We have been writing secret weekly updates to our team. We thought we'd share this one a bit more broadly:
A very, very happy new year to you!
It has been a great Christmas. God has been speaking profoundly and has been full of encouragement. We are overflowing with hope. We are bubbling over with love for God’s world. This passage struck us like a mallet on the noggin. We quote it in full because it is so flipping good:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
What we love so much about this is not the elaborate collection of horticultural imagery (if you’ve seen our garden you will know that plants aren’t particularly ‘our thing’) but the fact that this is God Almighty speaking grace to a confused, exiled, weak and lost people. Our God has always worked by grace. He has always seen that his people aren’t up to the task but has promised that they will ace it anyway. Our Father has always seen our worst parts and yet promised that we will be led forth in peace. He will use us. All our efforts will yield seed not because our efforts are any good (well, mine aren’t, and don’t even get me started on Phil’s) but because he has chosen to put his word in us (that was what he did through Jesus’ incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection & impartation (pentecost)). He will work in us. Heck, he is already working in us. That is the nature of our ridiculously generous God. So we know it will be an astonishing year. We know that junipers will spring up all over the place. We fully expect to see myrtle in our midst, even if we haven’t got the foggiest what myrtles look like. And it will cause us to speak and shout and sing of the everlasting glory of our enduring God.
Here’s a bit of an update on stuff:
Church Plant Group - starting Weds 9 Jan
We can barely wait until next Weds when we get to start our church plant group. Anyone is more than welcome but please can you let us know ahead of time so we can cook you some food :). The group will meet in our home - 41 Hampton Road, Worcester Park KT4 8EU and will run from 7:45pm to 9:45pm.
Until we move to Croydon in March we will continue to attend SW London Vineyard most Sundays. During this time we also aim to visit a couple of Croydon churches. We will let you know the details of any of these visits in case you would like to join us. After we move, we think it will be relatively difficult for us to make it back to SWLV very often but do not expect to be in a position to host our own Sunday services. Things will therefore be quite flexible for a few months. In the next week or two we will let you have our rough plan for Sundays between now and the summer.
Giving to Croydon Vineyard
You will remember that, at our first meeting on 6 Nov, we told you we not only want your presence at our events but also a fair bit of your cash as well. We are in the midst of setting up Croydon Vineyard (CV) as a charity and getting it a bank account. While we wait for this, the best method to give money to CV is to give it to SW London Vineyard and ask for the funds to be allocated to Croydon Vineyard. Lesley and I are doing this with our tithe. If you want to do this you can email SWLV’s bookkeeper, Sally Cobbett, on [email protected].
Praying for Croydon Vineyard
We are going to start producing a fortnightly prayer letter. We will send this out to the huge number of people (over 100 so far) who are keen to support the church plant but are making some excuses about ‘not being able to join the team’. We commit them to the Lord for his mercy ;-). If you have anything you would like to go in this prayer letter please do let us know. All requests will be considered. Not all will be included!
Affiliation to Vineyard Movement
Rather similar to Obama’s ‘Fiscal Cliff’ meetings with John Boehner, after extensive negotiation, significant tension and some name-calling, Tom and Lesley secured membership of Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland. This means that Croydon Vineyard can now actually be called Croydon Vineyard (rather than Croydon ..............) and can use the Vineyard logo. We are, of course, utterly delighted (as is VCUKI).
Tom & Lesley’s personal stuff
With a title like that you may be expecting this section to include details of our sex life. It doesn’t. We know that many of you want to know about our house move, Lesley’s pregnancy and Tom’s job hunt. The house move still looks good, Lesley continues to grow fatter and more beautiful by the day and Tom will continue to be employed by SWLV until the end of January. Having prayed and thought hard over Christmas we really feel that God has been actively stopping Tom from getting a job so far. We are beginning to think we know why that might be but will keep on mulling it over for the next few weeks.
We will endeavour to keep on sending out weekly updates. A bit like the ‘bin men’ we will aim for Mondays but reserve the right to change this (as we have done this week) in the event of bank holidays, bad weather, or faulty machinery.
much love and appreciation for all of you
