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As we enter a new year, it is customary to list our new hopes and priorities, sometimes described as ‘resolutions’. Apparently the majority of New Year Resolutions made last January (according to a YouGov poll for The Times) centred on exercise, weight and health.  Although ‘New Year Resolutions’ tend to receive bad press in our culture, I found this dictionary definition surprisingly helpful, especially for those of us who are following Jesus and trying to live as his disciples:

res ·o ·lu ·tion  noun  \ËŒre-zÉ™-ˈlü-shÉ™n\

: the act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc.
: the act of resolving something
: an answer or solution to something
: the ability of a device to show an image clearly and with a lot of detail

 

Inevitably there are countless things we wish will be different this year compared to the past year. The inherent tension of making any resolutions is in actually keeping them. Another survey, in The Independent, concluded that 24 days into January is the day when the UK’s collective willpower is most likely to be broken, which in 2014 was consequently dubbed as “Fail Friday”.

Let’s transfer those insights to personal Christian experience. Presumably, most of us could immediately construct a list of resolutions which aim to break the patterns of the past, to end conflicts, and to progress us in our knowledge of Christ and God’s plan for our lives. How about this list for starters:

• To walk closer to Jesus in everyday life
• To read more of the Bible and understand its message
• To pray more and spend quality time with God enjoying His presence
• To have greater boldness as witnesses for Jesus
• To discern God’s plan for what He has next for us
• To know more of God’s power at work in us and through us, enabling us to overcome situations

That list could continue, but it presents the very normal experience of every Christian. We want MORE of God in our lives, because we need MORE of Christ in us. The brilliant news is we are not abandoned by Day 24 of such resolutions. Rather the thirst and desire we have for the things of God are actually the pre-requisite for knowing Him deeper and more fully as He supplies the need. Billy Graham observed:

‘Everywhere I go I find that God’s people lack something. They are hungry for something. Their Christian experience is not all that they expected and they often have recurring defeat in their lives. Christians today are hungry for spiritual fulfilment. The most desperate need of the nation today is that men and women who profess Jesus be filled with the Holy Spirit.’

My personal experience at Cambray (and at every church I have ever belonged to) echoes that observation. Consequently, our Sunday preaching programme this term will look at ‘Life in the Spirit’ in Matthew’s gospel (morning services), and some essential teaching about the Person and Work of God the Holy Spirit (evening services). Realising that some do not attend church twice on Sundays (which I accept), may I urge you to consider being there for as much of this series as you can, or at least listening online.

If the Spirit of God is the only One who provides the power for us all to know Jesus and live the life Jesus has secured for us through his death and resurrection, then surely we should prioritise certain things for the coming year: To be worshipping God together with His people; to read His Word the Bible; to confess sin that contaminates our life; to rely on the blood of Jesus for full forgiveness and restoration; to get to prayer times with others; to take steps of faith where God may be calling you to action; to check your giving to Christ and His work; to intentionally witness for Jesus each day; etc. etc.

The arrival of High Definition TV screens at Cambray has brought quality colour and sharper ‘resolution’ to the images we project. My prayer for 2015 is that Cambray will increasingly know MORE of the love of Christ with greater clarity, to go DEEPER in the things of Christ with enhanced focus, so that we are no longer living under condemnation as ‘Fail Friday’ people. Rather, as those who have discovered the power of the Cross of Christ as ‘Good Friday’ people ! and who know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings (Philippians 3.10) we may then display vibrant ‘High Definition’ resolution as followers of Jesus!

My daily resolution for 2015, by God’s grace, is to ‘Keep in step with the Spirit’. Please join me, and let’s ‘live by the Spirit’ together.

Your friend and pastor,

Tim Welch

Pastor James Smith selected these Bible verses and wrote daily thoughts for his people in the early 1840’s. Demand for them grew quickly and by 1846 over 30,000 copies were in circulation. They continue to encourage and strengthen many disciples around the world today and readers will quickly realise just how relevant God’s Word and Smith’s devotions are to our own contexts.

Personally, I sense a deep affinity to James Smith as I now have the privilege of serving Christ at Cambray Baptist Church, Cheltenham, meeting and preaching in the same building that James Smith and people built and opened in 1855. He also served as pastor at one of my previous churches, Claremont Baptist in Shrewsbury. However, it is more than these facts that unite us. When I discovered THE DAILY REMEMBRANCER I found messages about a reliance on God the Holy Spirit that I continue to bring to the Cambray family today as our greatest need. To that end I pray that these ‘Pastor to People’ messages will continue to deepen our own walk with God.

Occasionally I have taken the liberty of adapting some of the words and punctuation to help the flow and comprehension for ease of reading. Plus, I have added a paragraph for most days, from James Smith’s diaries and writings which I think add helpful insights to him and for everyday discipleship as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

May God’s Word continue to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).

With prayerful good wishes,
Tim Welch

Senior Pastor, Cambray Baptist Church, Cheltenham.

In his preface James Smith wrote:

‘The present humble work is a pastoral effort, flowing from love to the Lord’s people, and a desire to honour His great name. It is an acknowledged fact that many of the Lord’s people are living far below their privileges, and are walking as men, not aiming specifically for the Lord’s glory.

This is to be regretted; and while none but the Lord the Holy Spirit can produce the change we desire to witness, yet the means are to be used, and we must stir up their pure minds by way of remembrance.

In this little work, I aim to speak in the closet, in the cottage, in the kitchen, and even in the field, to the different classes of the Lord’s family, endeavouring to draw them nearer to their God and gracious Father.

My desire is to promote the POWER OF GODLINESS, and these little pieces are written to convince, comfort and correct; to fan the flame of devotion and to produce holiness of heart and life. To this end some degree of sameness in the pieces and a repetition of some important truths appeared absolutely necessary.

Habitual dependence upon God for all we need, acknowledging the hand of God in all we receive, and walking with God, notwithstanding all that may happen to us below, enter into the very essentials of genuine Christianity. And it is only while we are thus acting that we enjoy peace with God and walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost. That the Lord, who often uses weak things to confound the mighty, may bless this little work to your good and His glory, is the prayer of Yours in the Lord Jesus,

JAMES SMITH.

As we come to the final edition of another year’s Cambray magazine production, I wish to thank Michael Hews our multi-gifted editor and Jackie Champion for her professional eye with design layout, and the excellent team who print and collate our church magazine every month. It is a major means of communication and enables the sharing of many stories, vital updates as well as all important dates and facts.

Words on a piece of paper have always been a powerful means for education and transforming lives. Even before paper, early examples of writing involved pictures, symbols and characters; these later developed into writing using alphabets and words. Over the centuries, one piece of technology has been exchanged for another – papyrus, parchment, paper, pens, through to the innovation of the printing press, books, computer and mobile messaging. So the ‘piece of paper’ is nowadays more likely to be a screen, with unlimited access to words, pictures and information wherever we are. But words still possess the power to spread information and the energy to bring about change.

Lists Leading to Reformation
In 1517 Martin Luther wrote a list. On the paper he included 95 points which attacked the established Church for its corruption and serious error, especially the selling of ‘indulgences’ as a means of absolving sin and obtaining salvation. Not so, protested Luther. Salvation was obtainable only by faith in Christ and that by divine grace alone. Significantly, the tone of his 95 theses was more humble than rant, academic in style, encouraging reflection and debate on doctrines that Martin Luther considered essential to Christian faith. That paper proved to be dynamite across Europe, igniting the Protestant Reformation.

21st Century Reformation
As we live amid revolution in the 21st century – the technological revolution – increasingly it seems to me that we need another Reformation, personally as well as in the Church across Europe. The days in which we live are dark, confusing and hopeless.

So what do we really want this Christmas? Or, as our Christmas 2014 strapline asks, what do we really NEED this Christmas? To help efficiency our family circle has the habit of writing Christmas lists for each other ! it helps the giver and the recipient to be focussed and specific.

If we were each to produce a list of our greatest needs right now, including personal, church, society, I wonder what you would include. As our Christmas services will highlight, we share some of our main needs:

• Meaning in life
• Peace
• A family to belong to
• A new start
• Debt cleared
• God with us
• Life
• Hope, etc.

Brilliantly, all these needs (and all human needs) are met by God’s divine grace and our faith in Jesus. Christmas reminds us that Jesus is the Word, eternally ‘with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning’. ‘The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth’ (John 1.1-2, 14).

We should never forget that Jesus came to meet needs. God did not simply send a ‘Holy Book’; rather He personally came to this planet in His Son, to seek out and to save lost people, to preach good news to the poor, to save prisoners, giving sight to the blind and releasing the oppressed (Luke 4.18-19).

The reformation is still happening as people come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; they are saved and receive new life with the Spirit of God coming to live within. The Apostle Paul reminds us that Christians then become ‘living letters’, written ‘not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts’ (2 Corinthians 3.3).

On my Christmas list is the prayer for on-going radical reformation on the ‘tablet’ of my own heart, as well as in the heart of our church family ! that, with the Spirit’s help, we would obey Titus 3.9 by avoiding ‘foolish controversies’ which are ‘unprofitable and useless’, and instead discover more of what it means to be renewed by the Holy Spirit, to grow in grace, to be peacemakers, for conversation which honours our Lord Jesus, for a genuine love for one another ! Surely that’s a much better list for what we need this Christmas. However, do we WANT those things?

Rachel joins me in wishing you a very Happy Christmas,

Tim Welch

‘There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven’

Ecclesiastes 3 is a very helpful companion as we try to figure out wisdom for life and work. There is indeed a time to work and a time to rest! And I have been immensely privileged to be granted a sabbatical this summer as a chance to find some balance and re-prioritising. Once again, I wish to express our appreciation as a family for all the prayers, good wishes, cards and gifts which enabled us to enjoy some wonderful time-out.

I explained to the Cambray Church family, before clocking off back in June, how I considered stewarding and investing the 2,400 hours ahead, with several aims for the sabbatical

1) to rest from the frenetic pace of church activity and confrontation. Achieved!
2) to be able to spend quality time with family and friends. We had a brilliant time!
3) to read and reflect about the nature of church in our rapidly changing culture (which I wrote about in our June magazine under the title “New Wine, Old Wineskins”). On-going !
4) to visit the land of the Bible. Been there, done that!
5) to catch up on some decorating! Mission Accomplished!

As I stated in my sabbatical reflections at a recent Sunday service (available online at cambray.org), I have concluded that periodically everyone should take time out to stop and seek God personally, to escape the persistent addiction of emails, mobiles and the tug of social media. Being aware that not everyone is given the gift of a sabbatical, I am campaigning for every Christian to find a way to examine their life-balance, to enable personal renewal and assessment of their individual calling as followers of Jesus.

Stopping  

This is not simply the advice any ‘life coach’. Jesus modelled the need to get away from the madding crowd to be with His heavenly Father in quiet, depending on Him for wisdom, strength and encouragement. As I visited the Lake of Galilee, I grasped the solitude of some of those early morning hikes and quiet spaces in contrast to the intensity of city life in Jerusalem. Jesus was in demand everywhere, surrounded by requests and needs, so much so (in Luke 4.42-43) the ‘people tried to keep him from leaving them. But Jesus said, “I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to other towns also, because that is why I was sent”. It’s about retaining compassion and missional momentum.

So my serious call for all of us is to STOP. Not necessarily for a few months at a time, but to STOP more often. How about 2-3 hours a month ! simply to be alone with Jesus? A personal retreat! My point is not just for the gain of catching up on life’s chores, rather to create a space in which we discover and re-discover the lavish love of God for us personally. Theoretically, we can know that such divine love is not dependent upon our works of service or our position or job or title, etc. ! and yet how easily I/we hide behind these things! Surely, every follower of Jesus needs to regularly stop the ‘treadmill’ and get off, in order to know God and be with Him, without all the scaffolding (busyness) that tends to prop up our lives. I remembered again that personal relating to Jesus lies at the heart of true worship.

It takes time to slow down

However, it probably took me about a month or so to properly slow down and allow the ‘debris’ that had accumulated within me over past years to be dispersed. It is a frightening realisation that we are often not able to clearly hear God speak into our lives simply because we are too busy, and we have ‘debris’ such as past pain, sin, voices and situations which clutter up our capacity to love and serve the Lord. Perhaps we are not as free as we sometimes imagine.

Checking motivations

Thankfully, my personal discovery this summer was that I really do want to follow Jesus and serve him, not because of my job or church expectations. Rather because as someone who has experienced the generous and lavish love of God calling me, this is the most appropriate response to give Him all my days in generous commitment as I ‘live a life worthy of the calling received’ (Ephesians 4.1). Personally I was able to re-discover:

1) I really want to attend church every Sunday to be with God’s people, not simply because it is my job or the ‘done thing’. It is simply the best place to be, worshipping with God’s people in all sorts of places and styles, giving Jesus our devotion and learning from Him.

2) I really want to read my Bible because it is God’s living word, and not simply to prepare a sermon for the next Sunday! The Bible is ‘a lamp to our feet and a light to our path’ and should rightly become our daily map where we hear God speak to us. Now that is truly awesome.

3) I really do want to go and visit those who are sick in hospital, helping them find strength in the Lord! This may seem strange to say, but when you are given a stipend to release you do do these things, it is a healthy check on motivation to know that even if I was not paid as a pastor, I want to visit those who are struggling, sick, and to care for those in prison or hungry (Matthew 25).

Re-imagining Church

As noted above, I spent lots of time reading and thinking about church life (at Cambray and elsewhere). We are all painfully aware of the shortcomings of every church or community. It doesn’t take long for aspects to frustrate and annoy. In a consumer-led culture, it is easy to deal with disappointment or disagreement ! you simply move on and find another church, and so the process begins again.

So this summer’s travels and reading got me thinking about a simpler church life, and a deeper church life, prioritising relationship with Jesus and an outward mission focus that prevents us becoming entrenched with old wineskins. What are some of the features of such a dream church? Read Acts again!

Simple Church

There we observe Christians committed to one another in the love of Christ, growing strong together as they learnt more and spent time working together for the Kingdom of God to be transforming lives, while encouraging one another for day to day frontlines at work or wherever. I have concluded that we have become cluttered as a church with too much activity, trying to balance everything in every direction. Some folk are overworking big time; others have been given grace gifts and need to exercise them.

Perhaps the simple formula should be for every member to (1) commit to being there at a service on a Sunday for corporate worship; (2) involved in one church-based activity, serving if possible (as their small group); (3) and committed to witness in their local community/workplace.

In each of these spheres RELATING with the extravagant love of Jesus seems to be the key to make a key impact in the mission context we face, and the desperate spiritual needs and brokenness all around.  Plus we need to highlight the place of PRAYER that Cambray will increasingly be cultivated into a gospel community which is characterised by amazing grace, extravagant generosity and radical devotion to Jesus Christ.

In church life, I have to admit sometimes wondering whether we have the necessary resources to do all that Jesus is calling us to do: ‘If only we had x, y, z.’ Peter reminds us, that ‘His diving power has given us everything we need for life and godliness’ (2 Peter 1.3).

Surely, such a dream and prayer request is only possible by the presence of God Himself, incarnating Himself in us and through us by His Spirit. Friends, this is what God has planned! And He is at work in many places as individual Christians and churches start to believe the promises of God and apply them to everyday situations.

Every promise Jesus gave his disciples that the Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and He will teach the disciples all things, guiding them into all truth (John 16); the Holy Spirit will convict of sin, He will be the Comforter, the Advocate, the One who delivers the Father’s will, who will do whatever you ask in my name ! and your joy will be complete. Furthermore, the Spirit can produce ‘complete unity to let the world know’ (John 17). I long for that.

Jesus walking in Cheltenham

I loved visiting Israel and the spaces where Jesus walked. Yet I have to admit that I didn’t tingle with any deep spiritual experiences, rather I kept thinking to myself – I’ve sensed Jesus walks around Cheltenham just as he walked around Galilee. And He is still in the business of transforming lives by His saving power.

More reflections to follow next month !

With appreciation, your friend and pastor,

Tim Welch

Tim Welch reminds us of the issues he raised when he led a discussion at a recent Church Members’ Meeting on future church structures. He plans to say more to us about these issues when he returns from his sabbatical.

The old wineskins of organisational life at Cambray are creaking and straining. The spiritual fervour and physical health of many who are working hard for the Lord is suffering; our decision-making efficiency is decreasing; imperceptible shifts in church life and society are confusing; and our missional impact to the surrounding culture is blunter than it could be. The Early Church provides clear warnings as to how easily a vibrant Christian witness can dissipate into an established-safe-insular organisation over a decade; before God steps in by allowing some persecution or famine, or a revival, or mission initiative from Antioch, to disperse his people with fresh anointing, joy and evangelistic zeal.

While thanking God for the new life-wine that many are experiencing at Cambray as they come into greater relationship with Jesus, we urgently need to be addressing some key questions and aspects of ministry. How we respond to the five areas listed below will determine the future health/size/ maturity/ missional impact of Cambray Baptist Church.

1. Our Mission in the ‘Market Place’
We have encouraged a ‘frontline’ challenge to every disciple at Cambray to be effective for Christ wherever they are. However, our preoccupation with Sunday services seems to neutralise our impact in actually connecting with the populace in the Cheltenham town centre. We expect folk to come to us and step over into our church culture and become like us; those who are working hard already have very little energy, time, or investment available to creatively find new ways to reach locals; and there are far too many ‘passengers’ who enjoy attending Cambray but really do not wish to get stuck in to Good News work. Medium-size churches (200-450) are able to do more than smaller churches, and yet they seem to let Christians off the hook with regard to committed Kingdom works.

And to what extent are we relying on the Person and powerful work of God the Holy Spirit to form our church life anyway?
Proposal: Invite the Holy Spirit to come and shape us and aspects of Cambray life. Pray into these areas. Develop ideas to pioneer a town centre ministry/ appoint a chaplaincy/possible Christian centre on the High St. / etc !.

2. Our Belonging to ‘One Another’
The shift in church culture is clearly being felt by those who do not know everyone. Naturally, we want to know who’s who; but this has become impossible with the numbers connected to Cambray! However, we are still trying to operate as a smaller church, with a ‘family’ feel – with increased frustrations and caution with newcomers. More of my time (as pastor) is spent trying to sort out problems between Christian believers who get angry about issues of church organisation and practice, than anything to do with real Kingdom of God matters.

Added to this is the matter of church membership. There are some Cambray members who seem non-committal about the church and the Lord. And others who are not members who are very integrated and committed to Cambray church life. In the present Christian-UK landscape there is greater need for Christians to commit to belonging to one another (whatever their denominational background), while retaining our Baptistic convictions, but developing a form of open church membership, for all those who are truly ‘in Christ’ together.

Proposal: Find ways for those committed to Christ and Cambray to be encouraged to become members; deal with the need for ‘Associate’ membership categories; keep the membership list up to date; covenant commitment each year; etc.

3. Our Leadership Effectiveness
There is a need for greater delegation as churches grow. We live in an age where democratisation demands greater involvement, thankfully eliminating the days of the ‘one-man-ministry’! I observe increased frustration at our Pastors and Deacons’ meetings, mainly, I think, because we are all trying to do it all! Surely, if leaders of larger churches are actually delegated to get on with their areas of responsibilities, we should ensure they have godly teams around them, and then we should ‘free’ them to get things done and sorted. This would prevent any of us being ‘bottlenecks’!

There is a particular urgent area for us to consider, because one role takes up an immense amount of time, skill and expertise: namely Church Treasurer. We often express our appreciation to Peter Young, aware that in all reality he is irreplaceable, especially as honorary treasurer who doubles as Book Keeper and Company Secretary. Given our size and obligations, Cambray needs to consider employing someone for this role !

Discuss: In future, leaders at Cambray should be selected for their God-given  giftedness and skills (for a specific area), rather than on the basis of their age, tenure or strength of personality.

4. Our Decision Making
As we look to the future shape of ministry at Cambray, how realistic is it for every decision to always come to the members’ meeting? Given that people tend to want to be consulted, this is not an easy balance to achieve or to modify in future. The balance of power and accountability needs to be considered, of course. But if the strain of the Cambray systems is to be relieved, then greater trust and delegation is surely required.
Consult with members to establish the boundaries for decision making – Staff appointments / levels of permission to spend / freedom to take decisions, etc.

5. Our Mission Goals
It is hard to anticipate the future ! but without a vision, the people perish! Does Cambray sometimes pay the price for having too many individual visions flying around? Rather than continually trying to balance competing ‘preferences’ (like priorities/ music/styles/rigid small group structures/ longevity-newcomer integration /control and influence/ etc.), it would be exciting to anticipate some brave new ventures – e.g. church for the unchurched? Arguably, the New Testament models of church life do not seem to promote growing as large as possible; rather there is a flexibility and transience of a church on the move making a missional impact. The new wine of the Kingdom life Jesus brings is not compatible with the stretched and worn wineskins of the religious devotees. The skins break, and God does a new thing – usually among those ‘outside’ the established churches; tithing the congregation (to go and do a new thing) is powerful!

Questions: What will Cambray Baptist Church look like in 5 years / 10 years? What will success look like (in terms of the Kingdom of God and equipping disciples of the Lord Jesus)? How many churches, if any, will we have planted? What sort of children’s/youth work will we have?Where will the core convictions and emphases be?

Your friend and pastor, as we share the journey together, with our eyes on Jesus

Tim Welch

Join us on a Monday evening in the Rodney Hall for a fun evening playing badminton (18+) 8-10pm.

Tuesday Afternoons, 2.30pm meet with other ladies for a variety of speakers and topics, singing and a cup of tea or coffee.

Every Tuesday evening in Term time Livewires runs in Rodney Hall.

Every week in Term Time, Wednesday evening 6-8pm in the Rodney Hall for a varied program.

Our youth come together every Friday in term time at 7.30 meeting in the Rodney Hall. All in years 7-13  welcome for a varied program.

Thursday 6th November at 7.30pm in the Main Church. All Members are encouraged to attend if possible.