glasgow @ worship (4)

The final of the Australian Open may have had an impact on Scottish Church attendance this morning but you would never had known it at Queen’s Park. The church building was well filled and the congregation was alive in worship. 
                                                                                                                                 

Church: Queen’s Park Baptist Church

Denomination: Baptist

Date: January 27 2013

Time: 10.30am

Service: Morning Service

Congregational Make-Up: There is a real family feel to the church fellowship. It is great to see all ages worshipping together.

Central Feature(s): I very much appreciated the welcome I was given as I entered the church. I was warmly welcomed at the church door; welcomed again with a newsletter and on entering the sanctuary there is a “welcome desk” with information about the church as well as a tea/coffee station. The lady at this point again was helpful and interested to make me feel at home. This is such a vital dimension of church life; first impressions are crucial.

The current teaching series is entitled “Rhythms of Life” and the theme this morning was “Consuming or Contributing” from Mark 1. One of the big ideas in the preaching was the transformation that ought to take place in a disciple’s life. This subject carried over into the service as a whole though worship and testimony. One woman was interviewed and spoke of inner difference she experienced through coming to faith in Christ at an Alpha course. The church is about to launch Alpha again so there was a strong emphasis on this course and an encouragement to the fellowship to ask family and friends to this introduction to the Christian faith.

Stand-Out Moment: After the preaching (given by the retired pastor), the current pastor invited the church to respond. Some made a commitment to Christ for the first time; others rededicated their lives to God. I was struck by the fact that what took place this morning in church could be used by God to change the future direction of people’s lives.

Conclusion: Careful planning, challenging preaching and openness to the Spirit seemed to mark what took place today. These are essential elements. We can plan and prepare (and we should) but we must allow God room to do what only he can – transform people’s hearts.

glasgow @ worship (3)

I was back in the West End this morning. It seems to be something of a hub for vibrant churches in the city… 
                                                                                                                                 

Church: Re:Hope

Denomination: Good question! Not sure!

Date: January 20 2013

Time: 10am

Service: Morning Service

Congregational Make-Up: Re:Hope has a real student feel to it. It seems to be made up predominantly of young people although there were one or two older people present (including me!).

Central Feature(s): On arrival at the church I was offered coffee and croissants. The fellowship is onto a winner right there!

The service opened with the Pastor inviting people to testify to answered prayer during the previous week. I admired this bold approach and yet recognised it was a very vulnerable moment for him. What if no-one spoke up? Two people shared ways in which God had helped them in specific response to their prayers over the past seven days.

The band then led in a time of worship and this was followed with the Pastor continuing the current teaching series on the Old Testament prophet, Elijah. It was a very engaging, Bible centred message on the theme of testing. His closing comment captured me – “I want God’s people in this generation to elevate obedience to God’s Word and commit to personal integrity of character.”

Stand-Out Moment: I could mention a couple of things but one that has made a big impact on me was the use of an old song during the worship time. The band sang, “Jesus paid it all,” a 19^th century song that I haven’t heard since childhood. They wove this beautiful song seamlessly into a set of modern worship songs. It was wonderful to see this young (in age) church express their faith in language that captures something of the kingdom of God of which we are part.

Conclusion: The 10am would be repeated at 12pm and 6.30pm. I understand this is to accommodate the numbers attending the church. With all the recent chat about declining church attendance it is refreshing to see one that is bucking the trend.  

Coffee and croissants are not the answer to this growth but they do helped to contribute in a small way to a warm and welcoming church family.

glasgow @ worship (2)

I left home in quite heavy snow but thankfully it let up as I made my way across Glasgow on the now familiar First Buses 44 route.

Church: St Silas Church

Denomination: Episcopal

Date: January 13 2013

Time: 11am

Service: Holy Communion

Congregational Make-Up: This is a large church in the West End of Glasgow with a good percentage of young families and people in their 20-30s.

Central Feature: There was an unusually hushed atmosphere as I sat waiting for the service to begin. In welcoming the congregation the minister led everyone in the Collect for the day. This was followed by a hymn which launched straight into the preaching of God’s Word. The sermon focused on Jesus’ stilling of the storm in Mark 4. The preacher emphasised that who we see Jesus to be determines our response to him and our continuing responses to him. As he developed the story of the disciples’ experience in the middle of the lake he spoke about how awe is something we experience…Awe leads to worship…worship leads to transformation. 
 

During a time of worship that followed parents went to the hall next door to gather their children and then everyone joined together for the celebration of Communion. This part of the service had a strong liturgical feel to it.

The Word preached and the word illustrated in Communion were the complimentary high points.

There was also a beautifully crafted prayer that drew on the passage that the preacher focussed on. I value this kind of intentionality from people who lead others into God's presence.

Stand-Out Moment: The moment of Communion was for me, a sacred time. We went forward to receive the bread and wine and the people who dispensed the elements spoke the words, “The body of Christ given for you…The blood of Christ shed for you” to everyone who received them. I had a strong sense that through the work of the cross, God was reaching out in grace to someone like ME!

Conclusion: I much appreciated the way in which this church weaved the history and heritage of Anglicanism into a contemporary service of worship.

After leaving St Silas I didn’t have to wait too long for “the 44” and returned to Waterfoot with a fresh appreciation of the diverse work of God in this great city.

glasgow @ worship

The elders of the church have given me the huge privilege of using the month of January for research. I am based at the ICC library during the week and plan to visit some of the churches in the city each Sunday. I thought, therefore, that I might give a brief snapshot of Glasgow at worship...starting with my home church...

Church: Cartsbridge Evangelical Church, Busby

Denomination: Independent Evangelical Church (roots in the Christian Brethren)

Date: January 6 2013

Time: 11.30am

Service: All-Age Service

Congregational Make-Up: The congregation reflected the name of the service. There was a good mix of ages and, encouragingly, this included a good number of children and young people.

Central Feature: The main component of this service was the preaching, demonstrated by the fact that half of the time was given over to this activity. Also, aspects of the first half (songs, prayers) pointed towards it. The preacher was confident in his affirmations, comforting in the assurances he gave, and challenging at the very core of his message. It was evangelistic preaching in the classical sense of that term. The focus was on the need of an individual soul to respond immediately to the claims of Christ. 

Stand-Out Moment: The most poignant moment (and one that wasn't actually scheduled!) was, in my opinion, a brief three minute testimony given by an Albanian friend. He spoke with conviction about the central place of prayer in a Christian's life.

Conclusion: Following the service 30+ young people headed off to lunch at a local café. It’s encouraging to see this kind of connection. If the church family can continue supporting them and celebrate their passion for God then this local fellowship can look forward expectantly.

new year 2013

Life is busy. Fact.

Short of signing up to a monastic order, this kind of pace will continue in the coming year! Truth is I would not have it any other way. I have a wonderful family, good friends, enjoyable leisure pursuits and a fulfilling ministry.

However, too often my life is characterised by “the tyranny of the urgent.” I allow responsibilities, deadlines and other people’s expectations to dominate my thinking and influence my actions. I caught a glimpse of the danger of this recently from two very different sources.

At a conference last month I heard the story of a woman who asked her neighbours to sum up what marked her out as a Christian. The majority response had a one word answer – “busyness.”

In “Life of Pi” the central character describes Christianity as “a religion in a rush…(it) bustles like Toronto at rush hour.”

It is sad that others looking on see this as the dominant value of an individual Christian and of the faith in general. My reaction is not so much a desire to change the outer circumstances of life as a longing to alter the attitude with which I look at, and live in the world.

Therefore, as I anticipate the coming twelve months (and look back to the issues I have just reflected on) I seek to make the following commitments:

Live with greater intentionality.

Avoid being driven by all that takes place in life.

Be more deliberate in my approach to life and ministry.

Do what I can to foster a greater sense of community in the church.

Cultivate a godly approach to all that I think, say and do.

My aim is to read the Bible more in order that I may cherish it more to the end that it will shape my character and influence my behaviour.  However, I will seek to do this more in the company of others this year in order to escape the individualism that has been a scourge in the church for some time now.

Life is busy. Fact.

However, busyness does not need to be the defining characteristic of my life. Living with godly purpose is a far greater approach with which to enter 2013.