New Experiences; New Insights

One of the best things about being at Oxford is the new experiences we are having and the new insights God is giving us. Last Friday we experienced an Oxford tradition called the “High Table.” This is a somewhat formal dinner for the faculty and students where everyone dresses up and then there is somewhat of a ceremony to it. We were invited as part of our program here. It begins with the faculty and guests meeting in what is called the “Senior Commons Room” to visit before dinner. When the students are seated, then someone comes and knocks on the door and we “process” into the dining room! The dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. sharp and then at 8:00 p.m. the principal hits a gavel and dinner is over! Ready or not!! It was fun, but the best part was the people we got to meet.
We met a wonderful couple named Alister and Allison Brown. Alister is the head of the Baptist Missionary Society of Great Britain but in September he is going to become president of the Northern Baptist Seminary in Chicago. We talked about the differences they will experience coming from England to America. It was fun to listen to Alister because he is from Scotland. We also met a lady who knows Dick and Jane Mohline from Siloam Springs! When she heard where we were from, she asked, “Do you know a Dick and Jane Mohline?” and we said, “Yes.” She had studied at Talbot Seminary in California when Dick was teaching there. Small world!! We had wonderful discussion at dinner about worship and the impact of Christianity on culture. In England, everyone is basically born into the Anglican church unless you choose not to be, but hardly anyone attends church. Baptists are very much in the minority. In fact, our church would be quite a large Baptist church over here.
On Sunday, we attended a city-wide service called “Love Oxford.” It was sponsored by many of the churches in Oxford and attended by 3-4,000 people. It was an amazing and powerful worship service! It was a wonderful display of Christian unity by people from all different denominations and also different racial and ethnic backgrounds. It made me think about what I had read in my quiet time the day before from John 17, where Jesus prayed that we would all be one. I’m quite sure He wasn’t just praying for Baptists! God is honored and Jesus is revealed, the Bible says, when we come together in unity as Christians. One example of the spirit of unity was a time of baptism. Four people were baptized by two pastors – one a Baptist pastor, the other the Bishop of Oxford (Anglican). That’s not something you see every day! (By the way, it was by immersion!).
At the service we met a lady named Kim who, having only just met us, asked us to pray for her because she felt God wanted her to go to Africa to work with AIDS orphans. You should have seen her face when we told her that a group from our church was going to do that very thing this summer in Uganda! We told her about World Orphans and promised to pray for her.
One of the songs we sang at Love Oxford was called, “You’re the God of this City.” It was a very powerful song that spoke , I believe, a word from God to me in the chorus that said: There is no one like our God. Greater things have yet to come; Greater things are still to be done in this city. I believe that is true of Siloam Springs – greater things are still to be done in this city! I pray that this sabbatical time will help me listen to what greater things God wants to do!