Steve Harris ... Pastor's Blog Star Date .....

It's been a long time!

2010-08-21T17:55:00.003+01:00

It has been ages since I last got round to posting a blog - over a year in fact!

Not being a great writer I sometimes struggle not for the ideas but how write them down. God is Good and church although over the year has seen a change in some of the faces of those attending we still see God moving amongst us.

This Summers Beacon Family Festival - our annual community event lasting a week and with a whole host of activities - was a great success and we thank God for great weather this year.

Next off to Rivercamp a great Christian conference and an opportunity to get a bit more rest before the busy Autumn session begins.

I will work on being a bit more regular in my updates in the Autumn.

Chris Moyles Radio 1 and Oh Happy Day

2009-06-17T18:08:00.001+01:00

Check this out Chris Moyles talking about a pentecostal church and being blown away by what he saw. The video shows what he was looking at which impressed him so much.

O happy day!

World Book Day - The Best Seller!

2009-03-05T12:30:00.004Z

Today in UK is World Book Day and so when I was in school today doing assemblies for some 5-11 year old kids they were all dressed up as characters from their favourite stories. We had Snow White, Harry Potter, Footballers, Super Heroes and variety of animal characters.

I was actually telling the kids two stories Jesus told some 2000 years ago about the lost sheep and the lost or prodigal son. Two amazing stories from what is still the best selling book in the world - the Bible.

These two stories remind us that not only is there a God who made us but that same God is a God who loves us and that when we go off track in our lives - as we all do - he is longing to bring us back to his plans and purposes.

At the same time as telling these stories I am in the midst of reading "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren, itself a best seller. A book that quotes often from the Bible to remind us. God has a plan and purpose for us all, and he doesn't want us to miss it. Why not check out my web site www.looking4god.org if you want to know more about that purpose.

What do people think about Christians

2009-02-24T18:40:00.002Z

As a minister of a church you often wonder what other people think about Christians. I suppose some of us are a bit nervous about sharing our faith with others. I think that perhaps were a afraid of what other people think so much that it keeps us silent when we should be sharing the best news ever!

Now that doesn't mean we need to ram it down peoples throats but if we share it with a respect for others and a love for them I think we can make a difference.

Today I saw this video which illustrates this very point. Penn, of Penn and Teller, is a very famous American magician and is well know for his very negative views about Christianity as a committed aethiest. But there was someone who he speaks about that made a very positive impact on him. Watch this video and if you are Christian think about how you can influence others not just by what we say but also the way we say it.

New Year

2009-01-01T18:11:00.003Z

It is hard to believe that we have started 2009. It must be old age but I am sure the year is getting shorted and that extra second made no difference at all.

As we look ahead into 2009 what will a year hold? One thing we can be sure of is it will be busy and that that there will be numerous things that are calling for our time and energy.

My desire is that I would be able to be a person who can separate the important from the urgent! It always amazes me that Jesus in 3 years could accomplish so much, with what today we would consider so little. No computers, no internet, not church structure, no mega budget. Just men and women who were committed to follow him, the power of the Holy Spirit and total commitment Jesus part to the plans and purposes of his Father.

What could I accomplish this year if I even got close to to living my life the way Jesus did - a life of total commitment to the plans and purposes of God for my life?

Looking back on day one (it's now about 6pm) I probably having done too well so far but my prayer is that I will get better and better at accomplishing this task as the days go by.

Wishing you all a happy New Year

Beacon Family Festival -3rd to 10th August

2008-08-15T13:25:00.002+01:00

What do you get if you take a church who wants reach its local community, a great team of people who love Jesus and a community full of all ages looking for things to do during a rainy summer holiday?

You get the Beacon Family Festival!

Monday 3rd August saw the launch of the 2008 Beacon Family Festival, a week of community outreach and family fun, for the third year based at the newly built Beacon Centre, St Mellons ... and despite the weather most of the events were able to go ahead as planned!

Pastor Steve said “The Beacon Family Festival has been an annual event for the Beacon Church for over 10 years now. With the Hope 08 theme during this year, it was an ideal opportunity to continue the festival this year and with the help of a team from Holy Nation church in London, we had a fantastic week. St Mellons is area in Cardiff which has a mixture of social and private housing. St Mellons is still any area of many social challenges but we are excited about the changes that have taken place over the last 10 years and we believe the church has played an important in that change over the years.”

The afternoons provided a whole host of activities from singing, dancing and DJ workshops, a sports programme and skate ramps in the car park, craft activities and a bouncy castle for the younger children while their mums had a cup of coffee. Wednesday afternoon we joined forces once again with other local organisations and Council children’s workers to celebrate National Play Day with around 200 people attending. Some of the highlights were a climbing wall and bouncy castle, and indoors we had crafts, displays and refreshments … it didn’t rain!! On Thursday to Saturday mornings we had the Children’s Holiday Bible Club, on the theme of Olympics with over 60 children attending in total.

In the evenings we had an number of activities, the Thursday and Friday evenings being the highlights. A Pamper Evening was dedicated to blessing the local ladies with facials, foot and hand massage and manicures. This gave many opportunities for conversations, to build relationships and to speak about the love of God.

Then on the Friday evening, the last evening, we had a “St Mellons Got Talent” night with around 140 adults and children turning up to hear a mixture of Christian and non-Christian music and dance performed by children from the community and team members. Young people and children who had attended the workshops in the week had the opportunity to showcase their talents, and all had the opportunity to vote for the act of their choice. The atmosphere was positive and exciting and again, built on personal relationships with the people who live in the environs of the church.

We had fantastic help from a team of ten from Holy Nation AOG Church in London and others who returned to help us for the week, as well as our own church guys lending a hand.

We ended the week with a family service with dance, music and Pastor Steve doing a 10 minute talk on how God can restore even the most broken of lives.

Steve added “much of the week is about building relationships and it has been great yet again to see God working in the lives of team members and the local community. Our desire is be salt and light to a community that needs to know that there is a God who loves them passionately and that there is a group of people who care about them. Our desire is that this would open doors for us to tell them more about Jesus.”

Pastor Steve Harris
steve.harris@beaconchurch.org.uk

Finishing Well!

2008-06-21T17:42:00.005+01:00

I am in my mid forties and it certainly seems that time moves faster that it used to. For example it is now June - where did the first half of the year go? I suppose the reality is that I as you get older there is smaller part of your life passes by each year. For example when I reached ten years of age the last year I lived was a tenth of my life now it is less than a 40th of my life!

The scary truth is that my son is now 18 (an adult) how did that happen? I have been married nearly as many years as I was not married. I have been worked full time for churches for nearly 10 years (I did a real job before that! - only kidding.)

I am the type of person who not only wants to begin well but also end well. I want to be a person who can look forward to the next 20 years before I reach retirement age and make a difference. To my family, to the churches I work with, to all the kids I see in schools each term.

A marathon runner does not win the race by being first after 5 miles but after 26 miles on crossing the finishing line. I want to run well and finish well - I need God's help to do that, and don't I know it.

To finish someone sent me a great video of the two year old boy who certainly has potential - watch this and remember it is not just starting well but finishing well too!

On your bike!

2008-05-30T20:28:00.002+01:00

Tried to get a bit of time off this week. It didn't really work to well but one of the things I did start to think about was should I buy myself a bike. As I have mentioned before in my blog I try to get to the Gym once a week but I wondered if getting a bike would also help we to keep fit.
Once you start thinking about bikes your realise how many types there are, mountain, hybrid, racing and then should I go for new or second hand (once because I am pretty thrifty and secondly because I am not sure I will use it that much)

Thought I might get some inspiration form You Tube and found this video - I guess I will have to do a bit of practicing to get this good!

Lord even in the hard times!

2008-05-17T19:24:00.002+01:00

You know there have been a lot of sad things going on in the world lately particularly in Burma and China. And I believe it is OK to ask God the big questions like: "Why God". To be honest I don't think there are always answers this side of heaven but I really believe that God understands it when we question him. One thing I remain confident of is the fact that what ever may happen, even in those time when we cannot understand it all,ultimately one thing remains true, even in this broken and fallen world, God is still in control.

Let's remember to pray for those who are suffering at this time way beyond what we can understand and ask God in the chaos to bring his comfort and peace to a hurting world.

I must admit there are times you need to be encouraged sometimes a song can really do that. Check this one out and be encourage that God is still in control. He is still Lord of Heaven and earth.

Here I goes again!

2008-04-26T19:29:00.005+01:00

Every Monday morning after a busy church day on Sunday I try and go to the gym for an hour. The first half hour is spent on the tread mill - I now have to find a few friends to help make the half hour more enjoyable. To see what I mean watch the video below...

Rediscovering my Guitar

2008-04-07T13:35:00.004+01:00

Over the last couple of months I have been visiting a school - Meadowlane - just across the road from where we meet as a church. I already visit the school once ever school term to do an assembly for them and that is great fun, but I wanted to do a bit more. So I went and talked with the Head of the school about doing a weekly guitar club.

So a couple of months back I started Guitar Club with about 15 children aged 9-11. It has been great fun seeing them come along each week and you can see that some have a natural ability to learn the guitar easily and others need to work harder to remember the chords and the rhythms. One of the side benefits has been I have been picking up my guitar a lot more often. Having started playing over 30 years ago I am pretty good but soon noticed how out of practice I am at playing. One of the most obvious things is how quickly your hands get tired and your fingers hurt!

It is funny how business of life can get in the way of so many things and this is true not just of guitar playing but also of so many things that God wants us to do in our live. Today I have been working on a sermon for Sunday and read how Paul in a whole passage about the grace of God talks about the fact that

"we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do".

Having that kind of attitude will effect everything that we do and say and for that matter how and when I pick up that guitar...

Below is one of the YouTube videos I have been using to encourage me in my guitar playing a great song by Lincoln Brewster

What is it about men and church?

2008-02-04T16:53:00.000Z

I was in a seminar a week or so back with a guy called Dave Murrow. Dave is from the states but just like the UK he has found that some men find it hard to relate to church. His question was why are there more women than men in most churches? Where have all the men gone?

I guess there are many reason why men, in the Western world at least, struggle with church. It is important for us to remember that it has not always been this way.

When Jesus was on the earth he had no problem getting men to follow him. The early church was full of men and it is interesting to see today that even when there is persecution in the church men still want to join, so it is not that they afraid of the challenge! There no doubt that as as church leaders (who ironically are mostly men themselves) we do not always make it easy for men to relate to church. I have certainly been challenged recently to take a look at how we do church to make sure it relevant to men, women, youth and children.

The message is certianly one that is relevant to everyone but my challenge is to make that message relevant. I don't think it is about changing the message - if we make sure we are still presenting the same message the Bible presents to us - the challenge is to look at how we present that message and make sure that what we do it in a way that makes sense to men and women alike.

We have some great ladies in our church, and some great men too, but my prayer is that we will have a church full of men and women excited about the message and responding to the challenge that Jesus presents to each one of us. Jesus call is, and always has been, "Come, follow me."

One thing is still certain in my mind at least, Jesus is still worth following.

New Year - New Challenges - New Adventures!

2008-01-01T18:58:00.000Z

I know that in reality it is just another day but there is something good about a New Year.

Many people make all sorts of resolutions and plans at this time of year and that can be a good thing but I think for me the challenge is not making the plans but keeping those resolutions I make.

Over the next couple of weeks as a church we will be concentrating on prayer and fasting in preparation for the New Year. 2007 was a year of great change for me personally and for my family. Having only come to Beacon Church in November 2006, and not knowing if we were going to be with the church long term, it meant that for the first part of the year at least we were kind of moving forward but with great caution and realising that we may not be called to take the church forward long term.

Summer saw that all change with a confidence that God wanted us to be around until he said otherwise. The Autumn saw family changes with Myra leaving work to study full time for a year and both the kids with major exams in the year ahead.

So here we are. What will 2008 hold? To be honest I am not sure what God has planned for us but of this I am sure - he knows and our responsibility is to stay close to him so we can hear his voice as he directs and leads us.

Plans - oh I've got plenty of those but I want to make sure they are his plans not just my good ideas. One thing I am confident of is that there are plenty of people who need to hear the Good News of Jesus this year, others who need encouragement and challenge on the journey and if we open our eyes there are plenty of opportunities for each one of us to have a great adventure with God.

Oh and I must remember to change that star date..... that's a job for another day.

Fixing your eyes on Jesus

2007-11-19T15:27:00.000Z

I was speaking the other day from the passage in Hebrews 12 which talks about fixing your eyes on Jesus. It reminded me how easy it is to get distracted. Sometimes you get distracted when you are driving and if you are not careful the results can be life threatening. Often we get distracted in our day to day day lives. We get distracted by the TV, the computer, the radio, a telephone call, and in other ways like relationships, work, study. We are all different so different things are likely to distract us but the danger is that in our Christian lives we get our eyes of Jesus. The result is that it is not long before our Christian walk is soon affected.

Peter was a classic example. He incredibly made that step of faith onto the water only to find himself being distracted by the waves and loosing focus on his Saviour.

I want to remind myself this week to keep a right focus and keep my eyes fixed on Jesus.

Jesus said "I will build my church"

2007-10-25T20:53:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday we have a special day at Beacon Church it was a Membership Sunday. It was great to see 24 adults and 3 young people coming into membership in the church. Our desire in this season has been to "Preparing to Advance" and this was just one step in this process.

On the same day Heather shared of how she feels called to missions in India. It is reminder to us that the church is about people and God is on the move in the lives each one of us. Some he will call to join us and other he will call to other plans and purposes. We can be excited and not threatened by this because Jesus promise us that "I will build my church". Our job is to partner with Him in that process.

My prayer is and belief is that God will provide all our needs - He know them better than we do. Our response is to be obedient to Him!

Living the life!

2007-10-17T16:02:00.000+01:00

It has been a week of variety, as often happens in church life. From school assemblies with wide eyed 5 year olds and slightly less impressible 11 year olds, church meetings about the future of church life and the community we have been called to reach and serve. Then there are meetings with hurting people looking for answers and looking for hope.

Then today a funeral. A lady of 93 who had been married for 68 years before her husband died a few years ago.

This lady was someone who had lived a long life, I am sure with many trials and difficulties and yet was someone who had a great faith in her Lord and Saviour. Some funerals are sad occasions with little sense of hope and many tears. Although this was a sad day for family members in many ways this was a celebration of life of someone who was now with her friend and shepherd.

As I read the words of Paul "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain" there was a confidence in my heart that this lady knew exactly what that meant and was not enjoying her reward.

It reminded me of that great statement. "Is that you are living for worth Christ dieing for?" I pray that every day I would be able to say "Yes" and enjoy the journey.

Against All Odds

2007-10-09T20:12:00.001+01:00

Hi I thought that it was about time I did an update on my blog. Last weekend a few of us were in Swansea at an special leadership summit. It was a series of excellent teaching via video from a Willow Creek Church in America.

During one of the sessions we were introduced to Patrick Henry Hughes and his remarkable story and the commitment of his dad. It was another reminder of what we can do when we work together with others and a powerful picture of God the Fathers love for us and also what we can do as church when we work with each other.

I hope you enjoy the video.

What kind of church do you want to be part of?

2007-09-29T13:07:00.000+01:00

Much of my time working in church has been as part of a team at the City Temple a large church in the center of Cardiff, and that has been a great learning experience. Now that I spend much of my time leading a smaller local church one of the questions I have been thinking about now is "what kind of church do you want to Beacon Church to become?"

A few weeks ago on Sunday morning I spoke about the kind of church that we want to become:

A Well Grounded Church—a church that is built on strong spiritual foundations. And as a church we have spend quite a bit of time looking at how we can strengthen those foundations as we looked at the Fruit of the Spirit and the learned from the early churches experiences in the book of Acts.

A Welcoming Church – A church that is open to all! We want to work hard to welcome those that come through the doors of this church. Those that know Jesus and those who are still on a journey to discovering his love

A Worshiping Church – A church that is known for lifting up Jesus. We know that as we lift up Jesus He will draw people to Himself. Let us worship him when we come together and as we live our lives day by day.

A Witnessing Church—our church mission statement is:

“Touching the Heart of Man,
with the Heart of God,
Through the Heart of His People”

We constantly want to remind ourselves that we are called to reach out to those who have not yet come to know Jesus, with His Good News.

A Whosoever Church - all ages, all backgrounds and all races. We are privileged as a church to have people of all ages and nationalities amongst us. This is exciting because this a picture of the church across the world. Let us pray for open hearts to all who join with us and that we will always seek to be a “Whosoever Church” that welcomes whoever comes to us.

We know that Beacon church is far from perfect but we are excited about the future and all that God has planned for us. I wonder what type of church you want to be a part of - My prayer is that we will be moving forward to achieve the goal of being a local church that Jesus is proud to be known as the builder!

Spell Checker

2007-09-22T14:11:00.000+01:00

Any of you who know me well will know that when it comes to writing I am quite creative but my spelling and grammar leave a lot to be desired.. (Thankful I often have the editing assistance of my wife to set me straight.)

Some one set us this and it seemed to sum it up!

I halve a spelling checker,
It came with my pea see.
It plainly marks four my revue
Mistakes I dew knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye is wrong oar write
It shows me strait aweigh.

As soon as mist aches is maid
It nose bee fore two long,
And eye can put the era rite
It's rarely ever wrong.

I've scent this massage threw it,
And I'm shore you're pleased too no
Its letter prefect in every weigh;
My checker tolled me sew.

Pastor's Blog

2007-09-21T19:15:00.001+01:00

As you know I am a big fan of the internet so I thought it was about time I had a blog.

So here it is and because I am old enough to remember the original Star Trek I thought I would give it the rather corny name of Pastor's Blog...

Life as Pastor of a church is never dull and although as you can guess there are plenty of things that happen in a day that will never make it to a blog there are still some things that I hope you will find interesting.

Friday for me is often a day of preparation for the weekend and particularly Sunday services. At present in Beacon Church we in a time called "Preparing to Advance." After being with the church now for just over 10 months it is a time when we want to make some really important steps forward.

Pastor Paul and Evelyne did a fantastic job over the last 12 years building up the church and the churches home the Beacon Centre. So when Myra and I joined the church to help Paul out in a time when he was completely worn out after 12 years of hard work it was a challenge but a privilege to come to the church to help out for a season but God had other plans and so now here we are to stay!

St Mellons is an area of Cardiff with a population of about 12,000 people and the church has about 80 children and adults on a normal Sunday so there is plenty for us to do.