Dinger's Soapbox

Disappointment at Christmas

2011-12-14T15:57:00.014Z

It strikes me that much of the Christmas story is full of disappointment & unfulfilled expectations. A more sanitised version may be appropriate for children's retelling, but as adults have we settled for a watered down or selective version of events?

As we enter the Gospel narrative hopes & dreams are dashed left, right & centre.

Joseph discovers his beloved young bride is pregnant, and he is not the father.

Mary gives a quite remarkable answer to the angel Gabriel on the announcement of her pregnancy - "I am the Lord's servant, may it be as you have said"
- but no woman dreams of giving birth in a dingy manger, estranged from family.

Or what about Herod? He was disappointed by the potential arrival of a new king. So terrified that his power would be usurped, he ordered the brutal murder of hundreds/thousands of baby boys in a mad fury.

What about the parents of these children? What of their hopes & dreams for these beautiful, energetic little boys, just discovering this world & savagely removed from it?

The Christmas story is horrific. It is distasteful. Even offensive. And yet it is Good News. How?

Because into this dark, evil world full of disappointment a light was coming that could not be snuffed out... ever.

John grasps this as he writes from first hand experience of Jesus Christ "in Him was life and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overpowered it."

Perhaps there are unmet expectations & great disappointments in your life at the moment. Perhaps horrific things have happened to you like that first Christmas.

Real hurt & disappointment is to be unveiled, not buried deep, but my prayer for you this year is that you would know the light of the world breaking into your darkness & obliterating it. He is waiting to come in, if you will but open the door & receive Him.

Mountain Mover

2011-12-08T14:06:00.006Z

Are you standing in the dark shadow of a huge mountain?

Recently, I've observed that many of the young people & young adults with whom I spend my time, find themselves in dark & difficult places, facing huge & unmovable obstacles.

Perhaps its a struggling relationship... a challenging decision to be made with no obvious solution... a destructive habit or character flaw... limited work prospects... a financial burden... a physical disability or a mental health problem.

This mountain just will not move. For some they have stood in its shadow for so long that they have grown accustomed to the darkness.

These difficulties are not to be overlooked or belittled. We should never make molehills out of mountains. But only focusing on the mountain will not bring us hope, only despair.

If you find yourself here. You are not alone.
Can I encourage you to shift your attention from the size of your mountain to the power of the Mountain Mover? In this season of Advent, a dark time in which we wait for the "light to shine the darkness", may we learn to wait patiently on our Messiah's arrival.

Psalm 65:5-7
"God our Savior, You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by Your power,
having armed Yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations."

Seeking Applause

2011-12-06T12:16:00.002Z

In his book What God Thinks When We Fail, Steven C. Roy tells a fictional story about a young violinist who lived in London many years ago. Although he was a superb musician, he was deathly afraid of large crowds, so he avoided giving concerts. But after enduring criticism for his unwillingness to give concerts, he finally agreed to perform in the largest concert hall in London.

The young violinist came onto the stage and sat alone on a stool. He put his violin under his chin and played for an hour and a half. No music in front of him, no orchestra behind him, no breaks—just an hour and a half of absolutely beautiful violin music. After ten minutes or so, many critics put down their pads and listened, like the rest …. After the performance, the crowd rose to its feet and began applauding wildly—and they wouldn't stop.

But the young violinist didn't acknowledge the applause. He just peered out into the audience as if he were looking for something—or someone. Finally he found what he was looking for. Relief came over his face, and he began to acknowledge the cheers.

After the concert, the critics met the young violinist backstage …. They said, "You were wonderful. But one question: Why did it take you so long to acknowledge the applause of the audience?"

The young violinist took a deep breath and answered, "You know I was really afraid of playing here. Yet this was something I knew I needed to do. Tonight, just before I came on stage, I received word that my master teacher was to be in the audience. Throughout the concert, I tried to look for him, but I could never find him. So after I finished playing, I started to look more intently. I was so eager to find my teacher that I couldn't even hear the applause. I just had to know what he thought of my playing. That was all that mattered. Finally, I found him high in the balcony. He was standing and applauding, with a big smile on his face. After seeing him, I was finally able to relax. I said to myself, 'If the master is pleased with what I have done, then everything else is okay.'"

So, whose applause matters most to you?

Henri Nouwen on Leadership

2011-11-11T12:12:00.003Z

"Too often I looked at being relevant, popular & powerful as ingredients of an effective ministry... However, the truth is that these are temptations.

Jesus asks, "Do you love me?"

Jesus sends us out to be shepherds.

Jesus promises a life in which we increasingly have to stretch out our hands & be led places where we would rather not go.

He asks us to move from a concern for relevance to a life of prayer;

from worries about popularity to communal & mutual ministry;

and from leadership built on power to a leadership in which we critically discern where God is leading us & our people."

Cave Hill & Reflections on Life

2011-06-15T10:23:00.004+01:00

The sun came out to play in what has turned out to be a smashing day in Belfast & I felt that it was time for a long overdue trek up our featured mound... Cave Hill. Sitting on the edge of our wee city, Cave Hill (Binn Unamha in Irish) overlooks Belfast Lough & is distinguished by its famous ‘Napoleon’s Nose’ feature which some claim to have inspired Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.

I decided to take the moderately challenging circular route to the top which lends itself to spectacular views over Belfast (making it look like a matchbox town) & on such a clear day it was easy to spot Scrabo Tower, the beautiful mountains of Mourne & even a man in a kilt drinking Iron Bru on the tip of Scotland. As I was a failed member of the YOC in my childhood I couldn’t tell the difference between the kestrels, peregrines & buzzards flying over head, but they looked pretty majestic gliding through the air.

It was supposed to be a leisurely stroll to give my head a bit of breathing space & spend some time thinking with God about some of the things that have been happening in my life recently. However, about 45mins into my journey I noticed that I was “bombing it up.” The sweat was lashing off me, my breathing was heavy, my legs were getting tired and I’d already passed several of the wonderful look-out spots without pausing to admire the fantastic scenes on display. The guide had suggested 2hours for the journey, but was body was keen to finish as quickly as possible.

It was then that I felt something inside me (present, but not physical) put the brakes on. Something within my spirit was telling me to slow down & pay attention. Our spirit can be hard to define & get our heads around, but it is the place within us that God so often communicates. It felt as if God was whispering, “woo... slow down, enjoy the view, experience my artistry, be still for a moment & appreciate my work, it’s a gift for you.”

In that moment I realised that this walk up Cave Hill was like an analogy of how I tend to live my life, especially within youth ministry. I often find myself so focused on the multiple tasks to be completed or the goals to be achieved, that I miss out on important experiences along the way. I concentrate so hard on reaching the final destination that I lose the wonder & enjoyment of the journey. I become so focused on the finishing line, that I get fatigued, anxious & hurried trying to cross it & in doing so become blinkered to the soothing, joyful & reassuring voice of life’s great Travel Guide.

This autumn my congregation has given me the gift of Sabbatical – a chance to rest & reflect & listen for the gentle whisper of God. It is my hope that this gift will help me to better hear His instruction & find a more sustainable rhythm to life & ministry. To walk slower, but still with purpose so that I can prolong the journey, reach that finish line walking rather than crawling & stop off to enjoy the process along the way.

So next time you spot a kestrel on Cave Hill, perhaps spare a thought to what pace your life is moving at – and whether it is helping or hindering you from hearing from your Travelling Companion.

Convenience Store Christianity

2011-06-06T14:56:00.006+01:00

There’s been a question rattling around in my head for quite some time. It’s quite a challenging question so I’ve tried to run away from it, ignore it, or repackage it as something easier to swallow, but God’s Spirit keeps barging back in there with it. It’s a question that I think He is posing firstly to myself to wrestle with, but also to the young people & young adults with for whom I have a pastoral responsibility in our church.

How seriously are you taking your discipleship?

This is the initial, overarching question, but it leads to many more. It pokes & prods at my heart & asks “Be honest, how committed are you actually to allowing God to lead & shape your life? Are you really living “All for Jesus... surrendering all of your ambitions, hopes & plans into His hands” or just the bits that are convenient? Are you not just doing enough to lead a cushy life & keep a healthy public image?”

Discipleship put simply is following Jesus. But what does this actually look like in day to day living? How does following Jesus impact upon our attitudes, actions & words?

To help let’s think of call of discipleship as three things (although it is more than this)...

The call to wise training: God has given us some training tools to help us receive the power & perspective that we need to live the life He has prepared for us. The most commonly cited are prayer, Bible study & church worship, but there is also solitude, silence, fasting, sacrifice, meditation & confession. These things do not earn God’s favour, but they are the means by which we begin to live like Jesus (in a similar, but greater way that a strict diet, daily training sessions & disciplined lifestyle helps an Olympic rower achieve a gold medal).

The call to obey God’s way of life: a willingness to listen to God’s moral code for living revealed in the Bible covering everything from our attitude to money, sexuality, immigrants & our enemies, to how we use our time, who we date/marry, where we live & work and coping with stress, failure, disappointment & hopelessness.

The call to serve God with our lives: working out how you can use all of your life (work, family, friends, church) to love other people & help them to discover who God is, what God has done & follow Him for themselves. We often refer to this process of working out who God has made you & for what purpose as our calling, but calling embraces the first two also.

So let me ask you (as I am asking myself), how seriously are you taking your discipleship journey? Are you training well? What is your attitude towards spiritual discipline? Do you go to church, read your Bible & pray when you feel like it or because you know that you need it?

How seriously are you taking the call to obey God’s way of life? Have you brought all of your life before Him & asked for His direction – your anger, your friendships, who you date, where you work, how you feel about money & stuff? Do you listen to & obey His advice when it’s easy (or even just a little challenging), but ignore that thing which is most difficult?

How seriously are you taking the call to serve God with your abilities, passions & gifts? Is this one of the central organising principles of your week or something you squeeze into what’s left (if anything) when you’ve done what you want to do? From what I observe in my own life & in the church, we try to serve God without embracing the call to wise training & holy living. I guess it seems easier, looks better to those around & often costs us less to do so, however, I’m starting to wonder whether this not only cheapens our service for God, but actually makes its redundant.

So how seriously are you taking your discipleship? Perhaps the answer will be best revealed in how long you spend prayerfully pondering some of these questions.

A final note to those who might feel smug or guilt ridden after reading through this... There is always a danger of feeling self-satisfied when thinking about our discipleship practices (reflecting on what you do do & what others don’t) or indeed to feel deflated or overwhelmed (“I am so rubbish, I could never....”).

God is a wonderful (& perplexing) God of grace. We’ve all messed up when trying to follow Him, this realisation simply helps us to remember that we need Him more & hopefully open ourselves more to His power. The Gospel is not just for us before we become believers, but for every step along the journey. Let Him lift you, restore you, challenge & shape you... but most of all let Him love you.

Redeeming FaceBook

2011-05-13T22:56:00.002+01:00

Warning! I’ve hummed & haa-ed about posting this blog for a week for fear of sounding like a bore with a prudish overreaction. Please read this as my evolving thoughts/experience & I’d love to know what might ring true for you...

Here goes!

I like FB. I am one of the 600million account holders & use it almost every day. I am grateful to Mr Zuckerberg & Co for their invention which helps me to remember birthdays, connect with friends in faraway places, enjoy other people’s happy moments (engagements, passing exams, photos of children, etc), laugh at goofy videos & status updates whilst making failed attempts at humour with the “comments” function. I also partake in the odd games of Uno, Scrabble & FB stalking.

As a Christian, I find it a helpful & appropriate forum to receive & share thoughts, insights, encouragements & questions to help us on our spiritual journeys (indeed this is what I am attempting to do at the moment!)

However, I have some concerns. Mainly about myself & the impact that my relationship with FB can have on my character. I suspect I am not alone in this so let me share some thoughts & see what you think (please do post a comment).

Since acquiring a “smart” phone I have made the following observations...

Ø The amount of time I spend on FB each day has greatly increased.

Ø I often feel “disconnected” if I haven’t checked out what has been happening in my social media world (although it is rarely anything of significance).

Ø I sometimes find myself getting a little upset if people have not “liked” or “commented” on my status updates (especially in the ones where I try to be funny).

Ø Whilst I enjoy sharing ideas, comments & photographs with my friends, I sometimes find myself under a compulsion to share useless information (I’ve just examined previous status updates wondering, “why on earth did I need to share that?”).

Whilst I like FB & enjoy its many benefits, it has the potential to promote self-obsession (e.g. a recent application allows you to see how many people have looked at your account recently) and a compulsion to over-share (do we really need to know what you ate for breakfast, that you can’t sleep, how many times you have visited the toilet or what you’d change your name too if you were transgendered?)

Here are some questions I’ve been asking of myself recently, perhaps you might find them interesting too...

Ø How much time have I spent on FB today/this week? How does this compare with the amount of time I have invested in my spiritual formation (prayer, Bible study, serving others etc)?

Ø How would I react if I chose not to use FB for a week/month? If I wouldn’t even consider this or if I try & find it really difficult, what does this reveal about me?

Ø Do I ever use FB when I am in the company of other people? What message does this send out to the people I am with?

Ø Do I check FB last night at night & first thing in the morning? Why? Do I find myself using FB as 2min time filler between meetings or on the toilet? If so, is this the best use of my time?

To be honest I’ve found these questions quite challenging so here are a few action steps which I feel the Holy Spirit is leading me towards to ensure that my use of FB doesn’t hinder my spiritual development.

Ø Regularly “fast” from FB. Stop using it for a day, week, month.

Ø Don’t check your status or updates when you are in the presence of someone else.

Ø Instead of using FB as a “time filler” as I wait for someone to come to a meeting (or even on the loo!), use those few moments to notice the good things that God has given me that day.

Ø Take part in my FB Challenge (every time I log onto FB, say a quick prayer for first 3 people in my news feed).

So it’s your turn. What do you think about FB?

Ephesians 4:29... Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

The truth we keep forgetting

2011-02-24T16:38:00.007Z

“We live as if doing for Jesus is more important than being with Jesus. We work as though everything depends on us rather than everything depending on God.” James Lawrence

God loves you.

No really, God loves you.

Not the you, you want to be. Not the you, you pretend that you are. God loves the real you.

The flawed, messed up version. The you that sometimes gets things really right & sometimes completely wrong.

God loves you.

There is no more fundamental truth. And from personal & pastoral experience I suggest that there is no truth less easily believed or so easily forgotten.

God loves you.

When we lose sight of this we begin to work for God’s love, rather than from God’s love.

You are a child of the living God... not because you are worthy or have earned His favour anymore than you earned the right to be born. You are adopted into His family because of the love of God the Father, Christ’s generous self-giving & the work of God’s Spirit.

Your identity is not rooted in what you do, but in relationship with Him. You are significant because you are made by God, because you are loved by God & because God has great plans for your life.

Chew over the following passage & savour its goodness deep within.

“It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat.

It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.

Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” Ephesians 2v1-10

Stuck... Unstuck. Polluted... Cleaned up. Sin-dead... Alive in Christ. Deeply loved... Deeply loved.

God loves you!

Cuppa Soup Faith in the Fast Lane

2011-02-22T15:00:00.004Z

"Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him.” Oswald Chambers

My devotional life is more like a cuppa soup than a four-course banquet. Like a ready meal it’s fast, temporarily satisfying, but provides neither the nutrients needed, nor the time to digest its goodness.

Do I understand the importance of time with God & “feeding on His Word”? Of course.

Do I not enjoy this time or benefit from it? Absolutely not; it’s great & is the bedrock of my life.

So what’s my problem? I have allowed other people & things to set the agenda of my day, week & month (the ultimate form of laziness) and have embraced overbusyness & people pleasing above living out the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:37-38).

I suspect that I am not alone in these struggles.

Our society places a high value on busyness. We wear it like a badge of honour (“How are you? How are things?” “I’m busy”) as if to be unbusy means to be lazy or unworthy. We hate to wait at traffic lights & smile at the checkout lady (whilst “mentally maiming” her) if she chats too long to the customer in front. There are never enough hours in the day or days in the week & other people’s priorities our adjudged frivolous by comparison to our “higher calling.”

The problem with busyness is that it leads to hurry... and hurry leads to not noticing others around us or missing the voice of God speaking into our lives.

Overbusyness has infiltrated church life. We rush from meeting to meeting, programme to programme... We meet with people, but aren’t fully present... We spend much time serving God, but invest so little hanging out with God.

I suspect this has its roots in an identity crisis; that we have placed too much emphasis on what we do, and too little on who we are. We have allowed our sense of significance to depend on what we achieve & on how others evaluate our achievements. So we press on, working, working, working to please people & receive their acceptance; craving the buzz that the compliment or word of affirmation brings.

Yet this is an identity that can only deliver momentary satisfaction & ever elusive feelings of love, joy, hope & contentment. We struggle to separate who we are from what we do. We do more of the work of God, but it destroys the work of God in us. It’s not long before a spiritual life once well connected & flourishing for Jesus, becomes dull, dead, empty & languishing.

Thankfully there is an alternative... hopefully see you soon to explore it.

Losing My First Love

2011-02-18T15:33:00.004Z

"It is easily lost. It is not so easily found.
I knew it, but I'd forgotten.
I believed it, passionately. I still lost it.

I am extremely fortunate. I love my work. I have a great church where I am given appropriate amounts of responsibility, encouraged to develop areas in which I am gifted & allowed to make loads of mistakes. I am constantly growing, learning, being stretched & stimulated.

On the surface all is well. I love my work, I love God, I love sharing the Good News of Jesus with others, but underneath is a different story.

It was so subtle I didn't even realise it was happening; slowly the way I was doing the work of Christ was destroying the work of Christ in me. I didn't stop praying, I didn't stop believing in God, I didn't succumb to escapist sin. I simply lost my first love. Year by year the busyness of work, the fun of ministry, the changing circumstances of my personal life, the painful experiences & the emotional exhaustion slowly focused my attention elsewhere.

While my head was full of new & exciting ideas, my heart grew cool. While I led others to a place of finding new life in Jesus, my life in Jesus was decidedly stale.

I could give a thousand reasons why this took place, but I won't."

These are not my words... but I guess they could be. They come from James Lawrence the author of Growing Leaders - a book written to help the local church to raise up & nurture leadership.

Over this next blog series, I'll be using his ideas & my personal experience to reflect on how as Christians we can lose our sense of call/direction and how we might better live by Jesus words. If you find it interesting/useful, why not leave a comment.

Jesus said to His followers, "I am the Vine; you are the branches. When you're joined with me, & I with you, the relation intimate & organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up & thrown on the bonfire." John 15v5-6

Making Money Work

2010-06-08T13:39:00.003+01:00

So what are God’s intentions for us regarding giving?

Rather than a fixed amount or figure, God gives us three guidelines for giving.
1. Give cheerfully (not reluctantly)…
2. Give regularly (not when you feel like it)…
3. Give sacrificially (in a way that requires lifestyle adjustment).

Maybe take a moment to chew over these three things in relation to your own giving at present.

Here are some further suggestions that I have found helpful in my wrestle with materialism & the hold of Mammon on my life, and how I am attempting to bring my use of money into line with God’s intentions.

1. Get in touch with your real feelings about money so you can come to terms with your fears, your insecurities and your guilt.

2. Stop denying your wealth. Don’t compare yourself to others like you and claim relative poverty (e.g. “but she has more clothes”, “he has a bigger car”). Think globally!

3. Create an atmosphere in which confession is possible. Create a climate of acceptance where we can talk about our struggles, and confess our fears & temptations.

4. Let new attitudes to money change how you talk about money. For example, do you “need” a new car or “want” one? Do you “need” new shoes or “want” them? OR do we talk about how much of “our” money that we give to God rather than how much of “God’s” money that we keep for ourselves?

5. Get someone to hold you accountable. Keep a list of all your spending for 3 months show it to someone. Chat it through together.

6. Don’t get all legalistic about it. When God teaches us to give cheerfully, regularly & sacrificially (tithe) it isn’t about dosh… it’s about devotion! The Pharisees gave from their pocket, but not from their heart. A tithe is a good starting point when it comes to giving; and it’s not designed to punish us, but to free us from a misplaced sense of security in stuff.

7. Consider ways to get in touch with the poor. Buy Fair trade produce; campaign with Tearfund; collect for Christian Aid; go on an overseas mission trip.

8. Start giving in a costly way. Not stupidly, but not in a safe way either. Let go of the security you place on your money and in doing so really mean it when you pray “Lord, give us today our daily bread”. Let your giving be an act of confidence in God.

This blog series is not designed to make you feel guilty, but to uncover the beast that wrestles for top spot in our lives. To give as God intends is a call to liberation & life, but it is a challenging call & life-long battle against the values of this world. So let’s wrestle together.

Philippians 4 v11-13… “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Myths about Money: Numero Three

2010-06-07T20:10:00.003+01:00

Myth 3: Christians should not have lots of money

Wrong! Whilst our God tells us not to desire money & not to place security in it above Him; He never teaches that it is wrong to have money. He expects us to use the money He gives us to bless others. And a positive side effect of this is that a generous and giving spirit enhances our own lives.

I wonder if you’ve ever found yourself criticising Christians who have lots of money. Is this provoked by self-righteousness, envy or a desire for right living? Have you removed the “plank” in your eye before attempting to remove “specks” from others?

Personally, I’d rather global wealth and resources were in the hands of those who are properly disciplined and informed by the Christian world view than have it abandoned into the servants of Mammon.

However, consider this. You’re walking through town one day & you see a homeless person in great need. Your heart is stirred & you offer them £20 for food. Yet 15mins later see that person coming out of the off licence with alcohol rather than food. How do you feel?

I guess you feel annoyed, frustrated & cheated; this was not the purpose of you giving that person money. But yet we do this to God all the time. We spend money that He has given us on stuff that He didn’t intend for us to have.

So Christians can & should work hard for money, but should consider how & where they invest it.

1 Timothy 6, “we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food & clothing, we will be content with that.
People who want to get rich fall into temptation & a trap and into many foolish & harmful desires that plunge men into ruin & destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
Some people, eager for money, have wondered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief’s… don’t put your hope in wealth which is so uncertain, but put your hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

(Tomorrow “Making Money Work”)

Myths about Money: Part Deux

2010-06-04T08:59:00.004+01:00

Myth 2: “Money isn’t a problem for me (I don’t have any yet)”

The danger is not always in having money… the problem is in our attitude towards money. Let me ask a few diagnostic questions to determine if money might be a problem for you.

• When you last bought a new car, IPod, computer game or clothes did you consider whether this was how God wanted you to spend your money?

• When was the last time you gave something away that really cost you, rather than giving safely from what you have?

• Are you more excited when you visit the temple of Victoria Square (or equivalent) & rejoice at the bargains on offer or meeting with God’s people for Sunday morning worship?

• Have you ever spent £100 or more on clothes, a concert, sports event or a holiday without much thought, but considered yourself really generous & sacrificial by giving £20 to church?

• Have you ever said something along the lines of, “I don’t have any clothes, shoes or handbags”?

• When you ask someone what they do for a living do you find yourself contemplating how much they earn?

• Have you ever bought someone a present/gift with an expectation of repayment of some sort? Have you ever complained that someone else’s present to you wasn’t as expensive or nice as yours to them?

• Have you ever found yourself working on a Sunday to earn money or turning down a mission opportunity for a summer job?

• When considering how wealthy you are do you compare yourself with celebrities, with friends who have more than you or with people in the developing world?

• Have you spent more time thinking about what you will buy people for Christmas or the significance of celebrating Jesus’ birthday?

Personally I find these issues very challenging as they expose several fears & insecurities that I have about money & stuff. But if we are to live for the Kingdom and not the Thing-dom, I think it is important (if uncomfortable) to take some time to meditate on one or all of these issues.

So is money a struggle for you?

“Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?'
Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” Proverbs 30v7-9

(Myth 3: Christians should not have lots of money)

Myths about Money

2010-06-03T16:27:00.002+01:00

Myths about Money

We had an interesting post-Bible study discussion in our Young Adults group last night about money – and in particular giving & tithing. So I thought I’d fire out a few blog posts over the next week with the hope of sparking chat, thought, debate & a search for God’s truth.

First… let's start with some commonly accepted myths about money.

Myth 1: Money is neutral and depersonalised
Our survey says “eh-eh.” If money was neutral we wouldn’t give status to people who had it or ever be tempted to covet our friend’s salary, car or house. If money was neutral it wouldn’t be possible to be embarrassed about what type of mobile phone you own or what clothes you wear.

Jesus teaching on the matter is simple and hard-hitting (Matthew 6:19-24).

Money is a power with a life of its own; it must be taken seriously.
He uses the word “Mammon” which is translated Money (note it has a capital “M”) and by doing this Jesus gives it a personal and spiritual character – it’s a rival god!
It is a power seeking to dominate us… it is a force capable of inspiring devotion… it is seductive and can win your heart.
And like all demons… it wants us to deny its existence.

The love of stuff is a real threat to our relationship with God… here are a sample of Jesus warnings.

“Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.” Luke 6:24

“No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God & Money.” Luke 16:13

“Be on guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15

God is not neutral or quiet on money... it is dangerous... it seeks to control you... it wants to make you its servant. His teaching is very clear and challenging and I often find myself tempted to tone it down because it makes me feel uncomfortable.

It is not difficult to understand what the Bible has to say about money… but it is difficult, challenging & scary to live out. Jesus’ counter-cultural words not only fly in the face of everything society, family, friends & even the church at times teach us, but also challenge our privileged status in the world.

(Tomorrow… Myth 2: Money isn’t a problem for me -I don’t have any yet)

Cleaning up the Crap

2010-03-11T15:38:00.006Z

It's not unusual for me to be woken up around 1am by a screaming child; unfortunately last night's episode even more gruesome.

I lifted Jacob to discover not only was he crying for some milk/attention, but that he had inconveniently sprayed himself from head to toe in poo. A nasty dosh of the squirts - that even metal plated nappies could not contain - left me with a baby who wreaked of a death & a stomach curdling with nausea.

So I put him down and shouted, "Get yourself cleaned up you filthy little creature. How dare you cover yourself in this horribleness. You repulse me. Get out of my sight until you are washed, cleaned & sorted out. I don't want to know you until then."

Ok, before you contact social service this is clearly not what happened. I hate poo & I love my son. I changed his soiled clothes, washed him in the bath & comforted him in my arms until his distress left & he fell asleep again.

But which of these father images do you hold of God? If you take a honest moment of reflection, who do you see?

Our God has revealed Himself to us as a perfect, loving, Heavenly Father desperately desiring relationship & intimacy with us. Longing to clean up our dirtiness, our uncleanliness, our sin through faith in Jesus. Taking delight in lighting us from our helpless states, rebuilding a broken relationship with Him and comforting us in our distress.

Many factors in our personal lives & faulty understandings of the Person of God may cause us to hold an other image. But these are wrong.

If this is an area of confusion, why not take some time to read through the Gospel of Mathew, Mark, Luke or John & see our God through the eyes of Jesus?

Or why not pause for a moment & praise Father God for being a loving, perfect Daddy willing to clean us up & hold us in His arms again?

A scary, but safe prayer...

2010-01-20T15:27:00.004Z

Psalm 139 fires off with some pretty strong words that have be swishing around in my consciousness since our Young Adult group studied them last week...

"You have looked deep into my heart, Lord, and you know all about me..."

All about me... all about my resting, my working, my family life... all my thoughts, the holy ones & the stinkers .... all my words before they're even on my tongue, the hurtful ones & those that encourage.

As Christians we often nod in agreement to this theology, but fail to follow it up with the invitation of the final verses in this Psalm. Not because we think too much of ourselves, but because we think too little. How difficult it is to pray these words sincerely... "Look deep into my heart, God, and find out everything I am thinking. Don't let me follow evil ways, but lead me in the way that time has proven true."

Through this prayer God invites us to look, reflect, listen, see & experience what is happening in our daily lives & sense the footprints of the Divine.

I invite you to practice this now, but ensure that you do it with God, not alone. I believe that deep down we all struggle with self-acceptance & seeing our true selves with the blinkers off, so to self-examine without Him is to end up excessively praising or blaming ourselves... on one hand is justification, rationalisation & evasion of responsibility, on the other is self-flagellation, merciless self-beating & unnecessary guilt.

If it helps write your discoveries in a journal, and let the external events of your life be the springboard for a deeper understanding of God in your heart.

And once you have let the Lord of grace examine you, why not offer yourself as a "living sacrifice" to Him once more (Romans 12:1)... offer yourself just as you are (warts & all), not what you want to be.

"Precious Saviour, why do I fear your scrutiny? Yours is an examen of love. Still, I am afraid... afraid of what might surface. Even so, I invite You to search me to the depths so that I may know myself - and you - in fuller measure." Richard Foster, "Prayer"

Ah grow up: some jumbled thoughts on Christian maturity

2009-12-09T16:10:00.008Z

"Grow up instead of just getting bigger." "Act your age & not your shoe size."

I'm sure we can all remember similar words spoken to us at some stage in our past or present. These rebukes are sometimes justified & sometimes incorrect, but are often delivered in some form of condescending or self-righteous manner.

Put those negative connotations aside for one moment & consider the loving God whose desire for each of His children is that they move from childish to mature faith in Him, lived out in a godly lifestyle.

Ephesians 4 is a super passage which I encourage you to think about as it's highlights the role of the church (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers) in helping us all to make this transition from infantile ways to service, unity & maturity in Christ (v12-13).

The passage suggest various ways in which we can do this, so that we are no longer tossed around in the wind by any sort of teaching that comes our way, but rather learn to speak the truth in love & "in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ." (v15).

So if Christian maturity is the goal for us all, what does this look like? Below are a few thoughts... thrown together.

Childish Faith: "Good Christians don't have pain or disappointment."

Mature Adult Faith: "God uses our pain & disappointment to make us better Christians."

Childish Faith: "God wants to make us happy."

Mature Adult Faith: "God wants to make us holy (into the image of Jesus)"

Childish Faith: "Faith will help us explain what God is doing (things always work out)"

Mature Adult Faith: "Faith helps us to stand under God's sovereignty even when we have no idea what God is doing."

Childish Faith: "The closer to God we get, the more perfect we become."

Mature Adult Faith: "The closer we get to God, the more aware we become of our sinfulness."

Childish Faith: "Mature Christians have all the answers"

Mature Adult Faith: "Mature Christians can wrestle honestly with tough questions because they trust that God has the answers."

Childish Faith: "We go to church because our friends are there, we have great leaders & we get something out of it."

Mature Adult Faith: "We go to church because we belong to the body of Christ."

Attitudes of spiritual maturity are developed as God's people move out of the comfortable bubble of the church programme and live out their faith through the challenging (and often monotonous) experiences of daily life in the real world.

When we reach maturity we no longer depend on bells & whistles or a certain of worship music or other people to motivate us to live out our faith. Rather than having a reactive faith (always putting the responsibility for our spiritual growth on someone else shoulders) we become proactive (taking prayerful action to ensure that we are living as God intends).

Sometimes we mistakenly believe that growing up in our faith will make us perfect. I found a great quote in my Bible reading notes to counter that false belief.

"Maturity is not the place where we stop growing because all our problems are solved - it is the place where we have learned to grow more freely. To be perfect is to be without fault. To be mature is to have the ability and willingness to deal with the faults that remain. The Church will never be made up of perfect people; but it can be a body built up of those who are mature." Encounter with God (a Scripture Union resource)

Christian Maturity

2009-11-25T09:19:00.006Z

I found this interesting little section in my Bible reading notes this morning...

"...maturity is not the place where we stop growing because all our problems are solved - it is the place where we have learned to grow more freely.

To be perfect is to be without fault. To be mature is to have the ability and willingness to deal with the faults that remain. The Church will never be made up of perfect people: but it can be a body built up of those who are mature." Encounter with God (Scripture Union)

This thought was derived from this powerful passage in Ephesians. The role of church leadership is "... to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

Ephesians 4:12-16 (emphasis added)

So according to this passage - how mature are you? And how mature is your church?

Demolished Walls

2009-11-10T17:15:00.005Z

I'm just about old enough to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall & the media frenzy which it sparked.

How exciting to see the celebrations in Germany yesterday as this historic event of two decades ago was remembered. Not only did it lead Germany to reunify, but it marked the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Cold War's end. The symbolic act was to reflect how the then Communist governments of Eastern Europe fell one after another.

Mr Obama gave a great speech, but I'll pull him up on this one phrase...
"There could be no clearer rebuke of tyranny. There could be no stronger affirmation of freedom," he said of the wall's tearing down.

My minister reminded me last week that there is in fact another demolished wall which greater symbolises the rebuke of tyranny & is a much stronger affirmation of freedom. You can read about it below...

Ephesians 2:13-22 (The Message)

Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.

The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.

Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.

Jedward - what's the big deal?

2009-10-31T23:35:00.006Z

I don't really follow the X-Factor. In fact, I'm not a huge fan of any brand of reality television, but when you're married, sometimes you have to endure such programmes in order to earn precious Match of the Day viewing time.

However, something surrounding the show has pricked my interest this year. Two Irish wannabe twins from Lucan, John & Edward (already re branded Jedward), have been creating quite a storm that ITV must be loving & Simon Cowell is "hamming up" for further publicity.

They're not that interesting in themselves (fairly average, if a little cocksure, 17 year old boys of privileged upbringing), but what has been intriguing is how has been the public have reacted. Every time I log onto FaceBook, I'm faced by a long list of status updates (from people like you), not informing me of what you've been up too, but rather how much people seem to dislike the twins.

Why are people so negative towards them? Why are people displaying hatred towards these two characters who Simon Cowell branded as "vile little creatures"? Why have 400 FB groups been set up calling for them to be axed by the show?

The boys are full of energy, they jump around, are entertaining and you have to hand it to them, they do put all they have into their routine. We all know that they are not the best singers in the competition, in fact lets not make any bones about it, they are downright awful. In addition, their dancing leaves much to be desired and whilst they have irritating tendencies, it's no more than your average adolescent male.

It's not their fault that they still remain in the competition, evidently a significant number of the population deem them worthy of investing their mobile phone credit in.

It is also surprising how many people complain about their status in the competition, but aren't prepared to do anything about it. Typical of our British armchair nation, we are a people who talk much & do little about stuff that doesn't matter anyway. How many FB status updates this week will comment on Somali pirates, the number of British soldiers injured/killed in Iraq or the growing rates of unemployment?

Instead of complaining about the X-Factor, vote for who you like and then suck it up if they go out - it's just a competition and a fairly monotonous one at that. As for me I won't be wasting my money on a vote, but neither do I care who wins because I'll have forgotten their name by the following morning.

Now I'm off for some Chico time...

Youth Ministry Failure

2009-10-08T20:00:00.003+01:00

Every so often in ministry I'm overwhelmed by a sense of failure.

A deep sense that I'm failing the young people within my care & that I'm lost, not knowing what to do about it. These feelings are often irrational, but yet very real; I'll wrestle with them through insomnia-ridden nights & try to discern that still, small voice of Jesus which simply whispers, "trust me. It'll be ok."

Tonight, I can across a piece of Scripture that has helped me to grapple with some of the situations that I'm currently facing. It's Paul's words to the Corinthian church, an encouragement to persevere through the feelings of inadequacy or failure.

I include it hear in case you're in that place too; perhaps it may speak to you also?

"Don't put it off; don't frustrate God's work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we're doing. Our work as God's servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . .

in hard times, tough times, bad times;

when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed;

working hard, working late, working without eating;

with pure heart, clear head, steady hand;

in gentleness, holiness, and honest love;

when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing His power;

when we're doing our best setting things right;

when we're praised, and when we're blamed;

slandered, and honored;

true to our word, though distrusted;

ignored by the world, but recognized by God;

terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead;

beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die;

immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy;

living on handouts, yet enriching many;

having nothing, having it all."

2 Corinthians 6 (from The Message)

Doubt is not the enemy

2009-08-17T12:20:00.003+01:00

“Everybody thinks they are right; which means that when they die a lot of people are going to find out that they were wrong.” John Ortberg

Perhaps the major reason why we are so intimidated to discuss our doubts with others is the fear that they are true. Of course there’s the stern-faced, judgmentalism that shallow, thinking individuals harbour, but I believe that the greater anxiety emerges from the faulty conviction that verbalising our questions will confirm them as reality.

From one doubter to another, hear this… doubt is not the enemy. Nor is it the opposite of faith. The opposite of faith is pride & unbelief.

Can’t see the difference? Well let me try to help. In the Bible, unbelief is a sinful decision to turn away from God and reject Jesus as Lord of our lives. On the other hand, someone who doubts may remain open to God and long to believe wholeheartedly, but for whatever reason finds that hard to do. Check out Psalm 10 & 13 as examples.

Unbelief is a refusal to trust. It is not uncertainty of the intellect, but a settled decision of the will.

Doubt is a good servant, but a poor master. Doubt is not sinful, but it is serious. If it isn’t addressed properly it can lead further down the road to unbelief and away from Christ. So whatever your doubt today, don’t keep it locked up inside to gnaw away at your faith. Talk to God about it – He understands, look at how he treated Thomas. Talk to someone you trust - get help and reassurance. In doing so you’ll find liberation from the burdens of guilt & shame.

And to all who are experiencing a torrid time spiritually. Can I encourage you to think back to times when you were so very certain of God’s presence & love for you? “Never doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light.”

(Book recommendation John Ortberg’s “Faith & Doubt”)

What kind of belief really matters?

2009-08-11T12:48:00.002+01:00

“Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish in the mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God Himself.” Madeleine L’Engle

Here’s an annoying question, which I dare you to take a minute & ponder the answer too: “What do you really believe and what do you only think you’re supposed to believe?”

Ortberg highlights three different kinds of convictions or beliefs to help us understand why two people professing to the same faith can be so very, very different. Here we go…

Public convictions
These are the ideas that I want other people to think I believe, even though I really don’t believe them. Their purpose is to create an impression rather than portray the truth; they are the staple diet of politicians.

Because of my job there are statements that I think I should believe or that I get rewarded for pretending I believe. So I teach that “it is better to give than receive”, but my wallet is not always convinced. I encourage others to “not judge, lest you be judged”, yet my mouth doesn’t always take up this message.

Private convictions
These are convictions that I sincerely think I believe, but they turn out to be fickle. They seem real at the time, but when circumstances shift they are revealed to be hollow.

The night before Jesus was murdered, Peter made a bold statement, “Even if all fall away, I will not… Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” I’m sure he believed what he said; but when faced with the reality of suffering the day after, these beliefs turned out to be shallow.

Core convictions
These are what we really do believe & are revealed by our daily actions. For example, I really believe that if I touch a hot oven I will get burned. I really believe that if I exercise I will lose weight. I will really believe that if I sit on this computer chair, it won’t buckle underneath me.

And I guess faith is coming to believe with my whole body what I say I believe in my mind. Actions are the best indicator of my true beliefs; not my mouth. One of the reasons I find Jesus attractive is the consistency between what He said, what He thought & what He did. I want to be like that.

So let’s return to that annoying question that most of you couldn’t be bothered or where too scared to pause and ponder, “What do you really believe and what do you only think you’re supposed to believe?”

(Adapted from John Ortberg’s book “Faith & Doubt”)

What the Bible has to say to doubters?

2009-08-10T12:21:00.006+01:00

“Faith is a free surrender & a joyous wager on the unseen, unknown, untested goodness of God.” Martin Luther

The Bible has much to say about faith & doubt; certainly much more than we dare to admit from our pulpits & in our coffee shops.

The short letter by Jude includes a few gems; not least in encouraging us to “be merciful with those who doubt” (v22).

I love the guy in Mark 9, desperate for Jesus to heal His demon-possessed child. This guy’s iffy faith & wavering request has given me words to voice some of my most despairing prayers; “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

I too believe & doubt; hope & fear; pray & waver; ask & worry; so it is reassuring to see Jesus respond with grace & mercy & power in healing the child.

And whilst I like to fantasize that having a powerful mystical encounter with God would settle all of my doubts once & for all, I know from personal experience & Biblical example that this simply is untrue. Take the Israelites for example… 10 plagues, delivery from the Egyptians, safe passage through the Red Sea, an enormous pillar of cloud/fire in front of your eyes day in & day out, food falling from the sky every single day… and still a refusal to trust in God’s provision & protection.

And let’s not forget my personal favourite - sceptical Thomas who refuses to believe his friends’ testimony to the risen Jesus; believing that they were either lying or bonkers… “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I WILL NOT BELIEVE IT.” (John 20:25).

Scepticism can keep us from blessing & trapped in two minds, but it is not the most destructive form of doubt. Thomas really did want to know the truth which put him a cut above the close-minded cynic or the rebel who refuses to believe no matter what evidence is presented.

As a natural sceptic, I delight in Jesus’ patience with Thomas, but if we want the deepest blessings that Christ has to offer listen to his concluding remarks in that incident… “So you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.” (John 20:29)

Faith & Doubt

2009-08-07T16:53:00.005+01:00

“Faith is a footbridge that you don’t know will hold you up over the chasm until you’re forced to walk out onto it.” Nicholas Wolterstorff

Let’s blow a commonly held myth out of the water.

I used to believe that you fell into one of two camps: you either doubted or had faith that there was a supreme, eternal being called God. I couldn’t comprehend how faith could exist in the presence of doubt. Surely the two were opposites. This is of course ok, until you try to live & think out your beliefs in the real world.

As Ortberg states, “many believers tend to think doubters are given over to meaninglessness, moral confusion and despair. Whilst many doubters assume believers are non-thinking, dogmatic, judgmental moralisers. But the reality is, we all have believing & doubting inside us. For we all have the same contradictory information to work with.”

Faith & doubt.

Religious people are often unwilling to sit quietly & wrestle with doubt. This is when bad things happen. Glib responses are given, bad answers are offered & enormous pain is added when ordinary people are convinced that God has not delivered because their faith was not strong enough.

Yet we must doubt. Because we want truth; we must sometimes doubt. We don’t want to be just one of those suckers who falls for every carnival sideshow delusion that comes along.

Faith & doubt.

When my first son Jacob was born this year I found myself staring at him in amazement. I was simply incapable of believing that he was an accident; just a ball of cells resulting from an evolutionary fluke. I can’t hold him without being grateful to Someone greater than I.

And whilst the birth of every infant whispers of a loving God, I am only too aware that the death of every newborn calls His existence into question.

Faith & doubt.

Still not convinced? Take 5mins & read through Psalm 22 & 23; both attributed to David. The often quoted Psalm 23 is confident of God’s promise, protection & peace; whilst the preceding Psalm 22 contrasts glaringly & opens with the words of Jesus on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Faith & doubt.

But in addition to believing & doubting there is choosing; I must decide which road to follow. I must place my bet somewhere.

The term “leap of faith” is overused & greatly misunderstood. It does not mean choosing to believe an impossible thing for no good reason; it is not an embrace of fantasy in which we ignore all evidence. The leap means to make a total commitment to an action in the midst of uncertainty (similar to marriage or having a child); where one must commit in spite of doubts & fears.

Faith, doubt & choice. My choice. Your choice.

The Chronic Doubter

2009-08-06T10:37:00.005+01:00

I wrestle with doubts.

I spend most of my days studying and thinking and reading and teaching about God. And I have doubts.

Most people who have a faith that is more than an inch deep struggle with some form of doubt; although for some reason we like to keep them locked behind smiles & a smattering of those confident, positive verses found in Scripture.

I guess you wrestle with doubts too. Here are some that I have struggled with this year:

Does God really exist?
If so, why is He so silent to my most desperate prayers?
I know the theory behind His love for me, but do I really believe it deep down?
Is He really using me in ministry or am I just kidding myself?

And so for a chronic doubter, I’ve been liberated through reading some of the thoughts of John Ortberg on this subject. His latest book, “Faith & Doubt” is a must for all of us who long to live with certainty in the midst of unanswerable & often painful questions.

I’m going to integrate some of his ideas into my mental framework over the next week. Please join me on the journey & add your own thoughts.

“Doubt can motivate us to study & learn. It can purify false beliefs that have crept into our faith. It can humble our arrogance. It can give us patience & compassion with other doubters. It can remind us of how much truth matters.” John Ortberg

The Man with No Name

2009-07-13T22:15:00.004+01:00

I know the name of his dog.

I know that he has two children - a boy & girl.

I know that she is 5 & he is 8.

I know he comes from Dublin.

I know that he used to play representative football before sustaining a knee injury.

I know where he lives.

I know that he supports Liverpool, thinks that their defenders are rubbish & isn't feeling optimistic about keeping Alonso & Mascherano.

I know that he thinks Michael Owen is a good buy for United.

I know that he thinks our park is going downhill & that the council are shocking for not maintaining a better standard of playground.

I know that he likes meeting Alfie cause he gives his dog a good work out.

I know quite a bit about this guy...

...But I don't have a fiddlers what his name is.

We've chatted maybe 10 times now & it's too late, never mind embarrassing to ask. What a funny relational dynamic, where you can know so much & yet so little.

The Worst Kept Secret to Contentment

2009-06-24T10:24:00.006+01:00

“I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

Go into any faith mission book shop and you’re guaranteed to find this verse emblazoned upon pencils, notepads and (strangely enough) stress balls. If you’ve been having a tough time recently, it may be one of those key verses that friends fire around via a text with promises to pray for your circumstances. There’s even a good chance that this verse may be highlighted in your Bible.

Recently I’ve been trying to work out what the heck it actually means!?!? It appears towards the end of Paul’s letter to the Philippians…

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength."

For too long I have surgically detached this verse from its context. For ages I thought it implied that God would grant me some superhuman abilities to accomplish anything I could imagine or want to make me happy & life easy (regardless of whether these plans were in line with His interests).

Now I see it more as Paul’s (badly kept) secret to contentment. That whether we find ourselves with a bulging wallet or struggling to pay our mortgages, contentment can be found in depending on Christ. It’s probably harder to rely on Christ when life is going well, when we’ve become seduced by the illusion of the self-earned success & security, and perhaps the last year has made us more aware of how fragile our life & resources can be.

And let’s be in no doubt about it. Theoretical Christianity is always much easier than living out the reality. In Northern Ireland we specialize in scrutinizing other people’s life circumstances, sorting their problems without removing planks from our own eyes and “putting the world to rights.”

But when life crumbles around us – when we fail the exam, lose the job, experience a broken relationship, develop a debilitating illness – may we all learn the secret to contentment. That whilst we may not be able to change the circumstances we are in, we can look to Jesus – our beacon of hope – and rest safely in the knowledge that, whatever we have & wherever we are, we can make it through anything as we trust in the One who makes us who we are.

May God give you contentment today.

The Dirt on Dinger’s Bible Reading

2009-06-16T16:55:00.002+01:00

I didn’t read my Bible all of last week.

I was on holiday, had all the time in the world, but was lazy & reading God’s Word felt like too much hard work; so I just read novels & ate ice-cream instead.

I totally believe that “everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching & helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. {And that} the Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). But the truth is that in the 12 years in which I’ve been a Christian I’ve found the Bible enthralling, boring, puzzling, annoying, relevant, irrelevant, depressing and invaluable.

I missed reading it. I missed engaging with Him. I felt a little starved of spiritual nourishment & since returning from the Costa del Portstewart I’ve enjoyed a little series on Abraham – reminding me to trust in the hidden God, about the fulfilment of His promise to Abraham through Jesus & the importance of practicing hospitality.

So if for whatever reason you haven’t read the Bible in a while, why not hit the “turn off” button on the computer & spend some time with Father God who loves to speak to, teach, help, correct, show & train His kids.

Enjoy :-)

African Proverb

2009-06-05T17:45:00.006+01:00

If you want to go fast... go alone.

If you want to go far... go together.

Does Britain Have Talent?

2009-05-27T12:06:00.003+01:00

I'm guilty.

I am one of the 13 million people who must hold their hands up and plead guilty to tuning into BGT over the last few weeks.

Whilst I have really enjoyed the dance routines of Flawless & Diversity and a positive, anti-knife crime message from Liverpudlian children, these have been the shining lights in a pile of tosh this week.

Don't agree with me? Well I present to you Darth Jackson... some annoying guy swinging from a rope in a straight jacket... a repulsive, overweight male drag queen miming to a backing track... a shambolic wannabe rapper... and borderline jailbait teenagers prancing around in their under crackers.

And is it just me or has Susan Boyle (who genuinely has talent) morphed from an authentic, shy & retiring spinster into a bit of a show off.

So my question to you is this... does Britain have talent or is it the freakish parade of the dull, the desperate and deluded that attracts the viewers? Is it the fabulous entertainment that draws us in or is it the gratitude that you have more self-awareness than an operatic, flower arranger?

Freedom

2009-05-13T11:40:00.003+01:00

I stop in the middle of reading a book that a friend kindly bought for me.
Here's an interesting, and in my opinion true, paragraph.
Chew it over a few times before swallowing, like a perfectly cooked steak...

"Entering into that freedom, which is Christ's own gift, requires that we be liberated from the wrong idea of God.

We must destroy the idol of God as a big, powerful person, usually thought of as male, who bosses us around and tells us what we must do if He is to like us.

We must get rid of the God who opposes our freedom, and keeps us trapped in infantile submission.

So many people's lives have been crucified by worship of this alien idol. We must discover the God who is the source of freedom bubbling up in the very core of our being, and granting us existence in every moment."

Timothy Radcliffe OP, "What is the point of being a Christian?"

Why doesn't God answer my prayers?

2009-04-21T12:43:00.004+01:00

#7: We need to persevere

“For our struggle is not against flesh & blood, but against the ruler, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world & against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:11-12

Ephesians 6 is a cracker wee Bible passage. It is often used in sermons on spiritual attack, but interestingly has more to say about spiritual resistance & standing firm.

Living a Christian life is no ice-cream topped adventure - it is a bloody & difficult fight with far too many casualties - and we must realise that some of our prayers go unanswered because there are spiritual forces of evil resisting them. This alone should be a wake up call to persevere, to not give up and keep our eyes heavenwards, while our knees are firmly rooted to the floor.

Yet sometimes it is God Himself who resists our prayers & it is to Him that we must continue in prayer. He opposes our prayers for very different reasons to the Evil One. Instead of the instant gratification of miracles on our every finger click, He calls us to persevere in prayer to deepen our character & nurture our faith.

In Luke chapter 18 Jesus teaches His disciples about persistence in prayer & not throwing in the towel too early. He tells the story of a determined widow’s unremitting demands for justice in the face of an obstinate, crooked judge. But even the unjust judge is eventually forced to give in to her constant nagging; so how much more will a loving Heavenly Father reward His children who earnestly persevere in prayer through faith & dogged determination.

Whether your prayers are being resisted by mysterious spiritual forces, by stubborn people or even by God Himself, just don’t give up.

I finish this series with a prayer that Greig records in “God on mute.” I hope you have enjoyed this series or found it at least slightly stimulating & helpful. Thanks for journeying with me.

Help me to stand

Lord, help me to stand today.
Temptations & trials abound.

When life hurts, I get confused, dishonest, suspicious & critical.
I put on the belt of truth.

When life hurts, mu relationships suffer – especially my relationship with You.
I put on the breastplate of righteousness.

When life hurts, I either get really lazy or I make myself really busy.
I put on the shoes of the Gospel.

When life hurts, I let down my guard & leave myself exposed.
I take up the shield of faith.

When life hurts, my thinking gets negative & I question everything.
I put on the helmet of salvation.

When life hurts I’m a coward.
I take hold of the sword of the Word.

Lord, it doesn’t feel very ‘finished’ down here.
I don’t feel very ‘finished.’
See me kneeling.
Help me stand.

Why doesn't God answer my prayers?

2009-04-20T12:47:00.012+01:00

#6: God gives us choices

I don’t really understand why the Almighty God who created our wondrous rolling spheres, holds the keys of time in His hands & creates beauty with the gentlest whisper, continually chooses to limit His own power. It’s hard to grasp why a supreme being would decide to refrain from asserting His dominion unilaterally, and instead respect the laws of nature & the choices of His creatures.

Greig suggests that we “see this willingness to relinquish control ultimately expressed in Jesus. Here is the omnipotent God becoming an incontinent baby.” This indignity was further compounded by a cruel death at the hands of the very humans to whom He breathed new life. I have come to realise that we cannot really fathom the dynamics of unanswered prayers unless we grasp God’s determination to respect the free will of humanity.

I have just become the proud father of a little bundle of joy & poop called Jacob. Already I’m a besotted daddy bore & experiencing a new wave of emotions which accompany “paternal love.” But fast forward 15 years and this little bundle is an adolescent; in transition en route to adulthood. At this stage I will still have some measure of control over Him. For example, I could demand that he declares his love & devotion to me before I relinquish pocket money & transport him to see his peers.

But “enforced love” is an oxymoron. The deepest fatherly satisfaction arises when a son freely chooses to display affection to his dad. And so it us with our Heavenly Daddy who receives the upmost delight when we voluntarily submit to His will & love, but in order to achieve this God leaves open the dangerous possibility that we might disobey Him.

And so if our unanswered prayers revolve around the Holy Spirit enforcing someone to do something – even if we have that individual’s best interests at heart – we must realise that our God gives all of us freedom to make choices, whether these are positive or negative. And while He may use our prayers to draw near to others & knock on the door of their hearts, He is unlikely to break down the entrance & force His way in.

"To use the analogy of a restaurant, prayer helps to present people with the menu, and perhaps it can even make them hungry. Yet because prayer is not a control mechanism, it cannot force the food into their mouths. Frustratingly, it's up to them to order & eat. Only then will they 'taste & see that the Lord is good' (Psalm 34:8)." by Pete Greig.

(Thoughts developed from Pete Greig’s “God on mute”)

Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?

2009-04-18T22:07:00.003+01:00

#5: God wants to draw you into a deeper relationship with Himself

God the Father’s deepest desire for our lives is that we would experience a fulfilling relationship with Him. Jesus came to allow us the opportunity to live this life in all its fullness & the Spirit helps us to understand this more completely as He transforms our hearts & minds.

We’re all attracted to “fast food” prayer. The type of asking that demands an immediate answer that may satisfy in that instant, but leaves a deeper thirst unquenched. But sometimes by holding back fast track blessings, God entices us to remain longer in His presence. Sometimes He considers our questioning & our wondering as more important than the relatively simple act of supplying us with an answer.

I’m not denying that this can be frustrating. But a delayed answer causes us to pray harder, search our souls more diligently and listen attentively to even the slightest whiff of a response from heaven. This is most evident in the lives of those Christians with the most intimate & energetic relationships with the Lord, who have more often than not wrestled & suffered through the silence of unanswered prayer.

I am not suggesting that God is sadistic, in fact the opposite. Sometimes He will deny us something so that He will draw us to the great Someone. And as we submit to this grand design (that is to love Him for who He is, not for the stuff He gives us), we find that either our requests change with an enhanced knowledge of His desires or that they are simply answered.

“The outer need kindles the inner and we find that the complete answer to prayer is the Answerer.” P.T. Forsythe

(Thoughts developed from Pete Greig’s “God on mute”)

Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?

2009-04-17T16:22:00.003+01:00

#4: God has got something better planned

“Sorry, but you have been unsuccessful.” “We don’t want you.” “The other applicants are better than you.” “You don’t have what it takes.”

You can just about accept rejection for the first or second job you apply for, but you get pretty fed up as the count slips past ten, and by the time refusal number fifteen came along I was fairly pissed off. Eighteen years of education, working my yo-yo’s off for a decent degree & pouring £s into further education to be rejected on an almost daily basis from the job you want to do is not pleasant.

My prayers changed from pleasantly asking God for a job, to desperately pleading for one, to getting angry with Him for His silence & the prospect of a lifetime’s service for the Golden Arches.

But after months of application forms, polished interview techniques, rejection letters & “failed” prayer requests, God fired me a curve ball of a career move into youth ministry. I went kicking & screaming and can only be grateful that He’d already employed the “swallowed-by-a-big-fish-method” of attention grabbing before.

Yet 6 years after this messy & irritating period in my life, I see that God did not want me to be a human resource manager. In fact, I don’t want to be & am delighted that I am not called to play this role. Those unanswered prayers which seemed like a curse have become the very platform upon which I have discovered joy in myself, my God & my work. I love (at least most of the time) the opportunity to play a small & hopefully positive role in the development of teenagers & young adults.

Sometimes I have to admit that God is smarter than me, that He really does know what is best for our lives & that He is bigger than both my understanding & desires.

Sometimes I have to remember & believe God’s Word when He says, “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Or plumb the depths of a promise such as, “God can do anything, you know – far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around, but by His Spirit deeply & gently within us” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Some prayers are not answered because God is good & smarter than us.

“We shall come one day to a heaven where we shall gratefully know that God’s great refusals were sometimes the true answers to our truest prayers.” P.T. Forsythe in The Soul of Prayer

Why doesn't God answer my prayers?

2009-04-15T23:42:00.004+01:00

#3: Life’s tough

Please don’t hear this as an uncompassionate explanation. I’d be very slow to use this in response to a complex & difficult pastoral situation, but our expectations have a huge bearing on how we respond to unanswered prayer.

Contrary to the beliefs of my youth group, I wasn’t alive in the 19th Century, but from my limited grasp of history it appears that people used to expect life to be difficult, demanding & problem-filled. Today we presume life is wrapped in cotton-wool, that the silver spoon should always be close at hand, and whilst we would endure some small mishaps along the way, we generally feel hard done by when life doesn’t pan out the way we want.

When tough times come we can feel as if God has robbed us of our deserved happiness. And despite advances in technology & medical treatment we must remember that it’s normal to have problems, get sick, have financial difficulties & wrestle with fractured relationships. Jesus promises His disciples that “You will have trouble” (John 16:33), but nobody sticks that on the car bumper or the banner at the front of church.

God’s goal for your life is not to make you happy. It is to make you holy. Life is tough, but surely that should make us all the more grateful for the abundant daily blessings of our Lord & prevent us from blaming Him for what is simply the reality of existence in a messed up planet. As Christians our ultimate hope is not set in a succession of deliveries from human affliction, but a deepening relationship with the eternal God of this Universe.

Peter was aware of it this, “Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as if something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). And Paul was braver than I could ever dare to be when he prayed, “to know Christ & the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in death” (Philippians 3:10).

Pete Greig summarises this better than I ever could, “Perhaps we should accept what older people and poorer people and many of those with disabilities already know: Things are probably going to be very difficult today & just as hard tomorrow. Maybe by adjusting our expectations we can reduce the sense of disappointment, isolation & unfairness riding on the back of unanswered prayer... when such times come, we should feel a little less outrage & a lot more hope because Jesus, who went through similar struggles, predicted that we would have them & promised to be with us in the midst of them.”

Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?

2009-04-14T23:30:00.006+01:00

#2: They contradict the laws of nature

“A miracle is a violation of the normal laws of nature by some supernatural entity of unknown outside force.”

By definition miracles must be rare, a lot less common than we want them to be and much more extraordinary than many preachers lead us to believe. Even throughout thousands of years of history recorded in Scripture, “common” miracles are largely confined to four short periods (the period of the Exodus, the time of the prophets Elijah & Elisha, the ministry of Jesus & the time of the apostles).

I don’t like this. I wish miracles were more common, that every prayer for healing enabled sight, hearing or cured disease; that every prayer for job security avoided the redundancy package; and that every prayer for wayward Prodigals brought them back into the arms of Jesus.

But this is not the way the Lord has designed our world to function. Instead “God has intricately established certain governing principles (laws of nature) that make life work, and they do so most of the time with almost infinite complexity & exquisite harmony.” (Pete Greig)

There are times when I have found this immensely painful & frustrating, but consider for a moment if it wasn’t true. What would it be like to live in a world where we could regularly expect God to perform miracles in our lives? A world in which…

...Whenever I slip God grabs me?

…Whenever germs invade my body, God intervenes directly to ward off disease?
…I may grow old, but never die?
…When I hurt someone’s feelings, God makes them feel better?
…The fire suddenly gets cold when the young child reaches for it?
…People who have wasted their money for years get a windfall because they earnestly prayed for a way to send their children to university?
…When I pray for a hurricane not to strike my house, it turns aside & strikes yours instead?

This sort of world terrifies me. It is not a utopian existence, but a place of chaos & complete unpredictability.

Can God do miracles? Of course. Does He still intervene miraculously in this world? Yes, although not as often as we’d like. But we must realise that some prayers are not answered because they would be detrimental to ourselves, other people or the world in which we live.

In one sense this is actually quite liberating. It means we can ignore the bogus “faith healers” and good intentioned, but ill-advising friends who convince us that the miracle doesn’t arrive because our faith is too weak or that we aren’t praying often or confidently enough.

I honestly believe that God heals people today (even though I’ve never met someone who has been “miraculously” cured), so please don’t hear this as a discouragement to ask for healing. Bring your requests to God & He will meet your true needs, even if He does not give you exactly what you want. But please don’t be bound by the false expectations laid upon us by the devious or ill-informed. Miracles by definition are rare.

(Thoughts developed from Pete Greig’s “God on mute”)

Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?

2009-04-11T22:30:00.003+01:00

#1: Some prayers are contradictory

I sat in pain today watching my football club (Newcastle United) play agonisingly badly against Stoke City. I am not an idiot; I realise my team will not conquer the Premier League in my lifetime, but the thought of their impending relegation is immensely frustrating.

At one stage, I remembered that our Lord is both sovereign & gracious, and in my desperation sent up a prayer for a much needed victory. As I did, the camera homed in on a Stoke supporter with hands clasped & eyes averted heavenward, clearly seeking God to deliver 3 vital points to his own team.

A trivial example perhaps, but faced with these two requests, how does the Lord react? Or what about the bride praying for sunshine on her wedding day, while the local farmer is on his knees desperately interceding for rain? What about the two unemployed people applying for the same job, in dire need of revenue for their family?

Whose prayers does God answer on such occasions? The most holy? The most desperate? The neediest? He who has pray-est the most?

While I believe that God is sympathetic to our daily needs, He rarely intervenes in the natural course of events. If He did, according to Greig, prayer would stop “being a powerful submission to the sovereign wisdom of God, and God Himself starts to look like a cosmic version of one of those bright, flashing pinball machines, frenetically flicking around train timetables, weather fronts, football scores & world markets at the behest of His creatures.”

Whilst it would suit me very nicely to control the world through prayer (especially when it comes to the fortunes of my football team or the outcomes of our youth ministry), it would probably not suit millions of others.

BUT (and it’s a bigger butt than that weird dancing girl on “Britain’s’ Got Talent”), that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t bother praying to God about the small things in our lives. Why?

1. It’s a privilege to be heard by God when we tell Him what’s troubling us (even if everyone else thinks it’s silly or unimportant). Conversation, especially about trivial things, marks any healthy relationship.

2. God sometimes surprises us by answering our little prayers in a supernatural way. Normally when that “little” prayer has major implications unseen to us.

3. Involving God in the tiny things in our lives opens our eyes to the hidden blessings that He lathers on us each day. People who only ask for BIG things, are only grateful when BIG prayers are answered & as a result live less grateful lives.

So keep praying on all occasions for all things great & small, but realise that if your request for sun, a free parking space or a sporting victory aren’t answered, it might be because someone else's prayer runs contrary to yours & their need is greater.

(Thoughts developed from Pete Greig’s “God on mute”)

Is God deaf?

2009-04-10T22:29:00.001+01:00

Frustrating, confusing, painful. Unanswered prayer can deepen or destroy an individual’s faith depending on the foundations on which that faith has been built.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty fed up with the neatly packaged & often patronising answers often offered to the complex & difficult issues that surround God’s silence in our time of desperation. So it is with great joy that I am enjoying a book that wrestles with this subject in an honest way, born out of painful, firsthand experience.

I highly recommend “God on mute” by Pete Greig & in this blog series I’ll seek to combine some of his thoughts with my own in an attempt to stimulate discussion on the issue of unanswered prayer. But perhaps today of all days it is appropriate to reflect on one of Jesus’ unanswered prayers.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The lack of an immediate answer in the moment of our Lord’s greatest need may be chilling & challenging to the rose-tinted, flat-pack version of faith we are often sold in the church, but it also demonstrates that explanations to our suffering may not come at the time when we feel it is needed the most.

We will never suffer like Christ suffered on the cross, but we all have “Good Friday” times in our lives categorised by pain, disappointment, confusion or spiritual starvation that cause many of us to think & the bravest to ask, “God , are You deaf?”

I hope you find the next blog series helpful. As ever I’d love to hear your thoughts.

(Thoughts developed from Pete Greig’s “God on mute”)

Musings of a cream crackered youth worker...

2009-04-07T17:32:00.002+01:00

It's official. Two sleepless nights with a new born baby is actually more demanding than a sleepless youth weekend away. For one thing I don't have to change poopy nappies on weekends away. And let me assure those unexperienced in 4am nappy changes... you will never eat chicken korma again.

So as I sit match sticks in my eyes & brain still thinking it's last Friday afternoon, I came across this interesting little article that compares a church that is "performance based" & a church that is "grace based". I found it uncomfortable reading. I'd love to know your thoughts.

Which type of church (faith community) do you belong to......

A) Community of Performance
People talk about grace, but communicate legalism.
Unbelievers can't imagine themselves as Christians.
Drive away broken people.
The world is seen as threatening and 'other.'
Conversion is superficial—people are called to respectable behavior.
People are secretly hurting.
People see faith and repentance as actions that took place at conversion.
The gospel is for unbelievers.

B) Community of Grace
People can see grace in action.
Unbelievers feel like they can belong.
Attract broken people.
People are loved as fellow sinners in need of grace.
Conversion is radical—people are called to transformed affections.
People are open about their problems.
People see faith and repentance as daily activities.
The gospel is for both unbelievers and believers.

Grabbed by the knackers...

2009-03-26T12:00:00.007Z

Sometimes a piece of Scripture grabs you by the knackers & gets your attention.

So it was as I read through Amos 5 yesterday. I'll let God speak for Himself through His Word, but needless to say this prophetic warning to Israel over 2700 years ago could be just as applicable to many parts of the Western Church today...

Amos 5 (from the Message)

18-20 "Woe to all of you who want God's Judgment Day! Why would you want to see God, want him to come? When God comes, it will be bad news before it's good news, the worst of times, not the best of times. Here's what it's like: A man runs from a lion right into the jaws of a bear. A woman goes home after a hard day's work and is raped by a neighbor. At God's coming we face hard reality, not fantasy— a black cloud with no silver lining."

21-24 "I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me?

Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want."

Jacob Thomas Bell

2009-03-18T23:19:00.005Z

Baby Bell has arrived.

6 weeks earlier than expected; small ay 3lb 7 ounces, but fearfully & wonderfully made.

Praise God for His goodness.

Musings from a hospital ward

2009-03-14T23:24:00.002Z

I’ve always found hospitals interesting, and at times intimidating places.

I worked in one for five years & came to the conclusion that they are temples of contemplation. They cause you to slow down, to evaluate life and can tempt even the most obstinate atheist to pray. Life begins & ends here, good & bad news exist side by side, and the wide range of human emotions is on full display.

I’ve spent some time in a hospital this week. My wife is being monitored as some concerns have been raised over the development of our unborn child. The staff are pleasant, the resources fantastic (especially considering the dire conditions highlighted by Comic Relief yesterday), but uncertainty hangs in the air.

So many questions, too few answers, doubt lingering like a bad smell.

When faced with uncertainty the human default is to panic, to fear and to worry. And as Christians the first reaction is normally (& naturally) just that, but the second veneer is one of a faith-filled response.

Hebrews 11 gives a helpful insight into what faith is - “being sure of what we hope for & certain of what we don’t see” – and lists a number of ancestors who lived this out authentically.

I guess one of the out workings of faith is trusting God when the future is unclear & uncertain… in the real world… when employment, health or relationships don’t give easy answers. So it is my hope that as I live out my life in the hospital this season, the Lord will cement a life-long lesson in trusting Him.

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track.Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!”
Proverbs 3:5-6 (The Message)

Racist jokes... It's only words

2009-03-11T12:22:00.004Z

Not for the first time some members of my youth group ruffled my feathers last night.

The context was a discussion on reconciliation & peace-making in NI; not just between Protestants & Catholics, but amongst all divisions in society. A couple of young people were adamant that it was ok to make "sectarian" or "Black/racist" jokes with Catholic friends and those different from races as long as they aren't offended.

Various questions were raised such as "does making any joke about Black people make you a racist or is our world too politically correct?" and "why can't I call my Catholics friends a F***ian, if it is made in jest?"

I addressed & challenged our youth to think about these attitudes raising questions such as "do you think Jesus would tell this joke?" and "would Jesus make any comments if He overhead you delivering this joke or laugh along with you?" I urged great caution & prayerful reflection in all these situations.

Interestingly, there were mixed reactions, great passion & heated debate at this point. One youth asked more probing follow up questions, worried that what she had perceived as "ok banter" may have been causing offence or dishonouring God. Another reacted very aggressively claiming that by potentially labelling him as a racist I had committed the worse crime.

By no means I am suggesting that my youth are out-and-out racists, seeking to offend or dominate people from different backgrounds. However, the questions raised in my mind are:

Do these "jokes" imply a superiority over another group? (a significance part of sectarianism & racism)

What makes a sectarian/racist "joke" funny?

Does familiarity with these "jokes" (even in the context of friendship & banter) open the door for other people to use these in a more sinister manner?

And how does this impact on our witness to the God who is inclusive & all-loving?

I'd be keen to hear your views. Especially as to whether I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill or raising a common concern.

The worst question to ask a youth worker

2009-02-24T15:58:00.002Z

You’re not long in the church serving in full time youth work before someone asks you the inevitable question. Perhaps you see it coming & brace yourself.

“After this are you going to train for the ministry?” or “When are you going to become a minister?”

I can put up with the crap pay, lack of career progression & future employment uncertainties. I can even endure sleepless nights & teenagers who smell like death, but in such situations keeping a tight reign on my tongue is quite a challenge. Every effort is made to prevent myself slapping the unsuspecting bystander round the head & screaming, “I am doing ministry you nincompoop!”

Often the question is delivered with good intentions - perhaps someone in the congregation has noticed a positive quality in you - but the implications behind the question are frustrating and can pierce the soul.

“When are you going to get a real job?”
“When will you stop all this child’s play and minister properly?”
“I’ve noticed you’re not bad at what you do, would you like to be promoted & work with some meaningful people known as ‘adults’?”

I guess deep down it’s not just the devaluing of self & position & role that places the bee in my bonnet. I think it’s more the unstated implication that young people are second class citizens & if you are any good at working with them you should respond to the “higher” calling of ministering to adults.

But I hold the views expressed in a recent youth work article. When asked to describe what part of Christ’s body they thought the youth represented, they said, “The reproductive organs! The bit we like to ignore and perhaps feel slightly ashamed & uncomfortable about, but without which the body cannot reproduce.”

Perhaps I’ll share that the next time someone suggests that I’d look great in a dog collar!

Church the new cinematic experience?

2009-02-10T11:31:00.004Z

We call it a worship service, but a more accurate description of what most of us do today is something like a "spiritual show."

Too many of us equate churchgoing with going to the movies. It's a performance & our role is to give it a thumbs up or an 'our survey says "uh-uh."' We can treat our worship service like our favourite TV programme; as long as it's entertaining & the characters & the story captures us, we'll stay tuned in. But if it loses it's edge, we'll channel hop to another show.

"Lord, please remind us that in our church service, You are the audience, not us."

Emmanuel Adebayor & Prayer

2009-02-03T10:24:00.003Z

A very interesting story has emerged about Emmanuel Adebayor. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Check out....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/4444076/Arsenal-striker-Emmanuel-Adebayors-football-miracle-taught-him-to-walk.html

Welcome to church

2009-01-27T09:47:00.004Z

"Good morning ladies & gentlemen and welcome to our (Presbyterian) church service. If you're new this morning you may not be familiar with how things work, so here's some rules to get you started.

1. Under no circumstances raise your arms during the worship. Not even to scratch your head. When the Spirit is at work in us, He moves us to put our hands firmly in our pockets.

2. Unless you arrived with someone always leave a space between the person next to you - best to leave two if you can't remember the person's name - anything else is an invasion of privacy.

3. At the end of the service make for the exit at break neck speed. Do not make eye contact with the minister or youth worker, or else you'll find yourself doing a reading or leading the creche next week.

4. Never volunteer your gifts in service. Any real Christian leader will know what you can & cannot do by looking at you.

5. Remember to use the prayer slot to catch up on some sleep or reviewing the fun you had at the party last night.

6. Never open the pew Bible. They look much better covered in dust in front of you.

Thank you and enjoy your morning."

Does my bum look big in this?

2009-01-26T13:21:00.002Z

Is there a more terrifying question that a woman could pose to her husband?

Here's what Terry Wogan has to offer on the subject...

"Forty years of marriage has prepared me for such a question. There is only one answer 'No', delivered a la de Gaulle - resoundingly, positively, without a scintilla of doubt.

Anything else - an aversion of the eyes, a flicker of the lids, a moistening on the lips or, worst of all, a nanosecond's hesitation before replying - can only end in an inquisition to rival Torquemada at his best, inevitably ending with an exasperated, 'I don't know why I bother!', a brisk turn of the heel, and the slamming of several doors." (from Mustn't Grumble)

Taking Action – a Practical Response to Porn

2009-01-17T13:20:00.002Z

With all addictions, we need God’s strength to empower & change us. It’s about giving our best, taking each day at a time & being prepared to pick ourselves up when we fall. Here’s some advice from someone who’s struggled with porn:

Talk to God first: you’ll probably not want to do this, but the best first step is to confess what you’ve done, admit you have a problem & never feel too guilty to approach your loving & gracious Heavenly Father. Ask Him to heal your heart & mind from images that have polluted it.

Get accountable: admitting your problem to someone else is the most vital & dangerous step, but you simply cannot fight this battle on your own. Be brave. Tell your friend, wife/husband, pastor. They probably struggle with it too. Pray it through together.

Clean it up: now that your thinking is clear, here are some practical steps to avoid porn:
Cancel or lock out TV channels that cause you to struggle
Don’t go channel hopping after 9pm
Place your computer in a public place like the living room
Don’t log on late at night – when you’re tired, you’re more vulnerable
Get someone to check your internet history (don’t delete it for two weeks)

By recognising this issue & bringing it into the light, we can commit together to the long & difficult journey towards healing and freedom from the bonds of lust & pornography addiction.

For more information & help check out http://xxxchurch.com/

(Ideas in these blogs were adapted from YouthWork Magazine)

The Problem with Porn

2009-01-16T10:58:00.003Z

Pornography always has a negative impact.

It destroys marriages: even when it remains undiscovered. It warps expectations of healthy sexual activity away from a loving, equal & biblical ideal, and into line with the ethics of hardcore sex. It lowers sexual value & leads to dissatisfaction. When the problem is discovered the other partner may feel jealous, repulsed, angry and rejected.

It is linked to human trafficking: there is a significant & very worryingly relationship between porn, prostitution & human trafficking. Many UK prostitutes are trafficked women, forced into slavery by gangs, and many of whom are filmed. Not only is watching porn potentially fuelling human trafficking, but pornographic exposure also increases the likelihood that a person will visit a prostitute.

It often leads to violence: most internet porn involves the physical degradation, and sometimes outright humiliation of a subject, in most cases female. There are also significant links between hardcore pornography & sexual violence, and its prevalence sustains a culture in which rape and sexual violence are normalised & legitimated.

It is addictive: because it never satisfies. Instead it inflames desire – like leading a starving person past a bakery – and always promotes the desire for more, more, more.

Porn is far from harmless. It is destructive, corrosive & unjust. It numbs us, sexually & spiritually, and induces massive strangling guilt. Its problem is not that it emphasises sexuality too much, but that it does not emphasise it enough (Richard Foster). It eliminates the relationship & in so doing restrains sexuality to the genitals & makes sex trivial.

So tomorrow we’ll consider how to tackle the issue…

(Ideas in these blogs were adapted from YouthWork Magazine)

Porn – the church’s dirty little secret?

2009-01-15T16:49:00.004Z

Addiction: “being physically or psychologically dependent on something.”

Pornography has been around for a long time, but with the rise of the internet the porn industry is now booming. When I was a teenager you had to buy a top-row magazine in a shiny packet, now you click onto Google.

Its estimated annual income is £1billion in the UK and £30billion globally. It’s been traditionally labelled as a male problem, but 1 in 3 visitors to porn sites are female. According to a recent Christian survey, 50% of men & 20% of women – all Christian – admitted to an “addiction” to Internet-based pornography. Another survey revealed that 37% of pastors found this addiction to be a daily struggle.

Despite its prolific nature the church is largely silent on this issue. Why is the church so bad at talking about healthy sexuality? Why is sexual sin viewed as a bigger issue than other sins? Is it because church leaders & members aren’t living out a healthy sexuality themselves? Certainly if we were talking about a drug or alcohol addiction of this extent, the church would be mobilising fast to put it’s house in order.

I’ve struggled with it. I bet most of you reading this have too. My struggle started when I was 13 & strangely enough my fascination with naked women did not disappear when I became a Christian at 16.

I want to take the next 2 blogs to highlight the dangers of pornography, how it is destroying people’s lives, marriages & ministries, and consider how we might begin to address the problem.

(Ideas in these blogs were adapted from YouthWork Magazine)

Stories I wish weren't in the Bible...

2009-01-12T16:00:00.002Z

Ananias & Sapphira – killed for telling a lie
(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%205:1-11&version=46)

Ok this story really reaps havoc with my brain; more uncomfortable than suffering haemorrhoids on a mountain bike.

In chapter 4 of Acts we’ve had a fantastic picture painted of the radical, counter-cultural revolution that is the early church. New believers are sharing common ideals, testifying to Christ’s resurrection in a powerful way & making costly financial sacrifices to meet the needs of the poor. One guy Joseph is hailed as such a fine example that he earns the nickname “Son of Encouragement” for the rest of the book.

Suddenly the romance & righteousness of the early church is given an immediate kick out the window as God strikes down dead Ananias & Sapphira for telling some lies. Seemingly motivated by their ego rather than the needs of the poor, they wanted the credit & prestige of sacrificial generosity without the inconvenience.

I don’t like this story because I like to practice “impression management” (I’m so drawn to the concept that I even learned the fancy term to describe it). I like people thinking I’m good, kind, generous, admirable, bla bla bla, because it massages my self-esteem & covers a variety of public errors.

Through this story God screams “I hate hypocrisy” and exposes any defence of “the little white lie.” Like the early church its’ telling sometimes grips me with fear, but also deepens my understanding of just how gracious & patient my Holy Heavenly Father is.

I guess I should remember this the next time I’m describing the goal I scored in football or my contribution to the ministry team.

Stories I wish weren’t in the Bible

2009-01-07T17:11:00.004Z

Sometimes you come across a story in the Bible that hits you right between the eyes. As we read & think through the Scriptures we discover passages that confuse us, make us feel uncomfortable & ones that we skim over, stroking an editing pen through in our minds, never to revisit.

In this next blog series I’m going to reveal several of the stories that I wrestle with. If I’m honest these are the stories that I wish weren’t in there at all because it would make my life easier and my faith less complicated & easier to package. But God’s Word is God’s Word, and what He has spoken He expects us to listen & react too, so here goes…

The Rich Man & Lazarus – Luke 16:19-31
(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2016:19-31&version=65)

Jesus doesn’t talk a lot about hell, but neither is He silent on it. Luke Ch.15 spells out three illustrations of priceless things that are lost – coins, sheep, sons – and our Father God breaking sweat as He searches high & low to bring those precious belongings back to Him.

But in this story Jesus exposes the reality of the afterlife & two possible destinations – God’s exhilarating presence (heaven) or God’s devastating judgment (hell).

Most people aren’t too bothered about hell. I guess this is mainly because it’s been depicted in a frivolous manner by various cartoon programmes (e.g. Robot Hell - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SJwgtNTcoEg&feature=related),

but Jesus’ image is more disconcerting than the widely held “party with the devil, booze, gambling & lap dancers” representation.

He uses the words “agony” & “torment.” The rich man’s distress & powerlessness are evident. The huge un-crossable chasm between the two destinations is apparent.

Why my discomfort? I’ve been a victim of the “turn or burn” church culture – at 11years old, I remember someone in Belfast city shouting that I “was destined for hell” – so I think I’ve back-lashed against the ungracious & uncaring presentation of biblical truth and overdosed on other aspects of God – such as His love, forgiveness & friendship.

I’m not comfortable with the concept of hell, but to deny its existence is to make light of the One I choose to follow. So rather than etch out this story, I hope that its discomfort will further motivate me to get out there & spread the Good News of Jesus, always remembering that the Good News is only good when we get the whole picture of what we’re being saved from.

One final thought. Remembering that Jesus is en route to the cross, check out His use of irony in (v31).

Noticing God – a New Year Resolution

2008-12-29T12:21:00.006Z

I never realised how many babies there where until my wife got pregnant.

Nothing prepared me for the sheer quantity of pregnant women & small children in crazy, non-steer yellow trolley-truck thingys that I suddenly saw in Tesco’s. And since September I’ve noticed nappy adverts, “Baby on Board” stickers & the price of toys for the first time.

These new observations have astonished me. Have I been blind to this all along or had it just not registered?

This has led to a first New Year Resolution in ages.

You see I’m not that big into NYR’s. I don’t understand why resetting the calendar fills us with so much unfounded hope that we’ll shift the bingo wings, befriend sunrise for jogging & meditation and procrastinate less on FaceBook… I mean give me two weeks & I’ll be back to a low-veg diet, booing joggers, snoozing instead of praying & addicted to WordTwist.

However, NYR’s are a good reminder that we’re not perfect; that there’s stuff about our lives that needs to change; that we want to be better or at least different. And this year rather than set a pie-in-the-sky high bar challenge, I’m trying to involve God in the NYR process - which leads me back to the baby observations.

I feel that God is calling me to notice Him more. To realise that He is around (even when I’m blind to His presence) and make a conscious effort to look for Him in everyday life - including the irritating teenager, the traffic jam situation or the failed ministry opportunity.

To steal a John Ortberg title, “God is closer than you think” so my NYR is to look a little more intently for His daily presence in the mundane, monotonous & frustrating, rather than just in the spectacular & unique.

Anyone else got a NYR?

Light

2008-12-19T13:55:00.005Z

“Those people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2

We talk a lot about light at Christmas.

This isn’t just because we’re restricted to a few hours of daylight in this season (at least in the northern hemisphere), but because we remember ‘The Light of the World’ entering our sphere in human form.

Infinite God, Creator of the universe, the All-Powerful One came down and lived among us. He limited Himself to a human body; a body that felt pain, got tired, cried & couldn’t control His infant bladder.

I find this a weirdly wonderful concept.

Christ’s life, death & resurrection is the light by which Christians try to live.
Without this we stumble, fall, get hurt and experience the dangers that come with the darkness.
With Him we can see, we can live and experience the comfort & safety of His presence.

Christians are also called to be “the light of the world” reflecting God’s goodness & greatness, showing the way to The Way, leading our friends, family & communities to the Saviour.

I find this a terrifying, but also weirdly wonderful concept.

May you stop long enough to allow Jesus to bring light to your darkest areas this Christmas and may you let Him shine through you to bring this beautiful light to others.

Merry Christmas.

2008-12-15T12:06:00.003Z

"The worst moment for an atheist is when he feels a profound sense of gratitude and has no-one to thank." G.K. Chesterton

Designer Dogs & Dirty Water

2008-12-12T13:53:00.006Z

So I'm just back from a few days in London, the Big Smoke, with my wife.

I normally hate the place. Too many people bustling about, invading my personal space & using elbows as leavers to bump me out of the way. So rather surprisingly I actually really enjoyed this trip.

We saw "Wicked" at the West End (highly recommended, especially to Wizard of Oz fans), posed beside wax celebrities in Madame Taussad's, sailed over the Houses of Parliament in the London Eye, reset my watch by Big Ben standards & relived childish nostalgia in Hamleys.

However, one of the most striking moments of the trip was standing in Harrods, in the Pet Kingdom section, listening to "Do they know it's Christmas" playing on the radio.

Something just isn't right when you're offered the opportunity to spend (literally) hundreds of pounds on toys & designer clothes for your dog, while various pop stars remind us about needs in Africa. Never mind their lack of snow... their lack of clean water & sanitation is a much more pressing need.

Check this video out... I found it challenging.

For Dumb Fish

2008-12-05T19:15:00.005Z

I’ve only been fishing once before. It was cold, quite boring & I wasn’t too successful.

But I do know something about fish… they are stupid!

In fact, they are perhaps the most stupid animal God has created. Their very existence has been summarised like this “they see food; they want food; they eat food.” All very well except humans have deployed this strategy to catch & fry little fishes for thousands of years. See it…want it… get it… destruction.

We can be pretty dumb at times too… especially men.

Lust has promised us freedom & happiness for years, but has only ever delivered us into slavery. The results are easily evidenced in the rise of sexual addictions, the sexual emptiness in so many relationships & a global porn industry worth over £30 billion.

We live in the world of see it… want it… have it. But like the fish, our promising morsel of satisfaction becomes the bait leading to destruction. So if you’re struggling with lust in its various forms you’re not a lonely traveller. Here are some practices I’ve picked up along the way to help me in the battle with lust.

Make a promise: like Job make a covenant with your eyes not to sin. You do have the power to avoid glaring at the bosom, logging on to dodgy web pages & putting yourself in uncompromising situations.

Find a friend: the word accountability is used often & practiced little. Find someone with whom you can share your struggles, your battles and your victories.

Live a life of gratitude: all sin stems from dissatisfaction with what God has blessed us with. If you want to fight sexual temptation, start by opening your eyes & thanking the Lord for who & what He has given you.

Hope these help.

From a dumb fish.

2008-12-04T11:00:00.000Z

Ripping off Jesus

2008-12-01T11:39:00.005Z

Jesus gets a bad deal each Christmas.

I often wonder how I would feel if people turned up to celebrate my birthday, but gave gifts to everyone except me!

Bart Simpson once remarked that “we should get back to the true meaning of Christmas… celebrating the birth of Santa.”
I laugh, but seconds later a nagging thought enters the arena, perhaps that’s not a million miles from the truth.

Immanuel – God with us. The greatest gift we could ever receive. A mind-bogglingly brilliant present. God became flesh & moved into our neighbourhood. Not to be served as a king, but to live as a servant.

The Magi set a great example for us. They were overjoyed to meet Jesus; they bowed down & worshipped the baby, & gave him the precious gifts of gold, incense and myrrh.

As we celebrate the gift of Immanuel this year, can l encourage you to consider what you will give Jesus this year. Here are just some suggestions…

The gift of availability – hang out with Jesus; listen, journal, enjoy time with Him, read the Christmas story (do it together; let the kids join in too!)

The gift of love – respond to those in need at Christmas, help feed the hungry, clothe the homeless or buy a bog in the developing world (http://www.musthavegifts.org/)

The gift of time – visit your elderly relative or play a silly game with your kids.

The gift of togetherness – join with His people to worship the King, enjoy the carols & share some craic over a mince pie.

The gift of appreciation – reflect on all the many blessings that Jesus has poured out for you this year & thank Him for them.

I wish you all a joy-filled Advent & Christmas season.

Why Sat Nav is better than a Wife

2008-11-30T10:13:00.006Z

I don’t have a SatNav device. Even though I’m useless with directions I’m still too tight to invest in one. I feel it’s an affront to my masculinity to seek out this information. Even when I do ask for help, I may be nodding in agreement & look like I’m listening, but inside my head the monkey is banging drums & doing the Cha-Cha slide. I guess that’s why I end up lost so often.

To me SatNav seems infinitely greater than following your wife’s directions as she co-pilots towards the destination. For starters SatNav has a soothing, gentle voice when offering instructions. Secondly, when you ignore its advice, SatNav never huffs & says “fine well, find your own way.” Thirdly, when I get lost SatNav never calls me an idiot, but simply recalculates the direction in which I should be heading.

As in driving so in faith.

God often speaks to me with His soothing, gentle whisper offering instruction as to how best to experience life. Sometimes I listen, but all too often I think that I may know better than my omniscient Creator.

On such occasions I find myself lost in the wilderness or stuck in a dirt track. As I switch the radar back on I’ve often expected a huffing, “I told you so” response, and even though I would deserve that rebuke, my Heavenly Father fails to deliver. Instead I’ve found the same gentle voice re-calculating my path from where I am & guiding me on the way.

If you’ve been travelling with the SatNav turned off recently & are feeling pretty lost & scared to approach the Holy One for fear of rebuke, then listen to these words…

“Don’t be afraid, don’t despair. Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, He’ll calm you with His love & delight you with His songs.” Zephaniah Ch. 3

Come home lost child. Turn on the SatNav, open the Word & listen for the loving, guiding voice of your Creator. It is His great delight when you come to Him.

The Shack

2008-11-26T10:54:00.007Z

The Shack has become a publishing phenomenon, a bestseller by a first-time author that has rocketed up the sales charts with rumors of an impending movie. That’s not bad for a book that was self-published by the author, William P. Young, and started out being sold out of a garage.The glowing reviews for The Shack hail it as everything from the new Pilgrim’s Progress (theologian Eugene Peterson) to "one of the rare fiction books that could change your life."

The story begins with Mackenzie "Mack" Phillips, a father suffering great pain because of the death of his young daughter at the hands of a serial killer. Mack receives a note from "Papa" to meet him at the rundown shack in the woods where police had found evidence of his daughter’s murder six years earlier. Mack, who was raised by a hypocritical, vicious and abusive father (who was also a pastor) already understands from previous experience that "Papa" is God.

Mack approaches the shack with rising anger, wanting to lash out at God for allowing his young girl to be killed. Instead of the expected old man with a long white beard, he's suddenly embraced by "a large beaming African-American woman" who introduces herself as Papa.

Mack is then introduced to the rest of the Trinity: Jesus, a Middle Eastern man dressed as a laborer, and the Holy Spirit, a woman of Chinese ethnicity named Sarayu. The rest of the story is a conversation among the three members of the Trinity and Mack as they work through issues of creation, fall and redemption.

So what did I think about it?

It made me think. At times I found it a little cheesy (dare I say American?), but it poked, prodded & provoked me. Young's intentions are good: he wants to introduce readers to a loving God who was willing to sacrifice his own Son to save us from our sins.

However, I wonder if he does this at the expense of revealing God’s holiness & role as the final Judge. It’s difficult to hold all these views of God together, but at times I got the feeling that God was presented as a loving, indulgent parent who never judges sin.

For example, Papa tells Mack, “I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring from the inside. It’s not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it.”

Also, whilst I welcome anything that challenges our “Gandalf-God stereotype” (white beard, long hair); I felt extremely uncomfortable with the anthropomorphism (attributing human qualities) of God the Father. I’m currently trying to explore this feeling. Perhaps it’s because God is Spirit, perhaps it’s because God never reveals Himself as a female in Scripture; either way it made me uneasy.

The Shack wants to make God accessible to a hurting world and I value how Young exposes different human fears & establishes that all fear is rooted in distrust of God. I’d encourage you to read the book with an open mind… But not so open that your brains fall out.

It is a book that promotes thought & discussion on the sacred so I’d suggest reading it with a friend & exploring your findings together (there’s even a Shack web page to help this process).

However, let’s remember that it isn’t God’s spoken Word – it is a novel. If we lose track of this, we’re in great peril.
If anything in it doesn’t agree with Scripture - bin it
If anything in helps connect you with the God revealed in Scripture – celebrate it.
And I’d love to hear your thoughts/reviews of it. Please post below.

If Star Trek Visited Your Church

2008-11-24T12:07:00.003Z

From ASBO Jesus...

Top Ten Tips for Youth Leaders

2008-11-21T19:08:00.004Z

Tip 10: If all else fails remember this…

Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.

God bless you in your ministry. Never give up, never let up, God is at work through you.

Top Ten Tips for Youth Leaders

2008-11-21T12:59:00.006Z

Tip 9: Old dogs can learn new tricks

One of my pet hates in youth work is that everyone thinks they are an expert. I understand this feeling. When I started in full time youth ministry I knew how to save the world & bring a generation to Christ. 60 months later life is greyer, youth culture is changing more rapidly than Newcastle United’s management & I often find myself with little idea of what I’m doing.

I need training. Not just that training event that I went on in 1991; I need regular training to keep on the ball.

Some benefits of training in youth ministry…
It provides an intentional space to reflect on what you are doing & dream about what you could be doing.
For education about current youth culture & ministry issues.
Developing new practical skills.
Meeting with others experiencing the same frustrations & joys.

Amongst other things, recent training events have helped me to develop communication skills, deepen my understanding of the changing nature of adolescence & realise that our church is not alone in its struggles to minister to teenagers.

It is sheer arrogance and downright stupidity to assume that you don’t need training. Experienced leaders value training & reflection; the best are hungry to learn & grow. Yes I appreciate that it’s not always easy to find the time, but let’s start valuing the importance of training lest we walk blindly into a wall.

So why not commit to going to a training event this year? Meet a youth worker for chat – supply coffee & there’s no stopping them. Get your team together to think, pray & dream. Read a book on youth ministry (anything by Duffy Robbins, Chap Clark or Marv Penner is useful).

If you’re fresh to this game make regular training part of your ministry & you are committing to a lifetime of excellence; if you’re older, go learn a new trick; if you’re involved in training – I salute you!

Top Ten Tips for Youth Leaders

2008-11-19T17:31:00.006Z

Tip 8: Become a thief

I am not very creative. I am not a 100-ideas-per-day youth worker; in fact I startle myself if I have one creative idea per month. However, I confess to being an expert “thief.” I see your good idea, I think it’ll work in my context, I steal & adapt it for my purposes (incidentally, I stole most of this top tips series from a youth worker colleague, although I did ask permission… cheers, Graeme).

Perhaps this is an inappropriate use of Scripture, but these words resonate with me, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, ‘Look, there is something new’? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

Some people are very possessive of good ideas. My response is to boo you & encourage you to get it copyrighted – then I will be willing to pay money to steal your ideas.

Can I encourage you to purchase & pinch ideas from a very helpful resource of recent years, “The Fabulous Reinvention of Sunday School” by Aaron Reynolds. Written for children’s leaders, but ideas that are very transferable to a youth ministry context. Go buy… read… steal… adapt.

Be brave and try something new today. And if you find anything in this blog remotely helpful… take it, nick it, own it, and use it.

Top Ten Tips for Youth Leaders

2008-11-18T14:43:00.003Z

Tip 7: The Ronseal Principle

You know your purpose. You know where you fit into the overall picture. Now it’s time to step back & practice the Ronseal Principle.

Does it do what it says on the tin? Are you fulfilling the purpose for which your organisation exists?

I hate the dentist. Not him personally, but I hate going to visit him for several reasons.
(1) I’m a big Jesse & loathe the scraping of my teeth with a chisel;
(2) I don’t like paying lots of money to people who cause me pain;
(3) It annoys me when I’m asked questions while my mouth is wedged open with a kitchen plug & a vacuum cleaner.

However, I realise that I had better visit him soon. I am motivated by the pain of my emerging wisdom teeth. All is not well & I need him to evaluate my mouth & fix me.

We’re a bit like that in the church. We wait until something goes wrong, until we feel the pain, before we evaluate. In the busyness of the “do do do” we rarely step back & consider how it is going. And if you don’t do regular youth ministry check ups; you will probably cause a lot of pain – to yourself and to teenagers.

Some starter questions to get you going… “Are we reaching our target audience”; “Have we met our specific intended outcomes?”; “Are leaders fulfilling their responsibilities for this programme?”

Does your ministry do what it says on the tin? If not, don’t be afraid to investigate the reasons why?

Top Ten Tips for Youth Leaders

2008-11-17T14:36:00.004Z

Tip 6: See the bigger picture

Fresh from putting into practice Tip 5, you’ve clarified in your head what the point of your organisation or role is in the discipleship of teenagers. So now it’s time for some joined up thinking. Open your eyes to the bigger picture; to the purpose of your youth ministry as a whole & your church.

Questions you need to consider at this stage are… “What other organisations or people within our church/community work with teenagers?” “What are they doing? What’s their purpose?” “Are we doing the same thing or offering something unique?”

“Jesus bids us shine” is an annoying little song with a crappy tune that I had to endure as a child. One refrain in particular is annoying, “you in your small corner & I in mine.” This sort of nonsense is preached & practised all too often in the church.

Let’s get over this quick, before more teenagers get disgruntled with religiosity.

“What is your Youth Fellowship, CE, Bible Class, Scout Group, Guides, BB, GB, Small Groups, Youth Club doing to minister to & disciple youth?” “Are we working together in our purpose or ‘competing’ for the same teenagers so that they are out 5 nights a week?” “Do we think that ‘our’ organisation is the only important one in youth work?”

Get your whole team together & make a joined up purpose statement*** to make sense of your programmes, utilize your volunteers more effectively, ensure all leaders are singing from the same song sheet & provide direction for young people’s spiritual development.

Let’s get our little candles out of our small corners and start burning a blazing fire in the centre of the room. You never know we may actually find some young people coming to warm their hands there.

*** Here is our purpose statement by way of example, “SRPC Youth & Children’s ministry exists to connect God & young people by encouraging them to love Him and become more like Jesus. We seek to incorporate them into the church family, to equip them & help them explore their gifts.”

Top Ten Tips for Youth Leaders

2008-11-14T13:33:00.007Z

Tip 5: Ask, “what’s the point?”

Everything we ever do is motivated by a reason – some of these things are conscious, although many are unconscious.

For example, I have just visited the little boy’s room. This is because I thought to myself, “goodness, my peanut sized bladder feels very full from over-indulgence in coffee; I had better empty it for the fifteenth time today.”
This was a conscious decision.

However, last night I stupidly placed my hand on an oven ring. Instead of consciously thinking, “hey, I’d better remove my hand from this cooker as it appears that smoke is rising from my fingers”, I quickly whipped them away & placed them under a cold tap. An unconscious decision.

Both processes are important.

However, as a church we often forget, ignore or have been trained not to practice the former – conscious thinking. We run around at 400mph, trying to get everything done (“the way it’s always been done”) & rarely sit back long enough to ask, “Why am I doing this? Why is this organisation run this way? What is the point of this meeting? Why I am meeting with this person?”

My advice today is simple, verging on the patronising. Take some scheduled thinking time. Be intentional. Ask what is the reason behind your ministry? Why am I having this meeting? What is the purpose of our organisation? Why do we do what we do, in this way?

But don’t assess whether it’s meeting that purpose just yet, that’s coming up later!!!

Top Ten Tips for Youth Leaders

2008-11-13T15:04:00.007Z

Tip 4: Relationship is Central

Take 20seconds and think about the person who most positively impacted you as a teenager.

(Stop cheating… stop reading & think)

Was it the music teacher who gave you confidence in your ability for the first time? A sports coach who encouraged you to keep going when you felt like giving up? A parent who didn’t send you to a borstal, despite your behaviour? Was it the person who actually wanted an honest answer when they asked “how are you?”

I’d be willing to bet that the person who helped change your life had a good relationship with you. I mean when did we ever value the opinion of someone we didn’t respect or who didn’t take the time to truly know us?

In youth ministry we want young people to have a life-changing relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We want leaders to have solid relationships with one another, with young people, and with young people’s parents. We want young people to have accountable relationships with their peers and their parents. We want the wider church body to have a positive relationship with the youth ministry.

Every meeting with a young person is an opportunity. To inspire them… to build their confidence… to make them laugh… to listen purposefully… to point them towards God’s ways.

So let me offer some suggestions for how we might build relationships with teenagers (stolen & adapted from “Purpose Driven Youth Ministry” by Doug Fields).

R is for “Relational Approach” – have a serious conversation with a teenager at least once a month.
E is for “Encouragement” – praise good questions, answers, sincere sharing & their involvement.
L is for “Laughter” – pursue humour, smile (even when they goof it up); don’t let your church group feel like a funeral.
A is for “Acceptance” – of everyone, but especially the unpopular, the geeky & the hurting.
T is for “Transparency” – don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t have all the answers & that life confuses you sometimes too.
I is for “Involvement” – young people should do 90% of talking; which means you should do 90% of the listening.
O is for “Outreach” – pray for nonbelievers & constantly talk about friendship evangelism.
N is for “Numerical Growth” – would new people feel welcome in your group? If your group isn’t growing in numbers, be brave & ask “why not”?
S is for “Spiritual Growth” – talk about faith, not just football, shopping & X-Factor.
H is for “Home-like” – when you haven’t seen a young person in a while say “Welcome back” not “Where you have been?”
I is for “Integrity” – try to be consistent with young people.
P is for “Professional” – be aware of parents’ perceptions.
S is for “Strategic” – if you don’t see a young person for a while, send them a letter or give them a call.

I’m off to try & practice what I preach.

Top Ten Tips for Youth Leaders

2008-11-10T16:31:00.007Z

Tip 3: Don’t be a Lone Ranger

“Who was that masked man?” “Why, he’s the Lone Ranger?”

There are many different roles that need fulfilled to ensure an effective youth ministry. Everything from Bible teacher to toast maker; leader of fun games to taxi driver; prayer co-ordinator to administration expert; encourager/pastor to manager.

But just because there are many different roles doesn’t mean that you have to do these all yourself.

Yet most of us come from churches that promote a “Lone Ranger mentality” where the minister, youth worker or small group of people do all the practical work, ministry and everything in-between. Many congregations will have an attitude that because they “employ” or “elect” someone to a role, then they can sit on their backside & admire (or more commonly critique) from the stands. Also, some ego-driven or controlling individuals don’t like to empower others to help in ministry.

Don’t buy into this myth. Being a Lone Ranger will only lead to frustration, loss of passion, burn out and spiritual starvation. Been there, bought the T-shirt. It’s not nice and it’s not God’s intention.

Build up a team of people passionate about Jesus & passionate about introducing teenagers to Him… then use your team’s weird & wonderful personalities, skills and abilities to work together for the Kingdom.

Some vital words for your vocabulary are “Team”, “Delegation” and “Sorry I can’t do that, but _____ might be able to help you/”

If Paul Halliwell needed a Tonto; if Jesus sent His disciples out in teams; and if Paul gives us detailed instructions on working as a body (1 Corinthians 12) then you’d be wise to heed their example.

Top Ten Tips for Youth Leaders

2008-11-07T11:09:00.006Z

Tip 2: Get over your Messiah complex

Let’s say together with me… “I am not God.”

You are not the Messiah (although you may be a very naughty boy).
You are not the Saviour of the world, your church, your ministry or even yourself.
Your young people need Jesus not you.

Phew, let that truth sink in for a second. Because if we really believe it deep down then it will save us from the ugly headed monster of arrogance and the inner destruction of despair & depression.

Unfortunately, I am over-qualified to talk about this complex as it is a real struggle for me.

To illustrate let me share an example. Last year our Youth Club was going through a difficult period. I’d taken a week off & phoned another leader to see how it had gone. His response was that it had been a fantastic week with kids listening for a change & opening up about faith….

… And inside I was disappointed!

Disappointed because I wasn’t there, because they weren’t opening up to me – the youth pastor, the “expert”, the “professional”. Inside the demon of pride had wanted to hear that the evening had been a disaster, that leaders couldn’t cope without me and a pleading to never leave them again. How arrogant, insecure & messed up is that?

God is constantly teaching me that I am not the Messiah. That He does not need me. And on the days when I really accept this fact, I am at my most useful to Him.

Top Ten Tips for Youth Leaders

2008-11-06T16:11:00.003Z

It isn’t easy leading teenagers. Relating to them, understanding their world & nurturing their faith can be a roller coaster ride, so over the next two weeks I want to share my top ten tips for fulfilling this calling. I hope you find something helpful.

Tip 1: First things first

“I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me.” Jesus

We often start in the wrong place. Who will we get to be a youth leader? Who’s young? Who’s funny? Who’s gullible enough to take on this responsibility?

Yet the Bible’s call is always to put Christ-like character above all other criteria.

Yes we need people who have relational skills, musical talent & teaching abilities; yes we need people who can invent crazy games with marshmallows & shaving cream BUT ultimately listening ears, caring hearts & spiritual passion come from a Christ-centred heart.

Do you want a healthy youth ministry? Well start by taking seriously the power of God in your own spiritual life. All too often I’ve let my team down by overemphasizing ‘how to do the work of God’, at the expense of ‘how to be a person of God’ – so let’s get our priorities right.

Teenagers are lonely & have buried their hurt deep beneath the surface. They need God’s Spirit, but He is not to be found in a programme – He is found in the lives of ordinary believers like you & me.

If you’ve bought into the myth that you need to be funny, cool, busy, creative or whatever. Forget that. What our youth need is for you to be God’s child. So put the lesson plan away, forget the funny video from YouTube, and spend time worshipping the Saviour this week.

And if doing too much ministry is drawing you away from being with the Master… the ministry has to go.

“they were so absorbed in their ‘God projects’ that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road” Romans 9

Youth Ministry & Puke

2008-11-04T11:48:00.003Z

I rubbed her back as she barfed down the toilet.

Not a pleasant sight, but inside I had mixed feelings. I hate sick, poo & blood. I run a mile from smells. But inside I was smiling.

Something special was happening inside my wife. A baby was being formed. New life had been created. In the midst of something horrible (the puking), something amazing was going on (the pregnancy).

A wise friend once described (youth) ministry in similar terms. “When on the outside it looks like a complete disaster; inside God is growing something special and life-changing.”

So on the days when ministry to adolescents looks like a mess, like a disaster, a waste of time, a pile of puke…. remember through your faithfulness God is at work, growing something special, building His church and the gates of hell won’t stand against it.

Bond

2008-11-03T16:52:00.006Z

“Men want to be him… Women want to be with him.”

But enough about me....

There is nothing like sitting back and enjoying a cinematic experience of Bond. Despite disappointing some critics, I found "Quantum of Solace" a well spent fiver. Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond is even competing strongly against my long-standing affection for Sean Connery in the role.

He’s brought a human element & vulnerability back to Bond again and new plots which revolve around more believable issues of terrorism, rather than the “I’m-going-to-control-the-sun” and “I-will-now-drive-my-invisible-car” nonsense. I also like Craig’s dark side, the demons that torment him and his struggles with revenge.

And if we’re honest there’s a part within most guys which craves that life of adventure surrounded by fast cars and fancy toys, not to mention the beautiful women.

But this last observation puzzles me somewhat.

Bond is nothing like Jesus.
Bond is violent; Christ is the Prince of Peace.
Bond is a misogynist; Christ is a Liberator of women.
Bond is sophisticated & cool, Christ was the opposite.
Bond refuses to die; Christ gave His life up willingly.
(Of course Bond is also fictitious; Christ is real)

So which character depicts what it means to be a real man? Jesus or James? Who do you really want to emulate and follow?

I suppose the tussle between the desires to be Bond and the desires to be Jesus exemplify the desires of the sinful nature and the life of Spirit within believers (Galatians 5:19-26).

The Scan

2008-10-24T14:31:00.004+01:00

So I met my foetus yesterday for the first time.

As you may or may not be able to see from the photo “it” looks a bit like a cross between ET & Skeletor and has already developed David Healey legs after “it’s” father. We’ve known about our arrival since late August and it’s such a relief to be able to share the excitement with other people now.

Once again I can’t help, but turn to that marvellous Psalm, number 139, where David is praying to his all-seeing, all-powerful and everywhere-present Creator. That God is already at work in the life of our child.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully & wonderfully made” (v13).

I already know my greatest delight for Johnny or Annie Junior. It’s to see them grow to love and follow God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

I appreciate there’s a long way to go before their arrival in this world (never mind the hard work of adapting my life to sleepless nights and dirty nappies), but two things I am sure off…
1. God is good.
2. Newcastle will have another supporter by the end of the season.

Not as unique as I thought…

2008-10-15T16:46:00.004+01:00

I like to think of myself as pretty unique. That God broke the mould when He made me. That I'm special. The only Johnny Bell around… But these egotistical hopes evaporated as I clicked on the following web page http://howmanyofme.com/search/

According to their stats there are 302,354 people in the USA with Johnny as their first name, making it the 211th most popular. Thankfully 98.48% of these people are male, but who are the 4,535 female freaks with this as a first name?

Bell is even more common with 357,328 USA residents sharing this surname - although a small Scottish city probably has a similar number - with famous Bells including Alexander Graham (inventor of telephone) and Jamie Bell (aka Billy Elliot).

There are even 354 people specifically called "Johnny Bell" – although unlike Dave Gorman (http://www.davegorman.com/projects_are_you_dave_gorman.html) I have no desire to track them all down. Incidentally there are 43 people called Homer Simpson, 6 called Jesus Christ and 4 poor creatures called Ben Dover.

So if my name is as common as man flu in October or a new manager at Newcastle, what is it that makes me unique?

Well if God is to be believed, we are all individually, crafted masterpieces. The perfect workmanship of a loving Creator. Someone who knows exactly how we tick, what makes us smile & what causes us to flip out. If you don’t believe me check out Psalm 139.

“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb.

I thank you, High God – you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvellously made.
I worship in adoration – what a creation.

You know me inside and out. You know every bone in my body.
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.”

If we could only meditate on and integrate the words of this Psalm into the depths of our heart; our lives would never be the same again.

Are the British a miserable lot?

2008-10-08T14:17:00.004+01:00

You can waste your life on the internet.
There’s always a story, article or game to help you procrastinate when there’s something more important to do. And so it was when I came across an interesting article entitled, “Why nothing makes the British quite so happy as being miserable?”

Eric Weiner (a Yank) suggests that “we are a nation of Victor Meldrews taking a perverse pleasure from our grumpiness” and as such we are one of the gloomiest countries on the planet. **

Is Weiner correct? Are we a grumpy lot? Do we revel in complaining? Are we a nation where the happy are strange anomalies and regarded suspiciously? Is this why we find David Brent, Jim Royale & Basil Fawlty hilarious? Do we scowl at everyone who laughs out loud on public transport or in a restaurant? Is happiness a sign that you are not intelligent enough to realise how miserable you should be?

Or is it that Mr Weiner himself suffers a sense of humour failure? Does he not appreciate our sarcasm genes, teasing and self-depreciating humour?

Are we actually miserable? And if so, how does this reconcile with “living out the Gospel”? Should it change how we read verses such as Philippians 2:14 - “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God”?

** Incidentally the five happiest places he claims are Bhutan, Iceland, Thailand, India & Switzerland (with all that Milka who couldn’t be happy?)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

2008-10-01T11:46:00.005+01:00

I found John Boyne’s book extremely powerful, so I’ve been eagerly expectant waiting for the big screen version.

What can I say about the movie? Well, I probably wouldn’t recommend it for a first date – it’s not exactly a snog-&-snuggle-in-the-back-seat sort of movie, but it is the most moving & remarkable film about childhood I have ever seen.

Bruno is the eight-year-old son of a Nazi officer. When his father is promoted from a desk job in Berlin to commanding a death camp in the middle of nowhere, Bruno can’t quite understand the sudden frosty tension between his parents, or why he is forbidden to visit the strange “farm” with the electric fences.

Exploring the area one day, Bruno meets Shmuel (a boy on the other side of the fence) and the two strike up a friendship. One review describes this relationship as having “the rhythm of a children’s adventure, spiked by unspeakable adult truths.” The boys laugh, talk, play games and struggle to understand the prejudices & propaganda that separate them.

The film evokes various emotions with several memorable themes arising including boundaries, betrayal, guilt & forgiveness and a non-forgettable moment when the words “thank you” have never seemed so powerful.

As a youth worker, I’m glad this book/film has been produced. It engages with the complexity of the Holocaust in a language that can move youth as profoundly as adults. Whilst there is the danger that this can be branded a work of fiction, it is important that as the “Holocaust generation” dies off, those successive generations never forget the horrific evils of the past. This movie should leave us with the chilling reality that these unspeakable events could happen again.

Good stewardship the new name for stinginess?

2008-09-17T17:09:00.003+01:00

Credit crunch this… credit crunch that… we’ve still got our game consoles & we’re still getting fat.

I’m fed up of people saying “they’ve no money” (as they walk along the street swaying to their IPODS with fancy phone in pocket) which better translates as “I’ve no money to have a nice meal out every weekend or to buy every gadget, game or garment that I want.”

So what? My greatest fear with the credit crunch is not that I won’t be able to buy Tesco Finest anymore or that new clothes are costing me more money… No, my greatest fear is that I’ll get even stingier with my giving.

The media tells us that we have no money to play with anymore and as we run for the hills, we stop giving to church & overseas charities and who suffers? Those who are truly poor… who have no clean water… who are dying of malnutrition… those who have no money!

You see despite our “awful” new financial circumstances & escalating house prices, we still hold the keys to solving one of the greatest evils in this world… the unjust distribution of materials and stomping on the poor for cheaper jeans.

Yet I still find myself struggling to increase my giving to Tearfund, trying to find evidence that a tithe isn’t a Biblical precedent and blocking out any messages that suggest developing world communities have been ripped off in bringing me a bargain.

Jesus doesn’t mince His words to the CHURCH on this one in Mathew 25. He claims that those “goats” that overlooked the hungry, ignored the thirsty, disregarded the homeless and refused to visit those in prison, will be deprived of the eternal reward given to the “sheep.”

Forget budgeting and tighter pockets, that’s something worth thinking about.

“My grace is sufficient…”

2008-09-08T00:22:00.003+01:00

I’m convinced that we don’t actually believe Jesus’ words most of the time. We don’t think He knows what He’s talking about. If we believed Him like Paul did, we’d live our lives very differently.

For example, there’s a strange little dialogue between Paul & Jesus in 2 Corinthians 12.

Paul receives astounding visions & revelations from God… God gives Paul a “thorn in the flesh”, some debilitating situation to stop Paul becoming arrogant or self-sufficient… Satan uses this to torment Paul, to get him down… Paul begs Jesus to take the thorn away… Jesus refuses, but whispers these powerful words...

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

I relate to this situation; perhaps you do too. The visions & revelations from God is pretty cool… the “thorn” is a pain, a hindrance, a stick for Satan to beat me with... and when I beg for it to be removed, Jesus replies, “No… I’m all you need. My power is perfected when you’re on your knees dependent on me, not when you’re self-sufficient and proud.”

So let me ask you - what is your “thorn”? What is a hindrance for you? Is it a debilitating physical condition or continual struggles with mental illness? Is a habit or addiction that you can’t seem to shift? Is it a fear of the future - a new location, a new job, a new start at university?

Whatever it is, there’s a sure bet that Satan will try to use it to beat you with, to cause you pain or anguish, to remind you that you are inadequate. And when he does will you believe Jesus? Will you accept His words of comfort and integrate them deeply within your daily living? Will you be driven to knees & into the arms of your Saviour or will you despair because you are inadequate to face the situation you are in?

“My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into it’s own in your weakness.
I love you.”

Jesus Christ to you today.