Idea magazine July / August 2014

www.eauk.org/idea

T H E M AG A Z I N E O F T H E E VA N G E L I C A L A L L I A N C E

Rubies in the Rubble: of faith and food waste

MIRACLE POWER

Can we still expect the miraculous today?

IN YOUR WORDS

60 SECONDS

CHURCH GROWTH

How Iranians are finding faith in Christ in the UK

GOOD QUESTION

THEOLOGY

CLIMATE CHANGE

Do evangelical Christians care?

CONNECT

ON THE JOB

JULY/AUGUST 2014

NEWS COMMENT FEATURES

CONTENTS

Chine Mbubaegbu: “In the kingdom of God, power is not something we are to strive for.”

idea-torial “There’s something about power: its ability to entice and seduce.”

The dangers of holding too much of it; the vulnerable position one is placed in if they hold no power at all. At the time of writing, 200 of my fellow Nigerian girls are as yet to be located after having been kidnapped from their schools by Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram. As I watch video footage of these captured girls, what I see in their eyes is a sense of powerlessness. They have no control over their situation. All the power lies with their captors. And despite the power of nations around the world who have pledged to join in the search for these girls, even their resources seem powerless in the face of a group committing atrocities themselves in the name of wielding its own power over Nigerian society. In the kingdom of God, power is not something we are to strive for. In the account of Jesus with James and John, the sons of Zebedee, in Mark 10, the brothers ask for power and greatness.

But Jesus replies: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”

Christ calls those with power to also be servants.

As followers of his committed to leading in areas of public influence so that our societies can be transformed with the good news of Jesus, we shouldn’t despise power. Holding power is a part of leadership (read more about this in our new site: thepublicleader.com). But there is no paradox really, if we realise that any power and authority we hold ultimately belongs to God. Elizabeth Oldfield, director of Theos, explores the concept of power and politics on page 32. The power we hold is also nothing compared to the Almighty’s who has the power to heal, to transform and to make whole. I’d recommend reading our interview with power evangelist Robby Dawkins on page 20 and subsequently stories of the power of the Holy Spirit at work through Healing on the Streets.

FEATURES 8 J JOHN

J John has been an evangelist for 33 years – and his engaging way of sharing the gospel is still making people laugh.

COVER STORY

11 Rubies in the Rubble

20 Healing on the Streets Signs and Wonders: taking Jesus to the people.

Hello to all of you receiving this at Keswick Convention. We would love you to become part of us. See how you can become a supporter on our website: eauk.org/support

We’re on Twitter!

Follow us @idea_mag IDEA MAGAZINE / 4

This is Our Place Illustrious Southampton was known historically for its bustling trading port and the place from where the Titanic set forth. Now the city’s churches are making their voice heard with a common hope.

30 BIG INTERVIEW

Vineyard US pastor Robby Dawkins opens up on power evangelism.

32 Power and the money

Theos director Liz Oldfield explores the concept of power.

28

REGULARS

Turning the tide: Climate Change The words ‘climate change’ are increasingly on the lips of humanitarian and environmental groups and charities.

It also finds its way onto the political agenda, but rarely into the Church.

Why is this?

5-7 Connect

News from the Alliance.

18-19 Good Question

Are benefits okay biblically?

27 Theology

Evangelism through the eyes of Jesus.

36 In your words

idea readers respond…

42 Last word

The general director writes…

38 Noah: ark mission Holly Price from the Damaris Trust explores the message behind Noah – set for release on DVD this summer.

For His is the kingdom, the power and the glory. Now and always.

Chine Mbubaegbu, head of media and communications

26

We speak to young Christian entrepreneur Jenny Dawson on the message behind her chutneys.

Head Office Evangelical Alliance has moved: 176 Copenhagen Street, London N1 0ST tel 020 7520 3830 [Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm] fax 020 7520 3850 info@eauk.org www.eauk.org Evangelical Alliance leadership team Steve Clifford, Helen Calder, Fred Drummond, Elfed Godding, Krish Kandiah, Dave Landrum, Peter Lynas

Email address changes to members@eauk.org Northern Ireland Office First Floor Ravenhill House 105 Ravenhill Road, Belfast BT6 8DR tel: 028 9073 9079 nireland@eauk.org

Wales Office 20 High Street, Cardiff CF10 1PT tel: 029 2022 9822 wales@eauk.org Scotland Office International Christian College, 110 St James Road, Glasgow, G4 0PS tel 0141 548 1555 scotland@eauk.org

CONNECT

The Alliance and Oasis In May, the Alliance announced with sadness that we have discontinued the membership of Oasis Trust, who had joined us as an organisational member in March 1987.

between an organisation and one of its members in which the member felt it could not comply with a reasonable request from council, was not tenable.

In January 2013 an article was published in Christianity magazine entitled ‘A matter of integrity’, written by Steve Chalke, the founder of Oasis Trust. The article challenged the historic biblical interpretation on issues related to human sexuality. This was followed by a series of events, interviews and the production of numerous materials which were positioned on the Oasis website and supported in social media.

The Alliance council remain deeply respectful of the work and achievements of the Oasis Trust and have a strong desire to avoid any unseemly dispute and to speak well of each other.

The content of the material, together with the timing of the article, right in the middle of the government’s attempts to legislate to redefine marriage (and despite a request from the Alliance that the article’s publication be delayed), was regarded as a matter of concern by many of our members and eventually resulted in an official complaint by a member organisation.

Having heard the concerns expressed as to what had been perceived by some as a campaign to change the Church’s historic view on human sexuality, the Oasis board did clarify their position as having “no corporate view on this matter”. However, they were unwilling to fulfil the Alliance council’s request to adjust the content of their website, resources and social media output to equally profile the traditional Christian view.

After many months of prayerful discussion, the Alliance council – made up of more than 80 evangelical Christian leaders of churches, denominations and organisations from across the UK - concluded that a relationship

We want to re-iterate that the views of individual members of the Alliance are a matter of personal conscience. Personal members are requested to affirm the Evangelical Alliance basis of faith and indicate their support for the work of the Alliance by making a financial contribution.

PRAY WITH US: We have re-launched our monthly prayer emails, now called REAP: Raising Evangelical Alliance Prayer! Partner with us in regular prayer, as we work to unite the evangelical Church and strengthen her voice to government and the media – visit www.eauk.org/pray to sign up.

Please join with us now to pray for these five things: 1.

Praise God for the launch of South Asian Forum’s new evangelistic resource and training programme, Discovering Jesus Through Asian Eyes, and pray for many to come to faith.

2.

With the Scotland independence referendum fast approaching in September, please pray for the Evangelical Alliance Scotland’s manifesto and advocacy work to ensure the Church and her values are well-represented to those in leadership.

3.

Please join us in praying for two upcoming threads events in Durham and London. These are events for young adults in their 20s and 30s who want to explore faith more deeply and how it relates to all of life.

4.

Give thanks for the wonderful blessing that the new Alliance building in King’s Cross is proving to be one year on from its official opening in August 2013.

5.

Please pray for a united Church across the UK, and for our Gather programme which is supporting, inspiring and equipping local churches to unite and work together for the good of their communities.

Steve Clifford, general director of the Alliance, said the decision followed “many months of prayerful discussion” and “some considerable pain and disappointment”.

He added: “The issue which resulted in the eventual removal of Oasis Trust from membership was one of ‘relationship’ and how that relationship is outworked in the context of the Alliance’s diverse evangelical community and what can be legitimately expected of that community”.

“It is our hope we can now move on and that both Oasis and ourselves will continue to speak well of each other and affirm the valuable contribution made by both organisations to the Church across the world and to wider UK society.”

For more information, including the full statement and a Q&A briefing, visit the Alliance’s website: eauk.org/church/members-briefing-oasis

eauk.org/pray

Breaking cultural barriers: Nearly 200 UK Christian leaders attended the Discovering Jesus Through Asian Eyes launch on 14 May. The eightweek course equips churches or small groups to cultivate discussions with Asian friends and respond to questions about the Christian faith in a culturally-appropriate way. discovering-jesus.com

JULY/AUGUST 2014

IDEA MAGAZINE / 5

CONNECT

News from the Alliance

Churches working together for mission across the globe

by Danny Webster

the type of unity when lots of people meet together, the visionary leader will want lots of people behind his vision. And then there is the networker who is convinced that God has already planted lots of visions all across the city and that these need to be nourished, facilitated and connected together.”

He went on to say that he and the Church in Berlin had gone through: “A paradigm change from ‘me and my church’ to ‘the kingdom and my city’.”

Stella Mbubaegbu, principal of Highbury College, spoke about the development and growth of her vision for Portsmouth: “I have to take what I believe God said to me, even when it didn’t make sense, I stuck with it and was watchful of what is going on around.

I was clear about what my task was within that and committed to not being diverted.

Articulating what I see, whether it is for the city or for the college, and articulating that vision and speaking it until other people start speaking it.”

As well as inspiring each other about the work churches are doing when they come together in unity, the Gather Global conference also profiled the public leadership work the Evangelical Alliance is engaged in.

For many of the leaders, the journey into public life entailed being intentional about making a difference and speaking out in their community. Through resources and stories at the newly launched www. thepublicleader.com website the Alliance is seeking to help churches develop a culture of public leadership and be a voice of good for all of society.

Dr Taniy Omideyi of Together for the Harvest, Liverpool, at the Gather Global conference.

An international gathering of leaders in London illustrated the inspirational stories of how churches are transforming communities across the world – with unity at the heart of how they work.

Over the past two years the Evangelical Alliance has been connecting with groups of churches committed to unity in cities and towns across England. Through the Gather network the work of churches coming together in prayer and working together in mission has been mapped across the country.

Gather seeks to support and inspire an increase in collaborative working, and to see transformation by working together and with civic authorities.

The Gather Global conference brought together many of the leaders of local IDEA MAGAZINE / 6

wegather.co.uk Leaders gather at the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity.

networks with international visitors who shared their experience of unity for mission in cities from the US, South Africa, Germany and Australia.

Mac Pier, who works with Tim Keller in New York and runs Movement Day, told delegates: “There’s been this sense that, for a long time, God has been motivating leaders to come together in prayer as the people of God. “Our vision is to invite leaders to get a vision for their city and to allow them to design what they can do in their city.”

Harrald Sommerfeld, from Berlin, spoke about his work in a city that had for much of recent history been defined by physical division: “When we talk about unity we must see that unity has very different perspectives; a pastoral leader will prefer

thepublicleader.com

Staff Profile I help the Alliance communicate about the exciting ways our supporters can get involved in our campaigns. Whether that is lobbying their MP on an issue, using the resources we have developed for the next generation of new leaders, or being able to support our work through your prayers or giving.

I love surfing, house music, veggiegrowing, food and cooking and being by the sea with my family.

Rebecca Taylor, Campaigns marketing officer

IN THE MEDIA

by Terry Ally: press officer, Evangelical Alliance

The “second coming” The power of national media is great. Some, such as the Today programme, are influential and can set the media agenda for the week.

It is therefore a good thing for Christian organisations to want to access such influential national media.

However, local and regional media should not be underestimated. Depending on the story, these can reach niche audiences with pinpoint accuracy and substantially more

than that of national radio for the same slots.

It’s no wonder then that there is a buzz of excitement in the PR world at what Matt Jamieson of Markettiers4DC calls the “second coming of local TV”. Estuary TV became the first to broadcast in what could be up to 70 Ofcom-licensed local stations. At the time of writing, the second is expected to be London Live, owned by the London Evening Standard.

One of the flies in the ointment, Matt thinks, could be the quality of content because some of these stations may well draw on existing staff of local media which in turn will wear thin the talent bank.

While that is a challenge for them, it is a good opportunity for PR-switched-on Christian organisations because they have a potential opening to help shape the content that these stations can use.

The Alliance welcomes the following new members…

CHURCHES LOCATION

CHURCHES LOCATION

CHURCHES LOCATION

House of Faith Chapel

MITCHAM

Hayes Community Church

RCCG Love Arena Parish

RCCG* Edinburgh Tabernacle

EDINBURGH

RCCG The Place of Restoration Islington

LONDON

Ark of the Covenant Prayer and Worship Tabernacle

CHIGWELL

RCCG Great Light Connections

LONDON

RCCG Livingston Assembly

LIVINGSTON

RCCG Rivers of Water

SURBITON

Bridge Street Pentecostal Church

LEEDS

Hope Community Church

TELFORD

RCCG Holy Ghost Zone Corby

CORBY

Gospel Harvest Ministry

HOUNSLOW

RCCG Place of Refuge

BRIGHTON

Hollywood Christian Life Centre

BIRMINGHAM

RCCG Trinity Zone

CROYDON

Faith Alive Chapel International

DAGENHAM

RCCG More Than Conquerors

LONDON

RCCG Agape Love Parish

BIRMINGHAM

Forest Town Chuch

ST ALBANS

RCCG Friends Parish

LONDON

Greenford Gospel Church

GREENFORD

RCCG Brentwood Grace Centre

BRENTWOOD

RCCG Open Heavens Christian Centre

DUNDEE

House of Favour Ministries

LONDON

RCCG Shekhinah Glory of the Living God

LONDON

Paton Hall

CAMBRIDGE

RCCG Cornerstone Parish

LOUGHBORUGH

RCCG - Winners Temple

LONDON

RCCG Living Faith Assembly Horsham

HORSHAM

RCCG Strong Tower Manchester

MANCHESTER

Riverside Church Hoddesdon

HODDESDON

Tehillah House of Praise

LONDON

One in Christ Church Nottingham

NOTTINGHAM

RCCG Genesis Chapel

LONDON

Eagles Gathering Christian Centre

LONDON

RCCG Grace Chapel for all Nations

LONDON

Thatcham Free Church

THATCHAM

RCCG House of Praise Kidbrooke

LONDON

The Father’s House KTLCC

LONDON

RCCG Jesus People Dagenham

DAGENHAM

RCCG Bethel’s Court

BEXLEYHEATH

RCCG Fruitful Land

TILBURY

RCCG Grace Sanctuary for all Nations

KINGSTON UPON THAMES

RCCG Impact Centre

BICESTER

RCCG Hope Connections

HUDDERSFIELD

RCCG Courage Centre

HAYES

BOLTON

Evangelical Church of the Lamb Ministries MANCHESTER Bethesda Church

BLACKPOOL

RCCG Glory of God Parish

BRISTOL

RCCG Light House Parish Brighton

BRIGHTON

RCCG Great Overcomers Parish

BRIGHTON

RCCG Inspiration House Folkstone

FOLKESTONE

RCCG Tabernacle of His Presence Parish

DUNSTABLE

RCCG The King’s Glory Centre - Kings Lynn KING’S LYNN RCCG King of Glory Leicester

LEICESTER

RCCG Citadel of Praise

MANCHESTER

Real Life Church

SUTTON COFDREIDS

Christ Alive Church

WATERLOOVILLE

RCCG Grace and Truth Parish

MANCHESTER

RCCG Hope Chapel Manchester

MANCHESTER

RCCG Christ for Life Parish

MANCHESTER

RCCG Solution Connections Parish

MANCHESTER

RCCG Breakthrough Church Bolton

BOLTON

Kilmarnock Baptist Church

KILMARNOCK

Elim Church International Stevenage

STEVENAGE

Hope Church

ACCRINGTON

Cricklewood Baptist Church

LONDON

RCCG Glory Chapel NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

King’s Church Warrington

WARRINGTON

Ashbourne Elim Pentecostal Church

ASHBOURNE

CRAWLEY

RCCG Restoration House

LONDON

Elim Pentecostal Church

LONDON

RCCG Holy Ghost Zone

CROYDON

Hayes Elim Christian Centre

HAYES

Chippenham Christian Fellowship

CHIPPENHAM

RCCG Christ Chapel for all Nations

LONDON

RCCG Jesus House Torry

ABERDEEN

Elim Pentecostal Church

LONDON

RCCG House of Dominion Orpington

ORPINGTON

RCCG Kingdom Life Assembly

DONCASTER

Yeovil Family Church

YEOVIL

RCCG Bethel Tabernacle

LONDON

RCCG King’s Tower Assembly

REDHILL

Watford Elim Church

WATFORD

The Breath of God Ministry

LONDON

RCCG Living Assembly

GATESHEAD

Freshfire Church

STOCKPORT

RCCG Victory @ Reading

READING

RCCG Living Grace

DURHAM

RCCG Shining Light Assembly

LONDON

RCCG House of His Glory

HORNCHURCH

RCCG Rivers of Living Water

LONDON

Pilgrim Community Church

AIRDRIE

RCCG Montrose Tabernacle for all Nations MONTROSE

Portstewart Baptist Church

PORTSTEWART

New Creation and Evangelistic Ministry

LONDON

RCCG Liberty House Birmingham

City Valley Church

SHIPLEY

Faithway Global Ministries

COVENTRY

Divine Grace Baptist Church

LONDON

Elim New Anointing Church

LIVERPOOL

BIRMINGHAM

RCCG House on the Rock Chapel Milton Keynes

MILTON KEYNES

Let the Earth Praise the Lord

WALLINGTON

RCCG Light House Oxford

OXFORD

Elim Tamil Church London

LONDON

RCCG Living Word Parish

DARLINGTON

RCCG Livingproof Community Parish

DARLINGTON

Bethesda Church

SHEFFIELD

RCCG Winners Pavilion Milton Keynes

MILTON KEYNES

RCCG The Lord’s Place

BURY

ECKT Pierres Vivantes

LONDON

RCCG Open Heavens Sanctuary

DAGENHAM

RCCG Vineyard Chapel

NEWPORT

RCCG Petra House Andover

ANDOVER

RCCG Inspiration House

LONDON

ORGANISATIONS

RCCG Revival Chapel Dulwich

LONDON

Emmanuel Christian Centre

ULVERSTON

(Jabula) Rejoice New Life Ministries

BIRMINGHAM

RCCG Calvary Parish Aylesbury

AYLESBURY

Living Word Church

LOUGHBORUGH

Young Life International

LUTON

RCCG Holy Ghost Zone Canterbury

CANTERBURY

RCCG Glory of God Parish

EXETER

RCCG Oasis Chapel

GREAT YARMOUTH

JULY/AUGUST 2014

*RCCG = Redeemed Christian Church of God

IDEA MAGAZINE / 7

60 SECONDS WITH…

Interview by Richard Woodall, assistant editor

Evangelist J John idea: You’ve been an evangelist for 33 years. As someone at the forefront of Christian evangelism in the UK, have you noticed any changes over that time?

J John: I have found people are much the same; they have the same needs and the same hurts, as well as the same aspirations.

I don’t find people any harder to engage with than when I started. I think people are hungry for something. Alfred Adler said people were hungry for security, Carl Jung said people were hungry for significance and Sigmund Freud said people were hungry for love. This hunger might get articulated in different ways but I think people are very receptive.

“I’m not a comedian.”

You became a Christian as a student what was your own path to faith like?

While studying psychology at university I met another Christian called Andy Economides (now an evangelist too) and he introduced me to Christ. My friend Andy built a bridge from me to him and Christ Jesus walked over it.

I didn’t have the vocabulary to articulate it but I knew something was different – it was 9 February 1975. The next day I took a homeless man for breakfast. After that I told a friend on my course I’d met Jesus and he was amazed. I then ended up leading him to the Lord!

One of your main skills as a communicator is the ability to be funny. Is that why people resonate with you so much?

Well it’s not like I think: ‘Right, today I am going to make people laugh’, because I’m not a comedian. There’s a lot of humour in the Bible that we don’t always see because Hebrew or Jewish humour is humour by exaggeration. Jesus tells his disciples about being careful when pointing out the speck in someone else’s eye to first take the ‘telegraph pole’ out of your own eye. You can imagine the disciples saying: ‘Oh Lord, that’s such a good one’. So for me, when I am funny I am just being myself.

Have you ever had a wilderness period, or times when you’ve questioned your calling?

No I haven’t. I’ve always known this is what God has called me to do.

But within the context of that, there’s been

IDEA MAGAZINE / 8

J John.

cycles and seasons where you might focus on one thing more than another.

The most popular church vocations are pastors or youth workers. Not many churches employ an evangelist. And yet evangelism is just as crucial to what goes on inside the church – if not more. Have churches got their priorities wrong?

The number of churches that have never done any training on evangelism is shocking.

The Great Commission was to go out to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth; what did Jerusalem represent?

It was the place where the disciples denied Jesus. Jesus says to the disciples he wants them to start in the place of their greatest failure. What is that for most of us? It’s our neighbours, family, friends, or colleagues.

I think evangelism is more of an intentionality. If you don’t have an intentionality about anything, then it’s not going to happen.

We need to equip every member of the church so this intentionality becomes natural for them to cultivate the web of relationships they have already got. And I don’t think people know how to do that.

What are the biggest barriers to sharing the gospel with people?

I think people have a fear about what others might say or a fear of articulating the message correctly. But the perfect love of Christ casts out fear. If the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, that means we’ve got the power. One thing an evangelist does is to affirm, encourage, equip. I’m very committed to that, and to equipping leaders to preach. I don’t think church preaching is good in Britain.

Can you expand on that a bit?

Well, we could make preaching more accessible. Knowing how to preach at Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, or Halloween, for example.

I’d say look at what cards are being sold in the shops. And that’s what you should be preaching on. Why would I not be preaching on that?

Can you tell me about your name? Does it stand for anything?

It’s Greek Cypriot – the nearest equivalent is John John.

J John established the Philo Trust in 1980.

This works to communicate the relevance of the Christian faith. He lives in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire and is married to Killy and they have three sons and one daughter-in-law. philotrust.com

IDEA MAGAZINE / 10

ON THE JOB

Hidden gems and Rubies in the Rubble Chine Mbubaegbu meets Jenny Dawson, founder of a chutneymaking social enterprise with a beautiful message…

Each year in the UK alone, a whopping 18 million tonnes of food winds up as landfill costing an estimated £23 billion. It’s this staggering statistic and the realisation that all this is happening while a billion people go to bed hungry every night that drives the vision behind Rubies in the Rubble, an innovative social enterprise that combines delicious chutneys with an important message.

A third of the UK food waste comes from producers and the supply chain and a further third from retail. On reading about these statistics in the media in 2010, Jenny Dawson – who attends King’s Cross Church (KXC) and at the time was working as a hedge fund trader – decided to do something to raise awareness while reducing waste.

And so Rubies in the Rubble was born, combatting “a culture of excessive waste” by producing delicious handmade chutneys and jam from discarded fresh fruits and vegetables. The company’s messages are simple, but game-changing: make use of what you have; care about your resources, embrace oddity.

“Reading articles about food waste showed me that a lot of food that was perfectly fine was being thrown away,” says Jenny – now aged 28. “Having grown up on a farm in rural Scotland, I started to see how far removed our supermarket products were from coming out of the ground. Supermarkets wanted fruit and vegetables to be perfectlyshaped and not dependent on seasons. It made me want to react.

“But it wasn’t really these stats, but the fact that there is so much food poverty around JULY/AUGUST 2014

the world; all while there seems to be so much slack in our supply chain. There are so many ways that we could waste less and therefore demand less on the world food market and keep food in the market for those that don’t have it.”

Launched in 2011, Rubies in the Rubble chutneys are now sold in the likes of Waitrose, Fortnum & Masons and Selfridges.

Jenny has also received widespread recognition for her work, including Rubies in the Rubble winning a Ben & Jerry’s sustainable business competition and picking up the Veuve Cliquot New Generation women in business award.

Despite the awards, Jenny’s feet remain firmly on the ground and her heart committed to the vision and mission of her enterprise. When she started exploring where there were large-scale gluts, she found it was in farms or wholesale fruit and veg markets. Because they were perishable items, it was important to be close to the site so they set up a kitchen on-site at Old Spitalfields market in London – a market with 700,000 tonnes of fruit and veg passing through it every year and 200 tonnes being thrown away every week simply because there’s no buyer, despite nothing being wrong with the produce.

Rubies in the Rubble would pay a tiny amount for the surplus rather than the vendors having to pay to have it thrown away. “What was extraordinary,” Jenny says, “was that most of the stuff we were getting was perfect.

“I knew that simply starting a brand made from surplus is not the answer to solving this problem, but it was a way to make people think and something I’m really passionate about.

“I wanted a brand that reflected hidden gems in society – things that we overlook because of their outward appearance. I had just joined KXC and they were doing talks on how Jesus views people and how God the creator views everybody from the inside out and it made me think of how I’d become hardened. Working for a hedge fund, you are surrounded by quite a lot of glamour and wealth. I didn’t have time for people on the street corner. They seemed very removed from my world – but we’re all people created

by God.” So what next for Rubies in the Rubble?

Since launching, the enterprise has now

“Make use of what you have; care about your resources, embrace oddity.” outgrown their kitchen, so Jenny and her business partner have decided to outsource the production and focus entirely on food waste and poverty, linking up with charities working in areas that are not so fortunate as the UK. Although it is a time of change, Jenny remains confident that God has a plan.

“Rubies has been unbelievably blessed,” she says. “I’ve never felt fear in running it. I have always felt peaceful about it and felt that I could hold it so lightly. I don’t worry whether it might all end tomorrow.” rubiesintherubble.com

IDEA MAGAZINE / 11

NORTHERN IRELAND

eauk.org/northernireland

When joy remains

by Thomas McConaghie, Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland

What is our role, as Christians, in society?

The answer: to warm it. That was the claim made at a recent conference in Belfast by a well-known Scottish theologian. It was a little jarring hearing that.

As the Church pervades all areas of society, carrying the presence of God, we are to bring a warmth to those around us. That warmth, which comes from an understanding of who Christ is and all he has done for us, has a profound effect on those we come into contact with.

One evident example of warming society, (or as Jesus put it, being salt and light) is Northern Ireland’s Marie Lacey, director of the Belfast Community Gospel Choir (BCGC). A choir might not seem like the most radical place for joy to be emitted from, but BCGC are far more than a choir. The ubiquitous Lord Mayor of Belfast, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, famously said: “BCGC isn’t so much a choir as it is a phenomenon.” Unapologetically joyful in their performances, simply attending one of their concerts is difficult. By the end of one, it wouldn’t be unusual to see the audience on their feet, clapping and singing along. Having spent her life living and loving in East Belfast, Marie had a particular experience of life often found in those who lived during you-know-when. From an early age, Marie remembers a distinct lack of togetherness among the churches during a difficult time. It was the times when churches gathered to pray for their nation that planted the seeds of unity somewhere deep in her heart, even though she might not realise it for a while. Through leading worship in her local church, seeking to be the salt and light Jesus talked about, Marie caught glimpses of what unity in the Church looked like. Even though she loved that season of leading worship, she began to sense her musical talents would serve a far wider audience.

The way in which gospel music can be embraced by everyone is certainly part of the choir’s success.

The political progress of the Good Friday Agreement encouraged the Church in their prayers, as a growing sense of moving forward took hold – Marie’s dreams of unity weren’t going away. After watching a choir-based talent show, the little seed sprouted into a fully-fledged tree of an idea. “I need to start a choir,” she said, “and it must be based in the community.” After a season of prayer, Marie felt called to “go into the nation and spread joy.” Choosing gospel music, the love of her childhood, was a no-brainer. The lyrics embodied the kind of joy that Marie felt so pressed to proclaim. The way in which gospel music can be embraced by everyone is certainly part of the choir’s success.

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Marie Lacey.

BCGC has had a substantial impact on the public square. Recently, they were asked by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board to organise a ‘flash mob’ in Belfast City Airport. The subsequent video went viral, amassing more than two million hits on YouTube and GodVine. They have performed at business events, international conferences, at Stormont for our MLAs, for The Queen and Prince Charles, and just about anywhere you can think of. Their influence is rich and easy to see. Marie isn’t surprised though. She has taken the choir before many of the public square’s most influential leaders, and they have been awed by BCGC. Watching Middle Eastern delegates dancing to, and singing classics like Joyful, Joyful and O Happy Day will rank fairly high in Marie’s memories for years to come.

The idea of ‘the public square’ might sound somewhat foreign. Here, in Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland, we find it a helpful way to talk about the society that we all find ourselves in. Within it we find many different, often competing, worldviews. Some are more prevalent than others. As Christians, we are constantly seeking to be shaped by scripture so as to embrace a biblical worldview, namely God’s story for humanity. Marie is one example of what it means to embrace the God story in the public square. She has created a choir which embodies joy, a deeply biblical value, and is on a mission to bring it to others through the life-affirming words and sounds of gospel music. The result? A public square with a little more warmth, a little more salt, and a little more light.

SCOTLAND

eauk.org/scotland

What Kind of Nation?

by Kieran Turner, Evangelical Alliance Scotland, public policy officer

As the summer approaches, churches across the UK are being encouraged to take time over the coming months to pray for the future of the nations of the UK ahead of September’s independence referendum.

Occasionally in a lifetime you get to be involved in history. Even more occasionally you get to decide the future of a nation. For the people of Scotland on 18 September, the future of the union we call the United Kingdom is in our hands. It is a significant date, not only for those of us within Scotland but also for the whole of these islands, coming as it does in the middle of debates around more powers for Wales, ongoing challenges in Northern Ireland, discussions around English identity and how we all relate to our neighbours in Europe. These debates taken together raise great questions and challenge us to consider how we see the core of our own identity, how we see ourselves as individuals, a nation and nations. Who actually are we? Am I Scottish/English/Welsh/Northern Irish or British? Or both? And if so which comes first?

There are also some pretty significant practical implications of September’s vote. Some 93 per cent of the UK’s oil comes from Scotland as does a huge proportion of food and drink exports (whisky alone accounts for 25 per cent of UK exports in this field), fishing and other natural resources. All of the UK’s nuclear weapons are also based here. Then there are shared public services, the welfare system and other assets that would need to be divided up in the event of a yes vote.

It is for all these reasons that over recent months Evangelical Alliance has been encouraging Christians across the UK to pray and engage in this debate. In April we published our manifesto What Kind of Nation? and in June we saw seven major referendum debates take place in every city in Scotland, bringing together politicians from both sides of the independence debate with Christians and others from local communities to discuss the future of the nation.

The whole aim of What Kind of Nation? is to paint a Christian vision of the sort of society we could be. It is to ask the question of how the biblical values we hold as Christians can be lived for the benefit of the whole of society and for the common good of our nation(s).

Although written with the referendum in mind we hope it will be a useable resource for all nations in the UK as we think through more what it means to live in a good society with the values of the kingdom of God at the heart. We hope it may be useful to help consider what kind of nation England could be, or Wales, or Northern Ireland, and of course for the United Kingdom as a whole, whatever format that takes (or if it exists) post September.

This is a vital conversation at a vital time. As churches engage in communities across the UK, we have something to say about how we can serve the common good by bringing biblical values to the table and we firmly believe it is an opportunity for the Church to be engaged in asking these deeper questions. Continued budgetary JULY/AUGUST 2014

Fred Drummond, national director of Evangelical Alliance Scotland, at the What Kind of Nation? launch.

cuts mean that churches will be called on more than ever in local communities and so there is a golden opportunity to not only engage but lead the debate on how we tackle some of society’s most pressing social needs.

Specifically back to this year we need to engage and above all we need to pray. Over the summer the Alliance, along with partners, are calling on the Church across the UK to pray ahead of the referendum in September. We recognise our nation needs to be covered in

“Am I Scottish/English/Welsh/ Northern Irish or British? Or both?

And if so which comes first?” prayer. Whatever September’s result things will not be the same and there will be a lot of disappointed people in communities across Scotland, so we need prayer for this whole process. We pray for our leaders, for the debate and for the future, that above all God will use this season to remake and rebuild Scotland and the rest of the UK into nations that are more according to His will and values. Will you join us in that prayer, wherever in the UK you are, and whatever your views on that Celtic outpost we call Scotland?

For more information on how to pray for the referendum please visit The Stand website at thestand.org.uk and sign up for the prayer updates.

If you are interested in how your church can engage with the What Kind of Nation? project or holding a referendum event please contact the EA Scotland Office or email k.turner@eauk.org.

Copies of What Kind of Nation? can be downloaded from eauk.org/ scotland IDEA MAGAZINE / 13

WALES

eauk.org/wales

Handling scripture in 21st century Wales

by Gethin Russell-Jones

How do we handle the complexities of scripture in a world which doesn’t acknowledge the Bible’s authority? Evangelical Alliance Wales hosted a ‘Handling scripture in the 21st century event’ to help answer this question.

For a movement that places a high view of the Bible as the word of God, evangelicals haven’t always seen eye to eye when it comes to handling the scriptures. Different emphases and methods of interpretation often lead to polarised positions and misunderstanding. In common with many other nations, Wales has suffered its fair share of division and pain in the body of Christ as a result of Bible wars among fellow believers.

In a spirit of unity and blessing, Evangelical Alliance Wales hosted a special conference and invited members of the evangelical family to Highfields church in Cardiff. The event was named ‘Handling the Scriptures in 21st Century Wales’. Around 50 delegates heard from a number of speakers who explained their understanding of the Bible’s relevance. In addition to two keynote addresses, there was a question and answer session involving a panel of male and female church leaders.

The plenary sessions were given by two leaders working in Wales. Martin Allen from Bridgend-based Caleb Ministries addressed the subject from the perspective of the needs of contemporary culture. He said that since the Bible is God’s Word and carries His universal language of love, it is essential Christians know and rely on the scriptures to avoid the twin dangers of legalism and licence. As skilled teachers announce and apply these truths in love, believers are enabled to formulate a biblical worldview.

Welsh people are rapidly joining the Western IDEA MAGAZINE / 14

worldview, and abandoning the pre-1960s paradigms in favour of more 21st century ones. This means that “everything has to have meaning, purpose, choice, discovery”, and also to involve relational participation to be meaningful to this generation. Martin believes that unless the written word of God becomes immediately present, transparent and contextualised in 21st century language and lifestyle, the Church will remain an “incongruous machine in a forest teaming with life”.

The crowds flocked to Jesus because he modelled God’s heart of love and demonstrated His kingdom on earth. In the early Church both Peter and Paul were able to use the scriptures to respond to the cultural mindsets of their day. In the second chapter of Acts, Peter addressed the biblical worldview of first century Jews whereas later in Acts 17, Paul engaged with the sophisticated philosophies of his age. But the two leaders portrayed Jesus as king to both world views, Martin added.

Philip Swann of Llanelli Free Evangelical Church said his excitement about scripture was rooted in a number of convictions about its nature and function. “These convictions have set both the trajectory of my ministry and have become the bedrock for my confidence in it.” He framed these convictions around six things all prefaced by the phrase ‘I must remember’. These were that scripture is God’s voice, scripture is to be understood, a reliance on the Holy Spirit, asking ‘so what’, the supremacy of Christ,

and remembering that the world doesn’t ‘get’ the Bible.

A number of themes swirled around his convictions. “Scripture is never less than God’s breath and it is always God’s voice.”

This confidence in the Bible leads to action: “I grow in confidence; I am led into worship and I serve by showing and being good news to others.”

But the message of the Bible is unashamedly Christ-centred; his life, death and resurrection are the lens through which it must all be understood. And in communicating the message of the Bible speakers are utterly reliant on the power of the Spirit for their own proclamation and also in the understanding of their congregations. Despite contemporary objections to the truth of the Bible, bear in mind also that the early Church faced equal cultural hostility in their proclamation of the gospel.

Elfed Godding, national director of Evangelical Alliance Wales and organiser of the conference, said: “We wanted to bring a broad perspective of evangelical leaders together, to listen to each other and foster a greater confidence in handling scripture in 21st century wales. It was a brilliant event for building relationships and quite a few of the delegates had never met each other before.

As we chatted, ate together, discussed and listened there was a real sense of fellowship and mutual respect.”

LEADERS’ QUESTION

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Which book has changed your life?

John Eldredge is an author, counsellor, and teacher. He is also president of Ransomed Heart, a ministry devoted to helping people discover the heart of God, recover their own hearts in God’s love, and learn to live in God’s kingdom.

“It’s so hard to choose one book out of the dozens I have loved and returned to every year. CS Lewis immediately comes to mind, not only for his Narnia series but his theological works as well. But I must confess that over time my favourite book continues to be Unspoken Sermons by the old Scottish pastor and novelist George MacDonald (born 1824). His understanding of the heart of God, genuine holiness and the beauty of the gospel are unequalled.”

Michele Guinness, writer, speaker and author of Archbishop: A Novel “I spent years with my senses switched off, a fearful admission for a Jewish girl raised on the Hebraic spirituality of finding 100 things to bless God for every day. But the evangelicalism I inherited on conversion celebrated brain power, rather than the senses, and subjugated any awareness of the blaze of shekinah glory in everything around me. This Sunrise of Wonder: Letters for the Journey by the late dean Michael Mayne, exploring the way the arts marvel at life itself, helped restore my inner ‘wow’, and transformed the way I looked, listened and worshipped.”

Fiona Castle, former professional ballet dancer and theatre performer, and author of No flowers… Just lots of Joy “I’m a big fan of the writings of John Ortberg. His books are profound; filled with spiritual wisdom and so readable!

The one that has challenged me probably more than any is If you Want to Walk on Water, you’ve Got to Get out of the Boat. He invites us to consider the opportunities that await us if we are prepared to get out of our comfort zones and have the courage to answer the call of Jesus; to step out of the boat and take risks for Him; to refuse to be deterred by failures and to live life for Him to the full. What a challenge!”

William P Young, Canadian author, best known for writing The Shack There are books that guard my history like silent sentinels lining my inner walls; stories and imaginations that slipped passed my watchful dragons and into the secret places of the heart often at critical junctures in the tidal seasons of life. One of these, that has accompanied and comforted me, is the children/ adult classic, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This story is a brilliant exploration of ideas through the questions and emotions of child-like innocence and wonder. It is centered on a common temptation to abandon the curiosity and amazement of being a child and begin to adopt the perspectives of adult dogma and control.

John Risbridger, minister and team leader Above Bar Church, Southampton, and chair of Keswick Ministries “People often say the key to fruitfulness is to see what God is doing and get involved with it. Chris Wright’s book The Mission of God’s People teaches how to do it. Drawing on his work as a fine biblical scholar, he unpacks God’s plan to restore the whole of creation to the blessing for which he made it and shows how he has put his people at the heart of that plan. He then works through what that means for evangelism, creation care, social justice, care for the poor, public square engagement and numerous other areas. This book has challenged my theology and transformed the vision and practice of the church I help to lead.”

JULY/AUGUST 2014

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Church growth: the real story

Small pockets of Christian communities are flourishing in unexpected places.

Lucy Cooper finds out more…

Despite all the talk of the UK Church experiencing rapid decline, a greater story is woven into the changing demographic of churches up and down the country.

Instead of the focus being on whether the UK Church will survive, statistics suggest we would do well to focus on the strong points of those areas of the Church experiencing rapid growth, and ask how this could be replicated.

The recent London Church Census commissioned by London City Mission found that between 2005 and 2012, two new churches opened every week in the capital – this is 728 new churches in total. According to the report, a third of these churches were set up due to a rise in immigrants to the UK wanting to start their own smaller churches or fellowships to cater for their particular nationality, culture or language. The rate of growth of these smaller denominations between 2005 and 2010 was a staggering 36 per cent and it is expected to grow by another 14 per cent before 2015 comes around.

Elam ministries, which was founded in 1990 by senior Iranian church leaders to train and equip Iranian Christians to reach people from their own country, believes there are half a million Farsi-speaking people in the UK, with church growth among them 20 per cent a year. Estimates suggest there are between 2,000 and 3,000 Iranian Christians in Britain, compared with 1,000 eight years ago and IDEA MAGAZINE / 16

just 100 a decade before that. With the highest rate of professed conversion from Islam to Christianity in the UK among Iranians, the rates of conversions and baptisms are staggering church leaders, and churches are reaching out for help to deal with the influx.

The majority of Iranians in the UK are asylum-seekers and due to the government asylum seeker dispersal policy are found scattered around the country with hubs in cities including Birmingham, Glasgow, Brighton, Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff. They are likely to be befriended by fellow Iranians or have friends there.

The trauma of seeking asylum can mean individuals rethink basic questions of personal identity and belief and the young, less fixed in identity, are more likely to convert than the older.

Having left the strict regime in Iran, “a high proportion are disillusioned with Islam as a result of their background or experience,” says Malcolm Steer, one of the pastors and the only non-Iranian leader at the Iranian Church Fellowship (ICF) in Chiswick, London. “Among other ethnic groups with strong Muslim backgrounds we have not seen as much breakthrough as we do among Iranians,“ he said.

Reza Jafari, church worker at Elam ministries, agreed: “Many are disillusioned because their identity has been shaped by Islam with deception and fear. But many Iranians are coming to church.

“Some of them may come initially to get support or for a letter to help with their case with the Home Office,” he continued. “However many are sensitive to the gospel and we are now experiencing revival. I’ve encountered hundreds of Iranians who, after six or seven months and despite the original reasons of attending, testify to the

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work of the Holy Spirit and speak about their love for Christ and desire to grow in truth.”

Elham moved to London from Iran when she was 25 years old. She said: “Growing up in an Islamic country meant I had no other options presented to me, just the Qur’an. But when I came to the UK I was introduced to church by my friends. People were kind and I knew that what I found there was truly of God.” There are three particular models of such churches; a mono-ethnic Iranian church that ministers principally in the Persian language of Farsi and is led mainly by Iranians, a British church which integrates Iranians into the life of the church, and smaller Iranian fellowships which, while being part of a British church, have their own subgatherings in Farsi.

Examples of this third type can be seen at Hexthorpe Methodist in Doncaster, Holland Road Baptist Church in Brighton and Mount Pleasant Church in Swansea, where Fari Boosheri is an elder. “We relate with our Iranian fellowship in Farsi and many can’t speak a word of English when they first arrive. We provide translation and explain so they can make a connection when they come to the main English services.

“Our fellowship meetings are geared to Iranians, to enable them to feel at home and to understand what Christianity is. However, we also want them to be involved in church and community life as a whole. If they live in Britain they need to be part of British life. Let’s break cultural barriers and be a church for all nations. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek,” added Fari.

Elam ministries, through its director Sam Yeghnazar, is part of the One People Commission, and supports approximately 45 British churches including an Anglican church in Wakefield which sees nearly 20 new Iranian faces every week.

Reza Jafari warned of a potential of pretence among Iranians: “There are 99 per cent of converted Christians who still have chains and bondages holding them back and they need discipleship. The Iranian church is very young, less than 50 years old. It is wide but we can learn from British churches who are thick in theology and less likely to pretend to be religious,” he added.

Elam’s vision is to see Iranian believers integrated into British churches, rather than forming separate Iranian fellowships. To facilitate this, Elam provides training and support to believers – British or Iranian, leader or church member - who have it on their heart to reach out and disciple Iranians in their local area.

Malcom Steer argues that due to many knowing little English, it is not so clear cut: “If we do not have an Iranian context which takes into account their language and cultural background, how can they begin to get a grasp of the Christian message and understand concepts like the Trinity, atonement or the divinity of Christ”.

“We’ve seen cases of Iranians in British churches who thought they were Christians, got baptised and when we met them we realised they had not understood the gospel,” he added.

Elham added: “I prefer to go to an Iranian church with the familiar music, because it’s in my first language I can understand it better.

But I go to English-speaking churches because I find that topics are often repeated or it doesn’t go deeper than a story. I love it when a talk is relevant to my everyday life, like about how I should deal with problems.”

“It is wonderful to see breakthrough but we have a way to go yet. Christians in the UK need to learn more about the Muslim background and perspectives that these converts are bringing into Christian life. We need British churches to become the great commission by reaching out to Farsi-speaking people,” concluded Reza Jafari.

For more information on Elam ministries please visit elam.com JULY/AUGUST 2014

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GOOD QUESTION

Are benefits The concept of benefits systematises grace in a similar way to Jubilee.

Andy Flannagan, director of Christians on the Left.

Acts 4 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”

32

Before we become too challenged by this well-known passage (or the similar passage in Acts 2), we should remember that it was written into a different context to ours. For all the following reasons, it simply doesn’t apply anymore.

•

Then the people were under the spell of an overarching empire which controlled much of what they thought or bought, through its branding, advertising and power. There are no such problems now.

•

It was a time of relative economic scarcity, whereas today most of our brothers and sisters have more than enough.

•

People didn’t really understand what the Church was about, whereas today everyone understands what we do and why we do it.

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•

Then the Church was marginalised, whereas today we usually get our own way in politics or in the law courts.

came back to whisk them off, but laying out a blueprint of how His Jubilee grace should transform all of humanity.

•

In those days a sense of connectedness was more necessary, whereas today the concept and the reality of the family and extended family are strong.

•

Peter called that generation corrupt.

You can hardly say that about the 21st century.

•

Consumerism had a real grip on society at that time so it was important for them to declare that none of their possessions were their own. Today that same sense of individualistic possession is not so prevalent.

Yes God’s people will be a “light to the nations” leading the way, but we are incredibly called to participate in the restoration, redemption and reconciliation of all things to their creator (Colossians 1), not just the ‘spiritual’ things. In the UK, this prophetic witness and engagement of the Church helped to shape the ‘welfare state’ (remembering the term was first coined by Archbishop William Temple).

Please pardon my cheeky attempt to shock us into seeing the prophetic import of scripture for our 21st century existence.

Never has it been more important for the principles of made-in-the-image-of-God dignity, love-your-neighbour-as-yourself sharing, and wealthy-from-their-thrones justice that we see repeated throughout scripture to be fleshed out not just in the life of the church but the nation at large. And here we come to the crux of the argument.

Some may say that these instructions are only for the Church – that the job of generosity is one for the Church and not the state. This is a disturbingly dualistic reading of scripture which ignores many things (including much of the Old Testament) and that for the nation of Israel ‘church’ and state were in effect the same thing. Israel’s religious leaders were also its political leaders. In Deuteronomy 15, God wasn’t offering a few morsels of wisdom for how His chosen people should stay pure until He

The concept of benefits systematises grace in a similar way to Jubilee. An organic response of the heart is given intentionality and rhythm. We can’t depend on fleeting moments of compassion. Also there aren’t living, breathing churches in every community that are able to offer the sort of ongoing support necessary. There are some things that government must do to ensure universality of treatment, even though the common good cannot be achieved by the state alone. Benefits should be there as a support for those who need them (which is the vast majority of claimants), not as an encouragement to dependency. Yes, a benefits system will be abused and Paul for one was not blind to this - that if any would not work, neither should he eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). So we should address those issues, but not allow them to taint our view of something hard-won and precious.

It is part of the glorious unconditionality of Jubilee grace that it does inevitably get abused. How often have we abused the grace of God? I for one, as an undeserving recipient of that benefit, am thankful that it continues to be poured out on me. christiansontheleft.org.uk

GOOD QUESTION

ok biblically?

We should not confuse charity with taxation.

Philip Booth is editorial and programme director of the Institute of Economic Affairs, and professor of insurance and risk management at Cass Business School, City University.

The Acts of the Apostles tells of the early Christian communities sharing their goods in common and providing for those in need.

They did so from charity. From those acts of love, prompted by the Holy Spirit, Christian communities flourished. Not only were those acts of charity personal and voluntary, they would not have been unconditional.

In the early Church, those who were helped by the community would have served the community through work. This is the model of love on which a Christian community should be built. Pope Benedict, in an encyclical letter which was widely admired

by Catholics and non-Catholics alike, Deus caritas est, described how the early Christians carried this principle forward, literally to the ends of the (known) world always providing for the sick, the widow, the orphan and those who could not provide for themselves. Such provision became the hallmark of the Church for centuries.

Today we have replaced the principle of Christian charity with an all-encompassing secular welfare state. Modern governments spend nearly 50 per cent of national income, the vast majority of which is on welfare.

Charity perhaps represents one per cent of our income. Those who proposed statecentred welfare models would never have JULY/AUGUST 2014

dreamed that we would still today be staring so much poverty and hopelessness in the face, especially given the huge increase in average incomes and the enormous increase in state spending. Perhaps the state-centred, bureaucratic model is the wrong model and not the model that Christians should be supporting at all. After all, it was not the model that Christians held up as the ideal for the first 1,950 years after Christ was born.

There are many things that are necessary for human flourishing in the economic sense – or the promotion of the common good. Two essentials are work and family. There are very few families with married parents where one is in work full-time and where the children are in poverty. Sadly, our welfare state could not have penalised work and marriage more than it does if it had been deliberately designed to do so. And the results are predictable.

Nearly 20 per cent of children grow up in workless households and nearly 30 per cent grow up in families in which nobody works full-time. The UK has the highest proportion of households with children in which nobody works, despite having one of the best functioning labour markets in general in the EU. Astonishingly, workless households tend to have more children on average than households with an adult in work. Disincentives to work within the welfare state are a large part of the problem, but very strong disincentives to marry among the least-well-off are an even more serious issue.

income from you in tax, if your income is sufficient, the state will leave you alone. On the other hand, if your income is insufficient, the state will provide you with money so that you can look after yourself without support from your family, extended family, the community or the Church. Paradoxically, the welfare state makes society less social.

While the state should help those who, through no fault of their own, cannot obtain sufficient income to live a dignified life, it should not be the first port of call. Families, extended families, mutual associations of welfare (sadly destroyed in this country as a result of the welfare state) and charity should be nurtured and not discouraged.

And the state should certainly not be taxing and spending 50 per cent of families’ incomes. Christians have confused acts of charity and love with voting for political parties that promise to tax our neighbours to give to other of our neighbours. In doing so, they have confused the role and purpose of society with the role and purpose of the state.

Anybody who knows the poor knows that this is true. We have delegated solidarity and charity to the state and, in so doing completely changed their character. I do not believe that God wished us to do that.

Human persons thrive on personal contact and real expressions of solidarity – which is precisely the opposite of how the state provides welfare. In a sense, the welfare state is very individualistic. Other than taking IDEA MAGAZINE / 19

BIG INTERVIEW

Power evangelism: The ministry of his church has been credited with slashing the homicide rate of the Illinois city of Aurora to zero in 2012 following a meeting with gang leaders. Having taking more of a hands-off role in Vineyard Aurora since last year, Robby Dawkins spends much of his time travelling and teaching the Church about power evangelism.

Richard Woodall caught up with him following a Vineyard conference in Oxford.

Heading to a country house in Oxfordshire to interview Robby Dawkins feels slightly strange. He has an ever-growing powerful healing ministry and is a big name in the Vineyard church in the US. Some of his recent gigs include New Wine and Soul Survivor.

To add to this, two days before interviewing him, I went to a conference of his on power evangelism. During it, he gave a word of knowledge to the person sitting next to me (I was told later it was completely spot on) while also teaching the 100-plus people present about how to bring the miraculous into the everyday.

I find Robby welcoming and humble. He certainly doesn’t see himself as the Church’s equivalent to Jose Mourinho: namely the “special one”. As he puts it, he makes himself “available to God”, in a way others can too.

Surprisingly, Robby, 48, didn’t grow up in a church with a ‘signs and wonders’ ministry, although he says the reality of the spiritual world was evident to both him and his parents from an early age.

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His mother later told him of satanic visitations she had received when pregnant with him; ones which tried to tell her both she and her baby would die.

It seems his life is a story of significant God moments too. One noteworthy moment came in his early teenage years when he was preaching. Although he didn’t know it at the time (he thought the man was merely tapping him on the back of the head), he had been preaching while a deranged man had held a gun to his head.

Robby, a father of six sons, made his own personal commitment to Christ aged seven.

It wasn’t easy being a pastor’s son though.

A lack of God’s healing power while growing up in church didn’t put Robby off seeking it himself though, however. “I read of miracles

in Acts and Luke and wondered what was missing. All the evangelistic thrust in my dad’s church was apologetics. It worked for others but we just couldn’t argue people into the kingdom. It seemed everyone I prayed for got worse!

“Later on in life as a youth pastor, I received a call from a woman whose father was going in for his third heart bypass operation. The doctors had said he wouldn’t make it.”

As he was about to pray, he heard the words ‘take a risk’ and ‘open your mouth and I will fill it’.

“I told this woman God was going to completely heal her father; he would have a new heart and new lungs. She hung up and the panic hit me – I’d never seen anyone healed whom I’d prayed for.

BIG INTERVIEW

power to change “I want people to have a platform of faith in order to bring them into relationship with God.” Robby Dawkins

conversations and prayed for people. People were healed.”

Would he ever put a figure on how many receive healing in his ministry?

“It’s difficult. I’d say about 75 per cent of those we prayed for experienced some level of healing. For cancer I’d say it’s 60 - 65 per cent.

“With schizophrenia, maybe five per cent – some are tougher than others. God’s not holding out, there’s a growth process in it.

Of course the most incredible miracle is the changed life.”

Power evangelism is an integral part of the ministry at Vineyard Aurora. Was there anything specific which made him change his mind about healing power?

“I sensed the Lord was asking me to look at prayers of healing in the New Testament.

People came to Jesus and asked for healing.

He would say something like ‘rise up and walk’ or ‘stretch out your hand’. There wasn’t a request. We started praying like that and seeing some 20 or 30 healings happen every week.

“Until 2012, the past 66 years in Aurora, there had never been a year without homicides.

“All of a sudden crime was dropping and gang leaders were thinking they didn’t have any respect anymore and were threatening that 2012 would be the bloodiest year ever.

“She rang later and told me that her father hadn’t died. Previously her father had a clogged heart valve and had it replaced with a pig valve. The doctor found this had disappeared and was completely human with no previous scarring from previous surgery.

“We invited the top three leaders of Latin Kings – the largest gang in the city – to the church to talk. They all thought we wanted to stop a war but I told them we wanted to show them Jesus.

“As we prayed, each of them was dramatically touched and they all gave their lives to Christ.

“I told them what had happened in that room would change the city. Amazingly, in 2012, we did not have one homicide.”

Jesus himself spoke about a “sinful generation” always asking for a sign. What does Robby think of this?

“The culture Jesus is referencing is a dark period of history. A people into superstition and hungry for the spectacular.

“I want people to have a platform of faith in order to bring them into relationship with God.” How essential is someone’s level of faith in praying for or receiving healing?

“Sometimes Jesus says your faith has made you whole, but not all the time. I prayed for my mum but she died of colon cancer. We had prayed for the woman in the same room who also had cancer. The other woman was instantly healed of it and went home the next day.”

I ask if he’d ever met charismatic leader and founder of the Vineyard movement John Wimber. Not quite.

“Nearly. He was walking into a room as I went past. He looked for a long time while his hand was on the door. It was quite weird.

I always wondered what he was thinking or seeing.” robbydawkins.com

“He had also had half a lung removed after cancer but the doctor said he now had a whole lung.”

When Robby and wife Angie pitched up in Aurora, Illinois, in the mid-1990s to plant a church, murders and drive-by shootings were common in the city.

“Everyone was afraid. We saw some of God’s power but I didn’t think it would be sustained unless we took it outside the Church. We went into bars, struck up JULY/AUGUST 2014

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Signs and wonders: Taking Jesus to the streets A rapidly increasing model of evangelism in the UK, Healing on the Streets is witnessing remarkable results with ever-increasing numbers of people coming to know God, having been touched by receiving dramatic healing on the streets. Richard Woodall finds out more.

“In the last 80 days we’ve seen more than 600 people come to know Jesus just here in Coleraine.”

With revelations like this, it seems then that rumours of the Church’s demise across the country have been greatly exaggerated.

The above are the words of Mark Marx, the HOTS ministry takes place.

57-year-old founding leader of the Healing on the Streets (HOTS) ministry which was born during Easter 2005 at Causeway Coast Vineyard in Coleraine, Northern Ireland.

Similar HOTS projects now spread across a staggering 17 countries and throughout 700 churches including places such as Germany, Africa and South America.

But what is behind such growth?

The idea behind HOTS is to simply express God’s love in the streets and marketplaces.

Over time, the teams aim to build relationships and create stepping stones leading to Jesus. Their prayer is for people to receive healing along the way.

The journey for Mark started in 1998 when he moved with his family to Northern IDEA MAGAZINE / 24

Ireland; joining Alan and Kathryn Scott at what was then a new church plant Causeway Coast Vineyard.

He said: “My frustration in ministry has always been how to get the Church out of the building and engaging with people outside.

“God gave me this model for HOTs...I didn’t know how far it could go and as far as I could see it was just for Coleraine. Through it, we’ve seen a movement of God travelling around the world.”

One of the key strengths of HOTs seems to be its commitment to invest long-term in the communities with which it works. The HOTS Coleraine group meet every Saturday between 10.30am and 1pm outside the

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“When those in the town see we are on our knees whether in ice, rain or snow, and that we really care for the community, then people are touched and can tell we are genuine.” town hall so that people know where to find them if they want prayer.

Mark calls it a ‘gentle’ ministry with a commitment to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.

“We always get permission from councils before we start something. When those in the town see we are on our knees whether in ice, rain or snow, and that we really care for the community, then people are touched and can tell we are genuine. It’s about inviting people.”

Andrew Myatt is the leader of Oxford Vineyard Church which has a monthly HOTs outreach in the city centre.

“The street is where we encounter more of what God is doing,” he said.

“If we just pray for people in church we probably won’t see much happen, but if we pray outside the church walls there is more that happens and it seems to fuel what happens in our meetings too.

“About 50 per cent of those asking for prayer are unchurched, including people from Muslim and Hindu backgrounds; sometimes we even have atheists. Since March, we have seen three to four giving their lives to Jesus each week.”

Each week starts by the team kneeling outside the town hall and acknowledging God’s presence.

For some, stories of amazing healing and transformation will be hard to hear. Mark acknowledges not everyone they pray for is healed.

“We minister to people as carriers of divine presence who seek to show God’s love and kindness,” he says. “Whether that be a word of knowledge or another gift, people can receive prayer for all kinds of things. We see a lot of people healed through it, but what we don’t do is make promises.

“There are times when people are not healed,” Mark admits. “I teach that healing can come in three ways: it can come instantly; it can come gradually or there can be no sign of healing - but that doesn’t mean that person isn’t going to be healed.

“People have come into church because of Healing on the Streets.” It’s really brought the presence of God into Coleraine and is one of the reasons we are seeing so many people come to know Jesus. It’s come from nine years of kneeling on the ground and asking God’s presence to fill the town.”

With any new outdoor ministry, there is often some form of opposition to it, or suspicion about it.

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“I think gradual healing is the most common way; the Bible says believers should lay hands on the sick and the sick shall recover (Mark 16:18). The word ‘recover’ signifies it takes a while. For those who have no sign of healing, we tell them it doesn’t mean God doesn’t love them, and it also doesn’t mean they will not be healed. We also say we’d like to pray again for them. But we are clear that we make no promises or guarantees about healing.”

One man’s shoes after his unmatched legs grew to the same length following prayer.

Listening to such testimony inevitably raises the question of whether such clear signs of God’s love and power should be expected across whole towns and communities? If everyone were committed to engaging spiritually like this, could we see a changed nation?

“The Great Commission was to continue to do what Jesus was doing and I think the Church has to get out there” added Mark.

“God has given us authority to do the things Jesus did. In the years since I’ve been here I’ve seen hundreds healed by the power of God. You see hurt and broken people everywhere and the answer is Jesus. I don’t know how you can live without such power.

God seems to be using it to help churches come together – it’s amazing. I hope HOTS is no longer needed one day because the Church is doing its job.” healingonthestreets.com

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THIS IS OUR PLACE

Southampton: City dwellers with a common hope

by Lucy Cooper

“We are one church here.”

Illustrious Southampton – known historically for its bustling trading port, jobs creation and the place from where the Titanic set forth.

But the city with prosperity coming through its docks has experienced more recent setbacks. The closure of the Ford assembly plant last year, a vital job source for many since 1939, is just one.

Alongside higher levels of employment insecurity, the local authority in Southampton is facing a serious funding crisis. Programmes are under threat, something which could spell a future with no libraries, youth clubs, repaired pot-holes filled or emptied bins.

Southampton City Council adopted a vision statement that the place would be “good IDEA MAGAZINE / 26

to grow up in and good to grow old in”.

The churches of the city are committed to working together, partnering with the council and helping it prosper once again – and to see the vision become reality.

Of course, the Church is no stranger to social action and serving the local community. In fact, in 1925 a sign on the part-built Methodist Central Hall called for workers, not for construction workers but for volunteers in maternity care, Boys’ and Girls’ Brigades and to assist with food and clothing provision.

Southampton Christian Network is made of evangelical churches and para-church organisations who pray for the city. Paul Webber from Above Bar Church said: “Within the past year we have changed our rhythm to better reflect diversity. We realised, for example, that meeting on Thursday lunchtime wasn’t great for the Polish leaders who were in the workplace and whose ministry was voluntary. We now have a termly Saturday morning breakfast, a monthly Esther Prayer meeting and regional

prayer meetings around the city.”

In the light of the cuts - £25 million and 300 jobs to go in one year alone - the council asked for the help of the churches.

Key leaders heard from councillors that all the youth workers employed by the city would lose their jobs and that children’s centres were under threat.

To serve the city more effectively, two years ago, the Southampton Christian Network, the Churches Together group and the Southampton Pastors Network (mainly Black Majority churches) came together to form Love Southampton.

The council had set out four areas of particular need, youth unemployment, youth clubs, childcare provision and a shortfall of families willing to foster and adopt vulnerable children.

A meeting responding to the cuts was held for church and community leaders and attended by around 400 people. “We saw this as a significant opportunity for the Church to respond and the potential

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estates and four food and one clothes provision outlets.

Each week there are co-ordinated meals for homeless people or those who are struggling financially. Peter Lambros from Portswood Church said: “We provide free breakfast each Saturday for around 60 people but it’s not just about food, it’s about friendships, offering a safe place and a listening ear. Working together we are more effective – like a fishing net instead of individual rods.”

Christians have also been very involved with establishing the two new Oasis Academies which replaced four old schools under threat of closure. Churches are collaborating together across the city to ensure sufficient schools work, assemblies and RE lessons.

Together with New Generation Schools Trust, local churches have applied to open a new primary free school, Hope Community School, in the city centre.

to make an impact,” said Paul Woodman, leader of City Life Church.

Churches realised that between them there were 17 paid youth workers and 37 mother and toddler groups - the resources and the opportunity to serve the wider community.

Several working groups were formed to explore ways to address particular areas: open access youth provision, work with under-fives, fostering and adoption, post-16 housing and hardship.

“We all committed to 21 days of prayer and then we got practical,” added Paul. “We’ve managed to keep youth services open that were to close, youth drop-in centres are open for more sessions and we’ve increased output and help for families. Churches are more engaged and the city council has saved a lot of money.

“I have built stronger personal links with other church leaders when working together in niche and practical ways, like looking hard to find foster carers, rather than planning a basic church event. United for purpose.”

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Billy Kennedy, leader of New Community Church, said: “The coming together of churches under the Love Southampton banner has provided a way for us to present ourselves collectively to the council. It makes it easier to show what we are doing to serve, find ways to improve our collaboration and also look for new ways to meet challenges.”

He was realistic about the speed of transformation though: “It does take time, generations possibly. We have to recognise that we might not see the fruit of the seeds that we sow.”

As churches have demonstrated that they can deliver successful initiatives, there is greater credibility, increasing partnership and a broader conversation about involvement.

Street Pastors has had a strong presence for more than four years and there are five Healing on the Streets (HOTS) teams working in different suburbs of the city.

Other projects include a pregnancy counselling service, ‘messy church’ on local

Local government spent £1.2 million a year paying agencies to search for families able to provide a home for vulnerable children in need of foster care or adoption. Through establishing Families for Forty, churches committed to find the Council more foster carers. Since March 2013 more than 70 people have applied to become foster carers.

The Alliance’s Home for Good initiative, learning from the success of Southampton is now working with churches across the UK to achieve the same.

Rev Sarah Hall, from St Andrews URC and part of Love Southampton, said: “I think unity, though not uniformity, among Christians is crucial. When we see God at work with people whom others scorn or ignore, and then we play our part, that’s good news. I want Love Southampton to become one of many ways we can embody good news in this city.”

Above Bar Church hosts one of the foodbanks organised by Southampton City Mission. Their church leader Paul Webber added: “There is a desire to seek the good of the city rather than an individual church.

While we have theological and church differences, these are recognised, respected and celebrated. We are one Church here.” lovesouthampton.org.uk

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by Richard Woodall

Turning the tide: on the Church and climate change The words ‘climate change’ are increasingly on the lips of humanitarian and environmental groups as well as charities. The topic usually finds its way onto the political agenda too, but rarely is on the radar of the church. Why? David Cameron pledged in 2010 that the coalition would lead the greenest government ever – something now derided by campaigners.

But is it time global warming was firmly on the Church’s agenda?

Only last September, The Times reported the results of a government-funded survey – which quizzed 1,000 people – and showed the proportion of those who did not believe in climate change had more than quadrupled since 2005.

Climate change is quite clearly a complex problem.

How should politicians respond to the devastatingly honest report released by the UN in March this year? In it, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the impacts of global warming were likely to be “severe, pervasive and irreversible”.

Should the government’s priority be economic growth or making sure temperature increases are limited over the next decade or so?

Christian Aid believe the cost of climate change mitigation would be minimal once the cost-savings from taking action are added up.

But is the tide of belief in tackling climate change turning among believers? Or is a lack of universal support from within the Church another reason why such an institution is increasingly seen as outdated?

Some progress can be seen. In February, the General Synod voted in favour of a motion re-affirming the Church of England’s commitment to play a leading role in the effort to prevent climate change, including through its ethical investment activities. Methodists are also set to debate disinvestment.

In March, the Bishop of Sheffield Dr Steven Croft spoke out about the need to be proactive on climate change when he recognised the importance of “Christians…

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taking action to raise this agenda once again in the political life of this country”.

The scientists tell us that these increases of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the earth’s atmosphere throw the planet’s sensitive ecosystem off-balance with global warming occurring when these gases trap warmth from the earth’s atmosphere rather than it being released. But do evangelical Christians simply feel too small to change things?

Susan Durber, Christian Aid’s theology coordinator, said she suspected that “churches were caught up in a feeling of powerlessness to change things”.

“Sometimes there lingers a prejudice in churches that talking about creation might lead towards paganism or new age spirituality.”

Organisation A Rocha encourages conservation among Christians. Alliance Council member Ruth Valerio, A Rocha’s churches and theology director, said: “My vision is for the UK Church to get to a place where it’s as common for it to be involved in acts of creation care as it is to be engaged in community involvement.

“If you look at the evangelical Church you’d be hard pressed to find a church that doesn’t do some sort of community work. If you did, you would think it is deficient as a church.

But why has climate change come to the fore now? It made the agenda of this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, has been mentioned by world leaders including President Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, and came closer to home with this year’s flooding across the UK. Campaigners hope the 2015 UN Climate Change talks in Paris will produce a binding and universal agreement from all countries.

Dr Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist and associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas Tech University.

In April, Dr Hayhoe was named in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

The 42-year-old evangelical Christian said: “People used to think climate change was just about polar bears and the Arctic but what reports like the IPCC show us is that climate change is here, and it’s affecting us now. It affects our health, our economy, our food, our water and our communities.

“As a Christian, I feel talking about climate change is vital because we are to love others as Christ loved us.

“Many people feel the science threatens the idea of God’s sovereignty and ask how can God be in control if climate change is happening?

“When we look around the world, we see that real people are affected by the decisions we make every day.

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“How can we call ourselves Christians if we bury our heads in the sand and ignore the reality that God’s creation is telling us?”

Flooding of buildings near the Ping River in Chiangmai, Thailand, 2011.

“Of course we’ve always had droughts, storms and heatwaves, but what’s happening is climate change is increasing the risk of those events, making them more frequent or in some cases quite severe.

thereof in climate change, but also how it is linked to issues like poverty.

“How can we call ourselves Christians if we bury our heads in the sand and ignore the reality that God’s creation is telling us?”

“Farmers are finding the rainy seasons are much shorter that they can no longer grow enough food. In some parts of the world glaciers are shrinking so people have less water to irrigate their fields.

Ben Niblett, senior campaigns officer at Tearfund, said an important part of tackling global warming was looking to the cause.

“It’s about justice,” he said. “The people who are feeling most hit by climate change are the ones who did the least to cause it.

“Each of us in the UK emits an average 7.7 tons of carbon dioxide a year, compared to 0.3 for the average Bangladeshi. Jesus made it very clear we are to love all of our neighbours across races and nations.”

Digesting such information leads to questions not just about the fairness or lack

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Susan Durber said: “Climate injustice is already making people poor in many parts of our world.

“Anyone who cares about global poverty needs to care about climate change.”

Nick Spencer, research director at Theos, co-wrote Christianity, Climate Change, and Sustainable Living. He said the public dialogue about climate change was increasingly evangelical in its thinking.

“It’s seen as perfectly acceptable how you choose to live your life; who your sexual partner is, how you spend your money. With these things, freedom is the watchword.

“With regards to the environment, it’s perfectly acceptable to say there’s a right and wrong way to live.

“Climate change and the environment are not subsidiary to the gospel – they are an absolutely essential part.”

If this is the case, then either it represents a major failure on the part of the Church to teach this stewardship role, or do Christians just disagree with or prefer to ignore passages in the Bible about it?

Susan Durber said one of the “great misunderstandings of what Christian faith was about” is this idea that “God is more about some mystical and eternal ‘other’ world than this one”.

“We are absolutely called to make disciples, but I think being a disciple is precisely about living in faithfulness in creation and giving yourself to the task of renewing the world and the way that we live in it.”

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Resurrection of hope in Rwanda

by Amanda Pilz

Action Groups which can take families to a sustainable future. The groups consist of around five churches which join with Samaritan’s Purse to help the community appreciate what they already have and what they can do to help themselves. The outcome of this is sustainable livelihoods for the poorest families who are also being impacted by the gospel message through the local Church.

The programme aims to provide and improve education, healthcare and food.

There are currently 400 community action groups in Kigali diocese and each group contains between five and 10 families.

Significantly, Hutus and Tutsis are together in the same groups.

Gentille Kabarere, a single mother in Kigali, Rwanda, is benefitting greatly from the Raising Families programme run by member organisation Samaritan’s Purse.

It’s 20 years since the world looked on in horror as 800,000 people were slaughtered in the space of 100 days in the Rwanda genocide.

The genocide of the Tutsi minority and Hutu moderates, which took place between April and July 1994, was the culmination of intertribal conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis.

Whole villages were targeted by Hutu militia groups armed with machetes. Those who sought sanctuary in the churches did not escape being brutally murdered.

On his UK speaking tour this year Rt Rev Louis Muvunyi, Bishop of Kigali, spoke of the impact this has had on people in Rwanda: “There has been a lot of bitterness. My sister’s husband, daughter and son were killed, and even now she is still struggling to come to terms with it. I myself was very bitter as I lost all three of my brothers and more than 20 members of my extended family. I would probably have been slaughtered along with them had it not been for the fact that I was in Tanzania at the time.”

Bishop Louis almost gave up training for the ministry following the events of 1994, which he described as “the darkest and most painful year of my life”. However, after a process of thinking through the significance of Jesus’s death and resurrection he concluded that there was hope even for Rwanda. “I realised the cross is not just about suffering but about forgiveness, repentance, IDEA MAGAZINE / 30

“The cross is not just about suffering but about forgiveness, repentance, salvation and reconciliation.” salvation and reconciliation,” he said. “All those things helped me. So I said, ‘God, here I am. I am ready to go back and preach forgiveness and reconciliation to my people’.”

However, the task of preaching this message was not without its problems. “As a church we were arguing for repentance and forgiveness but could see that poverty was a hindrance to this process. What was needed was holistic transformation,” said Bishop Louis.

This year, as the people of Rwanda mark the 20th anniversary of the mass killings, holistic interventions are already underway. International Christian relief and development organisation Samaritan’s Purse have been working in Rwanda since 1994 and, over the past five years, through their Raising Families programme, has been lifting families out of poverty in partnership with local churches.

Raising Families aims to empower churches in Kigali, and beyond, to form Community

One person who has benefitted is Gentille Kabarere, a single mother in Kigali. Gentille was born with a disability and has never been able to walk. Though she felt guilty about having a son outside of marriage, the church did not abandon her. “They provided sacrificially for me,” she says. “They gave me drink, food and clothes for my son and enrolled him in a child support project. They visited me and gave me all the support and provision they could afford.”

Her disability means she is limited in what she can do but, in partnership with Raising Families, the church helped her recognise she could do something. She could earn a living from making mats. However, it was impossible for her to gather the reeds needed to make the mats, so people from the local church volunteered to gather these for her. She is now able to pay someone to do this and makes three or four mats a month. People then take them to the market and sell them for her.

“My relationship with God continues because God’s people did not reject me,” adds Gentille. “I am filled with joy and cannot help thanking God.” “People are encouraged now so it makes it easier to preach forgiveness and reconciliation to them,” said Bishop Louis.

Samaritan’s Purse UK head of communications Brian Bennett says they plan to impact many more families across Rwanda, aiming to help another 10,000 families.

Bishop Louis added: “We need to continue to help many more families receive these vital resources so together we can transform our communities and end poverty ourselves.” samaritans-purse.org.uk/raising-families

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POLITICS

Elizabeth Oldfield: director, Theos

The power and the money, the money and the power For those of you who were also teenagers in the 90s, reading that title will have put Coolio song Gangsta’s Paradise in your head.

In that lyric there is a sense in which both the quest for power and money are a trap, an endless treadmill locking people into a dangerous, violent lifestyle.

My challenges with power are a bit more genteel, but I’ve got the line stuck in my head nonetheless. Last week I was invited to a gathering at a very culturally influential institution. It was glitzy, it was glamorous, the guest list was populated by rich and powerful people and it was all for a good cause. And yet I went away feeling slightly uncomfortable .The (Christian) organisation I work for occasionally hosts events which are not dissimilar, if on a smaller scale. Many other charities do to, and we can in the main understand why.

People and organisations who are trying to get good things done are pragmatic. They know that although some cultural change happens through grassroots movements, most of it, sadly, doesn’t. Societies change because society’s gatekeepers change their minds. These gatekeepers, in media and the arts, in academia and politics, in business and education operate in an economy which runs, for the most part, on money and power. Credibility is all, but credibility doesn’t rest just on the most worthwhile ideas or the most self-evident truths. It rests more often on being part of the right institutions, being seen with the right people, having the right branding, the right commendations, the right venue or the right colour credit card.

If I was a disciple of Nietzsche none of this would worry me. It would be natural, and those who bleat about it would be simply weak-willed idealists, who should get out of the kitchen if they can’t stand the heat.

I’m not however a disciple of Nietzsche. The person I’m trying to follow was suspicious of both money and power. He spoke of the kingdom in which these things were completely subverted, a different kind of economy running not on money and power but on love, joy, goodness, faithfulness kindness, gentleness and self-control.

He tended to avoid or challenge elites, preferring to hang out with the poor, those of low social status, the outcasts. Those that followed him often became those things, at least for a few centuries. The Church has IDEA MAGAZINE / 32

The person I’m trying to follow was suspicious of both money and power. often failed to follow his command, but it was Paul who said: “For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say: ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2:1-6). You’d have to work pretty hard to find a charity which runs its fundraising programme, or indeed its advocacy projects on those principles.

As I meditate on Coolio’s words, I conclude there are two equal and opposite mistakes when it comes to power. Some flee from it completely, so scared of its corrupting influence that they are not able to get anything done. Jesus after all, was a powerful man, and used that power in a hugely counter-cultural way. We all have some power, some money, with which to affect the world for the better. Good

things can happen in this economy, those high status cultural influences can change our national story for the better.

The Alpha Course would not be the global phenomenon it is without some fairly serious money behind it and the backing of some powerful people.

Although it’s true that working within a ‘money and power’ economy is unavoidable this side of the Second Coming, we need to avoid the other mistake, which is to baptise power. We can become so pragmatic that we do not question the structures within which we are working and forget that the world’s economy is a temporary fragile circumstance, not the deeper truth. The warning of the scriptures about getting seduced need to be taken seriously.

So (while desperately needing another song in my head) I’m trying to use the money and power that I do wield for the good of others, for God’s glory - and to hold both lightly. For another economy is coming, and I want to be ready to welcome it.

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Taking up the challenge of youth mentoring

by Amanda Pilz

Anyone who reads a daily newspaper cannot fail to have noticed the increasing numbers of reports about the problems faced by young people. Almost daily there are stories about children and teenagers who are caught up in destructive behaviour or circumstances such as broken families, parents who abuse alcohol, violent crime and substance abuse – even murder. The need for churches to respond to this by seeking ways to get involved in the lives of young people has never been greater.

Patrick Regan, an Alliance member and founder of urban youth charity XLP, says: “In our society we often have a very negative picture of young people. We say they’re addicted, they’re out of control and they’re just a lost generation. If we’re not careful we stereotype them instead of getting to know them as individuals. Even when the behaviour matches the stereotype there’s undoubtedly a reason why. What our young people need is not to be written off. They need people to work with them.”

XLP was founded in response to a stabbing in a school playground in 1996. Since that time it has existed to serve the community by meeting the social, educational and behavioural needs of young people and to empower them to make wise lifestyle choices and to realise their potential.

In continuing response to the needs XLP is now inviting churches to take part in their mentoring scheme XL-Mentoring project (XLM), which began in 2008. The scheme pairs trained volunteers with young people who need help in realising their potential. It equips churches and organisations to build authentic relationships with young people and their families and aims to improve young people’s key relationships, support them in education, equip them in life skills and set goals for their futures.

amazing differences in Ebou. Went into school with him and he couldn’t last 10 minutes in a lesson, but towards the end of this time in school he was not just lasting the lesson but getting the grades he needed to pass.

“I’ve been mentoring for about a year and I’ve been stretched past my comfort zone. I’ve had to push myself to think about others. That’s made me grow in my compassion and grow in myself. I can be quite self-centred and I don’t get that chance now because I know there’s someone else I have to go and see.”

“Having a mentor is guiding me and pushing me into the reality of getting a job.

It means a lot.”

Ebou said: “In the future I’d like to run my own business. Having a mentor is guiding me and pushing me into the reality of getting a job. It means a lot.”

The project operates in partnership with local schools and communities and focuses on those aged 11 to 18 who are on the verge of exclusion. Almost every school will have at least five children and young people they can identify who are struggling in life with issues such as parental divorce, bereavement, low self-esteem, lack of confidence and low academic attainment.

The infrastructure XLM has created allows churches and organisations to build relationships with local schools or other referral agencies, make home visits to introduce the project to the young person and their family, source and train volunteer mentors and navigate relationships with additional support agencies.

The mentoring scheme has the endorsement of key Christian leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby who said: “XLP lives out Jesus Christ’s commitment to those in need through its youth work and helps create positive futures for young people who desperately need that support. I am delighted that XL-Mentoring is helping churches across the country set up and run mentoring programmes in their own communities and pray God will bless this immensely important work.”

Speaking to idea, Patrick Regan said: “This isn’t rocket science. The Church is in every community around the country. The reality of it is that many of these kids think no one is there for them. We as the Church are bestplaced to be able to provide some response in some way, some hope. We are setting a challenge to the Church to take up this brilliant opportunity.”

If you would like to run a mentoring scheme in your community please get in touch with: Jude at XLP on jude.trenier@xlp.org.uk or Lorna on lorna.achampong@xlp.org.uk xlm.org.uk

It kicks off with several regional two-day training sessions in England and Wales which equip people in how to train and sustain a group of volunteers to mentor young people.

XLM was started because it was felt that many problems faced by young people required a relational response. To achieve this mentors meet up with a young person every week for 12 months.

Chris, who has been mentoring Ebou, said: “Since I’ve been mentoring I’ve seen some JULY/AUGUST 2014

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THEOLOGY

John Baxter-Brown: Adviser on evangelism and ecumenism to the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Theology Commission

Evangelism through the eyes of Jesus Too often our understanding – and therefore our practice – of evangelism is impoverished because we have not nourished our theology of it from the life, teaching and practice of Jesus. We reduce evangelism to proclamation. Yet, if we fix our eyes on Jesus as the writer of Hebrews encourages us, we find a much richer and deeper theology of evangelism.

It is tempting to look first to the early Church for our models and theology of evangelism.

Peter’s 3,000 on the Day of Pentecost sets a high benchmark and throughout Acts there are frequent references to the numbers or the names of people who accepted the message. And herein lies the rub. If we are truly followers of Jesus then should we not also look to Jesus, or perhaps even look to him first, to build our theology and practice of evangelism? If we do that we discover that evangelism is both more challenging and more holistic than many of us realise – and a great deal easier!

NT Wright, in his forthcoming Surprised

by Scripture, says: “Much evangelical Christianity on both sides of the Atlantic has based itself on the epistles rather than the gospels, though often misunderstanding the epistles themselves. Indeed, in this respect evangelicalism has simply mirrored a much larger problem: the entire Western Church, Catholic and Protestant, evangelical and liberal, charismatic and social activist, has not actually known what the gospels are there for.” We evangelicals take our name from the Greek word, euangellion, meaning ‘good news’. We are meant to be good news people. But what is the good news? Luke records Jesus saying that he was sent for this purpose: “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God” (4:43; 8:1; 16:16 and Mark 1:15). The good news is of the reign of God, the upside-down, topsy-turvey kingdom of God with its emphasis upon the weak, marginalised, poor and oppressed; with healings, deliverance; teaching, preaching; doing the right things in the right way.

Consider the calling and commissioning texts in the gospels. The fundamental starting point in Peter becoming a changeagent in this world is in him being changed within his unstable, wet and slippery world.

Evangelism is ever the same in this respect: first our stories must be transformed as we encounter the story of Jesus. Only then can we truly respond to the primary vocation of all disciples throughout all ages to ‘come, follow’. However, the secondary priority – IDEA MAGAZINE / 36

“If we are truly followers of Jesus then should we not also look to Jesus, or perhaps even look to him first, to build our theology and practice of evangelism?” again of all disciples throughout all ages, which cannot be separated from the first – is evangelism. There is the call to follow Jesus and to invite other people to do the same. Matthew and Mark express it simply: “Come follow me,” they record Jesus as saying, “and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17). Luke, the only native Greek speaker among the gospel authors, expresses it differently: “From now on,” Jesus says, “you will catch men” (Luke 5:10). The first two gospels use the usual word for fishing, aleeis: Luke uses a different word, zogreo, which comes from two different words, zoos meaning ‘alive’ (from which we get the English word, ‘zoo’) and agreuo, ‘to hunt or catch. There is a subtle but significant difference: Peter has been fishing and the fish are gutted and eaten, they die. Luke, however, is saying that Peter’s future purpose is to catch in order to give life – “catching people for life” - becomes a metaphor for evangelism in this text.

Evangelism is intended to be wholesome, positive and life-giving. A few years ago I had the privilege of researching evangelistic practice among churches in Cuba. This story is one of a church seeking to affirm life:

Jorge’s story begins with dysfunction which led him to develop a destructive dependency on alcohol. His family left him, his friends deserted him. He lost his home, his job, his dignity. He slept by the banks of a river using cardboard and sack cloth for warmth. His health deteriorated and he was admitted to hospital for alcoholism and accompanying health problems. It was while in hospital that he heard about the Salvation Army’s New Life Project and realised that he was being offered a chance to turn his life around.

It was a very tough path. The struggles towards abstinence led to a nervous breakdown and to self-harm. Prayers of the Army congregation strengthened and encouraged him. After a long period of detox, with occupational therapy and the spiritual support of the Army, he won. The Good News came to him not only in becoming free of alcohol dependency, but also by accepting Jesus as his Saviour & Lord.

Evangelism through the eyes of Jesus cannot be reduced to a theory or a model.

Its focus is on the person or the community in the diversity of the contexts in which we live – Jesus is good news for Jorge in Cuba or Joanne in Coventry and for this we can be grateful.

INTERVIEW

Flying with faith to help those most in need

by Chine Mbubaegbu

For many long-running organisations, staff with a corporate memory are invaluable. But few corporate memories will stretch back as far as Stuart King’s who helped found Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) at the end of World War Two.

Despite this, Stuart recalls some “traumatic” times over the years. One example of this was in 1964 when the MAF programme in Sudan had to be closed after 14 years and missions were expelled from the country due to civil war. We came back later for another seven years but were expelled again. Then, six years ago we came back for the third time and are still there today!

“In the 1970s, some people were suggesting that MAF would soon be able to phase out as the newly independent African countries would become more effective,” he says.

“But that didn’t happen. In fact, the reverse occurred. It seems sad that the need has increased across the world. There seems to be more disasters. The opportunities that God gives us therefore to meet this need

Alliance member MAF works through aviation and technology to see isolated people living in developing countries physically and spiritually transformed in Christ’s name.

Launched in 1945 in London by Murray Kendon, the organisation uses light aircraft so that 1,500 relief and mission groups can bring humanitarian aid in places of deepest human need.

Stuart King – now aged 92 – was there from the earliest days of MAF, having joined from his role in the RAF. “I have often asked myself why I wanted to get involved,” he says. “I was concerned as a Christian about opportunities to share my faith and to share the love of God. I was always interested in aeronautics and had grown up with quite a background of mission overseas.”

Having been launched in the 1940s, MAF now operates in 25 developing countries transporting essential medical care, food and water supplies, relief teams, church workers and partnering with 1,500 organisations – enabling physical and spiritual care to reach countless thousands of people cut off due to formidable geographical barriers, natural disasters and political unrest.

Stuart King.

“I have been absolutely amazed by what God has done,” Stuart says. “It blows my mind. God does amazingly above what you could think, ask or imagine. When we started, we had no idea what it would become.

In 1977, Marxist government restrictions forced the closure of longstanding MAF’s operations in Ethiopia and two years later fierce fighting and civil war in Chad forced MAF to fly its planes out of the country after 13 years. There have been similar episodes in Chad since then but MAF is operating strongly there today.

“The exciting thing for me is that our values today are the same as the ones we believe God gave us at the beginning – to reach out to isolated places and share God’s love in any way we can.”

While Stuart admits that a lot has changed since MAF started all those years ago, he expresses his sadness that some things have not changed: the need is still as great as it ever was.

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have increased and I think it will continue to do so.

“We are always on the lookout for more pilots, engineers, administrators and other overseas staff. God knew what He was doing when He started MAF after the Second World War and He knows what He is doing now. I’m so privileged I get to still be a part of it.”

You can read regular updates from MAF pilots about the work they are undertaking on MAF’s website. maf-uk.org IDEA MAGAZINE / 37

CULTURE

Holly Price is a writer with Damaris, which provides free resources for Damaris Film Clubs as well as the Damaris Film Blog.

See damaris.org/filmclubs and damaris.org/filmblog

Noah: ark mission Depravity, apocalypse and liberation: the story of Noah’s ark has all the qualities of a blockbuster. Of course, this vessel has sailed across our screens before. We saw it in the conservation comedy Evan Almighty (2007), which starred Steve Carell and preached a message of human kindness. More recently, the television series The Bible (2013) began on board the ark, with Noah recounting the creation story to his frightened family.

With auteur Darren Aronofsky at the helm, an altogether more epic portrayal has arrived. As with any new adaptation of an old story, the filmmakers have searched for a fresh angle. “[People] consider Noah to be a benevolent figure because he looked after the animals,” says Russell Crowe, reflecting on his character. “The dude that stood by and watched the entire population of the planet perish? He’s not benevolent, he’s not even nice!”1 The man who loves animals Who is the real family behind the simplified story of a floating zoo? It’s this human drama, and the question of how to portray it authentically, that has captured the imagination of writer-director Aronofsky. In his pitch to Crowe, he promised: “Never at any stage will you be obligated to stand at the bow of a boat flanked by a giraffe and an elephant.”2 The director is known for his ability to get inside a character’s head, and to craft unique, challenging stories such as Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Wrestler (2008) and Black Swan (2010). Noah is no exception. “Noah was the first person to plant vineyards… and get drunk,” muses Aronofsky. “It was one of the first things he did when he reached land. There was some real survivor’s guilt going on there. He’s a dark, complicated character.”3 Beyond the spectacle of this narrative (Noah was arguably both gift and curse to its special-effects team) lie some shocking truths. In the Bible, the number of stories separating Earth’s creation and its destruction by flood can be counted on one hand. God wipes out humanity, save for one family. Noah is warned of an apocalypse and then must stand alone as witness to it. How do we relate to such a man, and how can we respect such a God? The God who hates sin Noah displays the corruption of the preflood world in all its horror. The movie embellishes the original story, with a IDEA MAGAZINE / 38

“Many have taken the easy option of dismissing the God of Noah as petulant and immoral. But, as this story is dwelt on this year, perhaps a more disturbing idea will surface: this is a God whose morality is perfect.”

bloodthirsty city ruled by Tubal-cain (Ray Winstone) and a stronger emphasis on humanity’s disregard for nature and animals.

Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins) reminds his grandson, Noah, of God’s warnings: “My father said that one day, if man continued in his ways, the creator would annihilate this world.”

The film also demonstrates the promise of new life beyond the flood. “Fire consumes all.

Water cleanses,” Noah tells his grandfather.

Noah is convinced that this is a new beginning, not the end of God’s creation.

The opportunity for a fresh start is a hope buried deep in our psyche. God’s ark mission speaks to this desire for rescue to a better world.

But as Crowe suggests, there remains the troubling question of judgement. Many have taken the easy option of dismissing the God of Noah as petulant and immoral. But, as this story is dwelt on this year, perhaps a more disturbing idea will surface: this is a God whose morality is perfect. Aronofsky’s Noah begins to wonder whether he and his family deserve to evade God’s judgement – whether the human race ought to die out altogether.

Noah is known as a man of justice, of righteousness. But, he starts to identify within himself the depravity that has spread across the world. Will beginning again be enough? How will God cleanse the human heart?

Crowe comments – what God asked Noah to do wasn’t ‘nice’. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it wasn’t benevolent. Is God’s hatred for sin a sign that he could never love humanity? In Noah’s day, when the human race was corrupted by extremes of immorality, God provided a means of rescue

(for people and the rest of His creation alike) through the flood and the ark. What about us? God has provided a means of eternal rescue from immorality – both external and internal: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Noah is released on DVD this summer. For free official resources, see damaris.org/noah Russell Crowe, Entertainment Tonight interview

1

Darren Aronofsky, Empire magazine (January 2014) p.21

2

Aronofsky, ‘Just say Noah’ article, The Guardian

3

CHARTS

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IDEA-LIST

5

ways to pray

No matter how much of a priority we think prayer is, we can sometimes find it difficult.

Here are five quick and easy ideas to help us renew our prayer lives.

The Alliance has recently relaunched the monthly prayer email, REAP. You can sign up for it here eauk.org/pray

by Fred Drummond, director of prayer for the Evangelical Alliance 1.

Just get out of the building. Join together and spend time in prayer and worship. Ask God to reveal more about your community and the issues in it as well as God’s plans.

Then go out in twos and walk round the area praying silently. Listen for what God may be saying or scripture verses which come to mind. After your prayer walk come back together and share what you think God is saying and use any reflections for prayer and planning.

2.

Write down the names of every street or business within a mile or so of where your church is based. Then as people come into the service give each person a card and ask them to commit to praying for the transformation of that street. During your worship gathering, people can pray together or in groups for the streets they have been given.

3.

For prayer meetings or services use the gifts of your creative people. Turn the place you meet into a place of beauty and challenge. Perhaps have different types of prayer stations at each corner of your building and ask people to quietly move around. Taking time to think and pray as they feel led. Perhaps each station could be based around a country or a generation.

4.

Get a globe beach ball and get everyone standing. Hold the globe at the front and pick a nation and in thirty seconds pray for the country. Then throw the globe ball out into the group, whoever catches it has to pick a country and pray. This is fast, involves lots of people and is fun. Who says prayer has always to be quiet and reflective?

5.

Lastly, I meet lots of Christians who struggle to accept that they are beautiful in God’s eyes; that they are parts of a royal priesthood and are loved. The world tries to rob us of our identity. Get a large sticky note and write in big print ‘I am God’s child’ and ‘I am special to God’. Then write ‘I am loved today by my heavenly Father’. Try and find positive words from the Bible about who you are in Christ. Then stick the note next to the mirror you use in the morning. When you get up, look at the note and thank God for who you are in Him. Let me know how they worked for you.

f.drummond@eauk.org

REVIEWS Inspector Smart and the case of The Empty Tomb by Tim Chester (The Good Book Company) This is a great book to have for Easter, but also something to have for children in introducing them to the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Set in biblical times itself, the main character Inspector Smart follows clues that illustrate the Bible story and finds answers through his investigations and talking to Bible characters. There is a simple prayer at the end for children who want to commit but in a nonthreatening and un-stuffy way.

Reviewed by Rebecca Taylor

Atheists: The Origin of the Species by Nick Spencer (Bloomsbury Continuum) A fascinating history of atheism, and how godless thought and practice has developed over the past 500 years.

This is not a rebuke to the new atheists, or an attempt to settle any arguments as to whether there is a god. It is a brilliant book that sets out to show the history of atheism is complex and nuanced, and is not best understood by the latest Dawkins bestseller.

Christians frequently criticise others for not understanding their belief, and the same should be true of Christians’ understanding of other beliefs, or lack thereof - this book is a good step to remedying that problem. It also makes a powerful case that atheism is not the triumph of science and reason over faith, but often a product of the very belief it came to deny.

Reviewed by Danny Webster

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Awesome Voices: God working through ordained women today (Gilead Books Publishing) In the debate around women bishops, the voices of those women already serving in ministry can often be crowded out as they spend their energy justifying their existence. But this inspiring book makes the voices of these awesome women heard. AWESOME here is an acronym containing the vision of this group of ordained women: Anglican Women Evangelicals: Supporting our Ordained Ministry. These first-person stories of service should inspire all of us – whether male or female – in the vocations to which we have been called.

Reviewed by Chine Mbubaegbu

LETTERS: HAVE YOUR SAY

In your words

We love hearing from you, so have your say on any of the issues raised in idea or any comments about the Evangelical Alliance by emailing idea@eauk.org

LOOKING BEYOND OURSELVES Encouraged by Danny Webster’s article, I thought I’d start with responding to Neil Davis’s email which misses out a few vital points.

Whilst we do not have “national wealth to spend without limit” we remain one of the wealthiest nations on earth. The problem is not the size of our national wealth, but the unjust distribution of it.

“We must be concerned about finding pathways to work” (for those on incapacity benefit) misses the rather vital fact that the number of people out of work exceeds the number of job vacancies.

From 1945 to 1979, the primary focus of Conservative and Labour governments was full employment. This generation has lived through the depression and seen its impact.

Since then economic focus has been money supply, inflation, interest rates and now the deficit.

“In these days of hard choices”, Christians should, as Paul says, “look not only to their own interest, but also to the interest of others”. The median pay on the UK is £27,000 per annum. Are we willing to live on that and give the rest of our income away to those who have to live on less? What would Jesus do?

John Bragg, via email WHAT KIND OF NATION? I attended the launch of ‘What kind of Nation?’ and was absolutely delighted by what I heard.

I have been telling everyone what an encouraging evening it was. I pray that God will richly bless this nation and lead us forward in His ways. Thank you, all who have been involved Janet Murray, via email

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CHRISTIANITY BRINGS SOCIETAL BENEFITS I’m grateful that certain politicians have now spoken in defence of Christianity. It’s hard to understand the hostility towards our faith, as there are many benefits to society from Christian beliefs. The Bible teaches that no-one should steal, lie, murder or commit adultery. It says people should be honest in business dealings, care for each other, be good workers, be kind to animals, honour their parents, respect elderly people and forgive others. Even if we sometimes fail, it sets high ideals to aim for. We would then only need a police force for things such as looking for lost children.

It’s difficult for society to function without a basic level of trustworthiness in the population. Many hospitals, schools, orphanages and charities were begun by Christian philanthropists. Even on a purely practical level Christianity has to be good for society. The fact that Britain was founded on Christian principles is a main reason why many people from across the world want to come and live here.

Ann Wills, via email INEQUALITY I think Neil Davis (idea, May/June) needs to shift his emphasis when discussing ‘welfare reforms’.

After the global crash of 2008 the world became a harsher place for ordinary people. Austerity has made savage cuts and reductions in vital public expenditure. The safety net got a bit weaker. Yet not everyone suffered. The top have seen increases in income, while wages fell or stagnated for others. Income inequality is the real problem.

The bedroom tax has imposed misery on many people because there aren’t many smaller council properties to move in to.

Many council tenants need and use so-called ‘spare’ bedrooms. And have people the time to vet suitable lodgers for that ‘spare’ bedroom either?

Many people on disability benefit live in former industrial areas of the UK, which should give a few clues about why they are disabled. Many were put on to disability benefit under previous Conservative governments as a way of disguising high levels of unemployment.

And remember, the crisis in welfare resulted from a massive global financial crash not caused by ordinary folk. The banking sector speculated and arguably engaged in dubious actions. The result was a global slump. Yet we are the ones who suffer, not least because taxpayers effectively bailed out the banks.

Let’s not put the emphasis on the suffering majority having to solve such problems.

Graeme Kemp, via email

Editor Chine Mbubaegbu – idea@eauk.org Assistant editor Richard Woodall Consulting editors Steve Morris, Krish Kandiah Contributing writers Terry Ally, Lucy Cooper, Amanda Pilz, Holly Price, Daniel Webster Advertising manager Candy O’Donovan c.odonovan@eauk.org Design & Print Cliffe Enterprise idea is published bi-monthly and sent free of charge to members of the Evangelical Alliance. Formed in 1846, the Alliance’s mission is to unite evangelicals to present Christ credibly as good news for spiritual and social transformation. There are around two million evangelical Christians in the UK, according to a 2007 Tearfund survey. idea is published in accordance with the Alliance’s Basis of Faith, although it is impossible in every article to articulate each detail and nuance of belief held

by Alliance members. Articles in idea may therefore express views on which there is a divergence of opinion or understanding among evangelicals.

Letters and story ideas from members are welcome, and will be considered by the editorial board, which reserves the right to edit letters and stories for length and style. We regret that we are unable to engage in personal correspondence. Unsolicited material will only be returned if accompanied by a stamped, selfaddressed envelope.

idea accepts advertisements and inserts to offset printing costs. Advertising in idea does not imply editorial endorsement. The Alliance reserves the right to accept or refuse advertisements at its discretion.

Articles may be reproduced only with permission from the editor.

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LAST WORD

Steve Clifford the general director, writes…

The most important question I really feel sorry for guys these days. Despite all society has done to challenge the inequalities of gender, it still seems the responsibility of the man in a relationship to ask the big question. When Ann and I were dating the pressure was not the same (I have to confess mine was a very unromantic proposal of marriage). But these days it’s almost an Olympic sport where men are judged to see who can find the most romantic setting to get down on one knee; Swiss mountains, Eiffel tower, live TV – the options are endless.

Although Jesus never asked the marriage question, his ministry was littered with questions that he asked those surrounding him, provoking them to a deeper understanding, challenging presuppositions, often providing a stepping stone to further teaching. At the heart of Mark’s gospel (chapter 8) Jesus is alone with his disciples and asks them two questions. The first is relatively easy: ”Who do people say that I am?” This is a safe question, it’s academic, it allows them to stand back, requires no commitment – ‘John the Baptist’, ‘Elijah’, ‘one of the prophets’ they reply. Over the years, so many answers to that question have emerged. In 21st century Britain he is a wise teacher who has shaped so much of Western culture. He is the baby in the nativity scene, the distant figure on a piece of jewellery, a useful swear word when making a point.

Jesus refuses to allow his disciples to stick with the academic question. He makes it personal and asks perhaps what is the most important question any of us will have to answer and one with profound eternal IDEA MAGAZINE / 42

implications: “Who do you say that I am?”

Mark’s gospel tracks so many of Peter’s ups and downs as a follower of Jesus. This is definitely a high point although it is followed very quickly by a low as he argues with Jesus about his coming suffering and death. But the answer to Jesus’s question is absolutely clear - Peter has seen the miracles, has listened to the teaching, and he has recognised the authority. He blurts it out “you are the messiah”, anointed, the chosen one; you are the one we have been waiting for. Peter was right of course, Jesus was all of this and more, but he was not the Messiah they had been expecting - not the army general to defeat the Romans and restore David’s kingdom on earth. No, it’s another kind of Messiah that Jesus had in mind and this accounts for the argument as Jesus has to correct Peter’s misunderstanding.

So what about us today? Most of us in reading this article will look back at a decision made perhaps a number of years ago. We recognised Jesus as our Messiah, our Saviour, our Lord. Many of us can look back at a moment when we submitted to a call to ‘follow him’.

Over the years, I have come to recognise both for myself personally and for us as a Church, how easy it is in the busyness

and pressure of life and the complexity of church, to lose sight of Jesus. How easy it is for him to simply become the one who meets my needs, my wise teacher, my prophet of old, and, God forbid, almost my lucky charm. And so Jesus has drifted to a place of convenience. Yes I read his story, I still sing songs about him, occasionally have a conversation on the assumption he is listening, but he has lost his central place.

So let’s allow the challenge of the question ”Who do you say that I am?” to impact us today. Let’s discover afresh Jesus in all his wonder. Jesus who comes to us as the Christ and so much more. Jesus the son of God, the Lord of history, the beginning and the end. Jesus the centre piece of God’s rescue plan for humanity, the one who lived the life humans were designed to live, Jesus who gave himself over to death and rose again to defeat death, making possible forgiveness and eternal life, Jesus who now sits at the right hand of the Father and speaks on our behalf and sends the Holy Spirit to us, Jesus who will return, establishing a new heaven and a new earth. As we respond afresh to this Jesus, let’s ask God’s help to make him known to those that surround us for this is what we are called to be - His witnesses to our generation.

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