Newsletter

We want to let you know where we have come to so far in our consideration of the matters we wrote to you about in our letter of 20th May 2010: the future of the New Creation Teaching Ministry, and the Property Matters.

We were greatly encouraged by the excellent Winter School 11–14th June and the prayer meeting that followed on the Monday afternoon. The interest of people who have been praying with us has been most heartening—not with any particular agenda, but supportive and humbly open to whatever the Lord wills.

The overwhelming sense of what we have received is that the ministry is not only to continue but to grow and become more widespread.

There have been some new developments, which will have a bearing on the future of the ministry. Martin Bleby has felt called to relinquish the position of Director of Ministry in the beginning of next year 2011, while staying on the team. Those last words are important—Martin is not resigning or retiring. It will simply be a change of position on the team, like on a cricket field. It will be ten years since Martin as Director of Ministry with John Skewes as General Manager took up the leadership jointly from Geoffrey Bingham in 2001. This has been a significant time of transition and of conserving and passing on all that has been given in this ministry. It is time now to extend the work in new directions and with new connections. Martin sees his future ministry being more out among the churches, seeking to be instrumental in the renewal of the church through helping to raise the levels of biblical literacy.

Andrew Klynsmith has felt led to accept a calling to the position of Director of Ministry from the beginning of next year. Andrew has an evangelist’s heart and is looking to see God’s reviving work in Australia through preaching the gospel, and teaching, training and mentoring others. Given that the ministry is to continue and grow, there is a sense that the ministry will change, as new people are called to gather around Andrew in whatever unfolds. Andrew has a sense that this will have more to do with going out than with drawing people in.

This prospective change of leadership was endorsed by the New Creation Council at its special meeting on 2nd July. The team and Council join Andrew and Martin in a peace-filled sense of excitement at the (somewhat daunting) new possibilities for ministry that this may precipitate.

At the same time, John and Beryl Skewes have come to see that their time on the team and with John as General Manager will come to an end sooner rather than later, perhaps as early as next year. John and Beryl have been a backbone of this ministry for thirty-four years, almost since its inception. They now have a peace about stepping aside to see new people come in and shape up new roles. When they finish, they will vacate and sell their property, on which their house and the New Creation administration building stand.

As we said in the May 20th letter, Laurel is looking to sell her house and land, on which the teaching centre, library building and a shed stand, which are occupied by New Creation Teaching Ministry on a generous lease arrangement, and in which New Creation holds an equitable interest.

At its meeting on 2nd July, the New Creation Council considered the matter of whether to buy the Bingham property, or forego our option on the property and let someone else buy it, with its buildings. We saw that this decision would depend on whether or not we see the present teaching centre and library buildings as our continuing base for future ministry.

The Council decided not to purchase the Bingham property, and so not to continue the occupation of the teaching centre and library buildings after it is sold to someone else.

Our emotional attachment to the property, and to all the wonderful things the Lord has done there over the last thirty-five years, and the ways these buildings, given by God, have served us well over those years, made the decision a very difficult one. But in view of the changing vision of the ministry, it was felt that these buildings would not continue to serve our core ministry, and that we were being called to let them go.

The decision was made more difficult in that as yet we do not have in view another base facility from which to operate, which would need office and storage space, and possibly a smaller meeting room. It felt a bit like Abraham being called to go he knew not where, that God would show him; or being told to ‘launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch’. But we know the great blessing for many, and the vast harvest of people, that was to come from those faith-actions, that we are now a continuing part of (see Gen 12:1–3; Luke 5:1–11).

Tax-deductible gifts given over the years will still need to be spent on purchasing a property for the teaching ministry. It is likely that wherever we end up going, it will still take more financial resources than we presently have in hand, and we look to the Lord to provide abundantly as we have always known. We are grateful for the gifts that have come in or been promised since our letter of 20th May, some of which may have been with a view to buying the Bingham property. Donors will be contacted to determine their wishes in this regard.

Most of all, we will still need to be praying together with regard to the well-ordered timing of these things, and all the other as yet unanswered questions. We are so grateful to God for your continued fellowship with us in the gospel, and we will keep you well informed.

We send you this special letter to share some important considerations with you, to ask you to pray with us, and to give us any feedback that you may have for us.

Property Matters

Many may not be aware that the New Creation Teaching Ministry (officially New Creation Publications Incorporated—NCPI) currently operates on land that does not belong to it.

There is one six-acre block which was given to Geoffrey and Laurel Bingham for their use and ministry in 1975, now still owned by Laurel. On this is the white house (which Laurel rents out), with the print room and staff room used by NCPI. On this block NCPI built the Teaching Centre in 1983–87, and the Library in 1991. NCPI has an ‘equitable interest’ in the land in respect of these buildings ($250,000 in 2006, subject to valuation), and leases the land for a rental of ten dollars a year, by an arrangement that expires at the end of this year.

Adjoining this is a five-acre block owned by John and Beryl Skewes. On this John and Beryl built their home in 1977 and the ‘resource centre’ in 1979, now used by NCPI as offices for teaching, publishing and administration staff, and the workroom or distribution centre underneath. This building is leased from the Skewes for a rental of ten dollars a year.

The NCPI Council made a decision to purchase the Bingham property in 1993, when Geoffrey and Laurel moved to a home bought by members of their family at Kingswood. The decision and need were made known to friends of NCPI, and about $40,000 was given—short of the nominated selling price of $200,000. The sale was not proceeded with at that time. Geoffrey and Laurel paid rent to the family members while receiving rent from the white house, and NCPI continued to have use of the property.
The time has come when Laurel Bingham is looking to sell her property, now roughly valued at between $500,000 and $700,000 (including the value of the NCPI buildings—more specific valuations are being sought). NCPI has the right of first refusal. In the 17 years since 1993, with the addition of interest and further gifts, NCPI’s ‘house and land fund’ has now grown to $167,000—still well short of the value of the property.

The NCPI Council is now considering: should we, or should we not, buy the Bingham property? The answer to that depends on what form the Ministry is to take in the years ahead.

The Future of New Creation Teaching Ministry

As you know, New Creation Teaching Ministry is a movement of ministries supplied by Christ to his church. We proclaim and teach the grace of God through the whole of the Scriptures, centred on the cross of Christ, with a view to the ultimate community of God with His people. We do this with a full-orbed theology that is Trinitarian, orthodox, reformed, and open to the reviving and renewing movements of God’s Spirit. We expect the word to come through prophetically as Father, Son and Holy Spirit lead us into all truth. The spoken word is supported and extended through recordings and published resources. Team members and helpers work according to the voluntary principle, supported by God through the unsolicited gifts of God’s people.

Under this calling, to which we all subscribe, members of the team at any particular time help to determine the shape of the ministry. Each member of the present team here in SA has recently written a brief summary of what is on their heart with regard to their personal calling in this ministry. Each remains committed to God’s call into this ministry. There is a continuing eagerness to see God’s reviving work through the gospel of Christ going out to as many people as possible, through raising the levels of biblical literacy, and through disseminating sound teaching. There is a keenness to grasp new opportunities, and to continue to utilise new technologies. Serving and supporting are emphasised, together with an open willingness to follow in whatever way the Lord leads.

So although there is provision in the NCPI Constitution for the ministry to be wound up at any time and its assets transferred to some similar ministry or charitable object, this does not seem to be indicated at present. There is a recognition however, given the age of most of the team, that if the ministry is still to be here in five years’ time, new members will need to be called onto the team.

Options to be Considered

The NCPI Council at its recent meeting expressed a range of views as to the purchase of the Bingham property:

1. Some would be sorry to lose control of and responsibility for the Teaching Centre and the Library building, and would be pleased to see the property owned by NCPI. Finding an extra $300,000 or so to purchase the property is a lot to expect, however, and would need to come miraculously from the hand of God. Another possibility might be for the property to be purchased by a sympathetic party who would allow NCPI’s use to continue as at present.

2. Some consider that, while these buildings have served us well for twenty-five years in an attractive (though bushfire-prone) setting, we do not need to hang on to them, and may be better off without them. More than half our classes and schools are held off-site in other venues. Office accommodation, storage for publications, and housing of the Library, could be found elsewhere. Not being tied to a teaching venue of our own could allow greater freedom of movement among the churches and in the community.

3. Should we let the Bingham property go, with a view to consolidating our operations on the Skewes property? Would this be any more affordable in the end than the Bingham property, and would it leave us more cramped?

4. Should we move to another location, that may be more accessible, and better suited to our present needs?

Each of these options was respectfully canvassed, and the Council did not come to a common mind at this stage, while all were open to whatever way the Lord might lead. We set a date for another meeting on Friday 2nd July, by which time we expect in the Lord to have clarity and agreement on the issue.

It is for this we ask your prayers, and any feedback you might have for us. In particular, we are arranging to have a special prayer and information time in the Teaching Centre immediately following the Winter School on Monday 14th June 2010, 1.30–3.00pm. Feel free to join us then, and please pray and keep in touch with us in the meantime.

Should we pray for revival? A friend recently sent us extracts from a book about revivals that communities of believers in Jesus Christ have experienced in history. It showed the part played by prayer in such revivals. Revivals invariably are preceded by people praying, and always are accompanied by and result in people praying even more. The one who sent us this material said that it provoked him to shame with regard to his own tardiness in prayer, and he wanted to encourage us in this ministry also.

At that time, a prayer group was about to begin following the Thursday morning class at our Teaching Centre. One person who attends that class had read our last letter (25th January 2010), in which we had indicated that New Creation Teaching Ministry could be facing a time of transition this year, when we said: ‘things rarely remain the same, and we ask you to continue to pray with us as we seek to do God’s will, by His enabling in us, through the years to come’. She had felt moved to gather some people on Thursday mornings to uphold the ministry in prayer before God, and we were glad to encourage her in that. When this material arrived from our friend, we passed it on to her also and said, ‘Don’t just pray for New Creation Teaching Ministry—ask God to revive our whole nation, and for rivers of living water to flow out to all!’

Meanwhile, the New Creation Teaching Ministry team were considering what God was saying to us. Should we hold ‘Revival Nights’, like we did for a while in the 1980s? We concluded that, while we may not be able to tell other people what to do, we could at least be doing it ourselves. We now begin each Tuesday morning team meeting with a scripture, a reading, and a time of prayer for revival, before we go on to discuss and then pray for what is happening in the Ministry. The other day we were looking at Psalm 126:4:

We were mindful of the floodwaters from Queensland heading down the Murray-Darling system to refresh this parched land, and prayed that this might be a sign of what God is doing spiritually with our nation. We also prayed that we might know what it means to ‘sow in tears’—‘bearing the seed’ of the word of God, with the deep longings of God for His people and His creation in our hearts—that we might also come to know what it means to ‘reap with songs of joy’ (see Psalm 126:5–6).

Revival, characterised by ‘an awesome sense of the presence of God, an overwhelming awareness of the seriousness of sin, an increasing longing for the knowledge of God, an unusual evidence of transformed lives, and a significant passion for the lost',¹ has long been part of New Creation Teaching Ministry’s DNA. Something akin to revival accompanied Geoffrey Bingham’s ministry in Kranji prisoner of war camp in Singapore (told in ‘The Kranji Clique’ in The Boy in the Valley, and in Love is the Spur), and at Millers Point in the shadow of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (see ‘The Glory Within’ in Three Special Stories). He experienced it directly during his time in Pakistan (see ‘Lovefest—I, II and III’ in Twice-Conquering Love) and in Wudinna SA in 1969. Geoffrey wrote extensively on the matter of revival in his books Dry Bones Dancing!, Reviving the Humble, and The Revival God Gives. For most of his life, however, it was a case of ‘preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching’ (2 Tim. 4:2). From this he trusted would come what he called the raising of ‘the spiritual water-table’ by ‘preaching the Scriptures, and especially the great themes’ with a view to an eventual ‘great outflowing of grace and the Spirit in the truth of Christ’, brought about by ‘the power of the gospel proclaimed in the power of the Spirit’.² We should remember that it is to this that the work of the New Creation Teaching Ministry is directed, and we should not allow ourselves to settle for anything less.

With this in view, we enclose or attach leaflets detailing our forthcoming Winter School (11–14 June) and Ministry School (19–23 July 2010). The theme of the Winter School is Fighting the Good Fight—not just the information and techniques that pass for what is sometimes called ‘spiritual warfare’, but the entire ‘defense and confirmation of the gospel' (Phil. 1:7), that engages every gospel resource we have from God. Winter School is always a good weekend to bring people to who are new to this Ministry and to the things we teach. Ministry School, this year on the theme Shepherds after God’s Own Heart, is also open to all, and is geared particularly for those with leadership in ministry among the churches, pitched at a level that assumes a certain amount of theological training and understanding. This may be for you, or you may want to encourage your pastors and leaders to participate in it. Again, these schools are not just for our own enjoyment or benefit, but so to raise the level of the ‘spiritual water table’ that there will be an overflow of grace that will benefit many and bring glory to God—even to the extent where it is said among the heathen, ‘The Lord has done great things for them’ (Ps. 126:2). Please pray that this will be so.

Is our praying, then, what brings revival about, as a kind of necessary precondition on our part? All true praying comes from God before it is made to God. ‘Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words' (Rom. 8:26). If we find ourselves praying in this way, it is likely that God’s work of reviving us—of actually raising us from the torpor of death—has already begun.

¹1 Brian H. Edwards, Can We Pray for Revival?, Evangelical Press, Darlington England, 2001, p. 10.

² Geoffrey Bingham, undated letter c. Sept. 1997, quoted in Stuart Piggin, Firestorm of the Lord, Paternoster Press, Carlisle UK, 2000, p. 150.

Newsletters–March 2010 and Special Letters May and July 2010

Property Matters

The Future of New Creation Teaching Ministry

Options to be Considered