Football uncertainties: will your anchor hold?

For the past three seasons I have been privileged to be the chaplain to Doncaster Rovers FC, my local club. Having been a lifelong football fan, it has been great to be able to see something of what goes on behind the scenes at a football club. On the whole, it has been a great three years for the Rovers. In my first season (2007/8), they reached the League 1 Play-off final at Wembley Stadium. As a double bonus for me personally, in the same season my home-town club, Hull City, also reached the Championship Play-off final at Wembley. So, having never been to Wembley in my life, I was blessed to be able to visit the famous stadium twice in the same weekend, and on both occasions saw my team achieve a famous victory!

I guess that many people imagine that the life of a footballer is very glamorous. When we hear of some of the top players being paid over £100,000 every week we can't help but feel that they have a cushy number! Yet, in my experience, the life of a footballer involves a great deal of uncertainty. However popular and successful a footballer is, he can never take that success and popularity for granted. A serious injury can overnight bring a footballer's career to an end. A loss of form can mean that the player is no longer wanted by his club. It is public knowledge that a number of the current Rovers players are out of contract at the end of this season (only two games away, now). For those players there is a cloud of uncertainty hanging over their footballing future.

Of course, footballers are not the only ones who face uncertainty in life. With the current credit crunch etc., many people face uncertainty about their jobs, their finances and a whole host of matters. It is interesting that in the last two funerals which I have taken, one of the hymns has been the hymn which begins with a pertinent question: "Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?" Most of us, at some stage in our lives, will face storms, difficult times. The big question is, do we have an anchor which will prevent us being dashed against the rocks and destroyed? The chorus of the hymn goes as follows:

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.

The only unshakable foundation to life is Jesus Christ. If our trust is in him, we fill find that even the fiercest storms cannot shake us. And that's great news in a very uncertain world!

PS To listen to a version of the hymn try here.

Brown, Cameron, Clegg & Jesus

This week has seen the launch of the manifestos of the various political parties, though political commentators have been quick to point out that the British public doesn't exactly seem very excited by the prospect of a General Election! Many people appear to have been turned off by the shenanigans at Westminster over recent years. Even politicians themselves concede that their standing and reputation in the eyes of the public is at an all-time low. Perhaps the long-awaited TV debates between the three main party leaders will engender some excitement, though the events themselves appear to be very closely stage-managed affairs.

Manifestos are designed to act as a statement of principles and intentions. I wonder how many people actually take the trouble to read through the various political party manifestos? And can we trust what is in them, anyway?

The gospel writer, Luke, records an incident at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. It takes place in Nazareth, where Jesus spent his formative years. In the local synagogue, Jesus reads a passage from the writing of the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come." There is a sense in which Jesus was here presenting his personal manifesto. He is anointed by the Spirit of God to fulfil the role and ministry which God the Father had called him to. He came to set people free from the curse of sin and death; his path which would lead in due course to his own crucifixion and death (and subsequent glorious resurrection!)

As we listen to the words of Brown, Cameron and Clegg, we have the choice to accept or reject what they say and the promises they give. It is the same with Jesus. He offers us the gift of new life through faith in him; he says to us, as he said to the first disciples, "follow me." But the response we make to Jesus is of far more significance than the response we make to the party leaders. As the apostle John says in his first letter, "God has ... given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life."

Choose life!

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

On Easter Monday afternoon we had a family trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Wakefield. It was my first visit. The YSP is in the grounds of Bretton Hall. From 1949-2001 Bretton Hall was home to Bretton Hall College. As well as the hall itself there are extensive grounds. What was particularly interesting to me is that in the late 40s/early 50s my Dad worked as a gardener at Bretton Hall, and lived in a property in the grounds, along with my Mum and 4 elder sisters (before I arrived on the scene!) The single story property where they lived still exists, although it is now a gallery. It was quite a strange feeling to visit a place where my family lived before I was born. I guess that some of the trees in the gounds would still be recognised by my Dad if he was still alive. I suppose that it's a bit like visiting the Holy Land and knowing that there are some places which have remained virtually unchanged since the time when Jesus walked there.

As for the YSP itself, it is perhaps most well-known for its Henry Moore sculptures, which are situated in various parts of the grounds. It also has extensive indoor areas where various artists exhibit their work. The vast majority seem to be of what one might call the "modern art" variety, which, to be honest, isn't really my cup of tea.

We did spend a little while in one of the exhibition areas and (again, to be honest) I wondered what anyone saw in the pieces of art - they just seemed to me like things a child might have thrown together in a hurry! Yet there did appear to be people who studied them with interest and seemed to appreciate them, which reminded me that we see things in different ways - beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

That led me to think about human beings. There may be some people who we find it very difficult not to dislike, and others who we do our best to avoid. Yet as followers of Jesus we need to remember that in God's eyes every single human being - man, woman and child - is precious and loved.

Knowing the One to give thanks to

The writer of Psalm 106 begins his psalm with these words, "Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Last week I had a very interesting conversation with someone who holds an influential business position. It transpired that our work backgrounds are very similar - we both trained, worked and qualified within a professional office of Chartered Accountants. That's where our "career paths" took very different routes: he is now a CEO of a very well know local organisation, and I am a Methodist minister!

As our conversation progressed, he asked what led me to become a minister. The answer is really very simple: I was responding to God's call on my life. It was whilst attending a conference in Sheffield in around 1985 that I felt very firmly that God wanted me to offer for the Methodist ministry. I many ways I felt ill-equipped for this major life change (and sometimes still do!) However, over all the years I have been a minister (I'm now in my 20th year), even when things have been really hard, I've known that God was with me to give me strength and guidance. Despite my many shortcomings he has been gracious!

In answer to the question about what led me to become a minister, I talked about God's call on my life, and about my faith in him. As I talked about my own personal faith, the person I was speaking to stated, "that's something I don't have". Having been brought up in a Christian family, God has always been part of my life; I can't imagine life without him!

As the conversation progressed, the man talked about how much he enjoys his work, how he has a lovely wife and children. He seemed genuinely happy with his life. And yet, I thought to myself, how sad, so much to be thankful for and he doesn't know the One to thank!

All good things come from our wonderful God - it is good and right to give thanks to him.

United we stand

Each year, the Churches Together in Central Doncaster group organises a series of Lent talks in the period leading up to Easter. Generally, an invited speaker comes to lead the meetings, on a theme of their choosing. This year we have had several different speakers, all from the Focolare movement ("an international movement, inspired by the gospel, working for unity.."). Naturally enough, the theme they have chosen has been unity.

I had been asked to lead the opening part of last night's meeting, and I began by quoting from John Wesley's sermon on "The Catholic Spirit", which deals with the subject of Christian unity. Wesley quotes the words of Jesus to his disciples, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." In other words, the identifying mark of those who follow Jesus should be the love that they show towards one another. Yet Wesley goes on to admit, "Even amongst Christians it is difficult to fine people who love one another in obedience to Jesus' command."

One of the hymns I had chosen for us to sing was a hymn by Charles Wesley (John's brother), "All praise to our redeeming Lord". I chose it because it speaks of the call of Jesus to walk with him and with one another in love. However, I have always had a problem singing one of the verses of the hymn,:

Ev'n now we think and speak the same,
And cordially agree;
Concentred all, through Jesu's name,
In perfect harmony.

The big problem with that verse is that I've never experienced "perfect harmony" in any church I've ever been involved with! However, I have come to realise that I can sing it, not because it is yet accomplished, but I sing it in the hope and prayer that we Christians will pray and work to achieve Jesus' desire for us - to love one another as he loves us.

As I came to introduce the hymn at last night's meeting, I was all set to mention the difficulty I have with this verse, when I suddenly realised that in the Baptist hymn book (we were meeting at Doncaster Baptist Church), the verse is omitted! Maybe the editors thought it was too difficult to sing!

Yet, as the speaker said at the Lent meeting, as we draw closer to Jesus, so we draw closer to each other. In a divided and hurting world, there is a tremendous need for Christians to demonstrate the love of Jesus.

When tragedy strikes

Each Tuesday at Priory we have a lunchtime service. This week’s service took the form of a “Songs of Praise”. The lunchtime service regulars had been invited to choose their favourite hymn. One of the hymn choices was an old favourite, “What a friend we have in Jesus”, written by Joseph Scriven. Joseph Scriven was born in Banbridge, Co. Down, Ireland. In 1845 tragedy entered his life when his fiancée was drowned on the night before they were to be married. The grief-stricken young man moved to Canada. There he again fell in love, and was due to be married, when the young woman suddenly fell ill of pneumonia and died.

When tragedy strikes, we have the choice of either blaming God and turning away from him, or turning to him for strength to carry on. Scriven chose the latter, and devoted the rest of his life to helping others. Some time later he wrote a poem to comfort his mother, which he called "Pray Without Ceasing". It was later set to music and renamed, becoming the much loved hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus". The hymn is a great reminder that whatever happens in life, in Jesus we have a friends who will never desert us.

Steven Curtis Chapman is a well known Christian singer-songwriter. He, too, experienced tragedy when his daughter Maria died. I have recently bought his album “beauty will rise”, which arose from his experience of loss. It is an amazing album, in which Chapman so beautifully explores the issues of pain, loss, anger, despair, hope, faith. Out of all the questioning comes the ultimate message of the album, hope will rise.

Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t make us immune to hard times, but it does mean that we have One who will see us through. It’s hard to pick out one track from Chapman’s album, but try this one: “Jesus Will Meet You There”

The power of the tongue

Around 10 days ago Sue and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary (where do all the years go!). We don't tend to make a big deal of our wedding anniversaries, but it is certainly something to celebrate. I bought Sue a bunch of flowers (that gave her a shock!) and she bought me a book of funny football sayings. Here are just a few examples:

'I would not be bothered if we lost every game as long as we won the league.' - Mark Viduka

‘I had a lump in my mouth as the ball went in' - Terry Venables

‘I was quite surprised and delighted to take the armband for both legs.' - Gary O’Neil

'I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel.' - Stuart Pearce

'I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country.' - Ian Rush

'I was really surprised when the FA knocked on my doorbell.' - Michael Owen

‘The important thing is that he shook hands with us over the phone' - Alan Ball

'My parents have been there for me, ever since I was about 7.' - David Beckham

It's so easy, of course, to say something without thinking, and then immediately regret what has been said. The above examples are quite funny, and maybe, looking back, the people concerned were a little embarrassed. But sometimes our words can have far more regrettable consequences.

There was a saying around when I was a young lad, "sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me." What a load of rubbish! Words can be incredibly hurtful. James, writing his New Testament letter, warns, "If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless."

I guess that all of us can remember times when we have said something and instantly regretted it. The sobering thing is that once the words have come out they can never be taken back.

The tongue is only a relatively small part of the body, but it has a potential influence (for good or evil) far beyond its size. How much better the world would be if we human beings tried harder to control our tongues!