At the age of 94 Billy Graham has set out his vision of what he is looking to achieve. It is a challenge that we who are many years younger should be taking on. Those who are closer in age to Billy Graham should not opt out but look to what God is asking them to do.

After his birthday in 2012 Billy Graham wrote down what he wishes to see happen, God willing, in the coming twelve months. He is giving a lead and example to follow. When we take into consideration his age and his failing health, we must give him respect, because he has continued to proclaim the good news over many decades.

Why aren’t we showing the same passion as Billy Graham? A passion to reach our brothers who are living in a world that doesn’t take notice of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is no easy task to motivate ourselves to go out into a hostile land, but we shouldn’t give up. How about asking God to go with us instead of taking part in serious navel gazing and saying we can’t do it? Jesus taught his disciples on a one to one basis and he will do the same with us if we will let Him.

The current attempts by the state to restrict when and where we can share the gospel can be overcome through prayer and living our lives so they reflect our Saviour.

Billy Graham is living the vision God has given him. What about us? Is God asking us to spend time in His presence so that He can open our eyes to the wonders He has to show us? And light the flame in us to achieve the task He has given us. All we will be asked to do, is to raise our focus above the problems which surround us and focus on Him.

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The great, British philosopher Bertrund Russell once said,

“Historically it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever existed at all, and if He did we do now know anything about Him.”

Why I Am Not A Christian

Jesus Christ is arguably the most influential man in the whole of human history. So, outside of the Bible – which incidentally is an incredibly reliable document – what kind of evidence is there that Jesus ever existed? Is dear old Mr. Russell right? Is there any extra-biblical evidence for Jesus?

Well, yes, there is.

Non-Christian History

Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth under the watch of the Roman Empire, which covered much of Europe, Northern Africa, and parts of the Middle East. So what did the Romans, the rulers of the day, have to say? Here’s Tacitus, probably the best Roman Historian in the world:

“Christus … suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.”

This small excerpt is part of a longer piece on how the Romans treated the early Christian church. Tactitus, writing in the second half of the 1^st Century, corroborates Biblical facts about Jesus and the birth of the early church.

A popular objection to the Biblical record may be, “The early Christians made up the stories about Jesus because they needed to spread their false message.” Well, Tacitus and the Romans didn’t need to spread the message. Quite the opposite; they wished the Christians didn’t exist! This is simply an honest historical account of the facts.

Another group of people not exactly tickled by the arrival of Jesus were the Jews. So let’s see what the Jewish historical record says.

Here we have Josephus. Writing in the early 90s (first Century) this Jewish Historian says:

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct to this day.”

Hmm. Jesus, Pilate … the extra-biblical record does seem to be emerging clearly.

Christian History

We also have records from Christians. We have the Bishop of Rome, Clement, here writing to the church in Corinth:

“The Apostles received the Gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ was sent forth from God. So then Christ is from God, and the Apostles are from Christ.”

Or how about Ignatius? Just one of the many Christians murdered in Rome. He wrote of the crucifixion, as did Justin Martyr. In fact, both of these men quote facts, places, and names – all things easily checked by their readers.  Additionally, both of these men were martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ.

It was the 16^th Century French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, who said, “I believe those witnesses who get their throats cut.”

That’s the thing. These historical records were composed by people who didn’t have much to gain but plenty to lose. Reputation, peace, or even their lives were at stake.

So, back to Mr Russell. You may not want Jesus to have existed for any number of reasons but the plain facts of the matter are that the historical record has overwhelming evidence for the remarkable life of Jesus Christ. As one New Testament scholar has put it, “The theory of Jesus’ non-existence is now effectively dead as a scholarly question.”

If Jesus didn’t exist then we don’t need to deal with him seriously. But he did exist and his life challenges us today. Will we ignore him, or will we brave further investigation of the man who has changed human history more than anyone else in all time?

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I am a Christian. I believe in a magic sky clown that makes everything happen. Everything that happens is His will. Sometimes bad things happen, but that’s because He moves in mysterious ways – says so in the Bible.

I believe that this magic sky clown came to earth as a Jewish Zombie to tell us to obey Him. I believe that if we don’t believe in Him and obey his 10 Commandments, then we will be eternally punished in a lake of fire by devils with horns – says so in the Bible.

Beyond that, I don’t believe in Science. I don’t like words such as evidence of proof or logic. I have Faith. I’m happy with not knowing.

I don’t think they should teach evolution in school. I’m a Christian and therefore a creationist, and I believe that the world was created 6000 years ago with the appearance of age. Any so-called science that seems to contradict that is merely a test of faith from God. Don’t get me started on dinosaurs.

In addition, I hate the gays. I call them ‘the gays’. They will burn because they are gay. Same with Muslims. I don’t like Muslims. I don’t like anybody who disagrees with me. Because I know I’m right. I believe I have all the answers.

I’m a good person because I’m a Christian. If you’re not a Christian, you’re not a good person and, more than that, you can’t really understand what it means to be good. Only Christians can truly understand morality. I’m better than you.

You should just believe in God. Don’t think about it too much. Just believe, and come to church. You should do what I do and use religion as a crutch. Says so in the Bible.

_____

All the above statements are obviously moronic, but all of them are genuine accusations I’ve had thrown at me by friends. We are boundary setting at this early stage in our journey, and it’s probably important to lay out what we’re trying to do with this apologetics strand.

Some people are very anti-apologetics. The main objection raised is that nobody can be argued into heaven – that it requires God’s spirit to convert people. Now, that’s entirely true about the Holy Spirit, but it’s also a cop out. The paragraphs above show just how much misunderstanding exists about the Christian faith in our culture – a culture that labels itself as ‘enlightened’ about such things. Apologetics shouldn’t exist to argue anybody into anything. It should exist to help break down some of the intellectual barriers that people build up between themselves and Jesus. For example, if you are of the opinion that science has totally disproved God or that there’s no way that a good God could send people to hell, then you could have a vision of Jesus and it might not make any impact on you whatsoever – you’d simply find a way to dismiss it. The DS (Demolition Squad) has been set up to blow apart some of the misconceptions and overturn the dismissals.

Apologetics is massively biblical. Both Elijah and Paul are seen debating with people of rival beliefs about the nature and reality of God. 1 Peter says this: Always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect. Always, Reason, Gentleness, Respect: If we ever develop a Demolition Squad sigil, maybe that could be our motto? It’s better than ‘God Hates Fags’, I’m sure you’ll agree.

The New Testament does not distinguish between apologetics and evangelism as though they were different activities. Little enough is said about “the evangelist”, but not a mention is made of “the apologist”! They had one approach in evangelism and its central feature was two-way dialogue. They listened seriously to what people were saying. They engaged with the cultural world of their hearers. They tried to understand their difficulties. Tuning in and finding their cultural and intellectual level, they set out to demolish opposing arguments before presenting the gospel in a convincing way, in terms their hearers could understand.

So that’s what we’re about. We’re just about ready to get started, I think….

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Knee deep in mud, gale force winds and hauling millions of chairs across a field in Swindon, was not how we were expecting our internship to begin.

OK so maybe we were only ankle deep, and it was probably more of a strong gust than a gale… and there were probably only 1000 chairs but you’ve got to have a dramatic opener for your first proper CVM blog. We were thrown in at the deep end and were told to expect the weekend to look like a lovechild of New Wine and Top Gear, which it really was. This is how two young men in their late teens survived The Gathering XII…

Jack Undrell: Diary Entry

Thursday was jam-packed, muddy but HOT! All the team started to look like tomatoes after a couple of hours. We worked from midday until late evening, washing up, putting up tents and marquees. At the end of play we had fish & chips before a well-earned sleep.

Friday morning was mental! The boss wanted us to sort out a lot of last minute preparation before 800 men arrived. My main duty was assigned to me: Managing the CVM stand, which was brilliant. It was amazing talking to everyone who came through check-in and later that evening, I got to listen to Jon Burns. As a football and rugby fan, his story was incredible.

Saturday, what can I say, the blokes must have got a lot out of the sessions as the resources were flying off the stand. Darrell Tunningley went on to give his testimony of how God transformed him from a heroin addict and a convicted armed robber to a church minister, which was incredible. However, for me, the best moment of the weekend was seeing around 40 men commit their lives to Jesus later that night.

On Sunday morning we all shared communion, (first time for some blokes) and quite a surreal experience for me. Before we set off for home, I knelt with hundreds of men to meet with Jesus in the mud.

Looking forward to next year!

Andy Cozens: Diary Entry

I couldn’t have thought of a more effective way of getting to know my colleagues than sharing a campsite and actively serving Christ with them. The type of bond that was formed between me, Jack and the team over the weekend would have probably taken over a month to form if we’d just been sat at CVM HQ.

Having such a close band of brothers and sisters made the kit-hauling, dishwashing, tea making and errand running so much more easy to cope with. Not to say that it wasn’t hard work, but it would have been much harder without the team’s general supportive attitude towards each other.

Within the CVM team was the camera-team, which I was blessed enough to be a part of. It was our job to capture all the main meetings, seminars and worship times with four old BBC cameras.

I had prayed a lot before joining CVM that I would be able to use the gifts and skills that God had given me to bring glory to him and already, on the second day, I was doing just that. What an answer to prayer!

Without doubt the best part of the weekend was 40 guys came to be prayed for after a Gospel message. It was at this moment when I realised how much God had been working over the weekend.

Who knows what happened when those men arrived home again but my prayers are definitely with them and their families. The Gathering XII gave me a new heart for men’s ministry and I am so glad to have joined a movement that is so effectively making Christ known to so many men.

All the Best,

Jack&Andy

Book Now for The Gathering 2013

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Billy Graham turned 93 in November 2011 and is still as passionate about telling people about Jesus Christ, his Saviour, as when he first started to preach at crusade style meetings in 1947.

He is struggling with failing eyesight and hearing, but his evangelistic drive has not diminished, he still wants to get the message across. Recently he has used modern technology to preach in Spain and Portugal, two countries he was never able to reach when he was active in ministry. He has also just published a book entitled, ‘Nearing Home’.

‘Nearing Home’ will have much to say to us as we move through our senior years and from it we might learn how Billy has been inspired and guided through his life of Christian service.

He is confident that God still has plans for him and we can take this as encouragement that God can still use us at whatever age we are.

As we move through 2012, we may wish to reflect that:

• There is no retirement when working for God’s Kingdom
• God sees us as valuable to Him in His service whatever our physical state or age is
• He wants us to finish strong through the strength He gives
• He wants us to teach our following generations, so that they can teach their children and thus pass the baton from generation to generation to generation.

That is our task and challenge for 2012, so are we ready to pick up the baton and be Christ’s messengers?

It will be interesting and encouraging to hear your experiences.

Buy the book on Amazon: Nearing Home – Thoughts on Life, Faith and Finishing Well

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As we watched this incredibly gifted young lady sing to a packed Manchester audience, Miriam and I both clocked that she was a self-harmer. The scars were deep along here forearm, evenly spread, forming a disturbing repetitive pattern. “How do we reach out to someone like her?” Miriam asked, as I sipped a Dandelion and Burdock through a straw. We spoke about Jesus for a few minutes until the initial shock wore off and the music filled our thoughts.

When crowds of realists wrote off a situation as hopeless in New Testament records, Jesus was in his element. As we flick through the Gospels it is clear that Jesus made a habit of befriending the weak, vulnerable and unassuming members of the community and leading them to something great. There was never a shortage of hope in the words and actions of Jesus. And we’re not talking about the “hope” spoken of in a conversation between two people who “hope it doesn’t rain”.

There was something tangible about the hope Jesus recognised in the lives of those around him, something pragmatic. You can imagine the raised eyebrows on the hillside as Jesus said: “Blessed are the poor in Spirit” amidst a crowd of weak and poor people. Jesus must have seen something beyond the skin when he was faced with a life depleted of hope. The knee-jerk reaction of the realist never seemed to infect the man who called himself the Way, the Truth and the Life.

So what do you see in the life of your siblings, your children and your parents? After considering Jesus, I have concluded that hope runs a lot deeper than any scars. There is always hope. Always.

Peace.

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I really love film. I enjoy trips to the cinema, if I want to watch something on TV it is generally a film; I am a fan of Mark Kermode’s podcast and I was even in the film society at University!  My friend Russell is also a film fan and I have recently borrowed a pile of various DVDs off him which included the film “The Gospel According to St Matthew”, directed by Pasolini in 1964.

Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian poet, intellectual, writer, filmmaker and political figure. He was something of a renaissance man in his breadth of activity and gifting, but he was also a controversial figure, his communist views being just one source of scandal.

The fact that Pasolini was a Marxist and an atheist makes the reverential approach of the film particularly surprising. The dialogue is taken straight from Matthew’s Gospel and he vowed to make it from the perspective of a believer; though when the work was finished he realised he had made it in a way that reflected his own Marxist worldview.  Still, it has been critically acclaimed as one of the best adaptations of the life of Jesus, and despite being quite dated in feel (and subtitled due to it being in Italian), it is very powerful.

I recommend it because it presents a different perspective on a well known story.  I am always trying to find new ways of looking at things.  The Easter story is so important, so fundamental, but when you are dealing with a story that is so familiar how do you ensure that it stays alive, how do you see new paradigms, keep the material fresh and maintain the impact?

So leading up to Easter this year I had been looking at the story from new perspectives, Pasolini’s being one of them.  I have also been reading “The Cross of Christ” by John Stott (a book I cannot recommend highly enough) and I have been meditating on the story of the Centurion who stood at the foot of the cross while Jesus died – especially the passage of Matthew 27:27-54.

We all tell the gospel from a different point of view, our own perspective.  Even the four Gospels are highly reflective of the characters that wrote them: the Jewish perspective of Matthew, the punchy account of Mark, the precise account of the doctor Luke, the mystical perspective of John.

The way we tell of our encounter’s with Jesus also reflect our own history and character.  The blind man hardly knew anything about Jesus and when questioned he just said what he knew:

John 9:11  He replied “The man they called Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes.  He told me to go to Siloam and wash.  So I went and washed and then I could see…whether he is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know.  I was blind but now I see!”

It is not the whole gospel but it was the good news as he knew it, how it applied to him. There is nothing wrong with us because it is by telling our own story that it remains authentic, and when people see the change in our character they can see something of the power of the gospel.

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