September 2023
Dear Friends
On 24th September it will be 10 years since I
began as the minister of Burton and Holme.
I sometimes think that nothing has changed much in that time (I don’t look
that much older!) but children are an inescapable reminder of the passing of
years. Those who were in Reception when
I began are now entering Year 10 to study for their GCSEs and many of those who
were in the top year at our primary schools are now working or at university. As of July, we no longer have teenagers in our
own family.
God’s Word says that children and adults also need to grow
up in Jesus because he is the head of a new human family that will not be
subject to frustration and decay. If we
want to know what it is like to be truly human then we must look at Jesus –
loving, trustworthy, self-controlled and fearless. If we become part of his family and grow up to
be like him, then we will share in his glorious and forever-secure future. And in the same place (Ephesians 4) Paul says
that church ministers have a foundational responsibility to make sure that the
truth of the Bible, spoken in love, is bringing people to maturity in Christ.
I hope that you’ve been growing in Christ. I’m sorry if I’ve not been a help to you in
that. I wish I could have been more
fruitful over the last 10 years but I hope that you’ll give me a chance to help
you in the next 10, whether that’s through our Sunday Services, our regular study
and discussion groups like Christianity Explored, or in conversation whenever I
meet you.
Sincerely
Graham Burrows