A little over a week ago I was riding the bike in our local village event 'Santa Comes to Irby'. Santa was riding in on his own bike to switch on the village Christmas lights and other bikers, including myself, were riding in with him.
After the lights were switched on all the bikes were parked up in the local pub car park for all the kids to come over and sit on. Of course, the children enjoyed doing this, but it was the fathers, as I have seen so often, who look at their kids sat on the bikes with that sense of envy, and the look that says 'if only I could have one'. It has to be said that the look of the nearby wife is often one of 'not on your life.
Of course, this creates in me a sense of pride that my wife allows me to be part of this rather exclusive club, to which others are not allowed to belong.
Pride in this case is only a bit of fun, but in my role as a pastor, pride is something, that if not controlled, can easily become destructive. People do look up to you for help and encouragement, and it is too easy to get a feeling of self importance if you forget who it is you are serving and the help you need from Him every day.
The other day I was reading in Paul's letter to the Philippians, from chapter 4 verse 10 , where Paul writes, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'. This isn't just referring to the strength that we need to do things that are naturally beyond us, but the strength we need to do everything. We can do nothing without the strength of Christ; and if I can do nothing without His strength, then my ministry is not about me, it's all about Him.
The Biker Pastor
Monday 17 December 2012
Friday 7 December 2012
All for a Good Cause
How far do you go for a good cause? The cause in this case is the greatest cause, to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19), the area of work, as always, is the world. This very often requires us to put ourselves in places that we wouldn't ordinarily go, amongst people that we wouldn't ordinarily associate with and in support of causes that we wouldn't ordinarily support, all for the sake of what is often referred to as bridge building.
The reality is that less and less people, even at Christmas, will voluntarily come to church unless they are invited to come. Church hasn't just become an unpopular place to go; for this unchurched generation it has become a frightening place to go; what will happen when I get there? Will they let me out again?
Bridge building requires building of friendships and the building of community relations; both take time and both require us to meet with people where they are with their interests with the hope that they see us as warm and welcoming and therefore accept our non-threatening invitations to come to the place that they might hear and, in God's time, respond to the gospel of saving grace.
This evening, the church that I pastor will be supporting a village event called 'Santa Comes to Irby'. There will be many Christians who will look at events like this and talk about how worldly and commercial the whole thing is, and how the real meaning of Christmas is Jesus, and will therefore not be involved; and I do understand and sympathise with the arguments.
All I can say is this, 'It's not about you', it's about the good cause, it's about allowing the people of this world to come to a place where they can hear the gospel. Step out of the box, as Christ Himself stepped out of Heaven for us, so we also should step out into this world for Him.
The Biker Pastor
The reality is that less and less people, even at Christmas, will voluntarily come to church unless they are invited to come. Church hasn't just become an unpopular place to go; for this unchurched generation it has become a frightening place to go; what will happen when I get there? Will they let me out again?
Bridge building requires building of friendships and the building of community relations; both take time and both require us to meet with people where they are with their interests with the hope that they see us as warm and welcoming and therefore accept our non-threatening invitations to come to the place that they might hear and, in God's time, respond to the gospel of saving grace.
This evening, the church that I pastor will be supporting a village event called 'Santa Comes to Irby'. There will be many Christians who will look at events like this and talk about how worldly and commercial the whole thing is, and how the real meaning of Christmas is Jesus, and will therefore not be involved; and I do understand and sympathise with the arguments.
All I can say is this, 'It's not about you', it's about the good cause, it's about allowing the people of this world to come to a place where they can hear the gospel. Step out of the box, as Christ Himself stepped out of Heaven for us, so we also should step out into this world for Him.
The Biker Pastor
Thursday 6 December 2012
The Biker Pastor online
It's the usual sort of thing; something that seems a good idea at the time, never tried before, but now pursuaded that blogging is something that has to be tried. It's not even that I believe that I owe it to the world to put anything down for them to follow, but I am an evangelical pastor with a couple of bikes and I have sought to recently bring the two passions of my life together into some sort of ministry.
That's not to say that it was ever my intention to do so. When I took up biking again after a period of some 15 years of absence I never intended for it to become a part of my ministry, but it was in the Lord's plan to lead me to a church that was over the road to a pub that hosted a bike club, that also happened to put on a bike show once a year, how could I not be involved?
More than that, how could I not be involved when I try to encourage the church members to be involved in anything (fitting to the gospel) that builds bridges into the community?
So, not only am I a pastor with two bikes, but I also now have a website (www.biblebikes.com), I have a customisation project on the go, simply to meet with bikers where they are so that in time they might meet me where I am so that I might share the gospel, the good news of Jesus as Saviour, with them.
I don't know if this blog is of any value at all, but come back and see how it develops.
The Biker Pastor
That's not to say that it was ever my intention to do so. When I took up biking again after a period of some 15 years of absence I never intended for it to become a part of my ministry, but it was in the Lord's plan to lead me to a church that was over the road to a pub that hosted a bike club, that also happened to put on a bike show once a year, how could I not be involved?
More than that, how could I not be involved when I try to encourage the church members to be involved in anything (fitting to the gospel) that builds bridges into the community?
So, not only am I a pastor with two bikes, but I also now have a website (www.biblebikes.com), I have a customisation project on the go, simply to meet with bikers where they are so that in time they might meet me where I am so that I might share the gospel, the good news of Jesus as Saviour, with them.
I don't know if this blog is of any value at all, but come back and see how it develops.
The Biker Pastor
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