25Apr 2017 by Nigel Ring

Grace-filled or grumpy? Pt 4 Opportunities to serve

Equipping, Handing over, Older generation, Serving
Homework - did you do it? Last time I urged you to list the things you felt you could contribute to the church at this stage in your life. I hope you were obedient! I would now like to add some suggestions to your list. Discipleship and mentoring Jesus' final command was to go and make disciples (Matt 28:19). What a great season in life you are now in to do this with less pressures on your time! You may no longer be an activist and implementer, but you have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. But be sure to do so in humility - and remain a learner! For instance, young men and women in the church may value just sitting with you and asking questions, or discussing a…
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19Apr 2017 by Nigel Ring

Grace-filled or grumpy? Pt 3 What do you have to offer?

Equipping, Handing over, Older generation, Serving
Defining your current gifting and capacity If you believe that God has not finished with you, you have a responsibility to wait on him to discover what he has for you in this season of life. It may well differ from what you have been used to. Your previous energy and capacity have probably diminished. But that does not mean they have come to an end. So let’s look at what you have to offer. You may like to list them out and then ‘lay them before the Lord’. This can give the space and opportunity for him to confirm or adjust what you have written. Be practical As I approached retirement I took time over several months to list the things in which I had been involved. I then…
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12Apr 2017 by Nigel Ring

Grace-filled or grumpy? Pt 2 Keeping fruitful

Equipping, Handing over, Older generation, Serving
Those in their latter years What is your attitude now that you are beginning to feel the aches and pains which come with age? What is your attitude to the current church leadership, maybe those who carry the responsibility you once carried? Be grace-filled not grumpy! Battles for each generation I am saddened when I encounter those who are finding the adjustment to later life has allowed a bitterness of spirit to enter their souls. We have all had battles to fight in our generation and, I trust, have fought those battles well. Maybe they were related to doctrine in the church – baptism of the Holy Spirit perhaps – or practice, such as having guitars in the meetings! That these were big issues now seems laughable, but once they…
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05Apr 2017 by Nigel Ring

Grace-filled or grumpy? Pt 1 Is there a problem?

Equipping, Handing over, Older generation, Serving
Every family sees the passing of generations. As the Newfrontiers family experiences increasing longevity – nearly 36 years have passed since Terry Virgo drew together the first team (see my recent blog 'A team is born') – there is the inevitability of those involved in the early years growing older, both church members and those who have been privileged with leadership. In recent months I have attended thanksgiving services for five people whom I had grown to know, love and in some cases work closely with, who are now dwelling with Jesus in glory. What a joy, if tinged with inevitable sadness, to celebrate their lives and recognise that in each case they had ‘run well’ till the end. In no case did I witness complaining or grumpiness, despite handling serious…
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29Mar 2017 by Nigel Ring

It is not death to die – book recommendation

Books, Equipping, Hudson Taylor, News
In his book ‘It is not death to die’ Jim Cromarty shares the story of Hudson Taylor, the story of a man of faith. Arguably one of the most effective missionaries of all time Hudson Taylor’s heart was set on taking the gospel to China from a young age. To this end he trained in medicine, having to overcome his poor background and the lack of finance to achieve this, and learnt how to share the good news of the gospel with the poor in the area in which he was training. China Inland Mission founded At the age of only 21 he first travelled to China and made several more visits in the next 12 years before God called him on Brighton beach to found the China Inland Mission…
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18Jan 2017 by Nigel Ring

Leading a church to minister with the Poor pt 3. The structure of a ministry

Charity, Equipping, Poor, Social Enterprise, The church
We have now looked at two topics: how to make church life more accessible to those who are poor or in need so that they can 'hear' the gospel, and how to identify what particular ministry we should be carrying out in our church. In this interview Andy Cottingham considers some matters related to running the ministry. Form a Charity? The church is an integral part of the community. A charity has a separate life. So it is with great caution that a church should consider forming a separate charity and there must be safeguards in the governance to prevent any such charity becoming independent of the church. Andy addresses this in the talk below but I have also written about it in a previous series. Relationship with other agencies Typically there are several agencies…
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