2011 Summary

It is amazing how much can happen in one calendar year, and 2011 certainly has been a busy one in the life of SBC!

January saw us host our 4th annual Snowball, which with the help of an auction raised a fantastic £2800 for The Ark Family Centre and their new outdoor play area. It was a wonderful event and a great opportunity to support and bless the children at The Ark. We also spent some time in January thinking about 'What are you and God working on together?', which was a really great mini series helping us to think about some of the things God is doing in the life of SBC and its community.

February began with the introduction to our theme for 2011 'Transformed by Hunger', which has been proven to be very challenging. To coincide with the theme for 2011 we started our 'Meeting the Saviour' series based on the book of the same title by Derek Tidball. In a near perfect symbolic act of being truly transformed by hunger, two of the SBC community were baptised, something that is always very special in the life of the church!

March witnessed 15 of the gents from SBC travel down to Cambridge for the day to attend the Ascend Men's Conference. That is except the two who went the night before to avoid the early morning start! They all had a brilliant time and 25 tickets were purchased for the event in 2012, such is the confidence in it becoming a big event for the men at SBC.

April included our Easter period which was a great success, and also our annual Spring Conference held in Wetherby. The weekend involved more than 50 of the church members and friends going away and spending a significant amount of time praying, learning, sharing and growing as fully devoted followers of Christ. It was a wonderful time spiritually, but also an invaluable opportunity to connect and enjoy authentic fellowship.

May gave us an opportunity to take part in another mini series entitled 'Just Walk Across the Room', based on a book by Bill Hybels from Willow Creek Community Church, Chicago. The series was a great success, and we saw such demand and interest in the series that extra opportunities to discuss and develop the topics needed to be organised. I think we can all agree that it was a series that caused a great shift in the life of the church, and had a huge impact on many people. The month ended with Rich & Alex preparing to go on sabbatical for the summer, with Iain Drysdale alongside Paul Clark and the Leadership Team helping guide and lead the church over the summer months.

June began with several of the SBC ladies returning from 'Cherish', a conference held by Abundant Life in Bradford. They came back full of energy and excitement for what God is doing, and had been greatly blessed having been treated so well by the team in Bradford. June also included Tom and Debbie MacDonald graduation from Mattersey Hall Bible College and returning permanently to Scunthorpe. It was a great ceremony and many of the SBC community were able to attend.

July , as is the custom every year, many of the church attended the summer conference New Wine, some staying for the week and others visiting on day passes. Once again it was an exciting and vibrant time for so many people, and another vehicle which God used to speak in to the life of the church. The testimonies from the conference were amazing, and already many are booked in to go in 2012!

August saw Austin High, a young guy from Texas, come over to Scunthorpe so that he could work voluntarily for 15 months as a Youth Worker at SBC. After arriving and moving in with his host family, as well as catching up on jet-lag for a few days, he began preparing to start work with the SBC staff team at the start of September.

September soon came by and saw the staff team double to the size from over the summer! With Austin arriving, Rich returning from sabbatical and Tom starting full-time after his studies, the office was alive with activity. Later in the month SBC held its annual Autumn Conference, focusing on the topics of OFCs and Compassion-Based Ministries. During the day the SBC family sought after God and planned what might be the direction of these exciting ventures in the life of the church, and the staff team then set to work trying to make these great dreams and ideas happen.

October was an important time in the life of SBC, as it saw several OFC and Compassion-Based Ministries turn from ideas in to reality. Having already discerned that this is the vision and direction God has given to the church, it is exciting to see it begin to take shape and for great things to be happening outside of the 4 walls of the church! October was also an important time for Foodbank, with many local schools collecting for Harvest and contributing more than 2 tonnes of food to the Scunthorpe Foodbank.

November can only be remembered for one thing. The first ever Global Leadership Summit held in Scunthorpe. This is a project that had taken more than 3 years to be realised, and it was not a disappointment. With over 40 SBC volunteers and 135 delegates attending, the GLS was a great success and saw us influencing the lives of many leaders in our region, as well as the students from Mattersey Hall.

December of course has seen us planning and organising Christmas, as well as thinking ahead to 2012 at SBC. It has been a very busy time in the church, and is a special period where we always see a lot of friends, family and visitors. Please do pray for the Christmas celebration coming up in the next few weeks, and of course ...

2012 is looking like being the best year yet for SBC!

God bless

Tom MacDonald
Assistant Pastor

GLS Tweets

During the GLS we received some amazing feedback form the social media forum Twitter. Here are some of them:


“@stvwatson: On way home after a great 2days learning about leadership from incredible people. Brain is mashed.”

“@fizdoherty: I actually don't think I will ever be the same again #wcagls #SBCuk!”

“@DanSkuce: Absolute brain ache... Phenomenal two days. Outstanding. #GlobalLeadershipSumit”

“@theonlySCJ: Blessed by the GLS at SBC, God Bless you all.”

“@theNathanFerris: Thank you @RevRichWebb, @tom_mac_lfc, @superdeb96 and everyone else at @Official_SBC who hosted a quality #GlobalLeadershipSumit! #legends”

"@MattPBoyle: brain fried yet again!! Brilliant couple of days at GLS! #wcagls Well done SBC! Fantastic job, thanks."

“@NicDakinMP: Really pleased to join the start of the Global Leadership Summit at scunthorpe's Baptist Church.”

“@duckplucker: blessed to have served as volunteer for #wcagls event at @Official_SBC this weekend. 30 people already booked for next year - truly awesome!”

GLS 2011 - A Response

It may have been a grey, rainy day outside when the GLS started but inside it was warm and exciting as we started with worship and then session after session of super insightful teaching and preaching via DVD from Willow Creek in Chicago.

This was a great couple of days. There was a real buzz and energy about the place as the delegates took on board the teaching and discussed how it might be applied in their lives. SBC hosted the event superbly – the GLS was a great success.

For a number of years Rich had pursued the possibility of SBC hosting such a high quality and prestigious conference. The events of 4 and 5 November were the fruition of this work. It will also hopefully be part of implementing his vision for using his undoubted leadership skills in supporting other churches and Christian organizations.

The whole event was made possible by wise and careful planning involving Helen, Rich, Iain, Bob, Tom and Steve. The amount of preparation time was considerable and, at times, the stress levels high. This was all in pursuit of excellence for the Kingdom of God and the great results were clear for all to see.

In addition around 50 SBC people volunteered to help at the conference – some even took leave from work to be involved. These people were superb and they ensured that the whole event was of the highest calibre. The bar has been lifted – again!

I want to express my sincere appreciation to all involved.

You were great – every one of you!

Paul Clark
Chair of SBC Leadership Team

GLS Update

It is now just 11 days until Willow Creek's Global Leadership Summit comes to Scunthorpe.  It could be tempting to see this as a good opportunity to host a conference which will save us travelling to another site.  However, it is so much more than that.

Hosting the GLS in Scunthorpe is part of a wider vision to see our region changed and the Kingdom come.  If this is to happen then we need local churches and other organisations involved in the community to be at their very best.  In turn, if this is to happen the leaders of those organisations need to be inspired and equipped to lead at even higher levels. We believe that the GLS can play an important role in seeing that happen. It contains great content for church and secular organisations alike, meaning all leaders can benefit from it.

Please keep praying for the event, but also keep inviting people. You may come into contact with leaders in many different places across the community who would benefit from attending.  Why not grab a leaflet and give them a personal invite?

God bless

Rich Webb
Lead Pastor

What A Day!

A red carpet entrance and high-quality refreshments greeted 50 members and friends of SBC as they gathered for the SBC Autumn Conference on Saturday 24th September 2011.

Café style relaxation was followed by an upbeat time of worship, after which Lead Pastor Rich Webb set the scene for the day, outlining our vision to see Outward Focused Congregations (OFC’s) set up across North Lincolnshire.

Through brainstorming, feedback sessions and voting with shiny stickers, we were able to identify groups of people for whom church in its current format appears largely irrelevant, and start to formulate plans, which will enable us to meet with these people at times, and in places that suit them. This generated a number of OFC ideas for us to explore.

Rich also reminded us of the need for us to follow Jesus by engaging in Compassion Based Ministries – simply meeting needs in peoples’ lives because that is what Jesus would have us do.

We reflected on how we at SBC had been able through Foodbank to show compassion and love by feeding almost 1,500 people in crisis during the past twelve months or so. This spurred us on to spend time identifying ideas and passions for other Compassion Based Ministries that we could pursue in the future.

The day was designed to enable the SBC community to determine and in many ways decide the future of SBC and our involvement in the local area. We made huge strides of progress to this end, and are excited by the possibilities ahead.

The day ended with a great message from Rich in which he explored with us the things that could hold us back. We were challenged not to allow fear, apathy and tight-fistedness rob us of all that God wants to do in our midst, and encouraged to pursue Him in such a way that we are Transformed by our Hunger for Him.

It was a special day in which delegates were blessed by personal prophecy cards, Thornton’s chocolates, and an incredible buffet provided by ‘On The House’ Catering Services.

Towards the end of the Conference we asked the delegates to give us some key words to describe their experience.

This Wordle is what they told us. (The bigger the word is in the picture the more times that word appeared in the feedback).

Here is some more detailed feedback from some of our members:-

SBC conference - brilliant. Amazing hearing what is already making a difference & how much of a difference this is... super-challenging to re-think what we are not yet about & need to be. Six new OFCs & at least six new compassion-projects where we've already identified we DO have (some of) the resources, volunteers & time. If God blesses it, that will be all we need. We DON'T have an excuse... Had a migraine on & off all day - still wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Jenny Whitehead

Cracking day with the family !!! God bless ya x
Paul Doherty

Thank you to everyone who made our SBC conference a very special experience today.
Eddie Riordan

Enjoyin coffee n danish at start of SBC Autumn Conference comfy chairs too :)

Enjoyable, stimulating & productive day at SBC Autumn Conference today. Great food, coffee & refreshments throughout the day as well :)

SBC Autumn Conference definitely exceeded my expectations today. Bring on the Spring Conference 2012!
Series of Tweets from Mike Evans

Autumn Conference 2011

This years Autumn Conference is only a few days away, and it is shaping up to be a special day.

Please note that the day is starting at 9:00am for refreshments and pastry delights, and will finish appropriately 16:30.

On the day we are going to be discussing, brainstorming, exploring and ultimately decided the future direction of SBC, and considering what OFC's and Compassion-Based Ministries we are going to be involved in across our region and beyond.

Please be praying in advance for the conference, and in particular what God might be saying about our future as a church.

God bless

Worshipping Idols

 

Isaiah 44 records the account of a man who obtains a piece of wood. Half of it he uses as fuel for the fire to keep himself warm and to cook his meal. The other half he fashions into a shape then bows down and worships it, calling it ‘My God’!

How stupid can you get? We have to laugh at the image this account creates in our minds today but God wasn’t laughing because it was the type of thing His people were doing, which ended in His justifiable wrath being poured out, Israel being overrun by the Assyrians and the people scattered to the nations, and later the small remnant of Judah that survived being taken into exile in Babylon.

Of course, we are not that stupid today, are we? We don’t worship idols, do we? Unless of course we count our favourite 7 iron that always seems to rescue a round of golf (or the golf course or golf itself!), or a night out with mates (which is sacred and comes before all else), or watching Super League on a Friday, or our iPad, iPhone, car, house, power tools (dare I mention Beach Buggy), foreign holidays and anything else of importance (to us) that comes between us and the work God wants us to be doing. History teaches us that failing to worship God alone not only stirs His righteous anger but also that it grieves Him deeply and none of us wants either to happen.

These things are there to be enjoyed and we accept them willingly as a gift from God but, as Rich Webb reminded us earlier in the year, we have no right to them. They are not ours, we do not own them (objects or the time we have), they are only transitory – on loan to us by a gracious God, who really wants us to have a great time in life but always to put Him at the centre where He deserves to be - to be is the root of I AM.

In June I received a Kindle for my birthday and it has revolutionised my life. Due to eyesight problems I have difficulty reading printed text and backlit computer screens also cause a problem after a while making reading a difficult and less than pleasant experience. Not so with the Kindle. I can now read for hours and never tire of it.

Do I worship my Kindle as an idol? Has it become the centre of my life? Well, actually it is the one thing that is exempt from the list for the Lord God himself has declared ‘I WILL KINDLE..’ (Jeremiah 21:14).

 

A New Chapter ...

So this morning marks the start of a new chapter here at Scunthorpe Baptist Church, and there is plenty of reason to be excited!

Not only do we have Austin here from America to help and serve us moving forward, we have our Lead Pastor back from Sabatical and Tom starting full-time from this morning - making the office a very busy and packed working space.

These really are exciting times and we would encourage you to please continue to pray for us as we grow, serve, work and live together.

Thank You and God bless

‘Waiting For God’

 

In my early sixties I often contemplate what God is calling me to do in what some would say are my ‘Autumn Years’!

I am not as fit as I used to be, I'm overweight, my energy levels are much lower and my body is wearing out. You know that you have reached this time of life when you need a shopping bag to collect your prescriptions from the chemist.

It sometimes seems that I am living out a part in a TV sitcom like ‘One foot in the grave’ or ‘Waiting for God’.

I was reading the book of Job recently and came across a passage that says ‘as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent,’ (Job 29:4). Apparently the Hebrew can also be translated to ‘as I was in the autumn of my life’.  The commentator went on to make the comparison that autumn is a time for harvesting and picking the ripe fruit.

So as we grow older it is not a time to slow down and simply wait for God but an opportunity to get involved in the community and bring in the harvest. As Jesus once said, ‘I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.’ (John 4:35b).

 

Spring Conference Testimonies

The SBC Spring Conference was once again a great event with God moving in ways only He can. Many testimonies have come out from the weekend away, and below are just a few of them so far;

"God has blessed me through the words of someone else."

"Have been challenged to let God lead/decide on difficult future decisions."

"Prayed that upper back pain and itchy eyes would be healed and YESS!! Praise the Lord"

"I wasn't willing to live. I'm now willing to live my life in God, for God!"

"My welly boots were stuck in the mud, and the mud was right up the top of the boots. Praise the Lord he has released me and the mud has gone. Thank You God, I love you!"

"I received such clarity and fresh revelation. I feel renewed and complete again. Thank You Jesus!"

We really did have a great time away together and with God. Keep an eye out for the podcasts which will be available soon and also the blogs in the next few weeks which will include feedback and response to the Spring Conference.

God Bless

Spring Conference Countdown - 1 week to go

Intro

Just one week to go!  Soon 50 of us will be converging on the Ramada Jarvis in Wetherby full of excitement and expectation.  We are hoping, and praying, that the SBC Spring Conference is going to be a fantastic time together with one another and with God.  There are still numerous details to be sorted for those of us planning and organising, but everything seems to be on track.

Joining Instructions

These were being given out on Sunday, so most of you will already have your pack.  If not, then Helen will get them to you soon.  Remember that you will find a CD in the pack for you to listen to on the way to Wetherby.  Aim to start it as you leave and it should be just about the right length.

Conference Online

Don't forget that you can still keep up to date with the conference, even if you are not there.  This year there will be far more stuff happening on facebook, twitter and the blog, so don't forget to check up on us over the weekend.  Either check out the SBC Facebook page (link on our website) or search for the twitter hashtag #SBCuk.

Prayer pointers

This week we are asking people to pray for those attending the conference, as well as the weekend overall:

• Pray for safe journeys for everyone
• Pray against anything in the days preceding the conference which might distract from what God wants to do
• Pray for a sense of expectation
• Pray that the whole weekend would go well and that everyone would have a great time
• Pray for those 'left behind'

Looking forward to seeing you next week,

Rich.

Spring Conference Countdown - 2 weeks to go

Intro

It's getting closer all the time!  In just a fortnight we will be gathering together at Wetherby for the Spring Conference.  In this update I want to let you know about a couple of new things for this year.

Roadtrip Podcast

You may not have a clue what that title means, so let me explain.  This year we have produced a CD for us all to listen to on our way to Wetherby.  Whether you are coming in a car on your own or you are coming with others, put the CD on as you leave Scunthorpe.  The idea is for us to have a bit of fun on the way and also to get in the mood for a great weekend.  Tom and I discuss some highlights of previous years as well as our expectations for the coming conference.  We also talk about some of the innovations for this year and discuss some ideas of what to do on the afternoon off in Wetherby (though I wouldn't rely too heavily on our advice).  There are opportunities to pause the CD and have a chat with others in the car too, so don't worry about not having a chance for a chat.  You've probably never done anything like this before, but just give it a go!

Conference Team

One of the innovations we talk about on the CD is that we will be joined by a team from Mattersey.  The team consists of Tom and Debbie, whom we already know and Johnny and Louise, whom we don't.  They are going to help us with live worship and various other elements of the conference.  As you read this they are heading out on a mission trip and get back just in time to join with us.

As usual we will also be served by our awesome team of Helen, Steve and Kathy.  You might not see a lot of what they do, but their behind the scenes work makes the conference possible and results in an excellent conference.

Prayer pointers

• Pray for the Mattersey Team
  • On mission, that they would be blessed and be a real blessing
  • As they serve us, that they would feel really at home among us
  • Worship times - that there would be dynamic encounters with God
• Pray for the usual conference team
  • For all the details and preparations
  • That they would have a great conference too

Just quickly ...

If you use Twitter, why not follow the hashtag #SBCuk to keep up to date on what we are up to?  If you tweet during the conference, please use this hashtag to let everyone see what is going on. 

 

Spring Conference Countdown - 3 weeks to go

Intro

A time for renewing, refreshing, and much more, our Spring Conference take place over most of a weekend.  This year it is 8-10 April.  This series of blog posts is designed to keep people up to date with the news in the build up to the conference as well as helping us know how to pray in a specific way for what we are trusting will be a great weekend.  Even if you are not able to be with us, you can still find out what God is doing among us by keeping an eye on Facebook and Twitter (more on that next time).

Update

Not a lot has changed since last time.  However, I am pleased to say that the teaching material is coming along well, so thank you for your prayer.  After 3 conferences I was wondering what was left to talk about, but I am excited about what the Lord has led me to and I hope you will be too.

Prayer focus - Administration and Hotel team

We have been struck in previous years how strange it must be for the staff team at the hotel to have us worshipping and praising God right in their midst.  Let's hope it is strange in a good way!  The hotel staff have helped make the conference a real success in the past.

Another key element in making the conference great, is outstanding administration.  It might not seem very exicting, or even very spiritual.  However, having everything organised really well makes such a difference and removes possible distractions.

Here are the prayer points:

• That the people of SBC might be a blessing to all the hotel team and to any guests we meet
• That the hotel staff might be impacted by who we are and what we do
• That we might have significant conversations with those around us during the weekend
• For the admin team (Helen, Steve and Kathy)
• For all the details, equipment, supplies, printing, etc.

Thank you again for taking the time to pray.

Rich.

Spring Conference Countdown - 4 weeks to go

Intro

For some the wait has been a long one, for others the weekend is coming closer faster than expected.  Either way, we are just four weeks away from the annual SBC Spring Conference.  This will be our fourth spring conference and if the previous three are anything to go by, it will be an amazing time.

Perhaps you are not going to be with us at Wetherby and are already beginning to zone out of this blog.  Wait!  Don't go just yet, because we want to involve you too.  Even if you are not coming to the conference you can still be involved.  We are going to do a blog post each week on a Friday giving some specific prayer requests.  Even if you can't be there, I would really appreciate you praying.  We are also going to have updates, book reviews and perhaps some testimonies on Facebook and Twitter during the conference, so you can join in with what we are up to.

Conference Overview

This year we are going to have the usual input regarding the kingdom of God; a great chance to remind ourselves what we are all about.  We are also going to be running some 'Toolbox' sessions again.  Included in these sessions will be a wider launch of a fantastic programme we have run at SBC for some time, and which has a huge potential to change lives.  We are also going to consider how we go deeper with our bible reading.  In addition to this we will have book reviews, this year including blogs and podcasts for the first time.  Of course, we are also hoping for some testimonies too!  

As ever, we are hoping that:

• Our expectations will be raised
• We will be released from being held back
• We will be renewed and refreshed
• We will be resourced and equipped

Prayer Request - Teaching Sessions

For the coming week I would like you to pray for the development of the teaching material.  Naturally, God is in charge and has it all planed out!  However, we have to work out want He wants.  In total there are six sessions throughout the weekend and we want each one to be top-notch.  Please pray for the Holy Spirit to speak clearly to Rich and Mike as they prepare the material, in particular for:

• The right balance in the material (e.g. information vs. practice, challenge vs, encouragement)
• The right amount of material
• The specific points that God really wants us to hear

Many thanks for praying,

 

Rich.

The Missional Message

John 4

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

It is difficult to put this story in to context in a 21 century Britain, but the cultural barriers that Jesus confronts here in this passage are staggering.
Jesus speaks to a woman in public. A totally unacceptable thing to do.
Jesus approaches a Samaritan. A totally unacceptable thing to do.

Of course, it was only unacceptable because of the culture present at the time. Jesus smashes the cultural barrier, because for him the culture of God's kingdom is much more important. There are a years worth of sermons in this passage, but I want to suggest the following;

- The kingdom of God is inclusive of everyone.
- We are called to be the 'incarnation' and go to those on the edge or outside of society.
- A missional message transforms culture and community.

If that is true of Jesus, let it be true of our lives and ministries.

Let it be true of our church.