Freedom in Christ

I did the "Steps to Freedom in Christ" day on Saturday as a guest of another local Church, as we launch the course here on Sunday.

I have got to say, it was a very special day.

What I liked about it was the clarity of "taking hold of the truth" for yourself.

This was not going to see the particular "guru" counsellor or minister who could pray hard enough for you to be free.

This was about discipleship. About choosing to believe. About laying down falsehood or pain and picking up truth and holding on to it.

In short, it was far better than I thought it would be. I am always wary of pre-packaged models but this seemed very personal.

Amongst the lists of things to consider praying about each section started with a prayer. "Lord, show me what I should pray about. Bring to my mind what I need to deal with". I was simply amazed at the things that came to mind. Past experiences, hurts, concerns, relationships, even dreams and nightmares as a child.

No-one asked me anything. No-one hinted at anything. I just prayed, and then dealt with what came to mind.

I loved the emphasis on taking hold of the truth. Too often the Church at large has given the impression that you need specialists in every area of counselling or healing to have a chance at "getting" healing. What I liked about this day was that we each have a specialist, our Father in Heaven, and we do have access to Him, on a daily basis, or in my case, in a strange kind of way, especially on Saturday.

Zippy's month birthday!

God graciously provided me with a moped to use to get to work.

Yesterday marked a month of using "Zippy" to and from work, and so here is my first month report.

1) I have had to fill the tank with petrol twice. Costing a total of £11. I am currently averaging something like 130 mpg!

2) I can park up right outside the new football stadium without having to pay!

3) I have been able to make several pastoral visits quickly and easily.

4) Early morning prayer meetings now involve very very cold journeys!

5) Waterproof trousers are a must buy!

6) Motorcycle helmets and glasses are a lethal combination.

7) Freedom of transport is an amazing thing. You don't appreciate it until you lose it. You forget how much it means until you have it back.

8) Nobody respects a fully grown man on a 49cc scooter (except maybe a 15 year old who live in the countryside). Don't buy one for the image rights.

9) Cars will genuinely overtake you on a 30mph road despite the fact you are travelling at 30mph. It MUST be psychological!

10) Every time I start up Zippy I remember how God has provided for me. It is amazing how quickly we become used to His provision - keeping focus on thanks changes how we view the world.

Growing or swapping?

An interesting comment was made at a local inter-church meeting recently where another church leader in the town of a large church suggested that even though some of the Churches in the town look like they are growing, overall it is just transfer growth between the different churches and not the kingdom growing overall.

I do believe that sometimes this is the case, but even so, it felt very wide of the mark.

Just a quick scan through our Church directory shows me 52 people who have come to our Church via the Alpha Course as previously unchurched or backslidden Christians.

Most new members are either recently moved to the area, come to faith within our Church outreach, or have grown up in the Church and come to faith as teenagers. Two of those mean the kingdom is growing!

It just seemed a bit odd, as a way of trying to spark people into a greater urgency for mission, to imply the fruit we already see is not really fruit at all. I wonder why people seem to look for negatives to spur a reaction, rather than set a positive agenda for mission to which people can give their lives?

The Financial Crisis

On Sunday Morning our series on Abraham was interrupted for a one off "state of the nation" style address by Martin about the financial crisis.

It isn't very often this happens - perhaps the Tsunami was the last time.

But there does come a time when people do feel a sense of nervousness and it is important to teach into it. Cells will be discussing the implications this week and there will be an opportunity for individuals to support and encourage each other.

I believe that the Church has a huge amount to say about finances, justice, wealth and stewardship. I just wish it wasn't confused by prosperity rantings or church roof funds, which means the average man in the street just thinks the church is after your money.

Sticking up for Kendrick...

The Daily Mail recently published their 50 people who wrecked Britain.

There, at number 39, one worse than Gordon Brown, was Graham Kendrick!

Here is the apparent justification:

Happy-cr*ppy hymns are a pestilence. They demean adult worship, dragging it to a level even lower than that of Mrs C. F. Alexander's All Things Bright And Beautiful (1848). They are self-obsessed, babyish, cliched, simplistic.

Several authors have written these appalling hymns. The daddy of them all when it comes to such gloopy nonsense, however, is Graham Kendrick, author of Shine, Jesus, Shine.

Kendrick, who has a personal website complete with an efficient shopping section, is the nation's pre-eminent churner-outer of evangelical bilge. Imagine Pam Ayres without the humour.

He started writing hymns in the late Sixties and has now written 400 of the ruddy things. Should it not be a strength of Anglican worship that it does not move with the times and instead provides continuity at a time of baffling change?

But no. It's out with the harmonium! In with the electric guitar! Out with the hymns sung by our forebears, such as He Who Would Valiant Be and Hills Of The North. In with the roughagerich Bind Us Together or the negro spiritual cum grammatical solecism It's A Me, O' Lord.

The sturdy hymns of England, musical embodiment of the stoicism, resolve and undemonstrative solidarity of our nation, are in severe peril, and all thanks to ill-shaven remnants of the late Sixties - grinning inadequates who have never got over the fact that they weren't Cat Stevens.

Frankly - this is a ridiculous piece of writing. But, daftness aside it does rather highlight the absolutely massive impact that Kendrick's ministry has had upon christian culture in ways that spill out into popular culture. Looking at the "legacy" of Kendrick's ministry is a two part exercise. On the one hand, there can be a tendency for more modern songs to lack a certain backbone or meaning and this can cause worship to end up totally devoid of purpose. But whose fault is that? Certainly not Kendrick's - for his ministry effectively opened the floodgates for a whole genre of Christian music which has brought christian worship flying into the mainstream in ways never though possible by previous generations.

When Delirious went on tour with Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi in 2001 and 2002 Christian music had entered a whole new ball game. That game was invented by a group of musicians in the late 70s and early 80s of whom Kendrick became the face of something that was always much larger than him.

I cannot remember the last time I sung "Shine Jesus Shine" as it is one of those songs which has gone over the edge of popularity and into farce in the public consciousness. Kendrick now gets the response Abba get in popular music. But the simple fact is that he helped to open a door through which massive blessing was poured out onto the Church and it's mission in the UK and overseas. It may have cost him mention in a few negative newspaper articles, but frankly, his presence there is testament to his impact as much as anything else.