A Bus Station in a Field and the Major Who Wanted his Nose Stroked

Sunday July 31st was a strange day for me. Not just for me but for many other Christians from Hadleigh and surrounding areas. Some didn’t go to church that day. They were witnessing at the Olympic test event at Hadleigh Farm. Salvationists in Hadleigh also welcomed their new Commanding Officer, Major David Woodman, so a busy day all round.

The bus station in a field

Those who know the farm will be aware that it is slightly out of the way. Even if you don’t know it, you’ve probably guessed that the town centre is not the place to look for it. With roads closed and access severely restricted, my way in was via a special minibus shuttle service. As we approached, a huge sign (that isn’t normally there) indicated that we had correctly arrived at Hadleigh Farm. It towered above a makeshift bus station built in the middle of a field. With 5000 visitors and heaven knows how many compeitors, officials, volunteers and other workers converging on the site, the vehicular restrictions encouraged visitors to make other arrangements. Fortunately the organisers had made things easy by implementing a “Park and Ride” bus service from Canvey Island and “Train and Ride” bus service from Leigh on Sea Station. In all 25 buses were used, 20 in service and five spares.

Close to the bus station (but not easily accessible from it) was a sort of church fete run under the umbrella of Churches Together in Hadleigh, but with the input from churches in Leigh on Sea and Southend also. Guests from outside the area included Christian illusionist Steve Price, a team of Christian mountain bikers called "Rezurgence" and Psalm Drummers who brought along a number of djembes for people to have a bash at. Of course, the farm being Salvation Army land and Hadleigh Temple being a significant congregation in the town, there were lots of Salvos around. They even treated the crowd to some music from Hadleigh Temple Band and Songsters.

The churches' fete field

The police were there too, most noticeably with their helicopter circling above, allegedly filming the scene to gain tips in crowd control.

The presence of a riot van trying to hide in the bus

Major is the white horse

station was a bit disquieting. The favourite police presence was in the guise of some horses. The sergeant told me that although the horses were good at crowd control, they were not expecting those skills to be called on. With people gathering round the equine pair (nobody was paying any attention to two police officers yards away on push bikes), the mounted sergeant explained that their role was mainly PR that day. I took my turn at stroking the nose of the white beast, called “Major”. He seemed to enjoy it because he nudged me to continue when I thought I had finished. At the end, Major and his companion, replete with riders, took the place at the east of the fete field whilst two other mounted officers arrived from the spectator area and stationed themselves at the north of said field. It was then that the two pairs of horses stared calling to each other across the corner of the field.

From my point of view, this exceptional event on a lovely sunny day was about evangelism. Lt-Col Ivor Telfer was there and the first thing he did was congratulate me for attending in uniform. “Presence Evangelism!” I replied. This brought a smile to his face because it is a phrase he used in a sermon when visiting Hadleigh Temple some months ago. It stuck because it is so right. Thinking of how people come to faith, for someone who has no thought of God, a Bible-bashing is unlikely to be well-received. But that’s for another day.

Free water

I was pleased to see that members of Leigh Elim Church turned up in polo shirts declaring their allegiance. They were handing out free bottles of water in Christ’s name. On such a hot day, the gift was very comforting. Although the footfall in the fete field was disappointing, we must remember people had gone to the farm for a completely different reason. And we trust that God will bless all the efforts in His name.

Stop Monkeying Around

Two events recently have drawn my attention to how man is destroying this world.

The first was an excellent short TV series "In Search of Pirates" presented by Ross Kemp. He visited three parts of the world looking for pirates: Somalia, Nigeria and the South China Sea. There was one common theme behind the piracy: poverty. But when you look into the cause of the poverty, things get a it bit worrying.

Nigeria is (or was) rich with oil. The oil companies build wells - many of them in the middle of rivers in the Niger Delta. When they reach the end of their viability, they are sealed and abandoned. But they leak and pollute.

The oil companies claim they seal the wells properly. Bandit boats arrive and unseal the wells to steal whatever oil they can. And, say the oil companies, do not reseal them properly. The level of pollution is way above what we have ever experienced in the UK, but nothing is done about it, it seems. As people living in the shanty towns on the edge of the river depend on the river, they are greatly affected. No, this is not piracy, but it is claimed the resultant poverty has driven people to piracy.

There is more information here

The second is not really new to me. I attended a presentation that was supposed to be about something else, but turned out to be about the fast falling Orangutan population. There is a lot to this story. Several organisations are fighting to maintain the species.

Orangutans learn how to be an orangutan from their mother. It is an seven to eight-year course during which the animal learns a detailed map of his part of the forest. Food is scarce in the forest, so searching for food, identifying which is bad and which is good and when it is ripe are all parts of the course. As is learning how to move among the trees, deciding whether a branch is strong enough to take its weight and how to build a nest in the forest canopy. Orangutans live in the treetops, not on the ground.

Adult females play a huge part in the maintenance of the species. And as they only have one child with them at at time, they do not reproduce more frequently than once every 8 years it means that usually 3 is the maximum number of children a female has in her life. That cannot be extended.

Now here's the rub. The rainforests, which have taken thousands of years to mature are being illegally cut down. But alleged corruption in the government turns a blind eye. This is the habitat -no, the home - of an orangutan. He/she knows every inch of that area. You can't just move an orangutan along to another area. Where young orangutans are concerned, loggers know the mother will fight to the death - and she often does. Loggers kill young mothers without a second thought. These leaves orphaned youngsters with no-one to show them how to be orangutans. This is where the humans take over. Despite their best efforts, humans cannot fully replace an orangutan mother. They can't swing through the trees for one thing. The objective is to rehabilitate the young orangutans to becoming wild animals and help save the species. But it is not easy.

The reason for deforestation is make huge palm oil plantations. Thousands upon thousands of acres of rainforest have been destroyed and the destruction continues. The picture shows a palm oil plantation. Selling the logs helps offset the first six years before the fruit is harvestable. Thereafter the palm oil provides a great income for the immoral bosses. Palm oil is in a wide variety of things we buy from the supermarket. We almost certainly buy palm oil in one form or another every week, which is why there is so much demand. It is difficult for consumers to know when they are buying palm oil, because the labelling legislation lets it be listed under the more generic "vegetable oils". The palm plantations do not have to be where the rainforests are. Nevertheless, western supermarkets are starting to ban products containing palm oil. It can't be done overnight, but it is a step in the right direction.

It is not just the orangutans that suffer by destruction of the rainforests. There are many thousands of species of flora and fauna in the rainforests. The forests also 'trap' the heavy rainfall and slow down its release to the streams and rivers. They therefore prevent flooding and all the problems that might bring.

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The common factor is the greed of a small number of people spoiling parts of the planet - God's wonderful creation - for the rest of the population. To line their pockets, they are causing much misery.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." - Ephesians 6:12

Street Pastors

 
Today I was privileged to have a short conversation with a couple of street pastors. What they said encouraged me. They told me that where street pastors had been introduced, crime had decreased significantly. So much so that in some areas the police have approached churches with a request to start up a street pastor scheme.

Of course, it's nothing remarkable to a Christian to hear that introducing Christ to a society would have such an effect. However, what is encouraging is that officialdom is starting to realise this. Is this the same officialdom that disgracefully suspends people from their job or sacks them because they wear a cross, mention God or offer to pray for someone whilst at work?

I'd like to believe that this is the work of the Holy Spirit fighting back? It's not how I would have imagined it, but that's par for the course! God will never be defeated! Could street pastors be the seeds of Christian renewal in our nation? Please pray for the work that hey do among ordinary folk.

The concept of caring for people outside of a church environment is not new. Many churches (especially The Salvation Army, dare I say) have been doing it for years. But Street Pastors is a reasonably new project, but with enough track record to establish credibility. The churches in Southend have a "Love Southend" movement to help bring God's love to people in a practical way, and Southend's street pastors are part of this. Premier Radio is behind the establishment of "Love London" on similar lines. The Bible Society is promoting "lyfe" - a project to take Christianity out of the Church. It's not quite the same a Street Pastors, yet it has the simialrity of Christians moving away from the comfort zone of Christ in the church, to Chirst in the world. These projects are the seeds of renewal and need to be watered.

One of the pastors told me that they meet the peoples' needs of the moment "It is not about going out onto the streets with a 4x4 Bible," he explained."It's about giving to people the help and support they need at that time. If they engage in conversation and build trust, then you can start to introduce Christ."

More information:
www.streetpastors.co.uk/
www.premier.org.uk/features/lovelondon.aspx
www.lyfe.org.uk

Easter - Why All the Fuss?

As I write this, Easter is not far away. If you’re not sure what Easter is about then read on. If you know someone who doesn’t know what Easter is, refer them to this page. The URL is:
http://brian-nichols.blogspot.com/2009/03/easter-why-all-fuss.html

Easter is the main Christian festival. Maybe you thought Christmas was. Without Easter, there’d be no Christmas. Simple as that! Chocolate, bunny rabbits and daffodils are nothing to do with Easter – but there’s nothing wrong in enjoying them (unless, like me, you are not supposed to eat chocolate!).

So why do we celebrate Easter? To deal with a common misconception, it is not about Jesus Christ dying; well, not quite. It’s about Jesus rising from the dead and that is what sealed everything that had gone on before. This blog is not really the place to go into all the details; the headlines don’t so justice to the whole story, so I hope you’ll dig a bit deeper.

Jesus was just 33 when he was put to death. He had been an itinerant preacher for just three years. But in that time he said and did things that were so amazing that they stopped people in their tracks. The basis of his message was one of love, restitution and forgiveness, punctuated by miracles. But the religious leaders of the time said only God could forgive and the realisation that Jesus was the Son of God was too much for them to bear. Well, that's understandable really. What if someone made that claim today? How would we react? But so powerful was his life and the things he said and did that even those who put him to death only did so for political reasons and then admitted that he was the Son of God.

So on Good Friday, the utterly sinless Son of God, in what appeared to be a travesty of justice, was put to death using one of the most horrendous executions ever known to man: crucifixion (nailing to a cross).Incidentally, that’s why the cross is the symbol of Christianity. And it’s an empty cross to show that Christ has overcome the death inflicted on him. So if the Good Friday procession in your town looks a bit solemn, you know why. It's recalling a funeral.

The important thing is that a couple of days later - on the Sunday morning - when people went to the tomb where Jesus' body had been placed, they found it had been unsealed and the grave clothes in a neat pile. And no body was there. Jesus had risen from the dead!!!

If Jesus had not been who he claimed to be, then that would have been the end of it. He perhaps would be remembered as another prophet and not much more. Certainly no Easter – and no Christmas either. But by conquering death, he proved to the world that what he said was true. Most certainly it is life after death, not just for him, but for all who follow him.

Let may say here, I am not suggesting anyone should follow Jesus in the say way we follow a politician, a footballer or football team. It’s deeper than that. It’s about a relationship with him. This is a relationship in the spiritual part of our being and millions and millions and millions of people have found this. So don’t be put off by those who say it’s rubbish or God doesn’t exist. Too many people have proved it. It’s like someone who has never been hungry or in pain campaigning that hunger and pain do not exist! Those who earnestly seek Jesus will find him. But sadly there will be those who will not seek.

I expect some who read this will have a number of "yes, but" reactions. That's fine, but seek out the truth. As I said there is so much about Jesus and the more you study the Bible and the more it gels. Initial thoughts and criticisms can be answered if you are willing to approach with an open mind and then, with all the information, decide for yourself.

If you are interested, look for an Alpha course near you or contact a lively Christian church. Check out http://www.rejesus.co.uk/. Or contact me.

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The Shirt on My Back

For a few weeks now, I have been concerned that my uniform shirt does not fit and needs replacing. But finances are currently as tight as the shirt, so I have held back from buying a new one. Nobody other than my wife knew about this requirement.

Then out of the blue, this morning somebody came up to me and just gave me a brand new uniform shirt - of the size I need!!!

I refuse to beleive that this is just a coincidence. I find it a lot easier to beleive that God arranged it!




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I'm not responsible for ads!!

Well, we seem to live in a "Teflon-shouldered" society where people would rather assign blame than take responsibility, but although I don't like it I am going to have to join it!

This blog gets ads posted in it. Fair enough; I don't pay to use this facility but it does cost somebody money to provide it. If advertising pays for that, all well and good. It's like watching non-BBC TV. However, some of the ads are those I personally would prefer not to be shown on MY page. Until I find out out if I can take control of these ads (typically the big ones between posts), I have to distance myself from them.

So please don't complain to me about inappropriate ads for this type of blog; it embarrasses me also!

In America, too

Further to my last post about intolerance of Christianity in the UK, I got an email this week that shows it's not only the UK where Christians are being attacked. Here is the content of that mail:

This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roane County High School , Kingston , Tennessee by school Principal, Jody McLeod.

'It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games, to say a prayer and play the National Anthem, to honor God and Country.' Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a Prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law.

As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it 'an alternate lifestyle,' and if someone is offended, that's OK.

I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity, by dispensing condoms and calling it, 'safe sex.' If someone is offended, that's OK.

I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a 'viable! means of birth control.' If someone is offended, no problem...

I can designate a school day as 'Earth Day' and involve students in activities to worship religiously and praise the goddess 'Mother Earth' and call it 'ecology.'

I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depicts people with strong, traditional Christian convictions as 'simple minded' and 'ignorant' and call it 'enlightenment.'

However, if anyone uses this facility to honor GOD and to ask HIM to Bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, then Federal Case Law is violated. This appears to be inconsistent at best, and at worst, diabolical.

Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone, except GOD and HIS Commandments.

Nevertheless, as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules with which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be inconsistent at best, and at worst, hypocritical... I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression. For this reason, I shall 'Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's,' and refrain from praying at this time. 'However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank GOD and ask HIM,in the name of JESUS, to Bless this event, please feel free to do so As far as I know, that's not against the law----yet.'

One by one, the people in the stands bowed their heads, held hands with one another and began to pray. They prayed in the stands. They prayed in the team huddles. They prayed at the concession stand and they prayed in the Announcer's Box!

The only place they didn't pray was in the Supreme Court of the United States of America- the Seat of 'Justice' in the 'one nation, under GOD.'

Somehow, Kingston, Tennessee remembered what so many have forgotten. We are given the Freedom OF Religion, not the Freedom FROM Religion. Praise GOD that HIS remnant remains!