SMACKING BAN (SCOTLAND) - Letter to Nicola Sturgeon MSP

FAO. Nicola Sturgeon MSP

Dear First Minister

‘SMACKING BAN’ – JOHN FINNIE BILL

As one of your constituents, I am writing to express my concern about your Government’s recent decision to support the above proposed legislation. Many arguments against such a move have been aired and doubtless you are very aware of them. I would, however, appeal to you to reconsider supporting this change to the law and not to whip MSPs (potentially against their own judgement and conscience) into voting for it.

There are some issues around family life that are surely best left to the discretion of parents – e.g. the discipline of children. That is not to say, of course, that the State should tolerate an ‘anything goes’ approach to such matters – but it seems to me that the existing arrangements are quite adequate. They prohibit the excessive use of force and any form of physical chastisement that would be injurious – and indeed where disproportionate ‘assault’ is used against a child the Police and Social Workers can be called upon.  

Thus the proposed legislation may be well-meaning but instead of protecting genuinely at risk children it will simply disempower decent parents. That is not to say, that reasonable physical chastisement need be used by parents but that it will be their choice. It would be a recognition that even the best government is no substitute for most parents when it comes to having the best interests of children at heart.

The argument that any physical chastisement is simply tantamount to abuse, seems to me confused. If causing any physical distress (however momentary and transient) to a child is unacceptable – then why is it acceptable to cause a child psychological distress (by taking away privileges, ‘telling them off’, or restricting their movements)? Why is the body so sacrosanct and not the mind? In recent years non-physical traumas such as bullying, harassment, verbal intimidation have been highlighted as social evils – in other words, how long before any parental sanctions, of whatever kind, that cause any form of distress simply become unacceptable. After all when ideology usurps the wisdom of centuries anything is possible.

Are we really going to criminalise parents who, like our own mothers and fathers going back generations, might use a moderate smack on occasions to discipline and even protect their children?

Please First Minister reconsider this further step of ‘Nationalising’ parenting – i.e. the State taking to itself more and more of the prerogatives of parents.

Finally, I note the Scottish Government is pardoning Gay men convicted of certain indecency charges prior to homosexuality being decriminalised. Many will see that as recognition that the State should not have tried to police people’s sex lives – perhaps it would also be wise for the State to refrain from trying to police people’s family lives.

With grateful thanks for all your work and service.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Hunter.

FIEC Certificate in Independent Church Ministry course

In-class & on-line. 
FIEC's 'Certificate in Independent Church Ministry' commences on Tuesday afternoons at ETS on Tue 12th Sep. The course can be accessed in class or online - so if you'd like to understand more about Independent Churches and how to serve in them better then book a space HERE.

Mens' Conference - Paisley.

'dislike for the unlike' (non-conformity is not extremism)

Israel Zangwill described anti-Semitism as being rooted in the human tendency to have ‘dislike for the unlike’. For the Jews with their peculiar religion and culture the result was a cycle of suspicion and prejudice from the societies in which they lived. For Zangwill the only solution was a Zionist State where Jewish people could live free from the repeated persecutions and purges that had been their experience. Only in their own land could they escape from being the scapegoats on which the grievances of others were frequently heaped.

This recent terrorist attacks in the UK have led to calls for widespread clampdowns on extremism and extremist groups. There is though the danger that such demands move beyond tackling terrorism and become a justification for acting against groups that wider society just doesn’t like.

Now of course, incitements to violence or the promotion of threatening behaviour should be challenged and, as is already the case, be illegal. No-one has a right to inflict injury, intimidate or coerce those with whom they disagree, however profoundly, on matters of religious, political or philosophical belief.

Indeed this cherished protection of ‘conscience’ in Western society is a freedom borne out of the trauma and bloodshed of trying to do otherwise. It was a lesson first learnt by the church (in the post-Reformation disputes and wars) and which subsequently became a foundation of our democratic society.

So freedom from such assault and bullying should be vigorously upheld – and those who seek to perpetrate such acts confronted with the full force of the law.

However, the calls to ‘clampdown on extremism’ are worryingly being extended way beyond this area. For some, in the political and media world, it seems that any religious beliefs or cultural practices that conflict with their own secular/liberal views are by definition ‘extremist’. 

This was illustrated in an interview with Archbishop Justin Welby on Radio 4’s Today programme (5/6/17). The interviewer raised (legitimately) the issue of religious belief being a factor in the London Bridge attack – he then went on to ask whether Islamic meetings where men and women were separated should be tolerated. For the interviewer such a practice was clear evidence of misogyny – to which he added, the church had also been guilty of (although probably not as much as the BBC and other media outlets – I’ve seen sitcoms and tabloids from the 1970s!). Welby responded by noting that such separation is common in synagogues too - and he could have added many African churches.

The fact is, throughout history men and women have often sat or met separately in a wide range of settings – practices that may have nothing to do with misogyny but reflect legitimate cultural and religious sensibilities. Yet something that most people in most places have found unremarkable is now seized on as dangerous and objectionable simply because it doesn’t chime with early C21 Western culture (which of course, represents a pretty thin slice of the totality of human wisdom and experience).

A lot has been made in recent years about ‘British Values’ and the insistence that everyone in these islands subscribe to them. But what about those British people who don’t subscribe to secular/liberal ‘British’ values when it comes to matters such as sex, abortion, the obliteration of gender and the meaning of life? Indeed one MP has already branded traditional Christian views on Marriage as extremist. So people who are peaceable, hard-working and law-abiding citizens ought to be marginalised and distrusted – because like Jews in medieval Europe they have beliefs and lifestyles that seem odd to the wider culture.

In Russia the Jehovah’s Witness organisation is facing a complete ban for being ‘extremist’. So a peaceable (if somewhat niche) religious group is being closed down by the State for the crime of ‘sowing religious discord’ – which means, as many observers have put it, they’re not ‘Russian’ enough and don’t fit in. Of course the UK is vastly different from Russia but nonetheless a pressurised government and an angry majority population can quickly be tempted to heap their grievances on anyone who dissents from their worldview.

There is a real risk of an over-zealous (albeit well intentioned) desire to tackle terrorism ending up turning non-conformist groups into scapegoats. Not because they’re going to harm anyone but simply because nothing fuels ‘dislike for the unlike’ as much as fear. 

FIEC in Scotland - Free Church of Scotland Article

An article published in 'The Record' (Monthly Magazine of the Free Church of Scotland).

‘If you can do it on your own, it’s not big enough’, was the strapline of a recent FIEC Mission Day held in Edinburgh – but it could equally be the motto for all churches and groups with a heart to see Scotland reached for Christ. The Fellowship of Independent Churches is one such group and is delighted to share that ambition with the Free Church of Scotland.

FIEC is a UK wide network of over 560 Independent Churches (including Brethren, Congregational, Baptist, Missions Halls…) who are united by strong evangelical convictions and a vision to see local churches strengthened and supporting each other. In other words while FIEC churches are ‘independent’ as regards their governance they know that being separatist or existing in isolation is not a Biblical model.

In Scotland, which historically has had a relatively small constituency of independent churches, there are currently 23 affiliated churches along with another 30 pastors connected to FIEC’s Pastors’ Network. It is nonetheless a growing network and encouragingly includes four new Church Plants in Huntly, Buckhaven, Glasgow (Barlanark) and most recently in Orkney. Other churches who have joined in recent years include Harper Church in Glasgow, Niddrie Community Church and Charlotte Chapel in the capital.

A proliferation of new Independent Churches

A key FIEC conviction is that there is no substitute for healthy and outward looking local churches if the gospel is to flourish again in Scotland. In recent years while there has been decline in some sections of the church there has been a proliferation of new Independent churches. New churches that will be increasingly needed in evangelising unreached areas and new communities. In this FIEC exists to help connect them with each other and to a big vision for gospel growth across the whole nation.

Almost every Independent church would want to see Church Planting and Revitalisations taking place nationwide, they would want to see new gospel workers being raised up and well trained, and they would want to see those gospel workers being supported and cared for. The reality is however, that such aspirations are often beyond the capacity of individual churches and remain unachievable for them. Alternatively a group of likeminded churches partnering together have the potential to give those gospel desires concrete expression.

FIEC means that an Independent church on the Black Isle can help a Church Plant in Glasgow get legal help setting up its constitution, a church in the borders can support the training of a student in Edinburgh, or a church in Shetland can help support a sick pastor in Ayrshire. In short FIEC allows Independent Churches to have something of the vision and capability of a gospel denomination like the Free Church.

Training

In practical terms this is being worked out in initiatives such as the Certificate of Independent Church Ministry at ETS. The course is designed for students and others who are considering ministry in Independent Churches and gives an appreciation of the history, ecclesiology and practicalities of serving in a self-governing church. Along with this has been the FIEC initiated Pathways Conferences for men and women thinking about vocational ministry options. In the past two years these events have helped almost 100 men and women think through issues such as ‘the Call’, the character, and the challenge of Christian ministry today.

Care of Workers

FIEC pastors and church leaders are connected together in a ‘Link Pastor’ network to help ensure that no-one need feel isolated or out-on-a-limb because they serve in an Independent church. Additional support in this area has also been provided by pastoral retreats and day conferences which provide refreshment and fellowship for those in the front line of church life.

Reaching Scotland

The big challenge for all gospel-hearted people is, of course, the desperate spiritual state of the nation. With over 90% of the Scottish population lost and increasingly ignorant of the gospel the need for Bible-believing Christians to stand together and clearly proclaim Christ has never been greater. Because no one group, however dynamic, can meet that need on its own – all are needed and all have a part to play. FIEC is just one of those groups and thus we particularly value our deepening friendship with the Free Church and its big hearted gospel generosity towards us.

So please pray for FIEC and its work supporting Independent Churches – pray that such churches will have a big vision for the gospel, that being Independent won’t stop them partnering with other committed evangelicals, and that their part in the great task of making Christ known in the nation will be a fruitful and God-glorifying one.

Ian Brady was evil and that's a fact.

It was Bertrand Russell who made the statement, “‘Dachau is wrong’ is not a fact.” In other words, while he was appalled by the Nazi Concentration Camp he nonetheless struggled to see an objective basis for calling it ‘wrong’. Russell of course, was simply being consistent in applying his atheistic world view – in a meaningless universe where everything is ultimately arbitrary what basis can there be for such moral absolutes?

Today’s news of the death of Ian Brady the notorious ‘Moors Murderer’ seems to be causing some people a similar quandary. One contributor to Radio 4’s Today programme was reluctant to call Brady ‘evil’ as it was a term that had ‘religious connotations’. Instead he seemed more comfortable in seeing Brady’s crimes as the escalation of earlier sadistic and violent behaviour (which they undoubtedly were).   

Well, as others have pointed out, if your world view isn’t able to look at someone torturing and murdering five children and call them ‘evil’ – then perhaps there is something deeply flawed about your world view.

Blinding or illuminating

Psychology and social sciences have contributed hugely to our understanding of human behaviour - but all such enquiry, if detached from the notion of a moral universe, is in danger of blinding rather than illuminating us. To see Dachau or Brady as just being dysfunctional behaviour or simply sitting on an amoral continuum of possible human activity, is to reduce ourselves to little more than mechanistic animals.  It strips us of ultimate moral responsibility and indeed of ultimate moral accountability.

The rejection of ‘evil’ as an objective moral category is in part driven by the hubris that humanity can explain itself and thus fix itself. So by turning the actions of Brady into observable processes we are able to rationalise them, and if we can rationalise them we can rectify them. But as most of us know from personal experience human behaviour is frequently irrational and defies mechanistic explanations.

It is only the recognition that there is a spiritual/Godward dimension to our lives that can allow us to truly comprehend ourselves, never mind Ian Brady.

The reality of evil

So far from being a product of religious imagination ‘evil’ is a reality – a reality that affects and infects every person. At its deepest level evil is not simply behaviour that we find distasteful or upsetting – it is a condition. Biblically it is the dislocation of men and women from the source of their life and purpose. It is the rejection of God and thus the rejection of objective morality. A rejection that inevitably leads to conflict, self-assertion and the manipulation of others.  It is why Jesus was clear that even the best of humanity is ‘evil’ in God’s sight and that apart from God Himself there is no-one ‘good’ (Luke 11:12, Mark 10:18)

So Ian Brady was evil and that’s a fact. But, in the eyes of God, you and I are also evil and that’s also a fact. Our offences might not be grizzly and tabloid (thank God), but we have each stood apart from God, made up our own rules, violated our consciences and pursued self-gratification at the expense of others.

Inexcusable but not unforgivable

We cannot simply explain ourselves as corks powerlessly thrown about on a sea of haphazard materialism or victims of circumstance – we are responsible moral beings because there does exist a supreme moral standard. We are evil and we are culpable – no more excuses.

Yet the staggering message of the Gospel is that even though we are inexcusable we are not unforgiveable. The Gospel is painfully blunt about our evil and its consequences, it offers us no ‘get outs’ but amazingly holds out the prospect of forgiveness. It points us to a place where evil was laid bare and its horrors exhausted so that guilty people could be forgiven and go free. Because we can no more fix ourselves without God than we can truly understand ourselves.  

Ian Brady will now give an account of himself to God and face the consequences of his evil. The call of the Gospel is to take responsibility for our own evil, to look to the Cross of Jesus Christ and ask for mercy in the here and now.

Jesus Christ came to save you, me and the worst of sinners. And that’s a fact. 

The most unselfish prayer ever made

In the opening verses of Romans 9 the apostle Paul turns his thoughts to his Jewish countrymen and women and in particular their rejection of their own Messiah Jesus. As his heart breaks for his native people he utters one of the most extraordinary prayers in the entire Bible.

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— ² I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, ⁴ the people of Israel.

It is an astonishing prayer, and one Paul is at pains to show was not a pious throwaway line or some holy flannel – ‘I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit’. In it Paul expresses that such is his love for his kinsfolk that he would be willing to forfeit his own salvation if it could save them.

A challenging & chilling prayer

It is a prayer that is both profoundly challenging and chilling. Challenging because it takes an axe to the root of self-love and asks us how much do we really care about the fate of others? Chilling because of what is being contemplated - to be ‘cursed and cut off from Christ’. For the Christian so aware of their sin, awed by God’s holiness, and sensible of the coming judgement, such a prospect is frankly terrifying. To be shut out of heaven and to face a lost eternity is everything we have fled to Christ to escape.

To lay down your life in the here and now for another would take love and courage enough – but to dam yourself for eternity – that’s a thought surely too dreadful even to consider. Could I ever be so unselfish, so sacrificial, so devoted to others and so pre-eminently concerned with their welfare to be willing to forgo my very soul?

An unattainable prayer

Yet, and much to my relief, such a scenario could only ever be rhetorical. Not that Paul wasn’t sincere but the reality is, for him and for me, that even if either of us were to dam ourselves it wouldn’t actually help anyone else. To think otherwise would be like a self-deluded life-prisoner volunteering to serve the sentences of others – nice offer, but you can only meaningfully serve one sentence, i.e. your own. My damnation would be no more than justice – it would have no power to absolve anyone else of their own sin.

A fulfilled prayer

There was one, however, who could fulfil Paul’s prayer – the only one who could genuinely offer innocence in exchange for guilt. Jesus the sinless, whose rightful place was to enjoy the blessings of untainted fellowship with God the Father. Only Jesus, the faultless Son of God sharing in our humanity, could ever take the place of another in a way that could uphold justice.

But if the thought of being cursed and cut-off from God is terrifying to me – it was all the more so for Jesus. He alone knew the unsullied blessings of God from eternity. He was the one whose fellowship with the Father was to share the very substance of deity. The one whose uncorrupted eyes could see the true vileness of sin, and the one who truly understood the implacable hostility of God towards it. For Jesus the prospect of being cursed and cut-off was unimaginable horror and incomprehensible loss.

And yet he went to the Cross – the place of curse. The one who knew no sin becoming sin, the closet companion of God forsaken by God.

The most unselfish prayer was fulfilled - by the most unselfish person. Jesus offering up his soul for others. Castaway and cursed that they might be rescued and blessed.

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood;

Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Serving Churches & Pastors in Scotland

Video explaining some of the ways FIEC makes a real difference to helping Scottish churches and pastors in Mission, Training and Pastoral Care. 

SCOTTISH MISSION FORUM - WED 22 MARCH

10am -4pm @ Charlotte Chapel 

Booking link open: https://guestlist.co/events/446619 

Northern Lights - Dornoch & District Christian Fellowship

Written for the FIEC Website

The town of Dornoch sits in the far north of Scotland and is famous for the Royal Dornoch Golf Course, the exclusive Skibo Castle, and celebrity weddings. Andy Hunter introduces us to a growing gospel witness there.

Dornoch is an hour’s drive beyond Inverness. Madonna was famously married in Dornoch Cathedral but the town is also home to ‘Dornoch and District Christian Fellowship’ (DDCF) which became FIEC’s most northerly mainland church in 2015.

It was founded in October 1994 following a time of much prayer, heart searching and seeking the Lord’s guidance by a group of six Christians. The result of this process was a conviction that God was leading them to establish something new. Beginning with initial house group meetings they were quickly joined by other Christians in town and the communities around Dornoch.

The new church broke with more traditional churches in the area in having modern praise songs, guitar accompaniment, open prayer, informal fellowship and lay preachers. This, of course, reflected changes many churches were making at that time and was clearly a work of God’s Spirit. Over the years as DDCF has itself changed and become established it now works with other evangelical churches in the area.

A growing children’s work

Meetings began in the Council Chambers with the hope of attracting people from the local communities who had no particular attachment to existing local churches. God has blessed this desire and has brought into the church people from across the area. It has been in particular joy to see young families attending and the setting up of a healthy Sunday School.

Now established as a church, DDCF reaches out into the community with a weekly parents and toddlers group and weekly coffee mornings. These activities have been the entry point for a number of people attending the church and coming to faith.

An annual week long football camp at Easter, led by an ‘On Goal’ team from the USA and local volunteers, has attracted up to 100 children. The result is that the seed of the gospel has been sown among hundreds of children over the years and has resulted in DDCF being involved in a youth fellowship initiative.

A real blessing for the fellowship is the way that God has used gifted men from within the membership, together with others from different evangelical backgrounds, to preach God’s word week by week. This brings a sense of belonging to something bigger than DDCF along with a richness and diversity of Bible teaching in the church.

Praying for Dornoch

Looking forward the church would love to find a permanent facility that would be open every day for the glory of God. This has been the fellowship’s prayer for a number of years but so far the answer seems to be ‘not yet’.

Joining FIEC, and being part of family of more than 560 gospel churches, has been a huge encouragement to them.

Pastor Grant Fairns noted a quote from John Stevens expressing the gospel vision that DDCF shares with its fellow FIEC churches:

“It is a dynamic message that is to be lived and proclaimed so that men and women will come to repentance and faith and have their lives transformed by a new relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Please pray for DDCF:

• that they may find a permanent building
• that their testimony in Sutherland and Easter Ross will be to live and proclaim the gospel in such a way that God would be glorified by them.

Streep and the Corrosive Politicisation of Society

Latest Blog on Christian Today 

Help! You need it.

Like many others the start of another January means the start of another read through of Genesis (six days in and so far so good. Honestly? I got to May last year before getting into major arrears).

Help needed

Once again though, in those opening chapters of the Bible we see the foundations of humanity being laid out – its origin, its purpose, its potential, and its limitations. Man (i.e. Adam) stands upon the earth but he is alone – a situation that is first identified by God Himself as not being good (Gen 2:18). The solution we are told is that he needs ‘a helper suitable for him’.

The animals are paraded by but despite all their variety none of them can be what Adam needs – ‘no suitable helper was found’ (v19). So God provides Eve – someone of whom Adam can say, ‘This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh’ (v23). Eve is the ‘helper’ suitable for Adam.

Second fiddle?

But what exactly do we mean by ‘helper’ – after all such a title could be interpreted as being a little condescending – a bit ‘second fiddle’, a support act to the main event – the man! For me such thoughts arise thinking back to ‘helping’ my Dad do DIY – that is, me standing holding a packet of screws while my Dad did the important and interesting stuff like using the power drill. So is Eve (womankind) an afterthought of God’s – hastily put in place to provide an extra pair of hands. Well of course, if it was just about some extra manpower then some extra men would have sufficed.

Actually the title ‘helper’ tells us more about Adam than it does about Eve. So throughout the Bible ‘helper’ is a title given to God Himself, ‘The Lord is my helper’ (Heb 13:6); ‘The Lord is with me; he is my helper.’ (Ps 118:7); ‘My father’s God was my helper’ (Ex 18:4). And let’s be clear that God is no-one’s sidekick or go-for.

Adams' lack

You see in saying Adam needed a ‘helper’ – God is not so much commenting on Eve but making the point that Adam is not sufficient for the task He has been given. The issue being highlighted is Adam’s lack and incompleteness not Eve’s. Adam’s problem was that without Eve (and vice-versa) he could never have fulfilled humanity's calling and purpose.

Crucially, Eve is like Adam but different from him – equal but not the same. As John Piper put it you could write a list of all human attributes and two have columns against them, one for Adam and one for Eve, and put in the scores for both against those attributes. They might score differently on each individual attribute but the totals at the bottom of each column would be the same(i). Thus it’s only in male and female together that humanity is complete. Distinct but complementary.

The helper we all need

In the same way, to say God is your ‘helper’ – is not to claim superiority but to admit that you need help! It is to declare that I cannot be and do what I need to be and do solo – I’m just not up to that job alone. It means that if God isn’t your helper you’re doomed to fail and come up short in fulfilling the point of your existence.

Tragically just as pride and self-sufficiency created disharmony between the sexes it isolated men and women from God. So lives are lived dependent on ‘me’, my abilities, my good fortune, my self-belief – all of which is a very fragile basis for life and which leaves us hanging by nothing more than a thread of our own making. 

So in 2017 you need a Helper – you need God. You need what only Jesus Christ can provide – a Saviour and Friend to enable God’s purpose and calling in your life to be fulfilled.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

(i) http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/affirming-the-goodness-of-manhood-and-womanhood-in-all-of-life

A Vision for Independent Churches in 2017

First published on CHRISTIAN TODAY

Andy Hunter introduces us to the ministry of FIEC (The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches) – a grouping of more than 550 churches across Great Britain.

It’s essential to have a vision for the gospel.

That is, a godly ambition to see the gospel of Jesus Christ flourish in our day and setting. That desire for better things and better times helps drive us on in making Jesus known and serving the church with the best of our energies.

It stops us from settling for second best and becoming complacent or even negligent in our Great Commission calling.

So we serve, we plan, we expend our energies, we invest our money, we go out, we speak up, we keep pressing forward. Why? Because we want to see people reached with gospel, become disciples and live for the glory of Christ.

Everyone agrees on that kind of vision and the need to be active if it’s to be realised. But equally we also know that to be achievable it needs to be broken down into bite sized parts.

Three Questions for Independent Churches

1.      Does your vision include seeing the next generation of gospel workers being raised up and equipped for service in churches like yours? Would you want your next pastor to be well trained and have a genuine and tested call for such service?

2.      Does your Vision include seeing gospel workers in churches like yours being well supported, cared for and in good fellowship with others in similar positions? Would you want pastors and leaders to have some of the pastoral back-up enjoyed by those in formal denominations?

3.      Does your Vision include seeing unreached communities of Great Britain being evangelised and having their own gospel-centred churches? Would you want churches (like yours) to be encouraged in that task, and in the mission of church planting?

If the answer to those questions is ‘Yes’: what are you doing to make that Vision a reality rather than just a godly sentiment?

Is it even possible for an Independent Church to have such a vision? After all, how can a local church in the north of Scotland help a struggling pastor in Devon, or contribute to training an evangelist in Liverpool, or be assisting a church plant in Glasgow – and vice versa? It’s not feasible, is it? Isn’t Independency the poor relation of large centralised denomination when it comes to thinking big?

Well actually many Independent churches who have a big vision are actively making it happen. They’re involved in supporting hundreds of pastors across Britain, helping to raise up and train scores of men and women for gospel service, and enabling dozens of new church plants to become established. They do so by being part of FIEC – a family of more than 550 churches, who work in partnership to make possible what they simply couldn’t do alone.  

It means that an Independent church of whatever size or locality can say, ‘We’re contributing to the care of gospel workers; supporting church revitalisation and church planting; providing guidance and training across the nation’.

Because of their FIEC affiliation a potential women’s worker is receiving financial support to go to Bible college, a sick pastor is getting care and practical help, a church plant is getting legal advice on its new Constitution, and a trainee pastor is learning how Independent churches govern themselves. These are just some of the ministries that simply wouldn’t exist were it not for the commitment of FIEC churches to turn a big vision into concrete reality.

Of course there are other ways to express such vision but for many Independent churches it is belonging to FIEC that enables them to realise a big vision for the nation.

What about your church?

Andy Hunter is the Scotland Director for the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) and you can find out more about their work and ministry at fiec.org.uk

Pastoral Refreshment in Scotland

Written by Alan Guy for FIEC.

It’s often hard for pastors and pastoral workers to genuinely take time out of ministry to pray, reflect and study. That’s why the Scottish FIEC Pastor’s retreat takes place each summer. For Alan Guy, this year’s retreat promised much but delivered even more.

One of the advantages of a 24 hour retreat is that nobody expects you to do anything, and being held out of town at a neutral venue means no one from church can ask you to do anything either! You even get your own room with a key so that your time is genuinely your time.

With the hubbub of ministry bubbling away in the background, the retreat provided me with time out for personal reflection as well as enjoying good food and great fellowship.

We arrived around lunchtime on the Monday and straight away we were fed in every sense of the word. We enjoyed a great meal together and pastors from afar chewed the fat over ministry highs and lows which was to be an essential component of our time together as we learned from each other and encouraged one another to press on towards the goal.

Learning from Habbakuk

After this we sat down to be fed spiritually as Andy Hunter lead us through some first-class devotions on the book of Habbakuk which continued the following day. The call of chapter 2:20 (“the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth fall silent before him”) was apt for our purpose and especially for someone like me whose mind is like a bag of popcorn approaching three minutes on the timer!

Four hours of free time ensued (yes, this is a ministry gathering where you get four hours of free time!) and like Paul of Thebes I slipped out hermit-fashion and retreated to my room to read theology (yes, a ministry gathering where you can actually read some theology!). A time of prayer and personal reflection helped me to focus on the Lord and after this I did what any good pastor would do… I slept.

Learning from Experience

Later, after a brief walk, we had our evening meal together and if you thought things couldn’t get any better you would be wrong. We spent the next two and a half hours in a Q&A with experienced pastor Derek Prime (yes, a ministry gathering where you can actually speak to a top Christian leader without elbowing your way past the groupies!).

Derek gave us the benefit of his great wisdom on subjects such as organising your ministry week, dealing with difficult people, ministry dangers, seeking the Lord’s guidance when considering ministry options, and keeping going over the long haul.

The following morning we finished our time together with a closing devotion from Habbakuk and were sent back into the real world and told to get on with it.

I would recommend the pastors retreat to any full time Christian minister who is looking for some simple time of refreshment. It can often sound like a good idea but is difficult to get round to. The mixture of time out and fellowship is a powerful combination that helps to reboot and recharge the batteries.

It is hoped that we will organise similar Retreats in the future so look out for further details in 2017.

Alan Guy

Alan is a former Police Officer who took up full-time theological studies at the International Christian College in Glasgow in 2008. He graduated in 2012 having completed a BA Theology degree and an MTh in Biblical Interpretation and has been the full time Christian Worker at South Glasgow Church since January 2014. He has is married to Ashley and they have two children.