Living hope

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15

Just over 100 years ago, looking forward to the 20th century, Thomas Hardy heard the song of a frail thrush on a bleak mid-winter evening. He wrote:


So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.

Hope. Surely we, too, have few grounds for hope. In spite of the vast technological progress of the past century, in spite of unprecedented prosperity, people are more depressed, the inequalities of the world are as great, resentment and envy breed hatred and potentially apocalyptic terrorism, and a new economic crisis threatens our comfortable lives. Most people, particularly in the West, seem to be deeply pessimistic about the future, often hidden behind a mask of cynicism.

And yet it is hope that Peter describes here as the distinctive mark of the Christian, a mark so distinctive that it will arouse curiosity and elicit questions. Always, he writes, be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

So what is Christian hope? Peter is clear about its origin: we are born again, he declares, into a living hope, into a heavenly inheritance (1:3-4). This is not just pie in the sky when I die: it is based on the historical fact of Jesus' resurrection, and on the merciful character of God. But it is far more than the individual assurance of salvation. It embraces the whole world. It is a hope that God can change individuals and that through them he can change societies; that God has good purposes for people and nations; and that eventually he will make all things new.

What is it that makes you different? That's a question that we shall never hear while we affect the cynicism of those who, being without God, are also without hope. Perhaps being prepared to give an answer doesn't involve a prepared formula for presenting the gospel, but a spontaneous response from a heart overflowing with hope.

Helen Parry LICC

God in Everything

Thanks to Roger Johnson for this:

I’ve just returned from a staff meeting where the opening devotions centred upon the theme ‘God in Everything’. People shared how they had experienced God in the simple, everyday things of life. We reflected upon our journey to the meeting and the way in which we had been surprised by a special moment in which God’s presence came upon us unexpectedly.

For some it was a smile shared with a complete stranger at the petrol station or when walking in the street - for another it was a sudden flash of sunlight on a desolate landscape – for another it was sad news being received in a gentle and warm manner.

Many books have been written about the way God has shown up at the most unexpected moments – a time of depression, a time of bereavement or a similar time of struggle when we felt that God was distant. It’s not that God plays ‘hide and seek’ with us but rather that our expectation of God’s presence is too closely tied up with good times and not difficult times. The Bible is full of divine encounters which happened when people were at a low ebb – Elijah in the cave, Job assailed by disasters, Simon Peter after the resurrection beside the Sea of Galilee – you can probably add many more.

Sometimes God breaks in to our lives in strange incidents which only become meaningful months or years later. I remember when I was a very young Christian that I was in a Christian bookshop in Cambridge. As I browsed the shelves I knocked a book on the floor. As I stooped down to pick it up, although I knew nothing about it, I felt compelled to buy it. The book was ‘The Imitation of Christ’ by Thomas à Kempis. It was only later as I started to benefit from these ancient meditations that I realised I was treading a well-worn path.

As some of us will be winding down for a summer break, perhaps this is a time to ask God to reveal himself to us in new ways which will energise us when we return in September. The photo at the top of this bulletin* is a reminder of the beauty, harmony and intricacy of nature – something which, if only we take the time to observe, is rich with revelations of God’s nature. Jesus was constantly pointing people to natural things around them when explaining the truth about the Kingdom of God – a man sowing seeds, yeast in the bread, mustard seeds, birds of the air and so forth. Indeed he helped us to realise that the Kingdom of God, rather than being ‘otherworldly’ can be experienced in the ‘here and now’.

Stephen Cottrell in his recent book ‘Do nothing to change your life’ advocates regularly switching off and doing nothing for three minutes in order to experience God’s presence in your life. He stood on a London station giving out egg-timers to help people to do this.

There’s no better time than on holiday to practice the discipline of seeking God in the unexpected and everyday moments of life.

*the photo is mine, not Roger's, and shows part of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path West of Cardigan

Driven to Distraction?

Youngest daughter is currently learning how to drive. I hope she passes her test sooner rather than later !!

Teresa Clarke finally passed her driving test this week - after 27 years. It was the thirteenth test she had taken, after a total of 450 hours of tuition, at a cost of £15,000. Naturally, she was delighted; or, as her relieved driving instructor put it, 'she went absolutely bananas.' Well, wouldn't you, after 27 years?

Truth is that many of us would have given up long before. However, despite all the setbacks she encountered, Mrs Clarke insists that she, 'never wanted to give up learning to drive.' The primary reason why her success is newsworthy is because such perseverance is a rare thing in our 'instant society'.

Perseverance, of course, is the hallmark of true discipleship (Luke 9:62). However, in seeking to demonstrate the relevance of the Gospel to contemporary culture, we need to be careful not to create the impression that culture is the authority that authenticates the Gospel. Rather, as those believing in the divine authority of Scripture, we should seek to help people view culture through the lens of a biblical worldview, in order that they see things for what they really are.

In the case of Mrs Clarke this means celebrating her achievement for what it is - perseverance in passing her driving test - but steering clear of the temptation to interpret it as what it is not - an object lesson in persevering in discipleship. We don't need Mrs Clarke passing her driving test to teach us to persevere in discipleship - Jesus does that in the Bible. However, Mrs Clarke is an example of the difference a commitment to a biblical worldview makes in everyday life.

Mrs Clarke, you see, is a committed Christian, and it is in this context that her perseverance in learning to drive should be understood. 'I'm looking forward to taking people to church, to not having to ask my husband to take me shopping and to going to see my daughters', she commented after passing her test. Her perseverance in learning to drive was motivated by a desire to serve others, relieve them of their burdens, and be a blessing to them. These are thoroughly biblical values - testimony that Mrs Clarke's faith has informed her thinking as regards what's worth persevering with in life. In our 'instant society' she refused to 'conform to the pattern of this world', but was 'transformed by the renewing of [her] mind' (Romans 12:2).
What do our ongoing commitments say about our perseverance in the faith?
Nigel Hopper (LICC)

Take it to the Streets

On Wednesday Church Leaders from Scunthorpe met with Les Isaac, founder of 'Street Pastors' in the UK.
Arrangements are under way to train and introduce Street Pastors in Scunthorpe, probably on Friday and Saturday nights, maybe as soon as Christmas.
Watch this space for more info.

Today I got this article from LICC (Godincidence!)

Being a policeman is not an easy task. Take the other night, for example; the PC visiting the youth group I help out with had the unenviable task of giving a talk on police policy for stopping and searching young people. A fairly routine PR exercise for the boys in blue, but in this instance the speaker knew not only that many of the youths had first hand experience of being stopped and searched, but also that it was he who had carried out those searches.

Talk about making yourself vulnerable to criticism.

And, of course, this wasn't just a routine chat. In the light of 17 deaths due to knife crime in the capital alone this year, stop and searches will become more frequent; so improved dialogue between young people and the police is an extremely positive step.

But there is another solution to seeing crime on our streets reduced: flip-flops.

This is the story of a Christian woman who carries flip-flops around in her handbag. She has done so ever since meeting an inebriated young woman on the streets at pub and club turnout time (when the potential for violence is at its highest), who'd lost those fancy, but ever so flimsy high heels she was wearing. So the Christian woman resolved that whenever she went out at night in future, she would take a supply of flip-flops, to help revellers in a similar state get home safely.

Of course, this woman wasn't alone; she was part of one of the many Street Pastor teams that are rising up around the country. These teams - coalitions from churches - man the pavements outside bars and clubs, and take care of those minor incidents that swallow up so much police time. Like making sure vulnerable, single women get home safely, and that rows don't escalate into fights, and calling an ambulance when it's absolutely necessary.

This isn't about random acts of kindness; it's about intentional kingdom living (Matthew 25:31-40). This is living out God's rule of compassion and mercy on the streets, and giving hope to paramedics and police, as well as the punters in the pubs.

It's fantastic that police forces are keen to dialogue with churches and youth groups. But, as the Street Pastor initiative has been doing, let us be equally keen to initiate talks, and bring rescue to our violent streets, by seeking to actively serve those who serve us so willingly.

Jason Gardner

Prince Caspian - Leadership Under the Lion

Narnia returns to the big screen this week as Prince Caspian opens in cinemas nationwide, a week after hitting the very, very big screen of the O2 arena at its UK premiere. The new film sees the Pevensie children - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy - summoned back to Narnia by the eponymous hero, who is rightful heir to its throne. But it is an occupied and embattled Narnia to which they return. True Narnians are now a persecuted minority, and the murderous usurper, Miraz, rules by fear, division and violence. Cue lots of CGI, fantastical violence, elaborate sets and beautiful scenery; together with some subtle details that will please die-hard fans of the book.

And, of course, Aslan.

The story is, in many ways, about leadership.

Caspian, much like the biblical David, is being hunted by a former father figure (see 1 Samuel 18-26). His desire to avenge his true father is partly responsible for the devastating defeat at Miraz's castle. Peter, as High King, is called to release Caspian into kingship. Instead, he commandeers the army and pulls rank on Caspian. He quickly loses faith that Aslan will save them; attacking the castle, defensively digging in, and calling up the ghost of the White Witch are all pursued as alternatives to waiting for, as Edmund remarks, the one who 'really defeated the White Witch'.

Yet the most significant kind of leadership is demonstrated by the youngest, Lucy, who, after a few false starts, heads out alone to find Aslan. When she finds him, she discovers that if she had followed the lion to begin with, even in the face of the others' opposition and doubt, the tragedy at Miraz's castle might have been averted.

That even the most insignificant person has a responsibility to seek the true King, regardless of their official status, or whether anyone else believes them, is a key theme in the original Prince Caspian novel. Lucy does seek him and, as a result, Narnia is restored and Caspian completes the transition from sheltered Telmarine prince to King of Narnia, under the favour and protection of Aslan. Even Peter completes his task and hands Caspian his beloved sword, 'Rhindon'. All this makes for a surprisingly satisfying and engaging film which, while its Christian symbolism is more understated than that of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, still carries a refreshing fragrance of truth about life - and leadership - under King Jesus.

Christina Winn (LICC)

Hope and Faith against the odds

"Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God."~William Carey

.

Thanks to Av for giving me the transcript of this BBC Sunday Worship the other day.

Here's the Link to the transcript: here
Listen to the whole service here: audio

There is real honesty. The future presents massive challenges, and yet the hope and faith and confidence in God shines out. Take time to read it (or even more time to listen!), especially the sermon by Peter Hullah, who is the Headteacher, and the bit by Tracey Barford.

Be inspired!

.

Revival and Healing

< Todd Bentley in action.

You may have heard of Todd Bentley and the 'Florida Outpouring'. Roger Johnson, Evangelism Enabler for the Nottingham and Derby Methodist District takes a look:

From time to time we hear of places where revival and associated healing miracles break out in profusion. A few years ago we had the Toronto Blessing, a manifestation which surrounded the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship. Church leaders debated long and hard about its authenticity and reflected upon the division caused within the Vineyard movement as a result of this. Peculiar stories emerged about how people were given gold fillings, experienced unusually bodily actions (shaking, laughter, quaking and so forth) and this naturally put some Christians on their guard about the whole thing. However, Toronto Blessing hotspots broke out in this country too.

Well this isn’t going away. Only recently, God TV (not a channel I have access to) have been featuring the most recent phenomena – the Dudley Revival. Inspired by the ministry of the Canadian healing evangelist, Todd Bentley (who ministers regularly to crowds in excess of 10,000 in Florida), the church in Dudley is packing hundreds into their meetings and experiencing Toronto-like manifestations along with dramatic healings.

Now, I don’t know where you stand on all of this, but it has always perplexed me why God should choose Toronto rather than East Midlands or Stanstead and why certain people have an overdose of spiritual gifts while other equally faithful ministers and evangelists struggle on in relative obscurity bearing little fruit in comparison.

Is it Revival?
For me revival is about the fulfilment of the Lord’s Prayer, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven”. Can we therefore say that what has broken out in Toronto, Florida and Dudley is revival? It may be the first-fruits of it but until society has been transformed in a measurable way, surely it is premature to use such a word.

Unconventional?
For respectable, middle class, British Christians with a fair smattering of the ‘stiff-upper-lip’, this all has an air of unorthodoxy. Todd Bentley is covered in tattoos and body piercing and has engaged in child abuse. I don’t know which theological college he went to or who he reports to. I also have concerns about itinerant evangelists who leave a trail of emotionally hurt people in their wake.

But let’s be honest. All this could have been said about Jesus. He was not part of the religious establishment, had no theological qualification to boast about, went from town to town at will, rarely went back to visit those he had healed and was, by the standards of the day, unconventional (healing on the Sabbath – tut tut!). Much to the disdain of the religious authorities, Jesus attracted the kind of crowds they could only dream of.

Verification
I suppose that the real test of the authenticity of these ministries lies in verification. If statistics show that those who come forward for healing have been verified, by health professionals, as healed and their lives have been changed to become more Christ-like, what can we say against it? If, as a result of these outpourings, churches across the nation become more open to the healing work of the Holy Spirit in the same way as the charismatic movement has touched all denominations and streams over the last few decades, then surely that’s something to welcome.

A Word of Warning
In spite of all this, I can well understand the Christians who look at the stage antics of Todd Bentley which, frankly, fit more comfortably with shamanism (see here) than Methodism, and question whether these manifestations are genuinely God-inspired. We know that Christianity does not hold the monopoly on healings and miracles. I’m reminded of those sobering words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23). So, what do you think?

Judge for yourself
Here are a few useful links about the latest phenomena:
Todd Bentley Florida Healing Revival
Dudley Revival Fires
Studio Discussion on the Florida Outpouring Christianity Magazine – July 2008

Thanks to Roger for opening the discussion...

There's a lot of bizzare stuff going on, and we need to be careful.

However, I'd like to quote some Scriptures for reflection:

'John, meanwhile, had been locked up in prison. When he got wind of what Jesus was doing, he sent his own disciples to ask, "Are you the One we've been expecting, or are we still waiting?" Jesus told them, "Go back and tell John what's going on:

The blind see,

The lame walk,

Lepers are cleansed,

The deaf hear,

The dead are raised,

The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side.

"Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves most blessed!"'

Matthew 11 v2-6 The Message

'By their fruit you will know them'. Matt 7 v20 NIV (just before the 'Lord, Lord' bit).

and '...fruit that will last' John 15v16 NIV

Comments back to me here or to mike@mjoyce.co.uk.

Roger Johnson LINK:

http://www.district-evangelism.org.uk/index.php?PHPSESSID=b0597dac649bc84a1d9bd2b2dc1e99da

Courage and Conviction

TOPICAL CHALLENGE FROM LICC:

The reason we talk about having the 'courage of our convictions' is because there are consequences that flow from those convictions - and not all of them happy ones.

This week, in an interview with The Times, George Bush reflected on his presidency and expressed regret that the rhetoric he used in regard to the Iraq war has created a legacy for him as 'a guy really anxious for war.' Had he known back then what he knows now, about the consequences of his language, he would have taken a different tone.

Hindsight, of course, is a wonderful thing. However, it's also, by definition, what's never available to you when you'd value it most. This makes the biblical insistence on counting the cost, and weighing the consequences of our actions at the outset a real pearl of practical wisdom (e.g. Luke 14:25-35).

You may or may not agree with the wisdom of David Davis's decision to stand down as an MP in order to stand up for his convictions in regard to civil liberties, but we can affirm that he does at least appear to have made his decision in full awareness and acceptance of the possible consequences. Having stated his intention to resign and force a by-election he went on to say, 'Now, that may mean I have made my last speech to the House.'

Indeed he might. For whilst there have been many voices of support for Mr Davis's 'brave' and 'principled' stand (though note the observation of the BBC's Nick Robinson that 'Courageous is code in Westminster for bonkers'), there's also been no shortage of more cynical responses - 'the stunt of a vain man' being but one example.

David Davis's decision was not a faith-based decision. Christian faith, however, if it is properly engaged with the whole of our lives as per the biblical vision, will inevitably lead us where we do not want to go - into times when we feel duty-bound to 'swim against the tide'. Jesus had warned the apostles that the world would hate them on account of their conviction about him (John 15:18-25). Accordingly, in Jerusalem they were flogged for having the courage of their convictions (Acts 5:40). The nature of the consequences we must embrace in taking a stand for Christ might not be so barbaric, but that doesn't mean the experience of them will be any more pleasant. Nevertheless, Christ invites us to mould our legacy as faithful followers as we live, rather than look back regretfully over a life less extraordinary.

Nigel Hopper LICC

Father and son

Turn on your sound and take a quiet moment and watch this.
Let it speak to you.

'The same gentle hands hold me when I'm broken...'

.

Back to the Roots

Thanks to Cell UK for this article.
Do you agree with Bill Beckham?

Dear friend
Renowned British historian Arnold J. Toynbee concluded that civilizations self-destruct when they no longer have a spiritual base for moral actions and ethical decisions. “Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.”

Many modern day prophets confirm Toynbee’s research: Western civilization is facing the danger of self-inflicted spiritual wounds. The West has aimed the pistol of humanism at its head, has placed the bullet of unbelief in the chamber of the gun and has its finger on the secular trigger.

The only questions are: Will the West actually pull the trigger? If so, when? After pulling the trigger will the death throes be immediate or drawn out? Some of us also wonder if the West can reverse the suicide process and the death wish? Can and will God intervene through the Church one more time?

The god of humanism

The West is suffering consequences in the 21st Century for things that went terribly wrong in the 19th and 20th Centuries. These wrongs attacked the core roots of society. Aleksandr I. Solyhenitsyn recognized the importance of roots: “In order to destroy a people you must first sever their roots.”

The 21st Century West has returned to the roots of ancient familiar gods. These ancient gods were reborn in the vacuum left when 19th Century man rejected God as the absolute for his thinking and 20th Century man rejected God as the absolute for his life and actions. Three of these major gods have grown into a 21st Century pagan unholy trinity: humanism, materialism and hedonism.

Humanism is “any system of thought based on the interests and ideals of man.” Materialism is the doctrine that “everything in the world, including thought, can be explained only in terms of matter.” Lived out to its conclusion, materialism means that Man is a machine with no soul. Hedonism is “the self-indulgent pursuit of pleasure as a way of life.”

Humanism is the root deity of this unholy trinity. All of these gods are expressions of the first sin in the Garden of Humanism: “You will be as God.” During the 20th Century Man in the “Christian” West reverted back to the most primitive sin: Man is the absolute and center of the universe. Solyhenitsyn described this root god as: “Rationalistic humanism or humanistic autonomy; the proclaimed and practiced autonomy of man from any higher force above him.”

Roots

The West will not think its way out of this situation, work its way out, spin its way out, spend its way out or educate its way out. Familiar and trusted social and political structures are now powerless to save the West. The West must return to its Judeo/Christian roots from which it was born and from which it has detached.

The West cannot reconstitute or re-root itself because it has rejected the very soil from which the roots have grown: Christianity. Only the Church can re-root Western Civilization. Therefore, the Church must be the ethical and moral root of Western civilization. The first step to saving the West is not to change civilization but to change the Church within civilization.
If the Church withdraws from society it condemns the West to its slow suicide.

Therefore, the church must engage society but not at the point of law and conflict. The church cannot maintain ethical influence in society because of favorable laws and the cultural pressure of a Christian majority. The church must become the roots of society by its love, truth and justice. The Church must speak the truth in love and must love to live the truth.

Roots are unseen and under appreciated. Roots do not share in the glory of the flower or the fruit. Roots find their place down in the dirt and the darkness of death.
The Church must once again out-live, out-think, out-love and out-die all other philosophies and belief systems down at the roots!

Yours for His Kingdom
Bill Beckham