Sun shines on Cheltenham

After months of anticipation, Cheltenham Bible Festival (CBF) finally arrived (August 9-11 2007) and, judging by this year’s success, will be around for quite a few years to come. The festival promised much — refreshed for life was the strap line — and it did exactly what it said on the tin.

Those who attended were extremely positive about the three days on the edge of the Cotswold hills — one word heard a lot by the jazz stage, kids’ clubs, main venue, exhibition halls, splash pools, creativity tent and circus area was ‘great.’

God’s intervention

What made CBF 2007 great? Beyond any doubt, it was our great God. No one can have failed to notice the crisis that gripped Cheltenham in the wet weeks prior to the festival. Right up to the last moment, this crisis affected the very existence of CBF. Would it be able to go ahead? Would there be drinking water for the 2,600 people planning to descend on this attractive Gloucestershire town?

In the providence of God, the decision to restore running water to the area came just in time for a positive ‘go-ahead’ decision and the drinking restrictions were lifted just the day before the festival began. And what weather God gave us! Three days of glorious sunshine, with scarcely a cloud in sight.

Our good God not only provided a great climate, but he gave us a great setting too! The hills of the Cotswolds climbed from the lush grass of the racecourse, providing a superb vista and, matched with the excellent facilities, both permanent and temporary, it seemed as though Cheltenham was tailor-made for our gathering; a venue head and shoulders above anything most of us have experienced in the UK.

Auditorium ‘nitty gritty’

The Centaur auditorium is fantastic but would have been nothing, however, without the excellent teaching that God gave us there. Don Carson was passionate, clear, challenging and encouraging. Many already appreciate him as a great teacher; here we saw and heard Don the pastor with his engaging exhortations from 2 Thessalonians. Surely few failed to be moved by his Saturday morning teaching to live as examples to others in the church community and fulfil the high standards of gospel living that our holy God demands. In three sessions we revelled in the heights of the glory of the gospel and delighted in the detail of what Don called the ‘nitty gritty’.

During the main teaching sessions, children were taught in the excellent kids’ programme laid on for them.

Hope for our world

Our evening meetings were varied, but just as stimulating. All three speakers (Hugh Palmer, Richard Cunningham and Rupert Bentley-Taylor) spoke clearly and engagingly on the subject of ‘hope for our world’ — the conference theme. The meetings were accompanied by the music team from Highfields Church in Cardiff, who provided a refreshingly appropriate accompaniment to the voices of God’s people.

Concerts

The same venue hosted a superb concert by Phatfish. Lou Fellingham claimed to be suffering from ‘baby brains’ (she has just given birth to baby Ella), but her distinctive voice and the band’s Scripture-drenched lyrics won them many new fans. It was refreshing to see them around and about the next day with their families!

Phatfish accompanied Stuart Townend the following evening for a concert of his well-loved hymns and songs, as well as some new material. How good to experience this gifted songwriter that God has given us! The auditorium also hosted illusionist Steve Price with his unique mix of conjuring and humour interwoven with the gospel message.

The varied and packed seminar programme meant that there was something for everyone — perhaps too much choice for the indecisive? You could learn to handle the Bible with the Proclamation Trust, or juggling balls with Thomas Trilby; you could fly a plane with MAF’s flight simulator, or send up your own balloon in a mass release; you could find out about visiting Israel as a tourist, or Albania as a missionary; you could learn about practical parenting, church planting and reaching men through golf!

Vibrant atmosphere

God gave us all this and more in a vibrant festival atmosphere. No stomping from venue to venue with head bowed against the wind here. Rather, plenty of time to relax, unwind, meet and make friends, splash by the pools at ‘Cheltenham-by-the-Sea’ or picnic on the manicured grounds. This atmosphere made the gathering a great blessing for families and church groups. Many chose to make it a short church holiday, hiring one of the reasonably priced rooms. Others simply enjoyed camping together.

The variety extended not only to the programme, but to the accommodation too. For those for whom camping was a ‘brave choice’, there were guesthouses, hotels, B&Bs and university accommodation.

Of course, as this was the first CBF, it was not without its teething problems, but God gave us a resourceful and industrious conference manager, Andrew Nicholson. Andrew has been working hard for months to make the festival organisation come together, and continued to serve us as he and his extensive team resolved issues and adapted to changing circumstances.

Post-flood offering

God gave us fellowship beyond our expectations too. Meeting with other local Christians for the Cheltenham Bible Sunday was a thrilling idea and we were able to contribute some of our offering to their work of supporting the local community post-floods.

It is difficult to find major fault with CBF. Certainly not in the programme — the pick ‘n’ mix nature of festivals means that you could make of CBF whatever you wanted. Other improvements? Perhaps more days to attend first choice seminars? Perhaps more outside catering outlets? More signposts? These are minor gripes only — unsurprising because it was God who made CBF the success it was. God gave us a great CBF. Everyone who attended knew this to be true. So, bring on 2008 — once Andrew has been able to have a few days off, that is.

God’s intervention

Auditorium ‘nitty gritty’

Hope for our world

Concerts

Vibrant atmosphere

Post-flood offering

Adrian Reynolds

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