4 loads of trouble!

As I now think of my life since 1948, I realise that it has followed a clear pattern.

Reading John Benton’s The Big Picture for Small Churches prompted some reflections. It seems that the Lord’s purpose for me was to be, what the business world would call, a ‘trouble shooter’. I should have been prepared for this because every morning at breakfast at Bible Institute I read: ‘Thinkest thou great things for thyself, think them not!’ It is only now, as I look back, that I understand.

From 1948 to 1989, the Lord set me in four situations, each of which was in a state of decline and confusion. My task in each case was to bring order out of chaos and to prepare the ground for others to follow.

I had no experience of evangelical Baptist church life, having been, from the age of nine, in a liberal Baptist church where I was baptised at 17. A period in the RAF and Bible Institute brought me altogether unprepared for life in three Strict Baptist churches. From my study of the Bible, I had a picture in my mind of a New Testament church.

Village life

It was not only that the church was small; they had not been taught for a long time, with the result that a mild anti-nomianism had developed, or at least lack of practical sanctification, and the beginnings of ‘liberal’ ideas. There was disunity between the ‘educated’ and those who were not, compounded by a general lack of understanding of what a church should be like. Prayer meetings were dull and repetitious.

Here I did little more than a programme of simple biblical teaching accompanied by person-to-person admonition and pastoral visits. I did very little by way of outreach, but we involved ourselves in village life (village hall committee, etc.). Regular services were morning and afternoon, so we used our Sunday evenings by running meetings monthly in three villages from which people came to us. Gradually the scene changed, and people came to us and the Lord gave us conversions and baptisms. After six years, my wife did not want to leave!

On to the next stop

At the next place, the previous pastor had lasted 18 months and left the church, already small enough after wartime depopulation. It was a church divided 50/50 for and against the ministry of the pastor. Once again, there had been little attention to quality church life, so we set about trying to correct that deficiency. We were the only evangelical free church in the town and were somewhat despised by the rest. But the main problem here was how to reach out to the town. We worked out that we had just enough supporters that we could cover the whole town with tracts once a quarter. The theory was to at least make people aware that we existed and that we had a message, at the same time prayerfully looking for a response. It worked! We did all kinds of other things, like missions and films, but these did not draw people in. We had open-air services which had moderate success and did us good! Once again, the one constant thing was regular simple expository teaching. The Lord multiplied us about three times and, after a short ‘blip’, the work has gone on from there.

Another change

By 1966 I began to feel I was ready for a bigger task. I should have remembered that text! After I had agreed to go to the next church, I met the previous pastor in London. He said: ‘I wish you had discussed this with me. I wouldn’t want my worst enemy to go to that place!’

The church had lost the equivalent of a congregation since he had left four years earlier, and was now quite small. Why? The best word I can use to describe the situation is ‘anarchy’, which sounds rather strong, but I think it is right. In the main, there were three groups, none of which had any concept of the church as a body, or of evangelism.

One group was the remnants of the old Strict Baptist church with its traditions and meaningless rules of thumb. To these, over the years, had been added two families from a Gospel Standard church, who fitted uneasily into the existing membership, and also were completely at variance with each other. One of them brought the love of Gospel Standard hyper-Calvinism with them (anti-children’s addresses and any form of social activity), the other swung to the opposite direction, cringing at the very word ‘election’, but who were inclined to evangelism (and some charismatic notions).

This made three main parties, each with knowledgeable and very strong-minded personalities. In general, the direction of the church was set by the last group, one consequence of which was that our church was the only church in the town that was a paid-up member of the Evangelical Alliance. There were three deacons plus myself, and, as a matter of principle, whatever was suggested or proposed was rejected by the membership. I found myself displeasing all parties! Some did come to understand and became loving supporters. Standing out from all the rest were a young couple who yearned for something better, and who were suspected and criticised for that reason. They stuck it out! The church knew nothing of ‘fellowship’, so that when, after a while, we proposed ‘after church fellowship’ on Sunday evenings, this was greeted with suspicion and opposition. We did it all the same! The prayer meetings were dead, unsurprisingly.

No conversions please!

Almost the first thing that I concluded was that I did not want people converted and seeking to join the church for at least two years. The church meetings were bear-gardens, and, in the event, even after two years, at least two people were spiritually damaged by their first church meeting! I said that our first task was to create, under God, a New Testament church, to which we were not afraid of inviting visitors.

Once again, the first thing was an expository ministry, which drew people. Fairly soon I began a series of studies on Thursdays, ‘What is a New Testament church?’. The Lord was with us, a foundation began to be laid, and everyone knew what we were driving at. There were a number of significant movements along the way, such as when two law students were sent to us by Geoff Thomas in Aberystwyth. They did us a power of good! One of the most telling was at a church meeting. Before I arrived, the church had put its name down on the list of those willing to take and nurture converts from the Billy Graham campaign. The question was asked, why none had been sent to us? This gave rise to argument and the temperature in the meeting began to mount. I put up my hand for quiet, saying I was about to close the meeting in prayer, but before I did I would leave them with this question. If you were in the Lord’s shoes, would you send converts to this church? I believe the Lord prompted me to say that, and it was indeed a defining moment.

Before I came, one truculent old man had been suspended from membership for indiscipline (sic). With a view to restoring him, I gave him a summary of biblical church fellowship to read. He refused to submit to it on the grounds that none of the other members lived up to it! I could only report this back to the church!

After a time, during which I visited the people and tried to reason with them, I believe the Lord led me to begin a series of Sunday morning sermons in Ephesians. For two years we examined it phrase by phrase, and applied it.

Gradually the Lord gave us a measure of success, and people found a spiritual home with us. Perhaps this marked the end of the old regime. One family came from a Baptist Union membership and another from Gospel Standard stock, and yet both were happy to join us!

Along the road we had seen some conversions from Christian families and also from unchurched backgrounds. While most of our effort was church-directed, these were bonuses. But now we felt able to ‘evangelise’ without fear.

Reflecting on this, it seemed to me that, in the very early days, I had to exercise an authority of which I basically disapproved, until this could be relaxed and we were able to establish an eldership. That’s another story!

The last ten years

1979 found me heading a mission radio department which I was told was about to collapse. This was tough, because I had everything to learn. My task was first to develop a team with the necessary skills and then to produce programmes that the transmitters would think worth airing, and that would meet the spiritual needs of the listeners. Gradually the tide was turned, and programmes in English and French were being aired all over the world.

In this it may be of some interest that one of my many faults is an overdose of impatience. Why then, did the Lord set me these tasks that required an unusual supply of what I least had? All the time my wife was amazing in her support and sheer spiritual stamina.

I do hope that the encouraging message conveyed here is that total trust in the Lord and, without pretence, seeking to do his work according to the Scriptures, not being deflected by the inevitable difficulties, will normally bear fruit in due time.

A retired pastor reflects on a life of ministry

Village life

On to the next stop

Another change

No conversions please!

The last ten years

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