Spiritual Midwives
Dear Friends and Members of IBC,
As a preface to the Christian Life and Witness training course that takes place this Saturday 11th May from 11:00-14:30 in the IBC office, we are going through a short mini-series on evangelism and conversion in our weekly ‘Word for the week’. Last week we reflected on the process of conversion. In the final installment of this series, we will consider what happens after someone has decided to follow Christ.
We can very often think of evangelism and discipleship as two separate components. We know that evangelism is spreading the gospel message to those around us. And if someone responds, then they… go to church / go on a course / speak to the pastor / go to a life group / buy a Bible. Whatever happens, they enter the streams, currents and occasional rapids of Christian living and are sometimes left to either sink or swim. They might even be thought of as somebody else’s concern, or silently left to figure it out for themselves. Yet the first weeks and months of a new born Christian’s life are vital. They can set up a baby Christian to begin well and flourish, or cause great frustration, with maybe some howling and wailing. Evangelism and discipleship simply must go hand-in-hand.
Think about what happens after a mother gives birth. In most cases, a team of doctors and midwives are on hand to help the mother and child adjust to the dramatic change. There is also one midwife who supports the mother for several months after the birth. This midwife will visit the new family at home and help with various practical tasks, answer questions and provide encouragement. What happened after your spiritual birth - after you became a Christian? Did you also have someone to provide similar support? What happens after our conversion is vitally important. New converts also need midwives – spiritual midwives who can show them what it means to be a Christian. They need people to help them understand what it means to follow Jesus, to study the Bible with them, show them how to pray, and encourage their blossoming faith. This can make all the difference.
We spoke last week about the apostle Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus and what happened to him afterwards is a good example of effective spiritual midwifery. Immediately after his conversion he became involved with the community of believers at Damascus, and a little later he received one-on-one support from Barnabas. I would love to see such spiritual midwifery to new Christians at IBC. I encourage us to pray about whether we would like to receive or can provide this to someone in our church.
God bless you
James