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Issue 63 of BMS World Mission magazine ENGAGE out now

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The latest edition of the BMS World Mission’s magazine ENGAGE has just been published. 

If you recieve, or would like to receive ENGAGE through the post (free of charge) it comes complete with the Mission’s three monthly Prayer Guide. 

Once again covering news and features about mission workers serving across the globe, these publications are invaluable for keeping up to date with one of the projects our tithe supports. 

To find out more or to subscribe to ENGAGE you can speak with Roger Robson (our BMS Secretary) or go online to wwwbmsworldmission.org and search for ENGAGE. 

Christian Zionism – some thoughts from Martyn Gray

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If you are reading this, it is likely that you are ready to judge, you probably already have a view on the Israel, Gaza war.

Rational, non-Christian me has a view too.  When Israel started bombing Gaza, I wondered why we, the British, weren’t condemning Israel.  That Israel needed to deal with Hamas, return the hostages and prevent a recurrence went without saying but why did we not condemn the indiscriminate bombing? 

We had issues in Northern Ireland.  My understanding is that we allowed secularism to grow there, allowed Catholics to be prevented from working in certain industries and predictably it blew up. The IRA famously bombed the Grand Hotel in Brighton, attempting to kill our Prime Minister.  They even tried to get a mortar into 10 Downing Street.  Yet despite this, and the fact that there were distinct Catholic and Protestant areas in Belfast, we never used the RAF to show the IRA that we meant business.  I doubt that it ever occurred to anybody to bomb any community from the air.  Soldiers went in on foot, vulnerable18 year-olds, some of whom were killed, tortured or maimed.  I remember being in Belfast during the troubles, stepping out of The Crown pub on a Saturday night as a platoon of what seemed to be improbably young men in uniform were moving down the road on foot to protect us.  It is with this history, imperfect though it is, I felt we had a right to call out Israel for using their air force, but we didn’t, it was just accepted, even expected.

So non-Christian, rational me, sees clear injustice in Israel’s behaviour.  I believe that they have done immense, permanent damage to their reputation.  My parents remembered the shocking reports coming out of the concentration camps of the Holocaust, unbelievable inhumanity.  I attended a course on Judaism given by Keith Wickes at church and on one occasion a survivor took the trouble to tell us her story, including of her being naked in front of Józef Mengele.  I left the room in tears, simply said thank-you as I passed her and walked home.  I have no doubts about the Holocaust and the persecution of the Jews.  But what are the next generation making of Israel?  I fear that Judaism is now just another religion, Israel no longer special, created rightly or wrongly as a safe place following the Holocaust, now just another nation oppressing another with no excuse and predictable results.

That to me makes sense.  But what about Christian me?  Should I try to understand Christian Zionism?  Would that explain ours and the USA’s support for the extreme brutality Israel is meting out on the people of Gaza and our silent acceptance of the persecution of Palestinians in the West Bank.

Predictably, online research about modern Christian Zionism shows that it is dominated by the USA.  It seems to be closely related to churches that accept a prosperity gospel and find being a people of God, whom God wants to prosper, more appealing than carrying a cross, doing much for the least or following Christ’s humble example.  To me, the former is clearly untrue and lacks proof – unless you are the pastor of such a church.  The latter is simple but much harder to follow.  I say simple because after six decades attending church; a Gospel Hall in Cardiff, then a string of Baptist churches, the two bible stories that still carry weight are that of the adulterous woman – “they do not condemn you, neither do I, go and sin no more” and that around the parable of the good Samaritan, in response to the question, who is my neighbour (whom I should love)?  I see no problem in Jesus telling the lawyer the same story but about the good Gazan.   Jesus does not make it complicated, its just very, very difficult to follow him.

It seems that Christian Zionists seem to like the verses about God blessing those that bless Israel and cursing those that curse Israel (Genesis 12:1-3).  I saw this in action when I visited a company in Israel and was taken to visit one of their subcontractors in Caesarea, north of Tel Aviv. They were a community of German and Canadian Christians that had set up a company to bless the Jews.  As Christians, their blessing had to be peaceful and so they made sophisticated manual pumps for the bomb shelters that Israelis have in the houses.  Many of these shelters are air tight and these pumps allow air, filtered from chemical, biological and nuclear material to be brought into the shelter.  Any excess production capacity was made available for other companies to use on non-offensive products.  I admired their commitment to their faith but could not get my head around their total commitment to these few verses.

On the cursing side, it seems that many Zionists have the view that to criticise Israel is to curse Israel and so that is condemned by God.  Israel can therefore behave as it likes.

But those verses from Genesis are not the only foundation of Christian Zionism.  There is the theology that God will reinstate Israel, rebuild the temple (where there is currently the Dome of the Rock Mosque) and then Jesus can return.  It is not difficult to see that what is happening today could be the start of this, if Israel is intending to clear out the Palestinians, Christian Zionists, and there are very many, will support them.

I am not equipped to explore this theory of Christian Zionism but to me, it does not seem Christian.  It is as if God’s use of the Jews to bless the world through Jesus is not enough.  In Galatians, Paul writes about the importance of faith in Jesus Christ and not the law.  In Romans 11 Paul writes about the remnant of Israel and its place in the Kingdom.  In Luke’s gospel (19:41-44) Jesus knows what will befall Jerusalem and weeps, yet history does not record God’s wrath on the Romans who did worse than curse the Jews.  Judaism and the Old Testament give Christianity context and of course, Jesus was a Jew.  My instinct is to get on with following Christ without a complicated theology, finding hidden codes or sub texts in the Bible.  I cannot see Christ being a Christian Zionist with the implications that has had for the Palestinians and therefore I cannot accept its theology – and I say that even though I have declared myself ill equipped to explore it.

I posted my concerns about Christian Zionism in a group chat and asked for help.  Significantly, Revd. Jon Swales posted a poem.  The words that shouted at me were:

Let the violent texts break on the rock of Christ,

If it doesn’t look like him,

It’s not the final word.

East of Eden: The Compass and the Cross

I. Scripture and Rubble

She read Joshua that morning.

Promised land,

cities razed,

milk and honey,

sweet on the page,

but with the taste of Gazan rubble.

She turned to the Psalms.

“Blessed be the Lord,

who trains my hands for war.”

Then Exodus.

Horse and rider,

thrown into the sea.

She opened 1 Samuel.

“Show them no mercy,

kill every man,

woman,

child.”

Jarring.

Who is this God?

Conquest and song,

salvation and slaughter,

sacred and savage,

all on the same page.

She snapped the Bible shut.

The vicarage kitchen,

too small for conquest and conflict.

Her newsfeed choked with bodie

Knife wounds,

domestic violence,

the haunted eyes of soldiers,

prayers for hostages,

the screams of Palestinian mothers,

the endless ache of broken hearts.

II. Memorials and War,

Later,

east of Eden,

passing memorials,

bearing witness to the sins of Cain,

she stopped.

Brass plaques.

Names of the fallen.

Boys from this parish.

World War One.

The war that should never have been,

where nations naming Christ

maimed each other’s young.

A lost generation.

The war to end all wars.

She longed to honour the dead,

but grieved the empire,

the armaments,

the machinery of death.

Is it enough to wear a poppy?

Red?

White?

Both?

But what of World War Two?

If good men do nothing,

evil triumphs.

Yet.

is lethal violence the only way?

III. Just War and the Cross

Aquinas echoes in her mind.

Ius ad bellum,

ius in bello.

Justice before,

justice within.

But do bombs fall justly?

Do drones love their enemies?

Nuclear threats,

city-destroyers.

How can you bless a bomb

with the name of the Prince of Peace?

She reached the church.

Empty.

Cold.

Beneath the crucifix,

she wept.

Not for answers,

but for the questions too heavy to hold.

IV. The Spiritual Compass

“I don’t know how to preach anymore,” she said.

“Every text feels like a weapon.

Promised lands,

chosen people,

soaked in conquest.”

Her spiritual director listened.

Thin walls.

Thin tea.

Holy ground.

“I want to name the violence,” she said,

“but it feels dangerous,

political,

safer to stay quiet,

keep the collar clean.”

“Scripture is judged by Christ,

not the other way round.”

“Not Joshua,” she whispered.

“Not empire.

Jesus.”

“Let the violent texts break

on the Rock of Christ.

If it doesn’t look like him,

it’s not the final word.”

But the bombs still fall,

and silence feels safer.

“You don’t need slogans,

but you can keep vigil.

Name the crucified Christ

wherever empire spills blood.”

Not a solution,

but a direction.

V. Ploughshares

She left with no answers,

but with a compass.

A cross-shaped compass,

pointing not to victory,

but to the wounded God,

who speaks of enemy love,

and blesses the peacemakers.

Later,

she returned to the square.

Collar visible.

No placard.

No chant.

Just presence.

She stood among them.

Silent,

but not silent.

A prophetic voice.

The emerging strength of a ploughshare,

turned from the silence of complicity.

A priest-shaped dissent

against the machinations of empire

and the masters of war.

—-

Rev’d Jon Swales, East of Eden series

Reproduced with permission.

The Holy Spirit – MBC’s summer exhibition. A chance to display your “unique” take on the properties that make up the Fruit of the Spirit

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Every year the Royal Academy in London mounts a special summer exhibition. The purpose being to encourage people to think about a specific topic in a new way. You can find out all about this year’s exhibition by visiting https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/summer-exhibition-2025

Taking a leaf out of the Royal Acedemy’s book we too are mounting a summer exhibition, based on The Holy Spirit, the very same theme we are exploring in our Sunday services.

And in what some might consider to be a rather rash move we are asking you to contribute by submitting your very own take on what you imagine the Fruit of the Spirit – that’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control to be like.

You can approach this in which ever way you want: by painting, drawing, photography, writing, crafting, doodling – in fact you name it and it’s fine with us. 

We already have a few submissions, some of which you can see both above and in the gallery below. 

With all ages and all levels of expertise invited to take part, few of us have any excuses for not joining in. In fact as Shelley said in one of her recent emails “half an explored idea is good too.” 

So, as and when you’ve finished your entry please hand it to Shelley or to Lesley and they’ll take it to the next stage. 

Shelley’s update for week commencing Sunday 27 July

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Dear friends.

Here are a few ‘keeping in touch’ things for the next few weeks.

We meet again on Sunday at 11am to continue with our theme of Fruit of the Spirit: love, looking into Acts 2.  There will be a group for our younger friends. A live stream will also be available. 

A word of warning… there may be local disruption for some on Sunday 27th July due to the Ironman event in North Leeds so check your routes here: https://www.ironman.com/races/im-leeds/traffic-impact You might want to cheer them on (I’m not doing this one!)

All the information for Summer was sent out last week and is available both in last week’s Newsletter (under the heading) Shelley’s update for 20th July – setting out the summer – Moortown Baptist Church  and in a seperate post in this week’s issue. There are also paper copies in church, just ask the welcome team. There is also a few new articles including news from the Romanian churches we support.

If you know someone in church who is ill and needs a visit do let Lesley know and she will contact those who support us with pastoral work.  This is something we will be in touch about more in a few weeks.

Looking ahead..

You’ll also see on the website a flyer from Krys about the craft fair coming up in October.

Finally, I want to share a statement with you from Baptists Together, BMS and Baptist Union of Wales.  Some of you may, like me be finding it hard to put into words and prayers the devastation we are seeing in Gaza at this time.  Whilst we acknowledge there are many conflicts in the world right now, most with complex roots, I find it hard not express my heartache when I hear what is going on from organisations such as BMS and Embrace the Middle East about people of all faiths and none suffering in unimaginable ways.  Please have a look at the statement and consider finding out more and making a response in prayer or action.

Statement Concerning Gaza, Israel, The West Bank and East Jerusalem

War Child UK who are working in many broken places around the world with children, have a slogan at the moment saying ‘Hold onto Hope’.  They say that in the face of suffering, holding onto hope is a rebellious act as they work for peace. We read this too in the bible, Hebrews 10:23 says “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess” or as the message version says, “Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out..”

In Christ

Shelley Dring

Minister

Moortown Baptist Church

MBC to revamp its online outreach

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As many of you will already know we are in the early stages of revamping our online outreach: our branding, our website, both its design and content, our weekly E-Newsletter, the posts we put out on social media and of course the images we show on screen at the beginning of our Sunday service.

As a first step we have decided that in order to make our online presence more eye catching we need to have at our disposal some fresh, up to date, high resolution pictures. 

To this end John Sherbourne will be spending the next few weeks planning and then visiting many of our projects: from Beacon and Lunch Club to Stepping Stones, from House and Bible Study groups to Rock Solid and of course our regular Sunday morning services. 

So, when you see John with a camera round his neck please don’t worry. However, bearing in mind that any pictures he takes could well end up online, if for any reason you or any member of your family would prefer not to be pictured just let him know and he’ll respect your wishes. 

 

Stewarding our tithe – a brief reminder of the projects MBC supports

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At a recent Church Meeting we were invited to spend some time considering where MBC’s tithe should go. 

Having read through a list of Bible verses relating to tithing (the practice of giving one-tenth of one’s income or produce to God as an act of worship and gratitude) we then listened to representatives from eight of the different projects and missions that MBC supports as they each gave an update on precisely when, where and how the contribution the church makes to their work helps to keep them going.

You can see from the images in the picture gallery above just how varied these projects are: from part funding a one to one counselling service (Pathways) to (MAF) keeping aircraft in the sky as they give support, including much needed medical aid to people living in some of the world’s most inaccessible regions. 

Here in a bit more detail are descriptions of them all.

BMS World Mission – MBC has supported the Baptist Missionary Society from the very start; not only financially but also by seeing a number of its members serve overseas. In addition, it’s been a long tradition here at Moortown to partner with individual missionaries; currently we are linked with Mark and Andrea Hotchkin, doctors based in Chad. BMS runs a wide range of support schemes, each one of benefit to over 300 mission workers – details of which are available via their website bmsworldmission.org 

The Leeds and Moortown Furniture Store – L&MFS was formed at MBC in 1986. Today, with its fortieth anniversary less than a year off it continues exactly where it began; collecting and then giving away unwanted furniture to people in need. As with BMS, the link between L&MFS and MBC has never been broken. In fact as I write the Store’s entire board of trustees is made up of five Moortown members. 

Grace Gospel Church – Co led by one of our members, this direct quote from the churches website says it all…  “We are evangelical Pentecostal by teaching and preaching the word of God. We follow the true doctrine of the Bible on bases of the Bible authority by the power and work of the Holy Spirit. We have Christ centered worship service including practical biblical teaching and fellowshipping one another. We go, we preach, we care for the soul for whom Christ Jesus died.”  

Pathways Counselling – Pathways is a Christian Counselling Service that by listening and providing support helps its clients navigate life’s challenges, whether they be short-term  or long-term. Once again Pathways has long standing links to MBC.

WEC – Radio Worldwide – Radio Worldwide uses digital media to spread the gospel. Besides a whole raft of outreach initiatives, simple daily posts on Facebook and the like ensure that even though many of its listeners live in isolated regions they still have access to the word of God. 

MBC Romania Fund – Another long standing partnership. MBC first made contact with the Romanian church in 1972 when two of our young students “smuggled” some books into the country for a local pastor who had recently studied at an Oxford college. Since then the link between MBC and what we simply refer to as “Romania” has grown into a close friendship with regular home and away visits being made by both individuals and groups. The support we give to “Romania” however, isn’t limited to social exchanges and funding an annual teenage Summer Camp. No over the years a number of our members have actually set about designing, funding and even installing some quite major infrastructure projects.  

MAF. Mission Aviation Fellowship – Imagine living in the sweltering heat of a desert, a two day walk away from the nearest doctor. If you did, then thankfully MAF may just be the answer to your prayer. Flying 115 aircraft across 25 different countries Mission Aviation Fellowship is often the only lifeline an individual, a family or an entire community has when an emergency strikes. For more years than I care to remember MBC has supported MAF, and long may that commitment continue. 

And finally the YBA Home Mission Fund. Like but a few Baptist churches MBC may not be the lively, thriving church it is today without the help provided way back when by the Yorkshire Baptist Association’s Home Mission Fund. For us, as for many other fellowships the seed money provided to help buy land, the funds given to assist with building costs and even to help pay a minister’s stipend demonstrate only too well how in reality the YBA Home Mission Fund really is a “Godsend.” 

So there you have it, the eight very different projects that as a church MBC currently supports. But you know whether or not that number remains the same or changes isn’t a decision our minister and our leadership team make on their own. No, it’s ultimately down to you and I. And that’s because in the not too distant future, we, as members, will all be invited to reconvene and prayerfully discuss, pray and then vote on the recommendations and suggestions our leaders make.

In other words it’s us – the whole of our membership – that decides who and/or what God wants us as a church community to help.

 

  

July newsletter from Florin Fodor in Romania

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Dear friends, God is consistently inviting us to take steps of faith. Often, these will be invitations to follow Him into new places, where we will have to depend on Him. The past months offered us the opportunity to take several steps like these. Praise God. He was faithful and we experienced His presence and blessing.
  

Events at the Apahida School

“Rediscover the Joy of Being a Teacher” was the title of the seminar we organized for 45 teachers in Apahida town, in the spring.

 Starting from “Happy Teacher = Happy School”, we shared several ways to find joy in their personal and professional lives.

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Also, at the Apahida school, we taught students in two classes, about topics like life values, the influence of technology, bullying. One student said: It was the best class I ever attended!

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The “Lies Women Believe” Course

Dana taught this online course for 3 weeks and 25 teachers attended. The idea of the book is that women are attacked by the Evil One, who comes with untrue ideas and lies that we end up believing. We discussed that sometimes we believe that we are worthless or that the situations we find ourselves in will never change. We looked at the temptation that God is not good enough or that He doesn’t love us. One participant said at the end: Our discussions helped me answer questions that I did not dare to ask out loud. I think I began to understand myself better… both myself and others. I learned to have more confidence and to stop victimizing myself in difficult times.

Teaching the Prison staff 

Dana and I were asked to lead a course for 11 employees of the Gherla Penitentiary. It is a personal development course that lasts 7 weeks. Every Wednesday, we drove for 40 minutes and met with the staff. 

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At first, some were skeptical- they told us they joined because their leaders sent them. Then, in the following meetings they became more open and told us about different trials they face, at home and at work.

One of the topics was about the relationship with God. The Lord worked in such a way that we had the lesson just a few days before Easter. It was easier to share the Gospel with them and they told us where they are in their spiritual journey. 

The Book “Story in the Mirror”

My wife Dana recently published a book about a little girl who goes through many trials, but with God’s help, she overcomes them and discovers her calling to be a blessing to others. 

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Here are some excerpts from a review someone Dana doesn’t know wrote, after reading the book:

I identified with the main character of the story – Daiana. She captivated me from the beginning and transported me to the experiences of the mentioned biblical characters.

The author has a special way of captivating the reader through her writing, by choosing certain biblical themes, by the way she builds the biblical context. This book is equally interesting for both a teenager and a refined old man.

The painful experience that our character goes through encourages the reader to discover God’s love when she has to show forgiveness towards the one who hurt her and rejected her – her father. Towards the end of his life, she chooses to love and forgive him, thus being made free.

First European Conference for Christian Teachers – see the image at the top of this post. 

At the beginning of this month, we attended a Teachers Conference in Poland. 15 Christian Teachers from Romania joined us. It was a good opportunity for them to learn from the experiences of teachers from other 10 countries. We all came back with a greater vision, with many ideas and a bigger desire to apply what we have learned. 

Shelley’s update for 20th July – setting out the summer

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Dear friends

This week we continue to explore the Holy Spirit as we start a series about Fruit of the Spirit, taking us through the summer months.  We hope that it is something that you can explore afresh or for the first time over the Summer wherever you are and whatever age.  John 15:16 reminds us that Jesus said,

“You did not choose me, I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last”.  Some of you may know that I always carry a banana around with me.  I call it my emergency banana and its helpful for those moments I suddenly feel hungry.  I realise as I look around the world how grateful I am to have an emergency banana.  However, as many of you know, a banana doesn’t last for long.  It soon starts to go brown and mushy.  The fruit that God wants us to produce is intended to not have a shelf life, it’s intended to go on long after the seed was planted and the fruit has grown.  The bible talks about the fruit of the Spirit in the book of Galatians chapter 5 and as we discover the fruit in practice in the bible and in our world, one thing to ponder and pray about is how this fruit might last and develop, how will it go beyond us and the immediate that we see?  How can we plan for this?  What difference does it make? We start tomorrow at 11am in church and in Sunday school as on our YouTube channel.  We’ll also share communion together.

Every year the Royal Academy in London hosts a summer exhibition based on a different theme each year to encourage people to think about a topic in a new way.  This year we would like to host our own summer exhibition by exploring the theme of the Holy Spirit.  This may be through painting, writing, music, photography, doodling, crafts, reading, words and more.  Please hand anything to me, Lesley or Linsey and we will put them up or can be incorporated in what we do.  Don’t feel you have to have a perfect ‘thing’, half an explored idea is good too, all ages and experiences welcome.  You may want to do it on your own or with others in a group.  Let’s pray that we have open eyes and hearts as we respond to Him!  This one way we can all share ministry together.

As the school’s finish and the summer starts, there is a temporary change in what we do as a church, but we wanted to be intentional about the change of pace providing opportunities to pray and worship, allowing time for holiday and creating new ways to connect and explore.  Thankyou to all those who are contributing to this. Below you will find a list of all the summer activities including regular groups and one-off events.  This is also available on the MBC website and reminders will be posted on social media throughout the summer.  Paper copies will be in church from next week.   

Monday 21st July Health and Safety meeting at 3pm in church building (do get in touch with John C or myself if you think you would like to help with any aspect of health and safety in the building)

Tuesday 22nd July Toddler tidy up and social at 10am starting in the church building

Sunday 27 July 11am service with children’s group Fruit of the Spirit ‘love’ Acts 2:38-47

Sunday 3rd August 11am café church Fruit of the Spirit ‘Joy’  

5th August 7.30pm Deacons meeting in the church building.

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard…”Gal 5:22 (The message version)

Blessings

Shelley

Shelley Dring

Minister

Moortown Baptist Church

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