The End of Relay...

It is a sad time when I have to write about my last Relay conference.  I really wish it didn't have to end.  For those of you who don't know Relay is a 10 month training and discipleship programme run by UCCF:The Christian Unions for recent graduates.  I am now in my tenth and final month and have just returned from Relay 3 (the final conference).

At the conference we were spending time looking at 1 Corinthians 12-14 and the theme of Church.  This was really quite helpful as many of my readers will know that I have been thinking a lot about the church over the past months.  In addition to this we were able to spend much time chilling out with each other and learning about each others year on Relay.  Three sessions of the conference were dedicated to End of Year Presentations.  Beforehand I thought that 60 odd 3 minute presentations would be a nightmare to sit through as everyone would be saying the same thing but I was totally struck by the creativity, the honesty, the differences between amazing relay years and difficult relay years.  I reckon that these sessions were by far one of the best things about Relay 3.

So without further-a-do here is my End of Year Relay Presentation.  Sit back and enjoy.

Thank you to all the people who made my Relay year so amazing.  I love you all.

God Bless

Church not just for Sundays

"And let us consider how to stir up one another 

to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, 

as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another,

and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Hebrews 10:24-25

During our church retreat, in May 2011, we were amongst other things looking at what church should look like and what our church could look like.  Over the past few months I’ve been quite excited and challenged by this form of discussion and felt like sharing some of my thoughts and the helpful things I’ve come across during this journey.

I suppose, to my shame, I started thinking more about what is church because I was becoming disillusioned with my own church.  I could see tension points and ineffective ministry coming from the church as a whole (not just individuals).  I continued to ask myself why this was happening:  Why wasn’t God using his people in this local entity of His global church?  Why was our church not growing?  Why am I struggling with serving with my church family?  Why are more people not coming to know Christ?  All these questions and probably a lot more were piercing my heart and mind.  So I set about trying to understand my church body, what was it’s vision, how are we achieving that vision, who is leading the church, who is serving the church, who is using the church.

Through this time of discovery I realised that I was becoming a ‘church dater’ as defined by Joshua Harris in his book “Stop Dating the Church”.  I was becoming critical of the leadership, not feeling loyal to their headship and to be honest was looking and finding what I perceived to be fault in our church.  Although this process has brought about a renewed attitude within me towards church I had to repent of these sins and instead of pointing out the flaws and talking about the leadership behind their backs I have been challenged by God to seek to serve in a way that edifies the whole church and respects the labour put in by those in leadership.

Our church has three aims: 

Community, Communion and Commission.

I wholeheartedly love these aims as I believe this is the direction that God intended His church to go.  So often we look to the book of Acts for inspiration as to what ‘church’ should look like and it is clear from Scripture that the early Christians enjoyed real community together, where they were able to share real communion with God together and they proved to be effective in the Great Commission.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Acts 2:42-47

It’s really quite evident that the early church had a similar vision of community, communion and commission and seemed to be effective in it.  But I have also had to recognise that the early churches of the Bible weren’t perfect either.  We just have to look a few chapters onwards in Acts to see how a few members of the church try to deceive the church leaders and the Holy Spirit, we also see major problems in the churches that Paul has to write letters to and we see Jesus’ message to the seven churches in Revelation.  So what should we take from this?  What have I taken from this? No church is ever going to be perfect because they are filled with people who are sinners.  As many people, articles and books have told me in the past – if you find a perfect church don’t join it.

I found this poem whilst preparing this blog and was particular struck by the truth that it expounds.

The Perfect Church

If you should find the perfect church

Without one fault or smear,

For goodness sake! Don’t join that church:

You’d spoil the atmosphere.

If you should find the perfect church

Where all anxieties cease

Then pass it by lest joining it

You’d mar the masterpiece.

If you should find the perfect church

Then don’t you ever dare,

To tread upon such holy ground;

You’d be a misfit there.

But since no perfect church exists

Made of imperfect men,

Then let’s cease looking for that church

And love the church we’re in.

Of course, it’s not a perfect church,

That’s simple to discern

But you and I and all of us

Could cause the tide to turn.

What fools we are to flee our post

In that unfruitful search

To find at last where problems loom

God proudly builds His church.

So let’s keep working in our church

Until the resurrection.

And then we each will join that church

Without an imperfection.

Mavis Williams

Although I haven’t been searching for the perfect church I have still been challenged by the fourth stanza of the poem.  What does it mean to love the church we are in?  I’ve come up with some ideas (taken from “Stop Dating the Church”).

• Join the church 
• Make your local church your priority
• Try to make your pastor’s job a joy
• Find ways to serve
• Give sacrificially
• Connect with others 
• Share your passion for church

What do these ideally mean?

Join the church

If you’ve found a church that your passionate about then you should officially join – become a member so that the pastors and others know that you are part of the team.  Hebrews 13 urges Christians to “obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls”.  But you will struggle to do this well or even at all if you are not plugged into a church.  Becoming a church member gives you specific accountability, care, encouragement and leadership.

Once you’ve joined stick with it.  Remember no church will be perfect so you should be expecting problems but instead of being critical seek to serve and work within the church in order to edify it and encourage others.

Make your local church your priority

We all build our lives around our priorities.  Do we consider work to be at the top of our priorities, do we consider family at the highest, what about leisure time and our hobbies?  Sometimes we can side step our church as a priority for some of the other things in our lives.

We live in a culture where church is being pushed out of our day-to-day lives.  In fact its been pushed so far that on occasion it’s not even part of our week-to-week lives.  Church shouldn’t just be for Sunday.  I’d even go as far as saying church shouldn’t be just for Sunday and the night we do Home group Bible study.  (I’ll be writing about this when I write about what community could look like within church)

We should be looking forward to church.  It should feel like the chore that blocks up our diary but should feel like an awesome blessing to join our family in Christ, celebrating his work on the cross and in our lives and seeking to show others how amazing Jesus is and what he has done. 

Try to make your Pastor’s job a joy

Back in Hebrews 13, just after where we left off, it says that we should let our pastors take joy and not groaning in keeping watch over our souls, for that would be to no advantage to us.

So how can we let our pastors take joy in how they watch over us?  Well firstly, we can embrace, obey and love God’s Word personally because nothing will make a pastor happier than when he sees his flock growing in godliness.  Secondly, we should be praying for protection over our pastors and refusing to engage in slander against him.  Something I’ve realised is leadership is not easy.  I had a recent chat with my pastor and found out that he has so much stuff to get through in the daily life of our church and that’s before he even has a chance to get stuck into the things he wants to be doing.  So leadership is very hard and takes great character to deal with.  So instead of critiquing your pastor; pray for him and encourage him.  And if others engage in gossip or slander, challenge them and refuse to participate.  When you make your pastors job a joy, it will be of advantage to you spiritually.

Find ways to serve

Serving in the church is spending our most valuable individual resources – time, energy and gifts.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

1^st Peter 4:10

Serving is the best way to get involved in a church, and to get to know people and build relationships.  “Membership in a church must not be spectatorship”.  Paul writes in his letter to the church in Ephesus, the church “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work”.  So the church grows as we get involved and serve within it.

Some may be asking how can I serve? 

Perhaps ask yourself…

• What am I good at?
• What am I not good at?
• How much time can I sacrificially give?
• How can I show that I am willing to serve?

Once you have answered these questions and perhaps found an area in which you could serve, speak to your pastor or someone else in leadership and let them know that you would like to serve in this or that area of the church.

Give Sacrificially

Giving shouldn’t be about earning brownie points with God, or as an obligation. God gave His Son to die for us and we can know the free grace of God. In response, the Bible calls us to live lives of sacrifice to Him. To give all we have (including our money) for the glory of our God.

We should give “not reluctantly, or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). The Bible teaches us to give in faith, joyfully, out of a commitment to Jesus Christ.

The actual amount we give isn’t as important as the heart that gives it (remember the poor widow in Mark 12), but even the poorest can give to God’s work! Pray about what you can give, and study what the Scriptures say about money (such as the example of the Macedonians in 2 Cor 8, Paul’s instructions on giving in 2 Cor 9:6-15, or Jesus’ teaching about money in Matt 6:19-20, 24). The biblical pattern is for regular, generous giving, flowing from a love for God.

Connect with others

Passion for the church involved diving into the community of the local church.  It means “doing life” with people, which means that it can’t just be Sundays and Homegroup nights.  To do life with people we need to know them and be able to trust them.  This is all about fellowship with one another which essentially boils down to belonging to one another.  We are commanded in Scripture to act certain ways with one another especially with our Christian brothers and sisters.  Here are some examples (taken from “Stop Dating the Church):

• Love one another (John 13:34)
• Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:5)
• Honour one another (Romans 12:10)
• Rejoice with one another (Romans 12:15)
• Serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
• Carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
• Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32)
• Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
• Offer hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)
• Confess our sins to one another (James 5:16)
• Pray for one another (James 5:16)

All of this shows that the church isn’t just about Sunday.  It’s about sharing life with one another otherwise these things just aren’t possible.  If this is happening in your church already then Praise God!  However, I imagine for a number of people we are missing out in true community with each other.  So seek out relationships that you can do all these things with.  Take the initiative and invite someone else into your life instead of waiting for them.

At our church retreat we watched a short video from a church in Tacoma, Washington.  It shows how having community within the church really develops the church as a whole.  Why not check it out as a break from reading J

Soma Communities - Tacoma, WA from Verge Network on Vimeo.

Stuff like this isn’t easy.  It will take hard work and persistence.  But it’s fruit is a real blessing both to individuals and to the church body.

Share your passion for church

Have you ever noticed the things you are really excited about are the things you always talk about?  For me it’s macs and sound equipment.  For others it might be the lastest console game or a holiday or a toy.  Either way we talk about the things we are excited about.  Much in the same way when you get involved in our church and get excited and passionate about it, you want others to experience your joy.  You want to tell others about it.  You can’t help it because the joy and passion and excitement just overflows from you.

Passionate involvement in church should never be a reason to escape from the world, to hide in your church Christian bubble.  God’s mission for the local church is to reach the world, therefore we should be looking for interesting, creative, exciting, enthusiastic ways to reach those who don’t yet know Christ personally.  We should be sharing the gospel with them in whatever ways we can, we should be inviting them to our church and being relational with them (not as a target but as a friend).

Whilst doing a mission in Durham I found out some staggering stats.  I’m not totally sure of the figures but it was along the lines of 70-80% of people are likely to go to a church if they are personally asked by a friend and brought along.  Whatever the figure I was shocked at the fact that I never really invited my University friends to church.  I invited them to some services and largely they came but I never made a habit of it and maybe that’s why they never made a habit of it either. 

So how does Community, Communion and Commission work so well together?

It all starts with Jesus,

It all continues with Jesus,

and it’s all about Jesus

As a group of people loving Jesus and loving his Bride, the Church, they begin to form a community.  A community which is centred not on social class, political viewpoint, education, job, or status but on Jesus Christ who died and rose again for the sins of the world.  I once heard it described as being a bunch of weirdo’s (such a diverse group of people who would never naturally be found together) joining together as brothers and sisters to sing, to pray to learn and to fellowship because of their love for Jesus.  As they grow together and speak the Gospel into their lives a real gospel community will form. 

A community of sinners forgiven by Jesus death on the Cross, seeking to tell other sinners of how to be forgiven, which is only through communion (relationship) with Jesus.

Church should be a place of love, support and encouragement to one another through the active work of living and speaking the Gospel into people’s lives and our own lives.

How does your church measure up?  

I'd love to hear some of your views on this topic so feel free to post a comment below.

Fancy winning a Kindle to put all your favourite books on?

I was told about this website giveaway today run by a Christian writer.  Basically it seems like a way to get people to view some of his stuff which is great in my book.  But I also thought 'a free kindle - I could do a lot with that' :)  

So my question to you is this...

If you were given a free kindle what would be your top 10 books on it?

Post your top 10's in the comments section below.

For starters mine would be...

1) Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womenhood: A response to evangelical feminism by Wayne Grudem and John Piper

2) Total Church by Tim Chester

3) ESV Study Bible (although I hear it's not the greatest on kindle)

4) Doctrine: What Christians should believe by Gerry Breshears and Mark Driscoll

5) Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller

6) The Prodigal Son by Tim Keller

7) The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

8) Church Planter by Darrin Patrick and Mark Driscoll

9) Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff

10) Think: The life and of the mind and the love of God by John Piper and Mark A Noll

If you're interested in taking part in the Giveaway over at Challies  and maybe winning a free Kindle then click the link below and it should get you there.

Free Kindle Giveaway over at Challies

My May/April Prayer Newsletter.

Well it’s the penultimate month of an epic year on Relay.  I can’t believe how the time has flown in.  God has really blessed me in his provision, in what he has been teaching me and how he has been directing me to where he wants me to be in the future. 

I’ve got so much to be thankful for during the past month.  Before the Easter break I was in Leeds for a Team Day where we had an opportunity to look at the book of Exodus.  I think a major eye opener of the past term was realizing how awesome the Old Testament is.  I have often read over Exodus and Leviticus in a reluctant, can’t wait to get to the New Testament fashion.  However, during our study it was really evident how the Gospel comes out of these Old Testament books.  Just think of the design specifications for the Tabernacle.  God got Moses to create a picture of God by creating the Ark (Throne of the Father), the Table (with bread on it representing Jesus the Bread of Life) and the Golden Lamp stand (made with pure gold and holding oil which is a symbol of the Holy Spirit).  Then he created a picture of the heavens and earth by the building of the tabernacle in one piece (when God made the heavens and earth it was not divided).  Then a picture of our rebellion with the dividing curtain and immediately a picture of the solution to this division from God by making the Altar for the sacrificed burnt offerings (a picture of the Christ as the sacrificial Lamb).  This simple yet profound example of how the Old Testament books speak into the Gospel blew my mind.

Just before the Easter holidays Jo and I were able to spend a week at New Word Alive, which is a Christian evangelical conference providing Bible teaching and pastoral ministry.  I was stewarding at the conference which was a great way to be part of and serve the conference.  This was a great week of teaching, praising God, and being encouraged by the Heroes of the Old Testament as well as some of our modern day heroes such as Ben Kwashi (Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Jos and Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Jos in the Church of Nigeria).

As some of you know, we had to move out of our previous house before the Easter holidays as our landlord was forced to move back home due to the earthquake in New Zealand.  Upon our return from New Word Alive we were able to sign contracts for our new home and begin the moving in process.  We managed to move most of the boxes and big items, with the help of a few friends from church, within 3 hours.  Since our return from Northern Ireland we’ve been trying to unpack everything and make the flat more homely, which has been great fun.  So if you are ever over in our part of the world and need a place to stay we offer very reasonable rates on our spare room :)

Over Easter, Jo and I managed to get over to Northern Ireland for a well-needed break.  The weather was glorious, the BBQ was used and being able to chill out with family and friends was amazing.  It was really good seeing friends even though it may have only been briefly.  We even had an opportunity to do a bit of farming J I was very thankful for an opportunity to share at the Good Friday service how Jesus death on the Cross impacts the work that I am able to do with both Christian students and with non-Christian students. 

Some of you may have known that I have been thinking about working full time within the student ministry field, and particularly within the UCCF organization as a Staff Worker.  In March I had an interview, which went really well however, I was not offered a job at that time.  Nonetheless, they have encouraged me to apply again in November when there will be more vacancies available.  Please pray for further wisdom and guidance from God on this so that we will know where God wants to put us.  Pray also for me as I now look for a job, preferably in the legal sector for this next year.  I am thankful that I have an opportunity to work in the secular workplace for a year and will have more.

The Christian Unions

Both the CUs I work with have now begun the new term and are beginning to draw there summer programme to a close.  Just before Easter I helped the Exec committees of both Sunderland and Northumbria in a planning day.  This year we used a new resource, which creates a fun, very visual method of planning for the year, and involves a lot of paper, chocolate coins and jelly babies.  (If you ever want to know what was going on just ask.)  Sunderland was the first planning session and the three exec members got rather excited about the prospect of doing more evangelistic events that they can invite their friends to and the wider student body.  They have planned in more evangelistic events during one term than they have had all year, which is awesome!   Please pray that the planning for these events goes really smoothly and that God will use Sunderland CU to make the Gospel known throughout university.  They plan to take on the movie nights and make it a fortnightly feature of the yearly evangelism strategy.  Please pray that CU members will step up to take ownership of these and lead them well so that the exec will not be over burdened.

The Northumbria planning session was just as fun, and one of the key moments was were the Prayer Secretary was sharing what one of his big aims would be; “That I could share with my whole year group that I am a Christian and what that means”.  How awesome would it be if everyone in the CU felt this way and shared the Gospel with their whole year group.  They also have been planning more evangelistic events which start this term with an Open Mic Night in the Students Union.  Please pray that during this intense exam and assignment season that people will want to take a break and invite friends along to this event where they will be able to chill out and hear the Gospel proclaimed in an engaging way.

At the beginning of April I had the opportunity to speak on 1^st Corinthians 7 & 13 at Sunderland CU.  This was a great time of study into a passage largely speaking about Sex, Marriage and Singleness, which is a massive topic for students both Christian and non-Christian.  The talk seemed to go well and we had a question and answer session afterwards for people to ask questions from the talk or about issues that are affected by it.  The CU were very open and asked some great questions on which God’s Work speaks clearly on.  Please pray that as they have been going through 1^st Corinthians that they will be able to interpret what God is saying to them individually and corporately and how they might be able to put into practice the applications from this part of God’s word. 

I will be speaking again on Friday 20^th May on 1^st Corinthians 15 so please pray that as I begin to study the passage that God will speak to me as to how He wants me to preach His message.  Pray also that as I speak it will be the Holy Spirit speaking through me to those who are there and that His words will not fall on deaf ears or hardened hearts.

Just last weekend the North East CU Leaders met together in Durham to look at how to be a leader that stays strong in grace and to look at some practical things like preparing for Freshers Week etc.  I was co-leading a seminar on “How to Delegate Well” with another Relay worker (Edwina).  The seminar had never been done before but proved to be really useful for some of the CU Leaders who were there.

Pray that as I begin to wind down from full time ministry that I will be able to keep my focus on God, spending time with Him and delighting in the gift of grace that brings us back into fellowship with Him.  Pray that I will be able to find other ways to serve both my church and my friends who are still students.

I want to finish up this penultimate newsletter by thanking everyone who has been praying for me throughout the year.  Your prayers have very much been felt by Jo and I and within the ministry that I have been able to do.

We would love to hear of the things that you have been getting up to and the things that we can be praying for.

         God Bless

         Chris and Jo

My most recent prayer letter

Where has time gone?  Since my last edition of “On the run…” so much has happened.  It’s been crazy (in a good way).  I have been blessed to be able to see God working in the lives of students and in my own life as well.

Let’s start back in February when I was part of a team supporting Durham Christian Union.  Durham is a very “red brick” university and operates on a college level so this was always going to be very different to my own university mission week experience.  We had lunchtime apologetic style talks, which were led by Andrew Sachs, on various hot topics such as God and Science, Suffering and Hell, while Rico Tice led the evening talks titled RESCUED?  This was a really awesome week seeing God work miracles in people’s lives and unveiling the glory and splendour of Jesus Christ and seeing how bigger CUs run their mission weeks.  A number of people have been coming along to find out more in a follow up course so please continue to pray that eyes will be opened to the Truth of the gospel.

Towards the end of February the North East region held Forum NE for new CU leaders.  This was a really cool time meeting all the new leaders from as far north as Newcastle and as far south as Sheffield.  During the weekend we studied the sweet gospel message found in Leviticus.  There are some people who actually think Leviticus is boring! Isn’t that weird? Of course it can’t be true, because what would that say about God whose Word it is? So we were shown how awesome Leviticus really is by Mike Reeves which has impacted so many new leaders and many staff as well. I was helping to lead a seminar for new secretaries which went well.  Please pray that all the new CU leaders will find their feet in Christ and be able to serve the CU they are part of in His strength and using his wisdom. 

As March came so did the slightly better weather which a lovely blessing.  Northumbria had their Mission Week during the first full week of March, which had been forecasted for snow.  Thankfully the weatherman got it wrong and we were blessed with beautiful sunny days, albeit with some gale force winds added into the mix. A lot of the day-time events were held outside under a gazebo which proved to be fun with the winds but the CU managed to have loads of good conversations with students about “Who do you think Jesus is?” and “What do you think happens after you die?”. The week was titled “Trying to be religious is POINTless” which was trying to get people to think about where their priorities lie and what influences them climaxing with the main point being Jesus dying for them.  The evening events were really well attended and some people have been attending Christianity Explored, which is brilliant – Praise God!  Please pray that as people find out more and count the cost that they will see Jesus as their Saviour and Lord and follow him.

Just a fortnight ago I was helping out Sheffield Hallam CU, which is a smallish CU much like Northumbria.  We were using Sheffield Hallam’s 4 favourite movies (The Lion King, Inception, Toy Story 3 and Shawshank Redemption) to show how Christianity engages with film.  Each night we set up a themed 3-course meal where students watched clips from the movie, discussed some of the themes and heard a talk about how Christianity deals with some of the key themes in the movie.  This was a new concept as a method of engaging evangelism, and it seemed to work really well.  The CU members were really great at inviting their friends along, so much so that we had to put out extra tables many of the nights.  As with all the mission weeks there are students who really began to see Jesus for who he really is, please join me in praying for these students and that God will open their eyes fully.

Over the past two months Jo and I have been running a film discussion night in our flat for some of the students at Sunderland CU.  Basically our view was to love the students by welcoming them into our home and to help them engage with the big themes of the film.  Our God is a creative God and therefore we are creative which means God can speak into film, music and art.  So our aim is to show how Christianity engages with the films that we watch and ultimately help our non-Christian friends see a bit more of Christ.  This has been really good fun as it has helped Jo and I get to know the students better as well as allowing us to watch movies and call it work! J The guys from Sunderland are now running a film discussion night in their own homes which is brilliant so pray that they will continue with the vision: to seek to love their friends and show them Jesus more and more.  In light of that, we are now hoping to start a night for the guys and gals at Northumbria.  Please pray that this will work out and in the last few months of doing Relay we can serve the CU members in this way as well as showing them a really easy method of evangelism.

As you may or may not know Jo and I got an unexpected email from our landlord saying that due to the earthquake in New Zealand, where he was living for the year, he would need to move back into his property in April.  He had expected to be in New Zealand working for a year however the earthquake destroyed his home and business so he came back home to the UK.  This has left us in a bit of trouble as we are now looking for a place to live again.  Please pray that we will be able to find somewhere in the next few weeks so that we will be able to move and settle into another property before the end of the Easter holidays.

Thank you for all your continued prayer and support.  It really is much appreciated.

Chris and Jo Simons