In some ways, the highlight of the Portstewart week so far for me was Dr Chris Wright's phrase from John R W Stott, when he said to him, "Welcome to the fellowship of the forgiven." Whow! I never heard this term before and it resonated with me profoundly. "The fellowship of the forgiven."
That got me a-thinking. It also made me go and speak to Chris after the meeting. I explained a little of my background to him, and then asked him, referring to his sermon, "Where can I find the fellowship of the forgiven"? By extension, "Where can I find the fellowship of the forgivers"?
His honesty was impressive when he said he didn't know. I asked several other attendees the same question, and was met by basically the same answer. These men were being REAL. One man said that you can find it here at Portstewart. But that's only for one week in the year. What happens when we all return to our churches? It's back de nova.
My question now is, Is Keswick at Portstewart just a talking shop or does it practice what it has been so ably taught? Time will tell. If attendees who are ministers really consecrate themselves to Christ and His Gospel, then I will see this being demonstrated in practical ways in the coming months.
I will now use this as the litmus test of how genuine ministers are in their dedication to Christ and the Gospel. This will reveal those whose primary commitment is to the church - whichever church. I will look carefully to see how this will work out in practice. My prayer is that they will take this teaching with utmost seriousness for the success of the Gospel and the ultimate good of the church.
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