CK Barrett Still Preaching

Now that I’m about to begin the lay preaching training process with the local Methodist circuit, I’ve started picking up the quarterly preaching calendar for the circuit.  I saw that CK Barrett, or Kingsley as he is called at the churches, was preaching two or three times this quarter.  So a group of us visited St. Andrew’s Methodist in a village just outside of Durham to hear him preach this Sunday.  Nijay gives a summary of the event over at his blog, so I’ll just add a couple of extra details I found interesting. 

Though his vision slowed his scripture reading down, his preaching was clearer and more interesting than any that I’ve given to date!  He tied his darkness to light message from Acts 26 to that of Plato’s cave imagery in light of Halloween.  Kingsley applied the shadow-reality dialectic as a Christian viewpoint to the world, with the reality coming from the gospel and God’s work.  The question he had for Plato was how did the guy ever get out of the cave?  It was a great turn when he offered that it was the one who was born in a cave and left it and the one who was placed in the grave after the cross who left it.  Jesus is the one who shows us the way of reality by leaving the cave and bringing us with himself.  My summary doesn’t do it justice, but it was a good balance of academic tid bits (why this was not a defence at a trial, Paul’s education, etc.) with the more pastoral encouragement to live according to the light of the gospel. 

It was such a treat to meet him in person and to hear him preach, especially since he celebrated his 90th birthday last spring.   Methodism has been well represented at Durham–Barrett, Morna Hooker, and Jimmy Dunn.  Not to mention students like Ben Witherington who passed through here several years back.  St. John’s college here hosts the Wesley Study Centre, which is one of three UK residential training centres for Methodist ministers.

 

NT Seminar: John Barclay

John Barclay gave a paper on Monday evening at the NT Seminar about how the bible was used in the british abolitionist movement which came to fruition in laws passed in 1807 and 1834.  You can read the full version in the most recent, I believe, copy of Expository Times.  He focused on the dual influence of enlightenment moral philosophy and biblical themes.  The interesting item of note is that on the surface one can make a surprisingly strong argument for slavery based on biblical texts (e.g., Leviticus 25).  However, John noted strongly that a key influence in the application of biblical texts against slavery was the enlightenment moral philosophy with its emphasis on universal rights that allowed abolitionists to reframe slaves as ‘men’ and even more importantly ‘brothers’.  Accordingly, all the texts on how to treat one’s brother in the bible became relevant to all people regardless of race.  It does make one think about how strongly our current worldview determines our ability to interpret the bible. 

It also shows how much evangelicalism in the UK has a different DNA in many ways than that of the US.  In the UK evangelicals were (and are?) very active in social issues, and were the main movers for social change.  On the other hand, evangelicals in the US regularly toy with isolation from society rather than positive engagement. 

One item to note is that along with William Wilberforce, Granville Sharp was a key player in the abolitionist movement.  And as Dan Wallace will tell you, he also wrote an essay on taxation without representation, which also proved influential in a small conflict around 1776.  So he had three very influential essays in very different areas: abolition, taxation, and Greek grammar. 

 

Romans 8 Sermon

I preached this past Sunday on Romans 8 at Carrville Methodist again. I asked to preach then so I could think a little more ‘pastorally’ about the subject of my BNTS paper. I had to cut down the sermon a little because I forgot that the churches here sing all 7 of the verses in hymns that only seemed to have 4 (or maybe 5) in the states. Plus with a really slow tempo by the organist, I think I lost about a quarter or more of my preaching time. But I guess it just forces you to focus on what’s important.

Adoption was my big theme, but it just gave me the intro to the already/not yet scheme of Paul’s theology–already adopted, justified, saved but not yet fully adopted, justified, saved. The teacher aspect in me came out and I had a ppt slide illustrating it. I actually came up with what is one of the best illustrations I’ve ever done–though the actual presentation left a little to be desired. After the Civil War the 13th-15th amendments were passed securing civil rights for all. But these rights weren’t fully consummated until 100 years later. The freedom was truly won before as with the cross/resurrection/pentecost, but it was a life of struggle while minorities awaited the full consummation of freedom as we await re-creation and resurrection. I’m proud of myself since I only come up with one good illustration per year, and I left my illustration file back in the states.

 

Holiday Club

We finished off our Holiday Club (~VBS) today. The pastor and the woman who ran HC all last week was out of town, so I was asked to fill-in on stage. (I made some comment about being third string to someone, but that doesn’t really communicate here. Most UK sports have very few subs and back-ups like in the US, so you typically don’t have much of a second string, much less a third.) I’ve preached before, but this was the first service that I ran from start to finish. It was a cooperative effort to plan, and I thought it came off pretty well although I began to appreciate the tension of change (e.g., more choruses instead of hymns, modern version of the Lord’s prayer, etc.) for older congregations.

Anyhow, our HC went very much like a VBS in the states. Since our congregation (with attendance averaging in the 70’s, I think) is older (avg age around 55-60), I was pleased to see about 30 kids show up for the week. It was unfortunate that the only non-regular kids that came back today for the wrap-up service was a family who regularly attends an anglican church down the street.

During the week I led the year 4-6 table (~grade 4-6), and had a good time, but the girls were definitely all chatty. One who was visiting grandparents in the church noted that she was a Mormon. Another kid asked her if she’s learned Latin yet. She said no. And he said, well Latin is what Mormons speak, and others agreed. I thought to myself, ‘No, Mormons started in the US, so it would be English.’ But then it hit me, he was talking about Romans! and I was able to clear up the confusion.

One other thing I learned is that a high percentage of people take their summer holidays (they don’t use the word ‘vacation’) in the rest of Europe. Most of the kids in my group said they were heading to France, Portugal, or Spain some time in the next few weeks.

 

Churches in Durham

Though church attendance in the UK is less than 10% of the population per week, there are plenty of church options. Most churches run around 40-70 per week (I think), but those near the city centre are larger. We’ve found the believing community here, especially in the smaller churches, very friendly and inviting. Since most international students are limited to walking, they tend to go to one’s in the city centre or one in their part of town. Most of the larger churches seem to have some type of small groups program as well, but with no (or very limited) child care options.

Here’s a quick run down of Protestant churches that we know about. (I’ve marked with an *astericks* those churches that I’ve actually attended.)

Anglican
St. Nic’s.* It also has a strong evangelical feel, though it follows a standard Anglican liturgy. It’s the traditional looking church in the market square of the city centre. I believe they only have kids stuff during the early service.
Christ Church.*  Among the N. Americans this is one of the more popular churches and is currently meeting out towards the University Library.  It’s probably the most like a standard evangelical church in North America with regard to quasi-expository preaching, (roughly) contemporary music, and lots of college students.  It’s also known for being (really?) conservative and vocal about differences with other groups.  There is some contention over its Anglican status (see comments below):  From what I hear, it’s under a different bishop than NT Wright, but they are clearly self-defined as Anglican per their website.
St. John’s. I believe it’s a fairly standard Anglican church, though maybe a little larger than others. A few lecturers attend there.
Many other churches are spread through out the city. Also, the Bishop of Durham (aka Tom Wright) also preaches from time to time at the Cathedral. He doesn’t preach there as often as I expected that he might, but I don’t keep up with his schedule either.

Here are the so-called ‘non-conformist’ churches, since they don’t follow the official state church…

Methodist
Methodist churches (or ‘chapels’ as they are sometimes called) are also spread throughout the area. They have a historical connection with coal mining, which was prevalent in this area. One interesting note is that ordained and lay preachers rotate around the circuit to preach each week. Such that, even the pastor for a church may only preach at his or her church twice a month.

Side note: We go to Carville Methodist, which is just past Gilesgate Moor and Belmont (in Carville). We intentionally chose a church that was not a college church so we could interact with regular English people outside the academic setting. Another plus for us is that the walk to Carville is all flat, so it’s easier to get to with kids.

Evangelical/Charismatic
Kings Church. ‘A lively, charismatic, evangelical congregation in the heart of Durham.’ per its website.  Two of its main staff are quality biblical scholars that teach in Cranmer Hall and are regularly involved in the theology department.
Emmanuel* Contemporary worship. Lots of young families and college students.
Durham Vinyard

Baptist
Durham* Meets in the Gilesgate area. We found it very similar to baptist churches back in the States, and the pastor was very friendly–even had us over for lunch.

Presbyterian/Reformed
Durham Presbyterian

Others? Also feel free to comment on your church if you have more details.

Kids:
Every church we’ve been to is very relaxed about the way kids are handled. In fact, with most you’ll have to ask what to do because they tend to be very informal about it (at least from a N. American perspective where the churches and the kids operations are much larger). That is, they don’t tell you right when you walk in the door what to do with your kids. Most churches have the kids begin in ‘big church’ and then part-way through they go to creche (under 3 or so) or Sunday School. (There is no SS for adults.) There are typically no facilities for infants, so I would expect to keep them with you.

Youth:
Most churches seem to pool resources on this, since few have the critical mass to do something alone. The main evangelical community youth group is LOL: Living Out Love, which just happens to be led by a US friend of ours here. I know the Methodists have something roughly equivalent as well called YPF: Young People’s Fellowship.