Ray on Monday Comparing Ministry - Then and Now

Farewell - and (official) retirement
from Maitland, NSW, 2001

1970 with Graeme Irvine
visiting from World Vision

I’m retired – well mostly.

Some preaching and Bible studies are done between grandchildren, gardening, volunteering at Seahorse World and writing. When I reflect upon my ministry which began in Bible College in 1960 and the expectations of today, I think I had the best of the eras.

Preaching, teaching, people and pastoral work were my priorities. Administration, a weak spot, best done by others, if possible! I accepted the ministry as a 24/7 calling. This was offset by a flexibility most jobs didn’t afford. Being accountable to my elders and the Church helped keep me focused also.

Today as I look at the ministry being done and expected I think I would feel shackled. A minister is under obligations, regulations and expectations by Government requirements, Denominational ordination obligations for upgrades and refresher courses plus the local congregation’s expectations. There is little escape from mobile phones, websites and e-mails, compiling reports and police checks, community and Church conferences – to name just a few.

Many local church members long for the former days when the minister was able to major on preaching, teaching (from the pulpit or in classes), and pastoral care. I would imagine many a minister would like that too. Unfortunately present day responsibilities can push those three way down the priority list.

There are a couple of good things which could come out of all this change as each member of the congregation rises to meet new changes in worship.

1… Spiritual maturity is sought so as to stand tall even when standing alone. Who knows when the experience of Paul might be personal.

       ‘At my first defence, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood by my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed.’ 2 Timothy 4:16-17.

2… Compassionate concern for those within your personal sphere of influence, whether church or community!

       ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking on your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.’ Philippians 2:3-4.

I love the Lord and am grateful for His call to ministry. I’ve been blessed by the local churches of which I’ve been a part as well as enriched through God’s word as I’ve studied it, preached it and written about it.

Would I be a minister in 2012 if I was 21 again?

Yes! Still, I have to admit I’m glad I was 21 in 1960, not 2012.

Ray (claiming to be retired) Hawkins

THE JOURNEY THROUGH ANOTHER YEAR

 Well, this Thursday post is late once more and the last one for 2011.

Twelve months ago, this past year was about to begin.How have you journeyed this year? How many hills and valleys have you had to navigate?

Did your world seem bright, an adventure waiting out there?

                                                                                                                                                             
And then did the journey seem daunting?


Not so much colour and you so small?





Each year as we prepare our Christmas letter, it never ceases to amaze me as we list some of our own hills and valleys just how much has happened in the past months. We are thankful this last year did not contain too many valley experiences. However, as we get older so do our friends and families.

My Uncle Reg and my son's father-in-law died this past year. Even today is the funeral of a friend from our Maitland days. Sylvia McGregor-Skiner was a beautiful woman within and without. For several years she was the Director of Nursing at our local state church's Nursing Home where Ray was the chaplain.

One thing we did not write about in our annual letter is the valley of these last days from just before Christmas when our five grandchildren were diagnosed with whooping cough. They are still not all out of the woods with that horrible disease and have more days on another antibiotic which we trust will work better for them all.

And those hill-top experiences? Thankfully there have been more of those than the valleys. After years of trying to convince my dear husband that his devotional meditation writings need to be published so other besides myself can be blessed and challenged by them, his first two books have been released and the response to them has been very good. His book for adults about God's take on children was short-listed in the CALEB award and he presented his first writer's workshop at the Word Writers Fair in Brisbane this year.

We have thought of ourselves as being a "team" during these forty-seven years of marriage and ministry together. I am just so thrilled that now Ray is also sharing the delights - and challenges - of being a published author! I so enjoyed having the book launch of my own last book, Justice at Baragula, shared with the launch of Ray's two devotional mediatations.

We also share book-signings together which have proved to be great fun times.

Now we are looking towards anothe new year journeying together. Where will it take us?
Will the valleys become deep chasms?
Will those hill-tops also be mingled with mountain-top experiences?

So many times we do need that help along the journey.

I simply cannot express it any better than Ray has in the following:

THE JOURNEY'S END

The journey we travel in this life

Brings its happiness and strife

We leave our faint histories

Of failures and victories

And to all but our Maker

The journey is a mystery

For He alone knows

The joys, fears and blows

Felt, yet unexpressed

In the heart suppressed.

The journey we travel in this life

Can bless or cut as a knife

And many a wound or scar

Has our spirit marred

Seen only by the Creator!

He has heard our silent cries

Counted the constant sighs

Seen doubt and faith wrestle

For our soul’s mastery

In time and for eternity!

The journey we travel in this life

Where spiritual darkness is rife

Is challenged by Christ’s light

To walk by faith not sight.

Here our choices there abide

From which we cannot hide

Before the throne of God!

But do we stand alone

Rejected, out of favour

Or accepted, with our Saviour?

                                                                                        © Raymond N. Hawkins July 2011

Still Catching up!

Hard to believe I've now been home over a week and it is actually two weeks since my last post here. Sorry folk! I will try to at least post once a week in the future.

I had a very busy three weeks away and was glad Ray joined me for one weekend. We celebrated the 30th church anniversary of a church we planted all those years ago. Sorry, was so busy talking and having fun at the Saturday night dinner didn't take any photos. At the Sunday morning service, Ray was privileged to be able to dedicate the baby of a young woman we watched grow up over the years. As a teenager she had a very tough time but now happily married and  a mother for the first time!  While Ray was with me we also went to a Rotary Reunion of the club he was a member of - and received a Paul Harris award from also.There are too many photos to share here so I will try and put them on my facebook page - hopefully tomorrow!

And so you can see that as I mentioned in my last post, my time away in New South Wales was a wonderful time of meeting old friends and enjoying fellowship. The Theme was "Looking Beyond yourself" at a Newcastle & District Womens' Retreat where I was the main speaker. The camp site's data projector had broken down and eventually one was brought so I could use the power point presentation after all! Was too busy to think about taking photos that particular day but here are some of the women after dinner in the evening. Can you see our "colour" theme was mauve?

Old friends worked hard for us all!

And then there was that jigsaw. Yes, we did get it finished although the owner waited several minutes on the last day!

And old friends from the Maitland Church of Christ.

After the RWA conference and the church anniversary, I so very much enjoyed staying with Lance and Karen - and also their dogs.  You can see how they kept me companny when my son and daughter-in-law were at work!

However, it also made me weary, and there hasn't been much time here to relax since arriving home. A team of students from the Worldview (W.E.C.) Bible College in Launceston had been here for a week helping our small church plant with ministry. Ray had been hosting two young men for a week before I arrived and we enjoyed having them over a two week period. All except one of the students came from Korea.

And now it is school holidays here this last week and grandchildren to help mind! 

So, more next week... er... in between preparing for the next trip away to Queensland early November at the Word Writers' Fair and being a mentor for the Omega Writers programme. Any of you registered yet for these ventures?

Meeting old friends

Once again I am writing this from our son and daughter-in-law's home in New South Wales. Many parts of Australia are experiencing a very cold day and it is no different here. I am just glad I am this close to the equator and not in Tasmania where my husband tells me it is COLD! And spring officially commences in less than a week - in fact, the day after I arrive home.

Ray joined me last weekend, took me to the Australian Christian Writers Fellowship day seminar in Sydney and afterwards north again to Maitland in the Hunter Valley to that 30th anniversary church dinner. A wonderful time, so great trying to meet all our old friends there I simply forgot to take photographs to share with you. Some lovely ones have been put up on Facebook, especially on the Maitland Church of Christ page that you might like to have a look at. I did take some photos after the Sunday morning service there but somehow on this computer when I downloaded the photos from our camera to share with you last week they then simply disappeared off the camera! I am not game to do that again, so now I'll wait to share with you next week when back in my own familiar computer-photo environment.

Afraid I also forgot to take photos at the writers' workshops in Sydney. Mary, you had better start remembering readers of your blog might enjoy them too!

So, when you meet old friends again after a long time, do you find it easy to talk with them, share your lives again? There were so many warm hugs last weekend, so many faces I had to try and remember the names of. Trouble is, we all never stop changing. Our faces become thinner, fatter, a few more wrinkles and hair - well, hair sometimes disappears on the guys, the gals usually try to hide the grey hairs and are a little easier but at the dinner everyone was encouraged to wear 80's clothes. One dear lady friend had a flowing blonde wig while one man had a wig of black, boisterous curls! However, despite the changes in outward appearance I remembered so many from their smiles, their voices. But they did all look different at the church service the next morning!

And of course, there are those old friends we may not see from one year to the next but can pick up the threads with so quickly. We stayed a couple of nights with such friends and while I enjoyed talking to Rhonda Hall about our families and other topics, it was a joy to hear these two retired ministers, Ray and his old friend Max in the office discussing truths about our walks with Christ they are still digging out of the scriptures. Max and Ray shared a room at Bible College when training for the ministry many, many years ago. That kind of friendship becomes more like intimate brothers sharing, and what can be more intimate than sharing what Christ has been doing in and through our lives as we seek to always walk in step with Him. 

And meeting old friends on this trip is still not over. I have another special event tomorrow. Ray had to fly home last Tuesday while I am still here to be the main speaker at this coming weekend's Newcastle and District Christian Women's Fellowship Retreat. Hopefully I will have a few photos to share with you next week - if I don't forget the camera in the excitement of meeting more old friends!