Futures Prayer Focus 1
WORKING TOGETHER, SEEKING THE FUTURE
THIRTEEN ASSOCIATIONS +BAPTIST UNION OF GREAT BRITAIN+FIVE COLLEGES+BMS WORLDMISSION
.............Listening to God and to one another
As we continue to explore our future together we remain constantly aware of the need to be a people who are committed to prayer and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Many would argue that this reality is taken for granted but we sense the need to continually re-affirm this as the consultation continues.
To this end we have prepared Futures Prayer Focus 1 ‘Listening for the voice of God’ which we hope this will be the first of many. The purpose is not so much to offer an update on the process itself but to foster an appropriate attitude and spirit within all those who are affected by, and participate in, the important task in which we are now engaged.
Please feel free to share this as widely as possible. These reflections are ideal for use personally, in a service, house-groups, church and deacons meetings.
A significant episode in the Gospels is recorded in Matthew 17 when Jesus was visibly transformed before his closest disciples. It is a story which the Futures Group were invited to reflect on at the outset of their December 2011 deliberations. We might argue that this event is a prototype for any Futures Process; a conversation that anticipated and prepared for the road ahead. At the heart of this conversation was the voice of God:
The voice of God represented by Moses; revealed through laws of justice and righteousness and His presence in the events of history.
The voice of God represented by Elijah; made known through the dynamic, prophetic utterance of His Spirit.
The voice of God represented by Jesus; the Word become flesh and living amongst His own creation.
It was a living encounter that revealed and reflected God's glory; the mountain top became a holy place that could be recognised by Peter as a desirable location to be. He wanted to capture the moment, to linger in the experience, but the call of Christ was to come down from the mountain and to continue their Gospel journey. It was a journey that would not be without sacrifice as Jesus anticipated His own sufferings that lay ahead.
As we ponder the future of our Union, it is vital that we encounter God in our deliberations, seeking a process of shared listening to His voice, not just competing for our own to be heard. We need to be true to our faith traditions and Baptist Identity; we need to be open to the prophetic and unexpected prompts of the Spirit, we need to recognise the reality of our present circumstances and to seek the voice of God within them.
For Peter and his companions their challenge was not to allow this moment to become an end in itself; it was a milestone in a journey that led to the cross and beyond. As we seek God together, we can never devise an approach that will be without flaw, and while this is no reason to be complacent, nor should be allow the process to become more important to us than the journey that we are eventually directed to take. Our desire and concern is that as a Baptist people, we will be open to hear the voice of God speaking, in whatever circumstances it might emerge.
The process may have been prompted by financial concerns and indeed the need to act responsibly in the light of a predicted significant deficit. But this is by no means our sole or principle driving force; rather it became a moment to recognise that times have changed, structures and ways of working devised in previous centuries may not be appropriate for the mission challenge that now lies before us.
We cannot hope or pretend to devise a way forward that meets everyone's ideal, nor is it likely to be achieved without significant pain and sacrifice – this indeed is the way of the cross. But our shared prayer and commitment needs to be that in process and outcome, God will be glorified.
God of the future, God of the present and God of the past;
You have called us to walk in ways known and ways yet to be known
To watch over one another in love and unity
To trace the pathways of Your Spirit,
And to follow where they lead.
Help us to hear your voice
Whether you speak in the familiar or the unexpected
And give us the courage and common purpose
To walk Your way together
That You may be glorified in all of our endeavours
AMEN
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