Another English Baptist Church and More Questions Than Answers

Had morning worship with the folks here.  Upper Stratton Baptist Church, England. (  http://www.usbc.org.uk/)   Their church was built about 18 years before mine in Virginia.  We have about 200 active members.  They had 30 or so adults after a pack of kids left for children’s church. 

They had different ethnicities.  We have different accents. 

Their preacher preached from The Word.  He criticized the atrocities of the Crusaders, when I think – just me – that he should cheer the heroism of the strategic counterstroke against Islam in a country that will be Muslim soon enough – just cause of babies. 

They participated in communal prayer more than us – (cause we don’t do it at all).

Their bulletin mentioned a sister church having it’s first baptism in 2 years.  An Iranian youth.  That means a Muslim convert.   So, what is the math for converts away from and to Islam in the UK?  What is the trend?

Time for alarm or rejoicing?  Or just faith.

The people I have seen in 3 Baptist churches in England seem to me to be worshipping just like the folks where I live and worship.  We are struggling to be missionaries in our own community among the cultural Christians who don’t know Jesus and the Pagan Human Secularists who don’t know anything, and the unChristian, anti-Christian, other religious folks who know wrongly. 

I guess it depends on the Holy Spirit.  He will move as the Father directs.

In the History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill, attributes so much to the Romano-Britons sharing their religion and converting their Angle-Saxon-Jute conquerors.   Then, the ‘english’ converting their Viking (Dane mainly) conquerors.  Christianity – and thus Civilization – triumphed.

One thing I see through the small portal of my visoin in a month, is the opportunity for the homogeneity of the British culture to work great things for Christ – when the Holy Spirit moves.   Namely, this – except for the unassimilated barbarians who insist on walking around in Islamic costumes, I see persons off every ethnicity speaking, dressing, acting just like their native-born, white British majority neighbors.  I don’t see ethnic minorities trying to “keep it real’ and different with different accents, behavior, speech, or dress.  I see a religious – identity – minority doing so – in very different degrees from nothingness to a little to an extreme.

If it ever becomes British – again – to be Christian – this culture can turn on a dime.  Culture commands. 

As the Pagan Human Secularists fight such a back to the future truth for the UK, as the Islamists are conquering by population bomb, we will see – if we live long enough – if the Word of the one, only, living, true God returns to live in the hearts of the majority in the UK or not.   He once did. 

The remnant of Believers  in England that I’ve seen looks good enough to me – for the God of great miracles, many chances and Amazing Grace.