Concern
Congregational
E
W
N
Castle Street Congregational
Church, Tredegar
S
Issue No. 139
Grace, Grit and Gumption
—see page six
Spring 1996
CONCERN
is the magazine
for and about an
Evangelical
Fellowship of
Congregational
Churches
Editor:
Rev. PETER BEALE
Assistant Editors:
Rev. CYRIL ASTON
Honiton
and
Rev. IAN REES
Wiveliscombe
CONTENTS:
EFCC Reports
Round About
A “Year Out” in
Africa
Grace, Grit and
Gumption!
Talking Point
News & Notes
Letter box
Bookshelf
Stan Guest
1
2/3
Editor’s comment
Well, we do call it “Talking Point”, and Michael
Collins’ critique of the Alpha courses in our last issue
certainly seems to have been that. Although our
correspondence overflows on to a second page this time,
this represents only part of the response received. “By
their fruits you shall know them” is much quoted by
Alpha supporters; but does that really mean “If it works,
is popular, and people are blessed through it, it must not
be criticised?” I think not!
In addition to those mentioned last time and in our
letter page in this issue, other courses available include
the Scripture Union “Just Looking” series and those
produced by St Matthias Press. In every case, of course,
we should approach them with Berean caution.
For this issue we have had a bit of a “shuffle round”,
with the main article focussing on three strategically
placed churches in South Wales. As you read Concern
each quarter, even when there are articles with which
you may not agree, let it prompt you to pray for the
building-up of the church and the spread of the Gospel
in our needy land, as well as “further afield”.
4/5
6/7
8
9
10
11
12
Peter Beale
EFCC reports
Alan
Tovey
What a Way to Die!
Martin Luther was a colossus by
any stretch of imagination. He was
parish preacher, University Professor
in Biblical Studies, and spiritual
adviser. And of course, in all this, he
reformed the church of his day.
His great discovery as an
Augustinian monk had been the
doctrine of justification by faith alone,
which the mediæval church had
succeeded in undermining and burying
under a load of human teachings. But
when Luther was pointed to Romans
he puzzled over chapter 1 verse 17
until at last the light dawned and he
was a free man. His personality was
vibrant. He exuded life and had an
“elephantine” sense of humour.
Pastoral Changes
Paul Downes has relinquished the
pastorate at Hailsham. The induction
of Barry Roddaball took place at
Much Hadham on 20th January.
New Secretary
Mr Eddy Robinson has retired as
Church Secretary at Nether Kellet
Congregational Church. The new
Secretary is Christopher Rushton,
telephone 01524 732569.
Ministry Assembly
The
thirteenth
Evangelical
Missionary
Assembly
of
The
Proclamation Trust will take place
from Wednesday 26th to Friday 28th
June 1996 at St Helen’s, Bishopsgate,
London. Speakers will be Peter Adam,
Alistair Begg, Don Carson and Dick
Lucas.
Schools Conference
Rutherford House, Edinburgh,
have distributed information relating
to a conference with the title “The
Future of Christianity in Scottish
Schools”. The conference will be held
from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th
March 1996.
1996 marks the 450th anniversary
of Luther’s death. He died in the little
town of Eisleben, where he had been
born. And his death is what I
particularly want to leave with you. On
his deathbed as he was losing
consciousness he was quizzed:
“Reverend father, will you stand
steadfast by Christ and the doctrine
you have preached?” He answered,
“Yes”. That was the last word he spoke,
though the friends around him thought
they heard another murmur: “Who has
my Word shall never see death.”
Concern Spring 1996
End of an Era
Sadly, the Congregational Church
at Wrestlingworth, Bedfordshire, has
closed.
40 Years On
Stanwell Congregational Church
in Middlesex plans to celebrate its 40th
anniversary over the week-end of 11th
and 12th May. The guest preacher will
be Rev. Gilbert Kirby, onetime pastor
at nearby Ashford and formerly
General Secretary of the Evangelical
Alliance.
1
Round
70 Years’ Preaching
Celebrated
On the third Sunday in February
1926 a young nineteen-year-old
preacher took his first service at the
kirk in Largs, Scotland. It was, in his
own words, “a disaster”, but he was
encouraged to keep trying by one of the
elders who held the view that this young
man would become a good preacher one
day.
The elder was proved right, for 70
years later this young man is still
preaching! On Sunday 18th February at
Wiveliscombe Congregational Church a
presentation was made to the Rev. Ban
Forsyth
to
commemorate
this
remarkable achievement. Mr Forsyth
was taking the morning service, and
went on to give the third part of a series
of sermons on his life. Part 1 was given
in February last year, and detailed his
call from God to be a missionary. Part 2
concerned his conversion (which
happened after the call!) and was given
in May 1995. Part 3 was a summary of
70 years’ work, preaching “the
unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ.”
After his rather inauspicious start in
Scotland, Mr Forsyth went to Brazil in
1928, spending 46 years as a pastor,
2
preacher and Bible college professor.
Needless to say, his preaching was much
improved: one of his rôles was training
students to preach! He faced many
hardships, including being stoned more
than once by a mob and thrown into jail
for his preaching and evangelistic
activities. During his time he also
witnessed the phenomenal growth of the
Brazilian church: evangelicals now
number more than 30 million.
In addition he saw Brazil develop as
a nation, and even pre-dated the “green”
movement in his concern for the
destruction of the rain-forests. After the
war his responsibilities took him into
the interior where vast tracts of rainforest were being destroyed for
farmland. He said he pleaded with the
authorities to spare some of the forest
and set it aside as a reserve, but this
plea was sadly ignored.
Upon returning to Britain in 1974 he
was
appointed
pastor
of
the
Wiveliscombe Congregational Church, a
position he maintained until 1982. He
now lives in Wiveliscombe in
retirement, preaching occasionally.
Ian Rees
The Army moves in
St John’s Congregational Church at
Thornton Heath is providing hospitality
for a year to the local Salvation Army,
who have been given the go-ahead to
demolish their old citadel and build
another. The St John’s Newsletter
comments: “We rejoice with them in the
good news and are looking forward to
joining together for our morning and
evening services starting on 14th April.
Let us pray for them as they share our
premises for the year and ask God to
bless us all through this opportunity of
shared ministry.”
Concern Spring 1996
about
Islam on the Island
Pastor David Williams of Sun Hill
Independent Church, Cowes, Isle of
Wight, joined with other concerned
ministers in protesting against the
official sponsorship by the Local
Education Authority of an “Islamic
Experience Exhibition” being staged
during March. It was stated that the
exhibition’s basic purpose was to enable
its visitors “to experience Islam”, with
the LEA encouraging schools to arrange
visits when pupils would be conducted
round by Islamic students. Small
exhibitions relating to Christianity and
Judaism would also be included, but
they could be covered in an hour,
whereas the Islamic Experience
Exhibition required 2½ hours!
Spreading the Truth
Richard Davies’ article on The
Authority of Scripture in our last issue
has
been
reprinted
in
The
Congregationalist, the newsletter of the
churches
associated
with
the
Congregational Union of New Zealand,
and Christian Words, the magazine of
the Wesleyan Reform Union of Churches.
Remember you saw it first in Concern!
Christian Witness at School
The news sheet of Spicer Street
Independent Chapel, St Albans
includes reports from young people
involved in Christian Unions at four of
the city’s schools. “The Word” is the
relatively new senior Christian Union at
Verulam School. Steve McClure and
Stuart MacDonald state:
“Our greatest problem is getting
people to come along regularly. Out of
the ten different people who have come,
only one has come to all the meetings,
and six have come only once. To try and
get more people to come we are going to
have both evangelistic meetings (such
as ‘Jesus Christ: who is he?’) and debate-
Concern Spring 1996
style meetings (such as ‘Creation versus
Evolution’).”
On page 9 of this magazine we have
a report of schools work in Pontefract
in West Yorkshire, under the auspices of
the Evangelical Congregational Church
there. The church is looking for a
volunteer, a young but mature
Christian, to work alongside an
experienced schools worker who has
been with the project since its inception.
The opportunity would be ideal for a
1996 graduate who is considering
spending a year in Christian work
before making settled career plans. No
salary is payable, but financial support
will be given by the church to cover the
costs of lodgings, necessary travel and
pocket money.
Ring 01977 600442 for further details.
Aber 96
EFCC ministers are well represented
on the programme of this year’s Annual
English Conference of the Evangelical
Movement of Wales, to be held at the
University of Aberystwyth from 10th to
17th August. Among those leading the
morning prayer meetings are Colin
Bennett (Stony Stratford) and Gwynne
Evans (Droylsden), while the preachers
at the evening evangelistic services
include Philip Williams (Pontnewydd)
and Derek Swann (Cardiff). The main
conference addresses will be given by
Rev. Dr Sinclair Ferguson, Professor
of Systematic Theology at Westminster
Theological Seminary.
For further information contact the
Conference Secretary: Rev. K.R.
Stockley,
29
Bedwellty
Road,
Aberbargoed, Bargoed, Mid Glamorgan,
CF8 9AW.
EFCC Office Hours
You are reminded that Bryan Cook
is in the Beverley office on Monday to
Wednesday only.
3
Further afield
Volunteer in
Kenya
by Elizabeth Beale
In Kenya many people would class
themselves as “Christians”, however
sadly this is not the case and many
have dormant spiritual lives and are
bound by the same customs that have
bound them for many years now.
People who are genuine Christians lack
the teaching that they need to grow
stronger and many fall away due to the
pressures
of
surviving in a
third
world
c o u n t r y .
Thankfully,
though, Kenya is
one of the few East
African countries that
is not riddled with
conflict and is in a
relatively stable
political state, and
this has meant
that missionary
organisations have
been able to work in
the country for many years
now.
The Africa Inland Mission came
to Kenya one hundred years ago and
many people have worked tirelessly to
teach the people of that country about
4
the love of our Lord Jesus Christ and
what he can do in their lives. Like most
missionary organisations the work
entails providing practical help for the
people as well as spiritual help and in
1994 I had the privilege of going out to
Kenya as a volunteer teacher with
A.I.M. for just over a year.
I was based at a school in the
highlands of Kenya on the edge of the
Rift valley, and there I spent sixteen of
the most profitable months of my life.
A.I.C. Girls’ Secondary School, Kessup
was set up in 1970 and is unique in the
fact that all its staff are committed
Christians, and over the years it has
been wonderful to see more and more of
the work taken over by the national
people, to see them have a real desire to
work with the young girls and teach
them more about Christ and build
them up as Christians, ready for life
outside school.
Apart from providing the girls with a
good education the school at Kessup
aims to teach them about the salvation
they can
receive
from
Christ and to
provide teaching
and guidance to
these young people
who face a very
uncertain future when
they leave school. As a
volunteer I had no
previous
teaching
experience, but my
main job was to teach
the younger girls
English
and
Geography, which
was a very big challenge
and God taught me a lot
about patience and using
whatever resources I had!.
Having done a degree in
Geography that was not my
Concern Spring 1996
…a “year out” in Africa
Those seven girls have now left
main problem, but I learnt many things
about the English language that I’d school after finishing their final exams
and now have to face a very uncertain
never even heard of before!
All 340 girls board
at the school, as do
most secondary school
students in Kenya,
and so were provided
with good care, both
physical and spiritual.
They went to Sunday
school on Sunday
mornings, which was
taken by the teachers,
and then they went to
the church service.
Every morning during
assembly they were
given a message, so
they definitely couldn’t
miss hearing about the
gospel. Many of the
girls are committed
Christians and some
choose to have group
Bible
studies,
sometimes on their
own and sometimes
with a teacher leading
it for them. During my
Graduation Day at Kessup
time out there I had
the joy, and challenge,
of leading a Bible study with seven 18 future, as do many young people in that
year old girls, and I found that to be the country. Do pray that the Christians in
hardest and the most profitable thing Kenya will be given the desire to get
that I did out there. Over the 16 months good biblical teaching and that that
we did a series of studies on the fruits of teaching will be provided for them.
the Spirit and I learnt so much from Pray that these young people will resist
doing these and the girls did also. Not the temptations of life outside school
being that much older helped in some and will become stronger Christians
ways and I found out that girls of that daily. Pray that as they face the
age have similar questions and problems problems of AIDS, superstitions,
to girls in our western countries. I know political instability etc. in their
I made many mistakes, so was glad that country, they will look to their Creator
the results did not depend on me but on and Saviour for wisdom and strength
the work of the Holy Spirit and the and that they will be guided by him
always.
wisdom God gave me when I needed it.
Concern Spring 1996
5
Focus on …
Grace, Grit and
Gumption!
This was the catch-phrase coined by
Seth Joshua towards the end of the last
century, to describe the qualities needed
for the Forward Movement of the
Calvinistic Methodist Church in order to
reach with the Gospel the unchurched
thousands who lived in the industrial
areas of South Wales. The industries
have changed, but the vast need is the
same, and “grace, grit and gumption”
remain essential ingredients. We focus
here on three evangelical Congregational
churches in South Wales, each of which
has recently called a young pastor.
New Inn
New Inn is situated six miles north
of Newport, just south of Pontypool.
Although it retains much of its village
character, with the development of new
housing estates its population now
approaches 6000. The Congregational
church is one of the oldest features of
the village. Dating back, it is believed, to
1710, it began as a dissenting
congregation meeting in a room in the
inn which gave the village its name.
The 18th century revival in Wales,
through the preaching of men such as
Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland,
helped establish the work at New Inn,
Harris himself becoming a regular
preacher at the meeting hall.
In 1752 New Inn called its first pastor,
Morgan John Lewis, and was established
as an independent church. Its present
building, constructed on the same site in
1883, is supplemented by a large Sunday
School hall in the centre of the village.
With an evangelical heritage of such
grandeur, and the need of a growing
6
village to hear the same “old, old story”,
the present fellowship last year called a
new pastor, Gordon Cooke. Although it
is over twenty years since the last fulltime minister, and the present
membership of around forty are
predominantly retired, the church has
taken this step of faith, trusting that the
Lord has a work still to do in New Inn.
Since then the Lord has graciously added
to the fellowship a Christian family
which had recently moved to the area.
The strategic location of the Sunday
School hall has enabled the fellowship to
embark on a greater degree of
evangelistic outreach. A Junior Club
attracting over twenty youngsters, a
Tots and Parents Club and a Senior
Citizens’ Tea are also introducing the
fellowship, and of course the gospel, to
those outside. A door-to-door visitation
programme has begun, which has
already brought in visitors.
Please join us in prayer, that the
village, once awakened through the
preaching of Harris and Rowlands, will
once more come to find Christ, “whom to
know is life eternal”.
Gordon Cooke
Gendros, Fforestfach
The work at Fforestfach (Little
Forest) near Swansea was started in
1895, when a group of young men from
the Welsh-speaking Congregational
church saw a need for an Englishspeaking Sunday school and chapel, to
minister to those working in the new
local coalfields. In 1911 the land on
which the present chapel stands was
purchased, and the Rev. B. Davies
Williams of Gowerton became pastor,
the building being completed in 1913.
In the 1920s and 1930s the church
saw much blessing and growth under
the pastorate of Rev. D.E. Harries; but
following his death in 1934 the church
Concern Spring 1996
South Wales
never had a stable ministry until Rev.
Luther Rees of Peniel Green,
Llansamlet agreed to take oversight of
the church in 1963. His oversight was
much appreciated and of great service to
the Lord. Pastors at Peniel Green
continued to oversee the work until
1981, following which the church has
been indebted to Rev. Ken Williams, a
former missionary in Africa. In
September 1995, during the church’s
centenary year, Rev. Mervyn Neal
was called to the pastorate.
The district has the highest crime rate
in Swansea. There is a great social need,
and an even greater need for the
liberating Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The church has started on an
intensive programme of evangelism
from door to door, in pubs, and with the
gangs of young people on the streets,
and we thank God that some young
people are starting to come to the
services and the prayer meeting. We
pray that these may be but the mercy
drops that will precede the deluge.
But with an elderly congregation we
feel the real need for workers in the
church. “The harvest truly is plentiful,
but the labourers are few. Therefore pray
the Lord of the harvest to send out
labourers
into
his
harvest”
(Matt.9.37–38).
Mervyn Neal
Castle Street, Tredegar
Tredegar and its surrounding
hamlets owe their existence to the iron
and coal industries. Today these
industries have all gone, and the
inevitable economic decline has left its
mark on the town. Yet despite high
unemployment and little prospect of
change, the people of Tredegar remain
proud of its heritage.
The “cong”, as it is affectionately
known, started in 1850 after a group of
Concern Spring 1996
Christians left the Presbyterian Church
of Wales and began meetings in their
homes. The work grew, and Zoar
Congregational church was built in
1855. After the 1859 revival the church
moved to its present premises at Castle
Street to accommodate a now much
larger congregation.
More recently the church had been
without a minister for nearly six years
following the resignation of the Rev.
Bruce Powell due to ill health. On
September 30th 1955 the church at
Castle Street commenced a new era in
its life and witness in Tredegar, when a
large congregation gathered to witness
the induction and ordination of Mr
Vincent Tracey into the Christian
ministry, the Rev. Vernon Higham
preaching from Jude, “earnestly
contend for the faith…” A truly timely
reminder, and a truly memorable day.
It has been a source of great joy to me
personally to see the work of sovereign
grace in the hearts of the people here in
Castle Street. Many had been in the
church for years, before the Spirit began
his gracious work upon them during the
ministry of Bruce Powell.
Outside the church is a sign which
states: “You can find salvation in here,
peace with God and eternal life.”
Therefore the Gospel is preached every
Sunday evening, with many unconverted
attending. Our regular activities include
services in old people’s homes, literature,
visiting, and personal witness, and most
importantly, the Monday night prayer
meeting. Whilst these are difficult days,
we must keep alive the hope of revival.
Our God is still the same, and he can do
amazing things with ordinary people: our
eyes are upon him.
“Turn us again, O Lord of hosts,
cause thy face to shine and we shall be
saved” (Psalm 80.3).
Vincent Tracey
7
Talking point
Homosexuality:
Compassion or
Rejection?
by Vaughan Williams
When did you last hear a well-balanced
talk on this topic? The chances are it was
a long time ago! The issue of
homosexuality is not often addressed in
our churches, but in fact many men and
women in evangelical congregations
struggle with this problem. When one
considers their families, spouses and
friends, there can be few churches where
the issue of homosexuality is not
relevant.
So why the silence?
While the church rightly asserts the
work of grace in justifying the sinner,
maybe some of us find it easier to accept
those whose sins are just a little more
“normal”. Most of us are able to
understand problems of greed, adultery
and
maybe
even
murder—but
homosexuality? For many the response is
confusion and even repulsion.
Pete is 23, a music graduate, recently
converted in a church mission. He has
been welcomed by his local evangelical
church who are delighted to have found an
organist! Pete has had homosexual
feelings since his teens and before
becoming a Christian had several casual
same-sex encounters. Being a Christian
has brought much change into Pete’s life,
but he is still tempted homosexually and is
aware that any sex outside heterosexual
marriage would be wrong. A year later
Pete has another homosexual encounter
and with much shame and repentance
8
confesses his struggles to a church elder.
Pete is made aware of the Biblical texts
relating to homosexuality (texts of which
he is already well aware) and the matter is
brought before the church. He is
disciplined by losing his post as organist.
Most of his friends are surprised and some
are shocked. Many members simply do not
know how to respond and avoid Pete, not
knowing what to say. Pete eventually
leaves the church feeling condemned,
ostracised and misunderstood.
When folk like Pete leave the church,
we need to ask ourselves who is responsible.
As evangelicals we have much to repent of
for our treatment of and attitudes towards
those struggling with homosexuality or
lesbianism. There are few who would
choose to have homosexual feelings. The
cause of the condition remains contentious,
but is likely to be a combination of
developmental and inborn factors.
Traditional evangelical teaching
draws a distinction between homosexual
feelings, which are regarded as
temptation, and homosexual behaviour of
various kinds, which are viewed as being
sin. We need to remember that each of us
is broken in regard to our sexuality,
whether this is homosexual or
heterosexual, and to lust after a person of
the opposite sex is no less sinful than
same-sex lust. There can be few of us who
have not struggled with our sexual
feelings at some point in our lives.
Pete is angry, hurt and confused. He
still loves God and desires above all else to
serve him. He knows his sexual encounter
was wrong and believes that God has
forgiven him for this. He craves loving
support and fellowship with God’s people,
but feels alienated from them. His
problems seem to be one they cannot cope
with.
1 Corinthians 6:9–11 are verses of
hope for the Christian struggling with
homosexuality. The Corinthian church !
Concern Spring 1996
Notes & News
Schools work in Pontefract
“Satan is a good person made by God
to punish all the bad people.” This is a
quote from a child in a Christian Union in
London.
Complete
ignorance
of
Christianity is rife amongst young people
today. No longer are children encouraged
to attend Sunday School, and most schools
are happier tackling social and moral
issues than spiritual ones. Christian
teachers often find their hands legally tied
when it comes to their personal faith.
In response to these facts, Pontefract
Congregational Church have spent many
hours in prayer for the children of their
community. Arriving at Pontefract to do a
voluntary year out following my degree, I
was most struck by the amount of prayer
and concern for the schools. A member of
the church had just completed a Distance
Learning course on leading school
worship, so with church backing we
approached a small number of local
schools asking if we could lead Christian
assemblies. Within that year doors opened
to seven schools for assemblies, and two
for Christian Unions.
The church caught the vision, seeing
many prayers answered and God blessing
the work, so decided to employ Mrs
Shelley Logan and myself full time in the
schools work. Holding on to the promise
from Revelation, “See, I have placed before
you an open door that no-one can shut”, we
! seems to have accepted those who came
from a homosexual background. Surely we
should do likewise?
Folk struggling with homosexuality
need support and encouragement.
Temptation is more easily resisted when it
can be shared and prayed about with
people who care. We live in a broken world
and our call is to provide a home for all
who come to Christ, regardless of what
their sin has been. Is your church a home
Concern Spring 1996
proceeded to contact other schools offering
our services. We visit primary schools on a
three-weekly cycle, and secondary schools
less frequently. The response was much
greater than we had imagined, and in total
we assist twenty-four schools.
Other schools are now contacting us
and at present we are having to turn them
away. The work in the Christian Unions
has seen two pupils commit their lives to
the Lord.
Each month approximately 4,000
pupils and 120 staff are being reached
with the Gospel, most of whom will never
have heard anything like it before.
Peter McNabb
Stamps for leprosy
The Leprosy Mission Stamp Bureau
raised over £16,000 last year, all from
used stamps and other “collectables”. All
stamps are welcome, GB or foreign, even
the very common ones, either on or off the
paper, as long as the stamp is not
damaged. Stamps should be sent to Mr &
Mrs P. Jarman, 18 Ferris Avenue, Cold
Norton, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 6HZ.
Gifts of the following will also be
welcome: postcards, phone cards, tea
packet cards, coins, medals, cigarette
cards
and
anything
considered
collectable. All items received are sold to
aid the work of the Leprosy Mission.
for those battling with homosexuality? In
your fellowship would Pete be more likely
to find compassion or rejection?
Dr Vaughan Williams is a psychiatrist
working with “True Freedom Trust”, an
organisation offering counsel to
Christians
struggling
with
homosexuality. He can be contacted at:
P.O. Box 592, LONDON SE4 1EF, Tel
(0181) 314 5735
9
Letter box
Robin Sinden, Nazeing
I
usually
enjoy
reading
Congregational Concern and was
intrigued by the article by Rev. Michael
Collins about “Alpha” in the winter
edition. I was a little disappointed to read
that Mr Collins’ experience of “Alpha”
had been unsatisfactory. At Nazeing the
course has proved a great blessing to the
church. The aim has been to present
Christianity to non-Christians without
embarrassing them (one member has
described it as taking out the creepy
factor). The course leaders control the
proceedings and, judging by the results,
the course has proved very successful.
I was also interested in the comments
concerning the manifestations Mr Collins
had witnessed and the responses of the
“Alpha” advocates which he described as
woolly. Could Mr Collins explain what is
wrong with the experiences he describes
and whether they are different from
some of the events of the past? I am
thinking particularly of an experience
recorded, with others, by the late Dr
Martyn Lloyd-Jones in a sermon on
Eph.3.18f and published in The
Unsearchable Riches of Christ (Banner of
Truth Trust). During the Welsh Revival
of 1904–6 Evan Roberts stood up in a
chapel “and suddenly this love of God so
came upon him that he literally fell to the
ground. Many present thought that he
was actually dead”. Dr Lloyd-Jones
commended the experience. Was he right
to do so and was the event the same as
“being slain in the Spirit”?
" The experiences of Roberts and others
referred to by Dr Lloyd-Jones, like those of
Isaiah (Is.6.5) and John (Rev.1.17) were
spontaneous
reactions
to
an
overwhelming awareness of an aspect of
God’s character: they were not sought or
engineered in any way. Compare this
with the likes of Benny Hinn, Rodney
Howard-Brown and John Arnott blowing
10
Please send your
letters to the Editor
of Concern:–
Rev. Peter Beale
The Manse
47 High Street
Bulford
SALISBURY
SP4 9DS
on people, shouting at them, building up
an emotional psychological situation, and
there just is no comparison. Add to this
the facts that people who make no
profession of being Christians, either
before or after the event, testify to having
undergone this experience, and that the
inducing of trance-like states is found in
all sorts of false religions, and all kinds of
warning bells ought to ring. —Ed.
Rev. Michael Hemming, Buckley
It was with great interest that I read
Michael Collins’ article on “Alpha”, and I
am very thankful that a warning of its
dangers has been included in Concern. It
is so easy to accept material because we
hear of so-called blessings coming
through it without looking into the
background. We should not only research
the history behind material, but be very
careful in what we use to teach new
believers.
The material actually comes from the
stable of Kenneth Copeland Ministries,
who are the prime movers behind HTB
and are originators, together with
Kenneth Hagin, of the Toronto Blessing,
which is simply a spiritual front for New
Age teachings.
An excellent video tape entitled A
Different Gospel, produced by an ex-NewAger, Alan Morrison, pastor of Crich
Concern Spring 1996
Book shelf
To make you
think!
God in the Wasteland
by David Wells
IVP, 1994, 278pp, £12.99
Are you a fan of Frank Peretti and his
“best-seller” novels, of which This Present
Darkness was the first? Reading what
David Wells has to say about them may
give you a fresh and rather different
evaluation of them. He attributes their
success to “the fact that Peretti is offering
an explanation for what has gone wrong in
the world that is perfectly tailored to match
the tastes, assumptions, and expectations
of the evangelicals of Our Time.” By oversimplifying the whole of life into a “basic
conflict between Christians and all that is
Baptist Church, is available at £10
dealing in depth with the Toronto
Blessing and its various offshoots.
On the back of the winter Concern is
an advert for Emmaus Bible School, who
produce excellent inexpensive follow-up
material for new believers of all ages
which, after 20 years’ involvement with
them, I can recommend as an
alternative.
Stan March, Fishers Fellowship
I was particularly interested in your
“Talking point” article about the Alpha
course which is being widely used
around the country. I attend a church
where this course is being used and
have to say from personal observations
that there is much in it to commend it.
Concern Spring 1996
non-Christian” in which “the enemies of
the Christian are—literally—demonized”
Peretti is guilty, in Wells’ opinion, of
depicting a world-view that is
“Zoroastrianism in modern garb”, and in
which both human beings and God himself
are “more or less incidental to the warfare
that rages between the opposing forces of
demons and angels.”
“Like the evangelical world in which
they have attained great popularity”,
Wells concludes, “these books are
conspicuously supernatural on the surface
but, ironically, quite secular underneath.”
And it is that bleak assessment of the
contemporary evangelical scene which
underlies this thought-provoking book, a
sequel to his No Place for Truth. “The
fundamental problem in the evangelical
world today is that God rests too
inconsequently upon the church. His truth
is too distant, his grace is too ordinary, his
judgment is too benign, his gospel is too
easy, and his Christ is too common.” It’s
not light reading, but guaranteed to make
you think.
Peter Beale
However, I do feel that this course is
weak on two points. Firstly, it pushes
Christians along too fast and places
undue emphasis upon the gifts of the
Holy Spirit rather than first dealing
with the Person and work of the Spirit.
Secondly, they do not seem to have any
adequate follow up courses to help the
new
believers
develop
their
understanding of the Bible.
You might like to know that the
Fishers Fellowship provides preconversion courses and courses for new
believers, as well as basis teaching on
Bible doctrine. Our intention is to give a
balanced Biblical grounding on which to
build. We also offer free tuition on all
our correspondence courses.
11
View from the Guest House
Stan
Guest
The great crime in theology today is
to say to someone else, “You are wrong”.
You must not preach or declare—you
must enter into dialogue, discuss, have
conversations. You must listen to the
“truth” as the other fellow sees it.
This surely means that you can also
never say, “I am right”. For, in this life,
you cannot say “yes” to anything
without also saying “no” to something
else. You can never make a choice
without also rejecting. And, if you reject,
stand by for the charges! Prejudiced!
Bigoted! Big-headed and lacking in
charity! How dare you say you are right
and I am wrong?!
Well, actually, I don’t—except in the
way Jesus said it. Read Matthew 22.29.
“Jesus answered them, ‘You are wrong,
because you know neither the
Scriptures, nor the power of God.’” He
did not say, “You are wrong because I
am right.” He said they were wrong,
first, because they did not know the
Scriptures. Thus Peter justifies
preaching the resurrection by appealing
to Scripture. Thus James justifies the
decision of the Jerusalem Council by
quoting from Scripture.
And, secondly, they were wrong
because they did not know the
power of God. The Sadducees had
been making a mockery of heavenly
things by trying to reconcile them with
human reasoning. So it is today. God’s
sovereign power is whittled away to
make it fit in with man’s puny
intelligence. “I can’t believe that God
would act like that”, is the cry. So each
man, limiting the power of God to his
own capacity to understand it, makes
his god in his own image. And he must
therefore give everyone else the right to
do the same. He can never say to
another, “You are wrong”.
Let the prophetic word be spoken.
Let the Gospel be preached. Let
scriptural truths be proclaimed. And if
this means having to say to someone,
“You are wrong”, then let this be said.
Speak in love by all means, but speak
the truth, according to the Scriptures.
Amos was ready to say to Israel, “Hear
this word that the Lord has spoken
against you.” You are wrong.
Seek Him!
Everybody wants blessing, of course;
yes, but the peculiar mark of the child is
that he is interested in the Person, he
wants his Father, he wants to know his
Father. He is more interested in the
Giver than in the gift, in the Blesser
than the blessing. He begins to know
something of a hunger and thirst for
God Himself; as the Psalmist puts it, his
soul thirsteth for the living God…
Seek not an experience but seek
12
Him, seek to know Him, seek to realize
His presence, seek to love Him and give
yourself entirely to Him. If He is at the
centre you will be safe, but if you are
simply seeking for experience, if you
are simply seeking for thrills, if you are
simply seeking for excitement, well
then, you are opening the door to the
counterfeit and probably you will
receive it.
D. Martyn Lloyd Jones
Concern Spring 1996
EFCC publications
Telling Another Generation
£4.95
Serving as a Deacon by John Legg
£1.75
Evangelical & Congregational
£3.00
After Conversion—What? by Lionel Fletcher
£1.50
Children of the Covenant by John Legg
£0.50
Signs and Seals of the Covenant by C.G. Kirkby
£3.50
This book contains a symposium of papers originally written to
mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of an EFCC, and as a tribute to
Stan Guest, who has been closely involved in the work of an EFCC
ever since its formation, and retired as secretary of the Fellowship
in 1989.
“Diaconates might find it useful to supply each member with a copy
of this work” —Evangelicals Now.
A brief survey of Congregational history, church order, confessions
of faith, the ministry, worship and sacraments. Includes Savoy
Declaration of Faith.
A reprint of the forthright and biblical advice to new Christians by
Lionel Fletcher, one of Congregationalism’s foremost pastors and
evangelists.
The biblical basis for infant baptism.
A biblical review of the doctrine of Christian baptism.
All these items are available from the Administrative Secretary. Prices are
exclusive of postage and packing, which are free for purchases with an invoice
value of £5.00 or more.
EFCC Annual Meeting
3rd and 4th May 1996
at
Droylsden Independent Church
Guest Speaker: Rev. Peter Brumby (Whitby)
Aim to be there! Overnight accommodation can be provided:
contact the Administrative Secretary for details
EMMAUS
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Carlett Boulevard, Eastham, Wirral, Merseyside, L62 8BZ
Telephone: 0151 327 1172; Fax: 0151 327 1592
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About Concern
Congregational Concern is the quarterly magazine of An Evangelical
Fellowship of Congregational Churches, and is edited by Rev. Peter Beale.
All Rights Reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of An
Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations in this publication are from the
Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International
Bible Society. Published in Great Britain by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.
It is assumed that contributors are in sympathy with the aims of EFCC.
However, the views expressed in this magazine are strictly those of individual
contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editor or of the
Committee of EFCC.
The magazine is made available freely to member churches of EFCC. It will be
sent to individual subscribers at a cost of £4 per annum (4 issues) inclusive of
postage. Cheques (payable to EFCC) should be sent to the Administrative
Secretary. Mailing address details are held on computer solely for producing
mailing labels. Names and addresses are not passed on to any other organisation.
EFCC Addresses
General Secretary:
Rev. Alan Tovey
19 Outer Trinities
Grovehill Road
BEVERLEY
North Humberside
HU17 0HN
Tel: 01482 869934
Administrative
Secretary:
Mr Bryan Cook
PO Box 34
BEVERLEY
North Humberside
HU17 8YU
Tel & Fax: 01482 860324
Concern Editor:
Rev. Peter Beale
The Manse
47 High Street
Bulford
SALISBURY
SP4 9DS
Tel: 01980 633380
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Tel.: 0151 327 1172 Fax: 0151 327 1592