God's Irony, Part One

On Thursday night Penny and I typically meet with a group of young adults to discuss some of the basics of Christianity. This weeks topic, as the schedule would have it, was baptism. It was a very good meeting with lots of good discussion, which you know, if you work with teens, can be hard to come by. All of the young people there were believers, more or less, but none of them had ever been baptized. At the close of the meeting Penny, John Pressdee, and I all had the sense that God had really been pressing on one or two of them, telling them that baptism was in order. None of them said as much, we simply got that impression in the Spirit, as it were.

The irony bit comes in here: Sunday morning is a baptism service at Green Street Green, though these two events were not planned to coincide. And although John is only planning on baptizing one person from the congregation tomorrow, he said he was going to leave the pool open and invite anyone who feels lead to receive baptism on the spot.

If our sense was correct, that God really was convicting one or two of the young people Thursday night, then I'm praying that they follow through on it on Sunday. Whether someone volunteers for it or not, though, I guess I wouldn't be surprised. But come on, that would be pretty cool.

The Future of Youth Work in Green St Green

I had mentioned the other day that GSGBC was holding a church meeting to discuss the borough council's suggestion that they spearhead the area youth work. The meeting was held Wednesday evening and though it was a lengthy meeting, it went well. Primary concerns for the members of the church centered on two areas: (1) additional money and volunteers most likely could not come from GSGBC itself (they're already stretched to capacity), and, more importantly, (2) that if the church took this charge and money from the community for this effort they could not afford to compromise their Christian emphasis and purpose in working with the young people.

The second of these issues has become exceptionally important in recent days here in the UK. Earlier this week, Britain's highest court ruled against Lydia Playfoot, who was forbidden by authorities in her secondary school from wearing a ring on her finger to symbolize her commitment to sexual purity (by the way, the UK is highest in the world in teen pregnancy rates). Furthermore, there is still outstanding in Britain a case involving Exeter University's Christian Union, which has been suspended from the student guild and has had its bank account frozen on the basis that they unfairly discriminate those of other faiths from membership and leadership of the Christian organization.

What this means for GSGBC is that if they elect to discriminate in their selection of volunteers or leadership in their efforts to help the area youth, which the people of the church believe they must if they are to maintain a sense of Christian mission in their youth work, then it is not difficult to imagine a secular organization accusing the church of operating unfairly in their policies. Still, GSGBC must be straightforward and very clear in their intentions if they are to expand their youth work in the community, especially if it is at the request of secular organizations like the borough council and the police.

For Christians worldwide, particularly those of us in the West, these are significant issues that we must be thinking on and preparing for. Though this kind of "persecution," if I can call it that, is not necessarily persistent or common in the UK and the US at this point, it is neither uncommon. We need to be clear on our beliefs regarding the difference between proper and improper discrimination. We need to know which is which and, therefore, when to acknowledge an injustice and when to stand firm.

Strangely Sad to See it Go

Last night we hosted our last Tuesday night youth club for the summer. The kids end school this week, and many will be away on holiday at different times during the summer. Actually, many of the leaders will be away on holiday too. So the end result is no more youth club. (If you'll remember, the kids who showed up on Tuesday nights were neighborhood kids with little or no church background. The youth clubs are a way to get kids off the streets where there are few options to occupy them but getting into trouble. The hope also is that good relationships will form between those in the church and these young people, resulting in good conversations and opportunities for evangelism down the road.)

So last night we hosted a BBQ for them. Thirty or so showed up and it was a good time. It's funny, I really felt like it took up till now for me to really feel comfortable with them (last night I shot pool with several of them) and now it's over. Bummer.

If you read this today, please pray for GSGBC and Penny, the youth worker, because we're holding a church meeting to discuss youth work in throughout the area. The Bromley (the area surrounding Orpington and Green Street Green) Council has recognized (1) a significant problem with young people and crime throughout the area and (2) that those don't appear to be as big a problem in GSG/Orpington, especially on Tuesday nights. As a result the Council has asked GSGBC if they'd consider spearheading the area youth work. Tonight the church meets to discuss proposals by Penny on how the church might move forward in this matter, if at all.

Please pray that the church receives guidance from the Lord regarding the young people in the area and the church's role in that work. Pray also that the congregation would become of one mind on the subject.