Patrick the Patron Saint of church planters

St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, might just be the “Patron Saint” of some church planters. In his writings he points out some of his many shortcomings and his great zeal to reach the “unchurched” in Ireland, two of the things that parallel my journey. In his Letter to Coroticus, written because soldiers had kidnapped Irish Christians that he had just converted and he was furious. Although Patrick was a gentle and humble man of faith he reached the people of Erin in spite of his stature in life.

His limited education, in Law and Theology was no stumbling block to the “community” he was reaching. The reason, I believe was he was lead by and open to the Holy Spirit, and as Acts 8:12 puts it “But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”

During Patrick's captivity in the Irish wilderness he comes to know the God he missed as a child, although he was born into a Christian family (his father Calpurnius was a deacon; his grandfather Potitus a priest) yet he "did not know God." Galatians 4:8 “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.” It is ironic that Patrick, as a slave found the God he missed as a free child and he takes on the same concern for the Irish that Paul had for the Galatians.

Although Patrick regrets his educational achievements, his crystal clear understanding of the Doctrine of the Trinity, the Love of Christ for the lost and the redemption found only in Jesus, was the start of Christianity breaking out on the Island of Éireann and spreading throughout the world.

Though Patrick wasn't the first missionary to Ireland, an unsuccessful Palladius preceded him. He was the first who was successful. And he took Christianity to people outside the Roman Empire. In their own community and culture.

Patrick also has a record of speaking out against slavery and was a defender of women and children. In his Confessio he writes of a woman who becomes a leader among Christian women and goes on to express grief that women held in slavery had the worst lot of all. In his regard for women and for the sanctity of life Patrick was a Planter ahead of his times.

• Kidnapped by pirates at age 16
• Embarrassed at lack of education
• Finds God while herding pigs(?)
• Escapes, guided by a voice
• Recalled to Ireland by dream
• A childhood confession returns to haunt him
• Boasts of bringing religion to the Irish
• Baptises a beautiful Irish princess
• And this is my confession before I die."

A new perspective on Psalm 23:4

Why sometimes do things just seem to go wrong? Does God really have a plan for me? If so, why do things go wrong so often?

We have all seen books, tapes, seminars etc on God’s Plan for My Life. I simply do not have time to read the stuff on the market, but I must admit that I wondered what effect all this material would have on someone who had been born into poverty, or had just found out they lost a loved one, or have become unemployed, a child was arrested. I wonder what people might think in a moment like those and do they believe that God has a plan for them.

This appears to be a real dilemma. On the one hand Christianity teaches that God has a plan; on the other hand, life shows us that bad things happen to good people. The only way out of the complexity is to say that there is nothing irreconcilable with God having a plan and things going wrong from our perspective.

Does that mean God wants things to go wrong for us? Absolutely not, Jesus clearly reveals God to be against making us humans suffer. But this does not mean that such things will not happen. For it is part of God's plan that things happen that are not sent to us directly by God. He just allows them to take place.

Dish out the blame when problems pop up in your life, whom do you hold responsible? That depends. You can hold people responsible; you do not say that God has mistreated you. You say so and so has mistreated you. In fact, you cry out to God for help in dealing with the pain

Likewise, if a friend close to you is injured, you explain what has happened by saying, 'The ladder broke,' or 'the other driver was drunk”. You shrug off the fact that the accident took place, and you place the blame on what you believe caused it: faulty equipment, irresponsible behavior, or whatever.

You do not hold God responsible for what has happened; and of course you appeal to God for help. Initially, in emotional upheaval, you might blame God, but when you think it through, you understand that God is as aggrieved as you are.

Because God gave us charge over the world, things go wrong that would never have happened if man had never fallen. When God let us loose on earth He allowed free will to come into play. The risk is that things will not be done the way God would wish they would; or they will be done badly, or selfishly, or unkindly; or not at all. God took a risk by sharing control over things with us, by planning our lives in a way that allows our free will and determination; it has become a world with suffering and pain. But not to involve us would have been to make us like robots or puppets, rather than human beings who are free. To make choices, choices that include our turning to Him with love and admiration.

So when you come to the end of your rope and you wish that God had not shared the running of the world with you, rethink it, God did, in spite of the risks. Why? Because God wants your love, through your free will because that is the sign of true love, not a forced obligatory love.
We need to live up to our responsibilities, as children of the King, offer our praise to Him, even in tough times because He first loved us. So when bad things happen. That does not mean that God has no plan all and is out of control. What God does promise is to be with us, no matter what happens. And so we can never say, 'I shall not walk in the valley of darkness,' but we can always say, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 these words express the constant plan of God; That God will always, absolutely always, be with us
Tone

Gilligans Island

Well we are three weeks from the first service at Doheny State Beach. I met with the staff today and had a fantastic meeting. They were beyond helpful. I was taken around the park and shown all the ins and outs, parking, loading, and a place to toss a tent if I wish. I know my friends are going to let it rip with Gilligan jokes so I thought I would beat them to the punch and point it out first. I know this is not what you might call a Church Plant but is sure is going to reach many people that otherwise might miss going to church because they are away from home, It will reach the staff of the park that wish to attend and I am sure, some people that might not otherwise go to a local church. What I hope will happen is for me to find someone local that might want to take over this next season. I have run into many kind people that have offered me help getting this going and I hope to do the same to those coming up behind me. If you find yourself on vacation in So Cal and want to stop in, please look us up Tone