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| The Revd Andrew Fuller |
It’s good that those of us called to full time service in the church come from a variety of backgrounds.
My first pastorate was in Kettering at a church named after its former minister from the 18th century: The Revd Andrew Fuller.
His image in one of the stained glass windows shows he was a robust, square jawed individual. Read his biography and much is made of the fact that before becoming a minister he was a Pugilist: a wrestler or a boxer.
Perhaps that stood him in good stead. He lived at a time when strict Calvinists, like himself, thought God didn’t need our help sharing the gospel. Fuller battled, he ‘wrestled’, against that way of thinking. He convinced other Baptist Ministers that Christians should be active in sharing their faith and this group, in 1792, formed the Baptist Missionary Society – which still exists today. Fuller became its first Secretary and William Carey its pioneer missionary.
It only came about because Andrew Fuller wrestled with his faith and the applied it in a new way as he came to a fresh understanding.
In this coming Sunday's reading from the Jewish Scriptures we’ll encounter another wrestler – Jacob. And we’ll ponder the value that comes our way when we wrestle with ideas about God and life that can end up, not weakening our faith, but making it stronger.
CHURCH FOCUS
...…Our thanks to the Family News editorial team who have produced the August edition of church magazine this week. It’s been emailed out to most of the congregation or posted through folks’ letter box if they don’t have access to the internet. It’s a good read!
…Last week we recorded a new service of Holy Communion for July and August. I hope this will be helpful to those of us who value coming together in this way around bread and wine.
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