Saints of Springwell Road

This is Springwell Road Church, in Orell, Liverpool as I remember her. I was pastor here for three years (A joint arrangement with Clubmoor Church; another awesome congregation!) Though the smaller of two churches in the pastorate, the place was so very much alive. This was largely due to the work of two dedicated church leaders, Frank and Mary Baldwin. Frank and Mary were tireless supporters of the Boys and Girls Brigade groups that met within it's walls. I have no idea how many young people their influence touched in that community, or even families. Beyond measuring.

I have such treasured memories of my time there. Not just the Baldwin's, but the whole church family and community. Flo's piano playing. The kids who would run up to the car when I parked on the road alongside the church and promise to look after it whilst I was doing whatever I needed to do. (Having a few young minders was a good thing!) Remembrance Day services when there were 5 or 6 war widows in the congregation who lost their husbands in the Second World War. The gentleman who every Remembrance Day service would take me aside before the service and say, 'Now don't give us any crap about lives being given. They weren't given, they were taken'.

During the war years Liverpool had been blitzed by the Nazi war machine. Memories of those dark years still ran deep for many. The effects were long lasting as I discovered one morning when I was late for a service because an unexploded bomb had been discovered along the route I took from the manse to the church!

I remember the Brigade Parade Sundays. Even got to serve for a while as a District Chaplain and we marched with other groups in the city. Singing "At the Name of Jesus" to the fiesty tune! Not to mention "Will your anchor Hold" Even one time one of my own songs on the guitar for a Girls Brigade service, "If you want to be beautiful, really, really beautiful, Here's what you must do. look after your body, look after your mind, but most of all take care that you're beautiful inside", and how for weeks after the kids would sing it back at me in their rich and beautiful Scouse accents.Only time I ever used that song (which is almost cringeworthy corny) but oh my!

There were sad times. The Harvest service when they decorated the church so beautifully, only to arrive in the morning and found someone had broken in and taken the offerings and food baskets. Some were so ironic they made you laugh in disbelief. Like the time we passed the collection plate around and the last person took it, and then legged it out the door taking the money with him. In the elders meeting later in the week, they were cross... not because of the money, but because they hadn't been able to get the plate back!

Other sad times. The funeral for the lady who lived there all her life and had never locked her door. But some lowlife barged their way in and knocked her down the stairs ending her life. Wonderful people in the church and community who left us way too young. It was such a close knit community. Folk would greet you with 'Hello love' no matter who you were. Small, closely packed, terraced houses, inhabited by people who never had much in the way of worldly wealth but would give you the shirt off their back if they thought you needed it.

That was then.This is now. Springwell Road opened her doors in 1902 and was the first church to be built in Orrell, Bootle.  By 2008 the church had declined to only 16 people with £200,000 needed for renovations to keep it open. As you can see from the picture, it is not just the church that has been closed down, the whole community is slated for redevelopment. 

Probably just as well they didn't spend all that money renovating! It breaks my heart to see the way the area has gone. Hard to believe that what once was thriving, living and active is now no more. 

I'm sure there is a lesson in this somewhere. You can't say that they declined because of any lack of commitment or faithlessness on the part of the members and leadership. There were no church splits, doctrinal disputes or falling outs. They were a wonderful congregation. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot". I was privileged to have enjoyed sunny days at Springwell Road. 

I now serve a church, on the other side of the Ocean, in a town called 'Baldwin.' Whilst it's not named after the saints of Springwell Road, Frank and Mary, it's still hard to say  'Baldwin' without thinking of them and the community associated with their congregation. Life goes on. We have to make the most of the moment, because we never know what the future may hold. At least while we are of sound mind we still have memories to treasure and some great stories to reflect upon.

There is no doubt in my mind that God blessed Frank and Mary Baldwin and through them the church at Springwell Road and the community they served. Maybe the best we can hope for is that the seasons of our own lives may also be a blessing to somebody :-)

Only 4 1/2 years

I was checking out the Web Site of a church where I had previously been a pastor and was interested to note that on their history page the only thing recorded about my ministry there was that I 'only served close to 4 1/2 years'. Not a thing was said about the increased congregations, the members I brought in during those years who now serve on session, the survey of their property I spearheaded ... nor the fact that I temporarily reversed a membership decline of many years duration.

At first I felt a little annoyed about such a designation as 'only served close to 4 1/2 years'. Then I remembered that Jesus had a ministry that 'only lasted close to 3 1/2 years'.  He caused a heck of a lot more upset to the religious establishment than I ever could. Whilst I realise that there were some in that particular congregation I served who were glad to see me go, none of them went as far as resorting to crucifixion!

Not for a moment am I comparing my ministry in that congregation to the ministry of Jesus. I dare to believe that it was His inspiration that inspired me, but any comparisons should be ended right there! Fact is that one persons assessment is just that... their particular view. And they are entitled to state it.

I personally treasure a scrapbook of messages and cards received during my time there that witness to the grace of God that was at work in many peoples lives during those 4 1/2 years. I dare to believe that somehow I was part of helping that grace flow along. I am convinced that the only reason I was there was a call of God, and the only reason I left was a call of God.

I don't understand why it is that some of us are called to stay and build, long term, whilst others, like myself, seem to be more like gypsies. There are models for both patterns in Scripture. There are certainly huge advantages to staying, but I think there are also situations where pastors have 'outstayed' their calling. I often wonder what would have happened if I had stayed in 'such and such' a situation but then see how things have turned out in a new situation and thought, 'Well, it's a good job I moved!'

One of the negatives of moving around a lot is that it's hard to call anywhere home. Despite my actions, I do have a longing to put down roots and find a little speck on this planet where I feel I truly belong. Yet maybe that will only happen when I reach a heavenly home. Maybe till then we're all just passing through!

At the end of the day, ministry is hard. What matters is that you are true to your sense of call, not what people make of it. Whenever there is change, people are upset. Transitions are usually only welcomed by the receiving church. The ones you leave suspect anything but a call of God as the reason for your departure.

Given some of the things people face in ministry maybe the miracle is that any of us manage to stay in some situations as long as 4 1/2 years! According to a recent article in Presbyterian Outlook the average tenure for a pastorate position is 5 years. I just missed it by 1/2... so by the law of averages... I am average!  I can live with average.

 I would certainly consider it an honor if my tombstone bore the inscription  "Here lies Adrian. He only served as a pastor for most of his life."

Schismatic Sadness

Many PC(USA) churches are splitting from their denomination and joining other bodies. This makes me sad. Jesus prayed that we might be one... but we are unable and unwilling to accommodate God's will. Not even amongst the tiny fraction of Christians who describe themselves as Presbyterian can we agree to look beyond our cherished positions and seek the kind of unity Jesus prayed we may have.

How do people become entrenched in positions that cause them to be so judgmental of others that they can't be in fellowship with them any more? In a church that preaches we are saved only by grace through faith, how can some step away from that and proclaim that only they have the truth?

Sure, folk have difference of opinions about interpreting scripture, particularly in regards these days to sexuality, but are they really of such importance that they no longer believe they can work alongside their sisters and brothers in Christ? I guess so.

But I don't understand it. Not in the light of grace. Such judgment makes no sense.

I don't get it. Jesus prayed for our unity. Unity based on the love He shared with His Father God. Not unity based on doctrinal correctness or the ability to all believe exactly the same thing. Unity based on love for each other. Love for God. Love for the church. Love for love.

So I'm sad that so many of us get it so wrong. I grieve over the message our schisms offer to an already skeptical world. I totally realize that I'm no saint in the unity area. I have my personal convictions and prejudices. But are they of such significance that if you don't agree with them I presume you are going to hell? More likely, when they cause conflict, they are a sign that I need to take a little more time getting over myself.

So I'm expressing my schismatic sadness. I do not believe it is glorifying to God or in the best interests of God's Church. I can't see what long term good any of it will achieve, other than being yet another milestone in the history of our inability to be the people God wants us to be.

Of course those who know better will call me simplistic and unrealistic. They will accuse me of making light of irreconcilable differences. And they have gone and will go their own way. It leaves me with a deep sense of sadness that within an organization that supposedly is only redeemable by the grace of God we lack even the human grace to swallow our pride and accept that others have opinions that we don't share... but love them all the same... because that's just exactly how God has loved us.