The case of Megan and Jeremy

The story of Megan Stammers and Jeremy Forrest is major British news, but in France the story has struggled to make the headlines. Why the difference? One French news source explains differences in law and opinion between the two countries.

France and Britain are just a sleeve apart. On a good day the two nations can see one another across the world's busiest sea lane, the 'English Channel' to the Brits, 'La Manche' to the French (literally 'The Sleeve').

But that little stretch of sea water divides two great nations who disagree on just about everything.

The latest example is the case of Megan Stammers and Jeremy Forrest. Opinion in the UK is certain that she is an abducted child and he a kidnapper. French opinion is expressed with a shrug and a smile, they are two people in love who made a foolish but understandable choice to run away together.

Compare an article in 'The Sun' with this from 'France 24' and you'll see what I mean.

So who is right? There are two ways of looking at this, according to the law on one hand and according to common sense on the other.

Legally, in the UK a fifteen-year-old is a child. Parents or legal guardians make decisions on the child's behalf, so taking a minor away from home (even down the road and back, let alone another country) requires parental permission. In France a fifteen-year-old is an adult and is therefore responsible for his or her own decisions.

And of course anyone who is professionally involved with children must follow strict standards of care and behaviour.

Common sense, however, suggests that around the ages of fifteen and sixteen there is some uncertainty about where to draw the line. That much is clear from the fact that the law differs from country to country.

There will be mixed feelings when Megan and Jeremy are safely home again. Both families will feel great relief, for sure. Megan may be less than happy, and Jeremy will be spending at least a few days in custody before possibly facing criminal proceedings. He is also certain to lose his job and will be unemployable in any work involving children.

Both of them will find family life is not the same as it was before, that's inevitable. And they will feel the pain of loss that those in love suffer when it's no longer possible for them to remain together. My heart goes out to Megan, Jeremy, and to their families and friends in what is just the beginning of a very difficult and distressing time for everyone involved.

Is this a legal issue involving distraught families and criminal behaviour by a man in a position of trust? Or is it a tragic story of young love that never stood a chance? Or is it somehow a confusing combination of the two?

Add a comment below. Let me know how you see the case of Megan and Jeremy. How do you justify your opinion?

Changes to the blog

There are a few changes to the blog that you should know about. There's a name change, an attempt to reach spiritual seekers who know little or nothing about Jesus, and a reduced focus on meetings.

I'm making a few changes to the blog that will, I hope, make it more useful. I would like to reach the spiritually hungry with the good news that Jesus is alive with a life he really wants to share.

Name - The name of the blog is changing from 'All about Jesus' to 'Journeys of heart and mind'. Apart from that and the new label 'SpJ' (stands for 'Spiritual Journey') everything will look and work much as before.

Spiritual Journey - The 'SpJ' label displays what I hope will become a series of articles to help and encourage spiritual seekers of all kinds. The idea is to offer information that will stimulate thought and provide some useful resources.

Please pray for a right attitude and boldness on my part. I feel Father wants me to make an effort to reach those people who are searching for spiritual truth and are open, but have not so far had the opportunity to meet Jesus as he really is.

I've also made myself a simple business card to hand out locally whenever I'm prompted to do so. Here's a picture of it, just a little teaser with a web address on it. I hope to use that to start conversations and make it possible for people to contact me later.

Meetings - There is one further change. I can no longer make even a token attempt at publishing notes on all the meetings I take part in locally. Instead I will write notes on meetings from time to time when it seems especially useful. The main change is that the 'Meetings' tab will now only list meetings that have notes, it will no longer include those that go unreported.

NEWS - To read and ponder

Here are three news items for you, there's a new report on simple church and the good news, Chris Duffett has something different to say in an interview, and there are some thoughts about why young people leave church.

• Mission Britain - The group published a report 'Simple/Organic/House/Missional Church in the UK and Ireland 2011' just a few days ago. I'll respond to their findings as soon as I can, meanwhile you can read the report online.
• Chris Duffet - An interesting video interview lasting just over 8 minutes. Listen especially to the last part (from 6.00 minutes onwards). I just love this - what a guy!
• Barna Group - This is a report from March 2011, and although it's not new it caught my eye. It seems right to share it again now. It lists six reasons that young people leave church. We should think about all of them, but 'Churches come across as antagonistic to science' stands out as something I'd like to comment on when I can.

Coventry Pilgrimage

I've had a couple of letters about a pilgrimage to take place in Coventry next spring. Something about this seems significant, not least the fact that I have no idea why I am being included on the circulation list.

The messages are going out to just a handful of church leaders - though I certainly can't count myself in that category!

And it's addressed to 'all churches in and around Coventry' although I live more than an hour's journey from that city.

But I have been impressed by Coventry Cathedral since my parents took us there as children to watch the progress of the building work. The old Coventry Cathedral, you see, was destroyed by German bombs during a major air raid. The new cathedral was under construction while I was still at school. Wikipedia covers all the basics of the story.

I wonder if there is some kind of revelation here. What was old and traditional was violently destroyed, burned in a fierce fire, so all that remains is ruinous. And after the destruction a new kind of structure has been raised up like a new beginning. The new is totally different in style and construction materials.

I think I need to retrace my childhood steps and revisit Coventry Cathedral and see if the Spirit will speak to me as I do so. (I did go there later, here's a brief report of what I heard.)

Meanwhile, here is the first of the two messages I received. The organisers would like me to pass these details on, so that is what I am doing. The letter contains contact details. You might also like to download the leaflet in PDF form and view the Sherbourne Trust website.

---

Coventry Pilgrimage

26^th March to 1^st April 2012

Letter to all churches in and around Coventry

October 2011

Dear Church leader

We are writing to you on behalf of the planning group for a Coventry Pilgrimage to be held in the week beginning March 26^th 2012 and culminating in a service in Coventry Cathedral on the evening of Sunday April 1^st2012, Palm Sunday. The small planning group is led by the Revd Robin Trew, Rector of Allesley, and includes Christians of different denominations.

The proposal for a pilgrimage has arisen from Robin Trew’s experience of leading several  groups from Coventry churches on the Camino de Santiago, from the recognition of Coventry Cathedral as an international centre of pilgrimage by the worldwide Community of the Cross of Nails, from the experience of a local group associated with the Northumbria Community of prayer walking along the River Sherbourne and parts of the Coventry Way, and from the inspiring story, told in Stephen Verney’s Fire in Coventry, of the Cross of Nails 40-day journey around Coventry and Warwickshire, in which Christians of different denominations participated, before the consecration of Coventry’s new  Cathedral on 25^th May 1962.

The proposal for 2012, the Jubilee year of Coventry Cathedral, is to follow the route of the 40-mile way-marked circular footpath, the Coventry Way, by walking from Meriden to Berkswell, Burton Green, Kenilworth, Stoneleigh, Bubbenhall, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Wolston,Brinklow, Ansty, Bedworth and  Fillongley, then to walk down the route of the River Sherbourne via Allesley to the Cathedral. We hope that Christians from many different churches and denominations will join together to walk and pray for our city and the surrounding towns and villages.

A week event will cover the route with walks of 4 ½ to 6 ½ miles on weekday evenings between 5pm and 8pm from Monday 26^th March followed by day walks on Saturday and Sunday, with pilgrims returning home each night.  A weekend event for experienced walkers, youth groups etc. will cover the route with long walks from Friday evening to Sunday, pilgrims being accommodated in Kenilworth and Bedworth en route.  A pilgrim service will be held each evening in a church on the route.

Monday               Meriden via Berkswell to Burton Green

Tuesday               Burton Green to Stoneleigh

Wednesday       Stoneleigh via Bubbenhall to Ryton-on-Dunsmore

Thursday             Ryton-on-Dunsmore via Wolston to Brinklow

Friday                   Brinklow to Ansty

Saturday              Ansty via Bedworth to Fillongley

Sunday                 Fillongley via Allesley to the Cathedral

Weekend Event

Friday                   Meriden via Berkswell to Kenilworth

Saturday              Kenilworth via Stoneleigh, Bubbenhall, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Wolston, Brinklow and Ansty to Bedworth

Sunday                 Bedworth via Fillongley and Allesley to the Cathedral

We would like to invite you to support and participate in this pilgrimage by:

·         Advertising it in your church community

·         Considering  registering a group – perhaps a youth group – for the weekend challenge

·         Nominating a “Pilgrimage Link Person” from your church to liaise with the planning group

·         Indicating your interest by joining our mailing list

We will shortly be able to send you a promotional leaflet and to give you a web address where further information and registration forms will be found.

With every blessing,

John and Margaret Lloyd

For the Coventry Pilgrimage 2012 planning group

1 Hill Top,

Coventry

CV1 5AB

thecoventrypilgrimage@yahoo.co.uk

RESPONSE - Comments on BBC News from Libya

Here are clippings from two BBC viewers writing in. They can't both be right...

Jamal, from Bradford, UK, writes: "I am originally from Libya and I am outraged that the foreign forces are bombing Libya. They say they want to protect lives but I think hundreds more will die. The rebels are nothing but a bunch of murderers, they are undisciplined and are the real threat so if you want to attack anyone it should be the rebels."

Khaled, in the UK, writes: "I just have been told (on Sunday 20 March) by my sister who lives in Misrata that Gaddafi forces are shelling residences and homes with massive force. Everyone is hysterical and there is lots of screaming. I am very worried."

See more as it happens from the BBC's Middle East page.

Continue praying for the people of Libya.

NEWS - Some items worth more than a glance

This brief article is a round up of some significant contributions from other people. All of them are worth some attention.

• The Jesus Virus - Ross Rohde shares some thoughts on servant leadership. Is it a paradox or an oxymoron?
  
• Harvest Now - Steve and Marilyn Hill report on events in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. The church is growing in exciting ways, but there are also huge problems. Read about the situation and pray for the people involved.
  
• The Nomad Podcast - Tim interviews Neil Cole on the topic of church multiplication. Neil talks generally about lowering the bar on how we do church and raising the bar on how we disciple. He explains about the Life Transformation Group (LTG) idea and how it can spark growth in small groups.
  
• Simply Church - Felicity Dale asks whether we believe in leadership. The article is a brief precursor to a series on this topic, but already there are some interesting comments. Remember to scroll down to read them, and maybe leave a comment of your own.
  

NEWS - Worth taking a look at these

Listening to the Lord in Denver, USA, a book from Floyd McClung, focussing on the simple.

• Stories from the Revolution - John White discusses the ideas around 'smaller still and wider yet'. This involves Church of Two (CO2) and regional networks.
  


• Felicity Dale's Blog - Felicity writes a short note on Floyd McClung's book, 'Follow'. See what she has to say and consider reading the book.
  


• SimpleChurch Journal - Roger Thoman posts, 'Sometimes I think that, rather than focusing on simple church, we should really be focusing on the true simplicity of the Gospel'. Amen to that! Take a look and see what he's getting at.
  


• Stories from the Revolution - John White writes about the important difference between a relationship with a book and a relationship with a person. He includes a video interview that reveals this difference in terms of personal experience.

NEWS - Simplechurch.co.uk and more

This time there's an item about a new UK website for those interested in simple, organic forms of church, as well as the usual roundup of other items of news.

• Simplechurch.co.uk - This new website takes over from Alex Campbell's earlier version using the same URL. It also acts as the replacement for the Newforms site which is no longer in use. Visit the site for news, articles, and a growing list of groups and contacts in the UK.
  
  
• Interview with Paul Young - Premier Christian Radio interviews the author of 'The Shack'. The session is interspersed with phone in comments from listeners with stories of how the book has affected them. If you want more detail listen to the fourth item listed in my post about Drew Marshall a couple of years ago.
  
  
• Spring of Hope - This charity working with children and parents in Uganda is doing a wonderful job. I know the young woman who started and continues with this work, and I know her parents who support her from the UK. They are making a real difference. Catch up with their news and find out more about what they do.
  
  
• House2House - This time Tony and Felicity write about church as they found it in Myanmar and Nepal. There are also short items and links about structure, resources and stories.
  

NEWS - Updates near and far

The latest news comes from near and far. As usual all these items are well worth reading through.

• Barna Update - Spiritual dialogue but not much change - The latest survey results from the Barna Group in the USA show that although some believers are changing their opinions and attitudes there's not much overall impact. Of the changers, about half are reporting increased spiritual commitment and the other half less.
  
  
• The BreakDown - I really wanted to show you this website created by a group of enthusiastic young people in and around Godmanchester (near Huntingdon). They show all the signs of uncompromisingly following Jesus; that's very dangerous in my experience :-) I'm praying for them and if you're reading this, I hope you will too.
  
  
• Harvest Now - How deep does it go? - This is a wonderful account of how success in the Kingdom depends on following the King, not our own ideas, methods, or traditions. Great stuff from Steve and Marilyn Hill, if you read nothing else this week, read 'How deep does it go?'
  
  
• Nomad Podcast - Kester Brewin - This time Nomad inverviews an author, speaker and one of the founding members of the alternative worship community Vaux. Kester talks about what the emerging church can learn from pirates, and the importance of churches being temporary places.
  
  
• SimpleChurch Journal - From church-goers to Jesus-followers - Another good post from Roger Thoman, he seems to be saying the same thing as Steve and Marilyn on 'Harvest Now', but in a different way. Maybe you'd better read this one too!

NEWS - Updates from around the world

Here's a mixed bag of recent updates from around and about. They're all well worth a look.

• House2House Newsletter - Financing the infrastructure - Tony and Felicity Dale discuss the financial support of mission. This is such an important topic, itinerant workers cannot always support themselves and will need some form of help. The article is rich with links to other relevant sources on line.
  


• Harvest Now - Why we do what we do - Steve and Marilyn Hill report from Kyrgyzstan, the scene of violent clashes recently between Kyrgyze and Uzbek people. Many have died and huge numbers been displaced during this Muslim on Muslim ethnic violence, but out of the ruins and pain something wonderful is happening. The love of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is impacting more people than ever before.
  


• Stories from the Revolution - Brief interview with JoEtta Deaton - Have you ever wondered about your own paradigm of church? How do we grow? How should we encourage one another? JoEtta was surprised and excited at what she discovered. Visiting a meeting she found that instead of just being an observer, she herself was drawn into listening to Jesus and hearing his direction for her. (This is the third part of a series on church planting, see also parts 1 and 2.)
  


• Nomad Podcast - Interview with Terry Virgo - Tim interviews the man behind New Frontiers and we hear about church and the new forms it may take.
  


• SimpleChurch.eu - Nine best simple church books - This is a fine collection of titles. I haven't read them all, but those I have are outstanding. My personal favourites are 'You see bones, I see an army' and 'An army of ordinary people'. Would that be the same army? Yes!

News - Internet postings, interviews and more

I have five items for you this week. Dip into these and follow up any individual items that catch your attention, the Holy Spirit will lead you to the things you need to see.

• My friend and accomplice in Christ, Sean, greatly enjoys David Wilkerson's Blog. And with good reason. For a taste of his writing read 'He brought us out to bring us in' or 'The spirit and power of Elijah'. Great stuff! His posts are challenging, exciting, and thought-provoking.
  
  
• More on Felicity Dale's book, 'An Army of Ordinary People'. This time she's interviewed by Roger Thoman.
  
  
• Frank Viola responds to someone who is troubled by the confusion over the term 'organic church'. This is a useful response because it points out very clearly the difference between allowing Jesus to take control and merely going through the motions to the best of our own ability.
  
  
• The House2House e-letter contains some clear but necessary thoughts on spiritual warfare. Spiritual oppression on our lives can easily be mistaken for no more than a series of coincidences or 'just bad luck'. Don't believe it for a moment! Tony Dale reminds us that if we can identify the enemy's interference then we can (and should) resist. The e-letter also contains some useful links to various resources.
  
• Simplechurch.eu links to a series of helpful stories from the church in Europe.
  
  

NEWS - Jon Zens, Tony Dale, Neil Cole

This week's news roundup contains four items.

• Frank Viola interviews Jon Zens about his book on the place of women in the church. He expresses some interesting views and backs them up with detailed Biblical scholarship.
  
• Felicity Dale interviews her husband Tony on women in the church. Obviously the subject is topical with two mentions in this week's news!

• Neil Cole responds to Brian Hofmeister's report of having difficulties making organic church work. Part two of Neil's response is still to follow. (See also my recent post.)
• The latest Nomad Podcast brings you an interview with Stuart Murray of the Anabaptist Network.

NEWS - Interviews, meetings, CO2

This week there are five news items to mention.

• The next meeting in the Moggerhanger series is planned for 6th June. Add it to your diary! It's not going to be at Moggerhanger this time, instead we've booked a room at Hinchingbrooke Park on the edge of Huntingdon.
  
  There'll be a full article about this in the next day or two - so watch this space. (See the report of the last meeting.)
  
  
• Frank Viola has interviewed Felicity Dale about her book 'An Army of Ordinary People'. It contains encouraging and challenging stories of real-life people involved in organic church life and growth. This book was originally published ten years ago but is just now being republished in an updated version.
  
  
• Wolfgang Simson has announced a 'Starfish Unconference' in Helsinki, Finland. You'll have to move fast on this one if you want to go, it takes place on 15th and 16th May.
  Read on Scribd...
  

• The latest 'Nomad Extra' podcast is an interview with Beth Keith (part of the 'Fresh Expressions' Team.
  
  
• And finally, CO2 has made it to Australia. This excellent tool for hearing one another's heart feelings and hearing the Lord's heart has gone truly global. I encourage everyone to find a partner to try this with.
  

NEWS - Latest newsletters

This week there are two really encouraging newsletter updates out there. I encourage you to read them both. What is the Spirit saying to you as you pay attention to the stories and thoughts in these newsletters?

Harvest Now - Steve and Marilyn Hill report on the violent change in government in Kyrgyzstan and the possibility that the new interim leader follows Jesus. This is very rare in a predominantly Muslim society.

In neighbouring Tajikistan they write, 'A new follower of Jesus tells her story how she was visiting family when they began to talk to her about Jesus. She was frightened that they should pray to any one than Allah but their story of freedom caught her attention. She says that while listening "I felt immediately pain in my kidneys and fell down...' (visit their article to read the rest of this wonderfully encouraging story).

House2House - Tony and Felicity Dale write about getting stranded in the UK because of volcanic dust, and then share some great thoughts about spiritual warfare, recognising that the battle is already won, and standing firm.

They share some useful links and then ask their readers to consider the house church conference in September. I joined last year's conference and highly recommend it. If anyone is reading this and thinking of going, please get in touch with me (chris@scilla.org.uk).

NEWS - Westminster2010

I won't normally post about politics on this blog, so perhaps this news item is the exception that proves the rule.

With a general election almost upon us many of us will be deciding how we should vote. If you haven't already seen the Westminster2010 website I'd strongly urge you to take a quick look. It provides some very useful links for learning more about your local candidates and current MP, and it invites you to sign a declaration which you may wish to consider.

Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in this. Don't miss your only opportunity to influence the outcome unless you are sure that is what he wants. If you vote, I'd also urge you to vote on the basis of the best available information. Take a look at Westminster2010 and follow some of the links, pray about your personal decision, and then get along to the polling station and mark an X for the candidate Jesus leads you to vote for.

NEWS - The latest House2House Newsletter

The latest House2House newsletter from Tony and Felicity Dale is now available. This issue covers some important topics.

The main item is about women in the church and things we can all do to encourage and release women to serve in the church more fully. Tony recommends two books, a post from Katie Driver's blog, and a link to Hosanna Freedom.

He also mentions the Newforms meeting at Nottingham here in the UK, as well as some meetings in the USA including the Labour Day weekend H2H Conference in Dallas. I went to the H2H Conference last year - it was brilliant! Highly recommended.

NEWS - Explosive potential

Roger Thoman writes 'The Simple Church Journal', a blog about simple, organic church life.

His most recent post examines the potential for mission which he argues is inherent in small, organic forms of meeting.

Roger asks

Could a small (but growing) movement of simple/organic church-lifers lead to a revolutionary impact upon world missions? There is something deep inside of me that says the answer to this question could be a resounding “YES.”

I agree with him! Something deep inside of me resonates with that loud, exclamatory 'Yes!' My own experience recently has been that the very smallest forms of church life are generally the easiest to spread and the hardest to stamp out. They tend to be deeply relational, focussed, and zealous in everything they do. They tend to consist of people who listen to the Spirit because they want to hear his voice and follow his direction and receive his encouragement. Small groups often reach out to the world, not to suck people in to the group but to birth new groups. How exciting is that?!

Roger is right to imagine how these small expressions of church might transform societies and cultures. They have the potential to do exactly that.

But small groups can run aground and stick fast just like larger groups can. It's not size that causes a boat to hit a reef or sandbar, it's navigating into shallow water. As long as we float deep in the things of the Lord supported only by the water we will go where the wind of the Spirit takes us. But the moment we take our eyes off Yahshua and fix them instead on growth in numbers, church finances, patterns of worship, forms of church governance, offices, structure, and the rest we are bound to stick fast and stop travelling.

Although this can (and does) happen to groups of any size, there is no doubt in my mind that smaller groups are less likely to be trapped and more likely to be refloatable in the event they do run aground.

And the smallest of all (CO2) is perhaps the most nimble of the lot. After all, what are the chances of running aground in an inflatable ring?

NEWS - CO2 is spreading like a virus

It's time to mention Church of Two (CO2) again. As far as I'm aware nobody was doing CO2 in the UK until I brought it here from Dallas in September 2009. I'd like to outline the history of it since then.

Infections follow a pattern that is true for viruses, bacteria, trees, rabbits, and even us humans. The stages of this pattern are...

Infection > Latency > Spread > Symptoms > Impact > Dieback

Lets look at these one by one.

Infection - In this stage an active form spreads to a new home. With a cold virus, you might breathe in virus laden particles after someone with a cold sneezed. Or you might touch a contaminated object and then transfer the virus to your mouth or eyes.

The active form of CO2 is the knowledge of what it is, how to do it, and the value it brings. By the time I returned from Dallas I was already infected.

Latency - This is the time during which nothing much seems to happen. The cold virus has to enter a living cell, a seed takes time to absorb water and germinate. During the latent period something essential has to happen but there is no sign of it yet.

In the case of CO2 I needed to find someone who wanted to hear about it and do it with me. Until I found that person, the CO2 virus was present in the UK - but latent.

Spread - With the cold virus this is the time during which more and more people are becoming infected. It's like a chain reaction. A person is infected, becomes a mobile latent infection, and begins sneezing at home, at work, on the bus, and in the shops.

For CO2 this is the phase we are in right now in the UK. A number of people are using it daily and are starting to pass it on to others. CO2 is spreading!

Symptoms - With a cold, people hardly notice the early signs (the first few sneezes). But as the virus takes hold in a major way there are clear and unpleasant signs that something is going on. Sufferers feel unwell, they might run a slight temperature, breathing is more difficult, they may have a sore throat, a cough, a headache.

In the case of CO2 the symptoms often include a growing desire to read and understand the Bible, more prayer time, a deeper understanding of one another, a greater sense of the Lord's purpose, an increasing desire to grow spiritually, greater peace, joy and love, a new sense of the journey, and a growing drive to reach others with the good news.

I certainly have some of these symptoms and more are appearing all the time. CO2 is beginning to facilitate significant change in me. It's also having a similar impact in my CO2 partners.

Impact - As a cold virus takes hold in the population there's a change in society over and above the symptoms of individuals. People might start to avoid crowds, buy more cough medicine, stay away from work, this in turn might affect the short term profitability of companies, or cause staff shortages in schools, hospitals etc.

For CO2 the longer term impact in the UK is not yet known. The possibilities include wider scale outreach and mission, increased church planting and growth, revival, improved care for the elderly, sick, and disadvantaged in society, and more.

This is a lot to expect from such a simple thing as CO2. But that is exactly the point, a virus is simple. This simplicity makes it hard for doctors to treat. It spreads easily and quickly, very few drugs can interfere with its spread or its impact on patients. The simplicity of CO2 makes it easy to learn, easy to teach, and easy to do.

Dieback - In most cases, a virus peaks and then dies away because people develop immunity. Anything that interferes with transmission or infection will cause a virus to fade away. A cold epidemic fades as more and more people become immune.

Will CO2 die away in the same way? Maybe, and in the longer term it's quite likely. But I hope not because it's a very beneficial virus! There is no known immunity against CO2 so far and that is a good sign. And CO2 doesn't appear to be harmful in any way. Perhaps it will do what some viruses have managed to do, become part of the genome of its host, people who follow Jesus. In that case its long term future would be assured.

Meanwhile, we in the UK are in the very earliest stages of spread. I will do all I can to encourage more infections to spring up.

Here's progress so far...

Chris > Sean
Chris > Paul
..Sean > Hamish (may not have taken)
Chris and Paul > Roger
..Paul > Pete (may not have taken)
../..Roger > Ruth
Chris, Paul and Roger > David
..Paul > Jules
Chris > Tim

Likely further transfer...
Chris > Dave
Chris > Tony
Chris > Rob
..Tim > Tammy

This shows that secondary spread has begun and there are signs of tertiary spread starting. If spread is faster than dieback (and so far it has been), CO2 will spread. If dieback exceeds spread it will fade away. To some degree it's up to us.

NEWS - Latest H2H e-letter

The latest issue of the House2House (H2H) e-letter dropped into my inbox this morning. I always look forward to these arriving!

In this issue Tony and Felicity Dale take a look at the underlying characteristics that result in rapidly growing, self-replicating churches. They mention simplicity, truth, relationships, and mission as essential elements. The e-letter links to other useful resources from David Garrison, David Watson, Wolfgang Simson, and the Mather family.

If you've never sampled an H2H e-letter before, now would be a great time to take a look. They're published every week or two, are always worth reading, and are kept deliberately brief to make them easy to read and absorb.

You can always find a link to H2H in the sidebar of 'All About Jesus'. It's a great resource so I like to make sure everyone can browse to it easily. Hint: you can sign up to receive the e-letters by email too, so you always see new ones right away without checking the website.

NEWS - Victor Choudrie speaks out

Victor Choudhrie is a man who has given up a prestigious career as a surgeon in order to devote himself to following Yahshua. This post on the Simple Church Journal is challenging, provocative, brief, gripping, and important. Every believer should read it!

Victor Choudhrie is behind a huge growth in house churches in several countries, especially India. In this article he outlines some of the history of the church and suggests that the fifty-year-long revival in China is now struggling because of the return of foreign influence. Today he sees a rapid return of the house churches in China, India, and other areas, including North America.

If you have an appetite for more, the full document is online at the House2House website.