Showing posts with label #rochdale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #rochdale. Show all posts

Friday, 8 February 2019

Are we Practical and Compassionate?

I’m currently reading Amazing Conversions: John Ashworth and His Strange Tales. This book is being heavily plugged in a neighbouring church by one of the members and, as it relates to the history of the local area, I thought it was worth a look.

So far, (I’m about half way through), it reminds me of Streets Paved with Gold which tells the story of the London City Mission. The terrible poverty and desperation of the many people documented in both books tugs at the heart strings even though the events have long since passed.

John Ashworth, spent vast sums of personal money coming to the aid of people without food, clothing or shelter as he ministered to the people of Rochdale. Many of these were involuntarily unemployed and living in squalor with a large number of mouths to feed. Some may question his methods as he often drew a promise to attend his Christian meetings in exchange for practical help. However, he never failed to tell everyone that crossed his path of sin, judgement and the need to get right with God whether they attended his meetings or not! He spoke directly, and in some cases, practically begged people to consider their souls as he gave material help to the desperate. His ministry is a good example of using help to facilitate offering hope in Jesus.

Its easy to throw money at situations or even give time without allowing oneself to become emotionally involved in the lives of others, but its something very different to experience the pain as you walk through a situation with people. To experience their hopelessness and lostness and to become overwhelmed by the great needs. John Ashworth got his hands dirty as he moved from one home to another. At times, he was conned and cheated, but he was persistent and kept his focus on the Gospel message and the saving power of Jesus because of his love for the people of Rochdale and his sincere belief that he had the real answer to their problems. Theres something compelling about a person who keeps going despite numerous setbacks. People are watching how Christians respond to trials to see if their faith is genuine and whether it works!

I’m not sure that, here in Britain, any of us experience anything like the material hardship prior generations had to deal with. However, whatever the source, pain and suffering abounds and none of us are immune.

Yesterday, in Halifax, I met a dear old man, Rodney. I handed him one of the church leaflets which happens to be about finding hope in the midst of great pain. He took it meekly and pushed it into his carrier bag. He hesitated as I asked if he was a Christian. He mumbled something and moved past me, but it wasn’t the usual brush off. Moments later as I watched him leave, he turned back and with tears in his eyes said, “I’ve just lost my wife….”

My heart went out to him as I offered condolences and asked how long they had been married. He wandered back towards me looking lost and broken. “54 years and she died on January the fourth” was the answer. He then proceeded to tell me all about meeting his wife, their life together and her funeral. During our discussion, I told him that I had lost my younger brother in a car accident at 18. I wasn’t  looking for sympathy. I wanted him to know that I understood the pain of the loss of a loved one, although I quickly added that I knew it was nothing like the suffering he was experiencing having been with his wife for so many years.

I was astonished when Rodney began singing one of the funeral songs, more so because he knew the lyrics word for word.

"We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love."

Not knowing what else to do during this very personal moment, I joined in the song. So, there we were singing to each other in the street; an old man broken by life and a young(ish) woman wanting desperately for this stranger to know the meaning of the song that had meant so much to his late wife, although from what had been said, sadly, I dont think either of them were believers.

Grasping at straws, I repeated the last line and spoke briefly about the love of the Saviour, Jesus, and how God could offer comfort even in the midst of great pain. Rodney then said that he would be looking to God for help in prayer. He said that he had enjoyed talking to me about his wife, and, having promised to read the church leaflet containing the Gospel, he went on his way.

Afterwards, I reflected on the way the conversation had gone. I had been in direct mode, ready to challenge people about their need of forgiveness, or make them think about where they will spend eternity. However, I had been thrown by Rodneys understandable emotion. The natural thing to do was to listen and comfort him. Sometimes, thats what is needed. It helped that I knew he was taking the Gospel away in a leaflet that he had promised to read. 

Im reading in Exodus at the moment and today I was struck by the care God took over the Israelites when giving their daily living instructions. In particular this passage in Chapter 23 vs 10-11 in relation to Sabbath laws:

For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave.

These verses are just one example of the multiple provisions God made for the destitute, and even the wild animals, demonstrating His great care for all of His creation. There are many passages in the New Testament reflecting the same compassion as God deals with people.

We meet people in many different situations and at different stages in life. We may have no idea what they are going through. We wont always have the right words or be using the most successful evangelistic methods, but we can all show empathy and compassion as we communicate the Gospel.

Sometimes, as in the case of John Ashworth and the people of Rochdale, the compassionate thing to do is to put your money where your mouth isand meet immediate practical needs whilst urging people to seek the Saviour for their greater eternal needs.

At other times, it is offering a listening ear and being gentle with someone in pain. We can offer to pray for a person who is struggling and/or encourage them to seek God themselves. People can see whether we really believe what we are advising and whether we genuinely care. They can also see when we are just doing a job, or task, or following a script.

Let's offer genuine compassion to those we meet, not holding back our emotions to protect ourselves, or worrying about getting too involved, or being taken for a ride. Inevitably, we will be cheated at times, but that shouldnt stop us being willing to help. God sees when we do something for Him even when others dont appreciate it. 

Let's also make sure that we actually communicate the Gospel. All of the kindness in the world can't save whether it's genuine or not. There are plenty of non-Christians around who are extremely kind and compassionate. If we have genuine concern for others, a natural outworking will be that we want them to find hope in Jesus for themselves. Telling someone how to get right with God and secure eternal life in Heaven is surely the most loving thing one person can do for another...

Tuesday, 18 September 2018

Is it Really Evangelism?


I have just moved to Oldham in Manchester and, as one person put it, become a “northerner”. I’ve moved here to help Oldham Bethel Church with their outreach, responding to a number of heartfelt pleas in the Pastor’s blog. Arriving, I found that several key people were away for the week so took the opportunity to join the “Reaching Rochdale” outreach week with a neighbouring church in Milnrow.

I was forced straight out of my comfort zone when, on day one, I found myself volunteering to do door to door evangelism in a predominantly Muslim area. Somehow, I then felt compelled to continue this work believing it would get easier with practice. I’m not sure that it got any easier, but I became slightly less afraid and more willing as the week went on. Given the choice, I still prefer open-air work and reverted to that when it was taking place. But, my experience was definitely valuable and will be useful for the future.

Back in Oldham, I've been tasked with surveying the area for a few months to see what is already going on and, hopefully in the process, noting any opportunities for additional outreach work. Spending a number of hours researching things today, it's immediately tempting to focus on the social needs of the area as there are plenty of requests for volunteers for all sorts of things. I'm sure I could get stuck in and happily fill my time with these things as the needs are great, but I have to keep bringing it back to whether there would ever be opportunities to share the Gospel with people in each role/organisation. If not, I need to move on and not become distracted. 

The enemy loves to keep us busy with work that appears to be Gospel centred but in reality is not much different to social work. I find that I'm back to my motto from the Logos Hope ship; help and hope must go hand in hand. I can't be offering help without hope as it's the ultimate tragedy; when I've made someone that bit more comfortable on their journey to a lost eternity.

I’ve taken part in a number of week long missions this year with the Open Air Mission and United Beach Missions. I highly recommend both organisations. Discussions about effective methods of evangelism have arisen frequently. It’s perhaps not surprising that if you throw a bunch of people interested in evangelism together for a week that they will have strong, and differing, views on the subject. What is concerning, though, is that there are some who think they are evangelising when they are not.

Jesus’ Great Commission tells us to:

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16 vs 15-16)

If we take the plain, everyday, meaning of the text, it follows that when we are not proclaiming the Gospel to people, we are not evangelising. We may well be facilitating other peoples efforts or serving God in other ways, but it is not evangelism.

Ive heard people come up with all sorts of things that they class as evangelism. Is it evangelism to attend a meeting at your church where someone is giving their testimony? How about if you invite your non-Christian friend along to hear the speaker? What about painting a childs face, or giving them a balloon, and talking to their parent about the history of beach missions? What if you give them a big smile, will the joy of the Lord somehow be conveyed to them? What if you pray for them as they walk past?

Of course, some of you know that these things arent evangelism, but there are others who are offended by my comments. Its worth reiterating that these things may well be good things to do, they may provide a platform for someone else to share the Gospel. In Gods providence, they may lead to profitable conversations later down the line. God may even be gracious and the person may actually ask you one of those questions we all hope for; How did you become a Christian? Why do you do this?Or even, What must I do to be saved!?But, most of the time, the person passes by and we wish we had made more of the opportunity.

In my experience, its much more difficult to get to these most important issues of the heart if we either dress the Gospel message up by entertaining people, or seek to dumb it down, or hide what we are really doing, when we first meet them. They arent stupid and most prefer honesty rather than being duped into something, then feeling deceived later.

We also need to remember that the Gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1 vs 18.) If we hide the true Gospel to avoid offence, we are not attracting those who would be drawn to the Message, as well as not challenging those who will ultimately reject it.

Sometimes, I think we need to ask ourselves what were afraid of. Is it not just the enemy raising our anxiety levels and causing us to stumble? In the past, when I needed to force myself to do something that could be awkward or uncomfortable, I would think of the tag line from the Dr Pepper advert, Whats the worst that could happen?For those that remember the adverts, its never going to be as humiliating as that! Someone might slam a door in your face, or laugh at you, or belittle you (as happened to me recently.) You might even lose a friendship over it, but at least they have now heard the truth and you have done the loving thing in warning them. Ultimately, they are rejecting God and we should fear for them.

I appreciate that in open-air and door to door work greater risks can be taken; these people are probably strangers that you wont see again. However, what is the point of developing friendships with people either over a week, on a beach mission, or over a lengthier period if they are colleagues, relatives, friends and neighbours, if we never actually share the Gospel with them. It wont get easier to share if we wait indefinitely and none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.

In the Philippines, I had the terrible experience of twice hearing of the deaths of people that I had met just once and had not shared the Gospel with, one was a child. I cant carry that guilt because God is sovereign and I was later reassured that they had heard from other sources. What was it that had stopped me sharing directly during those first meetings; complacency and the belief that I had time to build relationships with them which would then make it easier to share the Gospel. That was a tough and painful lesson, and a reminder of the urgency of the work we are called to.

We were reminded recently that everything that happens in the life of a non-believer is completely meaningless. I certainly experienced that when I was back-sliding. Lets not allow our church events, friendships and conversations to end up adding to the futility of a life lived without God because we never get round to offering people what they really need. Dont leave it too late to tell someone that they need to repent and ask God for forgiveness through Jesus.

Lets make sure that we prioritise actual evangelism so that we can all be involved in fulfilling the Great Commission and seeing souls saved.