ReOnline April-May 2012

April – May 2012 Issue 2

REVIVAL

 The promised seal of the Holy Spirit  Importance of the Spirit in our churches

Getting Benevolent The fund that helps pastors and spouses

Leadership Doctor Managing expectations

Why Bobby is having a Ball Top comedian speaks at an AoG church

Famous believers Why are Christians so tough on high-profile people of faith?

the CHURCH THAT NEVER SLEEPS! Matthew Barnett talks about life as leader of the Dream Centre

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Editorial Contents Features 03

RUNNING CHURCH IS JUST A DREAM

Matthew Barnett pastors the church that never sleeps, the Dream Centre, in LA. He talks to us about outreach and revivial

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THE HOLY SPIRIT AND OUR CHURCHES

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WHY BOBBY IS HAVING A BALL!

The Spirit is the third member of the Godhead, but how important is his ministry in our churches, asks Grayson Jones

Faith-filled funnyman Bobby Ball visited The Rock Church in Nottingham recently to tell his story – and a few jokes

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FAMOUS BELIEVERS GET A HARD TIME

It’s not always atheists who get cranky about well-known people who declare themselves Christian, says AoG minister Jarrod Cooper

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the promised seal of the holy spirit

Dave Mansfield remembers the moment he was filled with the Spirit, and asks how important the Spirit is in the believer’s life

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BENEVOLENT FUND AND HOW IT HELPS

Assembly of God’s Ann Layton introduces the Benevolent Fund and explains how it keeps helping pastors and their spouses

Regulars 08 20 Girl Power

With Nikki Rucci

LEADERSHIP DOC

Dr John Andrews answers questions about leadership

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LAST WORD

with Ian Williams

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advertise in Re Online – call the National Office on 0115 921 7272 Re Online is the official magazine of Assemblies of God GB Editor in Chief: John Partington The purpose of Assemblies of God is to give every man, woman and child the opportunity of understanding the gospel and to provide a church where they can grow and develop in ministry for the glory of God. 2 cover contents

Re Online is published by Assemblies of God Incorporated, PO Box 7634, Nottingham, NG11 6ZY. Tel: 0115 921 7272 Email: info@aog.org.uk Publishing agents: New Life Publishing Co Write to: Re Online, PO Box 777, Nottingham, NG11 6ZZ. Tel: 0115 824 0777 Email: editor@newlife.co.uk All content is copyright and must not be reproduced without prior written permission from the Editor. Submitted articles are subject to editing. By submitting articles you accept this to be the case.

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hen you go to the English dictionary and look up the definition of the word ‘revive’, you will read: (1) To return to life; consciousness, vigour and popularity. (2) To reawaken and to bring back to life. (3) It is a religious awakening, especially a movement for the renewal of religious fervour.

Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words puts it like this: (1) To flourish anew, or blossom. (2) To live again and to regain life.

David, the Psalmist, cried out, “Will you not revive us again?” but in the preparation of this editorial I have once again been challenged by an even more important and significant prayer that we read of in the 138th Psalm – “Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me.”

Before we can ever hope to have a CORPORATE or united Assemblies of God revival, we must recognise the truth of a PERSONAL reviving. Yet herein lies a massive problem. Before we can ever be personally ‘revived’, we must first recognise the real state or condition that we are actually in. You can only ‘live again’ when you recognise that you are dead and therefore need reviving. Perhaps too many of us think that we are ‘blossoming’ quite nicely, thank you very much, it’s all the others who need God’s breath of life upon them. However, the

truth is that the real need lies deep within ME. I read recently of a young couple who had moved into a new neighbourhood. The next morning, while eating their breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbour hanging out the washing.

“That laundry isn’t very clean,” she said. “She doesn’t know how to wash properly; perhaps she needs to buy some better laundry soap.” Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbour would hang her washing out to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About a month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line, and said to her husband, “Look, she has learnt how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?”

The husband said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned OUR windows.”

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look!

In this edition of Re Online you will read some excellent articles on the subject of revival, but may I humbly suggest that we each read them from that place of humility that recognises that true REVIVAL starts in each one of us?

Your friend,

John

Running church is just a dream!

Matthew Barnett pastors the church that never sleeps, the Dream Centre, in Los Angeles.

He talks to Kate Kent about outreach, revival and Justin Bieber 0

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B

y the age of 23 you were managing the Dream Centre, which helps more than 35,000 people every week. How did that happen?

I was the son of a mega church pastor of 10,000 members. My father, Tommy Barnett, was looking for a pastor to come to Los Angeles to help him build a church next to a liquor store in gang territory, so I took it on. We started with 20 people and I managed to run it all the way down to two so we were having revival in reverse!

I attribute the Dream Centre being born through failure, because I arrived in LA ready to build a church through preaching revival and when I got here, very quickly I saw drunks on the street, I saw gang members who had no father figures, I saw hurting people and God said, “I need everything to fall apart in order to rebuild a dream that I want to do through you.”

So I arrived with no desire for recovery or rehab or to take in homeless people or to do the feeding of people that we are doing. I just wanted to preach so that the people would come, but sometimes when your dream hits rock bottom – that’s the best place that you could ever go because God doesn’t give up on people who hit rock bottom, he re-creates them!

God recreated a whole concept that wasn’t in my mind simply by taking my congregation from 20 to two and using that as a way of showing me something different to what I first perceived when I came to this city. So, at the age of 23 my greatest friend was allowing my dream to die so that God’s dream could come alive.

With so many ministries being birthed from the Dream Centre, how do you keep a handle on everything?

Do you have a huge team of staff?

Because of the nature of the cause of this work we attract a lot of people that money couldn’t buy.

For example, we have retired professionals who come and just want to give their life to one area. They want to live in a rehab centre for the rest of their lives – people that have formerly built big businesses!

We have a programme for minors and teens and people who want to look after teenagers and so these young people who would have otherwise been sentenced to jail are now being sentenced into the church and we have people who have given their life for that cause and we really strive to find people who want to do one

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Justin Bieber’s mum Pattie attends The Dream Centre

big thing for God in one area, and because of the nature of what is going on, it has drawn those people here to us. When I first started I was more of a ‘hands on’ leader but after 17 years of pastoring the church my role has changed to becoming more of a visionary leader. As time goes by and the seasons change, people are raised up around you who are more specialised in an area than you, and you try to find other specialists too, but the way it’s really operated is through people giving the rest of their lives and committing to the challenges in our community.

So would you say then, that you are the kind of leader who allows people to come forward with an idea and a

'As time goes by and the seasons change, people are raised up around you who are more specialised in an area than you'

The Barnett family

vision and lets them run with it?

I am a total permission-giving pastor! If someone comes up to me and says they want to do something and we’re not already meeting that need then we will always err on the side of giving them a go.

We run it through our ministry committee who will set them up for success so they don’t have to run on their own and fail; so the purpose of the committees is not to say no to things but to say yes and allow them to go to the next level.

Our general answer is usually, “Let’s do it!” We have ‘pimp ministries’, ‘prostitute ministries’, ‘trans-gender ministries’, we even had a guy who had a passion for vampires so we now have a ‘twilight’ ministry. What we find is that people in the church are dying to be released to make a difference. We have to release these people to grow the kingdom of God – and in turn it grows me on the inside. I’ve also found that whatever as a leader you try and hold onto will usually get away from you, but whatever you release always comes back.

Have you had any ministries fail that you took a risk with?

Definitely! 95 per cent of the time I would say we succeed, but when we as a leadership don’t commit to the end – that’s when things start to go wrong. Out of 20 ministries there may be one that doesn’t make it but I’m more excited about the 19 that do, than the one that fails. You have to be careful of certain people you put in certain places and understand what their capabilities are – you can’t just release someone, you have to think things through and make as certain as you can that people are in the right place. But you have to take risks too because you never know who is going to make it.

We have a guy who goes under a bridge in LA every day and serves all the homeless families. He started with five donated meals so we turned him loose and said “Go for it!” and now they are

The Dream Centre, where 8,000 volunteers serve the community

DREAM CENTRE: THE FACTS 0 8,000 volunteers now serve the vision for the community.

0 Crime dropped 73 per cent in three years in the neighbourhood – so much so that the government can’t figure it out. The police told them they had changed the atmosphere of a community.

0 700 people now live at the Dream Centre.

0 180 Dream Centres have been planted all over the world.

0 The Dream Centre has a 60-bed facility for trafficked women. When the police do raids they don’t call the government anymore but they call the Dream Centre and ask if any beds are available.

serving thousands! We’ve been on CNN because of what we are doing simply because we said ‘yes’ to one guy.

You have a new book out, ‘The Cause Within You’. Tell us a little bit about it...

As a pastor I decided to go and live homeless because I came to a place where I was thinking, “Am I managing a miracle or am I part of the miracle?” And so God said, “Go and live on Skid row – the homeless capital of America, for a few days and experience it.”

I saw things that I have never seen in my life and so the first two or three chapters chart my experience. The concept of the book is that many people are trying to find out what their cause is in life – what am I here for? And so the book is about using whatever God has put in your hand and valuing what he puts there, because if you start using it your cause will begin

to find you. The book is a New York Times bestseller and all the proceeds of the book – 100 per cent – go to the Dream Centre.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

The walk from my house to the Dream Centre gets me out of bed. We have 225 people going through just one of our rehab programmes and some of the stories are just so amazing and so I get out of bed just for the one! When I was 16 and attending my dad’s 6,500 strong church, I used to say to God, “God I want to preach to thousands of people and then my life will be complete.” A few years ago I was speaking to 16,000 people at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church but when I went home I realised that was what I lived for at 16, but not now.

Now I live for every Sunday morning standing at the back door of our church 0 contents cover 5

and talking to people whose lives have been touched; to the girl who comes up to me and says, “Look my arm is starting to heal where I used to put the drug needle in my arm.” The concept of mega church is impressive to the church world but to the secular world they can see it as a Christian colony, so we just try and have a mega church for the world – so they know what we are for and not what we’re against.

We’ve had big Hollywood stars come to the church and they are not offended by the message of Jesus because it changes people’s lives. It’s amazing that the world is embracing a total Jesus charity and loves to be around it. God spoke a word into my life years ago and said to me, “If you reach the people in your city that nobody wants, one day I’ll give you the people that everybody wants.” We have 500 people from cardboard boxes on Sunday mornings and we have celebrities from all over the city that come and attend church.

What are the biggest obstacles you have had to overcome to follow your dream?

Obviously financial obstacles – we have more vision than provision, but also the challenge to gather up as many mentors as possible for the growing case management of our families. The day of plenty of volunteers is over. We don’t have enough helpers now. We have a crisis point in terms of need. There is always a space between what you can do and what you can’t do which I call the ‘miracle space’.

This space always allows us to know we need God to pull us through and actually, I am more nervous when there isn’t enough space and when we feel we can manage it ourselves! Miracle space can cause leadership to grow and be more creative and take more risks at releasing others; and you never know who is going to step up and exceed your expectations!

The Dream Centre is housing and providing for the most vulnerable in your community including the drug addicts and gangs. Have you ever encountered life-threatening confrontations and if so how did you deal with the situation?

Where the gangs hang out in the alleys I was there one time talking to them in the middle of the night and one of the gang members pulled out a gun and threatened to kill me if I didn’t leave in ten seconds... so I was smart and left in ten seconds! But 6 cover contents

t hE

CAUSE within yoU

Finding the one great thing you were created to do in this world

orK new Y S time

LLer beStSe

Founder oF The dream CenTer

matthew barnett w i t h

g e o r g e

b a r n a

Matthew’s book about living on Skid Row, The Cause Within You, is a big seller

'Then one of the gang members pulled out a gun and told me to leave in ten seconds or he would kill me. I was smart and left the area' the next day I was walking through the neighbourhood and one of the gang members pulled up and said, “I can’t believe one of our guys threatened you last night.

You feed our mums and our neighbourhood every single day. You bury our gang members and give us money when they die.” And he asked for my forgiveness for what had happened and said, “Pastor, this will never happen again.”

Ours is the only building in the community that has no graffiti. Everyone is so respectful of our building and what we offer them. They protect it as it’s their turf and we feel like family to them.

So do you feel safe now in your community?

Sometimes too safe – you forget to watch your back. Things become normal to you – the sights you see – people shooting up and people smoking weed; it just all becomes like home and family when you are living it. We have faced our fears for

so long that they have become our refuge.

You have so much going on and you run this huge church, how do you wind down? What does your spare time look like?

I always take Mondays off – no matter what. I go out with my family and I try to get a date night in every single week.

The most important decision a pastor can make is to decide to be in this for the long haul. It allows you then to take a day off and not feel bad about it. You just stay the course and let God build the church. I play every sport you can imagine. I come down and play with the guys in the neighbourhood. I love being out doing everything.

I love taking the kids to whatever we do with the church. My kids love feeding the poor and meeting needs, they are eight and six and think it’s normal, it’s all they’ve ever known. I don’t shield them and they don’t get special treatment.

And finally... tell us about your love of Justin Bieber!

Well his mother is at our church and so we love the fact that he loves the Lord and his mum tells a beautiful story of her own life and homelessness to our people. It’s tongue in cheek fun. I think it’s important for a church to be organised and structured but leave room to be spontaneous and have random moments when kids being bussed in can see Bieber on the big screen on stage singing. I’ve been accused of ‘Bieber fever!’ 

stronger together L E A D E R S H IP 8-10 MAY 2012

SENIOR PASTOR, TRINITY CHRISTIAN CENTRE, SINGAPORE AND GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT OF AOG SINGAPORE

SENIOR PASTOR CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CHURCH BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND

FORMER SENIOR PASTOR CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CHURCH BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND

20 CONFERENCE12 WWW.AOG.ORG.UK UNSTOPPABLECHURCH

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER VISIT contents cover 7

GIRL POWER

Trusting God with change Change is never easy, says Nikki Rucci, but these lessons helped her family transition from Brisbane to Nottingham

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ost of the things that fuel our identity, security and comfort have been removed – family, friends, role, reputation, house, personal belongings and not to mention the constant Aussie sunshine! But then again there is Spain, as I am constantly reminded!

The consequences of a move this huge are not fully realised at the beginning.

The cost appears to grow. When we think about the people and the things we don’t have in our life anymore we begin to experience grief. There is no grief without loss and there is no sacrifice made unless it costs us something personally. Sacrifice is required if we are going to fulfil the call of God on our lives. There is a cost to saying ‘yes’ and there is also a cost to saying ‘no’.

According to Maxwell, the law of sacrifice says this, ‘You have to give up to go up’.

Some days I have ridden a roller coaster of emotions – excitement, concern, enthusiasm, stress – while asking myself all the ‘what if?’ questions. However, hope has been the anchor of my soul. My security is in God alone because I know I have been carved on the palm of his hand. At the end of each day the phrase ‘trust God’ has been my vocabulary. In the process of starting over again, I have learnt some lessons that I hope will encourage you.

1. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

Although I have briefly spoken of our sacrifice made, obedience is the greater quality. The bigger the change, the greater the sacrifice, the more obedience is required.

The move or change cannot be just a good idea or a pleasant feeling. Emotions play a powerful role in the midst of change. They 8 cover contents

fluctuate with circumstances and swing with your moods. Only a word from God will sustain you in the tough times. You have to know without a shadow of a doubt that the move is God ordained. Obedience to that word leads to success.

2. Obedience requires faith. We didn’t know what to expect when we started this journey to the UK, but we had reassurance that he would never leave us or forsake us. Faith is a step into the unknown. Faith is the substance of things we hope for and it is the evidence of things unseen. I love how God shows you a little bit more of the big picture as you step out and trust him.

3. Surrender everything to God. Trust means we have stopped trying to work out every detail. To surrender means ‘to relinquish, to give up possession or power,

to give over control and to yield’. Surrendering to God means to allow God to have control of your future, but that can be hard to do when there is fear of the unknown. Fear is the enemy of faith. We must confess our faith and trust him on a daily basis.

4. God wants to enlarge your capacity.

Without change there is no growth.

Everything that is experiencing growth is embracing change. No matter how progressive or successful we may think we are, God’s ways, thoughts and expectations are so much higher. I believe God wants to increase our emotional capacity so that we can include and influence more people in our world.

5. Be the change. God is always seeking to extend his kingdom through us. He wants to see lives transformed. We must model the transformation we want to see in the world. We cannot bring change to the place God calls us to, unless we have first been changed. If we are willing to obey, he will always send us where his kingdom needs us the most.

6. God is no man’s debtor. As I was packing our last suitcases in Brisbane I couldn’t fit everything in - the removal men had already left, so I was forced to take yet another trip to the charity bins. I was overwhelmed emotionally. Then God reminded me again of his promise to reward us for our obedience. God’s favour is always toward those who put his kingdom first.

The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Godhead and equal with God and Jesus, but how important is he to our churches? Grayson Jones answers

The Holy Spirit and our churches 0 contents cover 9

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n Acts 1:4 we read the last words of Jesus to his disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak about.” Here Jesus tells his followers to wait for the promised Holy Spirit who was soon to come.

On the day of Pentecost while they all prayed, the Holy Spirit was poured out on this fledgling group and each person was filled with the power of God, began to speak in tongues and the Church was born. As we look at the book of Acts we can see that from that moment there were some key things that were manifest among this new community of faith.

Filled and spilled From the moment that the Holy Spirit came on the 120 in the upper room, there was something about them that was different. We read they were filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke in other tongues and spilled out of the room they were in, praising God in the different languages.

Soon the crowd was asking what all this could mean and Peter was able to deliver a message that saw 3,000 people added to the Church instantly; from 120 to 3,120 in a matter of hours. How could this be?

Well, we are told by Jesus, in John 16:8, that “when he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” This was the coming that Jesus had promised and the evidence of his presence was that 3,000 people were saved and added to the Church.

One of the things I find interesting in the Acts 2 passage, where we read about the coming of the Spirit, is that when the Church was filled, it spilled. The people had waited for many days longing to receive what Jesus had promised. Now, having been filled with the Spirit, the Church spilled out into the streets. They took the presence of God with them out of the upper room and out into the community.

As we look at the Church throughout the book of Acts, we see a fluid, dynamic, vibrant Church invading communities with the presence of God. Disciples filled with the Spirit travelling from place to place bringing the message of salvation and ministry of the Holy Spirit with them.

Everywhere the Church went it connected people to the presence of God and the outcome was salvation, healings and much more.

The Holy Spirit was never given to the Church to keep it filled and fruitful behind four walls, but to be effective in taking the

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message of salvation into the communities around it. Today we can see many different things that are attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit, but one of the main things I look for is a church that is filled up and then spills out into the community. Where a church is active in the community and people are getting saved, that to me is a mark of the Holy Spirit being present with them.

Words and wonders As a Pentecostal pastor I have been asked on many occasions why would God give us the gift of tongues. There are different theological reasons we could go into why speaking in tongues is given to us as a gift of the Holy Spirit, but one of the answers I give takes us back to Genesis 11.

Here we are told that when men began to move eastward that they wanted to build a tower so they could make a name for themselves. God, seeing this, said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing would be impossible for them,” (Genesis

'Sometimes the presence of the Holy Spirit in a church has been blamed for a lack of dedication from the leaders' 11:6) so God confused their language.

Here we see that different languages are a curse on mankind to prevent people working together for selfish ends to make a name for themselves. When Jesus died, he broke the power of sin and every curse attached to it, this one included, and so at Pentecost Jesus restored to the Church a united unique language.

Today the Church, through the power of the Holy Spirit, has been given the ability to speak a different language to the world. We, as the Church, have been given the gift of tongues, but I also see that where the Holy Spirit is present there is a

Holy Spirit and churches..

Grayson Jones

different language spoken – a language of unity, encouragement, positivity, faith and expectation; a language where people are valued for who they are as individuals, a language of acceptance and not rejection.

It is when this type of language is evident in the Church that we then see signs and wonders being performed amongst the people. Very often churches want God to come by his Spirit and heal everyone and move with signs and wonders – yet the Church is negative and nasty to each other. But the truth is that our words build a landing strip for the wonders that the Holy Spirit is willing to perform when he sees our unity and hearts working for one another. As we read in Proverbs 18:21, “The tongue has the power of life and death and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Power and purity One of the things we can see that is evident amongst the believers in the book of Acts is that not only was God present amongst them, but he was powerfully

present. Over and over we read of miracles taking place amongst the believers, but not all of them were the type of miracles we would want in our churches today.

In Acts 5 we read about the outbreak of power from the Holy Spirit on a couple called Ananias and Sapphira. These two people had sold a plot of land as others had done and were coming to give what they had received as a gift to the Apostles.

The only problem was that they thought they would keep some of the money back and not give the whole amount. The power of the Holy Spirit was there and through a word of knowledge, Peter challenged them regarding lying to the Holy Spirit and they dropped dead. Killed by the Holy Spirit!

Often when we think about the Holy Spirit in the New Testament we like to think of him as someone who wants to bless us with his gifts and his power in our lives. Yet the truth is that the Holy Spirit is just that – HOLY! It would not be right for us to just think that we are buddies with God and he is our ever-present protec-

tor and provider that we can just take for granted.

I have never seen anyone struck down by the Holy Spirit and wouldn’t expect to see it happen that often, but I do know that, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). If we want to grow churches where the power of God is manifest then I think we need to teach and develop our congregations to have a healthy fear of the Lord. I believe in the message of grace and that I am no longer under law and am free from guilt and condemnation. I also understand that as a follower of Jesus I am called to take up my cross, deny myself and walk in obedience to his will. It is keeping the balance on these two aspects that allows me to live in real freedom and experience the power of God in my life.

Dedication and delegation The final work of the Holy Spirit I want to point out can be found in Acts 6. Here we see that due to the numbers of believers increasing there arose an issue between the Greek and the Hebrew widows. The Apostles gathered the people together and delegated this responsibility to others so that they could concentrate on doing what they needed to do. Soon we find there are seven other good men filled with the Holy Spirit helping out taking the burden and releasing the Apostles to do what they needed to do.

I believe that churches that have the Holy Spirit are not places where everyone is waiting for God to do it all, but are places that are organised and the leadership understand the need to train, delegate and release ministry to others, so they can dedicate themselves to do what only they can do.

Sometimes the presence of the Holy Spirit in a church has been blamed for a lack of dedication from the leaders and correct delegation of functions to the congregation. One of the key roles of leaders surely is to raise up other leaders and servants within the house of God and to equip and send out ministries into the community. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us do this correctly.

I know that often the Holy Spirit is only seen as being involved in the unexpected or miraculous within Church today, but I believe that we need the Holy Spirit in every area of church life. I also believe that it is true that when we deal with the things listed above that we create a place where he is much more able to do the unexpected in his Church.  contents cover 11

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T

op comic Bobby Ball has told how God made him smile again after the laughter stopped. Bobby and partner Tommy Cannon have tickled Britain’s funny bone for over 40 years. They were regulars on TV and panto and sell-out stage tour stars.

But Bobby admits that fame and money left him a broken man – until he heard the one about a vicar.

“I went down a slippery path, drinking a bottle of whiskey a night,” he explains. “Then there was the adultery, plenty of adultery against Yvonne my wife, and ego took over.

“I didn’t realise the women I was getting were only with me because I was on television. I thought they were with me for me. I mean I’m five foot four – do me a favour!

“Having loads of money and having an entourage around you and getting ratted every night and pulling women, and in everybody’s eyes they think it’s absolutely fantastic, but after a couple of years, believe me, you start thinking: ‘What else is there?’”

One night, Bobby had an unexpected visitor to his dressing room – not another groupie or agent, but a vicar.

He recalls: “He was called Max Wigley and he talked about God and asked if he could come with me, but I attacked him about religion and being a vicar because I’d seen it as a kid and didn’t like it.

“I thought Christians were miserable. So he started talking about God and I realised I’d like to get to know God but I didn’t want to become a Christian, if you know what I mean. I went to see him and said: ‘Can I pray with you?’ because I’d never prayed in my life. I got three lines into my prayer and I cried like a baby.

“I was 40 years old but was like a child because I felt Jesus come into my life. I felt washed clean, brand new, forgiven. I felt like a child and I went home that day and confessed all my adultery to Yvonne with no fear – no fear at all. All my addictions, including lust, vanished. They were gone!”

Bobby’s onstage partner, Tommy Cannon, saw a change in the funnyman.

The deadly duo had once been inseparable but fell out and didn’t talk for three years. But they were reconciled and Tommy also became a Christian. Bobby now travels to churches throughout the UK telling his story.

Why Bobby's having a Ball !

Faith-filled funnyman Bobby Ball visited The Rock Church in Nottingham recently to tell his story – and a few jokes contents cover 13

PROCLAIMING...

PM David Cameron recently said that Britain was a Christian country

Why do famous Christians get a hard time from believers?

It’s not always atheists who get cranky about well-known people who declare themselves Christian, says AoG minister Jarrod Cooper 14 cover contents

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ecently, British Prime Minister, David Cameron, proclaimed that Britain is a Christian country and that the Anglican Church should spearhead a revival of Christian morality. These statements are brave and almost unprecedented from a British leader in living memory.

Whilst some Christians are celebrating his bravery, some are engaging in friendly fire, picking holes, not in his policies, but in his ‘brand’ of Christianity, questioning his sincerity.

This has led me on a little soul-searching over my disappointment with some spheres of the Church who engage in petty criticism for well-known Christians.

Why do Christian politicians, pop stars and celebrities find themselves victims of attack from the very ranks that should defend them?

In a recent visit to Westminster, one MP told me of another whose Christian faith had been so attacked that it left him a shell of his former self. The source of the destruction? Not humanists or atheists, but Christians.

Here are 10 reasons why I think some believers make slightly cranky responses to famous Christians: 1. People think fame equals spiritual maturity It seems that some think that because someone is famous they will automatically be a mature Christian; that leaders in life would naturally be leaders in Church.

Has anyone thought that if that famous Christian came to their church, they would probably need the new believers’ course, or have some basic questions to learn about? These people are gently trying to bring their sapling faith into their sphere of influence like everyone else in a church.

Cut them some slack theologically!

2. People think ‘my brand’ of Christian is the REAL one It is in moments like these that we realise why we are called PROTEST-ants. We protest endlessly about people who don’t share our exact ‘take’ on things. It reveals the immature divisions in Church. Just because he doesn’t dance in worship, immediately denounce pre-marital sex, tongue talk, or sound like a rabid evangelist, we criticise… as if the sweet Baptist chap who is our neighbour is not going to heaven because he’s not quite like you!

We will feel such fools in heaven when we ALL realise how dodgy parts of our theology were!

3. People think all should treat their jobs like pulpits As if Cameron’s going to give an altar call in Prime Minister’s Question Time! Get real! Like Daniel and Joseph tried to bring God-influence to their ungodly worlds through wisdom, so can every pop star, politician, celeb … but in a measured way, otherwise their influence simply ceases to exist. (All influence is given and earned, not imposed) Their jobs are like yours – there is protocol.

4. Cranky Christians love bold statements, not edgy questions We love bold statements of faith, and struggle with honest questions. What about the gay issue, creation, single parenthood, sex outside of marriage? These questions would not give Jesus a sleepless night and every young Christian has the right to ask them, even publicly. It’s part of the journey. Try not to sound cranky when they’re raised!

5. People think political statements won’t bring revival I have some sympathy with this, knowing that when the Church is snuggled too close to the State, it can dis-empower genuine Spirit-filled Church. Having said that, when a believer enters a sphere of influence, and seeks to bring some impact, we should still thank God! Cameron is not trying to become the spiritual leader of the country by mentioning Christianity. But he IS opening a small door for Christian leaders to use for revival and reformation. We should stop quibbling over theology, and let’s use this season!

6. Some People expect SIN to be denounced in every interview.

I have seen time and again famous people have to dodge some of the difficult subjects. We need to understand that many media interviewers are always trying to goad Christians into speaking about things like homosexuality, because the interviewer knows that if he can make the Christian sound cranky, it will be a ‘good’ interview (for their ratings!).

Once, when I was being interviewed about something entirely unrelated, the BBC reporter was determined to ask me about my beliefs on homosexuality, which I knew would simply derail everything I wanted to say. So I simply responded, “We LOVE homosexuals in our church, and I want them ALL to come to my church” (which is one side of the truth!). Wide eyed, the interviewer was lost for words.

And we got on with what I’d actually come

to talk about! Don’t expect full theological debates on sin on TV. Some Christians in media are fighting to steer away from being portrayed as cranks, which the media love to do!

7. Perhaps, some Britons actually have issues with success and authority I actually wonder if our desire to pull apart famous Christians, at times, comes from the national hobby of tearing down authority figures, evident in some of our society. The same, defensive insecurities fill Christians, who cleverly hide their lack of grace behind theological protests.

8. People just love ‘kicking others’ No-one is into friendly fire like the Church.

We tear down pop stars who fail morally, or who don’t call down hell fire on homosexuals. Let’s learn to love EVERY brand of Christianity – and learn from them all. Get some humility and grace, because Jesus said, “They will know you are my disciples, by your LOVE.” 9. It easier to criticise than pray If someone’s been brave enough to mention the ‘C’ word in the public setting (You know how hard that can be in the office, let alone the media!), stop picking holes in their statements – PRAY FOR THEM! They are your brother, sister, or at least are TRYING to be!

10. Who bashes their faith out?

Finally, I have seen so many pop stars, celebrities and politicians simply give up on their faith because after trying to raise the subject of Christianity, or even failing in some way, criticism lays into them in the form of theological attacks, hate mail and ridicule, but not from the media, or from the ‘world’. Can you guess WHO actually bashes the faith out of them?

Jarrod Cooper

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Dave Mansfield felt like he’d taken a bath in liquid love when he was born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, but just how important is the third member of the Godhead in the believer’s life?

T

he abundant presence of the Holy Spirit heralds a new era. His regenerating work at conversion and his empowering presence as he baptises us with power are signs of a new age – the age of the Christian, that wonderful breed of undeserving individuals who are called by the living God and carry his manifest presence.

Ephesians 1:13-14 tell us, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Remember the day you first believed? Or maybe it was more of a journey? However it happened, at some point we heard the word of truth and made a response to it. At that moment a deposit was made! We

were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. A seal, or ‘sphragis’, is a sign of authenticity, of ownership and of the establishing of an office. In a single action, our faith is authenticated, our relationship with God is confirmed, and our establishment as sons and daughters of the living God is accomplished. God is with us.

Paul here also uses the Greek word ‘arrabon’, which means ‘a deposit which guarantees’.

Now a deposit is a promise of things to come! He comes to fulfil a promise 0

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and guarantee the future fulfilment of promises. The Holy Spirit comes in fulfilment of the Old Testament promises and as an assurance of the promises yet to be fulfilled. The deposit is made; the balance is assured at the appropriate time.

I can remember well my own salvation experience and, although it is now 38 years ago, I can recall with great detail the occasion. What I remember most is the change inside. It was like taking a bath in liquid love, being filled suddenly with light and an immediate sense that I was right with God and accepted by him. At the time I had no language or theology to describe it. I know now the Bible calls it being born again!

In the middle of those glorious moments, the man praying for me prayed for a baptism in the Holy Spirit. The second instalment came as requested and my life was changed forever. I had been sealed, the deposit had been made, and the second instalment rolled in right on time.

I had well and truly entered into this new age of the Christian, and looked forward to future instalments.

Of course, much of the inheritance Paul talks of will not be ours until the Lord returns in glory. But let us not lose sight of the fact that, in the intervening years, there is still much to do, learn and experience. The Holy Spirit is our guide, our teacher and our source of power.

Essential Spirit Psalms 51:11 says, “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” David knew what most of us know, that we need the Holy Spirit to see God’s purposes achieved in our lives. His presence brings life and strength, and all of the supernatural gifts we need to fulfil his call on our lives. Take him away and we’re in trouble!

The reality is, that it is the way God has designed us! This is not just some ‘bolt on’ or optional extra. We are designed and created to be our most fruitful and fulfilled when we live and work in tandem with the Holy Spirit.

To attempt to live according to God’s purposes without him is futile. In the weird and wonderful world of ergonomics, the constant question is, ‘Is this fit for purpose?’ In other words, does this item we are examining meet all of the necessary requirements to efficiently fulfil the purpose it was designed and built for?

If we take a person attempting to live according to God’s purposes without the 18 cover contents

Holy Spirit, the answer must be a firm ‘No!’ If we take a biblical view of why we were created and ask the question, “What is our purpose?” we will very quickly see that we do not have the resources on our own to complete the mission. Whatever it is that God has given you to do, the Holy Spirit is part of the equation for his plan for your life! Don’t leave home without him!

Jesus, incarnated within the framework of humanity, receives a Holy Spirit baptism before beginning his ministry. Luke 3:22 tell us, “The Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’”.

Jesus, having confined himself to human form, also needed the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Any attempt at living a Godly life, and being all that he created us to be, is dependent on the present work of the Holy Spirit. It is only by following this experience that Jesus is able to make a bold statement about himself.

Empowering Spirit “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18).

It is in the empowering and anointing of the Holy Spirit that the mission is completed. If this is true for Jesus, how much more is it true for us?

The plan is that the Holy Spirit gives us power to become that which God created us to be, and to do that which God has prepared for us to do. The baptism of the Spirit should launch us into the purposes of God for our lives. With his presence we become fit for purpose! With his presence we have all the resources we need to fulfil the mission.

Part of that empowering is the impartation of gifts! Some entirely supernatural – tongues, prophecy, words of knowledge etc. In other cases, the Spirit takes the

when I expect God to show up, I behave differently. My expectation leads me to think more positively and listen more intently so I’m prepared for what God is going to do. My expectation causes a rise in faith, and we all know that God loves to respond to faith! We all need to be constantly filled with the enduring power of the Holy Spirit and live in expectation that God will come.

'The baptism of the Spirit should launch us into the purposes of God for our lives' natural ‘built-in’ gifts that God has given to an entirely different level. All so that we are properly equipped for the good works he has prepared in advance for us to do.

I have often thought that the Holy Spirit and his gifts should be an entirely natural part of our lives. So much so that we shouldn’t have to think, “I could do with a word of knowledge now”, but it should just happen! I suspect that, to get to this stage, we first need to discipline ourselves to rely on the Spirit and listen more intently to what he is saying. If we can do this there should be a natural and consistent flow of Spirit-filled moments.

Remember the words of Jesus, “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37).

Enduring Spirit Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be

Dave Mansfield

filled with the Spirit.” The emphasis of the word ‘filled’ or ‘pleroo’ in this verse carries the weight of – to make full, to be filled, full and complete. It clearly places some responsibility on us in that we have to do something to be filled. This filling is to fullness – completely full. That is the instruction. This fullness of the Spirit in our lives is what empowers us. The extent to which I am filled will determine the extent to which I can minister in power and achieve God’s agenda for my life.

Thankfully, this filling is not dependent on me. We are instructed to ask and expect – see Matthew 7:11. God does not go looking for our scorecard before responding; he gives out of his grace. My performance is not a factor. My desire and expectation is. I have noticed that

Empty?

How are we refilled? Where do we go and what do we do when our Holy Spirit quotient gets low? Revelation 21:6 says, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.”

It seems there is no shortage of Holy Spirit power or availability. The question is, “How do I access the Holy Spirit and his power?” Well, Jesus says we should come to him and he will fix it. All that is required is that we are thirsty and we come to him expectant. Our devotional times should be times of refreshing when the Spirit comes to minister to us.

Taking the time to pause, reflect and sit at the feet of Jesus will open us up to the enduring work of the Spirit and recharge our spiritual batteries. Speaking in tongues will also do the job.

Paul says that when we speak in tongues we strengthen ourselves spiritually – see 1 Corinthians 14:4. I cannot speak in tongues without engaging with the Holy Spirit, this clearly opens a channel for the Spirit to work in me.

For many, a contact point is always helpful... “Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostle’s hands, he offered them money” (Acts 8:18). Getting someone to lay hands on you and pray is a good biblical way to get a top up. What’s good about it is that it requires us to acknowledge we need more of God, and stand together with a brother or sister to see that we get more!

However, when we do it, we must continually acknowledge, as David did, that we cannot succeed without the Holy Spirit’s power, and ensure that we are consistently receiving him into our lives.

Why? As the great evangelist DL Moody said when asked why he claimed he needed to be filled continually with the Holy Spirit, “Because I leak!”  contents cover 19

LEADERSHIP DOC

How should we manage expectations?

John Andrews answers more of your questions in this month’s column

H

ow do you go about managing the expectations of those who believe God has told them they are called to a specific ministry but you as the senior leader have no witness in your Spirit to what they are saying?

Sometimes as leaders we think we’re doing people a favour by letting them pursue their vision unchallenged, but every conviction should be open to question and scrutiny, and – if it’s real – it will stand the test. In helping people face the honesty of who and what they are, I try to address four key questions with them.

1. What gifts do you have? Gifts should match the call. If God has called us, then surely he’s given us the gifts for the job!

2. What’s your passion? If a person claims to be what they say they are, then the passion for it will be obvious everywhere they go and in everything they do.

3. What do others see? Allowing ‘significant others’ to honestly ‘say what they see’ can make an incredible difference.

4. What has God said? I deliberately leave this to the end. Once people use the words, “God has said”, the conversation is over! Whatever God is saying should marry up in some ways to the previous three areas. If ‘God’ has said Y and everything or everyone else is indicating X, then either God got it wrong – which of course he never does – or everything else is wrong… or, of course, God never said it in the first place. With issues like this there is no time for sentiment. If we try to be what we’re not… everyone is in danger!

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I am a married man and an elder in an AoG Church and have an addiction to Internet chat sites. I don't know who to turn to. What should I do?

It’s important to remember that the virtual world is still part of the real world and should be treated with no less seriousness as if you were engaging in a public context. If what you’re experiencing has already moved into the realms of addiction, then no matter what the issue is, it’s crucial to bring it to light and allow others to help you overcome and move on.

Talk to a trusted friend and move your secret into the light of accountability and change. As an elder, I would certainly encourage a conversation with your senior leader and/or another member of your team.

As a married man you need to sit with your spouse and be honest with her about what you have done, apologise and ask for her forgiveness.

Proverbs teaches us that a man who lacks self-control is like a city without a wall, which is vulnerable and open to attack, so you must build some ‘practical’ walls in your life, such as: • Cutting all links with the chat sites – be ruthless!

• Putting a block on all chat or related sites on your computer.

• Moving your computer into a public space at home.

• Signing up to a covenant eyes type scheme, which sends a report of all your Internet activity to a friend.

• When tempted, ring or text a friend and ask them to stand with you.

• Doing nothing is not an option – little chats have a nasty habit of leading us to places we just shouldn’t go!

We are struggling to find people to help out in our children's ministry.

What do we do?

The challenge of volunteerism is never ending in the life of any local church community.

Vibrant children’s ministries are crucial in the life of any church because children are valuable to God and open to be taught and instructed in the ways of faith. In fact, every member of my family came to faith before the age of ten!

Also it can be vital in attracting families, so if it’s a choice between having two believers sitting in a service listening to a sermon and impacting children with the love of God, the latter will always win for me.

As long as we put support structures in place to help those workers they can serve well and still grow in faith. Make sure the workers know that serving is growing. If they have to miss the service, give them a free CD of the podcast.

Be sure they are also involved in other areas of discipleship, growth and connection and that these are valued and promoted, and finally, grow your volunteers by highlighting the positives around these ministries and the opportunities it brings to enrich lives.

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Fund that helps our pastors and spouses Assembly of God’s Ann Layton introduces the Movement’s Benevolent Fund

I

t came to our attention recently that a number of our leaders may not be fully aware of what the Benevolent Fund is and what it does, so I’d like to give you some information that should help and may just bless your socks off!

When one of our ministers or their spouse passes away, the remaining partner is immediately sent a sympathetic letter enclosing a gift of £200.

They are then put on our list for a Christmas gift each year. I was recently asked how long they would be sent a gift and the answer is, “Currently, as long as they live” – unless they remarry of course.

Some of our ladies have been receiving the annual gift, which is currently £175 per year, for many years and are so grateful for this remembrance. The gentlemen have only been receiving the annual gift for a couple of years, but are so pleased to be included.

The best way to convey what this means to the people on our list is for me to copy some of their comments from their ‘thank you’ letters and cards, so here is just a snippet: “Thank you so much for your wonderful gift. It is indeed very kind and generous and makes me feel truly blessed.”

“Thank you so much for the gift of £175 – it is certainly helping toward something that I need as my water heater broke down a few weeks ago and I can now afford a new one and to get it installed. Your gift is an answer to prayer – I asked God for a little bit of extra money and he has given it to me!

I will certainly have a happy Christmas.”

“Thank you so much for the Christ-

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mas gift, safely received and much appreciated! It’s great to belong to the family of AoG – I pray much for you all.”

“This was greatly appreciated as I have recently returned from hospital and there have been essential items to purchase to give me support.”

“It is so heart warming to be remembered by the Fellowship and the fact that this comes from the churches makes it even more meaningful.”

“I am sure, like me, many other widows will be really grateful to be remembered in this way each year. Somehow as the years roll on it doesn’t get any easier being alone – how good it is to know that the Lord is always there!”

“It is so good to be remembered and always meets a need as my house insurance is due in December and it meets that for me, so it’s a great help and blessing.”

“I want to say thank you so much for your letter and generous gift to me at Christmas. I was deeply moved with the warmth and love of your kind letter and I appreciate your kindness from the depth of my heart.”

“The gift is greatly appreciated but most especially to know that I am not forgotten. I will use this year’s gift towards a special spring holiday.”

“Thank you so much for the gift of £175. It is much appreciated and I bought very much needed new bedding and curtains.”

And these are from some of our gentlemen: “First, let me say a big thank

you to all concerned for the cheque that came my way. It was a blessing to me last year and very much appreciated. It was a greater surprise this year seeing it was unexpected. If I did think about it I thought it was ring fenced to widows only. Praise the Lord!”

“My father was delighted to receive the cheque, for the happy memories it invoked of his ministry within AoG, as well as for its monetary value.”

“It was humbling indeed to receive the gift of £175 from the Fellowship. To think that we are remembered in this loving way is so lovely, but I did not expect it. When I was Chairman of our Church Council I recall us sending gifts to the Benevolent Fund each year but never realised that I would ever benefit.”

These are just some of the comments we receive each year, and I have to say it’s probably my favourite job to send out the letters and cheques and receive the responses – so heart-warming.

Another thing that blesses me though is not only their gratitude to the Fellowship, but most of them are so affirming of their love for the Lord and their confidence and trust in him – I mostly read out the letters to everyone in the office so they can be blessed too, and National Leader John Partington always reads through them.

I trust that this will encourage and bless those of you who have sent gifts to this fund on a regular basis.

Could I also ask that those who may not have responded to our annual appeal to consider again now, in the light of a bit more knowledge of how important this fund is to the Fellowship of Assemblies of God!

Picture posed by model

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LAST WORD

Live revived by fresh oil flowing in you A visit to Israel reminded Ian Williams of the relationship between the oil and press

O

n a recent visit to Israel with the National Leadership Team we had the opportunity to experience firsthand The Holy Land and see with our own eyes the well-known and much-loved places from the Bible where Jesus walked, lived and ministered.

One of the many places we visited was the Garden of Gethsemane, renowned for its well-established olive trees. The name ‘Gethsemane’ in Hebrew is ‘Gat Shmanim’, meaning ‘oil press’. It was the place where olives were brought to be crushed. The skin and pit strained and separated revealing pure olive oil.

Oil is a consistent biblical symbol for the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and throughout the Old Testament we read that kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil and set apart for their role and task.

The anointing oil symbolised many things – protection, provision and prosperity, wisdom and authority to rule, healing and deliverance, joy, light and revelation, the ability to preach and prophecy, intimacy in worship and much more as described in the Word of God. There is a relationship between the oil and the press. They are counterparts that are the accompaniment of one another.

The oil certainly seems more attractive than the oil press, yet there is no oil without the press. It is well known that the oil is produced in the press through the process of pressing and squeezing.

The sole purpose and design of the press is to obtain the oil. There is no product without the process! The Garden – the ‘oil 24 cover contents

press’ – was a place of mixed emotions and diverse feelings, a place of self-denial and dying to self, a place of testing and trial, of betrayal and suffering, sweat and tears, sorrow and anguish. In the Garden, Jesus embraced the will of his Father and simultaneously embraced the cross.

As we reflect on our current life and ministry we may recognise that we are in a ‘Garden of Gethsemane’ season of life, a season marked by testing and trial, betrayal and suffering, sorrow and anguish, self-denial and dying to self! Equally, however, it’s a place where we can transform our tests into testimonies, our mess into a message and live lives revived by the new oil flowing in us and through us that is produced out of the experience of the season!

Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane with mixed emotions.

In the Garden he experienced the oil press, but on leaving the Garden he was revitalised with fresh oil and with a determination to accomplish his mission. He walked away from the garden into the fulfilment of the plans and purposes of his Father for his life. The Apostle Paul triumphantly affirms every

believer’s ‘Garden of Gethsemane’ experiences: “We are pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Be encouraged that oil goes hand in hand with the oil press and that fresh oil flows only as a result of the pressing and crushing from the oil press.

Fresh oil flows only as a result of the crushing from the oil press, says Ian Williams