Incredible!  Amazing!  Awesome!  Humbling.

After 23 years of hope deferred, the Lord has brought to completion what He promised:  this past Sunday, 11 May 2014, He set my feet on 330-year old stones as priest-in-charge of St. Stephen’s CEC, London, England.  The promise had started on Thursday, 13 May 1991, when He set our feet on 700-year old stones in the ruins of Tintern Abbey (located near Chepstow in Wales) and turned our thoughts toward those who had built it (and all the other cathedrals, abbeys, and churches we had visited) … men and women who had lived, worshipped, and died preserving the faith which we now hold so dear.  What He laid on our hearts that day so long ago became a burden, a longing for the people of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

We held on to that promise, and we sought after it … but always the answer was the same – whether through circumstances or through words of those in authority over us:  “not now, not here, not yet”.  We learned patience … and trust … and gained an inkling of just how much our Father loves us.

The promise became a journey.  In 1993 our independent charismatic church became part of the ICCEC (and later a cathedral), and in 1994 I was ordained a deacon alongside six other men. In 1995 God called us to move from Olathe, KS to Kansas City, MO to begin investigating Christian community, and to plant a mission church on the very border of the inner city.  There He taught us to love and minister one-on-one to the poor, the least, the lost, the lonely.  In 1999 He taught us to keep loving even when our hearts were breaking, as half the church and the community left the battle.  In 2000 He taught us the love and care of our bishop and cathedral, as we moved back to Olathe for healing and restoration.  In 2009 He taught us patience in the midst of adversity as I was laid off by my employer.  In 2010 He taught us to stretch and to trust, closing all doors to employment except one in Virginia that eventually required commuting to the very heart of Washington, DC.  In 2012 He taught us peace in the face of fear as He carried us through a harrowing van accident on a rain-slicked highway, with only minor injuries.  In 2013 He taught us to hear and obey, putting our house for sale in a depressed market at a very poor time of year – and sold it in two months.

The journey is almost over, but the adventure is not.  The promise, the call, was to the British/Irish isles … but that is not the destination.  We are not merely to be here, but we are here for a purpose.  That purpose was revealed to us in 1991 after we had returned to the U.S. from Britain.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendour.  They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. – Isaiah 62:1-4

The Lord gave me this Scripture as my life “verse” upon our return, and gave Edye a similar passage Isaiah 58:6-14 from which the following verse comes:

Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In – Isaiah 58:12

Though the journey may be nearing its end – and even that we cannot be certain of – the promise and the burden are not.  We are not called to a destination, but to a ministry – and so are you!

Who am I, that God would give such a promise and then so graciously grant it?  I certainly don’t deserve it.  And we are not the only ones who have a promise, a burden.  I share our journey not because we are special, but because this is the stuff of all our lives:  trial, heartbreak, disappointment, potential, progress, setback, diversion, repeat, grow weary, stumble, rise up … as long as we keep going.  The vision from God will come in every case except one:  it will not come if we quit!

Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy.  Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves. – Psalm 126:6-7

Praise reports

• The people and clergy of St. Stephen’s and the church in Edinburgh
• All those who have housed us, prayed for us, donated funds and goods to us, worked alongside us, exercised authority over us, and supported us throughout our journey
• Approval of my visa and a swift passage through customs on entry at Heathrow
• Edye’s completion and submission of visa applications for her and the children

Prayer requests

• That Edye, Christyn, and Tobyn’s visa would be approved in short order so they might join me in London by early June

Support status

• Goal:                  $ 11,722
• Received:           $      600

Disclosure 1:  This is where I am at personally:  The approval of St. Stephen’s sponsorship license – the church’s commitment to provide for the support of my family when we arrive in England – by the UK Home Office was estimated to take as long as eight weeks, but took only one.  The approval of my work visa as a minister was estimated to be approved within three weeks (97% are), so we acted accordingly … but it has been almost five weeks.  Is this an attack of the enemy, or is at least a portion of it the work of God? 

What do you do when life doesn’t go the way you expect?  Whether it is something out of the blue, or something that you’ve been praying hard about – what do you do when your every action is opposed, and every step forward is a major battle?  This is a subtly different question than that posed for Holy Week, for here we are concerned with life “upstream” from the final result, when the outcome is still unknown.

We have at least four choices:

My way – A significant percentage of those who carry the name Christian believe, in essence, that “if I want it God has to do it because He promised”.  Think about that a minute … I mean really think about it.  Do we honestly believe that any of us has a more perfect concept of what is best for us than our heavenly Father does?  Think back on all the things you wanted and asked for in your younger days (not just childhood, either) and I’m sure you’ll come across quite a few that you are grateful God, your parents, or others did not provide.  And if your objection is “God will only give me desires that He wants to fulfill”, you have a point; the problem is that God is not the only source of your desires.  Jesus acknowledged this on the night of His arrest:  “’My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ’O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’” (Matthew 26:38-39 NKJV)

The highway – We could respond, “If that’s the way God is, I’m outta here!”  Perhaps you’ve seen something like this manifest itself in a statement such as “MY God would NEVER do that!” regarding the trials and tribulations that are integral to the human experience.  It can even result in a jettisoning of God’s real character to be replaced by a god created in one’s own image.  This statement is essentially what Job’s friends were declaring to him:  “God would never do this to a good person, you must be guilty of some awful sin we don’t know about that deserves this fate.”  Fortunately neither Job nor his friends “hit the highway” afterward; they all remained committed.  God confronted Job’s friends and put the lie to this response, and then confronted Job to put the lie to the idea that Job or anyone could have a better understanding of what’s best for him.

The low way – You might term this the “Eeyore” response (read the story of Winnie the Pooh if you’re not familiar with Eeyore).  When the first obstacle comes along, it’s easy to say, “Oh, well” and simply allow life to happen to us.  We might not quit trying, but we certainly can quit expecting to succeed.  There is nothing of the “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12a) or “we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3b-4) in this response.  It is not rebellion, but neither is it faith.

God’s way – This is the way of Jesus.  The previous post mentioned how Jesus was always observant, and “only did what He saw the Father doing” in a situation.  This is the best – in fact, the only correct – response, and in order to exhibit it in our lives we must prepare for it as Jesus prepared.  We must:

• Pray without ceasing (listening more than speaking), that we might hear directly from the Father
• Observe without prejudice, that we might discern the “big picture” rather than just the little corner we want for ourselves
• Wait without impatience, that we might not get out in front of the Holy Spirit

As we practice doing these things we can learn to act with boldness and confidence that we are flowing in our Lord’s will.  Along the way we will fail:  we will act when we should not, and we will fail to act when we should.  But if we confess these sins and maintain this discipline, we will get better and better.

When disappointments and disillusionments come, we will learn to discern (a) when to let go, let God work, and cooperate with Him, and (b) when to “resist the devil, and he will flee”.  Remember Gamaliel’s warning to the council of the Jews regarding the work of the apostles:  “… for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.” (Acts 5:38-39 NKJV)

Let us cooperate fully with all that God is accomplishing in our lives and the lives of others, and let us war unceasingly against the plans of the world, the flesh, and the devil!

Disclosure 2:  In counsel with my bishop, I believe that God has desired this delay as there were many family tasks and relationship issues that needed to be addressed.  These are nearly completed, and so we pray that the visa will now be approved and released in Jesus’ Name.

Non nobis Domine

We are at His mercy; we are at His service

It has been quite a journey the last few weeks, which is why I have been silent.  Even this post feels like random scattered thoughts.  So many hectic activities:  my last week of secular employment; completing the last cull of possessions to be kept for the children; cleaning up the Parish House at Church of the Holy Apostles; Edye and Bryn loading up the moving van with tremendous help from Mary, Grace, and John Silva; driving from Virginia to Kansas in two days through mostly-pleasant cloud cover interspersed with times of heavy rain; unloading the van into separate storage for Éowyn and Bryn; and finally settling in at the home of our hosts, the Bastins.

Through it all the Lord has been with us, just as He is with you.  The enemy of our souls is very confident in our day, and he prowls around openly seeking whom he may devour.  We see his workings in our own lives, and in the lives of all those around us – at the Cathedral here in Kansas, the loving churches we left behind in Maryland and Virginia, and the churches we are headed to in England, Scotland, and Ireland.  People are struggling everywhere and in greater numbers than ever: with unemployment, health issues, grief, depression, and every obstacle to growth that the enemy can throw in front of them.

We see even more clearly the evidence that the Lover of our souls is working in His people: new jobs, healings, spiritual and physical growth – even returning health in a parishioner for whom doctors gave little hope of survival.  No matter how dark the night – no matter how dark the culture or your circumstances get – God is there and He is not silent.  You may not hear Him speak, but Jesus lives to intercede for you and the Holy Spirit will never leave nor forsake you.  Press through the dark and the pain, and press into your heavenly Father Who loves you more than you can imagine.  Hold onto Him, but remember even more importantly:  He is holding on to you, and He will not let go no matter how weak you feel.

The enemy is playing for keeps … but God knows his every plan before he even thinks it.  Though we walk through the valley of death we need not fear, for Christ is with us and has gone before us.   Therefore, as Winston Churchill said, “Never, never, never, never give up.”  God will carry you through!

Praise reports

A donor from Westminster, MD provided half the airfare for Bryn to visit us in London over Christmas

Prayer requests

That my visa would be approved ASAP so I might be in London for Holy Week services

Support status

None reported

Sitting in the parish house at early morning, noticing the pictures and furnishings … many of them are obviously from Bob’s family and his growing-up years. These are the little reminders of a happy past, of people and events that had significant positive impact in Bob’s life.

My thoughts turn to my own life, and the mementos of my growing-up years and those of Edye and our children … the joys of those times and events … and the sadness that so many of them had to be given up/given away/thrown away in the transition to our new life.

The good news is that the memories are not given away. We scan the photographs and digitize the recordings to preserve them … but even if all these are lost, the memories bring back scenes we saw, voices we heard, aromas we smelled, flavors we tasted, people we touched … and those who touched us.

These are the piles of stones – the pillars of remembrance – erected in our lives like those of the Israelites, so that when we are old we can look back and remember God’s rich provision in our lives … even if we have no earthly riches. We review them with our family, reminding our children of God’s faithfulness which they have seen firsthand, and which they can know for themselves.

That is covenant. They are automatically part of it. They do not have to choose it to receive it … but they can choose to walk away from it and not receive it.

We must remind them. We must show them the pillars of remembrance, and recall with them the bounty of God’s love and grace poured out to them. We must make clear to them the incredible value of Christ’s precious gift to us.

For the day will come – much too soon – when we, too, will be just pillars of remembrance … for them.

Daily devotion for March 19, from Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

In the Old Testament, personal relationship with God showed itself in separation, and this is symbolized in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and from his kith and kin….

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. It is a life of Faith, not of intellect and reason, but a life of knowing Who makes us “go.” The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person….

http://www.oswaldchambers.co.uk/classic/the-way-of-abraham-in-faith-classic/

It is worth the separation, because God shows Himself faithful.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie [prove false]: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry [delay]. – Habakkuk 2:3

Dear brothers and sisters, family, and friends,

The Word of God does not return void (Isaiah 55:11), and that is being proven true once more in the Scripture that begins this letter.  After more than two decades laboring wherever we have been planted, God is bringing to pass the vision He gave us on May 13, 1991:  we have been called to St. Stephen’s CEC in London, England.

St. Stephen’s has been faithfully ministering in the heart of London for more than twenty years as an outreach of the Diocese of Asia International Mission.  In the body of this church beats the heart of a servant: most of its members are Filipinos, and from this strong base God is calling His people to carry the light of Christ and the historic faith into the post-modern culture of post-Christian Britain.

St. Stephen’s meets in the Guild Church of St. Margaret Pattens, an Anglican church in the center of the London business district that hosts mid-week Communion services every Thursday, and various cultural events on other nights during the week.  St. Stephen’s rents the building for use on the weekends:  worship rehearsal and other activities on Saturdays, and Holy Eucharist on Sunday mornings.

St. Stephen’s is active on many fronts.  It has responsibility for a mission church that meets in the Greenside Parish Church in Edinburgh, Scotland.  It is also in the midst of planting a new church mission in Dublin, Ireland, and has begun Portuguese-language Eucharist on Sunday evenings in the London area.  These ministries are being carried forward by St. Stephen’s current clergy: Dcn. Andrew Gossage, Dcn. Dado Macasling, and recently arrived from Lisbon, Portugal, Fr. Marco Lopez.

Our Patriarch Abp. Craig Bates, has given his approval for this move, and Bp. Michael Davidson, my current bishop, has issued a letter of transfer from the Central Province of the United States to the Diocese of Asia International Mission.  Bp. Elmer Belmonte, who oversees the CEC churches in Europe, will receive the transfer.  At some point in the months that follow he will install me as Rector.

St. Stephen’s will provide a stipend for the Jackson family to live on, and it is our intent to live within the means provided by that stipend rather than maintain an American lifestyle.  No doubt it will be a learning experience, but having spent the equivalent of four months in the United Kingdom during our travels over the last decades, we are confident it can be done.  To that end, we have sold our home in Lovettsville, VA and dispersed or disposed of most of our possessions.  Six different families have graciously shared their homes with us, allowing the greater part of my current salary to go toward paying off our few remaining debts.  One significant hurdle remains, however:  the cost of relocation.

There are two components to the expense of moving internationally:  funds required for the immigration process (which are fixed), and the cost of moving ourselves and our goods.  By greatly reducing our possessions we are able to fit everything we own into the smallest shipping container available – 20’ long – utilizing less than 2/3 of its capacity.  Even so, the resulting costs are significant.  We are reviewing the inventory of items to be shipped very carefully, with the goal of further reducing our shipping weight and costs.

We ask that you would pray for us.  The road God has led us on has already been long and challenging, and we don’t expect it to get easier as we move closer to fulfillment of all God’s purposes.  Please pray for wisdom, for protection, for courage and initiative, for perseverance with joy, and that we would be good stewards of all that God provides.  Pray for the clergy and people of St. Stephen’s in London, the mission church in Edinburgh, the church forming in Dublin, and the Portuguese-speaking ministry – that God would continue to fill them and use them for His glory.  Pray that God would accomplish all He desires in the ICCEC churches of the British and Irish isles, for the praise and glory of His Name, for the expansion of His Kingdom, and for the good of all His Church.

We know God will provide: He has already done far more than we could ever ask or imagine.  We set up this blog to share what God is doing in us and for us during this exciting transition. It will serve to keep you informed of our progress both spiritually and financially, and also communicate prayer needs as they arise.

Grace and peace be yours, in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dana+ and Edye Jackson