RESPONSE - What inspires me?

Frank Viola recently asked his readers 'What inspires you?' It's a great question, isn't it? He's asking us to think about breathing. What do I mean by that? Read on...

My answer really centres on the idea of listening to Yahshua daily or, more accurately, moment by precious moment. I live each moment once, just briefly. And in each of those moments I respond to influences and pressures, to joys and fears, certainties and doubts. Some things I desire, other things repel me. And everything is in relationship to others. Even when I seem to be alone Christ is with me. Every little thing I do or say affects those around me. But through it all I try to pay attention to the voice of Jesus guiding me.

He speaks to us by living within us (Christ IN you, the hope of glory). We are containers for his life, his power, his righteousness, he is the bread of life, the living water, in him we can do ALL things. But we must listen.

Why? Because he blesses the obedient (his grace and his love are freely poured out upon us but blessing requires our obedience). And how can we obey if we don't hear what he tells us? And how can we hear unless we listen? (Hint: if you want some helpful ideas on listening, read about Church of Two.)

So for me inspiration is a matter of listening, hearing, and obeying. Let's look at this in a slightly different way.

To be inspired is to be breathed into. If I retain what is within me (stop breathing) I will die! It's no coincidence that the word 'expire' implies death. A body that is not breathing is dead, or about to die, or about to start breathing again. Breathe and live, don't breathe and die - there are no other alternatives.

There is physical breathing and there is spiritual breathing, physical life and spiritual life, physical death and spiritual death.

When I first recognised Jesus as the Messiah and believed that he was the Son of the Most High, he breathed his Spirit into me and I became spiritually alive with his life. The word 'spirit' and the word 'inspire' are closely related - both have to do with breath and breathing. Indeed, the Greek word 'pneuma' and the Hebrew 'ruach' can be translated 'spirit' or 'breath' according to context.

The Holy Spirit is the Holy Breath! When I was born my lungs inflated with air and I have been breathing ever since. If I stop I will die. When I was born again I was filled with spiritual breath (the Holy Spirit) and I have been breathing him ever since. If I stop I will die spiritually.

Do you think about breathing? Perhaps you are aware of breathing when you've been doing physical work and you are 'out of breath'. But most of the time it's a natural rhythm and you don't have to plan to breathe or set aside a special time for it. You even manage to breathe every night while you are asleep. Breathing is automatic.

Spiritual breathing is the same, it needs to be automatic. It is what 'inspires' us. The Holy Spirit was sent to lead us into all the Truth (Yahshua is Truth), to comfort us, to guide us, to be our advocate, to act in us on Christ's behalf.

I am inspired when I see Jesus in others, when I see the evidence of his life in them. I'm inspired by every action or word that comes from the fruit of the Spirit in others, such things as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-25). I'm inspired by beauty, grace, humility, wisdom, and everything that is good (Phil 4:8).

A more specific thing that inspires me is seeing others built up and growing in grace. And I am inspired by watching others reach out to share Christ's love in the community. What could be better than to see brothers and sisters living in unity of purpose, building strong bonds of peace and rejoicing together in the truth? This is church, this is life in Christ, that we love one another and share what we have with those in need around us. (There are physical needs, emotional needs, and spiritual needs. Our loving and sharing should cover all three.)

Inspiration comes from the Father through the Son as a result of their Spirit living inside us. And that inspiration floods out into every part of the body (the church), just as the air I breathe gives life to my fingers and toes and every organ in my body.

You have been called to be inspired and also to inspire. That is calling enough for a lifetime of fulfilling work.

THOUGHT - What's in a name?

I'll be honest with you - this is something that's been bugging me for a long, long time. Those of us who follow Jesus often refer to ourselves as 'Christians' or 'the Church', or in more specific cases we use the name of a particular organisation - 'I'm a member of the such-and-such church'.

This troubles me because I really don't want to make any distinctions of this sort. We are all one in Christ, though we may have different gifts and abilities (Eph 4:1-7). We are one body and we should learn to see ourselves that way, not merely in terms of the Church Universal (although that is true and important) but in practical terms, in our daily lives and thinking.

The Bible recognises one church in different locations, it does not recognise different churches. Paul is emphatic on this point (1 Cor 1:12-14). The New Testament distinguishes church by province, city, and meeting place. We read of the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria, the church in Ephesus, the church that meets at the house of Priscilla and Aquila. The idea of distinguishing churches on the basis of leaders, doctrines or traditions is completely alien to the writers of the New Testament. In fact they always opposed any such move very strongly.

I am entirely happy to be known simply as someone who follows Jesus and is part of the church in Europe, the UK, England, the East of England, Cambridgeshire, St Neots, or Eaton Ford. I'm happy to be regarded as part of the church meeting in my house, or Jim's house, or Sean's house.

But there is a practical issue when a name is needed in, for example, a list. What I would prefer is to state that I'm a follower of Yahshua (Jesus) in St Neots. And if there's room, that might be acceptable but it will be confusing. So in a list like 'Eynesbury Methodist, Open Door, River Church, St Mary's Eaton Socon' what should I write?

Currently I use terms like 'organic church', 'house church', or 'simple church'. But these are not accurate or complete and they act to divide - which is the very thing I want to avoid! I'd like to write 'the church in St Neots' but that will not be understood.

Suggestions are welcome. Does anyone else worry about these things?

There doesn't seem to be a satisfactory answer. I don't want to be seen as set apart, I want to be seen as I see myself, part of the one body of Christ here in the town where I live. But there doesn't seem to be a word or simple phrase for that!

Perhaps it's better to avoid being listed and just get on with living as a follower of the King. The very existence of a list implies that the items on it can be distinguished in some way.

REVIEW - Release International

Jesus' followers are being persecuted in many countries around the world. I have seen a number of websites providing information and comment, but one of the best must surely be Release International.

Why is this a good website? It is balanced, focussed on reporting the unexaggerated truth, and provides useful ideas for action (prayer, petitions etc). Unlike some sites, Release International doesn't publish reader's comments which on other sites are are sometimes rude, inflammatory, or unreasonable

The organisation was set up by Richard Wurmbrand who himself suffered persecution in Communist Romania in the 1950s and 60s. He wrote many books and clearly understood the need for an international organisation to support the oppressed and persecuted.

For examples of the articles available, take a look at the current news page.

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!

ANNOUNCEMENT - A letter from Cornerstone to the churches

Paul Shinners, the owner and managing director of Cornerstone, has circulated a vision statement and invitation to the church in St Neots.

Here are some extracts.

Cornerstone is a cross-denominational company with directors from different churches and aims to bring Jesus into the high street and provide resources for local Christians and churches. However, its primary aim is to serve Jesus by blessing and loving the people in the area by representing him to them. This will present opportunities for the local churches around St Neots by providing a mix of affordable high quality coffee, fair trade food, meeting rooms, music, gifts, cards and counsellors in a welcoming and loving environment.

Cornerstone has been open for only a couple of days but we have had rave reviews on the quality and experience from both Christians and non-Christians alike!

However, there is an opportunity for more volunteers to be part of this exciting venture and for your church to be represented in Cornerstone to help engage in outreach with the local community in a non-threatening environment.

Specifically we require volunteers to help with any of the following duties:

- Book shop management
- Food preparation
- Coffee and drinks preparation
- Cleaning
- Counselling

We can offer any volunteers uniforms, free lunch and drinks, and travelling expenses.

I know that all of us living in the area and involved in small, organic expressions of church will find this an interesting opportunity. It fits particularly well with our own understanding of church and being actively involved with the people around us. We are here to love the Father, love one another, love our neighbour, and even to love our enemy. What better start could we have than a place like Cornerstone, designed to serve the local area with good food, good drink, good books, and good facilities for meeting?

So please bring this to Jesus in prayer, ask him if he wants you involved. If you need to know more here are some suggestions.

• Watch the video about the making of Cornerstone.
• Visit the website and read about it.
• Come and visit for a coffee and a chat.
• Let the staff know that you are considering becoming a volunteer and that you'd like the chance to ask some questions.
• Ask to see the meeting room and other facilities.

Cornerstone Cafe and Books

Cornerstone has been keeping me very busy for the last few months. This great little cafe and bookshop has prevented me updating 'All About Jesus' for some time (now Journeys of Heart and Mind), and just as I was beginning to think I could move on to other things again, I seem to be in danger of getting drawn in even deeper!

The Cornerstone website (no longer available, but click the image for a larger view) gave much more information about the project itself, but I'm going to share some more personal thoughts here.

My life is indeed, 'All About Jesus'. I want him to be King in my life, I want to be obedient to him in the way a loyal subject would be obedient to a mediaeval king. Kings had absolute power in those days, disobedience was not an option.

Yahshua (Jesus) is always benevolent, and the reason is simple - he loves me. He simply has what is best for me in mind at all times and will lead me and command me in ways that keep me spiritually safe. That doesn't mean things will always turn out well as the world understands and judges these things. Bad things happen to us in life. But the world doesn't comprehend the truth.

So I have a dilemma. I want to help and serve my friends (and it is good to do that). But my overriding priority must always be to serve King Jesus. Cornerstone is a wonderful project and it is most assuredly a project conceived and enabled by the King. He has shown me without any doubt that I was to be involved in the development of the shop. But what is he requiring of me now? It's not enough to do what seems good or necessary, instead I must do what I am told. That's why listening is so important in our lives.

And what he seems to be telling me right now is that he wants me to be involved in Cornerstone in some way, but volunteering to work in the shop may not be quite what he has in mind. I am still feeling my way in this. Cornerstone certainly needs people to do the work, in fact it needs many, many people. Am I one of them? In a way, yes, but perhaps not as I might expect.

To be perfectly frank, I am not yet sure! My best guess as I write is that my role will be managing websites and helping provide direction. Straying into other areas could become a kind of disobediance. I need to be careful!

I am sure that over the next days and weeks it will become clear to me. It's not a matter of likes and dislikes, or of whether I am competent or not competent. It's a matter of obedience! I must wait to find out. Father, show me the right way forward.

Footnote (added in 2019): Cornerstone was a blessing to many people over the few years of its existence. But in the end it didn't have a long term future. Sadly, it failed in some ways and was unable to continue. Helping to get it started was a great experience, though, and I made some wonderful new friends in the process. Father has his reasons and his ways, all the glory is his!

See also - A short video on the making of Cornerstone.

Where next with this blog?

This is the first post since 23rd June. I've been busy with 101 things and have failed hopelessly in my attempts to keep things up-to-date. In particular a family holiday in North Wales and work leading to the opening of a coffee/book shop on 14th August have demanded a lot of time, and the holiday was in an area where internet access was rather problematic.

As a result I've been thinking about ways of restructuring what I do. Currently I manage four blogs and a variety of other sites. The main parts of my online presence are...

• All About Jesus (AAJ) - which you are reading right now. This blog is a record of meeting notes, thoughts, announcements and more. It centres on my spiritual life and those of my friends. AAJ developed from online meeting notes and goes back to 2001.
  
• The Scilla Blog - this is a series of posts about other things that interest me - science, technology, thoughts about life, things I have read, things I have noticed, photography etc.
  
• My personal 'home' page - also called 'Scilla', it has a little information about me and links to the other websites.
  
• The Cornerstone website - the internet presence for the Cornerstone Cafe and Bookshop in St Neots.
  
• Sundry other sites -  blogs, wikis, Facebook, Friendfeed, Twitter. Some of these are for personal use, others are part of my public presence on the web.

What I think I might do is collapse all these down into just two main sites, AAJ (this blog) and the Cornerstone site. I will also retain some of the wikis and other sites as glue and to communicate with close friends and family.

The main impact of doing so would be more frequent posts here on AAJ and on a much wider range of topics. I'll make sure to provide links to the old sites so it will be easy to read older items.

THOUGHT - What is a church?

I've been reading Neil Cole's book 'Organic Church' and enjoying it enormously. It was published way back in 2005 but has lasting value. In it, Neil poses a question. He tells us that when he was a seminary student he was given the following five characteristics of church.He often asks groups what is missing from the definition.

• A group of believers gathered together regularly...
• That considers itself a church...
• That has qualified elders present...
• That regularly practices the ordinances of baptism and communion as well as church discipline...
• And that has an agreed-on set of doctrinal beliefs.

Neil agrees that these are good qualities for any church to have and that most would meet these standards. But his answer is that Jesus is missing!

The New Testament Greek word usually translated church is 'ekklesia'. What does this word really mean? Literally, 'ekklesia' means 'called out' and this is probably how the early church would have thought of themselves - those called out from the world, called by Jesus.

If we scrapped the term 'church' and replaced it with the literal translation our view of what church is might change. For example, when Peter recognises Jesus as the Son he is told, 'on this rock I will build those I call out' (Matthew 16:16-18). In other words, if you understand who he is you will also be built by him as part of his called-out community.

If we habitually thought in terms of 'called out' or 'called ones', maybe we'd live more closely in the way Jesus really wanted! Because the English word 'church' has no real underlying meaning for me, I can effectively make it mean whatever I wish. But if I have in mind the true sense of the Greek I see that I'm called along with others and that we are together built by the Messiah himself on the basis of knowing who he is.

Revelation uses the term 'lampstand' for the seven 'called-out communities' (Revelation 1:20). 'To the messenger of the called in Ephesus write...' and so on for all seven 'lampstands'. (The messenger would have been the courier who carried the letter to the called out community. The word 'angel' means, literally, messenger.)

Each called-out community is referred to as a lampstand. What is the function of a lampstand? To hold the Lamp! Can a lampstand provide light? No! But if the Lamp, the Light of the World, is held in his rightful place he will provide light - it's what he came to do.

So each of these communities of people called-out from the world has the function of holding the Light in a place where he can illuminate the area all around. So where there is a called-out community there will be a pool of brightness in which the world can see.

Read the letters to the called-out in Revelation 2 and 3 and understand that a lampstand can be removed if it does not perform its task (holding up the Light so that he shines out). And remember that a lampstand is a 'church'. A removed lampstand is a removed church! We have a function and there's a cost associated with failure. I live in a town called St Neots, if the called-out in St Neots fail to display the Light we may lose our place!

This isn't some sort of angry threat from the Lord, it's the inevitable effect of failure to be a lampstand. It has happened historically on a large scale, think of all the lands in the Middle East and in North Africa where Islam swept away the Roman and Greek churches in the later centuries of the first millenium. It will happen everywhere the Light of the World is not held high by his called-out people. It can happen where I live. It can happen where you live.

But the Light has overcome the darkness. So live your life as a called-out member of your local called-out community and let the Light of the world shine around. Then the place where you live will have a future and your called-out community will truly be a lampstand. See Isaiah 9:2, John 1:5, Ephesians 5:8.

THOUGHT - See, hear, touch

Sean and I agreed to read and discuss 1 John 1 at our MRT meeting last Friday.

As I read John's words this morning and thought about them I made some brief notes. I'd like to share them more widely, here they are...

This chapter is expressed in a way that is very black and white - or should I write 'dark and bright'! As in his gospel, John writes about mysteries but describes them in a very clear and logical way. There's no arguing with him because he makes his case point by point, carefully and thoroughly. He states the undeniable and then draws an inescapable conclusion - again and again!

Yahshua is light and there's no darkness in him, none at all. If we are walking with him then we are in the light. If we're in the dark in any way, we are not walking with him. You just can't argue with that!

Claiming freedom from sin logically requires Father to be a liar so we can forget that idea right away! But it we confess he forgives us. The entire good news is here in this first chapter.

And how did John know all this? He'd seen, heard, and even touched the Life himself! What a privilege that would be, I can hardly imagine it. And yet that life was so ordinary that many others had looked and seen a builder from back-of-beyond Natzeret in way-up-north Galilee, they had heard a false prophet, and they had no interest in touching him.

I love the progression in John's opening words. First seeing the Life (something you can do from a distance just by noticing), then hearing him (for that you need to come close and pay atttention), and finally touching (truly making contact with the Life himself, embracing him fully).

For John seeing happened on his father's fishing boat as Yahshua walked along the pebbly shore. Hearing required leaving the boat and coming closer, then following him wherever he went and paying attention. Touching him included leaning against him at the last meal before his death. Seeing, hearing and touching are the steps we all take as we experience more and more of his presence in our own lives.

Hinchingbrooke - Celebration

The forecast had been for torrential rain, but it was merely cloudy when we met from 10:30. Numbers were low for a variety of reasons, but we soon got the BBQ under way and the food set out and then shared an enjoyable time, chatting in groups. Some of the younger ones took advantage of the dry weather and the extensive park to burn up spare energy.

Meeting afterwards there was a sense that Father was leading our thoughts along a theme. He showed us that his presence and direction are far more important than any amount of planning or effort on our part. If I do what I think, even if I do it well it will be of no value if it goes against his plans. But if I hear what he says and see what he does and do what I am told, the impact will be far greater.

Uli told us about a book that she had been reading that had had a big impact for her. Even talking about it was an emotional time for her. The story emphasised that what we do for the Lord is of little significance by comparison with what he does through us.  In particular, a little love is greatly prized by him as loving is the essence of his being.

Jim shared the story about last summer's camp. Again, it had been hearing and doing that succeeded, rather than setting our own goals and course. It had been a learning experience for us and this was one of the main lessons.

I explained how I'd read Jeremiah 52 and how Zedekiah and the people of Israel seemed to me representative of the church. Zedekiah was taken captive, his sons were killed (his future was taken from him) and he was forced to watch, then his eyes were put out and he was carried away to a foreign land and imprisoned. This is very much what happened to the church as she was adopted by the Roman state. She was taken captive, her future was taken from her, her vision was taken away, and she was carried away and her freedom was removed.

On the other hand in Jeremiah 52 we read that only the poorest and least significant were allowed to remain in the land of Israel. The wealthy and all those with influence were murdered or taken away, only the peasant farmers remained. Isn't this also true for the church? 'Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven' (Matthew 5:3).

Rupert shared pictures and interpretations for some of those present, this was very, very encouraging. Then Neil explained that we work with the Lord. For example, it's as if we drill a hole in the rock face and he fills it with explosive. Our part seems insignificant and by itself has almost no effect, but it's important and necessary. Sometimes we can't see how our part can make any impact on the problem, but when the charge is detonated we see that in doing our part we have facilitated something much more powerful! We shouldn't feel ineffective, we must do our part in faith and out Father will do the greater thing that was necessary.

Graham reminded us that we are treasures, he used his gold wedding ring as an example. As he spoke I understood that each of us is like a precious ring of gold, but we can't make our rings interlock, even as a chain. But he can interlock them, not just in a one dimensional chain, but in two dimensions. Like a chain-link fence or chain mail. Together, forged into a structure by him, we are much stronger and more impenetrable than we could ever be on our own.

We prayed for one another, based not particularly on 'ministries' or 'projects' but on the areas where we live and work. Neil mentioned that a net is stronger than it's weakest point because some of the strain is always taken by the many other available strands.

When the time came to pack everything away and tidy up we had the most torrential downpour. The sky just opened, there were one or two distant rumbles of thunder, and I was absolutely drenched to the skin simply loading the barbecue back in the car just a few yards from the building. But I didn't really care - it had been a wonderful afternoon!

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.
  
  

ANNOUNCEMENT - Huntingdon Celebration

The last meeting at Moggerhanger was great, wasn't it? This time, to take advantage of the summer weather we've booked a room at Hinchingbrooke Park. There's plenty of space outside to run around or take a walk and we have space inside in case it's wet.

Everyone is invited to meet from 12:30 on 6th June in Hinchingbrooke Park. We will meet up on the grass in front of the Countryside Centre.

The room is booked from 12:45 until 16:45 at the very latest. We need to leave the room clear and tidy at that time.

Bring and share meal - This time we are going to be self catering. Barbeques will be available for use and we'll try to have those ready for you, so feel free to bring cold food and/or uncooked items for the BBQ. Tea and coffee facilities will be available during the four hours we have the room. We will put all the food out on tables and then enjoy it together. We will need to tidy the room before we begin our meeting.

Meeting - After the meal we will meet in the hired room for an open time of prayer, praise, reading, worship, prophecy... it's up to you. Come prepared to take part as the Holy Spirit leads. We must bring this to a conclusion by 16:45 at the latest, though if the weather is good and we are all inclined, we could continue in the open air.

Children - Be prepared to supervise your own children or make your own arrangements to share the supervision. There's ample room outside for games on the grass (bring a ball, frisbee etc). Children are also welcome in the meeting.

Cost - This time we are going to ask for a small contribution to cover the use of the room. As we don't know how many will come we can only make a rough estimate, any excess will be put aside and go towards the cost of the next meeting. We suggest £2 per adult or £4 for a family of any size.

Travel directions - You can view these online and print them out to bring if you wish.

Read more about Hinchingbrooke Country Park.

Next meeting - The provisional date is 12th September, the second Sunday in the month. We are looking for another group to organise it this time, any volunteers?

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.

Biology and the economy

Humanity has become nothing less than a plague on the earth. The Bible calls us to be stewards of this planet, but instead we are well on the way to wrecking it.

A BBC News item today reports that loss of habitat and species will soon begin to have a major impact on the world economy. There is so far little evidence that governments have grasped the size of the problems or their urgency, perhaps we are paralysed like a child who has thrown a ball and broken a window. Denial is easier than taking responsibility, owning up, and attempting to make amends. This is in addition to anthropogenic climate change and other issues (pollution, overuse of water resources, dwindling mineral stocks etc).

What we face is little short of catastrophe, but we are doing so little about it. We talk about more efficient agriculture, power generation from wind, sunshine, tides, and waves, recycling of waste, but we don't yet realise that we are merely tinkering. The greatest problem is rarely discussed because it is so difficult - there are simply far too many of us sharing the surface of our small planet.

One good sign is that greater affluence is resulting in falling birthrates in the developed world. In Europe, North America, Australasia, and the developed parts of Asia, birth rates are close to or even below replacement levels. But the less developed areas of Asia and Africa and to a lesser degreee South America still have burgeoning populations.

We must do what we can to reduce the world's population. If we do not - and quickly - the world will do the job for us through steadily increasing starvation and disease. This is likely to be widespread through the developed world as well as less privileged regions.

Science and faith - a view from Nature

I've just spotted a piece by Philip Ball in the journal 'Nature'. He makes some very good points and supports my own views about the awesome behaviour of the natural world. He states,

Were I inclined to believe in an omnipotent God, I should be far more impressed by one who had intuited that a world in which natural selection operates autonomously will lead to beings that function as well as humans (for all our flaws) than by one who was constantly having to make adjustments.

Quite! Unlike Philip Ball, perhaps, I do believe in an omnipotent Prime Cause. I have often thought that the power behind the universe would have to be exceptionally clever to design physical laws that would require energy to bundle itself up in tiny packets that would interact in just the right way to form atoms of hydrogen and helium on the tiniest scales which would then coalesce gravitationally on very large scales to produce galaxies and stars.

These same physical laws ensure that stars will create all the elements up to iron and supernova explosions will synthesise the rest. Simple sugars, amino acids, and nucleotides will form in conditions that are not uncommon in the dusty discs around later populations of young stars, planets will form in these discs and life will arise almost inevitably. Once self-replicating systems are present Darwinian evolution is certain to begin its work and more and more complex life forms will appear as the millions and billions of years pass. Intelligence seems to be pretty much inevitable too.

So much from so little - indeed so much from absolutely nothing! This is one of the reasons I find it impossible not to believe in a power behind the universe. And somehow, though he might not agree, I don't think Philip Ball will hold that against me. Our positions are at the same time only slightly different yet fundamentally opposite. I believe in a Creator, he doesn't, yet we both see the same mechanisms operating and bringing about the rich universe we live in.

Truly, faith and science have no reason to argue. It saddens me greatly to see disagreements about the origin of the universe, evolution, palaeontology and the rest. It particularly saddens me as a trained scientist to see that most of the arguments against science are based on misunderstandings or false assumptions. It alarms me that matters like anthropogenic global climate change are dismissed. And it angers me when scientists' motives and morals are questioned. Scientists are not immune to mistakes or even (rarely) deliberate fraud, but the overwhelming majority are seeking for truth - verifiable, testable, truth.

(See also my previous post.)

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.
  

MISSION - The Kingdom

This evening we watched the DVD of Wolfgang Simson speaking to the House2House Conference in September 2008. His theme was the Kingdom of Heaven, and how we can't live in the Kingdom without obeying the King.

We discussed what this means to us. The Kingdom stuff surely can't be ignored - are we going to live as people under the King's command or are we going to do our own thing? Only obedience brings blessing!

We thought that next week we should spend our time in prayer and listening.

Offord - Chosen and loved

We met at Roger's again this week, but ate lunch indoors this time as it was too cold in the garden. We met before lunch, and then Ruth joined us for the meal.

We all shared CO2 first, this is a really good way to get the ball rolling. It quickly brings us up-to-date with one another's heart feelings and significant events in life, and it's good to share what we each feel the Lord has been saying to us.

As we continued in worship and prayer, Paul had a word for us, 'God says he doesn't need us, but he wants us.' I prayed for more labourers for the harvest, both in the Offords and in connection with Paul's youth work. Paul prayed that we'd hear Jesus and accept the changes that we find hard. He also mentioned the need to forgive people who may hurt us sometimes.

I had a picture of someone watering a pot plant, but to my surprise I quickly saw that they were pouring out hot, sticky tar - not cool, fresh water! It wouldn't work, of course. The plant would die. And I understood that we need to give people the rivers of living water that come from Yahshua. If we give them something other than living water they will be unable to grow.

Roger read Ephesians 6:10-13, how we need to stand and live fully in the light! And finally Paul read Ephesians 3:14-19 about the width, length, height and depth of God's love over us. We can be filled, not according to our way of measuring full, but according to his measurement of full (far, far exceeding our own)!

RESPONSE - The dirt on organic leadership

Brian Hofmeister has tried organic church and found it difficult. He writes about his experiences in a report in Christianity Today - Leadership. Brian's conclusion is that leading organic church was just too onerous, and was not achievable without some degree of professional input.

However, this has not been my experience, nor that of many others. And I don't believe it was the experience of the early church either. There's little evidence of paid leadership in the New Testament.

So what went wrong for Brian and the people he met with? To answer that we need to go right back to define what is and is not organic church. The word 'organic' implies an organism, whereas much of our experience of church comes from organisations. An organisation usually has a top-down management structure and a hierarchical authority structure. Something which is organic begins from a seed and grows until it reaches maturity and produces more seeds which grow in their turn.

In this way, one tiny seed may produce not just a tree, but an entire forest. It takes a certain amount of time, but it speeds up dramatically with each generation and will eventually fill the space available. Trees and forests can be managed, but they don't have to be. There were very successful forests in many parts of the world before human explorers arrrived to manage them!

I think that Brian simply tried too hard to manage and guide and educate and persuade. But that's not organic. The seed that germinates and grows amongst a small group of people is the expectation that Yahshua himself will do the managing, guiding, educating, and persuading. He said, 'I will build my church.' And he really meant it! He is the only one who truly knows how to do it.

Church is a community of people who love one another because Christ has first loved them. When we come together to meet it's just the tip of a giant, hidden core of fellowship and community. When we meet, Yahshua is there at the centre. He is with us because we are his and he loves to bless us and guide us. But he's also with us day by day as we live our lives, he is with us in defeat and in victory, in sorrow and in joy.

A group of new believers, if they focus on Jesus, will help one another along the road to maturity. The wiser and more mature will look out for the others. There will be problems, but rather than training programmes and theological studies the believers need to discover how to be disciples. They need to be walking with the Lord, listening to what he says and watching what he does. Reading the Bible together will provide a lot of useful guidance. Eating together when possible, helping one another with practical things, and having good, family fun together will help too. Encouraging one another, praying for one another, all these things help to build community.

But the key is listening to the Lord and doing what he says. Out of this will come mission, church growth, and all the rest.

Brian tried an alternative model of church and found it wanting. But it wasn't really organic church. My advice to him would be try again but to do a whole lot less while expecting Yahshua to do a whole lot more!

For some practical advice, browse through the 'Useful links' in the right hand sidebar, these will lead to other useful material - books, mp3s, DVDs, videos and more. But above all pray and ask Jesus himself to guide you, he won't let you down.

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).

Eaton Ford - Salt and light

We chatted over tea and coffee for a while until Jim took us right into spiritual matters with the question, 'What does it mean to be salt and light?' (Matthew 5:13-16) It's clear that these terms refer to making a difference, but Jim wanted to go deeper.

Acts 1:8 shows us that the Holy Spirit comes so that we can be witnesses. Are we really witnessing with 'fire in our bellies' as we should?

Sean had been thinking about the fruit of the Spirit and realised that these fruits are like food for people. We all agreed, it's not about mission fields or saying particular things to particular people - it's about the fruit, grace in our daily lives, joy, kindness etc.

I sensed that in order to be victorious in this spiritual Kngdom we must first be utterly defeated. To succeed we must first fail. Unless our human weaknesses are overcome, we will be unable to be living witnesses of the kind we need to be.

Sean prayed for the fire to burn up everything worthless, but he's afraid there'll be nothing left, nothing will remain. I had a word from the Lord about this, 'A seed will remain, and it's a seed that will grow.' Although we will lose ourselves, we will also begin to gain our real selves in the process. And it will be the beginning of real growth.

Science and faith - war or peace?

The origin of the universe, the origin of life, evolution - these are some of the topics that seem to be endlessly debated across the science/faith divide. Why does this happen, what are the root causes of the sometimes strongly-worded arguments? Perhaps it's time to take a fresh look.

Science is based on such things as reason, deduction, inference, and testing by experiment. At the most fundamental level science is simply a formal way of observing how things are. And it has an excellent track-record. We depend daily on the technologies that science has made possible. We drive our cars, watch TV, depend on medical help when we are sick or injured. All of these things and many more are rooted in generations of observation, hypothesis, and testing.

On the other hand faith is not based on observation and experiment but on assertion, often about matters that are untestable and are unknowable in the scientific sense. The existence of a powerful personality outside the universe and this personality's influence within it are not things science can investigate. Science doesn't reject faith (indeed it might investigate faith as a phenomenon) but it does not (and cannot) investigate the claims of faith.

There is therefore no reason for science and faith to do battle with one another, but historically this has happened repeatedly. An example of past 'warfare' concerns whether the earth or the sun is the centre of the solar system, one current skirmish centres on the origin of life and on evolution, another one on theories about the origin of the universe.

The usual pattern is that science draws a conclusion that offends people of faith in some way. Instead of understanding the scientific arguments and accommodating them within the framework of faith, believers often try to find holes in the science. Scientists continually refine our understanding in a formal way, believers sometimes lash out at new ideas they don't like.

How can we take this forward? Here is some advice for scientists and believers who have become embroiled in debates of this sort.

Scientists - Don't become angry, recognise that if the science is sound you have demonstrable facts on your side. State these straightforwardly and point detractors to the evidence calmly. If you are vilified and your integrity is questioned, recognise that these are the actions of desperate people who have not yet understood that facts are a form of truth. The battle will rarely centre on those facts, instead it will usually focus on attempts to discredit the people involved. Don't engage with these attempts.

Believers - Don't interpret statements from scientists as provocation, they are simply sharing factual information. Respect the people even if you don't like their thinking. Christ called you to love so speak in love, not in anger. Look at the scientific claims calmly, facts about the world cannot possibly contradict truth. Look for ways of accepting the science within your framework of faith. Remember the battles about the place of the earth in astronomy, why is that no longer an issue? Understand that if the Almighty exists, scientific and spiritual truth will be able to coexist, because he is the author of both.

Where there appear to be contradictions there is an opportunity for mutual understanding. Science deals with the realm of materials and energy, faith deals with the realm of the spirit. There is no overlap in subject matter and there is no clash of ideas that can't be accommodated.

MISSION - Wisdom

Sean explained that he'd been reading Proverbs 24 which is about wisdom. Verses 11-12 particularly stood out and spoke to him about mission. It's what we're here for! Salvation for those in peril! I agree with him about this.

As we were talking about it I mentioned that it is 'the Prime Directive', and Sean suggested instead that the prime directive for us is loving God and everything flows from that. This makes sense to me.

Like Moses, who didn't enter into the promised land, we will continue on our journey to the end of this life. But Moses was there on the mountain talking with Jesus and Elijah. One day we will be with him too.

The Moggerhanger meeting in February and the Newforms meeting in April were mountaintop experiences for both of us, they were so exciting, so encouraging. But we're not meant to be there all the time. Sean pointed out that if we were able to choose our mountaintops, we'd most likely be there for the experience, not simply for the Lord's sake.

I had a picture of colour spinners, the sort children used to make from a disc of card with two holes and a piece of string. Colouring them with segments of the primary colours red, yellow and blue and then spinning them by pulling the string, there was a magical effect. The coloured segments would vanish and be replaced by a neutral, dull grey. When we spin our colour discs we make a dirty grey, but when the Lord spins his colour wheel it makes a glorious, brilliant white too bright to look at at. I thought that this is how he takes our different abilities and natures and somehow creates something wonderful out of our ordinaryness.

Sean explained that when they were young, his children could draw, but not nearly as well as he could. They were always amazed at the things he could draw that they could not. He felt that we are like that. He can do so much better than we can, he can spin a colour wheel to produce true white light, our attempts are rather poor by comparison. And we are amazed!

Offord - Lunch in the garden

Paul and I travelled to meet in Offord d'Arcy today as Roger had an injury and was unable to drive.

We sat in the garden for a salad lunch, it was delightful to be able to do that so early in the year. James (the cat) sat with us and enjoyed small pieces of cocktail sausage and sultanas from the fruit cake.

We shared CO2 together and prayed for some of the people who were on our hearts today. We just enjoyed conversation centred on the Lord and I returned home feeling refreshed and encouraged.

Little Paxton - Salvation and reward

Jim read Matthew 5:8, 'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God'. He asked us to consider what it might mean to 'see God'.

On the face of it this is a very simple question, but Sean and I were both unsure how to answer, Jim certainly got us thinking! If you're reading this you might like to consider the question for yourself. What does it mean to 'see' the Almighty?

We decided there is certainly a need for humility.

Moving on, we also wondered what it really means to be a disciple. We know that once we understand that Yahshua truly is the Son of the Most High and that he is the Lamb, the one and only sacrifice necessary for our sin to be forgiven, when we accept him and depend on him, we begin living a new life. I thought that this in itself doesn't make us a disciple because we need to move from new life to actually following Yahshua daily, finding out what he wants and doing it. In other words it may be possible to make it into eternal life but without any reward or crown. (See 1 Cor 3:11-15)

Jim referred to Luke 6:23, our response to being rejected because of Christ is to jump for joy! And I thought of Matthew 5:23-24. The gift at the altar was the offering. But Christ himself is our offering, our sacrifice. In a very real sense Yahshua is our gift. There was nothing sufficient that we could supply, but he supplied our need. We cannot really offer Christ as our sacrifice without first putting things right with our brother.

St Neots - Passion for Souls

Six of us met this evening to discuss an aspect of the work being done by Passion for Souls, a charity run by Paul and Michele Shinners to support the mission work they've been doing in parts of Africa. More recently, Paul has felt the need to reach out here in the UK, and specifically in St Neots and the area round about. We were a mixed group around our dining room table, from several parts of the church in the town.

A series of interesting and encouraging circumstances were uncovered as we met. For example, one couple had viewed our house before we had bought it, and they'd considered buying it themselves at the time! An African crafts connection (Spring of Hope) had been made independently by Paul and by Donna. The Spirit gave me a thought about city walls which resonated with Claire, reminding her of other times of prayer for the town.

We listened to Paul as he outlined his ideas and the reasons for them. We had a chance to ask questions and hear answers from Paul and from Jim. We spent some time in prayer and all felt very encouraged and excited.

The next step is to give ourselves time to consider what to do. I am already confident that the Lord wants me to be part of this new development in the town and I think perhaps we all are.

As things go forward I should be able to be much more specific about the details, meanwhile - watch this space.

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.

Nottingham - Newforms Conference Session 1

Although we weren't registered and won't be present for the Newforms Saturday and Sunday sessions, Sean and I were able to stay on for the first evening after the excellent pre-conference during the day.

Marsha Farmer opened the meeting and Peter Farmer followed up with further information. We heard about 'Broken Britain' where there are now very few churchgoers.

Peter introduced Tony Dale (visiting from the USA) and he spoke simply and quietly without notes, but to great effect. He began by asking how we might birth churches that consist mostly of people who are initially non-believers. Tony explained that Felicity had been unable to make the trip despite the intention that both of them would have been with us. They prefer whenever possible to share the work and for both to speak.

We heard about Victor Choudhrie's work and the very powerful move currently underway in India.

Tony made one remark that particularly stood out for me, I made a note of it. He said, 'The less successful we are, the more we need God'. This seems to me so true, in fact fundamental. We need to be driven by the teachings of Jesus, the encouragement of our peers, and by our own experiences to throw ourselves upon the Lord - not merely for help, but for basic direction day by day, moment by moment. If he doesn't build the house everything we do will be wasted.

Nottingham - Newforms pre-conference

Sean and I travelled up to Nottingham for the day to join Peter and Marsha Farmer and other simple church leaders for the Newforms Conference pre-meeting. We didn't plan to stay for the main conference on Saturday and Sunday, but we were able to stay for the opening session on Friday evening.

We began by going around the room and saying a little about ourselves by way of introduction. There were, I think, eighteen of us. We came from all around the UK but mainly England. Peter Farmer then spoke for a while on the interesting topic of church planting movements and we spent some time in open prayer and sharing. Mim reminded us that Jesus is the King, Marsha prayed for emotional healing, especially for women who have so often been hurt by being overlooked or even at worst despised in church life and particularly in church leadership. I shared some things about the sheer privilege of being disciples and about Jesus' call to Peter to 'feed my sheep'.

Tony Dale joined us a little late due to some travelling difficulties, but we were glad to know that he made it into the UK before volcanic ash closed the airports. Felicity was unable to come due to an unexpected family commitment and although it was disappointing not to see her, at least we had one Dale with us!

Tony began by asking us what books and authors had particularly impacted our views on church life. Wolfgang Simson, Neil Cole, the Dale's own books, George Barna, Frank Viola, and Rad Zdero were mentioned, I added Paul Vieira and Bruxy Cavey to the list. many of these and more are listed on the House2House 'Books' page.

Tony then told us something of the background to their move to the USA and some of the events that had shaped their journey. He mention big and little church working in harmony, he described how the Lord has a destiny in mind for his people, and he pointed out that it is clear he's preparing us for something big.

He stressed that movements start rather small and multiplication is very slow to begin with. Tony also mentioned that we need expressions of church that are relevant to each culture and people group that we can identify.

Next, he considered the requirements for a movement to begin in Western Society. God has chosen to work through people, but we must choose to co-operate. Some kind of infrastructure is necessary too, to provide useful tools. Online social networks like Twitter play a very important part here. Ideas are essential and stories are a great way of getting them across. We need to 'tell a new story'. We also need to consider the language we use, for example 'Christian' carries various kinds of baggage for most non-believers.

We should think of church as a new way of life, not an event. Also it is imperative to ask Jesus and then do what we hear him say. We are meant to to be followers, a disciple is someone who recognises Jesus and does what he says (John 10:1-4). This is very significant in terms of mission! The Holy Spirit will lead us to the person of peace. We can teach anyone to listen and do.

Jesus always released people back into their sphere of influence (for example the Samaritan woman). Movements don't grow and divide, but they grow and send out again and again. Tony illustrated this by telling us a story from an Asian country in which great moves of the Lord were happening regularly. We need to dare to let our best people go if there to be any chance of a movement beginning.

Tony also touched on spiritual warfare, we need to 'be not ignorant of the Evil One's devices'. Something that had helped Tony and Felicity was to pray through the Psalms. At one point they had read that they should pray until the enemy was unable even to lift up his head, and in that way they found victory in a particularly difficult and trying time.

Another topic he covered was the place of women in ministry. This is a very important battleground and he and Felicity always minister together if possible. There is another principle that he mentioned, one that seems to me to be true and worth remembering. Tony said, 'What God did last tends to persecute what he does next. We need to forgive.'

What I've written above are just highlights here and there, things I wanted to jot down to keep. There was much, much more, it was a wonderful day!

REVIEW - Brain McLaren interviewed on Nomad

I've just listened to the latest Nomad Podcast, an interview with Brian McLaren.

Like most of the podcasts, this one is an open and friendly discussion. Brian McLaren is a sometimes controversial figure and the Nomad podcaster (Nick) wisely presents difficult questions without becoming personally involved. Phrases like 'some people say xyz' are widely employed and enable hard questions to be addressed without arousing defensive resonses. This is one of the things I like best about these podcasts.

Brain McLaren is often seen as an important figure in the emerging church. He was pastor of a small church for 24 years and during that time heard many questions that needed to be grappled with. Some of them came from non-Christians. For example, 'Does God sanction violence and the destruction of innocent men, women and children?', 'Is the Bible about spiritual rescue or is it about social action?'

McLaren suspects these questions have not been widely tackled because they're sometimes seen as encouraging doubt instead of faith. Religious leaders are often busy and don't have time to deal with questions, and also most denominations have a list of required beliefs and questioning those may be unwelcome.

Some people have become unhappy with internal denominational debates and are finding they can learn things from others with different views. This seems to be a beneficial development. Some people want to deal with the practicalities of church but not get involved with theology. Others want to delve deeply into theology. Yet others wish to be involved in both, to bridge the differences. McLaren sees himself as part of this third group.

He suggests that Jesus' message about the Kingdom is not just about how to get into heaven, but has a great deal to do with Father's will being done on earth as it already is in heaven. Mission is not just evangelism, it involves reaching out in terms of helping the poor, being peacemakers, and so on.

Ultimately, Brian McLaren's desire was to become more Christ-like, and to follow the Master wherever he might lead.

In the discussion at the end of the podcast, the team look at some of the ideas presented in McLaren's latest book. For example, they talk about the difficulties that arise when we view the Bible as recording progress in man's understanding of the Almighty. This may be a way of dealing with some of the difficulties we have about wrath and anger in his character. Is he really like that or is it just how people at that time perceived him? On the one hand we may struggle with such a view of Yahweh's nature, but on the other we want to accept the Bible fully - even the passages we find hard to understand. We can't dodge issues like these. We must think them through and make choices or find a way of integrating both aspects.

The interview with Brian McLaren, the Nomad discussion that follows, and the comments on McLaren's book are all worth hearing and helped me understand some aspects of the emergent church more clearly. It's thought-provoking and challenging stuff, and these are issues we should all have an working knowledge of. Listen to the podcast and decide for yourself.

Eaton Ford (day) - Healing a mother-in-law

Roger and Julian were unable to come this week so Paul and I went ahead without them. We began by running through CO2. As part of that I explained that the Lord had been showing me that I should be like a little child, they are innocent, straightforward and trusting.

Paul pointed out that once they reach five or six-years-old they are already capable of cheating and telling lies, so when Jesus tells us we should be like little children, he really does mean 'little'. But Paul also mentioned that we can ask anything of Jesus at any time, he never turns us away. What a wonderful truth!

I said that Yahshua has a plan for each one of us and he is working it out day by day and even moment by moment. I had a picture in which I was standing on the top of a hill with  the Lord. I could see a brilliantly lit cloudscape below, it must have been a grey, foggy day down in the valley. Up here everything was bright sunshine and glorious. But Yahshua said, 'I have X-ray eyes, you don't. I can see the road we are following together as it winds down the hill and across the valley. And I can see everything you'll see along the way when you are there - but you can't see them yet, not from here, not under the clouds.'

'Walk with me each day. I know where we're going. You don't.'

We spent some time in prayer and then we returned to Mark 1 which we've been working through from time to time. We read from Mark 1:21-28 about the casting out of an evil (unclean) spirit. Paul noticed that we're used to doctors who can sometimes cure physical ailments, but to the people of his day it must have been astonishing to see Jesus cast out an evil spirit instantly like this.

Reading of the healing of Simon's mother-in-law in verses 29-34 we thought how amazed we are when we see similar things. A good example of this was the way Paul was able to be so active physically during last year's X-treme Camp and was relatively free of pain. It was unasked for, unexpected, but so, so encouraging. We are asking for the same again this year!

I shared a bit about why Yahshua wouldn't allow the demons to speak. Very often when we intend to spread the good news about him, we begin by telling people who he is. But this was not the way Yahshua did it, he didn't want people to know who he was. He began by simply loving people and caring for them, meeting their needs, and then he told them about his Father and challenged them to come in line with heavenly standards, not earthly ones. People started to ask, 'Who is this man, even the demons obey him?' We should learn from him, we are doing it all back to front! People first need to know that he is good, then they will want to know more about him.

Verses 35-39 show the Son wanting to hear the Father. When they told him, 'Everyone is looking for you!' he said, 'Let's go somewhere else.' Is this what we would do? Probably not! He was always full of surprises, the disciples must have been puzzled on many occasions.

Mark 1:40-45 is very significant. Yahshua heals a Jew of leprosy. This is the first of the so-called Messianic miracles, the religious authorities believed and taught that only the Messiah would be able to perform such a healing. It was not unusual for people to be healed or demons cast out by prayer, but some things had never happened before and this was one of them. Naaman had been healed of leprosy by Elisha, but he was not a Jew, he was an Aramean.

This is why the healing was so significant and why it caused such an uproar. Now people were starting to seriously wonder if this Yahshua from Nazareth might be the Messiah. The religious leaders would start to take a major interest in what he was doing. The healed man was supposed to make the prescribed offering but not tell the priest (or anyone else) who had healed him.

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.

St Neots - X-treme Bowling

This evening was a reunion for the young people and their parents. We had arranged a bowling night with pizza and chips, and we had about thirty people there on the night. It was great fun, I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

There are several more photos online, if you were there perhaps you can find yourself in one of them!

During the evening Jim described the background to X-treme Camps in Eynesbury and I announced the dates for this summer's X-treme Camp, Friday 23rd July to Sunday 25th July 2010. Don't miss it! More details from me, Chris, by email.

ANNOUNCEMENT - Newforms UK Gathering

This is to remind everyone about the Newforms UK Gathering due to take place in Nottingham from Friday 16th April until Sunday 18th April 2010.

The gathering has been arranged by Peter and Marsha Farmer who live in the city and have been active in mission and church planting locally.

It's not too late to book your place if you're not already signed up, and Nottingham is a good, central location for access from all parts of the UK.