Pandora-monium

Being a geeky kinda guy means I get excited at the mere mention of a new James Cameron movie. Ever since I first laid eyes on the immensity of Aliens back in '86/87, I've been a massive fan of his movies. Great spectacle with great storylines each time (forgiving Piranha II: Flying Killers in a moment of grace, of course...). Terminators 1 & 2? Brilliant. The Abyss? Far, far better than its critics will have you believe (watch the special edition and allow for the E.T. marshmallow coda). So when I heard that Jim was getting back behind the camera after a decade-long hiatus I was over the moon(*)...

Having had a little chat via Facebook with a bud of mine last night about it, I figured I'd add to the debate with an expanded cut and paste of my musings. There's been a big internet ding-dong regarding the lack of depth in Avatar's story, and the overbearing political allegory and saccharine coating layered across it. Not to mention the "Pocahontas-in-space/Dances-with-Thanators" swipes. But to be honest, I can see exactly what Cameron's been up to.

We must remember that while much as the likes of myself would LOVE Cameron to take risks with a script such as this, his unwavering vision right now is the future of cinema, not "art". Yes, there's more allegory than a Thanator can shake a claw at, and the Smurf-dom/Pocahontas shmaltz is pretty thick treacle, but he HAD to ensure nothing would prevent this from being the success it needed to be - for the sake of 3D and photorealism really winning the hearts of the punters. Financial independence aside, he still makes blockbusters (and still loves the process of such, not of small indie dramas!), and still has to work within the constraints of an INDUSTRY, which is all about the big $. I say enjoy this near-3 hours of escapism (plus another 30 mins in the upcoming special edition BD...) for what it is, and wait with bated breath to see what he does with Battle Angel Alita (or a possible Fantastic Voyage remake) in the next couple of years...

Because you see, there's something many others seem to be missing: the biggest star of the show didn't get any billing at all - the moon Pandora itself. THAT'S the point of the whole movie really: Cameron showing/convincing us what can be done for future reference... And what a thrill-ride it was.

On an alternative note, regarding the spiritual theme, I am a Christian who gets concerned when alternatives to my faith become "acceptable" simply because they're launched at us through the global media, and Avatar is utter pantheism in a pretty day-glo box. But that doesn't mean I should ignore the film, either. I say accept the film's message for what it is - and then make your own mind up, don't just accept it simply because it feeds into appealing/romantic Native American or Gaia theologies - and enjoy the movie for what it is. It's a thrilling ride to a moon/planet we could never have visited before, without the wonderful imaginations of men like James Cameron. Now watch this space and see what he does next...

(*sorry, Pandora-related joke. Couldn't resist) Read more!

New Year, new job, new challenges...

Yep! New Year, new job! As from the end of January, I'll be working a half-time post for The Beacon Church and am tremendously excited. The ambulance service have provided the means for me to work half a working week (= an average of one to two 12 hour shifts per week), freeing me to serve the church and community on other weekdays, plus Sundays (the ambulance service have agreed that I'll never have to work a Sunday. Hoo-ha! Thank You, Lord!). This is something that has been discussed for many a month/year and it feels strange now that it's finally come to fruition.

So, what is it I'll be doing for Beacon? Well, my responsibilities for overseeing our small group system and for website admin will continue, albeit now with more time to invest in them (particularly the former - the site ticks over nicely for now and needs little tweaking other than updates). The changes mean I'm now also available as often as required for preaching and leading worship in our Sunday services. Most regional leaders' meetings shouldn't be such a challenge to make it to anymore either, while on top I'll be focusing on supporting and motivating our ground troops: discipling the young guys, encouraging the rest, something that will take time to build momentum but that sort of investment clearly reaps huge rewards years down the line. We still need more leaders, we still need to see folks rise up and take hold of "that" (ESV reads as "it") for which Christ has taken hold of them (Phil 3.12). We ALL have a specific and significant purpose in this life for Christ (see my sermon on Ezra recently), and sometimes guys and girls just need the extra nudge to help them see that for themselves. I firmly believe we all have a part to play and, amazingly, I now have the privilege of helping folk in that direction.

God has BIG plans for Beacon Church, of that I'm convinced. For the church in Herne Bay in general, in fact (we're making great headway into joint initiatives with the local evangelical churches for A Passion For Life already). I can't wait to see what God unfolds for us here in Beacon Church over the next few years. To have this opportunity to get so stuck in to such an adventure is both humbling and mind-blowing. It's not without its difficulties and challenges - pray for me, my family and for Beacon themselves - but God's desire is to see His name glorified in Herne Bay and beyond, and He WILL see his plans come to fruition. Can't wait. Read more!

Matt Chandler: Advice for Preachers

Matt Chandler is a guy I've very much come to trust through his advice on preaching and, more significantly, through listening to many of his sermons via Village Church. For all you preachers and those aspiring, here's a taste of what it means to LIVE preaching...

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Healing captured on video...

My Jennie has been experiencing healing in stages for her back - numerous problems due to curvature of the spine and a spinal fracture have been touched supernaturally by God already (for more details, I explain in depth during my review of last June's Church on the Farm), and here is yet another example of God doing exactly the same thing - lengthening a shortened leg - for a BBC reporter (see the original article here). God is real. And neither is He an absentee landlord; He cares about us enough to get involved in the details too:



(thanks to Phil Williams over at Worship the Rock for the heads-up) Read more!

"I refuse to believe that I am part of a lost generation..."

While my faith doesn't wholly align with the beliefs of Romancing Your Soul, this short video of theirs certainly strikes home. There IS hope. It's just that the answer doesn't lie within ourselves, but Someone else (let me give you a clue: His name begins with a 'J' and ends in an 'S'). Watch, and be inspired to pray and act for change:

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The country life...

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The internet: boon or bane?

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Notes on a Scandal

Don't forget to head over to my other blog "Notes on a Scandal" for updates of our Beacon Touchpapers, plus recent sermon notes...

You can find it here: Notes on a Scandal Read more!

Ghost Fleet

Reports are appearing of a "ghost fleet" off the Singapore coast: 12% of shipping charters are currently redundant and many are being "parked" together out of public view... a further symptom of the current global economy, and a sign of possible stock issues on our shelves in the months to come...

As one reporter puts it:

"These empty ships should be carrying Christmas [stock] over to the West. All retailers will have already ordered their stock for the festive season long ago... much of it should be on its way here if it is going to make it to the shelves before Christmas.

'We will find out at Christmas whether there are enough PlayStations in the shops or not. There will certainly be fewer goods coming in to Britain during the run-up to Christmas.' "

...But you know what? This should be a good lesson for us all. It's all just stuff, and as much as I like "stuff" - Wii, PC, DVD's and so on - I should never let that dictate my security in life. Unfortunately, many others do. I'm determined that I and my family find our security in the King of the universe:

"Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places."

(Hab 3.17-19, ESV)

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ELCA decision

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have voted 559-491 for allowing gays in "life-long, monogamous" relationships to serve as clergy.

"We live today with an understanding of homosexuality that did not exist in Jesus' time and culture," says a lay delegate during the debate. "We are responding to something that the writers of Scripture could not have understood."

Um... really? That's rather a statement. And anyway, the writers may not have understood how modern culture will look and act today necesssarily, but the Author of Scripture most certainly would. My post from last year spoke on similar issues so I won't repeat myself: read it here.

John Piper has added to the discussion already this week on his Desiring God blog. Some have already jumped on the bandwagon and hurled obvious accusations his way. What John is saying is that, regardless of "coincidence" or otherwise, we need to take all our assumptions, prejudices and own desires, and compare them to what God wants. To quote John: "The church has always embraced those who forsake sexual sin but who still struggle with homosexual desires, rejoicing with them that all our fallen, sinful, disordered lives (all of us, no exceptions) are forgiven if we turn to Christ in faith." Judging those outside the church and judging those within are two very different things (see 1 Cor 5.9-11 - love the lost, but do not approve of sinful conduct amongst His own).

Regardless of how others around us may choose to live, those of us who are genuinely God's children are expected to live life His way. That is unconditional and essential. His Word tells us how. Read more!

Book review: "Church Unique", Will Mancini

This book was originally brought to my attention by Matt Hosier's blog and I'm very grateful that he did so.

If you're a church leader, no matter how large or small your flock might be, then give this book a strong consider for your to-buy list (I know, I know, my own to-buy list is eternally 50-plus, no matter how many I buy, beg, borrow or steal*, so I know what it's like whenever another leader recommends further material!) (*except the steal part. Honest.)

Will Mancini has a clear, deep-seated passion to see church leaders around the world press further into God's purposes for them, for those in their care, and for the communities around them. I'm always wary of books that appear to enjoy "corporate"-speak, and have pretty diagrams and flow-charts that visualise the "process" discussed and so on. This is the glorious church of Jesus Christ, and I'd hate for us to reduce His bride down to number-crunching and conveyor-belt systems that enable "growth". So, having said that, I trust you'll take my word for it that this is not one of those books. It is possible that upon a quick glance or a scan "Church Unique" can come across as such, but spend time digesting it and you'll see Mancini has the right heart for Scripture-based, Spirit-soaked dependence whilst still being deliberate for the kingdom.

So, what's so special about this book? I won't list all its features and points - this is a review not a rewrite! - but, in a nutshell, Mancini's message is this:

• Every church has a unique call by God.
• Vision-casting formulae cannot be lifted from one "successful" church and transferred to your own.
• We need to discover how to enable growth and health uniquely for ourselves.
  

A brief rundown of how Mancini helps us do so is thus:

• Discover your "Kingdom Concept": if we take a close look at the resources God's given us (always unique), combine them with the local need(s) (always unique), and filter them through what it is that most prayerfully stirs our leaders' hearts (always unique), we find our specific calling. Mancini says, "Whoever you are and wherever God has placed you, therein is uniqueness. Whoever co-labours with you, in front of you, behind you, all around you, therein is uniqueness." So true.
  
• Once discovered (over a decent period of time; it doesn't take a 2 hour meeting!), Mancini then leads us through how to ensure the vision is pursued: decent collaboration (team development, outside counsel, etc), articulating the vision through mission, values, strategy, and measures (he articulates these in a new way; read it to find out!), and the need for excellent communication and use of language.

And THAT's the slightest of overviews, so it skips all the meat, but I trust at the very least it captures the essence of the book.

Being deliberate in leading our churches is essential: take a closer look at Rev 19.7-8. Familiar verses to most, but as well as a glorious picture of a day to come, don't they also tell us of an intentional attitude? That we clothe ourselves, not wait to be clothed? We've got some work to do...

My own heart has always been that we learn increasingly how to be church, not how to do it. That's been the apostle Paul's message throughout his letters, and it compels me to pursue how we see that unfold for ourselves today. "Church Unique" is a book that helps us on our way.

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Naked tweeters

After the social networking outages this week, it appears the light has been shed on how much emphasis people place on internet "relationships"...

Read this CNN article on folks' responses: Twitter blackout panic

One girl's reaction was "I was pretty upset... It feels like a lifeline for me ..." Another said, "I did absolutely nothing. It's like my heart was gone."

Now, I've swum over to Twitter to reduce my online time, setting my Tweets to appear on Facebook automatically (a few seconds on Twitter saves me minutes or hours on FB; I tend to only go there for a message or an odd Scrabble move now, and it's done me the world of good...) And I'm determined to ensure I allow my posts/tweets to His advantage as well: by using such sites to actually network and to post Truth amongst my random movie references, it can be used for good and not for otherwise (I'm with John Piper on this)

For some, however, perhaps this past week would be a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think? Or perhaps not...
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How to ensure that "Every day's an adventure" with Him...

The reality of praying for our "daily bread"? Both immensely challenging and humbling.

(credos to Josh Harris for sharing)

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New Beacon Website!

Our new website for The Beacon Church is now alive and kicking on the interweb!

Big thanks to Tom Gillett from The City Church, Canterbury for all his hard work, patience and honesty as the site developed. He da man.

Click on the pic to check the site out...

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MJ tribute par excellence

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The ultimate prize

Everyone loves a prize. A child's reward for taking part in something - or for good behaviour - lights up their eyes like the wattage has just been cranked up to 11. And millions buy National Lottery tickets each week for the chance to live their dream(s). But how about competing for "salvation"?

Kanal T, a Turkish TV channel, are about to commence on a new gameshow that offers salvation to 10 atheists, each of whom meet a Muslim imam, a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi and a Buddhist monk - who themselves will attempt to persuade these atheists to convert to their particular religion. The reward for any that do will be a visit to that religion's holy site(s).

"Contestants will be judged by a panel of eight theologians and religious experts prior to going on the show to make sure their lack of faith is genuine," says the blurb. So why would they want to take part in the first place? Because they're hoping to find there is a God after all? For starters, that would prove to me that everyone has a desire deep within them - even if it's suppressed to the max - to search for God. And the whole concept has the potential to be staged and false in the first place. I'd wonder how genuine any 'conversions' would be. Why not seek out your local religious leaders in the first place? Oh, it's because you might get a free holiday out of it, that's right...

But you know what? Something else strikes me. Everything in this world is about receiving because of what we do. The kid being rewarded for good behaviour; the certificate for passing an exam or a course; the pay-rise for working well. And yet the Gospel - that Jesus paid the price which we in our selfish, lost position never could, and lives again that we might be freed from sin and from death - is all about a little word called 'grace'. That little word - a nuclear bomb of 5 letters - explodes all notions of self-worth or achievement. Nothing you or I can do will change how God saves us. No matter how hard I strive to do good works, or to please Him, or to get His attention; nor how little I think about Him during my day, or how much I let Him down. Nothing changes His love for me. Nothing warrants my salvation. Nothing builds up 'credit', or puts me ahead of anyone else. He did it for free. He did it for me. Because He loves me.

That's the ultimate prize.

(You can read about the gameshow in more detail here)
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Carry on Camping...

Lummy... what a fantastic weekend we had! The seven East Kent NewFrontiers churches all camped together on a farm south of Canterbury for two nights and we had an amazing time.

Where to start? Well, there was great preaching, worship times, coffee, healings (more on that in paragraphs to come...), hanging out with old mates, making new ones, and we even managed a decent fry-up...

Over 5 main meetings, we were served so well by Graham Hall, Terry Virgo, Tom Shaw and Julian Adams. On Friday evening, Graham spoke about further church planting, about dreaming God's dream for Kent. He helped raise our faith for what's to come in the next few years. On Saturday morning, we were so grateful for Terry, stepping in rather late in the planning to cover sickness, who shared over two sessions about the man Elijah. He explained how the nation he was living in - one that had transformed from God-honouring to God-despising in just a few decades - bears little difference to the nation we live in now. Just look at the last 60 years in the UK... And yet that same man Elijah - a man just like you and me (James 5.17) - prayed fervently that it would not rain, and it didn't. Then he prayed again, and it did. There was nothing special about that man, just that he recognised the sovereignty of the one and only true God Who will see His name honoured and glorified. "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." (James5.16, ESV)

Saturday evening came around after an afternoon of It's a Knockout, or a bike ride, a walk, a Praise Party, or simply chilling out with chums (my personal choice...). Tom Shaw then spoke in the evening's session from Exodus 1: that it really was for freedom that Christ has set us free (Gal 5.1) and about exposing the idols in our lives.

Before bed, Jennie, Amy and I piled into the Cafe tent for the open-mike session and were witnesses to Dani Groombridge's remarkable performance (watch out for that name in the next few years, I tell ya...), Shane Thatcher's gobsmacking theme-tune whistling talents, and so much more - the highlight of which was probably being introduced to a brand new song by Olly and Shane called "Swine Flu" ("...is that a problem for you?") which was then heard being hummed all over the camp-site the following day.

And Sunday morning arrived. Julian Adams was great as ever, speaking from Galatians 3: that God is in a good mood, all the time, that faith comes from hearing, and that God cannot bless unbelief. He preached until we "got it". Our God wants to bless us, and will - it's not a case of whether He will or not, it's the timing that's in His hands. Two very different things! He proceeded with words of knowledge and prophetic revelation for a number of people, including looking for myself and Jennie and passing on what God wanted to say through him (here's a tip: if you want to get a prophetic word from God, pick the prophet up from the station the night before!). The word God revealed through Julian had many bullet points and will take plenty of time and prayer to unpack I'm sure, but it sits completely right with where we're at right now, and in how little (if any) of the factual details it contained related to anything I had shared with him the previous evening. We'd talked about other stuff entirely...

...and then Julian ended the meeting with praying for the sick. A number stood for prayer - with back and joint problems, ear problems, and much more - including my Jennie. She broke her back in 1992 (we'd only been dating a fortnight...) and had major surgery, including a fusion, with chronic pain ever since. After Amy and I laid hands on her and the subsequent joint (sic) prayer, Julian asked people to test their injury/healing. I told Jennie to touch her toes, and she did it with ease. She hasn't been able to touch her toes in 17 years!!! She still has some pain, but I believe this healing will continue in stages (a couple of years ago, Wendy Virgo prayed for her and one leg grew a 1/2" - her back problem had caused displacement - and God subsequently told me one time in prayer shortly after that "it has started". One day she'll be healed completely, I'm convinced). As for other healings, I'd rather wait until they've been authenticated before I plaster them over the net. My own wife I can vouch for ;-)

And then it was time for home. I asked Graham Hall if we could do it again next weekend, but he declined gracefully ;-)

Before I sign off, big thanks to some names not mentioned already: Sarah Slowe, Tim Wilson, Kathryn Atkins, Rob Shillitto, Tom Gillett, the rest of the PA/worship/video/cafe/TGR/bookshop/stewarding/set-up teams, Graham B for letting us use his land and anyone else I've carelessly forgotten. Cheers guys! And thank You Lord!

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"Word Up"

And the English language added its millionth word on Wednesday - "web 2.0" - according to CNN's report. How official this word count is is still to be argued, but it does still point to the unending creativity inherent in the human race. Made in His image, eh? Read more!

Consultation on RE Curriculum update

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority are conducting a consultation on the RE curriculum update here:

RE Curriculum Reform Consultation

The consultation "...offers all those involved in education, including teachers, governors, faith/belief communities, parents, employers and young people the opportunity to comment on the proposed update to the religious education sections of the non-statutory guidance of Circular 1/94.The feedback you provide will be used by the government to help shape the final guidance on religious education. "

If that applies to you, then please participate via the link above. This is an opportunity for God's people in the UK to stress how passionately they believe in His reality and its complete relevance to our everyday lives; since many who don't agree will also have their say (and fair play), let's not allow apathy to diminish our own voice, eh?

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (Deut 6.5-7) And when they're at school certainly helps too, if taught right... Read more!

Dr Quantam - Double Slit Experiment

This blows my mind... and makes me realise just how big my heavenly Father is. His universe will never cease to astound and amaze...

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Amy in her field...

I grabbed this moment while we were doing some work on our Bulgarian house in the sun...


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An encouragement to preach the Good News... by a devout atheist...

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The big C

I've just been watching Adrian Warnock's interview with Tim Smith (worship pastor from Mars Hill, Seattle) and had to watch a section 3 times in row to make sure I didn't miss the full essence of what Tim was saying. On the issue of culture engagement for the Gospel (and referring to an Andy Crouch book called "Culture Making" he's been reading), Tim was explaining how the standard responses to the culture around us are Critique, Copy, Condemn or Consume. There is a time and a place for these when appropriate, but generally no one cares if you critique the culture (except for those that follow your blog), no one cares if you copy or consume (because everybody else is doing that anyway), and condemning it will just marginalise yourselves. Tim (and Andy Crouch) insist that the right response is Create: to take what's around us, mash it up, and create something new that advances the Gospel. Then people will take notice, and hearts and minds are engaged and won. Our worship, our 'face', our contextualisation, is still counter-culture, it's still different, but it is also not alien to those around, and catches their eyes and subsequently - God-willing - their hearts. It's not about doing something new for the sake of it, but is certainly unfolding the "all things to all men" that Paul speaks of, and also insists we fully recognise our being made in the image of a Creator God - we're creative beings, let's use that for the Gospel...

...just throwing it out there, let me know your thoughts... (looks like Crouch's book is going on my to-buy list too...) Read more!

Beacon Fellowship Meal

Quick update to the latest Beacon news: we had a great Fellowship Meal on Saturday evening, giving us an opportunity to celebrate what God has done for us in the past year - testimonies from our new members, updates on our Cell group launch, the success of "Coffee and Chaos", Maxine's latest exploits in China - and then looking forward to what the Lord has in store for us over the coming year. We unveiled our new-look website (soon to be live! Watch this space!) and trusted God to continue His amazing work amongst us in terms of growth and community. We expect to see more family members added in the near future, and are looking forward to facing the challenge of needing a new venue for our morning services!

Big, big thanks must go out to John & Jayne, Clare, Sarah, Amanda and Tom from City Church Canterbury who served us so well with a smile, providing the evening's catering from start to finish. They're amazing.

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Driscoll on CNN

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Who to trust?

I've just been getting into baseball for the past month or so, having had an inclination for a while that it would be a sport I'd enjoy following. I've lost interest in football, and not been up for much other sport in general, except for a bit of Wimbledon maybe (and don't ask about actually playing anything; I get out of breath watching them on TV...). So I figured, hey, how about something different for a change? American Football was out of the question - twice my mate in Kentucky has sat me down to a televised game and twice I've fallen asleep. Eventually it boiled down to baseball and basketball, and baseball won. I don't know, there's just something about it. Maybe after a season or two - and if I still like the game - I'll be able to explain what that "something" is...

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is this: after a month of following the pre-season news (Spring training starts on Friday, and the season kicks off in April) a whole storm has blown up in the past few days. Amidst the bulk of signings and contracts, another steroids admission has caused huge upset for the game and the fans, even roping Obama in on the dialogue. You see, there's a young star called Alex Rodriguez ("A-Rod" to his fans) who, after some cajoling, has admitted on TV to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003, a period when the development of testing and penalties was still underway, with identities kept under wraps until the agreement decided otherwise for tests the following year and since (hence us only finding out about A-Rod's results now).

Fans are split: some think the guy (who has, at least until now, been heading for baseball legend status) should be chucked out of the game, others think we should forgive and forget. Regardless, the biggest problem people have is an age-old one: their hero has proven himself otherwise. The man they revere has been revealed as a cheat, even if he's genuinely clean now.

I'm not going to debate the issue of which camp is right: vilify him or support him? I know where I stand on that, but what does occur to me is the issue of hero worship, or more pointedly the hope and faith we place at their feet. Countless times, people in the public eye have let their fans down for one reason or another, and it's not always celebrities we're talking about either. Policemen commit crimes, pastors cheat on their wives, fathers abuse their children. Never should we allow these individuals to smear the trust we have in the others that do have integrity. But also, remember this: never should we allow the reality of the human heart - fallible, corrupt, stained by sin, every single one of us - smear our perception of God. Thankfully, He has allowed me to understand the truth of what His word says, but many people find it hard to trust Him or accept that He is incapable of evil or of letting them down, because of their experience in this world we live in.

There is one Hero in this world that will never let you down: Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, King of kings and Lord of lords, described in the end times events of Revelation as Faithful and True. "For the Lord is good, His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations." (Psalm 100.5) Don't let man taint the truth. Let God speak for Himself. Read more!

Barack's barracking for favour... and following a dangerous path...

Barack Obama recently asked Rick Warren to pray at his inauguration, causing a furore from the pro-gay "camp" (sic), then subsequently asked Gene Robinson to join in too. Barracking for favour from both sides? Wanting his cake and eat it? Whether it is or not, I couldn't express my concern better than John Piper, so take a click in his direction and let the man say it himself...

Piper on Obama's inauguration Read more!