From our CEO Peter Parkinson

Our nation has been experiencing a deeply disquieting level of antagonism and now blatant opposition to the Christian faith. Without doubt, we as Christian believers have to accept some of the responsibility for this, as must the ‘church’ as a whole.

Too often, instead of being seen to be filled with compassion for the ‘have-nots’ of this world, the church and maybe even Christians have been seen to be immersed in ecclesiastical wrangling, arguments about theological and biblical minutiae, but not offering practical help and assistance to some of the most needy in our society. There are of course some significant exceptions. The now household name of CAP ‘Christians Against Poverty’ has honoured our Saviour, and certainly helped in seeking to restore the balance of those who argue that Christians may be talkers but are not doers!

There are of course other Christian ministries, many of them, who are similarly bringing honour and glory to our Lord Jesus as they share His love with socially excluded and deeply vulnerable people. A marvellous family-orientated ministry is Good News Family Care. Its founder and driving inspiration is a lovely Christian lady called Hazel Guest, someone I knew in my early days as a lay pastor in Crookes, Sheffield, and for whom I have the greatest respect. A quote from their excellent website reminded me of the challenge which Esther issued to me over 25 years ago, “It seems to us that we have two choices: we can grumble on about "the state of society", stick our heads firmly in the sand and hope that the problem will go away. Or we can try to do something about it. The founders and supporters of Good News Family Care believe the latter choice is the sensible one!” My response, YES 100% YES!

Our failure to be seen to be actively and practically involved in addressing the suffering of so many in our nation, our preoccupation with internal, and what the world would perceive to be minor issues, is without doubt a contributory factor to the antagonism and opposition that we Christians face. We have plenty of battles to fight, and we can well do without focussing so much attention on our fellow believers.

When great armies of the past fought, the choice of the correct battleground was crucial. In the American Civil War, a battle which many perceive to have changed the entire tide of that war, was the battle of Gettysburg. General Lee, up to that point, was the victorious General commanding the Southern army, who believed him to be invincible, and indeed, who the Northern army held in all but the same esteem. But General Lee was severely hampered by failing to gain the high ground of Little Round Top at Gettysburg, and the Gallant Col Joshua Chamberlain holding Little Round Top for the Union army ultimately ensured the defeat of the South at Gettysburg, a defeat from which General Lee never recovered.

Now, why refer to these battle tactics of the past? Well, I refer to them for one reason, namely that I passionately believe that many Christians have made a grave error in the late 20th and early 21st Century. The ground that so many Christians have chosen upon which to fight their battles, is in my view the wrong ground. It was the Apostle Paul who, when he went to Corinth, said that he was “determined to know nothing but Christ Jesus and Him crucified.” In other words it was the person and work of Jesus Christ that completely preoccupied his preaching and his teaching. Yet the battles that so many Christians seem to want to fight today are very different.

I am convinced that in our preaching, our teaching, our evangelism, our interaction with the world and in our debates and conversations, the issues that are of first importance for us to communicate are the essentials of the gospel. The essentials of the gospel are those truths surrounding Christ Jesus and Him crucified. It is being faithful to this, and in proclaiming none other than Jesus Himself that we will find ourselves occupying the high ground.

Christian people understandably have strong views and feelings with regard to issues which they perceive to be threatened and even destroyed by our secular and atheistic society. But neither the gospel nor the glory of the Kingdom of God in any way hinges on peripheral issues; no! The effectiveness of our ministry in the world hinges on our living out the reality that Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, came into the world to save sinners, and these are the truths on which our battle lines should be drawn with the world. His virgin birth, His life and teaching, His passion, His resurrection and His Lordship over all things; these are the glorious realities, the ‘high ground’ from which to enter into discourse with a lost world, in the battle for the world.

Now, I am not suggesting that other issues are unimportant, nor am I suggesting we should be silent on other issues, nor that we should not have an opinion on other issues; of course not! But what I am suggesting is that these are not the issues upon which we should draw our battle lines in seeking to overcome Satan and win hearts and minds for Christ and His kingdom.

I suggest that what we have to engage in is a ‘Quiet Christian Revolution’. We have to turn our nation inside out and upside down; we have to turn people’s hearts inside out, turn society upside down, without any one realising just how radical the revolution is. I believe that to address the challenges before us we have to take our Christian faith very, very seriously and we have to take the challenge and call of Christ Jesus and the gospel, very, very seriously. I passionately believe that the day is not lost for us! The battle is not over. Of course it isn’t, because God is Sovereign, and “Now is Christ Risen from the Dead!” Jesus is Lord! He rules! But He has chosen to work His miracles through us, through those of us who are very ordinary and very inadequate people.

So what does He demand of us, I suggest that he demands:-

Serious, Sacrificial and Sincere Service

Firstly, we need to recognise that we are in a battle. The church is losing ground. Truth is losing ground; the enemies of truth and of Christ are gaining supremacy. Christian liberty is being challenged, the freedom to teach the truth is being challenged and Christians have been and are being discriminated against. We are being bombarded by licentious filth on our TVs and radios, newspapers; everywhere.

But there is another huge, massive issue that we face in 2012; the poor are becoming poorer, the underprivileged in our Western society are suffering with an ever-increasing severity. Just as worrying is the reality that people who twenty years ago would have thought themselves comfortably off, are facing significant deprivation. As for those who are in unquestionable need of assistance, well more and more of those people are falling through the net of support and care offered by statutory agencies. We face a serious situation today in our nation.

Secondly, we must wake up to the reality that to bring light to our dark nation requires not just seriousness but sacrifice! If we are going to be able to address the growing number of social, educational and medical needs that our State is failing to address, and if we as Christians are going to respond, then all of us as individuals are going to have to make a sacrifice. We are going to have to give, and give sacrificially and seriously. That means, until giving actually costs us something. If Christians had the courage to give sacrificially, just beginning with the ‘tithe’ that was an unquestioned principle in the Old Testament, and which was clearly merely the starting point in the New, then our ability to undertake the most amazing works of mercy and love, all in the name of Christ Jesus, would be enabled, with the most glorious consequences.

But sacrificial giving is not something that we should just think about, nor is it something to be merely asked of a very special body of ‘super Christians!” Surely it is a duty incumbent on every believer! Christ Jesus sacrificed Himself, He sacrificed His life, as He died in our place. How shall we not offer Him our everything, our all? How in the world can we hold anything back from Him? Must we not give, and give generously and even sacrificially for Him who died for us?

But thirdly of course, comes the crucial issue of sincerity. Do we sincerely want to see the tide turn and the Christian faith grow, flourish and once again bring light to our nation? Does it matter to us that the Christian faith is declining as it is? Are we prepared to be a part of striving to restore the honour of Jesus name in our nation again? Do we want to see the borders of God’s Kingdom extended rather than being diminished in our nation? Then we must give and give seriously!

Now if we are serious, sincere, willing to give of our resources and to give sacrificially, the fourth issue will simply be this:-

“How can I offer myself as a ‘living sacrifice’ in the service of our King?”

Please allow me to cite myself as an illustration of someone who, I am ashamed to say, has too often lacked both faith and vision. Twenty-five years ago, I was deeply disturbed by the growing problem of homelessness amongst young people in our city of Leeds. I had seen some young people we knew well face this dilemma. You see, Esther Smith, now the Senior Pastoral Administrator at Caring For Life, was then the officer in charge of a small group children’s home in Leeds, and it was her children that we saw facing serious issues, including homelessness, when they left local authority care.

I said to Esther, “You know someone ought to do something about this!” She prodded me in the chest, quite out of character, her normally being a very polite lady, and said, “What are you going to do?” My retort was immediate, “What in the world can I do? I am a Baptist pastor, not a millionaire!” She said, “You can do something! You don’t have to do nothing!” That was a defining moment in my life, and it was God’s own voice I heard that day. Her words may as well have come from the very mouth of God Himself, for the words went into my heart and soul like an arrow. From that moment on, as I face any challenge or see any need my response is, well, there are two options here, ‘Do something or do nothing!!!’ What would Jesus have done?

The excuse so often proffered by observers is, “You know we can’t help everyone!” Ever heard that? Well, my assessment is that too often people saying that finish up doing nothing! Of course we can’t help everyone, no one need remind us of that. BUT we can help someone, and then someone else! What resources do we have? Well it so happens that actually, I am a millionaire! As are you, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ today! But how in the word can that be true? My dear friends, we have all the resources of heaven at our disposal. Let no one say, “What can I do?” with the implication that the answer is ‘nothing!’ There is a lovely old children’s chorus that I used to sing as a child in Sunday School. It goes:

“There’s a work for Jesus ready at your hand,
‘Tis a task the Master just for you has planned.
Haste to do His bidding, yield Him service true.
There’s a work for Jesus none but you can do”.

‘Work for Jesus day by day,
Serve him ever, falter never, Christ obey,
Yield him service, loyal, true;
There’s a work for Jesus none but YOU can do!”

With all my heart I believe that service is a crucial and necessary response for every Christian. Our Jesus has died for us; we ought to live for Him! Service appropriate to our means and our abilities, ‘Serious Sacrificial Sincere Service!’

Once we are on board with the realisation that each of us has a call, a duty, a responsibility to be engaged in such service, the next step is essential. We must engage in ‘Peaceful Practical Prioritisation!’

We need to quietly begin to recognise the areas of greatest need in our nation, the areas that Jesus would recognise as of greatest need. Our task ought not to be to try to find the highest platform from which we can shout the loudest message. Nor should our energies be directed to find the biggest names, the most powerful people to get on board with our cause. No need, God is on our side! I mean, you really can’t do better than that!! No, our progress will be to quietly, sincerely and sensitively seek the mind of Christ and in an act of personal re-commitment to Him, to begin to explore how each of us can begin to serve Jesus, and in such a way as to bring His love to those around us.

But secondly, we have to be practical about how to use the resources that we have and that we can offer. We must determine the areas where we as Christians can use our resources, and use them most effectively. Where are the greatest needs, where will our Christian service be most usefully employed, where will our Christian money be used to the greatest benefit for the Kingdom of God, and most importantly where would Jesus have us be?

A couple of weeks ago I read the news that ‘The Crystal Cathedral’ in LA had been declared bankrupt and bought by the Roman Catholic Church. An immense and amazing glass structure housing the ministry of Robert Schuler, it attracted thousands of visitors. We visited there a couple of times and the facilities are akin to a 5-star hotel, or better. I asked a question in the information office, “Do you have a ministry to the poor? A care ministry?” “Oh yes!”, replied the person behind the rather splendid counter. “Every year we hold a conference to discuss the poor.” “Oh right!”, I replied. “But do you do anything for the poor!” Again came the reply, “Yes! As I said, we have a conference to talk about the poor!” I was given a number of leaflets all referring to the annual conference and its subjects.

Now right there you have it! That is what the world sees, and that is what God sees; Christians who talk about issues, but do absolutely nothing. Christians are fantastic at ‘talk shops’, but a talk shop without action is a just a vapour.

So how do we prioritise our time and our resources?

I believe every Christian ought to be committed to sharing the love of Jesus with others, committed to telling people about a Saviour who loves and died for them, committed to seeing people brought from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son.

I suggest that we are called to take seriously our duty to prioritise our financial resources and whatever resources we have, to direct them to the work and the building of the kingdom of God. That very simply means this; if you have resources, then use them in the furthering of Christian ministry. Just remember, the whole world supports charitable causes that are not explicitly Christian, excellent charities such as Cancer Research, RSPCA, RNLI, RNIB etc., etc.; all brilliant charities doing a superb job, but supported by huge numbers of people.

Just ask this, who supports Christian charities? Where does their support come from as they seek to undertake the work of God’s Kingdom? Well, I’ll tell you, overwhelmingly the answer is this; from just one place, Christian people.

So my plea would be this, support Christian ministries! Give us the means to do the job, and things will happen, massively, marvellously, miraculously, beyond anything you could have imagined.

But there is another issue of immense importance; when we give, and really give, God will bless us. We reap what we sow! Sow sparingly and we will reap sparingly, but sow generously and we will reap generously. Indeed, if we give sacrificially we will reap blessings above anything we would ask or desire.

We have covered a huge amount of ground here but I do want us to ask ourselves a very practical and a crucial question. Just where should Christian charities and ministries be looking to serve? What ought to be the priorities for our focus?

For centuries in the UK, ministries of care, compassion and kindness were undertaken by Christian people and Christian churches. In the 19th C there was a huge expansion of compassionate Christian ministries, and names such as Barnado, Spurgeon, Muller, Wilberforce and Shaftsbury are just a handful amidst a much, much greater number of people who championed social reform and social care in Jesus’ name! These are amongst the best known figures who brought the huge challenge of social need to the forefront of Christian thinking and commitment. But even more than that, they brought the Christian challenge to an entire nation and to an entire generation.

However, with the birth of the ‘welfare state’, the responsibility for social and compassionate care has been increasingly abrogated from independent charities and churches to the State. This is now the case to the degree that the vast majority of Christian ministries rely massively on government funding and as such, function merely as an extension of statutory services. Some Christian ministries have literally sacrificed their Christian ethos in order to keep and expand their share of Government funding and others have essentially lost their Christian ethos in their attempt to attract secular financial support.

With all my heart I believe that we need to turn the tide! We must turn the tide!

Then what is needed and how can it be addressed?

Well, I suggest that as Christians these are some of the areas where we are desperately needed, needed in all of these areas because here there is increasing evidence of abuse, human suffering and a massive need for reform.

Residential care: - The number of residential homes available to vulnerable people is reducing to the point of virtually disappearing. Residential Christian care for the elderly is crucial, especially as more and more information comes out as to the appalling levels of abuse and neglect that are currently being experienced in many of our hospitals and care facilities for the elderly.

Residential care for children: - Many local authorities are eliminating children’s homes, and with disastrous consequences. The number of children who need protection is growing at an alarming rate, and many are never coming under the radar of local authority care, as local authority resources are massively overstretched, and increasingly so.

Residential care for those with learning difficulties or physically disabled people: - Facilities for such people are woefully inadequate. Many people with physical or learning disabilities face profoundly humiliating and dehumanising treatment, sometimes with levels of care which do not even meet the most basic of needs. But in this crucial area, Christian facilities are all but non-existent.

Sheltered accommodation: - There are thousands upon thousands of people who cannot cope on their own. Their vulnerability leaves them open to abuse and to being exploited by predatory individuals, sometimes even their own relatives or so-called friends. We at Caring For Life have come across the most appalling cases of this type of abuse, over and over again.

Daytime support:- But in addition to all of the above, there is a huge need for Christians to get involved (as many do) in running parent support groups, child care day centres, child care training courses, mums and tots groups, offering housing support as a friend or visitor to vulnerable families and individuals.

Christians can assist with education, both in the running of Christian schools, but also by rediscovering the value of the original Sunday Schools, where poor children literally learned to read and write and do basic maths on Sunday afternoons in Sunday School halls.

There is a huge need for food distribution, offering food parcels on a regular basis to needy families, single parents, the lonely, and also the elderly. This can be a crucial and life-changing ministry.

A befriending ministry can be a marvellous blessing to lonely, isolated house- bound people, and what a wonderful way of sharing Jesus’ love! This is a ministry that every church, and the vast majority of Christians, could undertake.

If we can but begin to walk this path, not just one or two of us, but all of us, then what I have described as the Quiet Christian Revolution will have begun. We will have taken up arms against Satan and his hosts. The consequence of Christian people taking up this Quiet Christian Revolution would be absolutely phenomenal! It would change our nation, it would bring Jesus love to millions, it would bring blessings beyond our imaginations to the body of Christ, it would help to build God’s kingdom on earth and it would silence Satan. Most of all, it would honour our Lord Jesus Christ and it would please Him.

We at Caring For Life are trying to do many of these things, but only when Christian people begin to recapture the need to support Christian ministries will we be able to extend our ministries as we long to do, and meet some of the huge challenges before us.

Many other Christian ministries are in exactly the same situation. I mentioned Good News Family Care in Buxton. They have a huge opportunity opening up to them, but they desperately need financial resources. We at Caring For Life, in this our Silver Jubilee Year, are launching an appeal for financial resources to cover the refurbishment of a 17th Century barn into our new shop sales and restaurant area. We are doing everything we are able to provide an indoor facility for riding and driving for disabled people, as well as disadvantaged people, but we also want to launch our plans for the provision of more residential homes, for sheltered accommodation, residential facilities for disabled people, and of course, provision for elderly people. Finally, we want to explore the provision of a much-needed children’s home. Our two residential facilities are superb, Wendy Margaret Home especially so; it is a facility which would serve wonderfully as either a children’s home or a safe home for ladies fleeing abuse, a need we face on increasing levels. We believe and know that the need is massive.

We at Caring For Life are just one of many Christian ministries, all of which need Christians to begin to take our call seriously and to give seriously! If Christians in the UK gave seriously and sacrificially, then a Quiet Christian Revolution would occur, our nation would be changed, and Christ would be glorified and honoured.

If you would like to know more about Caring For Life, or if you would like to help us in our Quiet Christian Revolution, please either click ‘our contact’ or, if you would like to support us, click on either the ‘your support’ or the ‘donate’ area at the top of our home page.

Thank you so much for visiting us.

Peter Parkinson, CEO and Founder of Caring For Life