Skip to main content

Christian institute meeting at Ashton Baptist Church 10 September 2025

Last night I attended a meeting of the Lancashire Reformed Baptist Fellowship at Ashton Baptist Church in Preston. There were 53 of us present representing many of the 14 churches in the fellowship, and the atmosphere was one of warm Christian friendship, and also a desire to pray and to hear about the issues covered by the visiting speakers from the Christian Institute.

After a chance to catch up with others over tea and coffee in the church hall, which I thoroughly enjoyed, we moved through into the main church to pray together and to hear the talk. The prayer lasted for about 30 minutes and we lifted up the local churches and the work of the gospel in the north west. It is encouraging that a number of churches have had multiple baptisms in recent months.  It is also encouraging that several churches have been running courses for those exploring Christianity. The talk lasted for the remainder of the time, and concluded shortly after 9pm. 

The subject was "Westminster through the looking glass" and the two speakers from the Christian Institute spoke well, alternating with short talks on four issues of concern: assisted dying, islamophobia, a new education bill, and conversion therapy. In many cases, concerns with the legislation in question centre around a failure to define precisely what is being permitted or banned, with vague wordings potentially giving scope for intrusion into religious and other liberties. The Christian Institute has on several occasions obtained legal advice from leading lawyers on key matters, and, in some cases, this has been instrumental in pushing back against potentially harmful legislation. The tone of the talks was robust but not in any way "hateful" or "negative", and was undergirded by a genuine concern for people's welfare, and the truth of God's Common Grace towards all - regardless of whether or not they are Christian believers. In many cases, the work of the Christian Institute has involved partnering with other campaigners from a variety of backgrounds, for example, on the issue of assisted dying, with advocates for those with disabilities, and, on the issue of free speech, with figures such as Rowan Atkinson (famous for his role as "Blackadder"). I came away from the meeting better informed and with a sense of gratitude for the work being done. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bury, Greater Manchester - Timeline of churches

979?      First Church on the site of the present Parish Church (the picture below is an artist's impression of Bury parish church in 1485). This was the only church in the town of Bury until 1719 (see below).  1585      Parish church (re)built in the gothic style . 1650     During the Commonwealth, Henry Pendlebury was ordained for  Holcombe Chapelry.  1662     Having been ejected from the Church of England,  Henry Pendlebury of Holcombe   (1626-1695) held services at a Chapel on Bass Lane by Richard Kay, and others ejected from the C of E (replaced in 1712 by Dundee Chapel, Holcombe) 1669      The vicar of Bury parish reported to the Bishop of Chester that he heard several conventicles were "constantly kept at private houses of Independents, Presbyterians, Dippers and other such like jointly, of the bset rank of the yeomanry and other inferiors." 1689      ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The origin and spread of the early Baptist churches in the North West of England and elsewhere

The origins of Baptist churches go back to the 1600s.  The very first Baptist church began in 1609 and was for English speaking Christians based in the Netherlands, relocating to London in 1611 (Thomas Helwys). These churches were known as "General Baptists" and followed the theology of Arminius and the Anabaptists.  A second genesis of Baptist churches was in London in about 1638 (John Spilsbury). These churches followed the Reformed Theology of John Calvin and the Synod of Dordt. In 1644, the First London Baptist Confession was signed by seven Baptist churches in the capital.  Baptist churches later spread from London outwards.  During the time of the English Civil War (1642-1651), there were Baptist Christians in the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell. In 1648 the New Model Army campaigned in Lancashire during the Second Civil War.  1. John Wigan & the "Coldhouse cause"   During the time of the English Civil War (1642-1651), John Wigan (d. 1665),...
Post a Comment
Read more

Die Erweckung (revival of evangelical Christianity in Germany in the 1800s)

Die Erweckung (literally, "the Revival") is a name for the revival of evangelical Christianity in Germany in the 1800s. It has overlap with the Réveil in Switzerland, France and the Netherlands, and also with the second Evangelical Revival in Britain and the Second Great Awakening in America. The Pietist movement, which began during the Baroque era around 1675 under the leadership of Philip Spener, had waned by the 1730s. By this time, Halle university, originally founded by Pietists and a flagship of the movement, became a centre for rationalism under academics such as Christian Wolff (1679–1754).  In the interim, Pietism was kept alive in part by a network of small groups (the Diaspora) which followed the spirituality of the Moravian Christians, a movement similar to Pietism but with its own church structures under the leadership of Von Zinzendorf. There was also the Basle-based Christentumsgesellschaft founded by Urlsperger in 1780, a society founded to counter the ratio...
Post a Comment
Read more