From the April-June 2007 Issue
Affluenza virus hits Ireland
Gerard and Mary Flynn
Waterford Clock Tower
The nation
Today Ireland is close to full employment, and is witnessing large-scale immigration. A generation ago we sent our citizens abroad in search of employment; now we send our funds abroad in search of investment opportunities. We have left behind poverty (for the moment, at least), our public coffers are awash with the revenue of economic activity and we are producing some of the super rich.
“Studies” have placed us at the top of the European happiness list (this because of the importance of family values in Irish society)...but we are beginning to sense the winds of change. There are signs that confected wants, as opposed to genuine needs, encouraged by advertising and motivated by what the neighbours have, may be driving lifestyles more than formerly; having is becoming more important than being. To pay the mortgage and make ends meet in a high-cost economy both husband and wife are forced into the workplace, and a new industry has grown up to help ease their burden. A wide range of pre-cooked packaged meals, pre-peeled potatoes, etc, have appeared on the shelves of our supermarkets and are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Not one of us, of course, wants to turn back the clock. However, these changes have sparked soul-searching questions, e.g., “Now that we are well-off, are we really any happier?” and “With our increased prosperity are we just ending up feeling less content and more pressurised?” We may well have caught, to use a phrase coined by Oliver James, the “affluenza virus”. Among the symptoms of this condition is the materialistic quest for fame and for more and better “things”, all of which lead, we are told, to a diminishing sense of community, to depression and to addictions.
Affluence, not surprisingly, is producing a moral vacuum. The Roman Catholic Church, which has been hit by a number of recent scandals, has suffered a significant blow to its standing. People, especially the young, are turning their backs on the religion of their forefathers in favour of “spiritualities” that are relative and tolerant, where everything and anything is OK, as long as you don’t try to impose your views on anyone else. Those with evangelical zeal, who thought the Roman Catholic Church was the major obstacle to the gospel in Ireland, may well discover that the emerging affluence, coupled with increasing secularism, is an even more formidable obstacle. Reports reach us that, even in the north of this island, the Protestant community is becoming hard towards the gospel. It appears that the commission of Isaiah (Is. 6:9), to preach God’s word to a people who would not listen, is relevant throughout our land today.
As a nation we are putting our trust in our assets and bank balances. We are seeking material possessions more than we are seeking God. We are becoming more and more like the rich fool of Luke 12:13-21, who, tickled by the success of his labours, was consumed with the prospect of managing the fruit of his increase, and consequently had no thought for God. We are laying up treasure on earth, where rust and moth consume; we are not laying up treasure in heaven. Many of us are headed down a path where we may well regret that in our efforts to build bigger barns, we were not rich towards God. The country needs to learn that we cannot serve both God and wealth (Matt. 6:24).
The church
The Baptist Church in Waterford was established in 1650. The chapel we currently use was built in 1910. Emerging roof-leaks and wall-cracks bear testimony to the fact that the building is almost a century old! We have been four years now without a full-time pastor. We did not envisage that scenario at the time of Roy and Jean Hamilton’s departure. Time has slipped by… We neither planned nor wished things to be as they are. We await the Lord, and His provision.
One of the consequences of being without a pastor is that, over time, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the pulpit for three meetings a week. Along with some visiting preachers, who travel to help out, a number of men from within the church preach regularly. We do appreciate the assistance of our visitors, as do we appreciate those people and churches that have taken an interest in praying for us. We appreciate the ongoing interest of EMF. Indeed, from time to time, we meet folk from far away who are able to discuss aspects of life in Waterford Baptist Church from reports that they have read in Vision of Europe.
We enjoy quite a close link with Clonmel Baptist Church, which is an hour’s drive away. The men of both the Clonmel and Waterford Baptist churches regularly meet under the direction of Matthew Brennan, pastor at Clonmel, for study. For some months, at the rate of two chapters per meeting, we have been looking at a book by Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.
We were heartened by several events towards the end of 2006. First, two of the young women among us expressed a strong wish to conduct regular Sunday school classes. Their desire is to serve the Lord and to impart to the younger ones a love for the Lord. The children, and their parents, have greatly appreciated the efforts of these two women. Second, we were treated to one of those lovely moments in a church with the engagement of a couple who have both been among us for a number of years now. We thank the Lord that He will have another family in the locality where His name will be honoured.
In recent times a number of missionaries have arrived in the Waterford area and a number of new churches/fellowships have been established. (In the last couple of months I have seen a mini-bus with “Missionary” in bold print on the rear. It appears that a Nigerian Pentecostal church has sent a man to Waterford. One assumes that his primary target group is the not insignificant Nigerian community in this locality.) While I do not have international statistics to support the proposition, it seems beyond doubt that, with regard to those who put themselves in the category of Christian Worker/Missionary, Waterford and its surrounds is among those places in the world with an above average concentration. Since I last wrote, the church has seen a few moves from among our ranks across town to one or other of these new churches. Our current Sunday morning attendance, including children, would be between twenty and thirty-five.
May God’s grace prevail in our hearts during 2007. Whatever may befall us, may His will be done and His name be glorified.