Transforming Priorities
By Dr Mike Townsend , Chair of Trustees
Mike preparing to speak at the event to celebrate our 20th anniversary - more events are planned for our 25th later this year
Through the Roof is 25 this year ! It says on our web site , we “ still have a vital mission ”. Our silver jubilee leads me to ask questions and reflect . What is that mission ? “ Transforming lives through Jesus with disabled people ” headlines what we are about . A teacher once questioned Jesus , “ Of all the commandments , which is the most important ?” We need to get our priorities right . Jesus answered , “ Love the Lord your God with all your heartand with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength .” Listening to The Queen ’ s accession speech of seventy years ago , I was struck by her declaration , “ I will serve with all my heart ”. Our decisions are made by our hearts . We need to choose daily to go God ’ s way by loving Him with ALL of our heart .
Many of us struggle with “ strength ” --our ability to live and love in life . The experience of lockdown has been tough . My daughter , Christine , works on the front line for the NHS in mental health . Her case load has tripled ! She hardly has time even to just phone the desperate clients . Healing of the mind is crucial . The teacher agreed that it is right to love God with all our heart , mind and strength . We at Through the Roof have a mission in these areas . But Jesus said , “ you are NOT FAR from the kingdom of heaven .” The teacher was not quite there yet . What did he miss ? It was ‘ Soul ’. The soul seems to be the seat of our emotions . “ Why are you cast down , o my soul ?” ( Psalm 42 5 ). Which way are our emotions leading us ? God wants to deliver our souls from death ( Psalm 116 8 ). He does not want us to turn our souls ( emotions ) to idols ( Psalm 24 4 ). The teacher was not yet ready to give his soul to God . As the Westminster Confession states , “ the chief end of ( humans ) is to know God and enjoy him forever .” We are a Christian disability charity , so our top priority is enabling people to enjoy a relationship with Jesus . Our area of operation is disabled people . “ Love your neighbour as yourself ” ( Mark 12 31 ). Our neighbours are people affected by disability . Our objective is to raise the profile of disabled people . “ Those who win souls are wise ” ( Proverbs 11 30 ). Developing that transformation among disabled people that only Jesus can bring remains our priority --even after 25 years .
Inspiration on Demand
Heidi and James Carter ’ s interview video with Roofbreaker Peter Higgins has proven to be a real hit on Facebook – they ’ re a young married couple , both with Down syndrome . Heidi has been campaigning to challenge the UK abortion law ’ s stance on foetuses with Down syndrome ( she campaigns under her given name , Crowter ), and the couple have recently started advocating for better health care advice and care for people who share their condition .
Heidi and James ’ interview is also up on our YouTube channel at youtube . com / user / throughtheroofuk , along with our most popular videos , the talks from our recent Roofbreaker events , interviews with Roofbreakers , blogs from Wheels trips and much more . Visit the page , enjoy a video , and subscribe for more !
Scan the QR code to go directly to our YouTube channel www . throughtheroof . org www . throughtheroof . org