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A bit of camera trickery. Is this how he really did it?

I have often said that God is the great salvage expert. He often finds Himself having to take the wreckage of our life, ruined by our frequent blunders and gaffs and turn it into something fit for purpose. Hopeless situations are no obstacle to God and it is all too simple for Him to birth something beautiful out of a scene of chaos.

In 1989 the horror of the Hillborough disaster was broadcast on T.V screens around the globe. Scenes full of confusion and chaos. Broadcasters were careful to avoid showing too clearly the human disaster that we all knew what was unfolding. By the end of the day 94 supporters of Liverpool were lost; their life breath squeezed out of them.

Watching T.V that day in Brisbane, Australia was a young man called Dave Gilpin. He was youth pastor at Southside Christian Renewal Centre and that day he was so greatly affected that it was to result in the greatest of moves for he and his wife, Jenny. After placing an advert in the UK Press “Aussie Church Starting” the church now known as Hope City was born in 1991 in Sheffield.

The young man chosen by Dave and Jenny to care for their youth was Glyn Barrett; Manchester born, raised in Australia. He was just as courageous and committed to God as his pastor, though slightly less quirky. I had the privilege of working with Glyn at this time and was impressed by his candour and his character. He was a good man.

A number of years later; years packed with life-forming circumstances; Glyn was the key founder of a youth event called Audacious. Now, filling major auditoriums, it is one of the best places a young person can find themselves each summer.

This week my own Youth Pastor returned from Audacious 2009 with an army of inspired young people. I have no doubt that in years to come they will look back and understand Audacious to be one of the most defining of weeks.

It was my wife, the source of most of my best ideas, who while watching the event on T.V said, “it’s amazing to think this was birthed out of Hillborough”. It is amazing. To be fair, no matter how much man may rightly be able to take the credit for the initiative, entrepeneurship and raw courage needed to make Audacious happen; only God could have taken a scene of horror and atrocity and viewed it as a seed which He would patiently and painstakingly water and nurture until it produced a harvest of churches and Jesus followers.

Just as our wisdom is as foolishness to God; I suspect that when we weigh our most daring of exploits they will seem tame against God’s, who surely makes plans that are truly audacious.

tortoise.mp3
When asked by people what kind of things I find funny, I have usually struggled to describe my sense of humour. I guess that it could be described as ecclectic; from certain slapstick routines through to dry political satire. Now and again something will catch my attention and cause me to chuckle despite the puzzled looks on the faces of those around me.

This excerpt, a small part of a larger radio sketch, was a chuckle moment.

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Last week during a ten minute spell as goalie in a friendly football match I became the focus of attention of a flying hoard of mosquitoes. Twenty four hours and one doctor’s visit later my lower legs were still not a pretty sight and as shapeless and bloated as a giant Lincolnshire sausage. I then had to endure a week of having my hand slapped by my wife whenever she caught me scratching the troubled areas. I wouldn’t mind, but surely “scratching an itch” is one of life’s sweetest pleasures and so simple to do.

Many people; people just like us, have troubles. Perhaps someone is looking for a way out of an oppressive or hurtful situation. Another may be seeking some certainty or truth in an uncertain world. Still another is desperately trying to find a life with some hope in it or a glimmer of revelation to light a dim future.
Jesus said; “I am the way, the truth and the life” and “the light of the world”. He also invited us to, “come to me for rest if you are weary and burdened” and “come and taste and see that God is good”.

Go on; scratch your itch.

This coming Sunday I will be launching a new teaching series aimed at helping people become “big on the inside”. Each of the six sessions will be based on one of the chapters of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus and I know it is going to be so helpful to all who hear it.

If you’ve ever felt trapped and limited in expressing yourself or your faith then the first session is for you, called “Unchained melody” it will give you keys to unlocking the constraints that the enemy and life places on you.

For those of you who like a bit of lightness in church, as a recognition of recent events I will be dropping in song titles performed by Michael Jackson throughout the talk. See how many you can spot!

God bless and thanks for visiting therevster.com

This Sunday is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. It’s also Father’s Day. I’m really looking forward to the morning celebration at New Life when we can pay tribute to dads and fatherhood in general.

This week I’ve been thinking of the little bits of advice my dad gave me; some which have proven their worth, others which in hindsight have been lacking in substance but sounded good at the time. I may mention some of these as I bring the message on Sunday morning. Something I will definitely mention is the wonderful advice that God passes onto His children through his life-manual, the Bible. He is the wisest father of all and one that never gives dodgy advice and never has a suspicious motive. What a pity that the Bible is the most popular unread book in the world.

Pastor Russ and his dad around forty years ago.

I was privileged to have had a great dad, but many haven’t been as blessed. Let’s pray that this coming Sunday morning all around our country many people will begin a relationship with God the father of creation and the best dad in the universe.

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Russ

After being stalled on the road by the start of a local fox hunt my family and I drove on the back road from quaint Wigglesworth endeavouring to make it to Settle for a light brunch. The road was narrow, bendy and empty. A typical “C” road through the Yorkshire Dales countryside and the beautiful villages it contains.

After fifteen minutes of driving bliss we were slowed to a snail’s pace for the rest of the journey behind a large truck as wide as the road. The truck bore its sign proudly in luminous yellow. “Motorway Maintenance.”

Someone please tell the driver he’s on the wrong road!

I would normally get all philosophical and meaningful right here explaining how we all need to ask ourselves a big question – but I will resist.

There’s nothing quite like the sound of Ken Bruce’s voice. It’s rich, dynamic and full of life. When I’m his age I want to have a voice like that. I may even fake the scottish accent. Anyway I am digressing and seem to have got on a tangent before even setting off !

I was listening to Ken Bruce’s radio show the other day whilst ironing (which i do reasonably well and enjoy very much if there’s something good on the box or radio) and a new single was played. It immediately hooked me. The music was different, the voice intriguing and the melody immensely singable. I found myself singing along to the chorus, “I say Grandma, is Grandpa coming home … I say Grandma, is Grandpa coming home”.

I listened for Ken to name the song information afterwards and he did in his rich scottish tones, ” … and that was Empire of the Sun with Walking on a Dream”. For the next hour I was singing the new “Grandma” song and thinking how groundbreaking it was for a cool young band to write a song about the family life. Good on em!  Convinced I should check the song out again and download it to my super slim super shiny ipod (which by the way I am considering buying a rubber housing for to make it less slippy and more chunky) I sat at the computer to do some searching.

I found the song “Walking on a Dream” and checked out the lyrics from a site which gave me a virus or two for good measure. The lyrics for the chorus stated, “Is it real now, when two people become one … I can feel it when two people become one”. Convinved the virus-rich site had the wrong lyrics I checked out a couple more. They stated the same lyrics. Not a grandparent in sight!

Puzzled, I somehow managed to set my Virgin V+ box to find “Music on Demand” and I watched the video for the single. It was very good. …lots of oriental people looking strangely at two westerners dressed like orientals in a pantomime about two ugly sisters … but nevertheless, good. They arrived at the chorus and watching closely I observed they sang, “uhhsnnzzuffmley whaemapeeeple commenwn …uhhsnnflleegley whaemapeeeple commenwn” . They sang the same at the next chorus too. It was incredible. I could hear and understand every single word of the verses but when they came to the chorus they spoke a derivitive of venusian welsh. I replayed the video, the chorus arrives quickly in the song and I managed to close my eyes (to simulate the radio … always thinking!) halfway into the first line of the chorus, “uhhsnnzzuffmley whaemgrandpacominghome …. Isaygrandma isgrandpacominghome” . There it was. I listened to the next chorus with my eyes closed and grandma and grandpa were fully back. It was weird. Watching them, they sing nothing but rubbish. Purely listening they sing about their ancestors.

I downloaded the song to my ipod simply out of intrigue.

And my message to the duo of Empire of the Sun, “OPEN YOUR MOUTHS WHEN YOU SING AND MOVE YOUR LIPS !”

During my sabbatical I aim to visit a healthy selection of local churches of varying persuasions. It’s been a while. In fact it may be around eight years since I ceased the kind of ministry which enabled me to visit churches of different denominations working closely with their worship teams and leaders. Perhaps I’ve missed it more than I thought.

This morning I walked to a local anglican church where a friend is the vicar. They were celebrating seventy years of ministry and dedicating an area of the building as a Chapel of Reconciliation. We sang, prayed, participated in the eucharist and shared the sign of the peace. (My own congregation may be surprised to learn that I’ve always enjoyed this kind of typically non-Pentecostal activity). Afterwards I engaged in some chitty-chat, caught up with old friends and did a little hobnobbing with some people wearing important looking robes.

However the highlight of my worship experience was the address given by the Bishop of Grimsby. Not only was the content very relevant but the delivery was perfect for a family service. He was full of life and humour and the twenty minute message carried passion and purpose.

I was left thankful to God that the Anglican movement in my locality is overseen by people like Bishop David who have a deep sense of call and committment to the gospel yet love to see people enjoying life. I hope that the children who were in fits of giggles after being playfully splashed with holy water by the Bishop grow up to throw off the shackles of a dull Christianity and experience life to the full as God intended and as the Bishop exhibited.