Heart To God Hand To Man

Care & Share Shop Whittlesey - Cambridgeshire

Heart To God Hand To Man

Well, what a year 2018 has been with a massive change in my working life.

  For the first five months I was still leading Elim March and carrying out two early morning cleaning jobs, which were getting more and more difficult to do physically as my Parkinson's took hold. The weekly setting up and striking of all the equipment became to much at the community centre and left me with less and less energy to lead the Sunday morning meetings. From purely a physical point of view, changes had to be made in my life and I had seen them coming for over a year to 18 months.

  I had been praying about this situation for 18 months and looked into many options and indeed applied for  other positions that I believed I could do with my declining health. I was pipped at the post twice for a position I would loved to have done and didn't understand it at the time, but the Lord always has a plan and His timing is always perfect.

  What I was certain of was that in the time I had left, physically, I needed to be doing something somewhere where I could have the potential to do the most good and was certain that The Salvation Army was the organisation to facilitate this. Jobs in my area do not come up very often but after Easter I applied for the part-time position of Manager at their charity shop in Whittlesey and was successful. I gave the church a fair amount of notice and officially retired from full time ministry at the end of June, although I started a couple of weeks earlier at the shop and worked both jobs for a week or two.

  You may think that managing a shop is far removed from life in the church, you'd be wrong. I get to speak to more unchurched people, (not Christians), now on a daily basis than I ever did as a Pastor. I regularly talk to people about Jesus and give them their first bible. People come in to speak to me about their problems knowing that I will not judge them. I have been able to give useful items to those in need of them, when they need them. 

  I have the privilege of leading Army meetings from time to time when the senior officers are away, so my time as Rev. Adrian is still being used by the Lord, and leading worship musically is a pleasure again, now I have more energy to enjoy it.

  I have met and been encouraged by some wonderful S.A. Officers during my first six months here, they all have demonstrated Jesus' love and compassion in quite an overwhelming way and have been great ambassadors for the S.A. moto, 'Heart to God, Hand to Man'! They have all been an inspiration and have backed me, offered their hand of friendship and support in His love.

  I have full confidence that whatever life or indeed my Parkinson's throws at me in the future, I will be able to cope with it with the love and support of my beautiful wife Kerry, the Lord Jesus and my brothers and sisters of the Salvation Army.

  God bless you for reading this and may YOU be richly blessed in His name in 2019.

Adrian.

The End Of The Journey?

 On the 1st July 2017, Kerry & I were at Birmingham City Church for my ordination.

In one sense, this seemed like the end of a long journey that had come to its finishing point as I officially became a 'Reverend'.

Many years earlier I had given up an executive lifestyle with the money and company car and decided upon a different kind of life.

  I was the local church organist and had no ambitions or desire to move from the organ seat at the back of the church. Our Vicar, Rev. Val had other ideas and had me play the piano for monthly family services. This meant being at the front, where you could see everyone and in turn be seen, I was not comfortable with this but it was what was required of me.

  Kerry and I started to do more as our involvement increased under the guidance and training of Rev. Val and one day she paid for us to go to Eastbourne for the weekend to the 'Mission Worship' conference.

  This was an eye-opener, for the first time I experienced worship bands with worship leaders and people raising their hands in worship.

  I walked along the beach and had a conversation with the Lord and He made it clear that He wanted a service, along the lines of the ones I had just experienced, in Doddington. "I can't do that"! "I don't know how to, they wouldn't like it, I'm not the right person to do it". You get the idea, it was Moses all over again.

  It was what God wanted and it happened, Kerry and I started a new service on a Friday evening called Friday Night Live. I bought the equipment I needed and a wonderful Christian called Matt from the Kings Church, in Wisbech, contacted me and helped me with the things I didn't know about to make it happen.

  The following year in Eastbourne, I was walking on the beach and had another conversation with the Lord. He was pleased with Friday Night Live and my progress so far but now He wanted more. He wanted me in His service full time.

  I moved to a small church in march and continued in an assistant pastor role for a time before going away to bible college. I felt that I had gone as far as I could without the deeper knowledge and understanding of the scriptures that I could only gain from college.

  This was a difficult time for Kerry, I wasn't earning any money and the whole financial burden was on her whilst I was away, and there was the fact that I was living away.

  When I returned I was the assistant Pastor for a year until the Pastors of the church retired and Elim made me the Pastor of the church. I was still officially training, I was a minister in training, but with all my experience they were happy for me to lead the church; and I did have a mentor keeping an eye on things and I could go to him when I needed him.

  Three years of leading Elim March and Kerry & I find ourselves at BCC at my ordination, so is this the end of the journey?

  None of us know what life has in store for us, in my case what plans the Lord has on my life. My calling on the beach that day was simply to work in His service full time, he didn't say where or with what church or indeed what I would be doing.

  This now is only the start of the journey, I have had some great training from C of E and Elim ministers as well as the wonderful Elim Bible college. The experience of the last eight years in ministry and the people I have come into contact with are all a part of the church minister I am today.

  It's up to you now Lord, I am here - ready to serve in whatever capacity you choose.

Peace and Blessings to you all.

Rev. Adrian.

Lent - Past & Present

 As a child, I remember that each year I gave up something for Lent. It was normally something like sweets or crisps, you get the idea.

    I can honestly say that I didn't really understand what it was all about. Everyone else at church gave stuff up and my friends at church would ask me what I was giving up and we all gave up the same old stuff every year.

    Our understanding was that as Jesus gave up eating food for 40 days and nights, we had to give up something too to commemorate it. It did mean that when Easter came, eating chocolate eggs was all the more special if you hadn't had any chocolate through Lent!

There are two main problems with the way I did Lent as a child:

1. I didn't understand what and why I was doing what I was doing.

2. The concept of 'Giving Up' something, can be a negative experience and it wasn't intended to be.

Lent is such a positive time, leading up to Easter, and it's vital that we understand what and why we are doing things.

When Jesus fasted from food he became hungry, yes, but he also became stronger by the experience of fasting and prayer for the 40 days and nights. This meant that when Satan arrived to tempt Jesus, he was ready for him. Remember that Jesus although fully God was also fully man and able to be tempted.

When we come to think about our Lent experience, we should look to do something challenging that will leave us stronger at the end.

  Some examine their lives and look for something that they need to change for the good, that will probably be hard to do. At the end they will be better for it and often those around them will be too.

  Maybe you are addicted to something like cigarettes, Lent is an ideal time to deal with this kind of thing. Don't think of it as giving up nicotine for Lent, that's negative. What you are doing is being SET FREE from the addiction.

  There are lots of things that people get addicted to and being set free from them will certainly leave you stronger and will make your Lent experience a positive one.

Don't try to do it alone, confide in someone you trust for accountability and of course pray constantly for help in your endeavours.

May you always know His peace and blessings.

Adrian.

Social Media - Good or Bad?

 Facebook, Twitter and all these other social media platforms are now part of our everyday lives. The new President of the U.S.A. appears to love Twitter as a medium to get his thoughts and opinions out there for us.

Most of us use platforms like Facebook to communicate with friends, see what our friends and family are doing and let people know about our lives and special events etc.

    There are help groups on Facebook for people who suffer from the same illness or have the same interests which are generally a good thing and can be helpful and reassuring to read that someone else is going through the same thing as you and be able to support each other. I have heard about young people who, not feeling able to speak to their parents about bullying, have been able to speak to other young people about what they are going through and get advice - You get the idea, these social media sites can be a great platform for good.

    Sadly, I have noted the opposite applies and over the last few months have been saddened by the number of people, whom I know to have a faith in God, posting or sharing posts that are incompatible with their faith.

    As a Christian I believe that everyone was created equal and God loves us all equally, therefore posts that are anti immigration are not compatible with the Christian faith. One post recently shared said that we should put our elderly before immigrants. One group is not superior to the other, they both need our love, compassion and help equally. It is not the case of putting one group first, then if you have any money, love or compassion left over, consider giving to the other - All human beings were created equally, all life matters.

    There have been many other examples but this week one Christian shared a post that said to 'Ban The Burka'! As a Christian I respect all faiths and their traditions and some Muslim ladies have a modesty tradition of wearing this type of clothing which come from an interpretation of the Quran which is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God.

    The kind of posts, and there have been a number, I have described at best demonstrate poor judgement and a lack of compassion for our fellow man & at their worst are racist. Let me make one thing perfectly clear, Christianity provides NO harbourage for racism.

Social media can be a great thing if used in the right way, it can be a wonderful platform for fun, enjoyment and good. Let us keep it that way and not use it as a platform for cyber bullying, destroying peoples lives and stirring up racism and hatred.

God bless you.

Pastor Adrian.

Birthdays

 Well, we've just finished celebrating the birthday of our Lord, haven't we. And by now I expect you've taken down all your Christmas decorations and if you're like me, they've all gone back in the loft until next time.

I have a birthday next week, on Tuesday 17th, and I am reminded that as a child I used to insist that the decorations stayed up for my birthday. There was no chance of observing the 12th night rule, as far as I was concerned, they went up for Jesus' birthday and they were staying up for mine! It became a family tradition, however as an adult, a tradition I no longer observe.

    Birthdays were great as a child, not only did you get presents, but you got to be another year older. Another year towards to ultimate goal of being grown up. As children, we almost wish our lives away in our rush to become older don't we.

    Birthday parties at home move to parties in church halls or other out of the house venues and by the time we are teenagers it's a disco in the church hall with around 40 people invited. (Well it was a disco in the church hall in my day!) There is something very special about having a birthday, when you are a child and it's a shame that sense of eager anticipation and excitement doesn't last as we move into adulthood.

To be honest, I can barely remember my birthdays in my twenties, thirties and forties, although I do remember my fortieth one. I think some years I would leave home for work before the family were awake and be back home again so late that my birthday was just another day, you probably know what I mean.

My fiftieth was certainly one to remember, the church tricked me into coming to what I thought was an evening function at the church which turned out to be a 50th party for me! That was so lovely of them and it made the milestone of turning 50 a little easier too.

Recently I have been aware that I have had more time on this earth than I have left. I've been doing things like signing up for an over 50's plan to help pay for my funeral. I have reached the age when you start thinking about these kind of things and taking stock.

I will be 52 on Tuesday which means that I have 15 years left in ministry before the mandatory retirement age of 67. I need to make these 15 years count, I cannot afford to waste a day of them!

I don't see being 52 as a negative thing, quite the reverse, I have a lifetime of experience, made a lot of mistakes and got a few things right.

I have 15 years to do His Will, Serve Him in any way He sees fit. It doesn't matter about my health issues because He has always ensured that I am able to carry out what ever He wants me to do, when He wants me to do it. I have absolute faith that by His grace, that will continue to be the case.

I don't know what the Lord has planned for me over the next 15 years, where He will send me or how He will use me. I do know it will be wonderful, how could it be otherwise, being in relationship with Jesus, listening to the Holy Spirit and seeking the Will of the Father. The next chapter in my life, my 15 years as an ordained minister starts on my birthday and the gifts that God gives us are eternal; so we can again return to the eager anticipation and excitement of being childlike when we are adults having a birthday.

May you be richly blessed and if you have a birthday this month too, Happy Birthday to you also.

Parkinsons & Me

 Having lived with Migraines for over thirty years and Cluster Headaches for around four or five, I thought that I had my fair share of ailments to cope with. Oddly the effect the conditions have on others, especially Kerry my wife, bothers me more than the pain I go through.

    For myself, I have found it gives me empathy with others who are suffering, an understanding of their pain and an understanding to a point of what they are going through. This is a good thing as a Pastor and through God's grace it has never interfered with my church work.

    In the latter part of 2015 I started to notice a problem with my left arm and left had. My left arm was always fatigued and starting to ache and my left hand wasn't behaving itself. The index finger would stop, freeze if you like, for a few seconds then start working again normally. When I played the piano my left hand couldn't keep up with my right hand, it was lagging behind. It was looking like the time would soon come when I would have to give up playing keyboard instruments altogether. So what, some of you may say, for me, after a lifetime of being a pianist, church organist and in latter years playing worship music for church this was devastating.

    I was referred to a neurologist at Peterborough who thought I may be demonstrating early signs of Parkinson. I was prescribed a Parkinson's medication with a review in December on the basis that if it helped the diagnosis would be confirmed. If the medication had no effect then we would have to look at other options.

    I decided to keep the number of people who knew about this to a minimum as after all, it may not be Parkinsons.

   The medication did help my left hand and after 4-6 weeks my index finger started behaving and by the start of Advent I was confident enough to use the keyboard for church and my left hand behaved. My diagnosis was confirmed at Peterborough in December and I am to have access to a Parkinson's nurse.

    I have visited our local Parkinson's support group, here in March, and they are a great bunch of people. I admit that for the last two months I have avoided going because I am not yet ready to accept what I am to become. I have spent time there with people whose's condition is far more advanced than mine, and I have seen what lies in store for me. I need a little time to accept this and to be honest I am still finding it difficult to talk about.

    I haven't dealt with a few things as well as I should have, I wanted to tell my daughter about it over Christmas but couldn't bring myself to do it. In the end I told her during a text conversation which was very wrong of me and I am still upset about doing that, she deserved better from her father.

    You see no matter who we are or what we do for a living, we are all human and all make mistakes.

    My wife has gone through so much watching me suffer with my other conditions, helpless thinking she can't do anything about it, and now this on top of everything else. The fact that she cares about me enough to have the feelings about all this that she does is of help to me. 

    I am very fortunate, I have a loving and caring wife and despite me getting things wrong, children that care about me - And of course I have the unfailing love of the heavenly Father and my faith in God.

www.parkinsons.org.uk

Happy New Year

As we move from 2016 into 2017, naturally we tend to reflect on the year we leave behind and hope the year ahead will be a better one.

    Numerous comments on Facebook, regarding the quantity of the demise of much loved actors, singers and entertainers have been of the same mind with respect to the apparent fact that there has been more 'Celebrities' die this year than in any previous one. I believe around 53 million people die per year so it's inevitable that some of them will be well known to us.

   How will we react to this? Will we remember 2016 as the year that we appeared to loose so many of our favourite celebrities or will we choose to look back on the good things, the happy things that happened in our lives?

   This in no way means that I too wasn't affected by the loss of my favourite entertainers. I am also fully aware and respect the fact that a celebrity has a family and close friends to mourn for them.

   I am also not saying that those of us who have lost loved ones shouldn't be remembering 2016 as the year they went to be with the Lord, of course we should.

   It's a general point, as people have a tendency to forget all the good in the world and all the great things that do happen to us and fixate on the negative. I've even heard people say "And next year won't be any better"!

   Yes there is sadness in our lives but there is also great joy if we look for it. 

   We have a choice - We can choose to to go into 2017 with a negative attitude of doom and gloom or we can choose to make 2017 a positive experience for everyone we encounter and try to be just a little nicer to each other.

   

The choice is yours - Happy New Year and may God Bless You.