Pastoral
Pleasures
Chris Faull
"Come to me all who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from
me......... for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28,29)
People come to conferences across the
country, and beyond, I guess, for a whole variety of reasons. They may come because they have been before and enjoy the
fellowship, the worship, the seminars and the general hub-bub that makes for a
great gathering. Maybe it is
because they know certain speakers will be speaking God's word and they are
assured of good teaching from a familiar and well-grounded source.
Maybe they have come at the invitation of a friend who has been before
and has enthused them to come along as well.
Maybe they have come because they have felt a specific call from God, to
be there.
And Flames of Fire is no different - Praise God!
For it is the variety that gives the conference a certain special
atmosphere as everyone is included in the family feel. They live cheek by jowl
on the camp-site, in the hotel or even in the surrounding area in bed &
breakfast, enjoying getting together over coffee at the Traid Craft stand,
having meals in the restaurant or just relaxing in the glorious Welsh sunshine.
They sing their praises to God with great gusto - or in a quieter
meditative manner. They hear
inspiring and often very challenging addresses.
They go forward for prayer for all sorts of reasons, not least of which
is their desire to have more and more of God's love and Holy Spirit.............
and yet........
Many will have brought a lot of baggage
with them from their home situations, sometimes knowingly, sometimes unaware
until a trigger sets off a whole range of thoughts, memories, needs, fears,
concerns which rise to the surface and are, perhaps needing more than a brief
time of prayer at the front after the celebration or the morning Bible study
session....... and that is where the Pastoral Team comes in.
This year the team has comprised a main
core of eight people with another seven or eight coming in on a less frequent
basis. All are dedicated to
offering some of their time at the conference to be available to lend a
sympathetic and listening ear to those who feel the need to receive deeper
ministry in a quiet setting.
We have a short meeting each morning
before the main activities start, so that we can support and encourage one
another, find out what needs there may be for the day ahead, share a word from
scripture, share testimony as to what God has been doing and pray for one
another for the day's schedule. We
operate in pairs, as far as is possible, usually one man and one woman, but
sometimes two women will be together for various reasons.
We have a code of practice which entails complete confidentiality within
the law and great discretion is exercised, even within the team, as what passes
between team members and those they pastor is known only to them and God, unless
permission has been given by the one pastored to pass something up the line for
more informed care.
At the beginning of the week, as Team
Leader, I am always concerned that we will not have enough people in the team to
cope with the seemingly hordes of potential clients but, every year, the Lord
has been gracious. We have
always had sufficient pastors and venues to meet the needs, even to the last day
this year when we had one slot left in case of an emergency - and even that did
not arise. The number who
came for time with the team was in
fact the highest yet over the past few years and the reasons they came has been
just as varied as ever. I
think it is fair to say that the vast majority leave having met with God in a
real way, though a few have still needed more than a single session can achieve
for them. Where appropriate
we recommend that they make contact with facilities in their home areas.
I can say without hesitation that it is
a privilege to have led the team over the past few years.
They are all so willing to give of their time, though I do try to
accommodate them if there is a particular seminar or other activity they want to
attend. I always say to them
that they are here to enjoy the week and part of that enjoyment is to see God's
hand touching people where they hurt and ministering to their needs in such a
wonderful way. Occasionally
we have even suggested that those who have had a healing touch should report it
to the conference from the platform and THAT is something really special.
This year has been a real joy and I believe 2004 will be equally so. The team must enjoy what they do or they would not keep coming back for more!! God is gracious - Praise His Name.