Building Biblical Churches for the 21st Century

Engaging with God, 2007 Conference 

For the fifth year running I traveled from rural Northumberland to the North West of England to join approximately 150 others for the God's Glory our Joy Conference. The conference was again held at The Emmaus Church Centre in Warrington which had been kindly lent by the Orford church. The facilities are excellent, and we were made welcome by the church's friendly and hard working staff

The theme for this year's conference was 'Engaging with God' and began on the Friday afternoon with a seminar for church leaders entitled 'Walking with God'. Alec Taylor of Chelmsley Wood Reformed Baptist Church Birmingham, spoke about the danger of being involved in a lot of activity for God but having little or no communion with God. Communication is the key to a close walk with God. We need to set time aside for regular communion with God. David, Daniel and the Lord Jesus himself all rose early to spend time with God the Father. Prayer needs to be a way of life for all church leaders. We need to meditate on the word of God, and be prepared to wait upon the Lord. Desire and discipline are critical if we are to maintain a close walk with God

The rest of the conference is open to all Christians. And it started with a stimulating paper by Chris Hand of Crich Baptist Church in Derbyshire, entitled 'This is Eternal Life'. Chris led our thinking on the subject of true and false spirituality, which he defined as knowing God through his Son Jesus Christ. He looked at where feelings fit into true spirituality quoting extensively from Jonathan Edwards. His conclusion is that we must all expect to make room for our feelings but avoid excesses. True spirituality is felt

The Saturday program began with 'The Truth Shall Make You Free' (Meeting God in His Book). Alec Taylor showed us how the Thessalonians met God through his Word. He pointed out that Paul proclaimed the gospel to them rather than tell them stories of what had gone before in Philippi. Paul pointed them to Christ and reasoned with them from the scriptures. The message of the cross moved him, and therefore he declared it to others. Alec also looked at how the Thessalonians were eager to hear God's Word and asked whether we had such anticipation and expectation when we meet to hear it preached. He then developed the theme of how we meet God through his Word in private devotion. The great need of God's people today is to meditate on his Word each day. If we don't eat physical food we become ill, the same applies in the spiritual realm. We need more than what we learn on a Sunday!

Martin Grubb of Charlesworth Baptist Chapel, Derbyshire gave a sparkling paper on how we present God to a godless world, listing seven things the Holy Spirit says about God: God is the God of creation, of conscience, of the Lord Jesus Christ, of conversion, of the church and of the consummation. Martin gave several illustrations of how he uses these truths to challenge the folk that live in his area. He reminded us of the need to pray that God would work in people's minds and hearts. God can change people; He can turn them From Idols to the Living God

The afternoon opened with Stephen Rees of Grace Baptist Church Stockport considering how we engage with God in the church. This was a searching yet warm paper, with Stephen exploring how in the fellowship of the church we see and feel the truths we believe. Are our churches places where the presence of the Lord Jesus is felt by people?, Paul prayed for the Ephesians that their hearts would be enlightened not just their minds. He wanted the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts and show them more of Christ. We need to know our Saviour and gaze in wonder on him. The truths about heaven should be awesome realities to us, truths that make the things of this world grow dim. We should be more and more aware of the immeasurable power of God that is working in us. But do we see and feel the truths we say we believe. We experience these things most when we meet together in our local churches. God reveals himself to his people when they assemble together; this was true in the Old Testament, and is true today. Stephen finished with a challenge as to why we may not experience this today. Could it be that our expectations are low, or our relationships are broken or we have insulted God by the way we live, acting as though other things are a substitute for his presence; or is there a lack of heart preparation before we meet together.

This year there were three reports on events that had taken place in various fellowships over the past twelve months. And for the first time a pamphlet was produced containing news reports from some of the other churches represented at the conference. This was very informative and will be a useful aid for prayer as well as helping us learn from one another. The conference closed with a stirring sermon from Geoff King of Radcliffe Road Baptist Church, Bury, who preached Christ to us. A thoroughly enjoyable 24 hours and well worth the 360 mile round trip. Once again the fellowship, ministry and worship were thought provoking, heart warming and extremely challenging.

Alan M. Travis: Swarland Evangelical Church, Northumberland

Organisers Notes

All six sessions of the conference were recorded and are available via the website

Next year's conference will be held D.V. on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th October 2008, when it is planned that pastors Phil Arthur, David Last and Geoff Thomas will be among the speakers. For sermons from previous years and other details, visit www.ggoj.org.uk