Reed Fleming

I just got back from three days of meetings with the
Atlantic area chaplains. These are chaplains in the federal correctional institutions
and those of us in community chaplaincy ministry. It was a tremendous time of
being with people with a real passion for people. Though I feel like I have to
enter “abbreviation detox” it was a grand time!

Some readers may not understand what community chaplaincy is
or what our little corner in Saint John does, in particular. Community
Chaplaincy has a mandate to help people who have offended community standards
become good and accepted neighbours. At Saint John Community Chaplaincy we
believe that this is only effectively done through a ‘heart change’. Jesus is
central to our mission.

At Saint John Community Chaplaincy we believe that it is not
enough to share the Gospel with the cold and hungry so each week day we feed
(on next to no budget) 70 – 100 people. We also provide a safe and warm hang
out for people 8 – 4 each week day. As we get involved in people’s lives the
relationship can lead us to helping in advocacy of all types. Each day before
lunch we share in a devotional and I hope community building time.

Much of the above happens quite happily without my
supervision so I am planning to become more and more involved at the half-way
houses, courts, prisons, and in adding additional programs and resources. Some
of these I will lead like Over Comers and Seminary of the Street, and others I
will enlist others. Next February we will be starting a Christ Centred 12 step
program led by an Anglican minister with many years of sobriety and experience
under his belt.

I also will continue my efforts in visiting local churches
to speak about “Moving Missional” with lots of illustrations from both Up Town
and community chaplaincy. I am a firm believer that we need the local church
and that the local church needs us.

I am concerned about aspects of the Omnibus Crime Bill
working its way through Parliament. I pray that the local church does not ‘buy
into’  this seemingly retributive idea of
justice, but instead would search the Scriptures for biblical principles of
justice and restoration.

I am starting to see more folks express interest in Up Town.
I tell people about it when they ask but I want to work with local churches in
finding spiritual homes for those on the margins.

My computer crashed and I have lost my contacts list. If you
would like to be on that list email me at flemingr@nbnet.nb.ca
and I will add you.

Every Monday night a group of 8 -12 of us get together for
what we call “Over comers”. These are folks who are really serious about
following Jesus and finding freedom from lives of addiction. Monday nights have
become a highlight of my week. Each day I get to see a lot of people with very
real needs. I am given the opportunity to demonstrate the love of Christ to
them but many do not yet respond positively to the Good News. Monday night
stands in sharp contrast as we gather as a community of the committed! I am a
person of deep commitment. I am deeply committed to Threshold Ministries; there
is no group I would rather serve with. I am committed to Up Town and our
community there. I am committed to my wife of 30 years. I thrive on commitment
and so I thrill at a community that is seriously committed to following Jesus,
like the Over Comers.

Next week I am off to PEI for a regional Chaplains meeting.
I have already met several of the dedicated chaplains but I am looking forward
to meeting others and sharing in a fellowship of those committed to this
service.

Last Sunday at Up Town we had Graydon Nicholas the Lieutenant
Governor of New Brunswick share. He spoke of the healing he had found, from
past hurts and gave those of us there some practical tools for finding freedom
from our past hurts. This involved visualising washing the feet of those who
have hurt us and then letting them wash our feet in return. Just yesterday I
had a conversation with one of our friends who has begun to employ this
strategy and is already experiencing a new freedom. His Honour, was very
gracious and genuinely enjoyed his time with us. He found it a refreshing
evening and took a copy of our “Popcorn Prayers” with him as he left. It was a
great evening!

I have been doing some thinking about the “Occupy” movements
happening around the world. The other day I was reading a Church history book
as the author analysed the anti-colonial movements in the post-war period.
These movements were unfocussed as to what the solutions or future might look
like but sprang from a profound sense that the current (colonial system0 was
not working for the benefit of the populous. People in the colonial system did
not understand these protests which seemed anarchical. It was a very messy time
and the resulting conflicts continue to reverberate with negative consequences
to this day. “Occupy” at its core may be a recognition that the current system
of this western world does not work for the populous. Perhaps this is a time
for the Church of Christ to be a peculiar people and exemplify that there is
another way, the generous way of God’s Economy. Just a thought.

Mark Buchanan, in his book “Spiritual Rhythm”, writes about his native BC “Few places rival its beauty. But New Brunswick in October comes close. New Brunswick’s trees, especially are hypnotically beautiful. The forests are mosaics of leaf .I’d round a bend of lonely highway, and the harrowing beauty of yet another hill aflame with color distracted me near to crashing.

Coming from coastal BC, I thought fall meant leaves turned brown, fell, and winter, sodden and bleary, stumbled in, noncommittal. But New Brunswick, flaunting itself like Joseph in his coat of many colors, made me jealous as Joseph’s brothers, and I sulked because the Father hadn’t given me on, too.”

Fall here is indeed a glorious and fleeting time. We long to see the trees at their peak of splendor and yet we know it will be fleeting and that soon the bare branches become harbingers of an icy future!

I love the sights and sounds and smells of fall. It is, in my part of the world the shortest of seasons, but oh how I relish it. This coat of many colours which the Father gives and the joy it brings points me to a yearning for the glory that never fades. As I peer out through the wisps of fog upon the woods resplendent with fiery hues, I realize that we are but vapour and I long for the Kingdom that does not end. Each fall is a promise and a foretaste of the glory yet to be revealed. It heartens me and makes me homesick at the same time. It is ironic that I can be homesick for a place I have not yet seen and yet I know its glory surpasses the glory He paints in the forests ofNew Brunswick.

On some personal notes; I continue to find my way and settle into the ministry with Saint John Community Chaplaincy. I make new friends each day. At Up Town on Sunday we celebrate our 7^th anniversary and we have The Hon. Graydon Nicholas, the Lt. Gov. of the province as our guest. I believe this anniversary marks a milestone for us and that God would have us impact our community more and more.

   For over 30 years an author mentor to me has been Ray C. Stedman. I never met the gentleman but his books particularly “Guilt to Glory” have had a great influence on my life and thinking. Last night I was reading Stedman’s “Friend of God” the chronicles of Abraham. Abraham had been promised that others would be blessed through his life but in his side trip toEgypt he actually brought a curse on Pharaoh such that Pharaoh had him turfed out of the country.

What had happened to turn Abraham from a blessing into a curse? Out of fear he lost his integrity. Without integrity he became the source of a curse rather than the source of blessing. Rather than having blessings overflow from his walk with God he brought a curse and sullied the name of God among the lost.

This is the great issue facing the Church today as we live among those who do not yet know our Saviour. We are intended to be a source of blessing but in losing our integrity as a ‘peculiar people’ living like Jesus and following His example, we have become a stumbling block. I was reading a quote by Soren Kierkegaard saying that the problem with the Church is Christendom. The veneer of Christianity which has overlaid western culture has not blessed but hindered the cause of Christ among those who do not yet follow Him.

In my new position with Community chaplaincy I meet people, all the time, who have suffered various degrees of abuse at the hands of those they perceive as Christian. This has to be the number one stumbling block in evangelism to this segment of society. I suspect the same would be true in the board rooms, as well.

Like Abraham we must return to the altar of Bethel and find forgiveness and become strengthened to live lives of integrity and blessing. What do they say? If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.

At Up Town we’ve been having a lot of fun studying the book
of Joshua. It has been five weeks and we have got to the end of chapter
one.  One of our key areas of struggle is
with a sense of inferiority and helplessness. God’s word to Joshua directly addresses
this. God tells Joshua to trust Him and not to be afraid. We realized that we
could do that. In fact it sounds quite simple to trust God and not be afraid.
We cannot trust ourselves or we have lots of reason to be discouraged. The call
is to know God’s promises to us and then simply trust Him as we seek to walk in
His way.

We also discovered that God’s people were intended to do
this in community. The 2 ½ tribes were to cross over with the rest and no one
was to rest until all the people could rest. Our concept of being a community of
“broken people” is reinforced by this lesson. We are called as ‘a body’ to
follow Jesus. If we try to follow Him solely on our own we are probably not
following Him closely at all.

In Joshua one the Israelites had a serious system of
accountability. In fact they covenanted that if anyone deviated from this norm
they would be killed. While we are not ready to be quite so extreme we realize
that it becomes imperative that we encourage each other and devise gentle means
of accountability to one another for our walk with Jesus.

It has been a great time of seeing the scripture come alive
as we seek to apply God’s truth to our communal life. One of our key phrases is
“It is not rocket surgery!” We all note that these lessons are plain and simple.
We are not asked to do what is beyond us. And we realize that apart from the
power of the Holy Spirit we cannot follow through on even the simplest of
activities.

I am aware that I am not sharing anything startling or even
fresh but the sense of following as a community gives us an exciting kinship
with Israel as they followed their Jeshua. I am stoked!

Next month we celebrate our 7^th (a significant
number) anniversary. We have invited the Lieutenant Governor to come and
celebrate with us. It has been a great ride so far but we are not going to rest
until we can all rest. Let His Kingdom come. Hosanna!

Over my years I have had the experience of ‘enjoying a
honeymoon period’ in previous ministry incarnations. There is no ‘honeymoon
period’ with the folks at chaplaincy. Instead there is a ‘testing period’.
People are looking to see who I am and how I will deal with people and
problems. There is an inherent scepticism.

I find all this perversely refreshing. After all I am not
just some new guy come to offer programming, at the most basic level I am
seeking my way into the community and into people’s lives. This community takes
that very seriously, as they should!

At the same time that I appreciate the testing it is also a
lonely and of course trying time. I am so glad that I already have
relationships with some through the Up Town Community and I know those were
built over time. New relationships in new community will take patience and
consistency. I have a great many ideas about the way things could develop and
how my particular gifts could help that happen. Many of these ideas excite me a
lot! But all of that must be on hold until the relational ground work is firmly
established.

In my short time I have seen people make real progress in
their walk and life and I have seen others make tragic mistakes. I am reminded
that I must not tout fragile gains as being any more than that but neither
should I be devastated by slips.

I am trying to put in place a support system to fit my new
circumstances. Life is always changing and I am constantly adapting. Those who
know me well will know that I love the energy of these kinds of times but I
find myself already not sleeping well and I realise I must put in place a
support system to help me develop methods of shedding things (Casting all my
cares on Him (Jesus) for He cares for you.)

The season of “The wedding” is over for a while. Linda and I
attended 4 weddings over the last six weeks! Each was different and highly
enjoyable. It was great to see young people launching out together in new
adventures and be able to reflect on my new journeys and the ongoing stability
that I enjoy in so many ways in my life.

30 years ago I really longed for an itinerant preaching ministry.
Of course no one trusted a newly graduated minister with their pulpit, but they
did let me do a children’s ministry (giving me care of “their most precious
possessions”). After travelling with Bert and Ernie and Kermit for 15 years I
finally found myself with an itinerant ministry ranging across Manitoba and
Saskatchewan. The lesson I learned was that God may give us a desire but He
only fulfills that desire in His good time.

I was reminded of that lesson as I remembered 9/11 this
week. Like many I was dramatically impacted by that day. I decided that God was
calling me to a redoubled effort in terms of mission and evangelism. I had to
drop an number of good things I was involved in, such as being a part of
Anglican Renewal Ministries, and focus ‘like a laser’ on evangelism. It was
after that event that we moved to an inner-city church and not long afterwards
started Up Town Church. I also had a burning desire to do ministry in prisons
and the correctional setting.  Here 10
years later I find myself immersed in the inner-city and ministry in
correctional settings. This has not been a deliberate path I sought but rather
God fulfilling the desires of my heart, which He in fact gave me.

Having priorities means saying no to lots of things and some
very good things, but a yes to God and His way opens possibilities like no
other. I still find myself in God’s school of ministry and I look forward to
all He has in store. He really does “give us the desires of our heart.”