All the leaders threw their pearls into the air to carve a strategy in taking the church forward. Passionate handshakes and fervent nods surfaced across the room. Faith was rising like the hands of a zealous composer. Contact numbers of those in the ‘business’ were being shared after every sentence as old hats clocked each other’s smiles of affirmation. “This is it” one man mumbled, resulting in a collective “amen” from his new missionary associates.

Before too long the more vocal members of the meeting were drawing up a timescale of change. Life became an abacus of prediction where even the most pragmatic mind was converted to sheer optimism. They had truly nailed down the best way to transform the world around them. In less than two hours it seemed like a room full of strangers had discovered the secret which had escaped their ancestors. They could almost hear the voices of heaven calling out their names in the awards ceremony of history.

And slowly, in the background, tiny droplets of rain began to fall on the windows of the bespoke office. As quiet as a child sleeping still in a Bethlehem cattle market, was the rain falling outside.

As the volume of the weather increased, frowns began to grow on the faces of those with big names. Soon the discussion fell silent. Nothing but the rain could get a word in edgeways.

For all the plans and schemes, strategies and visions, each leader was totally helpless. Though the silence in the room was clearly the only winner of bragging rights, the group squirmed like awkward children. They were on a roll, but now were forced to pause. The room was completely dependent on the rain stopping before they could return to barking out their mission statements.

Yes, without vision the people perish, but without submitting to the sovereignty of God we may as well be playing hopscotch with the hedgehogs.

Nothing grows without Jesus watering the plans. Nothing. We are absolutely minimal in God’s agenda for this world, in fact, it’s a grace gesture that we are involved at all. There’s a very thin line between vision and selfish desire. And I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to thinking more about my importance than I should. If there’s one lesson I hope to master in this world, it’s how to deny myself for the sake of others.

Peace.

“I figured you’d ask me where I’m at with God stuff so I spent a few hours last night thinking about the answer to that question.”

I didn’t expect Matt to come out with that. I didn’t realise I was so predictable.

We only had an hour or so for a mug of tea outside Euston and a quick catch-up after probably a good six months apart. Naturally we hit our headlines: family, work, holiday plans… and of course I asked all the relationship questions us girls like to know (got to make sure you guys are treating your ladies right!) But I have never been in a situation where my friend has asked themselves “the God question” first. It was quite refreshing really, but it did take me by surprise.

I appeared to have created a habit in my friendship with Matt that meant every time we caught up, I’d ask him where he was at with God and what he was thinking about church. Except this time, he was so expecting the faith challenge, he beat me to it! Away he goes with what’s in his head: his struggles with church, how he reckons the Bible should be taught and the over-arching message of love he believes we often miss with God.

He wouldn’t call himself a follower of Jesus, but he also won’t write it off. He genuinely had spent hours thinking through where he stands with Jesus the evening before, in order to discuss it with predictable old me over a cuppa. The habit of our God-chats actually enabled Matt to give it some head space and reassess where he is.

In Colossians 4 it says “make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

What are we seasoning our conversations with? What flavour do the lads around you sense? Would you risk salting your chats so that blokes can taste the difference?

As much as I don’t like being thought of as predictable, I’ve decided to embrace my apparent tradition of routinely asking my friends about where they are with God. Anyone else feel like joining me in acquiring this habit?

Everything I owned was positioned around me like statues peering down at an infant, though I’d never been more aware I was now a grown up. My new flat welcomed me with old stains and strange smells to remind me of the cost of downsizing my life. Helped by a couple of bottles of Miller, I starting unpacking my life in boxes. Uncontrollable laughter at bizarre gifts from Miriam’s family was often followed by a sudden outburst of tears as I read cards from loved ones no longer with us.

During my adventure into my possessions I soon realised that only the things which were affiliated to shared memories were worth keeping. I got rid of around a quarter of everything I owned (mostly scrap paper and odd socks). I dreamed up an idea for wristbands entitled What Would Jesus Scrap? but concluded it probably wouldn’t make sense to anyone not moving house or working in the scrapyard industry.

After the great purge had finally come to an end, I eyed up my belongings which were still fearing the axe. And after a few breaths I arrived at a sobering epilogue. I have nothing of my own. Despite my HD TV and the receipt to match, my Seagull guitar giving to me by Dave Magill, a bread maker and am armchair fitting for Scrooge, none of it is mine. I cannot prove this to you, but I can explain.

There is nothing in this life which I can keep my hands on for a substantial amount of time. The things that last the longest are probably relationships, everything else will need replacing and destroying at some stage. I have nothing. I didn’t even contribute to the clothes on my back, and if I had done, they still wouldn’t feel like they were mine. As life walks me down its random path I am quickly losing all sense of ownership. And the strange irony that surrounds it all, is that things which are closest to “brand new” in my apartment, feel the most alien to me.

As my musings meandered into hunger for a poached egg on toast, I pictured Jesus on the cross with nothing in his hands but nails he didn’t put there. A peace I’d not tasted for a long time proved a fitting appetiser for my healthy lunch which followed.

Luke’s account of Jesus returning to the Father reads:

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Peace.

By CVM writer Dazz Jones

So, today the plumber came over (and no he wasn’t late). He arrived, asked me what the problem was and proceeded to crack open the boiler, taking bits out and turning the taps on and off. I had no idea whether what he was doing was right really … or wrong for that matter. However, his experience far exceeds mine in the area of heating and plumbing. This set my cogs in motion … (always dangerous).

Isn’t it funny how as a young (or perhaps youngER, bearing in mind I am only 22) guy, I would often write-off the opinions of those older than me as they seemed outdated or “old and stuffy”. Yet now that I am (if only slightly) older I can appreciate that I know next to nothing about the things of life … especially the spiritual things. Having only been a Christian for five years, in some situations I probably talk or act rather over-confident or become frustrated far too quickly with the proposed wisdom of those who are much older and wiser and definitely far more mature in their faith than me.

This isn’t right and is probably rooted in impatience, arrogance and pride; or any of the above … cue the alarm bells. As I grow in my faith, as I ‘get older’ as a Christian I have discovered more of God’s character, I have read much more of the Bible, experienced the tensions and wrestled with the doctrines of the Church; all of this has taken time and I could not have learnt it any other way.

Christianity is not just a belief system it is a way of life and the only way you can truly develop and experience it fully is by living it.

This should not dissuade young adults from continuing their involvement in the planning of things we feel passionate about however. Our youth and enthusiasm if properly channeled by good, wise leadership and oversight into the realms of kingdom building work, will mean we are able to carry out God’s will in powerful ways that perhaps are beyond the physical limits of our more mature Christian brothers and sisters.

So lets give the old boys (and girls) a little more credit, they probably know a little more about the world than we young whippets do … but, lets not lose our zeal for God and keep pushing forward for the kingdom and making things happen.

5lim

On Earth, everything changes, all the time. Looking back on 2010 I can testify that like our technology, life is rarely static. I started this year living in a different part of the country, working in a different profession, carrying around a barrel full of unquenched desires which soon became prayers.

I have seen the hopes of my friends become a reality during the last 12 months while many others have been tackling the ever-present curse of grief.

I have come to the conclusion that nothing ever ends in our lives; things just merely change. This leaves two opposite thoughts bouncing around my head.

1) Freedom from the pressure of ambition.

2) Fear of the inevitable unknown.

Sometimes I wish I could have a two second glance of my life one year from now. I don’t know how that would affect me today, but I guess it would take away any fear of the unknown.This desire for a time machine fills my thought life occasionally, but it is instantly smashed to bits the moment I encounter God.

Though the challenge of the fluidity of life hovers above me, the greatest challenge of all is do I trust God with my today.

With that I mind I look back on 2010 with a completely new set of eyes. I see the lessons I have learned by reading the Word of God, the unquestionable love which wraps the Christian Church up into an invincible body and the creator’s constant desire to have a focussed friendship with me.

In the book of James, the Word of God sums up what I’ve tried to say in this scatty blog.

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

Peace.

By Guest Blogger: Andy Drake AKA Hero.

Do you remember ‘Celebrity Deathmatch’? Don’t worry if you don’t, it just means you’re sophisticated.

‘Celebrity Deathmatch’ was a programme on MTV a few years back that had plasticine models of celebrities fighting each other in a wrestling ring. It was stupid of course but to the Philistines amongst us it was funny. Think about it; who wouldn’t want to see Simon Cowell and Tom Jones in a no-holds-barred fight?!?

Ok, only me then.

As I observe the Christian community, I am often reminded of Celebrity Deathmatch. Christians continue to slug it out with each other over all kinds of differences; this stream pits itself against that stream; this church is better than that church. Maybe even, “our men’s ministry is better than their men’s ministry”.

You’ve got to stop sometimes and ask; is this really what Jesus died for?

I had the pleasure of attending a planning meeting recently for a new men’s event in the South West of England. There were about 20 men representing all kinds of churches and theological persuasions. They were meeting together because they had a heart for seeing men live full on for Jesus. Not only were they debriefing a recent event they’d held for over 500 men, but they decided that night to up the ante and go aim to reach 1000 men next. Awesome.

Their united vision for declaring Jesus overrode any difference of opinion they might have had about secondary and tertiary issues. What an incredible example they set for me and you.

You know, I think that even when the things that currently divide the Christian community get sorted, new things will just take their place.

I’m not advocating ignoring the issues, but rather getting perspective on them. The eternal destiny of people around us and the spiritual direction of the country we are in have to be tier one priorities.

Sadly, it’s often men who are the loudest, most aggressive and most destructive when it comes to division in the church. For my part, I’ve seen enough Christian Deathmatch to last me a lifetime, and to be honest, I’m sick to the stomach.

We need a new generation of men who can disagree wisely and work together powerfully. Men who put their arms around their brothers rather than throwing jabs at them. Men focussed on the main battle and not distracted by side skirmishes.

What those men are doing in the South West can be done anywhere. So why isn’t it?

“This is an outrage” I thought to myself, as the staff in the charity shop were nowhere to be seen. I purposely chose this local store in a bid to develop the town’s commerce but how that choice had come back to bite me. I stood for at least four minutes at the till with a box of handmade Christmas cards in my fingers, which were quickly turning blue. I started to huff quietly. It was the sort of noise that might be associated with a toddler who had been denied some shiny fabric in the supermarket.

I had places to be. Oh how I longed for the freedom to drop my daily tasks and do my own thing like these vacant volunteers. My huffs became muttered words. ”Does anyone work here?” I asked with a subtle annoyance in my tone. Nobody answered for a few seconds until a shopper soon perked up. “Have some patience young lad” an elderly man replied.

This response sparked a horror show in my mind. There I was, waiting to support my local charity, asking a perfectly natural question, and getting flack from some human doormat!

I turned to the queue behind me to win them over with my disgruntled stares, only to notice them all focussing on the same area in the shop. I repositioned my head and saw two ambulance men treating an old woman with oxygen less than three feet away from me. I hadn’t even clocked what was going on. In fact I walked past the lady moments earlier with no clue. The staff were keeping her spirits up with tea and blankets.

I felt like a complete and utter moron. Why don’t I just use my head? Why can’t I disperse a fraction of the grace God has given to me in abundance?

The first chapter of the book of James has now become my prayer for myself in the coming days and weeks. Have a gander and allow yourself to get smashed around a bit by the Word.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Peace

Hanging out with my two kids is a blast. I love their company. They make me laugh, make me think deeply, and I get to eat burgers. Travelling places with them is however akin to being strapped into a chair and being made to listen to Chris De Burgh sing “Lady in Red” endlessly without a break. The thing is; I love journeys. I love to see new stuff, interact with new surroundings and enjoy the whole experience of doing something/being somewhere, different.

My kids however tend to bombard me with:

“are we there yet (cliché I know but it really does happen), how much longer, I need the toilet.”

They are without mercy in this. There is no respite … no let up, no way out. Any diversionary tactic used to thwart them is usually overcome before you can say, “I’m a parent, get me out of here!”

Here’s the thing. They hate the journey but love the destination.

I’ve noticed that Christians fall into different camps. There are those who love the journey and those who can only think of the destination. Rarely do you meet a Christian who loves both.

Some believers in the UK, typically more reformed theologically, think only of heaven or hell. They preach only about the end game, often accompanied by incredible focus and intensity. Many preachers/teachers from this camp often stay single as their intense focus on the destination allows for little else (however, this could be said to justifiable, according to Paul 1 Corinthians 7:8).

Then there are those from maybe a more charismatic perspective. They love the journey. They love life to the full in the here and now. They long for healing and wholeness, Kingdom power right now and may work hard to see God’s Kingdom in evidence … but they speak little of eternity or judgement.

It seems to me we need both.  Jesus came to give us life to the full (John 10:10). He also spoke of judgement to come (Matthew 11:24, Matthew 12:36) and told us to look for the signs and warn people (Colossians 1:28). It is said that the Kingdom is now but not yet …”

It’s a tension and a tough one to resolve. Now where did I put my car keys?

Men today still look for robust and strong environments to forge friendships.  They may not express it like this but men really do desire authentic relationship.  Men want a “band of brothers” that they can stand shoulder to shoulder with.  So, they shoot off to the pub, to the match, curry house or the lodge meeting!  In reality men don’t expect to find a band of brothers in a church, so they just don’t look there.  For the most part, major male driving forces are money, sex, and power.  I’m sure some of you will want to argue that with me (and yes I am painting a broad brush-stroke picture) but before you do, just consider the most popular question men ask when getting to know another man:

“What do you do for a living?”

Why is that the most popular question?  Simply because men instinctively want to work out the hierarchy and the pecking order in the new relationship.  It’s why when you go to an expensive gym you see men place their car keys on the bar with the brand of car on display (unless like me you have an Eastern European car!)  It’s why men say “I’ve got the BMW parked outside …” instead of, “I’ve got the car parked outside.”

Men will instinctively (thanks in part to the media) believe that what the church has to say about those issues will be diametrically opposite to what they want to hear.  For the most part they are right. The publishers of some of the best selling quality men’s magazines know want men want as a result of extensive and expensive research.  You can read some of it in on the internet and it makes for fascinating reading.  Their livelihoods and profit margins depend on them featuring content that men are interested in and so they make sure they have got it right.

By contrast, in the church we don’t research the culture, nor do we even read the magazines and therefore we so often fail to hit the spot.  Call me an old fashioned orthodox Christian, but I truly believe that we have people’s eternal destinies at stake, not a mere profit margin.  We need to engage in some serious thinking and cultural engagement.

Take for instance the issues of status and success.  These are of huge significance to many men, which is why their work is of such importance.  Yet church rarely, if ever, tackles workplace issues head on.  You could easily attend most churches for years and come to the conclusion that God isn’t interested in what happens 9-5 at all!  But where does that leave men?

Carry out an audit; take a look at your church.  When did you last hear a sermon on work?  Do you have a theology of work?  When did the church last pray publicly and seriously for those at work?  In general we are great at praying for the so called “caring professions” but when have you heard a prayer for a Tesco van driver, a policeman dealing with child abuse work, a solicitor handling divorce work each week or a train driver who must spot the red lights or endure the trauma of suicide attempts?

We pray for those in “full time Christian” work and we tend to pray for those in teaching or medicine (because they are perceived to be more Kingdom orientated as they are caring professions) but we leave out the vast majority because we haven’t developed a robust and holistic theology of every day life.  When it comes to teaching in church, Christian men – let alone those yet to believe – will sit under sound and tremendously accurate Bible-teaching only to wonder what’s in the service for them.  The preaching deals at best with generic issues, or with churchy or touch-feely things, and the very things that absorb so much of a man’s time and energy mid-week are never mentioned.  While we sit under teaching about how to pray better or give more, most men will be thinking about the challenges of the week ahead.

Consider the real things confronting a man at work this week:

• Setting Profit and Loss
• Stress
• Fiscal control in hard times
• Negotiating Skills
• Human Resource Management without exploitation
• Empowerment
• Integrity in advertising
• Leadership
• Handling redundancy – each side
• Submission
• Conflict Resolution
• Sexual Harassment
• Discrimination – race, gender, religion, disability
• Time Management
• Work, home, church balance
• Personal ambition
• Debt issues
• Late payment terms
• Negotiating parameters
• Knowing when to close down
• Employing Christians because they’re Christians
• Materialism
• The place for compassion
• Self Image
• Corporate sponsorship of Christian events

Let me emphasise again: Men are being spiritually starved in church and they are voting with their feet! The decline in male attendance at church is almost terminal.  “Believing” men are switching off to church at an incredible rate.  We desperately need churches to engage with men on the real issues they face.

Part three will be published on Wednesday 12th August.