Update from Steve on his sabbatical.
Hi there,
Our time here in Prague seems to be going by very quickly. We are well into our third week and I am still reading lots of interesting and helpful books. Several are about the covenants that early Baptists adopted in their churches.
The Baptist Church at Stony Stratford included the following as part of its covenant commitment:
To esteem our pastor highly in love for his work’s sake, this we will endeavour to manifest by frequently and fervently praying for him; diligently attending on his ministry; encouraging his heart and strengthening his hands to the utmost of our power in the work of the Lord; freely consulting him as we have occasion and opportunity, respecting our spiritual affairs; treating him affectionately when present, and speaking respectfully of him when absent. As he is a man of like passions with others we will endeavour to conceal and cover with a mantle of love, his weaknesses and imperfections; also to communicate unto him of our temporal good things, knowing that the Lord hath ordained that they that preach the gospel shall live of the gospel.
AMEN!!!
For our Baptist forefathers church covenants and church discipline were at the heart of the life of the church. They were closely linked as the church sought to work out its common life and order accountability. I am being challenged by the things that I am reading from our history as well as by more contemporary writers who are suggesting that we need to learn from our history and revive some early Baptist practices.
It is interesting that Simon Jones, who is also on sabbatical here, has introduced a covenant in Bromley Baptist Church where he is the pastor. We have been comparing notes.
A visitor to the seminary who is the minister of music in her home church in South Carolina took a copy of West Leigh’s covenant and core values etc to refer to as her church is working out a new covenant.
It seems that we may have been in the vanguard of a new commitment to what was so important to our forefathers.
On Sundays we are attending the church that meets in the seminary chapel – Sarka Valley Community Church. What a small world it is! Last Sunday we sat next to the daughter of Gordon Bates – the retired minister of Thundersley Congregational Church. She lives in Prague with her husband who originates from Romford and who manages the Tesco stores in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They are coming home this Saturday and will be attending a wedding that she expects to see Margaret Reeve at.
Today, Friday, is the last day of lectures for the students doing the Certificate in Applied Theology (CAT) so this evening we have an end of term barbecue. This will be followed by the film ‘Amazing Grace’ being shown in the chapel. Next Friday is graduation day so I expect that there will be some excitement over the coming days.
Did you know that there are over 210 breeds of goat in the world? Did you know that worldwide more people drink milk from goats than from any other animals? Did you know that the Pharaoh, Cephranes, thought so much of his goats that he had 2234 buried with him? Interesting facts – no? After the chapel Eucharist on Wednesday morning we had a 30 question quiz about goats. There isn’t anything about goats worth knowing that we now don’t know. Why? Well the seminary a few months ago bought some goats so we have two nanny goats and two kids on the campus and the goat-herd wanted us to be up to scratch on our goat knowledge. The goats themselves are very tame and they have been promised that if they are good they will not end up on the barbecue!
It is obvious that I will not be present at the Church Meeting next Thursday but as the apostle Paul might have said I will be with you in spirit. To that end I am delighted that Claire has been recommended by the EBA Ministerial Recognition Committee for training for Baptist ministry. The proposal that we appoint Claire as an associate student pastor at West Leigh has my wholehearted support. I am excited by the thought of Claire’s involvement with us in this way and am praying that the church meeting will give its overwhelming support to this proposal. The Lord has been very gracious to West Leigh over the years calling several into ministry and for John Stannard, Peter Dominey and presently for Lisa the opportunity to study and learn in a fellowship where they were known and loved has been a tremendous blessing. It would be wonderful if we can agree to give Claire that same opportunity. The financial commitment to this will be challenging. However, the Lord is good and we can trust him to provide for us. I will praying for you on Thursday and asking the community here to pray for our fellowship regarding this.
Well I need to go to the library to get some books before it closes for the weekend.
Our love to you all,
Steve and Val.
|
