A Sermon for the induction of Richard and Fran
Bellingham
to the Ministry at Camberley Baptist Church
18 January 2025
It’s such a joy to be here today for this special occasion,
as we welcome Richard and Fran into their new roles of ministry
here at Camberley Baptist Church.
An induction service is a significant moment,
not just for Richard and Fran, but for the whole church.
It’s a time of new beginnings, fresh possibilities,
and joyful anticipation of what God will do
among and through you all in the years ahead.
But it’s also a moment for honesty,
and I speak here as one with over a quarter of a century
of ordained ministry under my belt!
Ministry is rarely straightforward,
and neither is the life of a congregation.
Both are full of moments of beauty and blessing,
but also challenges and complexities.
Today’s reading from Luke’s Gospel is a stark reminder of this.
In Luke 4, we find Jesus at the very start of his public ministry,
fresh from his baptism and his time of testing in the wilderness.
His first sermon, delivered in his hometown synagogue,
begins with extraordinary promise:
“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
It’s a moment of supreme optimism and anticipation:
He’s announcing the arrival of the kingdom of God,
proclaiming good news to the poor, release for captives,
and the beginning of the year of the Lord’s favour.
It’s an electrifying moment, full of hope and excitement.
But as the sermon unfolds, the mood shifts.
The crowd goes from amazement to anger,
and before long, they’re driving Jesus to the edge of a cliff.
I’m hoping we don’t re-enact this particular biblical scene today!
The turn of the crowd’s move is a dramatic reversal,
and one that speaks to the heart of what it means to follow God’s call
—whether as ministers or as members of a congregation.
This story challenges us to consider what happens
when the message of God’s kingdom disrupts our expectations.
It invites us to think about how we respond
to the prophetic voices God places among us,
even when they make us uncomfortable.
And it reminds us that ministry,
whether it’s Jesus’ in Nazareth
or Richard and Fran’s here in Camberley,
is a calling to speak God’s truth
and to lead God’s people, even when it’s not easy.
As we reflect together on this story,
I hope we’ll hear not only its challenges but also its hope.
Because at its heart, this is a story
about the relentless, boundary-breaking love of God
—a love that refuses to stay confined to the familiar or the comfortable.
And it’s a love that calls each one of us, in our own way,
to join in the work of proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom,
here and now.
Richard and Fran,
today marks the beginning of a new chapter in your ministry,
one rooted in this place, among these people.
You’ve been called here to be ministers of the gospel,
to proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom,
and to lead this community in its mission
to embody Christ’s love in the world.
But as today’s reading reminds us,
the call to ministry is not always easy.
In Luke 4, Jesus announces his mission
in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth.
It’s a mission full of hope and liberation, and we know it well:
good news to the poor, freedom for the oppressed,
and the year of the Lord’s favour.
Who could argue with any of that?
But even as he speaks these gracious words,
the crowd’s mood begins to shift.
They recognise him—not as the prophet he is,
but as the child he once was,
as Joseph’s son, the carpenter’s boy.
And isn’t that one of the challenges of ministry?
When we are seen not as a title or a role
but as a human being,
complete with all the ordinariness that entails.
You’ll encounter moments when people will look to you
not so much for your leadership, or your words of wisdom,
but with disappointment born of shared humanity,
the weight of expectations and the burden of assumptions.
And yet, the call to ministry is not about meeting those expectations
—it’s about faithfulness to the God who has called you.
Ministry often requires a prophetic voice
—a willingness to speak the truth in love,
even when that truth is uncomfortable.
Like Jesus in Nazareth,
you may find that speaking this truth
sometimes stirs up resistance.
Prophets are not without honour except in their hometown,
or in their new church family, for that matter.
Sometimes it’s not so much contempt as indifference,
that comes from familiarity.
There will be times when the message God places on your hearts
might challenge this congregation to think differently,
to act boldly, to step out of its comfort zones.
But remember this:
prophetic ministry is not about being harsh or combative.
It’s about seeing as God sees
and speaking God’s truth with courage and grace.
It’s about being rooted in love
—love for God, love for the people you serve,
and love for the wider world God longs to redeem.
This congregation, too, has a prophetic role.
Your task as ministers is to nurture and equip the people here
to discern and live out their calling
—to be a prophetic community that challenges injustice,
cares for the vulnerable,
and embodies the kingdom of God in this place.
today marks the beginning of a new chapter in your ministry,
one rooted in this place, among these people.
You’ve been called here to be ministers of the gospel,
to proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom,
and to lead this community in its mission
to embody Christ’s love in the world.
But as today’s reading reminds us,
the call to ministry is not always easy.
In Luke 4, Jesus announces his mission
in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth.
It’s a mission full of hope and liberation, and we know it well:
good news to the poor, freedom for the oppressed,
and the year of the Lord’s favour.
Who could argue with any of that?
But even as he speaks these gracious words,
the crowd’s mood begins to shift.
They recognise him—not as the prophet he is,
but as the child he once was,
as Joseph’s son, the carpenter’s boy.
And isn’t that one of the challenges of ministry?
When we are seen not as a title or a role
but as a human being,
complete with all the ordinariness that entails.
You’ll encounter moments when people will look to you
not so much for your leadership, or your words of wisdom,
but with disappointment born of shared humanity,
the weight of expectations and the burden of assumptions.
And yet, the call to ministry is not about meeting those expectations
—it’s about faithfulness to the God who has called you.
Ministry often requires a prophetic voice
—a willingness to speak the truth in love,
even when that truth is uncomfortable.
Like Jesus in Nazareth,
you may find that speaking this truth
sometimes stirs up resistance.
Prophets are not without honour except in their hometown,
or in their new church family, for that matter.
Sometimes it’s not so much contempt as indifference,
that comes from familiarity.
There will be times when the message God places on your hearts
might challenge this congregation to think differently,
to act boldly, to step out of its comfort zones.
But remember this:
prophetic ministry is not about being harsh or combative.
It’s about seeing as God sees
and speaking God’s truth with courage and grace.
It’s about being rooted in love
—love for God, love for the people you serve,
and love for the wider world God longs to redeem.
This congregation, too, has a prophetic role.
Your task as ministers is to nurture and equip the people here
to discern and live out their calling
—to be a prophetic community that challenges injustice,
cares for the vulnerable,
and embodies the kingdom of God in this place.
While Richard and Fran
have been called to lead,
ministry is never a solo endeavour.
It is always rooted in the life of a community
—a people gathered by God to be the body of Christ in the world.
Today’s induction service is a reminder of that.
Richard and Fran are being set apart for particular roles,
but their ministry will only flourish as part of a shared commitment
to God’s mission here in Camberley.
In Luke 4, we see a tension
between Jesus and his hometown community.
These were the people who had watched him grow up,
shared meals with his family,
and prayed alongside him in the synagogue.
Yet when he stood before them,
proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favour,
they couldn’t see past their own preconceptions.
“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked,
as if his familiarity disqualified him
from speaking prophetically into their lives.
This tension isn’t unique to Nazareth.
It’s a challenge that every faith community faces.
How do we respond to the people God calls to lead us,
especially when their message stretches or unsettles us?
And how do we, as a church, support our leaders in their ministry
while also recognising that we share
in the responsibility for the mission of God?
The role of the community is crucial.
Ministry is not something Richard and Fran will do to, or for, this congregation;
it is something they will do with you.
It’s a partnership, a shared journey of discernment,
where ministers and congregation listen together for God’s voice,
seek God’s vision, and work together to make that vision a reality.
This requires trust. It requires humility.
And it requires a willingness to embrace the prophetic voices among you
—not just Richard and Fran’s voices,
but also the quieter voices of those on the margins,
those who might see the world differently
or ask uncomfortable questions.
Community is where prophetic ministry comes alive.
It’s in the worship you offer together,
the conversations you have over coffee,
the decisions you make in meetings,
and the ways you serve the wider world.
It’s in your willingness to encourage one another,
to challenge one another,
and to hold one another accountable to the gospel of Christ.
ministry is never a solo endeavour.
It is always rooted in the life of a community
—a people gathered by God to be the body of Christ in the world.
Today’s induction service is a reminder of that.
Richard and Fran are being set apart for particular roles,
but their ministry will only flourish as part of a shared commitment
to God’s mission here in Camberley.
In Luke 4, we see a tension
between Jesus and his hometown community.
These were the people who had watched him grow up,
shared meals with his family,
and prayed alongside him in the synagogue.
Yet when he stood before them,
proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favour,
they couldn’t see past their own preconceptions.
“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked,
as if his familiarity disqualified him
from speaking prophetically into their lives.
This tension isn’t unique to Nazareth.
It’s a challenge that every faith community faces.
How do we respond to the people God calls to lead us,
especially when their message stretches or unsettles us?
And how do we, as a church, support our leaders in their ministry
while also recognising that we share
in the responsibility for the mission of God?
The role of the community is crucial.
Ministry is not something Richard and Fran will do to, or for, this congregation;
it is something they will do with you.
It’s a partnership, a shared journey of discernment,
where ministers and congregation listen together for God’s voice,
seek God’s vision, and work together to make that vision a reality.
This requires trust. It requires humility.
And it requires a willingness to embrace the prophetic voices among you
—not just Richard and Fran’s voices,
but also the quieter voices of those on the margins,
those who might see the world differently
or ask uncomfortable questions.
Community is where prophetic ministry comes alive.
It’s in the worship you offer together,
the conversations you have over coffee,
the decisions you make in meetings,
and the ways you serve the wider world.
It’s in your willingness to encourage one another,
to challenge one another,
and to hold one another accountable to the gospel of Christ.
Richard and Fran, your calling to ministry here at Camberley Baptist Church
is a prophetic one.
Like Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth,
you are tasked with proclaiming good news to the poor,
freedom for the oppressed,
and the year of the Lord’s favour.
It’s a beautiful, hopeful, and transformative mission
—but it’s also a challenging one.
Prophetic ministry is not about predicting the future;
it’s about seeing the present through God’s eyes
and inviting others to imagine a world as it could be under God’s reign.
It’s about asking difficult questions,
challenging systems of injustice,
and calling people to align their lives more fully with the kingdom of God.
This is the heart of the ministry you are stepping into together,
here in this community.
Camberley Baptist Church is full of potential
to be a beacon of light and hope in this town.
There are people here who are longing
for connection, truth, and transformation.
Some may already be part of this congregation;
others are out there in the community,
waiting to see how God might use this church
to make a difference in their lives.
Your mission is to help this congregation
discern how they are called to meet those needs,
to be a prophetic voice of love and justice in Camberley and beyond.
But this will take courage.
As we saw in Nazareth, prophetic voices are not always warmly received.
Sometimes the hardest thing to do
is to invite people to see the world differently,
to challenge comfortable assumptions,
or to confront hard truths.
There may be times when the call to prophetic ministry
feels like a lonely road.
But remember this: you are not walking it alone.
You have each other.
You have the support of the wider Baptist family.
And most importantly, you have the presence of the Spirit,
who equips and strengthens you for this task.
One of the most striking things about today’s reading from Luke
is the way Jesus disrupts the expectations of his audience.
At first, the people of Nazareth are a bit proud of him,
in a slightly condescending way:
—“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they say,
marvelling at his words.
But their pride quickly turns to anger
when Jesus challenges their assumptions.
He reminds them that God’s mission has always been bigger than Israel,
pointing to Elijah’s work with the widow in Zarephath
and Elisha’s healing of Naaman the Syrian.
What angered them wasn’t just that Jesus was calling them to change
—it was that he was calling them to see the world differently.
He was challenging their belief
that God’s blessings were reserved for them,
their community, their nation.
He was inviting them into a bigger vision,
one where the boundaries they had drawn no longer held.
And that same challenge comes to us today.
God’s vision for the church, for Camberley Baptist,
for Richard and Fran’s ministry,
is far bigger than we often allow ourselves to imagine.
It stretches beyond our walls, beyond our comfort zones,
and beyond the limits we place on what we think is possible.
This church has the potential to reflect that bigger vision.
As you partner with Richard and Fran in ministry,
you are called to embody the boundless love of God
—a love that crosses boundaries of race, class,
nationality, and background.
—a love that transcends all the barriers of identity
that keep people from each other and from God.
You are called to be a community that welcomes the stranger,
uplifts the vulnerable, and proclaims the good news
of Jesus Christ in both word and deed.
But this isn’t easy.
Like the people of Nazareth, we all have our boundaries,
our assumptions, and our comfort zones.
Part of Richard and Fran’s ministry
will be to help you see beyond those boundaries
—to challenge you, to encourage you,
and to guide you into a fuller understanding
of what it means to live out God’s kingdom.
And the good news is that God goes with you in this.
The Spirit who anointed Jesus to proclaim good news to the poor
is the same Spirit who anoints and empowers Richard, Fran,
and every member of this church.
With God’s Spirit at work,
the possibilities for what you can achieve together are endless.
Today is a day of celebration, of hope, and of commissioning.
Richard and Fran, you are stepping into a prophetic ministry here in Camberley,
one that will call for courage, wisdom, and deep love.
You are here to lead, to challenge, to encourage, and to nurture.
And you are not alone.
This congregation is here to walk with you, to pray for you,
and to join you in the work of building God’s kingdom in this place.
Together, you have the opportunity to be a community
that reflects God’s bigger vision
—a vision of justice, mercy, and boundless grace.
And to the congregation,
as you welcome Richard and Fran into this new chapter,
may you open your hearts to the Spirit’s leading.
Be ready to listen, to be challenged,
and to dream bigger dreams
for what God might do in and through you.
The year of the Lord’s favour is not just something
Jesus proclaimed long ago in Nazareth
—it’s something that is here and now.
God’s kingdom is breaking in among us,
and we are invited to be part of that work.
So may you go forward together with courage and hope,
trusting in the God who calls, equips,
and goes with you every step of the way.
And may you proclaim with your lives the good news
that today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
Amen.
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