Shoutlouder

it’s time to stop trying to SAVE people

// October 11th, 2008 // No Comments » // Evangelism, Inspiration, Missions

The last week has certainly been an interesting one. My dear wife Gosia has been having a few breast feeding issues over the last few weeks that eventually led us to turning up to A&E on Tuesday morning to try and get some final resolution to the problem. Turned out she’d developed an abcess (not nice but quite common from the sounds of it) and so needed a small op to sort things out. Well a small op on the NHS usually means waiting until a theatre is available on a long list and so finally on Friday morning after 3 nights waiting (mostly in a hospital room) she finally got sorted.

I’m writing this from the Hospital cafe (which is frustratingly shut cause I need a decent coffee) on a Saturday morning with the hope that at some point today she may be able to come home. The odd benefit of the week however has been some quality time spent with my daughter who now finally knows who I am after spending the last few months busily working too hard. Even Gosia joked this week – “So this is what I have to do to finally get some time with you…”! Bit extreme…

The other benefit of the week has been interacting with a whole host of different people and the few conversations that have taken place that will hopefully see them move one step closer to God!

One step closer?

One step closer – that’s an odd thing in this day and age as it seems the world has locked itself into the mentality of a junk food, fast food, want it now or not at all type of thinking. It’s even worked its way into our churches and our understanding of Christian living. Christians find themselves all over the world being given the unrealistic fast food challenge to ‘save’ people every week, to ‘get’ people to church in any way possible. Churches think that by posting a billboard, handing out a few flyers and starting church with a ‘contemporary item’ that people are going to fall over themselves to get saved and ‘hey presto’ we have revival.

The problem with that kind of thinking is the misconception of our role on planet earth! The key determining factors that make it possible for eternity to invade the broken heart of a person is completly beyond any of our control! After all wasn’t it God who said “I build the church – you just grow and water it“? We can encourage it, we can engage in the journey, we can add salt and seasoning to the taste of it – but for us to be able to ‘save’ someone infers that we hold some divine ability to personally reconnect the eternal power supply to a broken and sin ridden life. If that was the case then wouldn’t we be doing it every week, every day, every conversation…

The truth is that we’re not called to SAVE we’re simply called to RECONCILE and they are two incredibly different things! Jesus saves – we simply set up the appointment! (2 Corinthians 5:17-20) Father God’s role for His people was never to get worked up trying to do the work of the divine – that’s all done and dusted… the chasm has been crossed, the bridge has been built, the path paved and grace lined up for every person! All that He’s waiting for now is for His people to point others towards the gate… that’s where we come in!

We’re the signpost, the appointment maker, the introducer, the match-maker, the salesman at the door, the Big-issue worker standing on corner, the announcer over the tanoy, the lighthouse pointing to safe-harbour… all we can do is attempt to connect and engage with people in our world so that THEY can make a decision to walk towards the bridge emblazoned with the word Eternity.

I’ll expand on this thought in some posts over the next couple of weeks! I hope you’ll join me in discussing what it really means to be His witnesses to the end of the earth!

a trip to Christians Against Poverty

// August 8th, 2008 // No Comments » // Evangelism, Leadership, Missions

Had the great pleasure to visit the CAP offices this morning at the invitation of Matt Barlow – the UK Chief Executive. The main reason for the invite was due to the increasing number of my congregation who are being employed at the Head Office based in Bradford City Centre. So it was good to connect with Matt and get a chance to see first hand the place that everyone raves about… and they have good reason too..

CAP’s head quarters is an old mill that has been converted into a large open place office space keeping some of the old features. The main floor you enter onto is effectively a massive attic complete with sweeping glass windows that make up the entire wall and overlook the city centre of Bradford. You can’t help but stop and stare across the city in awe as you take in the mass of humanity that is sprawled before you – a mass of lives currently living under the weight of the ‘credit crunch’ which makes CAP’s work even more important as across the nation it seeks to help people out of the often overpowering and crushing weight of debt.

CAP won the award for the No.1 Small Business in this years Sunday Times competition. No mean feat at all – and the award sits pride of place amongst a whole heap of awards and recognitions that this incredible organisation duly deserve.

It’s amazing that it all started in the heart of just one man – a passionate John Kirkby who just wanted to make a difference. Now there are over 90 staff and even more being employed each month in a business that is funded entirely by the generosity of CAP ‘Life Changers’ who give monthly and then through the sponsorship and donations provided by businesses, banks and individuals. Plus on top of that there are now CAP centres open in churches across the nation and now – thanks to a chance meeting with Ps Phil Pringle at the last Fabulous Conference – CAP are opening up centres in Australia and elsewhere around the world.

It truly is a remarkable achievement and goes to show what can happen when someone takes a hold of the God given vision that God has placed in their heart. The untold stories are the countless thousands of lives who are being freed from debt every year through their work – plus the many who don’t just receive freedom from debt but also freedom in Christ through the witness and prayerful support of the staff and workers across all the centres.

As I sat with Matt chatting over the coffee a Bell rung in the office and I found myself experiencing first hand the gathering of the entire office staff to hear about the two people who have just become Christians through the work of CAP. As we stood there listening to the testimony and praying for the individuals you could see the faces of the staff members being refreshed and filled with a new sense of purpose and vision, realising that the job they were doing is more than just a job – its changing lives for eternity! The bell ringing is a daily occurance – even happening up to two times a day – and no one ever tires of the interuption..

It really is quite a profound thing that God has done and I count it a privilege to be connected to what is happening – not just through the members of the congregation who are staff members – but also as this week we signed up as a CAP Money church. This means we’ll have 4 trained members of the congregation who can run CAP’s new Money course with a small group of people – giving basic financial advice and support to everyone. It’s an opportunity to share with people the simple basics of how NOT to get into debt – but also a door of opportunity to share something of God’s love in people’s lives.

If you want to support CAP then make sure you visit their website at www.capuk.org – and if you’re interested as a church at getting involved then give them a call!

can it really be that simple?

// August 2nd, 2008 // No Comments » // Book Review, Evangelism, Self-Development

I’ve just started reading Bill Hybels latest book, “Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith”. I say just started reading – but I started yesterday and I’m already a third of the way through because it is that inspiring, challenging, moving, provoking…

I actually had to put it down for a minute early this afternoon. I was sat reading it in a Playcentre whilst my son was playing and I felt such a touch of the Holy Spirit, provoking, proding, convicting me (righteously – not with guilt) about how I really need to change the way I approach evangelism in my life that I was about to bust into tears… (something I regularly do – much to the enjoyment of my congregation – when I sense the Holy Spirit at work).

The thing is – Bill Hybels is writing about something so simple – the simple concept that all it takes is for us ‘Christ-followers’ to step away from our Circles of Comfort and take a walk across the room to engage people who mingle around our world. How else can we share the incredible nature and power of God’s love and grace if we don’t make the effort to actually connect with someone. It’s not rocket science and yet every born-again Christian will say Yes to the need to share Jesus with the world, but still never make that one move out of comfort that may just open the doors, or sow a seed for someone to step into eternity. It’s so simple… yet why don’t we do it!

This book is incredibly practical and insightful as to how we must approach evangelism in our culture and society today. I couldn’t do justice to summarise it here – but let me say if you’re going to read one book this year then read this one and it will totally redirect the outward focus of your Christian life and liberate you to see that evangelism isn’t about gifting, crusades, great apologetics and deep theological expositories – it’s just about you being open to allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in building bridges across which the truth of the Gospel can carry lives into eternity…