Recently I have been feeling aware that Christian meetings don’t equal more of God’s love. God loves us and it doesn’t matter how many early morning prayer meetings we go to! So anyway with the start of a Navs prayer meeting for anyone involved in Navs (Thursdays, 7.30am at Jimmy’s house) going alongside our Pod prayer meeting (Fridays, 7.30am at Big J’s House) I was feeling very aware that it can be easy for me to fill my week with meetings. But is God involved? Or am I just filling my week up with ‘Christian stuff’ to make myself feel better or more holy?

However a story that was told to me at the Connect days totally opened my eyes! Ted Pilling, who is the National coordinator for International Ministries, came to speak to us and over lunch told us how he got started in the Navigators as a student. He was a student at Loughborough University and feeling disillusioned in his faith. He went to church one evening for what he told himself was the last time. At church that evening he heard a man speak who gave his testimony. At the end of the service Ted went to speak to him to ask him if he could have a chat with him. The guy said that he could but would he like to do it the following evening at his house at 7.30? Ted said OK. So the following evening came and Ted turned up at this guys house only to find 5 other students there all sat in the guys lounge. The guy (who was Robb Powrie-Smith, I think) said “all of you have asked to speak to me over the last couple of weeks,” he continued, ” I am willing to do a Bible study with you but there are three rules. One, you prepare the study in advance. Two, you get here on time. Three, you only miss a week if you are dead!” Nobody said anything. Then Robb said ” If you don’t want to do it then that’s fine, its been nice meeting you, there’s the door!” Nobody moved! So that is how Ted got started in Navs! What happened next was an explosion of growth! In one years time they had 90-odd students in bible study and that soon became well over a hundred. People who were joining Navs were, 3 weeks later, leading bible study groups because they didn’t have enough leaders otherwise to cope with the sheer number of people coming!

Now the point of this story isn’t that we should be harsher disciplinarians in our groups! Or that we should lay down a list of rules and kick out of Navs those who don’t comply with them! Ted himself said that although this was a special time and God was definitely moving in the people at that time, you should not take this as a model of how to run a Navs ministry. It isn’t feasible to use this example as a model. I don’t know about you but a story like this, although incredible, makes me feel slightly discouraged because I want to know why this movement of God in students lives isn’t happening now in Edinburgh. Can I even imagine something like this happening in Navs at the moment?

However the crux of the story is this. Way, way before this amazing growth amongst students in Loughborough happened several local churches had joined together in praying for students to know God for years! For Years!! This I believe is what made the difference. This perseverance amongst those earnestly praying for students to get to know the Lord was eventually realised during this time.

It made me think about how I view prayer. Do I earnestly desire God to answer my prayers so that I persevere in those prayers? If God doesn’t act in my expected time frame do I just presume that I was praying for something that wasn’t in God’s will and drop it and move on to something else? Do you see God’s chance to answer your prayers as fitting in to your schedule? How much do we persevere?

Now this part of the story is amazingly encouraging!! And very challenging! So I urge you guys, girls and myself to persevere in our prayers and earnestly and faithfully desire what we pray for. Remember that God works in his own way and we cannot second guess when he will work and answer prayer.

So I don’t feel bad about my morning prayer meetings as I know it is a time I can bring my prayers before God and fully give him control of them. I just need to remember to persevere!

1 Thessalonians 5 v17 says “…pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Luke 18 v1 says “The Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

and v7 continues “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? He will see that they gain justice…”

All the best!

Dave

Ok So I’m not the most prolific blogger….sigh…. Anyway here is an update which will hopefully spur me on to do some more posts! My Connect year is going well and I am enjoying my time very much. It’s sometimes odd spending the year as a missionary amongst students in Edinburgh, but it is also very cool and I am privileged to have this opportunity! Earlier this week Lorna and I attended the second set of ‘Connect Days’ at Lendrick Muir. All the Connect workers for the 07-08 year were present, although Susie had to rush off on Tuesday as she was graduating on Wednesday!

The days were amazing and I feel like I got so much out of all the sessions. Our guest speaker on the Tuesday morning was Ted Pilling (the National coordinator for International Ministries) who spoke to us first about the need to persevere in our journeys with God by looking at Hebrews. It was really encouraging to see someone really passionate about God and what God wants to do in his (and his wife’) life in the next 10 years! I can’t even think as far ahead as next week normally! Then Ted spoke to us about our summer missions trip. This is really exciting and an amazing part of the Connect year. I have no idea where I want to go or where God wants me to go. Am excited about finding out though!

In our sessions we also reviewed in groups the book we read which was ‘Evangelism Made Slightly Less Difficult’ by Nick Pollard. I will hopefully review the book soon for you to read on here! We also went through the epic Connect Bible studies we prepare beforehand. The study was focused on things such as Evangelism, the ‘Gospel’ and what it means to be ‘Good News’. One of the questions was to thoroughly go through the first 8 chapters of Romans, specifically noting statements that clarify the gospel. It was amazing to do this!

Ros Boydell did a session on the Wednesday morning on ‘listening’ which was really interesting and useful. I think in my head I thought listening to people was just an obvious thing to do naturally, but Ros’ session showed how it is important to really engage with the person you are listening to. This ultimately comes from your attitude to the person. If you really care and love the person you will want to listen to them and relationships benefit when people listen well!

All in all the connect days were brilliant! The only problem was the other Connect workers unwillingness to play signals and tension despite my most earnest attempts to encourage these group games! Ah well….

Dave

At the moment I am reading/studying a few books! They are;

‘Lifestyle Discipleship’ – Jim Petersen (am reading this with Lincoln)

This is a book primarily about Discipleship and what it means for someone to grow in Christ after they have ‘become a Christian’.

‘Now, Discover Your Strengths.’ – Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton (reading this with Lincoln,Colin G, Lorna)

A strength finder book that helps you realise what you are good at! Sounds like something I need!

‘Irresistable Revolution’ – Shane Claiborne (reading this with Michelle)

We read this book for Summer Navs but Michelle didn’t so we are going to read it together. It is an amazingly challenging book and is primarily about loving our neighbours and the poor, and what that should look like in practice!

‘Evangelism Made Slightly Less Difficult’ – Nick Pollard (Reading this with fellow Connectors)

Not sure yet, but I imagine the title is self explanatory!

Dave

Uni is back and that means that Navs is not far behind!  Freshers week at Edinburgh University started on Monday 10th September and the first Navs main meeting was on the 17th September.  It was exciting to get Navs started again and get people into groups for the coming year!  I think that my lovely new flat will host a Navs Pod this year but I have to check that with Ali Tee the Foo.

This term we are going to be studying Ephesians and I am really looking forward to it!

So at the start of September we had the first Connect training days down in Barston, South of Birmingham. We stayed in a little building next to an old church. There are 8 Connect workers working around Britain this year and this was our first opportunity to meet each other. You can read a little bit about what we all hope to get from the coming year here. The two Connect co-ordinators this year are Phil Boydell and Josh Brown. We were also joined by Josh’s lovely wife Nat and their little boy Samuel.

It was really fun to meet up with everyone and despite the early drive down from Scotland (I had to get up at 5.30am!!) it was lots of fun!  The various seminars(?) were really good and the thorough Bible study we had prepared was really excellent.  One of the main verses Phil talked about was 2 Tim 2:2 which is; “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

After the Connect training days we all packed up and travelled over to the Wirral for the Navigators Student Reps Forum.  This was a gathering of people working in student ministry in some sort of leadership role.  It was really good to meet some of the other people working in student ministry and feel their support for those of us doing the Connect programme.  We also got to play a bit of football which of course means it was a successful weekend!

Dave

Hi All!  This is what will hopefully be an account of my year as a ‘Connect worker’ working with Navigators in Edinburgh.  I officially started on the 1st September and I meant to set up a blog then, but obviously I didn’t!  But better late than never!

Dave