SYZYGY MISSIONS SUPPORT NETWORK

Staff and students at the NM home in Sivaganga

Orphaned of both parents as a young boy, Chinnarai lived with his widowed aunty, who struggled to take care of him, let alone send him to school.  She asked for help from a boys’ hostel run by Nehemiah Ministries in Sivangangai.  It has been three years since he joined the hostel. He is a sincere and hard working boy, the first to successfully complete his government exam last year.  He has dreams of becoming a doctor and his standard 12 exam next year will be crucial in choosing for him a future career.

Nehemiah Ministries (NM) is a Christian charity aiming to take the love of Jesus to India, particularly to the poor and neglected.  It is led by Jayakumar, who gave up his job as technology teacher at Hebron School to set up NM.  They now operate in several states of India and have extensive church support and aid operations.  This growth has not come easily – there has been much opposition and in some areas churches supported by NM saw their buildings burnt down.  Even the hostel in Sivangangai experienced a lot of hostility at first, but has gradually been accepted as the value of the work there is recognised.  A recent government inspection praised the hostel and recommended its expansion.

The NM centre in Nagapattinam

Much of NM’s work is with the dalits, who are the ones who suffer the most poverty and neglect.  One such boy is Rajamurthy.  He is a class 10 student and a Sunday school student from the time he was touched by the gospel. His father is a habitual drinker and his mother steeped in worship of the Hindu gods. Life was always miserable for Raja, who still has to witness his father’s daily verbal and physical abuse of his mother. His only source of comfort is the word of God, the church and the pastor’s family who reached out to him and visit him regularly in his village. It was through consistent prayer and witness that he was touched by the power of the gospel. His great desire in life is to see peace descending on his family. He has been fervently praying for the conversion of his family.

• Please pray for the work of Nehemiah Ministries, and for its Indian staff, who carry out their ministry under much difficulty and danger.
• Pray for the dalits, who suffer so much but among whom the gospel has spread rapidly in recent years.
• Pray for other Indians, who often erroneously look down on Christianity as a dalit religion, and fear loss of status and respect if they become Christians.

You can find out more about NM’s work at their website www.nehemiah.org.uk

Statue of Aidan at Lindisfarne

I’ve recently been reading a biography of Saint Aidan, the founder of the Holy Island monastery and the man who brought Christianity back to Northumbria in the seventh century.  There were many impressive things about this celtic missionary to the pagan Angles, but what struck me most was his commitment to prayer.

He regularly spent hours in prayer, often alone on a small island.  He prayed as he travelled, and of course, as a monk, kept regular times of prayer throughout the day – and the night.  When he was first given the island of Lindisfarne to build the monastery, faced with the task of starting a farm to become self-sufficient in food, building a church, setting up a school and building shelter for the brothers from the bleak north sea weather, Aidan and his team spent 40 days in prayer instead.  They wanted to build on firm foundations.

I wonder if you are so committed to seeking God’s will for your endeavours.  I certainly am not.  When I set up Syzygy six years ago, of course I prayed, often, but not for 40 days.  I doubt that you did when you set out on your ministry.  We’re all too busy.  Yet Aidan realised that he had so much to do, he couldn’t afford not to pray.  Like John Wesley, who apparently spent three hours a day praying, and justified it by saying that he was so busy he couldn’t possibly pray less.  Like Jesus, who regularly withdrew to a lonely place to spend time with his father.  Time he could have spent teaching, or healing the sick.  He obviously thought it was important.

Perhaps our independent spirits lead us to be Marthas rather than Marys.  Of course, if it were left to Mary Jesus would never have got his dinner, but somehow I don’t think he’d have minded that much.  Are we so busy doing stuff for him that we don’t have time to sit and be with him?  Maybe that’s why so many of us are stressed and burnt-out.

I have decided to engage more in prayer, particularly in the workplace.  I pray at my desk before I start work, and  continue in prayer at regular intervals throughout the day.  Well, when I’m not too busy.

In a move which clearly prioritises principle over church unity, the Church of England voted on Saturday night to reject a proposal to provide for traditionalist parishes to opt for male bishops to preside over formal events once women are installed as bishops.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York had both laid their personal authority on the line in an appeal to maintain the unity of the 400 year old church after some traditionalists had threatened to leave if women bishops are introduced.  Yet the General Synod narrowly voted down the Archbishops’ compromise measure, paving the way for the introduction of women bishops in the near future.  Interestingly, the majority of Synod members voted for the proposal, but the clergy didn’t, and since changes have to be accepted by all three houses of the synod (laity, clergy and bishops), the clergy effectively vetoed the will of the wider church.  Whether this was out of loyalty to the principle of male leadership, or simply dislike of working for a woman, is not clear.

Liberals have accused the Archbishops of being weak in their concessions, suggesting that the church has dallied over this issue for far too long and that traditionalists who don’t want women to become bishops can ‘go to Rome’.  Pope Benedict XVI already muddied the waters by last year holding out the promise of ‘fast-track conversion’ to disgruntled Anglo-catholic priests.  Yet many of the conservative clergy who voted against the proposal would not have been traditionalist Anglo-catholics, but evangelicals.  They will have no desire to join Rome, so will be faced with the dilemma of staying within the Church of England or leaving it.

Liberals are also disgruntled over plans to appoint a new Bishop of Southwark to succeed Tom Butler.  In an apparent leak from the Crown Nominations Commission (which may have been orchestrated by conservatives) it was suggested that Canon Jeffery John was in line for the post.  Canon John was forced to revoke his acceptance of the role of Bishop of Reading in 2004 after an outcry over his long-term relationship with another male priest.  They subsequently entered a civil partnership together.  If the traditionalists’ goal in raising a hue and cry over Canon John was to prevent him being considered, it seems it has worked, as the CNC has confirmed that his name is not on their list of candidates.

Over the centuries, the C of E has been remarkably successful at not being dogmatic about belief and creating room for those with differing opinions to shelter under the one roof of a very broad church.  These two issues do however seem to be in danger of tearing the C of E apart as the liberal and conservative wings become increasingly strident in their demands.

Please pray for the members of the General Synod as they continue to debate these issues till Tuesday 13^th July.  Pray for the Archbishops to have wisdom and grace as they lead a dividing church.  Pray for a spirit of unity to prevail, and for a loving sensitivity to be shown among Christian brothers and sisters who disagree passionately about these issues.

Chinese believers in an unregistered church (China Daily)

Several recent articles in the authoritative website China Daily have prompted observers to wonder if the Chinese government may be softening its traditionally tough stance against Christians.  The official government daily has published a number of positive articles about Christianity during the last six months and while it must be remembered that they may merely be part of a ‘charm offensive’ (particularly since none of the articles were published in the Chinese language version of the paper), they are published in an official government organ and will have been scrutinised by censors.

The most significant of these articles (25^th December) concerned an official report for the government in which the Chinese Academy of Social Scientists (CASS) estimated that there are now over 70 million Chinese who are members of unregistered churches.  Add these numbers to the Catholic Church and the official Three Self Patriotic Movement church and this is the first time that there has been an official estimate that there are now over 100 million Christians in China.  In 1979, when the TSPM church was relaunched after the Cultural Revolution, there were only about one million.   One western commentator remarked that it is unthinkable that an article like this has slipped past the censors unnoticed, and therefore this must be an indication of a change of government policy.

Miao Christian choir (China Daily)

Another article (17^th March) talks about how house churches are thriving in Beijing.  It states that there are now over 50,000 Christians in Beijing, and as the registered churches are often overcrowded, many people are joining smaller unregistered churches where they can connect more effectively.  The article even quotes Cao Zhongjian, an expert on religion in China at CASS, as saying “The authorities have a much more open attitude toward discussion and debate on house churches.”  This has led to freedom for the churches to acquire premises or rent permanent locations.  This is all a far cry from even a few years ago when reports of serious oppression of Chinese Christians were commonplace.

Other publications include a positive article about influential Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, reference to a thriving church in Shanghai, a report about a village in Yunnan province where 80% of the villagers are Christians, and (amazingly) the testimony of how a young Beijing believer found Jesus after being given a Bible by a colleague.

Chinese choir (China Daily)

One of the most moving incidents in my life was when my pastor’s 18 year old brother died in his arms just because he didn’t have five bucks for the medicine.  You can go to the chemist and you can see the medicine  (and I’ve had that disease umpteen times – amoebic dysentery) but if you haven’t got the money for it then, sorry – go home and die.  So his 18 year old brother died in his arms for five bucks.  That’s five bucks for a life.  You know, that fries my brain.  This is a sick, sick world.

That’s the sort of experience that drives Simon Guillebaud on.  Working in Burundi since 1998 to help heal that sick, sick world.  Founding Great Lakes Outreach (GLO) in 2003, he seeks to channel funding from Britain and the US into project partners who are engaged in a variety of ministries in the war-torn central African country.  Simon now spends much of his time travelling as a speaker, developing support for GLO’s work.

GLO works with well-known partners like Scripture Union and Youth for Christ as well as many other local organisations.  Their approach is to identify local leaders of the highest integrity and calibre, and forge strategic partnerships with their organisations to empower them to lead the way in transforming the country at multiple levels.

GLO’s website is well-designed and worth a visit, if only for the stunning photography.  GLO uses technology to communicate in ways which can inspire others, uploading photos and videos to YouTube and Facebook where they have gathered over 3,600 supporters.   Lack of media awareness is often a challenge to small organisations; the rapid and effective growth of GLO is proof that it is worth getting familiar with it.

http://www.greatlakesoutreach.org/

This month our resident guru Adam Brown continues with simple instructions on how to get more performance from your PC

1. Check if you may have a virus slowing your PC

A common reason for a PC running too slowly is that a virus has made its way on your hard drive and started duplicating itself like mad or using up valuable system resources and memory, severely slowing down your computer.

Scan for spyware or virus using your favorite virus scanner, or use AVG free antivirus software or a good online solution like MacAfee Freescan – see  www.mcafee.com/freescan

2. Disable unused network ports or other controllers

Do you have any unused network connections that you could disable, or even any other PCI slot devices that you could remove totally if not in regular use?

3. Run Scandisk

Try running scandisk to check for system file errors or bad sectors that could be repaired.

Right click on C drive –> Click Properties –> Click Tools –> Click Check Now –> Check both boxes and click Start

A scan will be scheduled for the next time you start your computer.  Beware – it can take a long time so it might be a good idea to leave it running overnight rather than get annoyed when you need to start your computer in a hurry!  Use a UPS if your power supply is unreliable.

4. Operating System needs updating

Sometimes an operating system can have certain bugs or need patches and updates in order for it run correctly.  It’s also important to get security updates to avoid getting viruses that slow down your computer. It’s best to manually update otherwise you can waste time getting a lot of unnecessary software which is what we try and avoid.

5. Do not show Hidden Files

Sometimes showing hidden files is useful but it also means your GUI has to load up all these random hidden files, most of which are temporary ones and this can slow down your PC.

In any windows folder Click Tools –> Click Folder Options –> Click View –> Click Do not show hidden files and folders –>Click OK

6. Check what processes and programs are running

Hit Ctrl Alt Delete (all at the same time) to start the task manager, then click processes to see which application is using most of your system resources.  Closing something using a lot of resources before running a software application can help speed it up.

Highlight the appropriate process –> Click End Process

Beware of closing any old process: look up the name on Google first to find out what it is. You can also identify primitive viruses this way so keep an eye out for things that look strange. Lots of normal programs do have strangely named processes though.

7. Slow PC in games?

You can also play around with video card settings to get the best smoothest game play while sacrificing some graphics quality.

Right click your desktop –> Click Properties –> Click Settings –> Click Advanced –> Click on your graphics card control panel and follow on-screen instructions

If none of these solutions have improved your PC performance, come back next month for advice on hardware solutions!

I few weeks ago I was talking to a lady who is angry with God.

30 years ago she and her husband moved to a part of the world where they confidently believed God would bring revival through their ministry.  Despite much prayer and labour, and many false dawns, there has been no breakthrough.  Moreover, her husband has a debilitating illness from which he has not been healed, and their only son has turned his back on God.

She is angry with God, because they haven’t succeeded, and life is not as sweet as she thinks it should be.

Yet she has a high standard of living, financial security, and is not persecuted for her faith.  Unlike most of the global church, which is far more accustomed to poverty, oppression, suffering and death.  As were the earliest Christians, many of whom would have been slaves.  Much of the rest would have been poor, and were accustomed to their property being confiscated, or facing death if they did not renounce their faith.  And yet the writers of the new testament insist that this is normal.

So, if like my angry friend, we feel tired and fed up in our ministry, what encouragement is there for us?

Jesus calls us to be faithful.  He promises the faithful a welcome into his kingdom.  Faithfulness is not synonymous with success.  In fact, it is possible to be faithful without being successful at all.  Faithfulness is persevering in a calling despite failure, discouragement and defeat.  Faithfulness is doggedly persisting when common sense is telling you to give up.  The martyrs in Revelation 12 suffered death, but we are told that they overcame.  What looked like defeat God considered victory, because they refused to give up even when it cost them their lives.

Faithfulness leads to fruitfulness.  Fruit is godly character produced under adverse circumstances.  I once met a man who had spent 18 years in prison for being a Christian.  Each day he was made to stand chest-deep in human sewage as he shovelled out the cesspit.  And the fruit of that labour showed in the joy and godliness of his life.  He spoke of his experience as if he were in a garden with the Lord, as the smell kept people away and he was able to sing praises to God at the top of his voice while he shovelled.

I draw encouragement from saints like these, for whom the grace of God which they have experienced is so much more important than their immediate circumstances.

” I did not labour in vain even if I am being poured out as an offering…”

Fans of popular evangelical writer Tom Wright will no doubt be pleased to hear that the theologian, who publishes his more academic works under the name NT Wright, has announced that he is taking early retirement from his role as Bishop of Durham in order to concentrate on his theological work.

Wright’s work has some influential followers such as James Dunn, Rowan Williams and Tim Keller, despite having been challenged on a variety of fronts  - particularly his ideas on the key doctrines of justification and atonement – by both liberal Christians and conservative evangelicals, notably John Piper.  This controversy has not dented his popularity and his works have been bought enthusiastically, and even read, by thousands of Christians worldwide.

Being freed from the work of a bishop will allow Wright to return to the world of academia, and he is taking up a role as Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St Andrews.  The academic and ecclesiastic worlds are two passions which have long struggled for pre-eminence in Wright’s life, since he studied both classics and theology at Oxford, before studying for the ministry.  He then resumed his academic career, which he combined with chaplaincy before becoming a dean, canon, and bishop.

Tom’s departure will be keenly felt by the Archbishop of Canterbury, for whom he was a crucial ally in holding the Church of England together.  As a leading representative of the centrist evangelical group, he is a figurehead for a large group of Anglicans keen to maintain the traditional teaching and values of the church while remaining committed to staying within the existing church.

It would appear that Wright has finally realised that being a bishop is a full-time job that does not sit easily with being a writer.  In a statement issued by the Diocese of Durham he said

This has been the hardest decision of my life. It has been an indescribable privilege to be Bishop of the ancient Diocese of Durham…. But my continuing vocation to be a writer, teacher and broadcaster, for the benefit (I hope) of the wider world and church, has been increasingly difficult to combine with the complex demands and duties of a diocesan bishop.

Syzygy hopes that he will continue to publish vibrant, readable yet challenging books for many years to come.

This cute little boy is Igor.  He wasn’t always so cheerful.  During the Serbian war, Igor and his family had to flee their home, and ended up with hundreds of others sleeping rough in a half-complete school building which became an ad hoc refugee camp.  Traumatised by the event, he withdrew, and became known throughout the camp as the child who never smiled.

Some while later, some Christians from Belgrade Bible School began a regular ministry to the refugees.  They built up relationships and helped whoever they could.  One day they asked Igor’s parents if they could take him on a children’s camp they were organising, along with his brothers and sisters and other children from the refugee camp.  His parents agreed.

When the children came back, people didn’t recognise Igor.  They thought he looked familiar, but they didn’t know him.  Only after a few days did somebody work out what the difference was – his cheeky grin!  When they asked him why he smiled so much, he told them that he’d met Jesus.

Belgrade Bible School has hundreds of similar stories of what God has done in the lives of Serbian people.  Since its beginning in 1996 amid the death throes of Yugoslavia, it has sent out church planters and evangelists all over Serbia.  They have endured much hardship and struggle, but the gospel is prevailing.  Please pray for them.  Supported by Oak Hall, the well-known organiser of Christian expeditions, the bible college is under Serbian leadership and continues to grow and develop.

Read more about Belgrade Bible College: http://www.oakhall.org.uk/

Visit the Bible College with Oak Hall: http://www.oakhall.co.uk/pages/summer10serbiaatom.asp

Many tired missionaries working in East Asia are delighted to have discovered Bethany.  This is a rest and retreat complex on Cheung Chau Island off Hong Kong. It is specifically funded and staffed to offer member care to those working cross-culturally in Asia and beyond offering good quality, inexpensive accommodation. Bethany is set in gardens of trees and flowers on the quiet, traffic free island of Cheung Chau with good beaches and scenic walks, so is an ideal place to relax and recuperate from a demanding ministry.

Despite feeling remote, it is conveniently accessible from Hong Kong, so it’s not hard to get to despite feeling away from it all.  Set on a hill in attractive grounds overlooking the South China Sea, Bethany’s location is idyllic – five minutes to sandy beaches, peaceful walks around rocky coves and yet the town with its restaurants and shops is just nearby. The Bethany team includes those who have understanding and long experience of the demands on people, for example adjusting to new cultures, difficulties with co-workers, frustrations with sponsors, parenting and educational decision-making, family and marriage needs cross-culturally.

The Bethany mission is to keep people resilient, working in their God-given field for longer. At a basic level, they provide a home from home with familiar food, language and culture allowing people to recover in holiday mode from tiredness and stress. In association with this they have experienced pastoral couples available for prayer and with a listening and sympathetic ear.

More information is available on the Bethany website: www.bethanyministries.com