Monthly Archive October 2020

‘Quite a ride’: Paul reflects on 50 years in ministry

Every church is different because God is not in the business of cloning.

That’s one of the lessons in a CRE At Home 2020 seminar given by Rev Paul Beasley Murray in which he recounts five key lessons from his 50 years in Christian ministry.

He also speaks of the value of remembering people’s names, how to regularly affirm people, the passion needed for leadership and finally, the problem of retirement. 

‘The five decades have proved quite a ride,’ he reflects. 

Within three days of his ordination Paul was in Congo for two years – teaching Greek and New Testament in what became the Protestant Theological Faculty of the National University. He then spent 13 years as pastor of the Baptist Church in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, where his ministry boosted a membership of under 90 to more than 300. He then moved to London to become principal of Spurgeon’s College before spending 21 years as pastor of the Baptist Church in Chelmsford, Essex where again the congregation rose from 400 to a church family of 1,500 – until his retirement in 2014.

With six books already to his name, he has added a seventh, 50 Lessons in Ministry (Darton, Longman and Todd). It is from this book of reflections that he picks on what he considers five of the major lessons he has learned. 

‘We need each other’s wisdom to expand the scope and vision of Christian ministry,’ said Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York. ‘These 50 lessons are a very good place to start.’

Paul is part of the Chelmsford Cathedral Community, regularly leading the cathedral’s Sunday morning seminar-style ‘Breakfast with the Bible’. He is also chair of theCollege of Baptist Ministers launched in February 2014.

Click here to watch the seminar.

• Darton, Longman and Todd are exhibiting at CRE National 2021 (Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey, 12-14 Oct)

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No need to leave song-writing to the professionals

You don’t need leave it to the ‘professionals’ – writing new songs for your church can have a profound impact on local believers.

So says Krissy Nordhoff, of weareworship.com, in her CRE At Home 2020 seminar ‘Why the church needs new songs and 10 characteristics of the worship song’.

‘I want to encourage those who feel they have a song burning away inside them,’ said Krissy, a professional songwriter and author. ‘The Bible encourages us to “sing unto the Lord a new song” so it is in God’s heart to want new songs. They bring fresh praise to God and fresh revelation to his people. Sometimes the Lord gives us a new insight into how to express our songs in a new way.

‘When you write songs that are specifically for your church, you can use words that matter to the people there. They can also bring a prophetic viewpoint to help the congregation in a time of celebration, sadness – and can bring healing and joy.’

The seminar challenges not only the worship leaders in a local church but members of the congregation who love singing and are looking for a way to use a different gift to bless the church.

Krissy developed her love of writing from the age of five when she wrote her first song. She has developed into a writer of many well-loved songs, including Your Great Name, Mercy Tree, Famous For (I Believe), and hundreds more. She’s also a song-writing mentor to hundreds in her Writing Worship and Brave Worship communities.

Click here to watch Krissy’s seminar.

• Integrity Music/ weareworship.com will be exhibiting at CRE National 2021 (Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey, 12-14 Oct)

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When experience and expertise are striking qualities

Eight church insurance consultants now cover the length and breadth of the country – ready to support churches, parishes and dioceses. 

It follows customer feedback telling Ecclesiastical how vital and valued their support service is.

‘We would normally be attending and speaking at church events, as well as providing a local point of contact for our church customers,’ said Claire Woolway, customer relationship manager for Ecclesiastical. ‘In these challenging times, we are missing personal visits desperately but have had to adapt our ways of working, observe official guidance to keep everyone safe and instead remain available to offer support by phone, email and online.’ 

Church Insurance Consultant, Kay Short, who moved from the north to the south west just before lockdown, to cover the dioceses of Truro, Exeter, Bath & Wells, Bristol and Salisbury said: ‘We can’t wait to return to face-to-face meetings but there is still lots we can do in a different way.

‘Each week is full of variety for the team, even if a little different at the moment. It might include a call with an archdeacon about the financial issues facing many parishes; a Skype meeting with a diocese to offer training about metal theft; discussions with a church about cyber awareness; planning a webinar with police on reporting heritage crime, or a conversation with a Diocesan Advisory Committee.’

‘Together, our Church Insurance Consultants provide an incredible depth and breadth of experience and expertise in insurance and church life across the country,’ said Claire Woolway. ‘They work collectively as a team to provide incredible national and local support to all our church customers during these difficult times and continue to find creative ways of keeping in touch with our churches.’

She points out that the team can help churches understand their insurance and support them with health and safety or risk management. Their job is to provide reassurance to churches while the church concentrates on its missional role. 

Ecclesiastical’s Church Insurance Consultants are keen to offer and share their support in whatever way they can.

• To find out more about the team of Church Insurance Consultants please click here [WC1] [JA2] [SG3] or email meetus@ecclesiastical.com with your contact details and the name of your church, parish and diocese. Ecclesiastical’s local church insurance consultant will then be back in touch with you. 

• Ecclesiastical will be exhibiting at CRE National 2021 (Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey, 12-14 Oct)

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Church rotas: software to make them simple

Love them or (more likely) loathe them, rotas are a vital part of church life – and now there’s a solution to help make them hassle free.

Cambron Software’s plan2gether is a brand-new product from the creators of Power Music. 

‘We have one underlying philosophy – keep it simple!’ explained Cambron’s Colin Cameron. ‘There are some very powerful (and complicated) church management systems out there but we wanted to create something that did one thing well – make life easier for the people who organise church rotas. It had to be accessible from anywhere and easy to make changes and send reminders to people.’

With plan2gether all the rotas are in one place – worship band, security, welcoming, coffee morning, creche, AV, flowers and cleaning.

‘You name it, plan2gether will manage your rota and most importantly, automatically notify people by email or SMS text when they are on duty,’ said Gordon. ‘Users can make themselves unavailable and edit their rota duties to swap with others.

‘Currently, many churches are not running services as usual but as we move to a more normal situation, this is the time to start organising your church volunteers using our new solution.’

The first rota is available free.

Click here for more information

CRE At Home

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The Bible: getting above the hubbub

It’s been dubbed the era of ‘fake news’ butEvangelical Christians have always believed the Bible stands above the media noise.

‘It is the revelation from God and the handbook of Christianity,’ said Brian Edwards, author of Nothing but the Truth (Day One). ‘If we want to know what we believe and how we should live, it is to the Bible we must turn.’

Today, we are confronted with a plethora of challenges that Christians must respond to – moral, social and theological. But is the Bible sufficient? Are there principles within it to guide us? How can we effectively understand it today? And, above all, can it be trusted as the reliable revelation of God in every part? Among much else, Nothing but the Truth reasserts the reliability and relevance of the Bible for Christians in the 21st Century.

A valued aid for all who take the Bible seriously in their personal life or teaching, answering many questions that people ask about the Bible such as:

•  What is its main theme?
•  Does it claim to be God’s word?
•  Who wrote the books and when? 
•  Are there contradictions?
•  Is the Bible all we need?
•  How to understand and enjoy the Bible

With more than 700 pages, including a full index and references to sources, plus charts and a Bible reading plan, Nothing but the Truth, published by CRE exhibitor Day One, is written in accessible language and style, assuming no pre-knowledge. It provides a significant starting point for Bible teachers, students, pastors and church members

‘Nothing but the Truth probes deeply into the nature of the Bible, considering and answering a full range of criticisms. Brian writes in a manner that will benefit the newest Christian. I hope his work receives the widest possible readership,’ said Dr Robert Letham, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Union School of Theology, Wales.

Click here for more information.

• Day One will be exhibiting at CRE South West 2021 (17-18 Mar) and CRE National 2021 (Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey, 12-14 Oct)

CRE At Home

See the CRE At Home resources guide!

Our next exhibitions