Call of Duty

Want to begin this blog with our first Wednesday night class. We had a good bunch there on the 1st night as you can see from the photo. We started bringing some colour to the hall by getting everyone to put their hand print on the wall - the kids loved it! We told the kids what we were going to do this new term. We are going to go through Jesus teaching, both parables and sermons with a 3 column approach. The bible record is in the first column, the kids write it in their own words in the second column and in the third column they write some applications for their lives from the teachings. The kids do this in their classes, but we all come together to discuss the application part. Will keep you informed as to how this works out! In short we had a great first class!

We just back yesterday from the Aberdeen Youth Weekend! Alex, Elaine and I took a group of 12 teens through for the weekend and in spite of all the usual symptoms of sleep deprivation and exhaustion we had a truly quality time. I can't sing high enough praises for our group. The way they conducted themselves showed a level of maturity and spiritual appetite that was a credit to them. The whole weekend they represented the Peterhead congregation well and I am well proud of them all!

I will try to put into words the essence of the weekend. When we left the building we stopped off at KFC for a snack before turning up at the building to register. We played an epic game of football upon arrival, as is our tradition. Being so close to Aberdeen we always arrive first and after the group are registered we head across the road to a concrete pitch and play for 2-3 hours - excellent! There is something very therapeutic about this football match. It's almost like I get all my anxiety and troubles out there and after the game there is a sense of peace and calm comes over me and I am then ready and focused for the weekend. I get to know everyone well on the pitch and the connections are made for the weekend and everyone has a starting place for conversation.

I mentioned just before my lesson the journey I went on in preparation for the topic I was given. I was given the topic, "Enemy Briefing." The theme is Spiritual warfare and I told the audience that getting the lesson to come together was not easy. I told them that any time you study about our enemy, Satan, you are forced to come face to face with your sin and your brokenness. I was honest about my struggles with Satan's "Strongholds" in my life and the constant struggle I have to keep examining my heart and taking a sledgehammer out every now and again to break through the holds Satan has managed to place in my life. I talked about our need to be consistently behind Christ and the danger of being exposed and out in the open when we forget to "...pick up our cross and FOLLOW Him." I used 1 Peter 5:6 as a foundation and used the illustration there of being under God's mighty hand. Ant the danger of not casting our anxiety on Him. I have to say I was in constant prayer leading up to the presenting of the lesson because to that point I was aware that my heart was not settled on what I would say. I am convinced that any time we expose Satan and his schemes we will come under attack from the enemy. I am thankful that God used me and the words came readily to my lips. I am confident that the lesson achieved it's end and that hearts were convicted and "strongholds" were starting to be demolished.

I was given the honour of sharing some insight into ministering to children and youth. I focused on two points. The first is obvious, but it took me a long time to accept and live by, "I planted, Apollos watered, but it is God who makes things grow!" I asked the question, "Is our mission to "Save" or to "Serve"? We are simply the planters and the realm of growth and salvation is God's! The second is one that has been proved true consistently in my ministry over the past 10 years which is the principle: "What you win them with is what you win them too!" (Thanks Dan!) If you attract the kids with activity then activity becomes the attraction. If you attract the kids with Christ then Christ becomes the attraction. We need to have God's influence right at the beginning in order for His hand to be at work in their young lives. The sessions went well and the comments implied that many were inspired to action, therefore, praise God!

Another benefit of the weekend was to meet Jeremy and Jenny Arron and Richard and Mary Harp. Both these families are now in Scotland and involved in ministry. I was only able to hear one of Jeremy's lessons because he was teaching the teens while I was teaching the young adults at the same time. The lesson I got to hear was titled, "End Game." He shared that the game was already won through Christ. He focused his lesson on Elisha and his servant when Elisha prayed that the young man's eyes might be opened to see the army of god surrounding the enemy. Great stuff! I'm sure we will get to know each these good people over the coming months.

We had one "incident" during the weekend. During our 5-a-side football on the Saturday evening Alex and Thomas had a clash of heads. Thomas went down like a ton of bricks and Alex had blood pouring from above his eye. It took Thomas a while to get things together and after a couple of hours in A&E both emerged looking a little worse for wear, but on the mend. Alex is the proud bearer of a good sized scar above his eye - note from the picture above. Thomas has no such battle scars to show off, just a pretty sore head!

Fenella, Holly and Hannah came through for the Sunday! It was lovely getting a hug from Holly and Hannah, but to see Fenella again, after being totally spent during the weekend, was priceless!

God is good!

New Term - New Opportunities!

Glad to be finally sitting down and collecting my thoughts of what has been going on these past couple of weeks. It has truly been eventful! There has been much to be hopeful about and at the same time there are some deep struggles too. In a nutshell - ministry!

Last week was great! I am still thrilled when I go round the schools and meet up with the head teachers and find out how I can help and find opportunity to serve. There has been one change in the school timetable this year that has meant a big change in how I am able to minister with the kids in school. Last term I focused a lot on lunchtime clubs, but this term it is not an even an option, since the lunchtimes have been cut to 45 minutes. There is no time after the kids are fed to do activities. At the outset I was concerned that this would be a stumbling block, but the reality is very different. I now have after school clubs in 4 different schools which is excellent. I have all my assembly dates plugged in too and it looks like my involvement in the schools is set for another year - praise God! This morning I also got in touch with the High School and from tomorrow we will be involved in a lunchtime club there too - good times!

I have spent a lot of time in study and preparation for this coming weekend. I was asked to hold a conference on "Youth Ministry" running alongside the Youth Weekend at Aberdeen. I have loved going over my class notes from my time with Dan Stockstill at Harding. If I am completely honest this is only the second time I can remember pulling them out and browsing through them. What impacted me the most was looking into my mind and reading all my thoughts and vision captured in term papers, philosophies and 5 year plans! It's hard to believe I am looking back over 10 years ago!!! It has been refreshing to remind myself of the calling I had and the clear and obvious response we made to set out on this path of ministry. I am excited to be sharing some of my insight and experience with the group, but at the same time upon reflection I am very conscious that "ministry" is not something that can be tied down and neatly packaged. My experience has shown time and time again that God's ways are, many times, not my ways! I was also asked to fill in for Robin Vick as one of the speakers. Robin and Chrissy have struggled to get over here, but thankfully the news is breaking that they now have their visa's and their flights are booked - praise God! I have the lesson on "Strategy Briefing." The Theme for the lessons is "Call of Duty" and deals with the topic of Spiritual warfare. I have spent a bunch of time studying for this and much of the study has been out of intrigue rather that necessity for my topic. I got a bit side tracked on the name "Lucifer" which I have always been taught is synonymis for Satan, but a name which means "Light Bringer" or "Morning Star." Like I said I have been easily side tracked through out my prep for this topic. Starting to get more focused and objective now and getting ready for the job in hand of briefing these young souls about our enemy!

Well, I have spent a greater amount time these past weeks in one on one visits. I have enjoyed the many cups of coffee and the time to get closer with people. It is always good to see hearts respond to the need for closer relationship with God. I am hopeful to be able to continue in this channel of ministry even when things get busy in the schools.

The photo's at the start of this entry are from our time in Edinburgh! We managed to get some last minute tickets to see the "Tattoo." It was an amazing spectacle! The pipers and the music was incredibly stirring and made us very patriotic. There is nothing like the sound of a huge pipe band! We managed to get two nights away and loved the time to be together as family. Amy and Beth loved exploring all the jewellery stalls that lined the Royal Mile. Holly and Hannah got T-shirts with their caricature painted by an artist. They loved it and love their t-shirts! Fenella and I just enjoyed getting time away and quietly watched the girls enjoy themselves. We know things are changing and while we were in Edinburgh we saw where Amy will be staying and also visited the University campus where she will be studying. We visited with the Hyvots Bank Church where Amy is planning to worship while in Edinburgh. They are a great bunch of Christians and Amy has already got pretty close with many there. Upon reflection of our time in Edinburgh there is no doubt that time with family is indeed Quality!

To finish. Monday night marked the start of our Youth classes. We had a fine class and brought in a couple of new ideas for the new term. We have created a "faceboard" for the younger kids. Alex and I worked on making a big perspex board with 4 columns. The first column is their photo and user name. The second column is where they update their status each class. The third column is for others to stick messages, and the fourth column is where they can stick a thumbs up if they like the messages. When we explained it to the kids they were very excited about it and it should spark friendship and communication. The other thing we have begun is our "Hands Border" Our youth/fellowship hall is pretty bland, so we have decided to make a border with hand prints. We started it on Monday night and will continue to add as people attend. We will open it up to all ages so that there will be a full range of generations represented. I thought as we watched the hands start to go on the wall how lovely it would have been to have faithful saints of old left their hand print there and be a constant reminder of their faith. We love the idea and love the colour and point of interest it will provide.

Enough for now! Please pray for our school ministries about to start - they will be time and energy consuming, but so much joy - God bless!

So much for taking it easy!

These past days have tested me to my limit. However maybe not in the way you might think! The past three days I have been making a trench all the way round our house two and a half feet deep! We have a burst water main pipe and because the burst part of the pipe is on our property the water authority told us it is our responsibility to get it fixed. So, I started out with a diamond blade say and cut through the concrete and then with a sledge hammer and pick axe got the top layer broken up and removed. Next was a layer of hard core and finally a foot of clay! I have not put my body through this kind of punishment since getting a huge haul of fish all those years ago! I have a bunch of blisters on my hands and from the waist up there are few muscles that don't ache. Happy to report that as of this morning the hard work is done and the plumber is coming just now to run a new pipe from the mains into the house - hooray!

On a different track. I have had the joy of preaching the last two Sunday mornings. The first Sunday I talked about the "Great Sin" of Pride that is so evident and in fact honoured in our culture. Talked about the need for humility in our lives and recognising our place before Almighty God. This past Sunday I talked about "Growth." I took a couple of potatoes that I had planted with Holly and Hannah before setting off to America and shared how great is it to watch things grow. I focused on the fact that it is only God who can bring about true beauty and growth in our lives.

There was a "Growth" moment last Sunday and one that made me very proud. During our "Prayers of the Church" (a time when the men of the congregation share public prayers), Thomas stood up and said his first public prayer. He expressed his thanks for the week we all had enjoyed at camp and for the chance to grow. Shaun told me after that he was ready to pray also, but that Thomas had said everything he was going to. It is such a joy to see their faith and also to see that they are at home with us as a family of believers.

Apart from the burst pipe episode, it is great to be home and to be around Fenella and the girls. We went through to pick up Amy from the airport last night and Fenella was commenting how it just seemed like yesterday they were here to get me! I know how blessed I am. Amy had spent a week over in Norway to visit with her good friends there. She had a lovely time.

I want to finish this entry with a thank you. For everyone who has been instrumental in bringing about decisions that has led to my family not having to worry about money for another year - THANK YOU! This week I was able to sit and gather all the info from my fundraising trip and things look to be in place for another year. Our God continues to provide!

God Bless!