplished. Christ’s Gospel is something we are not ashamed of because in 2013 it still is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. Let’s remember too that the mission of the church is not for an elite band of wellresourced Christians somewhere else – if we are Christ’s then we have been charged with taking the Gospel to those around us. The Gospel is preached on a Sunday and we see it played out before us when we celebrate the sacraments, but the Gospel of Christ Jesus can be shared in a million different ways. Taking someone out for coffee and sharing your faith is mission, starting a bible club in your local community centre is mission and renting out the Waterfront and inviting thousands to come and hear the Gospel is mission. Big things, small things, inbetween things, everyday things. One Gospel told in 1,000,000 ways. This year we want you to be part of telling God’s story wherever you are and we want you to make a short video to tell your fellow Presbys what you are up to. So let us know how you are bringing it in Ballymena, how you are doing mission in Mullingar and how you are planning to reach out in Raloo. Follow these four simple steps:
1) Before you become the PCI’s answer to Stephen Spielberg – TELL YOUR LEADERS – make your elders aware of your plan to share the story of mission in your church. 2) Just before you lift your camera phone – FOLLOW THE RULES – for example be aware of child protection issues. Don’t just head down to mums and tots and start taking videos. Talk to the Taking Care office or your Taking Care co-ordinator if in doubt. 3) When you have ticked those boxes – MAKE YOUR VIDEO – quality is not an issue (it can be camera phone or high tech) but it can’t be longer than 120 seconds in length. In your video tell us who you are (start with “Hi I’m Jim from Ballydaisy”... obviously substituting Jim for your own name and Ballydaisy for your own church), share how you have told the Gospel in the past or tell us your plans for future mission. Finally give us a couple of prayer points so that the denomination’s prayer life can be better informed. 4) Finally - SEND IT TO THE BIG HOUSE – upload your video to the BMI website or send it to us at Assembly Buildings on a disc or memory stick. Please give us a short blurb explaining what we are about to watch (not an essay; keep it tweety, about 140 characters). 5
The first 25 videos we receive will get a gift voucher (iTunes, Dobbies, 10 of Those) as a wee pat on the back for being part of this initiative. By the way, one voucher per church, we don’t care if you make 25 videos you only get to go to Dobbies once. Why bother? Three things: Aware – Who are you? Where are you? Let’s get to know each other as a denomination. Share – How are you sharing the Gospel in your local area? Let’s share ideas and inspiration. Prayer – How can we pray for you and your church? Let’s pray for the progress of the Gospel across this land. g
A promotional video is available to view on the BMI youtube channel at www.missionireland.org and a copy of the dvd has been sent to every minister .
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Donegal Town Showing Promise
Article by Revd Stephen Richmond, Minister, Donegal Presbyterian Church
DONEGAL – Many within the church struggle to read and understand the story of the Bible. As for those outside the church the Bible is largely irrelevant. Ask most people what they know about the Bible and they may be able to tell you a few stories that the Bible contains but not be able to summarise the bigger story of what it is all about. I recently heard of mission workers visiting houses in west Donegal and of the 3000 homes they visited only found seven Bibles.
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his presents a huge challenge for a congregation who want people to be engaged with the Bible and transformed by the message of salvation it contains. How could we help people engage with the Bible? We are a small congregation and a few years ago we started a small drama group, but we decided to think big and take on a huge project. We committed to showing The Promise. The Promise is a stage production that traces the story of the Bible from the beginning to the end. From Adam longing for a return to Eden through to John on Patmos seeing visions of heaven. The Promise uses short sketches and song to trace the story of God at work in His world bringing salvation. Some of these sketches are basically retelling of the Bible story, others try and get behind the characters to bring the world of the Bible to life. You have Cain killing Abel, Joseph appearing on This is Your Life, confused women who cannot choose which God to worship, and incompetent disciples coming to terms with being chosen by Jesus. You have Jesus dying on the cross and even fluorescent dancing skeletons, as Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones comes to life.
It truly was a huge undertaking that involved most of the congregation, many, many hours of hard work and a substantial financial commitment. There was a script to be written, scenery to be made and painted, costumes and props to be made, lines to be learned, advertising to be done, lights and sound to be operated, signs to be put up, people to be invited and welcomed and even make-up to be applied. There was six months of planning and preparation before the show took place in the local community hall at the end of November. We were really stretched. None of us had acted much before, no-one had made or painted scenery, no one had produced a play. And it wasn’t just our abilities that were being stretched but also our faith. Nothing like this had ever been tried before in the area, and so there were big questions of whether we could generate enough interest in the wider community to get people to come. We encountered a lot of difficulties and even self-doubt but we prayed hard, persevered and managed to put the show on. We believe that if we are going to do anything in the service of God then it should be done to the very best of our ability. We rehearsed hard, made scenery 6
that would grace any stage, hired good sound and light equipment and blitzed the town with fliers and posters. Our large signboards were the talk of the town! Finally it was show time. The hall was well filled as about 270 people turned up from all kinds of backgrounds. The show went off without a single hitch. It was the only time in all our rehearsals that our prompter was not needed. The feedback has been incredibly positive. People commented on the professionalism and the humour, but much more importantly they engaged with the story of God. The truth of God came through in a very positive, relevant and engaging way. There have been so many positives. Individuals within the congregation have been stretched and have uncovered new gifts and abilities to serve God. Our congregation has been strengthened as we have all worked together so closely. We have been able to involve fringe members and renew contact with people who have been on the very edges of the congregation. We have had really positive articles in local press about the church and what we are doing.
We put on the event free of charge but allowed people to make donations to two local charities and raised €1600 for them. We have made lots of contact with people we would not normally have had the chance to influence. We have had lots of opportunities to have conversations about our faith and the Bible. Of course that is not the end of the show as far as the church is concerned. We have had a number of offers to go on tour. Whether this is possible we have to think about, but I do believe we will have to perform The Promise again here in town because there undoubtedly is a demand. But it hasn’t been all about the show; it has been about the Bible and the God who is at the centre of it. We took the story of the Bible out into the community in the hope that we would be able to point people to God, and draw them closer to the salvation that He promises in His word. One of our main goals was that we would be able to gather a group afterwards who would get together to study the big picture of the Bible.
We have rented a room in one of the local hotels for the end of January when we plan to run a fiveweek course. We hope and pray that this will be one way we can follow up on the impact The Promise has made. One of the promises of God is that the word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11). We believe that God keeps His promises.
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We have made lots of contact with people we would not normally have had the chance to influence.
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The Big Sing
Article by Revd Karen Campbell, Convenor, BMI Worship Panel
It is such a privilege to praise God. Singing to Him can transform our perspective on life, it can release burdens and enable us to see the majesty and mystery of God. It is so true that God has given us a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:3). That’s why the worship panel have decided to run an event called ‘The Big Sing’.
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ave you ever longed to be part of a mass choir but never had the opportunity? There are two strong traditions within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland we want to bring together under the umbrella of ‘The Big Sing’, that of choral singing and also of Psalm singing. The Worship Panel is organizing ‘The Big Sing’ in April. The purpose is to bring choirs together from all over Ireland to join together and celebrate God’s faithfulness. WHAT WILL BE SUNG? We have a suite of four choral anthems all based on Psalm 23 written by Esther Church of High Kirk Presbyterian Church, Ballymena. These anthems are particularly ideal for use at harvest and would be an excellent resource for any church. They are of medium difficulty.
ARE THERE ANY REHEARSALS? We hope that the resource pack will equip you to rehearse your own choir and choral part so that when we meet on the Saturday for one final rehearsal we will be ready to use the pieces in our evening celebration. WHAT IF MY CHURCH DOES NOT HAVE A CHOIR? Don’t worry! Perhaps you could gather together a small group in your church to join us or even if you want to come on your own you will be made most welcome. Again all you need to do is register your interest with the BMI office. g
To have a taster of some of the music watch the video entitled ‘The Big Sing’ at www.missionireland.org
HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED? If you want your choir to be part of ‘The Big Sing’, the first step is to register your interest with the BMI office. They will take your name and contact. The next step is to buy the Psalm 23 resource pack for your choir. It contains choral parts, piano parts and instrumental parts. There is also a demo CD recording so that each person can rehearse their own vocal part.
OTHER RESOURCES FOR THOSE INVOLVED IN CORPORATE WORSHIP: • Worship evaluation tools Our discussions in worship are so often drawn towards matters of taste, style and performance. How do we thoughtfully evaluate worship in constructive ways which prioritise the central aims of ascribing full worth to God and deepening our relationship with Him? Check out the worship section at www.missionireland.org where we have different suggestions of meaningful questions that should draw those leading worship to these deeper matters. • Developing character in our musicians A lot of our music practices for corporate worship tend to focus on getting the right notes and words in the right order! How do we encourage our worshippers to become more like Jesus as they worship? Rory Noland’s book, ‘The Heart of the Artist’, focuses on how artists can develop in Christ-like character. Why not take some of the questions at the end of each chapter and work through them with your team. Rory also has a website which has useful ideas for leading worship devotions: www.heartoftheartist.org • Ron Man is an international speaker on worship matters. His website also has good ideas for leading devotions with your band or choir based around the theology of worship: www.worr.org/worship.php
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