He who has ears let him hear

To be fair to me it was a horrible wet and cold morning the other day but a dog still needs a walk. Rain or shine Ellie is always ready for the off.

So, whilst muttering about who’s idea it was to have a dog in the first place (it was mine), and wrapping myself in layers of clothing I got ready for the off.

Whilst a dog is a great companion, you can’t really have a conversation with one on the walk. (Although I’ve been known to do so, Ellie being the only one in the family who doesn’t answer back). God bless the ipod! Background music warms the soul whilst the hands and nose are freezing. So imagine my consternation this morning when it wasn’t working.

I know it was fully charged, it came on fine and the track showed it was playing but no sound. I tried another track, (perhaps that one was duff?), no sound. I checked whether the headphones were plugged in properly, yes they were but still no sound. Now pessimism kicks in, my natural reaction in these circumstances. (“that’s it, they’ve broken I’ll need new headphones, woe is me..)

 

It was then I noticed a particularly important omission.. I hadn’t put the headphones in my ears! Everything had been working fine except my brain. At least I was able to laugh at a typical Dunningism!!

 

On the walk I reflected on this incident. When it comes to hearing God’s voice we more than often believe that the problem lies with God not communicating rather than us not being plugged into His Voice. All too often the distractions of life, the weather of our disposition, are the things that get in the way and we just don’t take the trouble to put the headphones  in and shut out the noise of the world.

Isaiah writes of God “He wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears and I have not drawn back..” (Isaiah 50vs4-5).

As Jesus often said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear…”

 

count your blessings

A few days at Unit3 we had a visit of over 20 german pastors and bible college students who are in Sheffield looking at “fresh Expressions” of church. As they approached the front of the building we were told afterwards one of them wanted to know why they were coming to us as “its not a proper church”. We were asked to show them around the premises and then tell our story  of how we ended up in a shopping precinct and what we do.

During the questions and answers a number of them were incredulous about the thousands of hours per year as a church community we invest in the variety of projects we do both at Unit3 and MCF. It became apparent that mobilising Christians in the churches they attend on this basis was foreign to them. I guess it’s the cork in the bottle mentality. The man or woman at the top and any paid staff team do the work. To me that’s such  a limiting model and a serious problem for churches whose ecclesiology has a strong priest/laity divide.

The role of leadership in any area should be to encourage, facilitate, and release others to do ministry. This seems to be the clear message of Ephesians chapter 4.

It made me count my blessings to be involved in such  a committed community of faith at MCF