Pastor’s Thoughts – Autumn 2026

Being called a Senior Pastor makes me feel old, so I asked Tim to drop the "senior" and just set up pastor@stortfordbaptist.org and to put that on the office door too. Joking aside, it really is an honour and privilege to serve as senior pastor of this wonderful church.

In God's providence, I had planned to attend the European Leadership Forum in May as part of my first ever sabbatical, long before God began moving the pieces that would bring us to BSBC. Discovering that a group from the church would be there too turned one blessing into two. Alongside teaching from some of the finest in their fields, I had the joy of spending time with Rupert, Jo, Steve, Neil, Tim and Patrick, and introducing them to some friends of mine from around the world. The highlight of the week was winning our private game of ten-pin bowling. I thought Americans were supposed to be good at their own sports. Apparently not! Sorry, Patrick.

I am particularly grateful that BSBC paid for my place at the Forum, while my previous church, Wellington Chapel, generously paid for my flights. Kindness like that deserves to be mentioned. Yet I wonder how often we receive kindness, appreciate it inwardly, and then forget to say anything. I know I do.

That reminds me of Luke 17.

Jesus heals ten men with leprosy, but only one comes back, praising God loudly and throwing himself at Jesus’ feet, and he was a Samaritan, the outsider.

“Where are the other nine?” Jesus asks.

Ten men walked away with their skin restored and their health handed back to them. All ten received an extraordinary gift, but only one returned to the Giver. And Jesus’ final words to that man suggest that he received something deeper still: “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

That gap between the nine and the one illustrates the difference between gratitude and thanksgiving. Gratitude is a feeling. Thanksgiving is that feeling getting up, walking back across the road, and saying or doing something. It is good to live with an attitude of gratitude, but Christian faith calls us to respond to what we have received. That isthanksgiving: gratitude expressed in a way that honours God and blesses others. My prayer is that BSBC becomes increasingly saturated with that kind of culture.

So let me practise what I am preaching.

I am grateful to you for supporting my ongoing discipleship and my time at ELF. I am grateful to you for receiving me and my family so warmly as your new "senior" pastor. And I am most grateful to God, for saving me, sustaining me, and for calling my family and me here. I hope to express that gratitude by serving you faithfully and wholeheartedly, and by leading us wherever the Living God calls us.bsbc.life

The day after we arrived in Stortford, I quietly slipped into the final meeting of Prayer Week. I came away enormously encouraged. There was a wonderful willingness to embrace whatever changes God may bring, coupled with an honest desire for the Spirit’s help in letting go of anything that might hinder us.

I am grateful for that openness and appetite for change, and I am equally grateful for your patience. Beyond a few small tweaks that many of you have noticed (and, thankfully, welcomed), I have deliberately held back from anything larger. This is a season to listen, learn and love: to observe, assess, ask questions, build relationships and pray unhurriedly about what comes next. It also honours what God has already done here through John, and through the many others who have invested in the church we love today.

Finally, thank you, too, for the encouraging response to our recent series on Abraham. My prayer is that, as we keep mining the Scriptures together, we will keep discovering their greatest treasure: Jesus, the One for whom we have most reason to be thankful!

This week, we will all be recipients of God’s kindness in various ways.

Will you be one who responds with thanksgiving?

Elder’s Thoughts – Summer 2026

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

— James 5:7-8

We spend a lot of time waiting. This can be a painful time, literally, if we are waiting for an operation. Or a source of anxiety if we are waiting for test results. But waiting can also be an exciting time if we are waiting for a holiday, a meeting with a loved one, or to start a new job. But our waiting can also be tinged with a pang of uncertainty – when this hope arrives, will I be ready and will I be pleased? The Christians James was writing to were longing for Christ’s return because they were experiencing all kinds of suffering.

We have been eagerly waiting for Kristian, Carla and their family for months now. And I know they have been looking forward to coming here, albeit I am sure with the anxiety of not knowing how everyone will settle in, the challenges of understanding a new church family and a new part of the country. We might remember them in our prayers, and it is of course quite possible that by the time you are reading this they will have arrived!

Waiting is a common theme in the epistles. The Lord had returned to heaven, and the disciples were eager to see him return for them. This is a desire that James highlights in these verses and by the time James wrote this at least 15 years had passed since Christ’s ascension.

It’s tempting to think that when I get my new baby, partner, operation, job (delete as appropriate) everything will change for the better. I can say from my experience, life events that go well are a great blessing, but they do not solve all our problems. We need to guard against unrealistic expectations when Kristian and Carla arrive. Firstly, they will have a lot of adjustments to make as they set up home and establish their family in new schools; all this will take time. Secondly, they are both human and not superhuman. We will need to continue to work together and support each other so Kristian can concentrate on what the Lord has called him to, leading and building up our Church, not running ministries.

So how do we wait well?

1. Patiently. James reminds us of the work of farmers. Their work is ever further removed from the fast pace of our daily lives. Farmers prepare the ground, sow the seed but have to trust God for the rest, as neither the sun nor the rain is under their control. And then they wait, and wait, until the right moment comes. By teaching us patience, it could well be that God is also teaching us to trust him.

2. Hopefully. For James, 15 years after Christ’s ascension, he was filled with hope. He didn’t see Jesus’ return in his lifetime, but that did not put him off and history records that he was murdered for his faith. Trusting in the return of Jesus, whom James had seen ascend to heaven with his own eyes, helped him wait because his wait was filled with the hope of something better.

3. Actively. Jesus predicts his absence in his parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:11–27). The basic story is that a prince was going away to be made king and when he was away his servants were to busy themselves. When the prince returns, he has a one-to-one conversation with each of his servants to see how they prospered. Jesus’ teaching is clear, patience and hope are to be accompanied by active service, and when Jesus the king returns, he will weigh up how well we have served him in his absence (2 Corinthians 5:10). And as a church, we must all guard against ticking over until the new pastor arrives. I can’t imagine a farmer sitting with her feet up while the crops grow – there are a million other maintenance jobs to do.

The patience of a farmer is rewarded by a harvest to be celebrated. When Kristian arrives, we will celebrate at his induction on 5 September. But these celebrations are simply a taste of our celebration when Jesus returns.