The Baptibus Redivivus

Dear friends, whether saved or on a downward spiral towards perdition. It has been a truly wonderful morning’s worship.

Earlier in the week Marjorie and I had been on an evangelistic tour of Bedfordshire. And not without our labour bearing fruit. For we had five people desirous of attending our worship. Although, in a manner that is becoming familiar from our old ministry in Frisby on Soar, they are rather widely scattered.  One in Pepperstock, one in Farndish, one in Whipsnade, one in Clophill and one in Leighton Buzzard. There was another potential convert we found in Leighton Buzzard on Thursday, but it turned out he’d just come into town from Stewkley. That being over the border in the Vale of Aylesbury, we found it best to reject his request, and direct him to find a godly fellowship in his own county. You’ve got to have limits.

Not least as none of them know how to drive. Still, if the apostles could go to the 12 tribes of Israel and the 70 nations of the Gentiles, then we could venture to take the Good News to the Manshead Hundred. And so, early this morning, Marjorie borrowed the Beaker people's Shuttle and headed off round the county to collect our worshippers.

Naturally we expected them to be slightly late. It is, after all, a two and a half hour trip to collect them all. Amazing to consider that one small county could take so long to drive around.  So when I started my sermon and they still had not arrived, I was unsurprised. Then after a couple of minutes there was a bit of a commotion outside the chapel door, and eleven of the Beaker Folk came in. They listened to a small portion of the sermon - maybe twenty minutes or so - but when I said that I was now moving on to the second of the ten commandments, they all walked out again.

Marjorie and the others eventually arrived during the last hymn. Sat around afterwards drinking coffee and chatting and then I left to carry them all home again. I'm afraid I was unable to witness successfully as several of them insisted on having the radio on to listen to the FA Cup. And when I finally arrived home, I was surprised to find how many new items from Dobbie's at Fenny Stratford had appeared in  our suite. Odd, really. I wonder how they all arrived?

But I feel deeply blessed.  For with my regular congregation, together with the stray Beaker People and the late-comers in the Shuttle, we have achieved a record congregation. Truly we are being blessed.

I am not normally one to watch televisual entertainments, but this evening I am borrowing the equipment off  Mrs Hnaef to play a film that she is lending me. "Deliverance" is a ministry that is most neglected in certain sections of the Church, so I am glad to see that someone has produced a documentary. It promises to be an interesting evening.