The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, is urging people in the diocese of Leeds to respond to an extended consultation on plans to build an annexe to the cathedral, which is said to be “bursting at the seams”…

Building plans for the renovation — Ripon Cathedral Renewed — have already been approved by Historic England and all the cathedral’s regulators, including the Fabric Advisory Commission. But about 2000 people have signed a petition opposing the annexe.

Ripon Cathedral was the first minster church since the Reformation to be given cathedral status, in 1836. Unlike those that came later, it was never adapted or extended in any way; consequently, it has no lavatories — the cathedral pays the council to keep open the public lavatories across the road in Minster Gardens — no safe space for choristers to change and rehearse, no refectory, no communal meeting space, and no storage space.

Read it all.

The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, is urging people in the diocese of Leeds to respond to an extended consultation on plans to build an annexe to the cathedral, which is said to be “bursting at the seams” https://t.co/ner0Tgxd03

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 7, 2024

The 2024 Convention of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, which will be held March 8-9, promises to be a joyful event of worshiping our Lord, fellowshipping in His name, and carrying out efficient and productive Kingdom work. The Church of the Cross, Bluffton is again extending their spectacular hospitality on their Cross Schools Campus. The Convention will open on Friday with Holy Eucharist and the Bishop’s Address at 4:00 p.m. in The Chapel, followed by dinner at 6:00 p.m. and a must-see video presentation.

Registration for the business section of the gathering will begin at 7:30 on Saturday morning, and a continental breakfast will be provided. Members of the Diocesan Youth Commission will open the business meeting with Morning Prayer at 9:00 a.m., after which Bishop Edgar will conduct the meeting. The aim is to end at noon. Participants will be provided with a boxed lunch, which they can eat on the grounds or take with them as they depart.

You may find the convention agenda there.

Your Prayers Sought for the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina’s Convention March 8-9 https://t.co/hxHncqL0dD #parishministry #churchmeetings #21stc pic.twitter.com/P2Jjg7Gg0R

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 7, 2024

O God, the King of Saints, who didst strengthen thy servants Perpetua, Felicity, and their companions to make a good confession and encourage one another in the time of trial: Grant that we who cherish their blessed memory may share their pure and steadfast faith and win with them the palm of victory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today the Church of England celebrates Perpetua, Felicity and their Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 203

Image: Martyrdom of Perpetua, Felicitas, Revocatus, Saturninus & Secundulus, from the Menologion of Basil II, c. 1000 AD. Public domain, via Wikimedia pic.twitter.com/Ms4X1Zb8qa

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) March 7, 2024

The cathedral had hoped for some years to give Austen a fitting tribute as a sculpture, Dean Ogle said. “The opportunity has now arisen with a significant number of private donors and small grant providers keen to see in place the splendid and sensitive design by the acclaimed sculptor Martin Jennings. These funds are restricted by the donors to this project only.

“We recognise that, at a time of cost inflation for so many people, of anxiety about the future, and conflict in society, the idea of bringing to fruition a statue of arguably Britain’s greatest literary figure could be seen as frivolous. Funding for the arts, be it for sculpture or any other medium, is always open to question, which we understand.

“However, with the enthusiastic support of our private donors and the wider benefit it will bring to Winchester, Hampshire, and many of the Austen fans nationally and worldwide, we consider this project should proceed.”

Read it all.

Winchester Cathedral has revealed the preliminary design of a proposed statue of Jane Austen, commissioned from the figurative sculptor Martin Jennings, to mark the 250th anniversary in 2025 of the novelist’s birth https://t.co/IcWSRjmVlv

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 5, 2024

Some, who mistakenly view the Church of England as a unified, coherent body – may therefore delight in the shrinking congregations and generally low morale that defines it nowadays. I delight in none of these things, because I love the CofE.

Look more closely though, and you’ll realise that there is not one Church of England – but two. There’s the Reverend Dr Jekyll, the one who performs invaluable work on the ground; burying the dead, visiting the sick, educating more than a quarter of our nation’s schoolchildren to a much higher standard than the state normally achieves.

This Church manages the food banks, playgroups, dementia cafés and loneliness workshops. It does its best to protect some of the most valuable parts of our nation’s physical and cultural heritage. Its parish priests do this for little money; its thousands of volunteers do it for none at all.

Then there is the other Church of England – the Reverend Mr Hyde. This is a church of unaccountable committees and upward failure, resulting in perhaps the least impressive bench of bishops since Pope Gregory first observed “non angli, sed angeli”. Members of this caste speak in identikit managerial jargon, which from an institution that has provided some of the most beautiful cadences and turns of phrase in the English language is depressing.

Read it all.

Several points expressed well. And they won’t stop. It’s like the control room at Chernobyl – total meltdown.

The Church leadership is destroying the CoE I love https://t.co/VUVRNZ06Te

— Tom Sander 🚴 (@RevThomasSander) March 6, 2024

Ed Lloyd Owen, a society wedding photographer, described the initiative “as a storm in a teacup”: he had not signed the petition and did not intend to, he told the Church Times this week. He saw the issue as a matter of co-operation.

“There is always going to be some friction between two people trying to do their jobs and getting in each other’s way slightly,” he said. “It’s overcome by simply making sure you speak to each other. I also observe the rule of no flash and don’t go near ‘the bubble’. I wear smart clothes (usually tails) and rubber-sole shoes, only move during hymns, and use silent cameras with long lenses.”

His view was not far from that of the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams, who told The Sunday Times this week: “While some vicars can be a complete pain and over-controlling to a degree, clergy too need to be able to do their jobs.”

It was reasonable, he said, for officiating clerics to ask photographers “not to be intrusive during a service when something significant is supposed to be taking place at the spiritual level”.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

A petition to “improve working conditions for wedding photographers in churches” — who have been accusing clerics of “abusive” behaviour towards them — has attracted almost 1000 signatures https://t.co/aiPUPXuo5s

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 5, 2024

The first woman Bishop of Peterborough has been installed in an “uplifting and inspiring service”.

The Right Reverend Debbie Sellin was welcomed as the 39th bishop in the diocese during a 90-minute service at Peterborough Cathedral.

The 59-year-old will lead the Anglican communities across Northamptonshire, Rutland and Peterborough.

She previously acted as Bishop of Southampton after the sudden retirement of the Right Reverend Tim Dakin.

Read it all.

New female bishop installed in 'inspiring service' https://t.co/y8H4akRr4z

— صحيفة مباشر العربية (@mubasheer2022) March 3, 2024

Some 170 people including women and children have been “executed” in attacks on three villages in Burkina Faso, a public prosecutor has said.

Aly Benjamin Coulibaly appealed for witnesses to help find those who attacked Komsilga, Nordin and Soro.

Separately, the army warned of the increased risk of attacks by Islamists, “including attacks on urban centres”.

The country’s army seized power in 2022, but more than a third of Burkina Faso is controlled by insurgents.

Read it all.

Burkina Faso says 170 dead in village 'executions' https://t.co/Dl2MTc1Zuk

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 3, 2024

In a statement, the Roman Catholic lead bishop for life issues, the Rt Revd John Sherrington, an auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese of Westminster, welcomed the committee’s decision “not to recommend the legalisation of assisted suicide”.

He continued: “As highlighted in the Committee’s report, experts have noted that there have been major problems in safeguarding the vulnerable and those without full mental capacity when assisted suicide and/or euthanasia has been introduced in other jurisdictions.

“Recognising the distress and suffering of those who are sick and vulnerable, I welcome the Committee’s recommendation that the accessibility and provision of palliative and end of life care needs to be improved — something the Catholic Church has consistently called for.”

Read it all (registration or subscription).

The Bishop of London @bishopSarahM has welcomed a report by MPs which calls for palliative and end-of-life care to be made more widely available https://t.co/5liE9iClCh

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 1, 2024

YWAM established its presence in Arusha in 2000 and has since established three fully staffed offices in the region. The center’s education programs include classes in discipleship ministry, tailoring, computer skills, and English language, among others.

“In these days, tears are being poured out across the world by individuals, families and YWAMers worldwide. I am personally reeling from the weight of this news, as I knew and loved many of these individuals personally,” wrote Cunningham. She encouraged the use of three Bible verses:

• Hang on to the fact that, no matter what, we know that God is just and kind in all his ways (Ps. 145:17).
• Remind yourself of Job 42:2. Job had lost everything and his response to God was I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Let’s hang on to that word!

• Remind yourself of Isaiah 41:10: Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Read it all.

,
“We have not seen a tragedy of this magnitude in all of [Youth With a Mission]’s history & we are all devastated”https://t.co/Jd1wuDRtLd

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) March 1, 2024

The figures for the persecution of Christians in Nigeria have reached unprecedented heights.

The organisation Open Doors reports 4,565 murders in 2023 alone, covering practically all of the 4,998 people who were killed worldwide for their faith in Christ last year. However, are “the absolute lowest of what could happen”, they said.

Now, the International Society for Liberties and Rule of Law (known as Intersociety) states that the number of Christians killed in Nigeria in 2023 exceeds 8,000.

“The combined forces of the government protected Islamic Jihadists and the country’s Security Forces are directly and vicariously accountable for hacking to death of no fewer than 8,222 defenseless Christians, from January 2023 to January 2024”, says the report of the entity based in Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria.

Read it all.

Nigeria: “There is an effort of the jihad and the Fulani to scare Christians out of their land and stop gospel preaching” https://t.co/iMhK1RKOIM

— വൈശാഖ് (@yshaq) March 1, 2024

Nick Skytland likes to ask pastors a question.

“Have you ever considered that the biggest mission field in the world is nowhere in the physical world?” he will say.

“It’s actually the digital world.”

Usually when he asks that, the NASA chief technologist, whose day job is focused on getting astronauts back to the moon, just gets blank stares.

For a few days in October, though, Skytland was surrounded by people who do know the scope and scale of the digital world. And if they didn’t respond to him, it was because they were busy working with artificial intelligence programs to develop real-life solutions to take faith to the digital mission field.

About 200 people gathered at the tech company Gloo’s headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, for the first-ever “AI and the Church” hackathon. Gloo, which is dedicated to connecting and equipping the faith community, invited 41 teams to compete for $250,000 in prizes and $750,000 in additional funding. Skytland and a NASA colleague, Ali Llewellyn, cohosted the event.

Read it all.

To me adventure is really closely tied with exploration – Nick Skytland #tedxmanitoba pic.twitter.com/kFa3KbvMrF

— TEDxWinnipeg (@TEDxWinnipeg) June 12, 2014

Congratulations to the three new Diocesan Evangelists commissioned by Bishop David on Sunday evening 25 February. The commissioning took place in the shadow of Belfast’s famous Harland and Wolf cranes at The Gathering in St Martin’s Church.
Pictured right to left with Bishop David are Justin McMinn (The Gathering), Sarah Irwin (St John’s Lurgan) and Paul Hawkins (Glen Community Church).

Our Warden of Evangelists, Capt George Newell, and Archdeacon Jim Cheshire who gave the address, complete the line–up.

Read it all.

Down & Dromore news: Three Diocesan Evangelists commissioned: Congratulations to the three new Diocesan Evangelists commissioned by Bishop David on Sunday evening 25 February. The commissioning took place in the shadow of Belfast’s famous Harland and… https://t.co/UZynvrVZ7y pic.twitter.com/aTeuXSrgrk

— Church of Ireland (@churchofireland) February 28, 2024

The Church of England needs many more leaders from working class backgrounds and deprived communities, the General Synod has heard, in a debate where members voted to redouble efforts to establish churches on housing estates.

The Synod re-committed the Church of England to setting up a church on every significant social housing estate, five years on from first giving its backing to this goal.

Members also backed moves to double the number of young active Christians on housing estates and ensure that young people from estates and low-income communities are trained as children’s and young people’s leaders among other forms of ministry.

The Bishop of Blackburn, Philip North, who introduced the debate, called on the Church of England to act now to reverse the “slow erosion” of Christian life on estates.

Read it all.

Work on estates churches has been 'utterly beautiful' in the face of multiple challenges, @BpBurnley told Synod today.

Members voted to redouble efforts to establish churches and double the number of young active Christians on housing estates.https://t.co/dalD9xMkYR

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) February 26, 2024

Againat a background of running costs of £30,000 a day, and an income down by £1 million a year since the pandemic, the Dean of Canterbury, the Very Revd David Monteith, has defended the decision to hold silent discos this month.

Dean Monteith also suggested that there was a “gentle evangelistic dimension” to such events….

A 1990s silent disco was held in the cathedral for two nights this month, eliciting criticism from some quarters after footage was shared online. An online petition (“Anglican Deans, stop turning our great cathedrals into nightclubs”) has collected more than 2600 signatures. It was organised by a Roman Catholic layman, Dr Cajetan Skowronski.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

I looked at the scale of the financial challenge facing cathedrals, as highlighted by @liturgicalben in a recent article.

‘Our commercial activities utterly subsidise our worship.’https://t.co/eo1NXJ0fj9

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) February 26, 2024

O Almighty God, whose most blessed Son didst reveal to the Samaritan woman that He is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the World; grant us to drink of the well that springeth up to everlasting life that we may worship Thee in spirit and in truth through thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Photini, the Samaritan Woman, c. 67

The Samaritan woman at the well appears in John 4.4–26 and in Eastern Orthodox & Eastern Catholic traditions is venerated as a saint with the name Photini ("the luminous one")

Image: Met Museum (OA) pic.twitter.com/4DPW820Uzh

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) February 26, 2024

Now, as Polycarp was entering into the stadium, there came to him a voice from heaven, saying, “Be strong, and show thyself a man, O Polycarp!” No one saw who it was that spoke to him; but those of our brethren who were present heard the voice. And as he was brought forward, the tumult became great when they heard that Polycarp was taken. And when he came near, the proconsul asked him whether he was Polycarp. On his confessing that he was, [the proconsul] sought to persuade him to deny [Christ], saying, “Have respect to thy old age,” and other similar things, according to their custom, [such as], “Swear by the fortune of Cesar; repent, and say, Away with the Atheists.” But Polycarp, gazing with a stern countenance on all the multitude of the wicked heathen then in the stadium, and waving his hand towards them, while with groans he looked up to heaven, said, “Away with the Atheists.” Then, the proconsul urging him, and saying, “Swear, and I will set thee at liberty, reproach Christ;” Polycarp declared, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”

—The Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp, Chapter IX.

Today's the feast of St Polycarp, 2C Bishop of Smyrna who was burned at the stake but then stabbed 'when the fire refused to consume him'. He's the figure on the right in Ninian Comper's 1927 east window at Eye, Suffolk. At his feet kneels John Polycarp Oakey, parish priest of… pic.twitter.com/CCdYpvVH6F

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) February 23, 2024

Read it all.

The Living Ministry study of clergy has been running since 2017. The latest report highlights that more than a third of the incumbents responding reported levels of mental health that indicate possible depressionhttps://t.co/roew8BtSId

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) February 22, 2024

Christians around the world have marked the death in a remote prison camp of the Russian opposi­tion leader Alexei Navalny. Armed po­­­lice dispersed citizens trying to do so publicly in Russia last Friday.

Speaking in Rome, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said that news of the death of Mr Navalny, at the age of 47, had caused “astonishment and sadness”. The Cardinal had hoped that the dissident’s plight could be “resolved differently”.

Members of Finland’s Orthodox Church attended a memorial service for Mr Navalny in the Cathedral of the Assumption, Helsinki, led by Archbishop Leo (Makkonen). Dr Markus Dröge, the former Evangelical Bishop of Berlin, where Mr Navalny was treated for Novichok nerve-agent poisoning in August 2020, called for a street or square to be named after him in recognition of his “indomitable and fearless commitment to freedom and democracy”.

Read it all.

Christians worldwide have marked the death in a remote prison camp of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Armed police in Russia dispersed citizens attempting to do so publicly last Friday https://t.co/N0Z71GuddX

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 21, 2024

Sunday church attendance is just 80 per cent of what it was in 2019, Telegraph analysis has revealed, despite the Church of England claiming that it has “bounced back” after the pandemic.‌

The figures reveal that church attendance has more than halved since 1987, prompting clergy to warn: “This is a doom spiral of the church’s own choosing.”

‌In 2023, The Telegraph published an investigation which revealed that parishes are closing at a record rate, prompting fears that the Church had been “dealt a death knell”.

‌The investigation found that almost 300 parishes have disappeared in the past five years alone – the fastest rate since records began in 1960.

Read it all.

Sunday church attendance is just 80 per cent of what it was in 2019, Telegraph analysis has revealed, despite the Church of England claiming that it has “bounced back” after the pandemic https://t.co/ayVxbZnqEs

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 17, 2024

The 11 survivors of church-related abuse who were awaiting reviews from the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) when it was disbanded last year (News, 23 June 2023) say that they are no closer to receiving a review into their cases. This contradicts what members of the General Synod have been told.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the group, styling themselves the “ISB 11”, write: “Not one survivor is currently having their review progressed” by Kevin Crompton, who was appointed in September to take over the commissioning of independent reviews (News, 15 September 2023).

The statement disputes what is written in a General Synod paper, GS 2336, released on 9 February on behalf of the House of Bishops and Archbishops’ Council. The paper says: “We are glad that several people are taking up this offer and working with Kevin to set in place reviews. We remain open to listening, to conversation, and to attempts to find resolution with all those affected.”

Read it all.

The Church of England authorities appear to be deliberately misleading their own General Synod about progress in caring for victims of abuse. https://t.co/Nbr0hh3uFB

— Andrew Graystone (@AndrewGraystone) February 20, 2024

“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil.”

Then. When? After the descent of the Spirit, after the voice that was borne from above, and said, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And what was marvellous, it was of the Holy Spirit; for this, he here saith, led Him up. For since with a view to our instruction He both did and underwent all things; He endures also to be led up thither, and to wrestle against the devil: in order that each of those who are baptized, if after his baptism he have to endure greater temptations may not be troubled as if the result were unexpected, but may continue to endure all nobly, as though it were happening in the natural course of things.

Yea, for therefore thou didst take up arms, not to be idle, but to fight. For this cause neither doth God hinder the temptations as they come on, first to teach thee that thou art become much stronger; next, that thou mayest continue modest neither be exalted even by the greatness of thy gifts, the temptations having power to repress thee; moreover, in order that that wicked demon, who is for a while doubtful about thy desertion of him, by the touchstone of temptations may be well assured that thou hast utterly forsaken and fallen from him; fourthly, that thou mayest in this way be made stronger, and better tempered than any steel; fifthly, that thou mayest obtain a clear demonstration of the treasures entrusted to thee.

For the devil would not have assailed thee, unless he had seen thee brought to greater honor. Hence, for example, from the beginning, he attacked Adam, because he saw him in the enjoyment of great dignity. For this reason he arrayed himself against Job, because he saw him crowned and proclaimed by the God of all.

How then saith He, “Pray that ye enter not into temptation.” For this cause he doth not show thee Jesus simply going up, but “led up” according to the principle of the Economy; signifying obscurely by this, that we ought not of ourselves to leap upon it, but being dragged thereto, to stand manfully.

And see whither the Spirit led Him up, when He had taken Him; not into a city and forum, but into a wilderness. That is, He being minded to attract the devil, gives him a handle not only by His hunger, but also by the place. For then most especially doth the devil assail, when he sees men left alone, and by themselves.

–The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom, Homily 13

Philips Augustijn Immenraet, 'Temptation of Christ' pic.twitter.com/JFkWhwgKUt

— Christopher 🎶💃✊🏻🕺🎨 (@ChriXCoenen) January 30, 2022

In Uganda, during the eight years in the 1970’s when Idi Amin and his men slaughtered probably half a million Ugandans, “We live today and are gone tomorrow” was the common phrase.

We learned that living in danger, when the Lord Jesus is the focus of your life, can be liberating. For one thing, you are no longer imprisoned by your own security, because there is none. So the important security that people sought was to be anchored in God.

As we testified to the safe place we had in Jesus, many people who had been pagan, or were on the fringes of Christianity, flocked to the church or to individuals, asking earnestly, “How do you prepare yourself for death?” Churches all over the country were packed both with members and seekers. This was no comfort to President Amin, who was making wild promises to Libya and other Arab nations that Uganda would soon be a Muslim country. (It is actually 80 per cent Christian)….
It became clear to us through the Scriptures that our resistance was to be that of overcoming evil with good. This included refusing to cooperate with anything that dehumanizes people, but we reaffirmed that we can never be involved in using force or weapons.

…we knew, of course, that the accusation against our beloved brother, Archbishop Janani Luwum, that he was hiding weapons for an armed rebellion, was untrue, a frame-up to justify his murder.

The archbishop’s arrest, and the news of his death, was a blow from the Enemy calculated to send us reeling. That was on February 16, 1977. The truth of the matter is that it boomeranged on Idi Amin himself. Through it he lost respect in the world and, as we see it now, it was the beginning of the end for him.

For us, the effect can best be expressed in the words of the little lady who came to arrange flowers, as she walked through the cathedral with several despondent bishops who were preparing for Archbishop Luwum’s Memorial Service. She said, “This is going to put us twenty times forward, isn’t it?” And as a matter of fact, it did.

More than four thousand people walked, unintimidated, past Idi Amin’s guards to pack St. Paul’s Cathedral in Kampala on February 20. They repeatedly sang the “Martyr’s Song,” which had been sung by the young Ugandan martyrs in 1885. Those young lads had only recently come to know the Lord, but they loved Him so much that they could refuse the evil thing demanded of them by King Mwanga. They died in the flames singing, “Oh that I had wings such as angels have, I would fly away and be with the Lord.” They were given wings, and the singing of those thousands at the Memorial Service had wings too.

–Festo Kivengere, Revolutionary Love, Chapter Nine

Archbishop Janani Luwum was killed #onthisday in 1977 after protesting against acts of violence carried out by the security services in his native Uganda.

He is one of ten 20th-century Christian martyrs whose statues stand above the Abbey's West Door:https://t.co/U8m2V4sagr pic.twitter.com/2hWnmftUjL

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) February 17, 2024

O God, whose Son the Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep: We give thee thanks for thy faithful shepherd, Janani Luwum, who after his Savior’s example gave up his life for the people of Uganda. Grant us to be so inspired by his witness that we make no peace with oppression, but live as those who are sealed with the cross of Christ, who died and rose again, and now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.O God, whose Son the Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep: We give thee thanks for thy faithful shepherd, Janani Luwum, who after his Savior’s example gave up his life for the people of Uganda. Grant us to be so inspired by his witness that we make no peace with oppression, but live as those who are sealed with the cross of Christ, who died and rose again, and now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today we join the rest of the world to honour a figure of the Church, the voice of people and communities in Uganda, Archbishop Janan Lawum.

Archbishop Janan Lawum teaches to speak truth to power always, a character that can open very many doors.@JanetMuseveni @JanetMuseveni pic.twitter.com/uf35qvAHfx

— Uganda National Students Association (UNSA) (@unsaugofficial) February 16, 2024

When the late Federico “Fred” Mission Magbanua Jr. preached a radio sermon on offering one’s body as a living sacrifice, he probably didn’t imagine he’d one day hear these words again as a 10,000-watt radio frequency current surged through him in a near-death accident.

It happened one night in early 1961, while Magbanua was working at the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) gospel radio ministry. He was mulling over a job offer in the United States with a salary far greater than what he currently made as an FEBC engineer and as a pastor of a small Baptist church.

Suddenly, the warning lights on the 308-foot radio tower went out. Magbanua loaded some new bulbs into a bag and began climbing the structure. From his home nearby, his daughters and his wife, Aliw, watched him scale the tower.

What Magbanua didn’t realize was that the grounding system—which diverts energy to the ground to prevent surges—wasn’t working. A radio frequency current “hit his head using his body as a lightning rod,” his friend Harold Sala later told God Reports. “Literally, he was being executed by the tremendous surge of electrical power.”

Read it all.

Of course, as you get older in ministry you look back at where you’ve come from (I’m now 50). You can’t help but reflect on the things you have learnt along the way. And, boy, there are many things I wish I could’ve said to myself. I’m not sure I would’ve listened well, or even understood, but it might have helped me avoid some pitfalls. Here are some of the things I wish I could have said—and undoubtedly need to keep saying to myself now.

1. It’s easier to plant a church in your head than to do it in reality.

I had plans for how a church would work and what it ‘should look like’ and ‘how long things would take’. But, of course, people and circumstances don’t neatly fit into our plans and ideas. Planting a church has required a lot more perseverance and spiritual pit stops than I ever anticipated. The Lord is kind in not showing us everything beforehand!

2. Don’t be too opinionated. Loads of your brilliant ideas will never work, and you’ll realise you’re wrong (or at best, unbalanced) on a bunch of things.

This won’t be everyone’s issue, but I have always had a tendency to have too much confidence in my own opinion, and to stand my ground unnecessarily. I think opportunities have been lost at times, and some conflicts could’ve been avoided by being more flexible (and humble).

3. Patience and tenacity will be more important than giftedness.

Of course, it’s great for leaders to be gifted and useful, but everything we do is qualified by patience and tenacity. Perseverance in the walk qualifies all the verbs of ministry. The victory comes to the determined and tenacious. We don’t want to just run the race, but finish the race.

4. You will need to pray loads more than you think.

Of course I always knew that I needed to pray—you can’t get into pastoral ministry without having heard about the importance of prayer! But it took me a few years to get going with prayer in any disciplined way. I would say that prayer has been the single most important thing in keeping me going as a pastor. Prayer has been where the promises of God have become very real to me.

Read it all.

As we continue in Christian ministry, at every level, how can we learn the lessons and grow in maturity—and pass those lessons on to others who follow? @AJWTheology https://t.co/Wx6o2d7IJT

— Dr Ian Paul (@Psephizo) February 13, 2024