Hey friends.Beauty from mess, right? That's what we keep saying at St. Joe's because that seems to be an integral part of the story of God in this world.But the most staggering bit is that most of the time, the mess is of human origin. Our own destruction of this wonderful world he's given us. Our own manipulation and corruption of power structures that could be used to be a blessing. Our own selfishness and greed which means nearly 1 in 10 people in this vast world of ours lives in extreme poverty.And yet the story of the Bible is that God doesn’t give up on us! He keeps promising beauty out of mess, beauty out of mess, beauty out of mess.We are living in a world where a huge country like Russia can seemingly bully their way to huge land gains at the expense of ordinary Ukrainians. Where heavily weaponised Middle Eastern countries use extreme force in order to eradicate their enemies. Where power-hungry men with demonstrably poor character can be crowned President of "the Free World". Where other wars have been going on so long that they don't even register on our newsfeeds at all. And most of what happens will happen without any say or sway from little old you and me.You could be forgiven to think - where the HELL are you in all of this God?!But remember Jesus. Born into poverty/breadline living, in an era of the super-power of the Roman state. He and his community had no say over the power struggles that lay way above their heads; and yet had to suffer the consequences of decisions made hundreds of miles away from home.Jesus made the audacious claim that not only was God going to do something about it, he was in fact doing it by becoming one of the seemingly powerless; by suffering at the hands of the oppressive regime. And by inaugurating a whole new way of seeing and living in the world - on the cross.The ultimate beauty from mess.The beauty that says God's Kingdom is coming and has begun to arrive even in the midst of the pain and the mess. Despite torture, ostracism and death Jesus' message spread like wildfire throughout the Roman Empire, quickly and quietly bringing it to it's knees through a radical commitment to the Jesus' way; changing the course of world history inexorably in it's wake.The call is still the same today. We're being called to live a radically different way from the power-hungry, tight-fisted, mean-spirited world around us. To keep spotting the beauty in the mess and joining in. Whoever is president. Whoever is Prime Minister. Whoever starts another war.Because in the end, we get to put our trust in the one who will have the ultimate victory: who will bring justice and mercy; and will one day bring true and lasting beauty out of the whole damn lot.Love you guys,Ben
Dear St Joes,Wow. This Sunday was pretty epic. Firstly, thanks to all who came and joined in with our Streets of Light workshop (even if just to have a coffee and hang out!) - I've seen some of the designs now up in windows around and about the place and they're looking so beautiful. Thank you for going with us on this. I know the Halloween stuff splits the room in terms of appeal, but our goal is to shine a light, however small, into the darkness in the world around us - and amongst the genuine good in some of the stuff that goes on at Halloween, there's an awful lot of darkness to shine into too.My hope and prayer is that our own Streets of Light decorations will shine brighter and bring more joy and hope than all the other decorations down our street combined. If you've managed to put something up for Streets of Light, then my prayer is the same for you too. Go shine a light!But let me also tell you about Sunday afternoon!We had fifty-five children come and join us, alongside at least the same number of adults, for our annual Light Party and it was such a wonderful, beautiful atmosphere. So many of these kids have never been part of the church before and thanks to so many of you, we were able to give them a proper celebration of all things light. Thank you. We've even had someone get in touch about Christenings and a number of enquiries about coming along on a more regular basis. How amazing is that?!“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it.” Boom.Read on for news of the next few weeks, but in the meantime hear this once again: you are seen; you are known; you are loved. He's with you. Even when it gets dark.Love ya!Ben
Hey friends!I'm still mulling that picture Tim left with us at the end of our time together on Sunday - the image of a simple Trust Fall. What about when it's God who's asking us to 'fall back' on him?Living the Jesus way of life involves a huge amount of faith. Funnily though, the simple bit is believing that he is who he said he say he is. I've been believing that the whole of my life. Check! And man, that is a good thing to believe. God loves you and he's got you covered.The TRICKY bit is to then live out your life as if his way really is the best way to live…To trust Him when He says give up time and money for the church and the poor. That He will look after your needs too.To trust Him when He says forgive that person who massively wronged you and not to hold a grudge. That He will bring justice when and where that's required.To trust Him when He says seek first God’s Kingdom rather than your own or that of your family. That the rest will be added too.To trust Him when He says to pray and to ask Him for things and situations, even when you're really scared that you'll feel let down. That He will break into the every day in supernatural and awesome ways.THAT's the tricky bit.But it's a journey we're on together. Like in the trust fall on Sunday, we might stumble and put our foot out to save ourselves. Don't worry - that's a natural part of the process. But go again. Keep leaning more deeply and more deeply into the mightily safe hands of God: trusting who He says He is, and trusting how He's calling us to live this crazy cool thing called life.Big love,Ben
Sabbatical...!This is a period offered by the Church of England to church leaders who have completed 10 or more years of service.So, Ben has stepped away from his regular church duties, to focus on other things that will develop and enhance his ministry, and allow him time to reflect, pray and seek God in different ways. PLUS, he will have some quality holiday time with the family during August. Sabbath = rest.The community and church life of St Joe's goes on, and services and activities will continue to take place, many advertised here!Come and take a look, and see how we are doing without Ben for now - but he'll be back with a bang in September! (First Sunday service after Ben's sabbatical will be 1 September, 10.30am at Newton Leys Primary School.)
