2009 Letter No 01

Each month Bill writes a pastor's letter for our monthly church magazine called 'The Messenger'. Here is the letter for January 2009:

May I wish you all a happy New Year! And may I also wish you a fruitful New Year, as the New Testament places much more emphasis on whether we are obedient and fruitful than on whether we are happy. I find that a sobering thought, but it is one which ties in with the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 6:33: “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I quoted that verse from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, but a more idiomatic translation, the New Living Translation, has this: “He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” It is a good message for the New Year, as we think about our priorities and concerns for 2009.

As a church we are about to embark on a process called ‘Mission Consultancy’. This is part of our striving for the Kingdom of God. At a church meeting last year we decided that we would approach the Heart of England Baptist Association to find a couple of people to come alongside us for a few months and to help us think through how we are engaging in the mission to which God has called us. The two people who have been appointed to work with us are John and Kirsteen Macaulay, a married couple who are ordained ministers jointly pastoring Foleshill Baptist Church in Coventry. They will visit us on two or three occasions, but most of the work will be down to us.

I know that many churches have found the ‘mission consultancy’ process helpful, but it will only help us if we are willing to ask some hard questions of ourselves and are also willing to face up to and act upon the answers to those questions. There is a recurring pattern in the Christian life that God brings new life and fresh beginnings only after the reality of our current situation is faced with honesty and humility before him.

This consultancy is a process in which we are all involved. It is not for the leadership alone, and neither do I want to limit it to those who are officially members of the church. All God’s people in this place need to be part of discerning the way ahead. That is actually what church membership is all about – recognising that we are called to follow Christ together, walking in committed partnership with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Please make this a matter for prayer, for thought and for action. God can do more through us in West Bromwich Baptist Church than we are currently seeing. We may be led to see that some of our current activities should come to an end. We may be led to start new things. It may not be a matter of us doing more. It may even be a matter us of doing fewer things, but doing them better or differently. Let us be open to whatever God might say to us through this consultancy process and to what he might yet do through this church in the months and years ahead.

Happy New Year … and may it also be a fruitful one for God’s kingdom in this place.