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A few days ago, Sue and I shared a meal with some friends. We hadn't seen them for quite some time, and it was great to catch up with news and to renew a long standing friendship. Our conversations during the evening covered a whole range if issues - politics, football, family, mutual acquaintances, work, and matters of faith. One thing which our friend, Ray, said has been going over in my mind ever since. He was talking about some words which Jesus said to his disciples not long before he left them. His words come at the end of Matthew's gospel, and are often called "The Great Commission". Jesus said to his disciples, 'go into all the world and make disciples.' The command seems clear enough - GO. The problem is, said Ray, that the Church has turned the command on its head and changed it to "COME".
The more I thought about it, the more I realised that he is absolutely right. We in the Church are so often talking about how we can encourage people to come and join us, when in fact Jesus never said anything about that. Instead, he talked about his disciples making a difference in their daily lives in the world as they live for him and demonstrate his love. Instead of keeping hidden in our buildings, we are called to be out in the world shining with the light of God's love!
One of the new ventures which I have been privileged to be involved in recently is "Prayer4Healing" or "Healing on the Streets". There are a number of groups around the country which are regularly engaged in this form of ministry. On the last Saturday morning of each month, Christians from 3 Doncaster churches, including my own, come together to offer prayer for healing for members of our town centre community. What we tell people is that there is no cost, and they have nothing to lose and lots to gain! We have only been going for 4 or 5 sessions so far, but already we have been able to pray with a good number of people. Above all, we are trying to let people know how much God loves them.
It's time that we as Church remembered what Jesus actually said. Hopefully as we do live out the kind of life to which Jesus calls us in our daily lives, this will encourage people to want to come and join us. But it has to start with "Go", not "Come"!!
For fans of Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Hull City and Sunderland, yesterday was a nerve-jangling, anxiety inducing and gut-wrenching experience. For two of the clubs, Hull and Sunderland, it was ultimately a day to rejoice, with both teams having retained their status as Premiership teams. For fans of Newcastle and Middlesbrough, however, it was tears and sadness as both teams were relegated to the Championship. With that comes not only a loss of status, but a tremendous reduction in income.
For people who are not really interested in football (like my wife!), it might be difficult to understand the raw emotions experiences by football fans at a time like this. But as the Match of the Day cameras revealed, the trauma of relegation can bring many fans to tears - it means that much to them. Though I have the privilege of being chaplain to Doncaster Rovers, Hull City is the team which I have supported since being a very young boy. I was therefore highly delighted that, although the team lost yesterday, they stay in the Premiership thanks to the fact that Newcastle were also defeated.
One of the most famous managers in my lifetime was Bill Shankley, who managed Liverpool to many triumphs. He once famously stated, "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death ... I can assure you it is much more important than that." Was Shankley right? Is football really that important? I am a football fan and I love the game, but even I know that there are some things which are far more important than football!
Listen to the words of Barry Miller, former captain of Doncaster Rovers, as he reflects on Shankley's comment: "I used to agree with this statement, but then I realised that there were more important things than football. What happens when I die? Is there a Heaven and Hell? Is Jesus real? I found answers to those questions, and now know that there is nothing more important than having a relationship with Jesus, and experiencing life in all its fullness (John 10.10), which includes being loved unconditionally."
Football is a great game, and I love being involved in football. But knowing Jesus is so much greater. Nothing is more important than that.
The media frenzy of recent days surrounding revelations of MP's exaggerated expense claims shows no signs of abating. Day after day we have been receiving new information of how some of those elected to offer leadership appear to have gone way over the top in claiming their expenses. The nation is up in arms about it, and there is no shortage of people willing to decry MPs and say how wicked they all are.
Some MPs, of course, have tried to maintain a low profile, in the hope that the fuss might be over before they are called to account. Some, however, have agreed to be interviewed. Almost without exception, MPs seem to cite two main reasons why this thing has happened:
1. The system is to blame. They all seem to agree that the system is in need of radical overhaul. One wonders, however, how many of them would have called for an overhaul of the system if all this had not become public knowledge? Many seemed happy enough to go along with it until recently.
2. I made a mistake. "An accounting error" was how one MP described it! Of course we all make mistakes, but some of the so-called mistakes appear to be rather serious ones. If I make a mistake by driving though a red traffic light I would still have to face the consequences!
It seems to me that what we really need in our leaders is that they be people of integrity. The dictionary definition of integrity is "adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty." We need to be able to trust what they say. As Jesus himself said, 'let your yes be yes and your no, no.' We have local and European elections coming shortly. It is our chance to try to identify the people of integrity and support them.
The other element of all this is which seems to have been overlooked is the fact that there is an element of hypocrisy in some of the criticism which has been flying around. Fiddling expenses is not a phenomenon restricted to MPs! I vividly remember that as a young person starting out in the world of work I was under very strong pressure from work colleagues to exaggerate claims for overtime. They were worried that if I claimed the correct amount of overtime, questions would be asked about their much greater figures! It was no easy task as a follower of Jesus to stick to my principles and maintain my integrity. So yes, it is right that we hold our MPs to account and point out where they may have overstepped the mark. But at the same time we all need to examine our own conduct. Integrity is a quality to be looked for in our MPs, but it is also a quality which we all should seek to nurture.
For some years now, my daughter, Steph, and I have gone out early two or three mornings a week to jog round our local green space. In fact, for some years we tried entering for the London Marathon, but (perhaps fortunately) we were never accepted. Often it's a bit of a struggle to summon up the desire to go out, especially on freezing cold, wet mornings. And Steph is usually even more reluctant than I am! However, the mere fact that we have made the commitment to each other, and we know that by not going we would let the other one down, is a good motivator. And it's certainly much easier to jog when you have a companion running alongside you!
When Steph left home two or three years ago, it made things a little more complicated, but as she only lives about a mile away, we arranged that we would meet up about half way and then jog together before heading home again. The whole circuit usually takes about half an hour (not long, I know).
Steph's route takes her through a nearby park, which is nicely laid out with colourful flower beds etc. The other morning I set off a little early, so got to the park before Steph. I was deeply saddened to see that someone had decided to rip out some of the bedding plants and scatter them around. It was utterly pointless vandalism: destruction for the sake of destruction (see the image above).
God has given us a beautiful world. Nature is truly amazing. The Bible tells us that God put human beings in charge of the world, to care for and be good stewards of God's creation. Men and women have such a potential for good. Yet, sadly, we also see much evidence today of the destructive side of human nature. How much better if we lived in God's way - to build up instead of pull down, to love instead of hate, to give instead of always taking. Each of must make our own choice - no one else can make it for us!
A couple of weeks ago I attended a conference organised by Global Awakening in Southampton. The conference focused in the healing ministry to which Jesus calls his disciples. The issues of mission and revival were also addressed. I felt tremendously blessed to have been there. I am still processing some of the things I saw and heard!
The conference took place at the Central Hall, Southampton, a building with a fascinating and inspiring history.
There are so many elements of the conference which I could write about: the amazing worship times, the unity of around 800 Christians gathered from around the UK and abroad, the very real sense of God's presence, the lives which were touched by God's healing power, the hunger for God amongst those present, the abundance of young Christians on fire for God, the excellent teaching from Randy Clark, Bill Johnson and Leif Hetland, I could go on...
But perhaps above all, for me, was the powerful reminder that God is on the move! Living in the UK, we so often hear stories of declining church attendances, closing church buildings etc., and some have even stated the belief that the church is in terminal decline in this country. At the conference we heard and saw much evidence that the global picture is so different - in many places around the world men, women and children are turning to Jesus Christ is amazing numbers, sometimes in the least expected places! The fires of revival are burning strong!
So what about the UK? The good news is that there are clear signs that God is working here, too! There is a new hunger for the things of God, and many Christians are coming awake to the possibilities when God's people are fully committed to him and open to the renewing work of his Spirit.
Jesus came to set captives free: to proclaim the Kingdom and heal the sick. He calls his people to do the same in the authority which he has given. There are many people in our communities who are spiritually hungry and searching for true meaning to life. When they see God's people living out the true Kingdom lifestyle, and when they experience God's love and power, their eyes will be open to the wonderful reality that Jesus is alive! I am so excited about what God is doing and wants to do. My prayer is that I will see what he is doing and get involved. When we give our lives to him, he can do amazing things through ordinary people.
God is on the move - are you ready?
A few days ago, Sue and I shared a meal with some friends. We hadn't seen them for quite some time, and it was great to catch up with news and to renew a long standing friendship. Our conversations during the evening covered a whole range if issues - politics, football, family, mutual acquaintances, work, and matters of faith. One thing which our friend, Ray, said has been going over in my mind ever since. He was talking about some words which Jesus said to his disciples not long before he left them. His words come at the end of Matthew's gospel, and are often called "The Great Commission". Jesus said to his disciples, 'go into all the world and make disciples.' The command seems clear enough - GO. The problem is, said Ray, that the Church has turned the command on its head and changed it to "COME".
