A Good Story

“Once there was a mechanic, an engineer and a philosopher. And one day, they decided to start a church.”

It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it’s actually the end of a good story. In 2006 Deane, a philosopher, Sam, a mechanic and Pierre, an engineer, started, along with their families, Church on the Ridge. Their personalities were as different as their professions, and in many ways they looked like an odd fit. But they were united by a common desire to bring God’s good news to people who thought it was bad news.

This last Sunday, after four rich years of working together, we said goodbye to Deane and Polly Baker and their lovely children. Deane has taken up a position as an Ethics lecturer, with the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. He sees it as a great opportunity to influence the future leaders, of the world’s only superpower.

For us as a church it felt like we were saying goodbye to physical family. But we found comfort in two things. First, that the church congregation felt the tragedy of losing the Bakers. This means that the relationships amongst us are deep. Deane, even explained that the people of COR had turned him from an academic recluse into a kind of people person. But second, that the congregation did not feel despair at their leaving. The Bakers are a greatly gifted family and it could seem impossible to function without them. But we know that this is God’s church and He will give us who we need to do His work.

What a comfort.

A new hobby.

“This …. is our new record player,” Sam explained, as I walked into our lounge, which no longer had any carpet space. “While I was buying bulbs at that second hand store, for that cottage I am renovating, I noticed a pile of records, for only two Rand. So I decided to flip through them and see if there were any Beatles LP’s. Just for the covers of course. I thought Lael would like the pictures. And then, I couldn’t believe it, there were these amazing albums – ABBA, Fleetwood Mac, Boney M, Al Hirt, Dire Straits, Neil Diamond. So I bought them, thinking maybe we could convert them to CD. But the guy I thought could convert them, gave me a record player instead. And so … here it is.”

“Here it is,” I said. “You mean the six black bags that we have just de-cluttered from our study are being replaced, by one huge sound system, one bulky record player and a growing number of scratched LPs.”

“Yes,” Sam said as Annie sang Mamma Mia, Joah inspected the turntable and Lael explained that although their words were weak, ABBA’s band wasn’t too bad, “I think we may have found a new hobby.”

Treks, trails and sleeping bags.

The Groves family has an article in the January edition of Your Family – out now. It’s entitled “Treks, trails and sleeping bags” and is on p.110. I don’t think this fine glossy magazine has made it to Liverpool though – sorry.

The Siren Call of Legalism.

“Legalism is appealing for two reasons. First, it makes holiness manageable. A heart wholly devoted to God is a tough demand, but a list of ten rules I can cope with.”
“Second, legalism makes holiness an achievement on our part. ‘Yes, I was saved by grace,’ the legalist says, ‘ but I am the godly person I am today because I’ve kept this code of behaviour or practised these spiritual disciplines.’”

Tim Chester in You Can Change.

Seeing is believing.

Many of our South African friends have asked if we bumped into any celebrities whilst in Liverpool. The photographic evidence below speaks for itself. I assure you that absolutely no photoshopping has taken place.

Torres: 'Nice man-bag.' Me: 'Thanks bro.'

Me: 'What you say we catch a pint after the game Rafa?' Rafa: 'For you, I fighta da bull.'

Even Joah got to hang out with Jamie Garragher…

Me: 'Let me just hold you upright there Jamie'

Last night in Liverpool.

It was cold, wet and bleak outside, but in a parish hall in Aigburth, 50 people had gathered to hear about and pray for Church on the Ridge. That made us warm.

Steve Palframan, the leader of Aigburth Community Church interviewed us on how we had become Christians, the political situation in South Africa and church-planting in Pietermaritzburg. Then we discussed how Church on the Ridge (COR) could partner with Aigburth Community Church (ACC) and Christ Church Liverpool (CCL). Sam explained that it was customary in Africa that when a church-planter visited, you gave him a parting gift of any Apple product – iPhones, iMacs, Macbooks – any one would do.

Three comments in the course of the evening really stood out to us. Firstly, Steve said that he had seen a few missionaries working independantly in countries, getting disheartened and then returning to the UK in despair. He was encouraged that they could send people from the UK to serve alongside us at COR and know that they would not just be effective, but also be cared for in a gospel community. It makes sense to do missions work this way.

Secondly, Andrew Evans, the leader of CCL, thanked God that even though our three churches might differ in many ways, and might even disappoint each other in small ways, we are still united by the desire to see God’s gospel spread. It was very encouraging to be with people who were willing to partner with us, even though we may not be able to tick all of their boxes.

Thirdly, someone asked about the violent crime in South Africa and why we didn’t emigrate to Liverpool? We didn’t want to point out, again, that it was cold and rainy outside, so we told the truth. Our church family, our biological family, the rich mix of cultures and people’s willingness to speak about God, make South Africa the best place to live on earth.

It was good to remember that.

The Plant.

On Monday, our whole family travelled by train to  Manchester. Whilst there I had a very stimulating time with Phil Keymer, one of the founders of The Plant.
The Plant is a 5-year-old network of three churches, scattered throughout the university area of Manchester. Before starting The Plant, Phil and his team spent time speaking to people who lived in the city. They asked them two questions: (1) What do you expect to happen at a church service? (2) What would you like to happen at a church service? Using this information, the leaders were able to fine-tune a church plant, that engaged with and appealed to the people of the city, but that didn’t compromise on the non-negotiables set out in Scripture.
At every meeting, the church has a meal together. This helps people experience church as community. “It’s hard to hide at The Plant,” says Phil. “Sometimes I want to hide, but I can’t and that’s a good thing.”

You Can Change.

John Piper says: “Conversion is the creation of new desires, not just new duties; new delights, not just new deeds; new treasures, not just new tasks.”

Quoted by Tim Chester in his book, “You Can Change”.

Tate Liverpool

I never thought that I could be moved by three sets of compressed wheel drums.

We went to the Tate Liverpool Art Gallery on Friday and there was a sculpture by César Baldaccini’ (1921-1998) called “Three Compressions.” Apparently, César was in London in 1968, giving a sculpture-making demonstration. Whilst there he visited a scrap metal yard and asked to see a number of standard compressions of wheel hubs. He then chose three, from the forty or fifty that he was shown, and arranged them into the specific configuration seen in his display.
An image can be seen here.

I was struck, whilst at the Tate, by how moving art can be. It’s a powerful medium of communication. The question Christians always have to ask, though, is: in what direction is it moving us? Is it helping us to think about all that is right, pure and true or is it encouraging us to rebel against God and the good order of His world.

Christians who love art, need Christian artists to make art that they can love.

Christ and Culture

The city of Liverpool is alive with the arts. But mostly, art here seems to live off death. Live bands play every night, art galleries scatter the city, theatres are full, but their heartbeat is secular humanism. I had to leave an art exhibition after a few minutes, the other day, because the art was so dark and so oppressive.

One of the challenges that Christians face in Liverpool is that the culture is so well formed, it’s difficult for Christians to break into that culture, or to have any influence over it. One of the opportunities we have in Pietermaritzburg is that the culture is not well formed. The extent of our live music options is usually a retired guy, wearing a Springbok rugby jersey, singing along to pre-programmed backing tracks of Pink Floyd’s ‘Another brick in the wall…’ to an audience of 6 or 7 inebriated people who suddenly agree that ‘We don’t need no education…’

This excites me because we have a chance to establish culture in Pietermaritzburg that is built on hope, goodness and life. As we, who trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection, get involved in writing, art, drama & music, we could form a culture in Pietermaritzburg that not only glorifies God, but also does good to our neighbour.