A message from Martin
Each month our Minister, Martin Burrell, writes a short message ....
"And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues".
(1 Cor.12:28)
If I were to ask you what gifts of the Holy Spirit you regard as vital to the health of the church, what would you say? I am sure most of us would place high value on the charismatic gifts of prophecy, healing and speaking in tongues. How interesting that Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, places in his list two gifts of the Spirit that are commonly regarded as worldly talents: "helping others" and "administration". How tempting it is for the minister to think "we have to have an administrator so that I can get on with the spiritual stuff". Scripture is clear, however, that administration is every bit a ‘ministry’ as any other gift.
Luton has just seen the creation of an entirely new ministry. With a blast on his ram's horn, Michael Campbell took up the reigns of Luton Town Centre Chaplain. This fresh initiative will be a blessing to Luton for years to come. What few realize is that this would not have happened without our very own Helen Roche beavering away behind the scenes to make it possible. And all of this at the same time she was faithfully carrying out her duties as administrator at Christchurch. The new project needed an administrator and Helen has now been selected to take this on. Attempting to do this, as well as all the work at Bushmead, would be too much for any mortal - even for one whose admin skills are legendary. And so with a mixture of both pride and sadness we are now releasing Helen to focus on the new initiative in town. From October she will work two mornings a week for Christchurch, and by Christmas we trust we will have appointed her successor.
Meanwhile, we shall be going deeper into God and his word. Jesus said that the law of God will not pass away until its purpose has been fulfilled, until the knowledge of the Lord and of his ways has spread across the whole earth. The Ten Commandments remain the basis of our legal system, but as a nation we are slipping further and further away from an awareness that these ‘commands of love set in stone’ generate from the heart of God himself.
Sunday by Sunday we will take a fresh look at each Commandment, focusing both on the Old Testament and the New Testament interpretation of each commandment. Midweek our small groups will follow the excellent material to follow up the Sunday talks. If you are not yet in a group, this would be a great time to join one. Speak to Wendy or me about this. This would also be a great time to invite a not-yet-Christian along on a Sunday.