Good enough?

I had happy memories when I was young but I also had unhappy ones. One of those occasions was school report times! I enjoyed exams mostly, but never the opening by my father of the school report envelope. These were sealed when we students were given them to be handed to our parents. My mother always handed mine to my father unopened.

I stood there in dread as I knew that whatever was written in the report would not be well received! This was not because they showed abject failure (OK maybe in physics!) but that they seemed from my father’s criticism to show that I wasn’t good enough. That feeling stayed with me for many years. It resulted in what psychologists call ‘Imposter syndrome’.

Imposter syndrome from a Christian perspective is a crisis of identity and belief where self-doubt stems from measuring personal worth by performance rather than by grace.It can be accentuated by measuring internal insecurities and hidden flaws against the polished outer lives of other believers or ministry leaders. This is not humility which acknowledges human limits but a self-focussed fear that ignores what God has actually done in the individual.

When we became a Christian, God put CHRIST in us through His Spirit and God put US in Christ. It is the miracle of new birth! We are changed from life in Adam to life in Christ. We are adopted from the family of Adam to the family of Jesus. The world, the flesh and the devil want us to believe that we aren’t good enough. But God says ‘There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus!’

We should stop asking ‘am I good enough?’ and start asking ‘is Christ good enough?’

No contest! Yes, I am a work in progress, but God sees me as complete in Jesus.

The old hymn has it, ‘Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. O what a foretaste of glory divine!

When you are tempted with imposter syndrome thinking ‘am I good enough?’ just remember Christ is, therefore you are.

Ian Jepps

Click on the links below to see previous messages

Where can we put our hope? Read more	Remembering those gone before Read more	Psalm 3: Jesus Foreshadowed Read more	All shall be well Read more	Do we need to plead? Read more	Holidays Read more
Trusting when Troubled Read more	A Book To Die For Read more	Written Warnings Read more	Will your anchor hold? Read more	Dolphins Read more	Facing the Future Read more

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

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Planning your Visit

New to Church?

Here at Brighton Road Baptist Church, you will always be welcome. So it doesn’t matter whether you’ve never been to church before or have been going all your life and want to try something different.

No-one cares how you're dressed, what you believe (or don’t believe), whether you’re over 60 or under 6, or something in between - you're welcome to join us if you're searching or just browsing.

Whatever your circumstances BRBC is a safe place to discover God's love.

We are an extended family made of all ages and a variety of backgrounds. We are single, married, divorced, widowed, happy, sad, confused, motivated, those with time on their hands and those with no time at all. The one thing we have in common is that we want to know more about the God who welcomes us all into his family. We look forward to welcoming you.

What to expect on a Sunday morning:

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10.30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will offer you a copy of our weekly newsletter.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10.30am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. We share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. Following this we have a time of sung and spoken worship. We typically have 2 or 3 songs lasting approximately 20 minutes. Often a person will pray out loud or read a small passage from the bible. Sometimes people share things that they believe God is saying to the whole church family. One of our leaders will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song. There is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service.

What about my kids?

For children under three, we have a Creche. Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/grown-up at all times.
For kids from 4-11, we have our Kid's Club, BRBK. Activities vary but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, songs and notices. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. Part way through the service, the leader will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups.

Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

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Getting Connected

Housegroups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our housegroups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Housegroups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

If you want to get in touch, or have any further questions, please contact us!