Adrian: Following on from my interview with Richard Cunningham before Christmas, it is a delight for me to welcome Maurice McCracken who works for uccf:thechristianunions co-ordinating Relay a year long discipleship and training scheme for recent graduates. “Mo” also occasionally blogs here which he was too modest to tell me about (thanks to Bish for the tip off!)
First, welcome to the blog Maurice please could you tell us a little bit about yourself.
Maurice: Thanks for the welcome! I was raised in a fantastic Christian home in Northern Ireland and came to England for university, where I studied law, and later worked in Community Development. My Christian faith really kicked in at university, as it does for so many people, and I grew a passion for teaching people God’s word and especially training other people to do that. This led me to work for UCCF, first as a staff worker with six CUs in the North West of England, and from August 2005 as Relay Co-ordinator. I’m also part of a church leadership team, and I am infamous for my bad taste in cheesy pop music.
Adrian: Can you tell us a bit about your role with UCCF and the role of the Relay workers?
Maurice: Relay is a scheme that we run for recent graduates. It’s tagline is discipleship and training in a student context which just about sums it up! Relay workers spend an academic year with us on a voluntary basis, being discipled and trained in ministry skills, working alongside a CU staff worker, and gaining experience in Christian work by working with CUs. They also spend a significant amount of time in personal study.
I co-ordinate the Relay scheme, which means I am responsible for the Relay Workers training including three residential conferences, and making sure they are supervised properly. I am also in charge of recruitment, and I do a bit of work with CUs as well just where I can help out really.
Adrian: There are lots of options for graduates taking a year to do Christian work. Is there anything distinctive about Relay?
Maurice: Well, there are lots of great schemes out there. Relay has three main emphases. The first is grace we teach and try to model that the life of a Christian servant is rooted in grace, and that it is by trusting grace that God changes us.
Second the Bible. UCCF has always been a Biblio-centric movement and that is reflected clearly in Relay. Much of the training centres on understanding, teaching and applying the Bible, and their ministry experience will involve explaining the Bible at levels appropriate for them personally: giving talks, one to one discipleship, evangelism training small group leaders etc.
Third relationships. Relay is built around a strong, grace-centred discipling relationship between the Relay worker and their staff worker where we seek to see grace modelled and provide training and feedback on the Relay worker’s Bible ministry. Relay workers are always part of a regional or office team too, with the staff and other relay Workers in their area.
Adrian: What kind of people are you looking for to become Relay workers?
Maurice: Anyone who loves God and his Gospel, who is committed to an evangelical Christian faith, who wants to work within UCCF’s ministry model and who is willing to learn.
In terms of personality, church background, gifts and personality, there is no typical Relay worker. I nearly said there is no normal Relay worker there which would probably also be true. Most of the available places would be for someone interested in developing skills in Bible teaching, although we also have several office internships design, media and web for any graduates interested in a year being discipled and also gaining experience in that type of field.
Adrian: Are there particular doctrinal positions that people need to hold to? What about charismatics for example, should they apply? What about those who disagree with penal substitution?
The core text the Relay workers use for doctrine study would take a charismatic line on the gifts issue, but not everyone on staff or Relay would agree with it we can live with that with no problems!
One thing I would say is that Relay is for people who are willing to work within that type of context everything will not be done the way that any individual’s church might do things no matter what type of background they come from. Part of the scheme is about learning to work with and learn from people who agree on essentials the cross, the Bible, evangelism but who may disagree with you on other things. We try to create a safe environment to talk about all that stuff at Relay conferences, in the context of good friendships and shared Gospel convictions.
Adrian: What about people who are committed to a church and want to continue to work in that area. Would it be possible that the UCCF might agree to such a request or is it essential to you that people move to where you want to place them?
Maurice: We would always consider this type of request positively, but it all depends on the opportunities for supervision as we need to have enough staff in a region to supervise Relay workers on the ground. So we’ll try!
Adrian: Can you tell us a little bit about the process people need to go through to apply?
Maurice: People can request an information or application pack at our website. www.uccf.org.uk/relay . This doesn’t commit you to anything, and gives a whole stack of information, plus letters for church leaders, and all the materials needed to apply. You then need to submit the form to UCCF by 28th February. There will be a period for references to be collected and interviews in the potential placement region before appointments are made. The easiest thing is probably for people who are interested to request a pack, and to drop us a line on [email protected] telling us where they are interested in working just to give us an idea of levels of interest. (Ed- please tell them you saw it here!)
Adrian: How do UCCF workers interact with local churches which have a large student work?
Maurice: I have a vested interest in this question, as I am on the leadership team of a church with a large number of students. One of the ways we have begun to think of CUs over the last few years within UCCF is as mission teams and that I think that is a useful model not as students main source of spiritual welfare, but a resource to reach campuses with the Gospel.
UCCF workers will, therefore, always encourage students to be a committed part of a local church, more than just a pew-filler, and to be looking for ways to be plugged in to loving other Christians, serving and learning. Exactly how that relationship works will be pretty dynamic from place to place when I worked across 6 campuses, there were some with several supportive churches, but there were a couple with none at all and so obviously the CU/church relationship varied in those places.
I think that what I am saying is this that as someone who is in church leadership (albeit not full time) and with a strong doctrine of the local church, I feel assured that those I work with in the fellowship and those I am training on Relay are sharing that high view in their encounters with students.
Adrian: What things can local churches do to help facilitate the work of the UCCF?
Maurice: Lots! Chronologically (as such) please train your teenagers to share the Gospel before they get to uni and send them off seeing it as a mission opportunity and encourage them to see the CU as part of that missionary effort.
When you have students in your church well I think for us at my church it has been about trying to release people into that area of ministry and resource them in it in much the same way we do with people in the workplace. That does mean that our students aren’t involved in as much mid-week as our other members, as they are meeting to pray and study the Bible on campus but we try to think of them as missionaries there who we support like our other mission partners.
Churches can do loads of other practical things discipling students who are involved in CU in one-to-one relationships, praying (contact your local staff worker, they would LOVE to come and tell your church about the work of CUs) pastor and teach your students, love them, and keep in touch with the work locally, so students and UCCF staff know that they have an army of supportive and praying Christians behind their mission! Certainly for my church this has meant seeing that for the time that people are undergrads we see less of them, and they are around less to resource our activities as a church but we hope and pray and encourage them that it is a long term investment for the sake of God’s wider church.
Adrian: I’m afraid tha’s all we’ve got time for today, many thanks for joining us.
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