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What a great time we had at The House on Sunday morning as New Life did church together. It was somewhat emotive too. Fathers were honoured and it was exciting to see a young student speak very highly of his exceptionally humble dad and then pray for him in front of the whole congregation. Later one of our more senior members read the Rudyard Kipling poem “If” and I for one was moved to tears as he neared the climax of that most wonderful of verse.

The message, “A Father’s Advice” centred on the Godly advice spoken through a wise man in Proverbs 3:5-6. I suppose if the Holy Spirit inspires the wisest King who ever lived to pen words to his son, we should at least take careful note; and perhaps more so on Father’s Day.

This podcast then drops in on the message after I’ve finished the preamble which included reminiscences of my own father and his words of wisdom.

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For the third and final part of a trilogy of talks I spend a little time explaining just a couple of aspects of what it means to be a truly big church – big in every way. This talk follows on from the talks “Big God” and “Big People”, both available to listen to from this site.

To be a big church we must be a church which is valuable to God and invaluable to the community. Committed to becoming a church that Jesus celebrates not tolerates. Rejoice and revel in the fact that God doesn’t need us but chose us – we are truly wanted.

We should also be a church which finds it releasing to celebrate and even promote its own flavour whilst at the same time celebrating and encouraging other expressions of church. This is truly enjoying God’s desire for variety and diversity.

Enjoy as you join worshippers gathered on a Sunday morning at The House, the home of New Life in Scunthorpe, England

 


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I recently spent time away with some of the leaders of the church I pastor and as well as having lots of fun and enjoying each other’s company, we chewed over many of the various statements, mottos and axioms that we’ve used to describe our church. It was a helpful exercise and in the doing of it we arrived at an overarching phrase which we believe will express the whole scope of our flavour as New Life Church.

“Big God.. big people .. big church” is already becoming part of the language of New Life’s leadership. We believe in a Big God .. we build Big People .. who belong to a Big Church.

We believe in a God who is who He says He is and does what He says He does. The God who is revealed in every page of scripture. A Big God!  Only by believing in a big God can we begin to successfully raise strong disciples; big people. The followers that Jesus wants are ones who pursue wholeness, learn to live life sold out to him and therefore learn to live life large, to the full. Only then can we build and belong to a big Church. A church that Jesus celebrates not tolerates. A church that is valuable to God and invaluable to the community.

In a series of three talks, I unpack aspects of this phrase to the church for the first time. “Big God .. big people .. big church”.

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In this first talk you drop in on me talking about our need to believe in a Big God. I use visual examples of us straightjacketing God to make him more palatable to society and later I literally tear the bible apart to make the point of how subtly we learn to compromise the God of the bible. Enjoy as you join worshippers gathered at The House, the home of New Life in Scunthorpe, England.

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.

Earlier this year I was preparing for a sermon series and, as often happens, found I needed to ask God some questions about myself in order to have any integrity when finally communicating the messages. Being a simple musician at heart, God stooped to my level and planted some music themed ideas in my head.

Since I delivered the series a few people have found this imagery of the church and their place in it helpful, so here it is:

God is the worlds Music Director. He wants music to be played that inspires people to relate to Him. He gave musical gifts to everybody, including an instrument to play and a genre that suited them. He then appointed orchestra conductors around the globe; often many in one city, town or village. Each orchestra conductor had a different genre or musical flavour and it was their job to form an orchestra and shape it in such a way that it enjoyed the music it played and its genre was attractive and accessible to the public.

The music made is a collaboration of God-gifted musicians, God chosen conductors and God-inspired genres.

Here are some points to chew over:

• The Orchestra Conductor (pastor) has no say in the giftedness of the musicians (followers) – God reserves this for Himself.
• The Orchestra Conductor will enjoy a different genre from other conductors in the same city, it’s just God’s love of variety and His wisdom in ensuring there’s something for everyone.
• The musicians in any one orchestra (church) should be drawn to the clear genre (flavour) of the conductor.
• The musicians who want to play in the public performances need to be committed to practising at home (devotions) and orchestra rehearsals (discipleship).

I guess lots more can be drawn from this and to be fait it’s probably not half as good as the image of the body given by the Apostle Paul in scripture, but hey, it worked for me.

God bless.

the revster.

During a recent chat with my Board at the Church I was reminded that I have been the Senior Pastor of New Life for over seven years. The Board have decided that it would be great for me to have a sabbatical and I gratefully accepted and will be taking a couple of months “out” in Winter/Spring 2009. They also recommended that I take a week away as soon possible before the Christmas season starts and before we launch the second phase of a Community Project.

 So here I am. In a log cabin (mobile home with wood laminate cladding) just north of York. I’m miles from anywhere and without a vehicle and its bliss. I have a well stocked fishing lake just a few steps from my door and scenery to die for.  I have a fishing rod, camera, guitar and a few books and intend to both relax and find some refreshment in my spirit.

Being a preacher I can’t help but collect anecdotes from life and I’m sure a few will appear in this blog over the coming week. Today however I want to do some product placement and recommend a recording artist to you.

My Worship Pastor passed me a CD of a singer/songwriter he had recently come across called Jason Upton. I had never heard of him but listened to his latest album last night and it was something very special. The songs on the album are recorded live at various churches around the USA and it sounds quite raw but don’t let this put you off. The worship songs are very free flowing, some a clearly spontaneous and most have a propheticness to them which overcomes any style issues people may have.

I have to be careful because I know nothing about Jason Upton, his life or his beliefs. Gift without character is a dangerous thing and I am ignorant about the latter, however Jason Upton’s giftedness is without question and God uses his songs to unlock people and speak to their hearts.

I’ve been having some profound heart experiences lately, in-line with where God is leading my church, and yesterday walking in the countryside listening to this album was something I won’t forget and I hope affects me for the better in some way.

Album: Jason Upton: 1200ft Below Sea Level.

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God bless.

Have you ever visited a store or perhaps a restaurant where the service you received was spoiled by just one thing – the lack of a smile from those serving you. It is amazing how such a small thing can negate an otherwise satisfactory experience.

I wonder if God ever watches us going about our Christian business and longs for a smile to go along with it.

Far too many believers use their talents and gifts for God but seem to reap no joy; only discontent or frustration. Perhaps you are one of them. Trapped in a place of lifeless servitude rather than joyful servanthood.

In my message “Service with a Smile” you can discover simple ways to break through this barrier and enhance your life, resource the church and impact your community. No great leaps of faith are required – just small changes to our behaviour and mindset.

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Happy listening and God bless.

I’ve just heard something both remarkable and rare. On the Radio 4 daily news programme “P.M” the former leader of the British Conservative Party, Ian Duncan-Smith spoke eloquently and bravely about the sorry state of marriage and family life in the U.K.

The latest statistics for marriage in the UK show that only 23 in every 1000 men “tie the knot” with the figure decreasing to 2.1% for women.

Duncan-Smith chairs the Centre for Social Justice which has just authored a report called “Breakthrough Britain” he calls for the Government to realise what part it has played in the deterioration of the institute of marriage. Acknowledging that no government can engineer an increase in marriages, he does nevertheless believe that marriage can be placed back at the heart of British society.

Just two of the Government initiated schemes which the report cites as detrimental to marriage are the “Couple Penalty” which ensures that married or co-habiting couples on benefits are less well off than single parents, and the tax penalties for married couples who decide that one should leave employment and stay at home to raise the children. These and more show, says Duncan-Smith, “that the Government is not an innocent bystander” in the reduction of marriage.

Making very strong statements about the damage done to children who come from homes without a father and mother, I.D.S specifically highlighted girls who, with a lack of a male figure who offers them unconditional love, are too willing to “earn” love from boys by having sex.

His arguments were so well put that the usually bullish presenter Eddie Mair made little impression on the item.

Though certain to upset many who value highly the freedom to choose a one parent family if they desire, Ian Duncan-Smith will no doubt fight for the profile of this report to be increased within Parliament over the coming weeks.

To listen to the interview on BBC IPlayer click here.

 A well-respected preacher and theologian was visiting a church in Africa. He was invited to preach, and, wanting to be courteous, asked how he might say, “good evening,” in the local dialect. His interpreter told him what to say, and as he walked into the main church building he observed some notices on two doors, which were obviously toilets. The preacher noted down what it said on the two doors and thought he’d give an even more impressive greeting.

As he stood up to speak, he said what he thought was, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” There was a stunned silence, followed by giggles and then laughter. The preacher turned to his interpreter and asked, “What did I just say?” With a broad grin, the interpreter said… “Good evening, water closets and urinals!”

If you don’t understand the language you can get into all manner of scrapes. The Bible is full of ways to avoid the scrapes of life but most people haven’t got a bible in an up-to-date translation that they can understand. Pop into a bible-believing church this week and ask for one.

A few weeks ago we arranged for a builder to do a small job rebuilding a wall at the front of our church grounds. It only needed two or three men using simple tools a few days to complete.

The morning that the builders arrived so did a vast army of workmen along with diggers, dump trucks, pneumatic drills and tons of tarmac. By the time they had commenced work a 50 metre stretch of Ashby Road’s path had been coned off along with a diversion stopping people from accessing Brumby Wood Lane. Many passers by wondered what on earth were doing. Were we perhaps re-routing roads so they forced people into our car park. (There’s a thought).

Actually it was a coincidence. The council had decided to commence work constructing cycle paths on the same day as our rather less significant job.

The true Christian message has an uncanny parallel. Whether you are happy or not, successful or not, if you want to be absolutely assured of your eternal destiny then you need to have a relationship with Jesus. Seems hard? Not really. If you begin rebuilding your life according to His plans, He will turn up in a big way to construct you a life full of hope and purpose.

Visit a bible-believing church this weekend and ask them to point you to Jesus. Only He has the plans for your life