Oh my goodness! What does he look like. As my Gran would say "He needs to put a comb to that"

 

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November 2008

 

There is a certain beauty in November, the trees should by now be displaying the rich and varied colours of autumn. It is an awesome sight on a still, cold and misty day to see all those browns, golds, reds and oranges glowing in the low hazy sun. We can marvel at this diverse and wonderful sight, but what we are looking at is dead or dying leaves. Eventually they will fall and float to the ground, decay and be an unrecognisable part of the dirt and mud. The trees begin to look like great skeletons, stretching their thin fingers out into the air.

In November we are aware of and always know winter is coming. We have switched on the heating and the thermostats have been turned up degree by degree to ward off the chill. Big warm coats, scarves and gloves appear in what can seem just as much a cacophony of colour as those autumn leaves. We venture out less as the dark and cold nights are drawing in and darkness takes up more of the day. This is nature.

Without shedding those leaves we would not have the new growth in spring. Without the falling of the leaves to refresh the earth we would not get such a dazzling display of flowers and plants in summer. When it comes to the dark doesn't the old phrase go “its always darkest before the dawn”?

Jesus came to bring us new life but He also said we needed to die as well. Sometimes it can be a bit of a mystery but not in this case. When those leaves fall there is always going to be more life to come and for me it always looks more impressive than before. I am no gardener but I would guess that without this natural recycling the ground could not sustain the new growth. With God there is always the certain hope that there will be new life if only we let go and that when it seems to be the darkest there is always the dawn and the sun will rise in more ways than one.

Love

Jason

The Man in the Manse

 

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October 2008

 

For those who know how writing for Chipperfield news works I am at a very real disadvantage. Because, I do not know how September has gone. I know, just as everyone else, that August was a real wash out. But it is September 1^st and this is for the October issue. It could have been an Indian summer and we all may have had a glorious time, basking in the unexpected sunshine, or it could have gone to form and the start of autumn has been upon us.

October should go as expected, shouldn't it? Duller and wetter? Windier and colder? but hang on, that sounds just like August ! My life can't be any different to others when I say it is filled with expectations. I expect the sun to rise and the sun to set. I expect that when I flick a switch the lights come on. When I turn on the taps it is water and not champagne that comes pouring out. But maybe you were thinking of something else when I said expectations?

Expecting something can turn to demand. For example we may expect reasonable service or good healthcare. When it comes to it we can end up demanding those things. If we don't have them we are at best disappointed at worst angry and insistent. We feel safe when events happen as we expect them to. A comfortable and pleasant life is in planning for the future. Anxiety and uncertainty comes when it doesn't happen as expected and we don't see what is around that corner.

But deep down we know that we can't see round bends. That we are unable to know what is going to happen. I know I can't manage the course of my expectations of life and I would guess neither can any of us. We try but something big and ugly could be just out of sight. A very true phrase was told to me years ago when I was sure I had my life mapped out and it has popped into my head on numerous occasions since.

“As a christian I do not know what the future holds but I know who holds the future” and knowing God will never leave me or let me go is an expectation I can rely on!

Love

Jason

The Man in the Manse

 

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September 2008

 

 

The holiday season is beginning to wind down. The white t-shirts may still be around to show off our tans. The holiday snaps are doing the rounds. The one of little Johnny's first dip in the sea, covered head to toe in sand and ice cream. The one the kids took of dad, caught asleep in the deck chair, looking a bit worse for all the sun and sangria, still wearing those embarrassing shorts that he insisted were cool. Some of us may not admit to it, but we will be looking forward to the kids going back to school. I think I can just about hear the cheer from here.

Someone once said “if our school days are the best years of our lives it doesn't say much for the rest of it”. Now I like that comment. That may sound a bit “bah humbug” but you didn't have the school days I had. It may for some have to do with spending the first flush of youth footloose and fancy free and then the next 40 years or so with our noses to the grind stone and all the responsibilities that come with it. Of course I can identify with that, who wouldn't?, but there has to be more than those few fleeting years to look forward to in life.

I became a christian at the age of 20, so had had those, so called, golden years already. But I have never found myself looking back wishing I could have them all again. Jesus has given my life purpose. Not a grand earth shattering, high octane, white knuckle ride purpose but one that, with Him, makes a difference. On that momentous day I chose God above everything else, my everyday and ordinary existence began to make sense. There have been times when I would rather not have gone to work or felt fed up and thought what is the point? I would be lying if I said otherwise. In the end I could do it with out Him, many people do, but I would rather not.

God wants to be intimately involved with everything about us. Not because He is interfering, meddling and bossy but because He loves us. He knows that with purpose we find fulfilment, joy, hope and a peace that passes all our understanding. Besides if we tell little Johnny that after school there is nothing to look forward to what has he got to look forward to?

Love

Jason

The Man in the Manse

 

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July/August 2008

 

Being a joint newsletter I am tempted to double up on my word count. The other thought was to try and jam in double the wisdom (I can hear you scoffing so stop it). The funny thing is after last months comments on the weather, today it is currently lovely and sunny (it may not be as you read this). Summer evokes in us good feelings. Sunshine somehow lifts our spirits and seems to bring life to what was deary and barren. Plants bloom. All kinds of creatures, big and small, are about. All is right with the world? Summer also heralds the holiday season. Now time off is vitally important to our sanity. In church life it is just as much a weekly event as a yearly two weeks away in Benidorm. The word used often in churches for this time is Sabbath. The God given time for rest. It may sound an outdated and odd word but it is a recognition that God really knows us and what we need. The weekly Sabbath no longer has an important place in many of our lives but we cannot disagree with the fact we need and long to get away from it all. We all need to relax and refresh our minds and bodies. Interesting given the amount of preparation required. Often a mad capped dash to an airport and all the stress that involves. The maddening realisation that everyone in the world has chosen to use the same bit of road you are currently on. I would like to ask a question of us all. A question we may very rarely ask ourselves and it has to do with what the Sabbath was also about. What does a holiday do for our souls? The Sabbath is not only a time of rest for the body but a chance to recharge ourselves spiritually. For us to come before God, without all the normal daily routines and allow Him to recharge us. For us to recognise what He has done for us in His son Jesus Christ. That He has given us this amazing world to live in and that it is all for our benefit to enjoy. We are supposed to have time to stop and think. Whether we are on some white sandy beach or in a B&B in Skegness, can I suggest we all ask ourselves the question why are we here?

Love
Jason
The Man in the Manse

 

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June 2008

 

It is with sadness I write this months copy for Chipperfield news. Father Des had been ill much of the time I have been in Chipperfield and to my great regret and shame I never found the time to meet him. It was a show of unity that as many as possible of the local clergy were present at his Funeral on Tuesday 30th April. It was an occasion of thanksgiving and it was also very evident that he was much loved and had done so much for so many. We Christians come in all shapes and sizes but there is a common bond between us. Why we do one thing this way and another differently must seem strange to some. But what holds us together is the one in which we hope and believe in. Jesus did not give us the definitive structure for church, his words on the matter were “I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples”. Unity comes at a price, yes! there is a cost involved. Jesus also told us that "This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends.” This means laying all that you are down, so that we put others before us. Now that is expensive but if we believe that God is with us and has our best interests at heart, it is a price worth paying. From what has been said of Father Des he served those God had placed in his care with faithfulness, love and by laying himself down for others. My prayers and thoughts and those of Chipperfield Baptist Church are with his family, friends and the congregation he ministered to. In God he trusted and God is forever faithful.

Love
Jason
The Man in the Manse

 

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May 2008

 

My children at one stage believed their paternal grandmother was a Jedi knight. For those of you who are not familiar with this title I will briefly explain. All across the galaxy the Empire was in a constant battle with Rebel forces. The Empire was led by a Sith lord who had executed a plan to kill all the Jedi knights thus enabling him to rule the entire galaxy with his trusted right hand man Darth Vadar. Unfortunately for him there were survivors and eventually he was defeated. That is very much the short version and if you want the full version you will have to sit through six films. But back to my mother. The reason my children thought my mother was a Jedi knight was that her birthday is on the 4th of May ( I will be a dutiful son and not give the year) thus “May the Fourth be with you” a play on a phrase often quoted by the said Jedi knights. You can't watch the Star Wars films without making reference to the religious undertones throughout. The Jedi knights use the Good Side of the universal force and the Sith use the Dark Side to their benefit. Although the whole galaxy is under submission to the Dark Side eventually the Good Side wins out. I don't have to allude any further on the parallels with Christianity – or do I? Even those of us that profess to a belief in the saving power of God through Jesus Christ and His ultimate victory over all that has hold of us, we don't really get it. Just like the end of the last Star Wars film “The Return of the Jedi” there are lots of celebrations at the defeat of the evil Empire but then it stops – no reference to the daily struggles the Rebel forces will now face in rebuilding. There is not a seventh film outlining the continued fight against remnants of the said evil Empire – it just wouldn't get the audiences. We all like to win, we all like to think we can be better and we would all like being good to be easy but it isn't. A lifetime of bad behaviour, of pride, of envy, of letting our own needs come first does not change over night. In Jesus, God promises to be with us forever and to help us change as we go, not take over but work with us in making us better. In all this God knows that we may not change the world but with Him we can change our own little universe.

Love
Jason
The Man in the Manse

 

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April 2008

 

 

Following on from the month of war you cannot go into April without mentioning THE DAY. All fools day is thought to stem from many different sources. It could be the change of calendar way back in the 16c, moving New Years Day to the 1st of January. Those that clung to the old date of the 1st of April were considered fools. Another is that many cultures over the centuries have had a festival for fooling about around the end of March early April, these include the Roman, Hindu and Jewish religious calendars. Spring fever can be another reason attributed to the April fools day, given that late March early April is the time for Mad Hares. As we come out of the the dark and dreary months the sun begins to hit our faces and we tend to get a bit silly. However we like to look at April the 1st and how it came about I can't help feeling we do not do enough messing about and having fun. Jesus said that “I promise you this. If you don't change and become like a child, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven” - having three energetic kids I can testify that they like to have fun (usually at my expense) and it's good for us all to let our hair down. Did you know that it takes more muscles to smile than it does to frown – that to me is a free face lift - and a smile helps to produce endorphins, the hormone that makes us feel better. Jesus also said he came to “give us life in all abundance” and what can be more abundant than a good laugh. I am grateful that April the 1st does not land on a Sunday this year because I think I might have been in for some messing about.

Love
Jason
The Man in the Manse

 

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March 2008

 

It is the month of Mars and I don't mean the one that helps us to work, rest and play. As if we didn't know already March is so called because it was named after the Roman god of war. In fact because of the likelihood of blistering hot weather in the Mediterranean later in the year, March was deemed the best month to start a war. Interesting that this year Easter is early and falls into the month of war. This is the most important time of year for Christians and it is a time churches celebrate (yes I do mean celebrate) the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the correct word to use but I do appreciate that many would ask why a load of people would look to a time of false imprisonment, coercion and intimidation of witnesses, a kangaroo court, torture, pain, anguish, loneliness and finally inhumane execution as a time to celebrate. Well if you look at it from those points I would wonder too. However Easter does not stop at Good Friday. Sunday is coming! It is the resurrection that is celebrated and that is what makes all the difference. In the resurrection we see the full and final vindication of who Jesus was. It is in the resurrection of Jesus that we are shown that God has made peace with us all. Every little wrong action, thought and inclination has been taken away regardless of whether we deserve it or not. In this month of war we can all find peace with God, with others and with ourselves. There is always an open invitation from God why don't you join us?

Love
Jason
The Man in the Manse

 

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February 2008

February is the month with mixed reviews. On the one hand it is normally a dark, dreary and cold month. The nights are meant to be on the wane but still the lack of sun can be a bit of a drag. However it is the month of LOVE, yes it is the time of year for many of us (can I just mean the men?) to make up for all the forgetfulness, lack of romance and for taking others for granted. In a single card, bunch of flowers or box of chocolates, our desire to set right our misdemeanour's against those that we hold dear are expressed. It is not that we want to be less than enthusiastic about our feelings but there does seem to be a lot to be getting on with through the rest of the year. I for one would not admit to my lack of visible affection but I also have to ask myself would things be any better if I spread thin the love over the whole year. Of course this is a a great, big, fat, load of rubbish. Valentines day should be the extra cherry on top, the added bit of slush and should never be the substitute for all that we can show during the other months. In Jesus we see that love does not have a limit. Love grows when shown. Love has the capacity to enlarge and accommodate all that it wants, without exception. The fact that scripture describes God as love and that He loved the world SO MUCH he gave is only son, should give us a little hint. I don't mind outlandish and grandiose shows of affection they all add and affirm what is already there. What I find difficult is being consistent at other times, but I have to thank God he is able to supply all the love that is required of me if only I spend a little time with Him. That seems to me to be the real action of those that love most, spending time. Not gifts or cards but real meaningful time. Can we spend more time with each other? Yes if we put our minds to it. The driving force will be how much time we spend with God, the source of everlasting and all encompassing LOVE. And can it be just a coincidence that the phrase that springs to mind when I turn to next month has in it the word MAD.

Love (and that's an order)

Jason

The Man in the Manse

January 2008

Wow there have been a lot of firsts for me last year. My first pastorate. My first home in Hertfordshire. My first birthday in Chipperfield (no I am not the youngest baptist minister in history). My first Christmas in Chipperfield. My first nine carols and lessons service. My first set of essays for college and I am sure there are a lot more I haven't remembered. However one first that has got me thinking is that of my first New Year. Since my family and I arrived at the end of August we have not really had time to stop. What with getting to grips with the new and I must say pleasant life, then travelling to all corners to visit friends and family over Christmas and all that it entails. I have managed to take a few deep breaths as I came up for air but no time to really think. As I write this it is January 2008 already and it is for the February edition of Chipperfield News so 2008 has started as it ended, busy. New Years are often started with resolutions, we are reminded of what is possible if only we put our minds to it. We start with all the will power and promise we can muster yet as the dark days loom on into February we feel the good intentions slipping away and our heads drop. My new years resolution was not to make any and not to feel too despondent if I failed at that. So as I fail my first test and make this New Years resolution in the gloom of February, in everything I am determined to look up and not down this year. To look at what is possible in God and not look at what I cannot do. Once the celebrations of Christmas are over we can say that Jesus is not just for Christmas but for the rest of the year as well. It maybe so that we often fail ourselves but in Jesus we have God on our side and He never lets our heads drop. Chin up?

Love
Jason
The Man in the Manse

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December 2007

December is busy! That I guess no one would argue with and we yearn for a slower pace, to reflect and remember what it is all about. But actually at the birth of Christ it cannot have been quiet and slow, it would have been noisy with all those animals and shepherds trampling in and out of the dirty smelly stable, all that stuff? on the floor, not the most hygienic place to bring a baby into this world. Mary tired and worried about her new born, Joseph pacing up and down stressing about getting some quiet for his wife and crying child, and then in walk three well dressed and well meaning wise men with their caravan of camels, just to add to the affray. For me this just proves how much God identifies with us, that he knows what life can be, how out of control and how much it can get on top of us. Thankfully he is not removed and distant from all that life can throw at us and in Christmas we see him entering into LIFE with all it's baggage, all its stress, all its worries and is with us in all our desires. That is something we can celebrate, not the consumerism or hype but in giving and receiving of love and a knowledge of His presence at this time. When it is all over and the celebrations and noise are dying down we can slow the pace a little and spend the New Year reflecting on what a difference one life can make and maybe just maybe identify with God as much as he does with us.

During the advent period there will be lots of times to stop and hopefully you will take up an invitation from Chipperfield Baptist Church to “Return to Church” and join us at an informal all age cafe style service being held at 4.00pm on Sunday December 16th

Love
Jason
The Man in the Manse

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November 2007

As I write this I am looking out on a very grey and wet scene. Not what I could see only a few days ago and certainly not the same as when we first arrived. However the Chipperfield community continues to be as friendly, warm and open as ever and we ourselves are beginning to get into the swing of things as there is always something for our children to do, well when we will taxi them. I would like to thank all those that came to my induction service on the 22nd September, it really was a fantastic day, once the nerves were overcome, and lots of people said lots of very lovely things, which I wont pretend weren't flattering if only a little bit untrue, but I will take any praise I can. You may or may not know that the service marks the beginning of a journey for Chipperfield Baptist Church and I, as two days later I was off to the dreaming spires of Oxford to study at Regents Park College and to join others that have heard the call to ministry. Both the church and I will spend the next three years working out what God has in store for us and how we can get there, exciting times indeed. If by any chance you may fancy looking in on us all, just to see where that journey goes, please do, you may be surprised. Our wish would be that you would come to know Gods love as much as we do. Although all around us the weather is gradually changing to colder and wetter, thank God, He never changes.

Love

Jason Gain

The Man in the Manse

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