Renewal Christian Centre

Last Sunday B, Rachel and I took the journey north to Birmingham to visit the church that Rev David Carr leads.         He is renowned for his straight talking and his healing ministry.  He has also overseen the growth of the church to some 2500 people over a weekend.

It was excellent to go to a place that you know has stil got the same pastor and many of the same guys that were involved in starting the church.  in fact, they were honouring those on Sunday who had been with the church for 30 years or more.  We were in the second service and there were about 10 who were still there and in the first meeting there had been over 30 on stage.  I also read something this week that correlated the standing if he church in a community and the longevity if it's leadership.

We managed to find the back door to get in so we didn't have a chance to go to the visitor area, which i think consisted of coffee and there equivalent of our host team.  They did have a good building that seated 1500 people with all the seats out, but it didn't seem so big that you felt distant.  The highlight of the morning for me was the preaching.  It was so soaked in Jesus from beginning to end, there could have been no mistake who the central figure in the church is.
 
I found it inspiring to see what had been built and trust God that one day we too will see something like this in Reading.

Into the second week of sabbatical

It is now a week and a half since I started my sabbatical.  I must say it is strange not being around the hub-bub of RFC, the banter in the office, the wonderful worship times that we enjoy together on Sundays and midweek.  I am however, starting to find a routine in all of this.  I am enjoying studying the Psalms and had a wonderful time looking at Psalm 22 yesterday - seeing the wonder of what David had written and then looking at it in light of Christ and his crucifixion and all that went around that. We have so much to be thankful for in the cross of Jesus!!

I have also started studying 'According To Plan' by Graeme Goldsworthy.  I have only been in the first two chapters, but already I am having my understanding of the bible and my reading  of it, enlightened and brought a greater clarity.  This is one of three books I plan to go through during this time.  

On top of that I am also half way through a book that Gary and Anita Bailey gave me a while ago.  It is about the Noon Day Prayer Meetings that were held at the Fulton Street Dutch Reformed Church during the 1800's that paved the way for the great Revival.  I shall give a more detailed précis of this when i have finished it in a later blog.

After being silent for a month or so, I do intend to blog regularly whilst on my sabbatical, so watch this space for more news.  In my next post, I shall tell all about the church that B, Rachel and I visited at the weekend.