A Report on an Entertaining and Encouraging Evening in Morningside
Last night (Thursday the 12th of Feb) I had the privilege of speaking at a “Quench’ event organised by Chalmers Church in Edinburgh. It was held in Costa Coffee at Holy Corner, Morningside, and was on the subject of ‘A Christian view of Education”. It is a charming venue and most of the people were ‘charming’ as well…although there was one exception! A few observations and comments:
1) It was very well organised in an excellent venue. Chalmers are well organised and professional (my son was the main organiser and he did a superb job). If you are going to organise this kind of Quench café evangelism, make sure you realise that you don’t just turn up, hoping that everything works out ok.
2) It was good to see a packed café, with people from the church, and others from outwith. Good publicity and people being invited are the keys – as well of course as prayer.
3) The chairperson is key. (As is the speaker!)… The Chalmers chairman got the tone and direction exactly right.
4) Education is a great subject…it covers such a wide area and Christian values are a key part. I suspect that no one who came heard what they expected! It’s also a hot topic – with the atheistic secular humanists seeking to remove all vestiges of Christianity from education. They are the ‘Jesuits’ of the atheistic movement.
5) Speaking of Humanists – there was one Humanist society person there. He asked a decent question (basically one of the standard Hitchens’s questions from the atheist playbook) but then got really stroppy. When I went over at the end to speak to him and thank him for making the evening more interesting, he could hardly contain the venue and contempt in his voice and eyes. It was actually quite disturbing and disconcerting. At first I thought, he really hates me and then I remembered the words of Jesus; ‘if they have hated me, they will hate you also”. Its not that he hated me…he hated the message and he hates God. I think far too many Christians don’t realise the extent of the enmity that we face- and then when faced with it, tend to blame either themselves for not being ‘nice’ enough. People hate God. That’s why we pray for them.
6) Its church based persuasive evangelism. The whole church needs to be involved in this. Prayer, invitations, helping set up and then being a warm, welcoming and biblical church, when people are drawn to hear more.
7) Scotland and the UK are in desperate need. The Church (as in the people of God) need to get out of the church (as in the building) in order that there might be ‘added daily to their number, such as should be saved”. May there be a thousand more such events throughout the land this year! And may there be rejoicing in heaven because of what happened in Costa last night.
It is an interesting point about being hated. I suppose if one is different then one will always be a threat to whatever is the prevailing status quo. When it comes to Christianity what comes to my mind is Matt 10:22 “You will be hated by everyone because of me.” Of course in this instance he is talking about being identified with himself and not just because someone is using Christianity as a veneer for their own detestable conduct.
The love of truth and the truth of love go hand in hand. What is there if there is one without the other?
Isn’t it tempting to be nice in order to not be hated? Who doesn’t want to be liked and accepted? If anyone has said they feel afraid, my instinct may be to comfort, but what if by doing so they feel better and I have over-compromised? I’ve realised that sometimes when someone is afraid, then it’s because what I have done is good and they should be afraid that sometimes being criticised is a sign of doing what is appropriate however fierce the criticism.
Not something anyone likes to hear or experience though is it?