A bit of a disaster!

My reflection at the moment is on what happens when things go wrong! Our Christmas Hub basically didn't happen. There are 'political' issues at the shop which are not good, and lots of my time has been spent in a listening ear capacity supporting the manager and assistant. We had planned to do a Christmas Hub with mince pies and coffee (in cups with lids on!), Christmas music and a few freebies. The manager is on long term sick after an workrelated injury (just one of the issues) and the covering manager gave us a frosty reception (maybe she was just being festive), so we decided to just be around and keep things low key. There was no coffee, mince pies or carols. We did give out some candles with a Christmas message about the fragrance of Jesus filling your house at Christmas time, which seemed to go down well. The non-event was nobody's fault but it did set me thinking about spiritual warfare. Being a good Salvationist who was been brought up on theology about waging war against sin and rescuing the sinner, this came quite naturally. But I did discover I had a new perspective. The enemy suddenly appeared to be very real, actively trying to prevent not just the event, but destroying some relationships we have spent months trying to build. Things are going abit wrong, as I say not just with the Hub but with some situations around the shop in general which are causing serious concern especially in terms of mission. We need to be aware of where the attack is ultimately coming from - not from people's pettiness, but from a source that does not want emerging church to happen. However, there is a positive side - if we are under attack what we are doing must have potential for the Kingdom of God - and Calvary reminds us we are on the winning side.