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
British values
SURVEY RESULTS
HOME FOR GOOD?
Evangelicals’ views on British values revealed
THEOLOGY
60 SECONDS
A look back at a year of finding children a home
GOOD QUESTION
BIG INTERVIEW
WHAT ARE BRITISH VALUES?
Politicians explain in 60 seconds
CONNECT
The 9-5
SEPT/OCT 2015
NEWS COMMENT FEATURES
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CONTENTS
Amaris Cole: What unites the people who live in this country?
idea-torial What makes Britain great? I don’t know about you, but I’m never more proud of the UK than when the sun shines and we flock to our local beaches, parks and any other communal area to catch a few rays. These moments may be fleeting, but when we’re blessed with warm weather there is really nowhere better to be than the UK, with the wonderful community spirit that surfaces. Throw in some great sport, and you might just catch me waving a Union Jack. The beautiful weather during Wimbledon meant most of the Evangelical Alliance staff spent their lunch breaks in a local square watching the tennis on a big screen. Great Britain at its greatest. But when it’s raining and the sporting season is over, what unites the people who live in this country? For the last few months, the term “British values” has barely left the headlines. Since the Conservatives won the election and David Cameron promised to make the teaching of common beliefs and ideals a
FIVE THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW UNTIL THIS ISSUE
18 per cent of evangelicals think Britain is a Christian country 4,000 children in the UK are waiting to be adopted Half of evangelicals think greed is Britain’s top sin Around two out of five people aren’t sure Jesus was a real person Just eight per cent agree British values are similar to kingdom values
FEATURES 14-15 British values
An exclusive report of our recent survey
30-31 Greed: the forgotten sin?
We spend time with a community rejecting greed – the UKs most common vice
REGULARS 4-6 Connect
News from across the UK Evangelical Alliance
8 Around the WEA
Highlights from the World Evangelical Alliance
12 60 Seconds with…
Two politicians have 60 seconds to explain ‘British values’
20 Big Interview
10
Major General Tim Cross shares his thoughts on faith and warfare
28 The 9-5
A day in the life of a coordinator who dreams of every child being able to read
38 Last Word
The general director Steve Clifford writes…
Finding a home for good
priority in schools, we’ve been gauging the opinion of evangelicals on this issue. Our latest survey asked
22
1,730 evangelicals their views on British values, and you can read the results exclusively in this issue. Turn to pages 14 and 15 for that. The findings have very much shaped this issue of idea. We’ve explored some of the results, such as why less
30
than half of evangelicals believe the Bible should be taught in schools, and how 33 per cent of us are still very proud of our armed forces despite the media
Should the Bible be taught in schools?
Where’s my stage?
being full of criticism for the UK’s involvement in recent conflicts. Flick to pages 20 to 21, and 28 to 29 to find out more. As ever, I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue. Send a letter to the editor, or join the conversation on Twitter. Amaris Cole Editor We’re on Twitter! Follow us @idea_mag
Head Office Evangelical Alliance has moved:
Email address changes to members@eauk.org
176 Copenhagen Street, London N1 0ST tel 020 7520 3830 [Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm] fax 020 7520 3850 info@eauk.org www.eauk.org
Northern Ireland Office First Floor Ravenhill House 105 Ravenhill Road, Belfast BT6 8DR tel: 028 9073 9079 nireland@eauk.org
Evangelical Alliance leadership team Steve Clifford, Helen Calder, Gavin Calver , Fred Drummond, Elfed Godding, Dave Landrum, Peter Lynas, Chine Mbubaegbu
Wales Office 20 High Street, Cardiff CF10 1PT tel: 029 2022 9822 wales@eauk.org Scotland Office Evangelical Alliance Scotland, Blair Court, 100 Borron Street, Port Dundas, Glasgow, G4 9XG tel: 0141 353 0150 scotland@eauk.org
The Evangelical Alliance. A company limited by guarantee Registered in England & Wales No. 123448. Registered Charity No England and Wales: 212325, Scotland: SC040576. Registered Office: 176 Copenhagen Street, London, N1 0ST
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News from the Alliance across the UK
Will you support the persecuted Church? Sunday, 15 November 2015 marks the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP), a day to remember that more than 100 million Christians in countries such as Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Sudan and Sri Lanka who are currently facing persecution for their beliefs. Your church could help these Christians by getting involved with praying for persecuted Christians- both on this day and throughout the rest of the year.
5 prayer points for the Evangelical Alliance
For more information and resources such as the Suffering Church Action Week Inspiration Pack, go to http://idop.org/en/
1. As you read through our Impact Report for 2014-15, give thanks for the wonderful achievements and milestones of the last year made possible with your support.
Join us for GATHERSOUTH this November
2. The results of a recent landmark survey done into the UK’s perceptions of Jesus are sobering. Join us in prayer for the denomination and network leaders who have committed to a renewed unity for mission in the next 35 years to 2050 – results of which will be revealed this autumn. 3. This edition of idea publishes the findings of our research into the views and habits of evangelicals when it comes to British values. Pray that this will prove informative and useful for church leaders in understanding and engaging their congregations.
We’re inviting Christian leaders from churches, unity movements and the cultural spheres in the south of England to our one-day conference, GATHERSOUTH, on 25 November. GATHERSOUTH provides a unique opportunity to pray together, discuss and begin to discern God’s vision for the south of England, and follows the success of GATHERNORTH, which saw 230 people from more than 20 northern cities gather to discuss the prophetic opportunity for the Church today. Hosted by Christians across Watford, a vibrant unity movement seeing Christians and churches working together strategically to see transformation across the town, the day will be full of stories of what God is doing through town and city transformation across the south, arising from a base of relational unity and sustained prayer. It will also give the opportunity to meet others
who are uniting as one Church across their area to influence the places they live and work. GATHERSOUTH is taking place on Wednesday, 25 November 2015, at Wellspring Church, 1 Wellspring Way, Watford, WD17 2AH. Visit gather.global/booking/gathersouth/ to find out more and book your place.
Communications training workshop for Christian leaders As Christians leaders and organisations we have a great story to tell; the world’s biggest adventure packed with inspiring accounts of faith, love, hope and triumph against the odds. But sometimes we fail to get our voices heard above the noise because we lack the tools and knowledge to make use of the plethora of tools and techniques that are now available. The Evangelical Alliance has teamed up with SpiritLevel Communications to provide a communications training workshop for those who would like to learn the basics of good church communication. It will be run by the current and former directors of communications at the Evangelical Alliance: Chine Mbubaegbu and Allen Moxham of SpiritLevel Communications. It takes place from 10.30am to 4pm on Thursday, 29 October. Tickets are priced at £25. To book your place, visit eauk.org/commstraining IDEA MAGAZINE / 4
4. Praise God for the work of Home for Good, and pray for them as they encourage Christians to consider fostering and adoption to meet the crisis in the numbers of children left without a loving home in the UK. 5. Please pray for the Bruderhof community, that their lifestyle of simplicity and gratefulness for what God has given them would impact on other Christians.
REACHING THE MISSING GENERATION threads – an initiative of the Evangelical Alliance – is hosting a day of training on Wednesday 18 November, 10am-4pm, to equip member church leaders to reach out to and engage the “missing generation” of young adults in their 20s and 30s. Featuring guest speakers, testimonies from young adults, and a resource pack to take away with you, this will be an unmissable event for anyone wondering where their young adults have disappeared to and how they can draw them back. To find out more and book a place, visit threadsUK.eventbrite.com. To order our free resource pack or register your interest in future threads training days, email info@threadsuk.com
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Northern Ireland the five things you need to know
CLAN GATHERINGNEW WINE SCOTLAND
1.
We had fantastic opportunities this summer to engage with audiences at Summer Madness, Catalyst, New Wine and New Horizon. It’s been a time of growth and a real privilege to share about our work and encourage Christians from right across the NI Church.
It was great for the Evangelical Alliance to be involved in Clan this year. Fred Drummond, the national director for Scotland, is also part of Clan’s leadership team. The five-day conference saw more than 1,000 people coming the west coast of Scotland to worship, learn together and be encouraged. The Alliance took part in several main sessions as well as taking a seminar on What kind of Church.
2.
Three new interns started in September - Zoe, Damilola and Stephen. The office is thrilled to have them join the team and look forward to seeing them grow and use their gifts and skills in our work here.
It was a powerful week as some people met Jesus for the first time, others were healed and all were encouraged by the goodness and faithfulness of God.
3.
Public policy work continues across a whole range of issues from religious freedom to reconciliation, sanctity of life to marriage, creation care to welfare. This is delicate and difficult work, engaging privately with government and church leaders and publicly with the media. Please do pray for this work as the NI Alliance seeks to articulate a truthful and gracious Christian position and offer hopeful solutions.
4.
These are critical times in Northern Ireland and as the nation approaches an Assembly election the Alliance is producing a vision document, which we hope to use to frame discussions on the next Programme for Government.
5.
Finally, the Alliance is looking for good news stories from members, whether individuals, churches or organisations. Please get in touch with your good news stories and help us to encourage others through them. nireland@eauk.org
PUBLIC LEADERSHIP Plans for the new course for emerging Scottish Public Leaders are developing ahead of an anticipated launch in early 2016. A working group has now been drawn together from across business, media, law and education to enable this to happen and we are excited to see what God will do through this significant initiative. It will consist of training, mentoring and peer support networks and will be aimed at those already working who are aged 21-35. If you would be interested in finding out more about becoming a mentor or a participant please contact the Evangelical Alliance Scotland office for further details. scotland@eauk.org
Welcome to our new members NEW CHURCHES
LOCATION
NEW CHURCHES
LOCATION
Twyning Chapel............................................................................. TEWKESBURY
Dorset Christian Fellowship....................................................... DORCHESTER
Kings Valley Church...................................................................... ROSSENDALE
God’s Covenant Church (GCC).................................................. LONDON
Greater Shankill Circuit (comprising Woodvale and Shankill)..................................... BELFAST
Halifax Central Church................................................................. HALIFAX
Hope International Christian Centre...................................... MILTON KEYNES Divine Prophetic Interdenominational Ministries............................................... LONDON
Swansea Valley Bible Church..................................................... YSTRADGYNLAIS Cathedral Revival Church Ministries....................................... LONDON Living Well Church........................................................................ DOVER
Sutton Vineyard............................................................................. SUTTON
The Presence of God Ministries................................................ COVENTRY
Edmonton Baptist Church.......................................................... LONDON
Purposed Life Church................................................................... WIGAN
Anchor City Church International........................................... LONDON
The Oak Church.............................................................................. PUDSEY
Windsor Fellowship...................................................................... WINDSOR
New Life Community Church.................................................... LEIGHTON BUZZARD
HOME St Albans............................................................................. ST ALBANS The Hill Church............................................................................... SWANSEA
NEW ORGANISATIONS
Turning Point Church................................................................... BOURNEMOUTH
Amnos Ministries........................................................................... BRENTWOOD
New Waves Chapel International............................................. THORNTON HEATH
Christian Growth International................................................. CHELMSFORD
Oasis Christian Church Livingstons Elim Church............................................................. LIVINGSTON
Centre for Missionaries from the Majority World............... LONDON
Canada Water Church.................................................................. LONDON
One Rock International............................................................... LONDON
The Zion Church of God.............................................................. CROYDON
Welcome Network........................................................................ ROMFORD
RCCG City of David Cambridge................................................ CAMBRIDGE
Hope 08 Ltd..................................................................................... RUGBY
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
LOCATION
Relational Mission......................................................................... AYLSHAM
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CONNECT
News from the Alliance across the UK
National Prayer Breakfast Evangelical Alliance Scotland took part in the National Prayer Breakfast for Scotland in June with Kieran Turner leading the prayers for Scotland’s Young People at the event. The prayer breakfast, which brings together around 300 church, business and political leaders, is an event the Alliance is keen to support as part of its commitment to encouraging the Church to pray across the nation. It was particularly encouraging to have a time of open prayer at this year’s event and we look forward to seeing the prayer breakfast develop in the coming years.
Bible coming alive in the Welsh language This year sees the publication of three new Bibles in Welsh. Beibl Canllaw - a basic study Bible - came out in August, published by Bryntirion Press, the publishing wing of the Evangelical Movement of Wales. It is based on the revised version of the New Welsh Bible and includes study notes from church ministers and theologians based in Wales. More than two centuries have passed since the last Welsh Bible with explanatory notes, so this is a major development in the promotion of Bible knowledge in the nation. In November a further two Welsh Bibles will be available from the beibl.net stable. The brainchild of Arfon Jones, former director of Evangelical Alliance Wales, beibl.net is a digital version of the Bible in every day Walsh. Hailed for its accessibility and accuracy, it is used in churches, chapels
and schools across the nation. By high demand, especially from young people, beibl. net is soon to be published in hard copy by the Bible Society. At the same time, the Sunday Schools Council is producing a children’s version of beibl.net complete with manga style illustrations. It’s going to be quite a year for the Bible in Wales. Arfon Jones said: “We are launching an initiative Beibl Byw (Living Bible) and we are passionate about the Bible being read and understood by Welsh speakers. It is our conviction that the Bible is relevant to every area of life and it is our hope that churches, schools and individuals will get hold of the Bible and discover for themselves the powerful wisdom of the good book. We hope that churches and others will come up with creative ways to help get the Bible once again into the hands of ordinary people.”
STRESSING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DURING RAMADAN During Ramadan, Evangelical Alliance Wales’s public affairs and advocacy officer, Jim Stewart, took part in a BBC Radio Wales broadcast, held outside one of Cardiff’s mosques on the morning of Tuesday, 14 July. It was the morning after the “Night of Power” - the 27th night of Ramadan, during which Muslims pray for the year ahead. Jim said: “I stressed the importance of religious freedom for people of all faiths in Wales and the value of having faith in light of the growing secularism in society. Evangelical Christians believe in the uniqueness of Jesus Christ so by attending such events we are not saying that we accept another faith’s creed, rather that we support their right to practise that faith. “The rise of extremism in the past year also highlights the need for friendship and peaceful coexistence between people of different faiths. The 20th anniversary in July of the genocide in Srebrenica, described by the UN as the worst crime committed on European soil since the Second World War, reminds us of how fragile our community cohesion can be and the need to intentionally work towards peace”.
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Mission back on the Welsh agenda Over the summer, Wales has witnessed a wave of missional initiatives. Cardiff’s Rhiwbina Baptist Church hosted a workshop led by 3DM, exploring the close connection between discipleship and mission. Nearly 60 delegates from more than 10 regional churches explored the need for major culture change, creating more disciples rather than focusing on a greater number of programmes. Opening the conference, the Rev Nick Bradshaw, regional minister of the South Wales Baptist Association, suggested that the great commission is generally misunderstood. “As you go in to the world, make disciples of everyone,” is probably a better rendition of the original phrase, he suggested. Christians are called to be disciple makers and not simply travellers with a message. Sean Dooley of 3DM challenged the conference to think again about the primacy of producing followers of Jesus who are able to make more disciples. New Wine Cymru’s summer conference adopted the theme of the missional apprentice. Speakers spoke about the need to embed a culture of discipleship in the local church. Highlights included snapshots of new church plants, particularly in the south Wales valleys. Encounter House in Aberbargoed has been in existence for about a year and many of its congregation of 60 has come to faith in Christ during the past year. Such is the missional passion of its young leadership that they are purchasing a burger van to enable them to attend events to sell fast food and pray for all who are interested. In Cilfynydd, the Lounge is meeting in the basement of a church in a Wales parish church. Reaching out to the village’s residents, new believers and existing Christians are growing through small discipleship groups. Once again a number of American churches twinned with Welsh churches as part of the Mission Links initiative. Some of these partnerships have been going for several years, bringing local churches together to work with American Christians for the purpose of communicating the gospel in schools, residential homes, youth clubs and music events.
News from the Alliance
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
CONNECT
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AROUND THE WORLD EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE
News from the evangelical Church across the world SPECIAL REPORT OF PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS The World Evangelical Alliance’s Religious Liberty Commission has researched the threat to Christians as one of the primary civilian targets of the Islamic State terror group. Recently, ISIL vowed to slaughter Christian Arabs in Jerusalem, saying its militants will “clean this country and the Muslim Quarter from these Christians during this holy Ramadan.” Although the Sunni terror group doesn’t have a known official branch in Israel, the threat issued points to its agenda, ambition and targets. In June, ISIL kidnapped 88 Eritrean Christians in Libya. In May, ISIL captured Ethiopian Christians and executed them, three months after it beheaded 21 Egyptian Copts. Christians in the Middle East accounted for about 20 per cent at the start of the 20th century, but their number has reduced to about five per cent. Syria had about 1.1 million Christians before 2011, and more than 700,000 of them have fled the country due to attacks by ISIL and other groups. Iraq had more than one million Christians prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion, and now their number has come down to less than 200,000.
The Logos Hope..
SHIP BRINGS HOPE TO WEST AFRICA The Association of Evangelicals in Africa is welcoming the 2,000-tonne ship Logos Hope, which is part of the global Christian training and outreach movement OM International. It will move to Africa at the end of 2015. For most of 2016, crew and staff will share their faith in Sub-Saharan Africa for the first time since 2005, and teams will visit the area surrounding each port to provide aid and community care to the local churches. Despite ongoing tensions and conflicts, there is tremendous growth and opportunity in Africa. In partnership with pre-existing ministry initiatives, Logos Hope plans to visit West Africa to provide a witness and offer practical help and primary healthcare to the needy individuals and communities. To find out more, visit omships.org
In July, the US-based think tank Council on Foreign Relations invited experts to discuss The Future of Religious Pluralism in the Middle East. One of the questions they explored was whether minorities, including Christians, are on the brink of extinction in some parts of the region. It is “certainly within the realm of possibility,” said panelist Andrew Doran, special advisor at the US-based In Defense of Christians group. Some believe that the Christian presence needs to be preserved in the region that is known as Christianity’s cradle, while others say Christians’ safety should be the top priority in any strategy to deal with the ISIL threat. The international community needs to deal with some urgent needs. For example, the displaced Christians must be protected from further attacks and supported with basic needs, and a system should be in place to help them recover their property that they left behind if and when they are able to return to their areas. There is also a need to foster hope for inclusive governance wherever there are civilian governments. Christians in the region have expectations from the international Christian community. As Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad recently said: “We feel forgotten and isolated. We sometimes wonder, if they kill us all, what would be the reaction of Christians in the West? Would they do something then?” For more information on the Religious Liberty Commission, go to: worldea.org/rlc IDEA MAGAZINE / 8
FGM TACKLED IN EGYPT The Fellowship of European Broadcasters praised the work being done in Egypt by Arab Vision, a Christian producer of TV programmes in the Arab world, which has created several documentaries and short clips advocating the abolition of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). They have been used for discussions with women, men and village elders about the practice. In some cases, this has led to abolishing the practice of FGM in their village entirely. The cases of FGM among Egyptian girls aged 15-17 years have decreased to 13 per cent, and there is also a decline in the number of mothers who support the practice- in 2000 75 per cent of mothers supported FGM but this number came down to 58 per cent in 2014 according to the Demographic Health Survey. To support Arab Vision and see their other projects, go to arabvision.org
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IN THE THICK OF IT
Finding a Home for Good
expressions of Home for Good taking shape around England, and we have a steady stream of local authorities contacting us, wanting us to help them connect with churches in their area. I could go on! But my number one highlight is that not a week goes by without us hearing a story of someone who has fostered or adopted as a result of being inspired or helped by Home for Good, or a story of how a church is wrapping around and supporting someone who has fostered or adopted. As a small start-up charity, our vision is massive. But hearing these stories every week make me realise – this is a vision that the Church in the UK can make a reality. You speak a lot about churches wrapping around and support families that foster and adopt. What does that look like in practice?
On 1 September 2014, Home for Good launched as a charity in its own right, after beginning life as an initiative of the Evangelical Alliance, Care for the Family, and the Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service. One year on we caught up with Home for Good’s chief executive, Phil Green, to find out what’s been going on.
“As a Home for Good Church we are learning how to embrace vulnerable children, and adapting our ways to wrap our arms around them and the families they are in. For our church, this often looks like cooking meals when new placements arrive, looking out for birth children and throwing adoptive showers!”
about ensuring that families that foster and adopt receive the support they need. We also believe churches are ideally placed to do this. What have been the highlights of Home for Good’s first year? It’s been a phenomenal year. More than 300 adults who are passionate about fostering and adoption gathered for our first annual summit, and really launched us as a new charity. I’ll never forget one man coming up to me, with tears in his eyes, saying: “I’ve been waiting for this event for two decades.”
What is Home for Good’s vision?
More than 300 churches took part in Adoption Sunday in November, with more than 200 people attending information evenings in the weeks that followed. What was really exciting for us, as a charity that is wanting to ‘normalise’ the idea of fostering and adoption within the Church, was that 50 per cent of the people who came to these evenings were in their 20s, and they were saying that although they were unlikely to foster or adopt in the next few years, they wanted to place the possibility of fostering or adoption alongside birth children when thinking about their family planning.
We want to find a home for every child that needs one. There are 4,000 children in the UK who are waiting to be adopted, and an urgent need to find 9,000 more foster families. We believe that this is a need that the UK Church can meet. However, it’s not just about finding homes for children. It is
We were featured on the Mother’s Day edition of Songs of Praise, 200 people came to our theology of adoption conference that included talks from leading theologians, and hundreds of people have contacted us to ask questions as they think about fostering or adoption. There are now a dozen local
Christine Driscoll, Gold Hill Baptist Church
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I was at a meeting a couple of months ago and someone shared that from September, in Chester, there’s going to be a church-run café that foster carers can go to – and while they drink a cup of coffee, someone in a backroom will do all their ironing for them. That’s a great example of a church ‘getting it’. It begins with making families that foster and adopt feel welcome and the church adapting to cater for whatever their needs may be. This will vary from one situation to another, but we’d encourage all churches to talk with people in their church who foster or have adopted, and find out how church could be made to be more welcoming and what support they need. We’ve heard stories of churches setting up groups so adoptive parents can meet together and pray for one another, annual parties for families that foster, organising meal rotas, providing lifts, using more inclusive language during services, changing the way the Sunday school works, and many more. There’s a church in Bolton that set up a bi-monthly session for foster carers and adoptive families in the church. They have a shared lunch, and while the carers and parents chat over coffee, sharing ARE YOU TAKING PART IN ADOPTION SUNDAY ON 1 NOVEMBER 2015? • Show a short film raising awareness of children in care. • Pray for children in care, foster carers and adoptive families. If you have families in your church that have adopted or foster, use this opportunity to stand with them and commit to supporting them. Ask them in advance what would be appropriate. However, it might be possible to interview them during the service. Register here for everything you need: homeforgood.org.uk/ adoptionsunday2015
IN THE THICK OF IT
throughout the UK. We want to see hundreds more people step up to foster or adopt, and we want to see thousands of people stand with and support those families that do decide to foster or adopt.
GET INVOLVED To find out more about fostering or adoption or how your church could get involved contact: homeforgood.org.uk or call: 0300 001 0995 The 2015 Home for Good Summit Saturday, 19 September in Milton Keynes homeforgood.org.uk/summit2015 Adoption Sunday 2015 Sunday, 1 November homeforgood.org.uk/adoptionsunday2015 experiences, the children have fun activities organised by the church’s children’s team. The group has become so popular they now have to keep it a secret, because whenever a foster carer or adoptive parent in the whole region hears about it, they want to come! There has been a lot in the news recently about how there are now more adopters waiting than children waiting for adoption. That must be good news, right? Sadly, not really. In England, there are just under 3,000 children waiting for adoption, while there are 3,130 approved adopted. The problem is two-fold; First, there is often a geographic mis-match between the location of adopters and the children waiting, and secondly, and more significantly, the majority of those approved adopters are wanting to adopt a baby, or toddler, without complications. That’s just not the reality of the children who are waiting for adoption are primarily over the age of four, are part of a sibling group, have additional needs and are often black or minority ethnic. Home for Good’s aim is to find families who are willing to adopt the children that wait the longest, and that’s why we have launched our pathway to adoption, working with five excellent adoption agencies. We piloted it during the first half of the year with two agencies, finding six families. The Department for Education were impressed, and have provided funding to enable us to
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
And what is the most important lesson you’ve learnt during your first year as a CEO? BECOME A HOME FOR GOOD CHURCH Would you like to… • Stand with us and support the vision of finding a home for every child that needs one? • Be known as a church that is welcoming and supportive of families that foster and adopt? • Raise awareness of children in care? If so, put your church on our map. Find out more at: homeforgood.org.uk/church expand the programme. The three standout qualities of our pathway are, (1) we are training social workers so they understand the Christian faith and treat faith well during the assessment process, (2) it’s not limited by geography, so the right match for children can be found anywhere in the country, (3) the agencies offer post-adoption support for life, not just a few years. What are your plans for the year ahead? They’re big. We are currently on a big fundraising push because we have so many plans that we want to make a reality. Working with our fantastic network of volunteers, we want to develop our work in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We are planning to produce training courses and resources for youth workers, Sunday school teachers and small group leaders, to equip the churches to be a great place for looked after children. We want to see Home for Good established in more towns and cities
Since we launched in September, the Home for Good staff team has doubled in size and my learning curve has probably been steeper than our growth curve. Number one lesson, though, has been not to try and make yourself look good – surround yourself with great people who are way more talented than you! God has blessed Home for Good with a fantastic group of gifted and passionate people – both on the staff team, but also throughout the vast network of people in the UK who are passionate about putting fostering and adoption on the Church’s agenda. For more stories about Home For Good, head to eauk.org/idea or visit homeforgood.org.uk
@Home4Gd Twitter feed “Tomorrow we meet our son to give him his @Home4Gd, thanks to @krishk for the nudge we needed” “The first foster child is at church today as a result of last year’s Adoption Sunday!” “The Methodist Conference has voted to support @Home4Gd and encouraged churches & individuals to reflect on #fostering and #adoption” “Home for Good Liverpool have just presented 250 “we love social workers” cupcakes to Liverpool City Council” “Met a man today impacted by your (Krish Kandiah) talk last year @PioneerNetwork, his first foster placement arrived today.”
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POLITICS
by Amelia Abplanalp, Evangelical Alliance public policy officer
Why the assisted dying bill ends human dignity, not suffering Physician-assisted suicide has been a weighty ethical issue since the birth of western medicine. As Christians, it can be challenging to effectively convey the Christian narrative of protecting and cherishing life in a largely consumer-driven society that increasingly values a distorted concept of choice and control, which risks threatening our most vulnerable and diminishing the value of human life. With the introduction of Labour MP Rob Marris’ Assisted Dying (No. 2) Bill, the UK is once again faced with a debate on assisted suicide. Mr Marris’ bill, which will be debated in the Commons on 11 September, proposes to allow physician-assisted suicide for terminal patients who are thought to have six months or less to live. Supporters of assisted suicide believe it provides a compassionate solution to unbearable suffering. However, our current law and medical provisions already ensure that individuals don’t suffer unnecessarily. Palliative care when provided properly alleviates the pain and distressing symptoms experienced by the dying, while neither hastening nor postponing death. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, said that opposing assisted suicide promotes anguish and pain. Not only is this wildly inaccurate, but it is far and away from the core Christian principle that life is a sacred gift from God that should be valued, protected and preserved. Our society’s rhetoric is increasingly dominated with concepts such as individual autonomy, choice and consumerism. This has permeated the conversation around assisted suicide and arguments in favour have moved beyond unbearable suffering to include the increasing demand for choice and control IDEA MAGAZINE / 12
over the time and manner of our death. A primary concern is that it would, over time, place pressure on our most vulnerable to end their life. Shortly after Mr Marris announced his plans, Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed he does not support assisted suicide because of the pressure it would put on frail and elderly people. Disability groups across the UK believe assisted suicide would threaten those with disabilities. Assisted suicide, whether intended or not, divides people into two groups. Those deemed to have lives worth living and those who do not. Supporters claim assisted suicide only applies to dying people. However, experience in other jurisdictions shows this is not the case. Euthanasia was legalised in Belgium in 2003 and the medical establishment has swung behind the view that it can be used to relieve psychological as well as physical suffering. The parameters have steadily widened to include children and people with no terminal or even physical illness. In 2012 deaf twins Marc and Eddy Verbessem, aged 45, were granted their wish to die after they learned they might become blind. That same year Godelieva De Troyer, 64, was euthanised for depression. In 2013 44-yearold transsexual Nancy Verhelst was killed by euthanasia after doctors botched her sex change. A recent study published in the Journal of Medical Ethics suggested a third of Dutch doctors would assist a patient’s suicide in cases of mental illness or dementia, and a fifth would where there was a ‘tiredness of life’, but no physical condition. Disability rights campaigner Nikki Kenward said that once a country legalised assisted suicide or euthanasia, people were
inevitably killed in greater numbers than envisaged. Whether we like it or not, law greatly influences the beliefs of a society. There is significant opposition to legalising assisted suicide beyond disability groups and faith groups. The vast majority of UK doctors oppose legalising euthanasia, along with the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Association for Palliative Medicine and the British Geriatric Society. Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man have all rejected attempts to legalise assisted suicide. The House of Lords also rejected attempts in 2006 and 2009. In opposing this bill we are not seeking to trivialise or ignore the pain and suffering many people endure. At the heart of Christian faith is the belief that life is a sacred gift from God; it is not ours to decide when it should end. We are stewards, not the owners of the life God has entrusted to us. So we have a responsibility to promote a culture of life rather than one of hopelessness for people in the midst of very difficult circumstances. Those supporting assisted suicide talk about the right to choose. And they are correct. We do have a choice. We can choose to support a society that as Tim Stanley pertinently describes, “quietly, subtly, maybe subconsciously encourages others to remove their burden of existence from the shoulders of other people”. Or we can choose to support a society that upholds the inherent dignity and value of every individual. A society that protects our most vulnerable, especially the terminally ill, the disabled and the elderly. A society that as the Bishop of Plymouth says, “cherishes life in all its vulnerability”.
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British
21st CENTURY EVANGELICALS
This year the Evangelical Alliance polled 1,730 evangelicals on the issue. Here, idea magazine exclusively reveals the results.
EXAMINING BRITISH SOCIETY: The Evangelical Alliance is exploring the issues surrounding British values. This is a complex and controversial debate. It relates to our sense of national identity, the common good, and the priorities and direction for our society. The government has suggested core values should be taught in schools and be accepted and upheld by everyone in the UK. This exploration of British identity has led to discussions on possibly introducing a British Bill of Rights as well as a written constitution. This affects Christians and the gospel in the UK. Christianity has greatly shaped British values and identity for the better. So what does this debate on British Values mean for evangelicals?
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What people think Very important or fairly important is important for Our panel National population being truly British
(British Social Attitudes survey 2013)
To respect Britain’s political institutions and laws
To have British citizenship
96% 85% 95% 95% 88% 85%
To share Britain’s customs and traditions
84% 50%
To be able to speak English
To have lived in Britain for most of one’s life
49% 77% 43% 74% 43% 24% 35% 51%
To have been born in Britain To be a Christian To have British ancestry
VIRTUES AND VICES: TOP Y DEADL SINS
Evangelicals think that among the British population… The top two deadly sins are:
GREED
50%
&
LUST
15%
The most widespread negative traits are…
The most widespread positive traits are…
65%
Consumerism
41%
Good sense of humour
58%
Obsession with celebrity
38%
Tolerance
51%
Sexual licence/ promiscuity
36%
Supporting underdog
values
21st CENTURY EVANGELICALS
CHRISTIANITY AND BRITISH VALUES: 93 per cent agree Historically British values have been strongly shaped by Christianity 31 per cent agree that British values today are strongly shaped by Christian values and just 18 per cent think Britain is a Christian country
93% POLICY:
31%
ALSO: However, 86 per cent agree British values should be strongly shaped by Christian values
8 per cent agree that contemporary British values and the values of the kingdom of God are very similar 79 per cent agree The state’s view of British values is based on secularism rather than biblical Christianity
86%
Evangelicals seem to support the idea of the government defining and promoting British values.
Seven out of 10 (71 per cent) think the Government is right in principle to try to define and promote British values About half (52 per cent) of evangelicals agree the teaching of British values should be monitored through the school inspection system (Ofsted) Slightly less than half (48 per cent) think a good knowledge of the Bible should be taught in all schools, compared with slightly more than half (52 per cent) who thought loyalty to queen and country should be compulsory. The attempt to define British values is a reasonable response to extremism, say nearly six in 10 evangelicals (57 per cent).
HOWE V E R …
65%
65 per cent agree the attempt to define British values is a reflection of Britain’s current identity crisis
81%
And 81 per cent think that policies designed to counter extremism may make it harder for Christians to express their faith in public
75%
75 per cent agree freedom of speech needs greater protection in the UK To view this survey and more, visit: eauk.org/snapshot
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60 SECONDS WITH…
What are British values? What are British Values? MG: They are based on the Magna Carta, which brings a balance of power between Parliament, the monarchy and the Church. The combination of liberty and democracy that grew over a thousand years after the Norman Conquest. A respect for private property and the rule of law combined with a strong state that guarantees order and the satisfaction of needs. JC: I think the ‘British values’ question is slightly tired and predictable. I would prefer to reset it to: what are the virtues that we should nurture here in the UK in order to build the common good? I would start with the seven Christian virtues: prudence, justice, temperance and courage plus faith, hope and charity – the basic mixture of cardinal and theological virtues. It might get us out from under some of the usual values debate. This allows for a discussion of how we teach and build these virtues in the public square- this virtue based approach allows for a reconciliation of ancient and spiritual traditions within a specific modern British conversation; one that transcends our physiological characteristics and is genuinely inter-cultural in orientation.
What has shaped these values? MG: Of first importance is the Church that established the rule of law and the prohibition on murder and stealing, which established schools so that people could learn to read and write. It was through the translation of the Bible that people learnt to read and create in the language. The Church also stood up to landlords and the monarchy when they tried to establish a tyranny.
Is this still a Christian Country? MG: Yes. And I think Christianity is due a revival for it combines conservatism and radicalism in just the right ways. It insists on personal faithfulness, honesty and compassion, but it also sees that there are entrenched injustices that need to be challenged. Above all it stresses the importance of faithful relationships, which is what the country needs most. It is vital that Christians speak plainly and openly about their faith. People understand that there is a big difference between Islam and Christianity and the Christian voice must be louder not softer. JC: This is still a Christian country; moreover the most innovative, agile interventions in the public policy space in my constituency are Christian ones. Given all of what I have said it is fundamental that Christian contributions are respected and actively cultivated within the public square. Image: CC via ChurchesTogetherCTBI
David Cameron is big on British values. When he was voted back into Number 10 at this year’s general election, he promised to lead a government for “one nation” and make “Great Britain greater”. The prime minister has spoken time and time again about “actively promoting” British values, seeing it as a reaction to extremism and the increasing threat of terrorists born and bred in the UK. And more recently he outlined the government’s strategy, with measures to tackle extremist ideology. This includes enabling parents to cancel their children’s passports and allow Ofcom to clamp down on foreign TV channels broadcasting extremist messages. But what are British values, who decides them and how do they affect us? We gave Mr Cameron’s colleagues from the other side of the House, Maurice Glasman, a Labour Peer and Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, 60 seconds to explain.
Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham. IDEA MAGAZINE / 16
Maurice Glasman, a Labour Peer.
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BIG INTERVIEW
A spiritual battle Tim Cross
The Evangelical Alliance’s British values survey shows 33 per cent of evangelicals are very proud of the armed forces. So Amaris Cole caught up with Major General Tim Cross CBE. The former soldier was commissioned into the British Army in 1971, after first applying aged 14. He served for a total of 36 years, and was involved in conflicts such as The Troubles, Gulf War, Kosovo War and in Iraq. Since retiring, he has worked with humanitarian organisations, lectured at universities and preached as a Church of England lay minister. What made you join the army? I’m often asked that question and the real answer is I don’t know. I always wanted to be a part of the army. I was born in 1951 and I joined the army cadets in 1964, which was obviously 20 years after D-Day, so I was raised in that period where the vast majority of people were involved in the Second World War – they had brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and so forth in the military. Many IDEA MAGAZINE / 20
had of course lost friends and relatives, so the country as a whole was very military conscious – very “military friendly”. With the Korean war in the 1950s, obviously the Suez Crisis in 1956, we still had troops all around the world – it was a part of my upbringing really. I wasn’t particularly intellectual – I didn’t really enjoy school much. I was a scout and then an army cadet. I think I decided pretty early on I didn’t want to be sitting
in an office. The army was just a natural place to go. I don’t think it was a conscious decision. You weren’t a Christian when you joined the army. Would you still have enjoyed it if you were? I think so. I don’t see why not. I was actually confirmed in Sandhurst [the Royal Military Academy] in 1970 and it was quite unusual. I’d say [my wife and I] were conventional Christians. Then in 1981 I was doing a tour in Cyprus with the United Nations on a peace keeping tour. We had the opportunity of going to Jerusalem – a tourist type thing for the Easter weekend. Easter Sunday happened to be my 30th birthday and we went to the Garden Tomb. The guide was a retired British army colonel, who showed me around and challenged me. As a result of that I gave my life – a good, old fashioned born again Christian. Would that have changed my mind on the military? Well obviously people asked me if I
BIG INTERVIEW
should have left. It’s something I considered at the time and studied. I could bang on forever about it, but first of all, when you’re in the military you see the reality of a fallen world. Words like ‘sin’ and ‘evil’ are not interesting theological issues – they are a reality. Watching mass graves being dug up in The Falklands and Iraq and seeing what people can do to each other, you realise we live in a hard, brutal, fallen world. In the same way we need a police force in the streets to deal with crime, in my view, we need a force to deal with brutal dictators and nasty people around the world. Whether that’s Nazi Germany, or whether it’s terrorism, or the rise of the caliphate with what’s going on in places like Tunisia. We need to deal with the reality of the fallen world. And then if you look at the scriptures – Jesus’ engagement with the centurion: “Never found faith like this anywhere in Israel”, and then Cornelius, whose family is thought to be the first gentile family to be baptised in the Christian Church, who was a Roman centurion. And John, when the soldiers went to him to be baptised, didn’t tell them to stop being soldiers. I don’t think Jesus was a pacifist, either. You see it in the upper room, when he tells the disciples to sell their cloaks and buy swords. They take them with them to Gethsemane. That’s not the sign of a pacifist movement. It wasn’t the time to use [the swords], the solution was Jesus dying on the cross and he tells them to lay down their swords. But I don’t think there’s anything pacifist about the Bible – in the New Testament or Old. The issue then is rather like John the Baptist’s comment – it’s how you use that power. Pulling all that together, would we collectively rather have a British army where there are no Christians? I think that would be awful. What we want is Christians in every aspect of life – military, politics, economics, even working for the Evangelical Alliance! The military does have a Christian influence. How important is this? As you’d expect, I think it’s very important, but the British army is not a Christian army. There are a lot of other faiths in it – Gurkhas, Muslims, and others. But it is an army that is unreservedly built on morality, on ethics, on codes. It’s an army that’s signed up to things like the Geneva Convention, and so on. It’s also an army that prides itself on not being a brutal army. It’s efficient and effective, but the German Nazi army were efficient and effective – but also pretty brutal. I don’t think there’s any doubt that the vast SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
“The British army gets things wrong, of course it does, it’s a flawed organisation because it’s made up of people like me – and I’m flawed. But underpinning it is this desire to be a force for good in the world, to make a positive difference.” majority of people in the army are very comfortable with the fact they have access to padres [army chaplains]. We run services in all our operations every day of the week – not just Sunday. It’s a very important part of who we are as an organisation. You’ve been involved with many conflicts – have you witnessed things that have made you question your faith? No. And I don’t say that lightly. I know people struggle with suffering and ask how God can allow this to happen, but I’ve got no doubts at all – both intellectually and emotionally – that you can’t have free will without things going wrong. God tried to deal with this in early days in the Old Testament, dealing with sin by wiping out people and starting again. The reality is the Christian message is of a God who so loved the world He gave His only son to suffer and to die. The way Jesus was treated by Pilot and the authorities – the crucifixion story – is about God suffering with us. The suffering I’ve seen is terrible. What do we expect God to do about it? When does He intervene or not intervene? Does He intervene because 20,000 people are dying in Srebrenica? Or does He intervene to stop a young boy on his bicycle falling off and being hit by a car. I have seen some terrible things. I‘ve watched mass graves being dug up. I’ve watched people doing terrible things to each other, and I think my answer to this question is God put me there to do my bit. We have the answer in our own hands. We have to recognise the nature of the world we live in – there are some nasty, evil things out there and it’s a spiritual battle. I have seen some hugely wonderful people in these conflicts bringing out the best in others.
criticises the UK’s involvement in conflicts. Why do you think we’re still so proud of our military? I do think we have to distinguish between the people who are in the military and the policies that the governments are deciding to apply. I was involved in lots of operations – I didn’t just wake up in the morning and decide it was a good idea to go to Macedonia or Kosovo or Iraq or Northern Ireland. That was government policy. I think lots of people struggle with government policy and the decisions they make, for lots of understandable reasons, but governments in the end have to make decisions that they think are right. Then you’ve got the nature of the people that have got to go and deal with this stuff. What we’ve seen over the last 20 years sadly is continuous engagement. But in those engagements we have seen fantastic bravery, courage, and professionalism by young people. Their professionalism is as good as any other generation, and people admire them. The military is a very unique organisation is many ways. People often say to me: why do people do it? Well, they don’t do it for the money. What gets a young 18-year-old to get up in the morning and go out on patrol, knowing there’s a fairly good chance they might come back having been blown up by an IUD, or having lost a leg or an arm? It’s a camaraderie, it’s a friendship. Soldiers wouldn’t use the biblical language, but it’s the friendship, the love, the kindness – the whole aspect of the nature of military business, I think other people do look at it and admire. It’s not that other people aren’t like that, but it’s hard to create that same culture working in a shop or bank.
Our British values survey shows 33 per cent of evangelicals are very proud of the armed forces, but the media frequently IDEA MAGAZINE / 21
GOOD QUESTION
Should the Bible be Our British values survey shows that 48 per cent believe a good knowledge of the Bible should be taught in all schools. But does it surprise you that evangelicals seem to think this is less important than teaching loyalty to the queen, which 52 per cent agreed with? Here, two experts give us their views on the importance of a biblical education for all. NO, a good knowledge of the Bible doesn’t need to be taught to all children, argues Lisa Adams, a former RE teacher. Instead, it’s important to look at ethical issues and what a range of holy texts say on these. “Religious Education is a subject enjoyed in schools because it deals with the big questions that young people grapple with. It allows them a safe environment to question their beliefs and values. I worked in a multi-faith school for eight years and would argue that it is important to teach a range of texts, rather than just the Bible. Children from other faiths really appreciate a fair representation of their religion and are keen to compare their beliefs to Christianity. For example, when considering how religious believers deal with the problem of evil and suffering, it is useful to study the account of Job found in the Torah, Bible and Qur’an. Young people find it fascinating that God and Satan discuss Job’s fate.
I had a group of students who were really keen to meet up regularly to discuss some of the topics we covered in our lessons. We called the club ‘Interact’ and advertised it as an inter-faith discussion group. I think it is important for children to make their up their own minds about what to believe and to feel respected. By teaching texts from a variety of holy books I am demonstrating a sound knowledge of religious beliefs, and yet the students are aware that I have chosen to follow Jesus. Knowing that I value their beliefs helps to build a strong relationship, so they feel comfortable asking me questions about God.”
YES, a good knowledge of the Bible should be taught in all schools, to help children learn more about their history and modern society, argues Brian Howell, dean of studies and research at Bible Society.
Rather than spending time teaching Bible passages that may be considered irrelevant, we can deal with ethical issues and refer back to what the Bible says about the sanctity of life. When teaching the issue of abortion, the first question to debate is when life begins. I firstly use texts from the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikhism): “In the first watch of the night O my merchant friend you were cast into the womb, by the Lord’s Command… Upside-down, within the womb… you prayed to your Lord and Master.” (16 Sriraag Guru Nanak Dev). This passage sparks an interest that God is the one who commanded life to begin and that a relationship with Him can start even before birth. We then compare this to Psalm 139:13: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” These texts are inspiring for every student, regardless of their beliefs, because it shows that their lives are planned and valuable.
“Get together two academics – one Muslim, the other Christian; a Jewish Rabbi; a Humanist; and a former head teacher of an Accelerated Christian Education school; and you might expect a disagreement on whether the Bible and other sacred texts should be taught in schools.
Forgiveness is a topic that sparks a lot of interest in lessons: when Christianity is taught alongside other religions, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are shocking events. There are martyrs in other traditions, but the concepts of God’s own son being put to death for the forgiveness of wrong doing, and resurrected for the promise of eternal life, are in stark contrast to other religious doctrine. It becomes obvious that religion is man striving to get to God, to engage in activities that please Him, but following Jesus is accepting that He has done it all for us and paid the ultimate price.
So, if Christians don’t seem too concerned about Bible teaching in schools, it is worth asking what role, if any, the Bible should play in our schools. After all, they are largely secular environments and the Bible is just one among many religious texts. Shouldn’t Christians who wish to engage their children with the Bible do so at home and in church? And what is gained by encountering the Bible in the classroom?
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But when Bible Society assembled just such a panel for a debate in Parliament last November there was, in fact broad agreement. Of course, each had different reasons for wanting to see this happen, but primarily, they were motivated by a desire to understand each other and to be understood and for our society to be more aware of the traditions, which inform our increasingly inter-connected world. So why do less than half of evangelical think a good knowledge of the Bible should be taught in all schools?
Bible Society is currently sponsoring a project with the University of Exeter, which uses an artist to help children engage with the Bible, and look at how different people encounter the same Bible passage.
GOOD QUESTION
taught in schools? Allowing students to encounter the text for themselves better equips them to make up their own minds. I would argue that, crucially, without the Bible, students cannot get a full understanding of their own culture. Whether in art, music, architecture, or even English language expressions such as ‘the apple of my eye, or ‘the skin of my teeth’, the Bible’s influence can be felt.
In doing so, they begin to appreciate the depth and breadth of meaning in the Bible, rather than relying on others to tell them what it means. This is one example of how students in the classroom are introduced to other interpretations of the Scriptures, which often form part of Christian traditions different from their own. This can be critical for their own faith development in ‘making it their own’ faith, rather than that of their parents. Secondly, allowing students to encounter the Bible for themselves is vital in a world where Christianity is often misunderstood and negative impressions of the Bible are propagated by New Atheists and certain sections of the media.
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And without knowledge of the Bible, students find it harder to study authors like T.S. Eliot, Blake and Milton, not to mention entry into the philosophical debates of Hume, Locke, Kant, and the linguistic philosophies of Ricouer, Gadamer, Searle and Derrida. The Bible has also been a major contributor to the approach and understanding of the foundational concepts in British history and politics. Finally, good teaching is not simply the dissemination of information, but an engagement with the pupil with texts and ideas, often including open-ended discussion of issues. The presentation of the Bible in schools provides students with a prime opportunity to share their own experience of Christianity and the Bible, and to offer an alternative to some of those who assume that Christians hate everything from science, to homosexuals and the environment.”
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THE 9-5
by Lucy Cooper
A vision to see every child reading
Interview by Lucy Cooper
Rachel Ellis, from West London, desires to see every child achieve a good level of literacy before secondary school. She is a volunteer support worker for Beanstalk, a national charity that recruits, trains and supports volunteers to provide one-to-one reading support in primary schools to children who have fallen behind with their reading. investing in them and showing they are worthy of time and effort, and for Christians, because they are worth something to God. If the children are disrespectful or muck around, you give them another chance to be respectful and keep learning. I think of it as a relationship of grace. This morning I sat with a boy who has come on in leaps and bounds with his reading. We played snap at the end of the session and I had that moment when I said “Ooh I’m playing snap with an 8-yearold and this is my job… how exciting!” Rachel Ellis
“With a sizeable commute to the boroughs of Brent and Barnet on which I focus, I’m usually out of the door early and on the train to arrive at a school before 9am. I spend my travel time going through the plan for the day or, yes, reading – authors such as John Stott or CS Lewis, or maybe a novel like Les Miserables. I love reading, but for me it is not so much about passing on a hobby but more about passing on an essential life skill. Visiting the volunteers in the schools is one of the best parts of my job and I do that most mornings. This support meeting is a chance to check up on them, but in reality it is just a welcome opportunity for me to praise and encourage them. Children can be a bit thankless so just pointing out how far the pupils have progressed is uplifting. We talk about anything that might make their work even more effective and address any difficulties. I observe a session and remind them what a great and important job they are doing. Reading support offers a second chance to children who have often missed their first chance at learning to read in the classroom, for whatever reason. Sometimes pupils have given up on themselves, have no home support or their confidence has plummeted. One-to-one reading support is about IDEA MAGAZINE / 24
Last week I was with a girl who suffered neglect when tiny and she wasn’t taught to sit up so her muscles hadn’t formed properly. At the start of the year she was finding it difficult to sit, hold a pen or write more than single words. Now she has just finished a whole story for the head teacher. Her volunteer had encouraged her a little every week, and her muscles had got stronger along with her confidence. Late morning I will meet with our school contact, usually the head teacher or special needs co-ordinator for an update. After lunch I will go to the office in North Finchley. Beanstalk was founded in 1972 by Magistrate Susan Belgrave who noticed that a lot of the young people coming through her courts had really low levels of literacy. If a teenager is still not reading well; the last thing they will do is engage with school work. Illiteracy is associated with truancy, exclusion and later possible unemployment or even prison. That is why it is vital to address problems before they get to that stage, before they leave primary school. Beanstalk started with seven volunteers and it has now hit 3,000 UK wide. I will deal with emails, paperwork, arrange more school visits and look for ways to attract even more volunteers. I might analyse results and measure levels of progress of children while at the office.
We tend to work with children who for the last year or two didn’t make any progress at all. On average they will make two sublevels of progress which means they move from stagnating to catching up with their peers. The teachers often comment that improved reading has changed behaviour and the attitude toward learning. All this began for me at university. I heard that 11 per cent of children were not reading well enough to access what is going on in the classroom and I knew I wanted to make a difference and offer love and grace to struggling children. I began tutoring and learning how to teach reading and spelling. Later, working with teenagers in Harrow was great, but I was always thinking, if they are reading at the level of a 10 or 8-yearold at 16, why wasn’t this picked up when they were 10? Volunteering just for an hour and a half a week is one small but vital way Christians can meet local needs and give back to the community. When I get back home for the evening I love going along to my community choir to sing my heart out. We sing world music and it’s so fun. I enjoy being part of All Souls Langham Place too. There’s little time that I am not thinking about how Beanstalk can expand and how we could recruit more volunteers because we urgently need more. Please get in touch if you want to change a child’s life.” beanstalkcharity.co.uk
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Our new space to look back through the Alliance archive by Kim Walker, senior information and research officer
Crusade and the history of Christian publishing
This time we are celebrating the launch of Crusade magazine 70 years ago. This was the Alliance’s first attempt to produce a popular level illustrated magazine. At the time of publication the editor boldly claimed to be ‘breaking new ground’ as at that time in the UK there wasn’t another magazine like it. It was described as being the fruit of Billy Graham’s work in this country and the early editions featured a number of articles written by him, along with stories and photographs from the evangelistic crusades that were having such a big impact at the time.
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In this first edition places on one of the first ever Christian holiday crusades, organised by the Alliance, that was to be held at Butlin’s holiday camp, Filey were on offer for £8 8shillings. Bargain! There were also articles by John Stott, Billy Graham, John M Laird and Paul S Rees, the transcript of a radio broadcast by George Duncan, a survey of missionary activity around the world as well as book reviews and a Bible study. It paved the way for today’s idea magazine.
LEADERS’ QUESTIONS
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Do policies to tackle extremism make it harder for Christians to express their faith in public? We would love to hear your views on this subject. Are changes to the law making it more difficult for Christians to share the good news? Søren Kierkegaard said: “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought they seldom use.” Our director of Northern Ireland agrees. Let us know your views by tweeting @idea_mag and use the hashtag #freedomofspeech “Marginalisation is not the same as persecution. Although the experiences of Christians in the UK do not equate to what many Christians are experiencing around the world, there are important principles at stake in how the government reacts or overreacts to terrorism at home. This is because any erosion of religious freedom in the UK would translate pretty quickly to an erosion of religious freedom per se, and such a devaluing would in turn imperil many across the world. This is because religious liberty
Eddie Lyle, chief executive officer of Open Doors UK and Ireland
Peter Lynas, director of Evangelical Alliance Norther Ireland
(and the related freedom of conscience) historically and philosophically provides a foundation on which we have built many of our other human rights and civil liberties. As the journalist Rupert Shortt has noted, as “the canary in the mine for human rights generally”, if we allow any restrictions of our rights to hold and express our beliefs we can expect many other rights to diminish as well.”
“We need to point out to the government that policies designed to counter extremism might well make it harder for Christians and others to express their faith in public. The answer to true extremism is not to try and stamp it out, but to expose it for what it is. A pastor in Northern Ireland is being prosecuted for a sermon on the internet in which he was highly critical of Islam. But this is the exception rather than the rule. Most Christians are guilty of not sharing their faith enough rather than breaking the criminal law – it’s time to be more creative and bold.”
Eddie Lyle
Peter Lynas
Statement on the republication of ‘Taming the Tiger’ In light of recent news that Tony Anthony’s book Taming the Tiger has been republished as “essentially the same story” with minor edits by a second publisher RoperPenberthy - the Evangelical Alliance would like to re-issue our statement from 12 July 2013. We re-iterate the findings of the independent panel set up by Avanti – and chaired by barrister John Langlois - following discussions and nominations by the Evangelical Alliance: that Tony did not spend his childhood in China, he was never Kung Fu world champion and never worked in close protection: “In October 2012, the Evangelical Alliance received a detailed complaint about the validity of the testimony of an Avanti Ministries’ evangelist, Tony Anthony, and his book Taming the Tiger. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
continue to support Taming the Tiger.
Following discussions between the Evangelical Alliance and Avanti Ministries, Avanti agreed to set up an independent panel nominated by the Alliance to investigate in a confidential manner the allegations against Tony Anthony. The independent inquiry panel was made up of three respected members of the UK Council of the Evangelical Alliance: John Langlois (chair of panel), Keith Civval and Robert Amess. The panel produced its report on 26 June 2013 and concluded, based on the evidence submitted to it, that large sections of the book Taming the Tiger, and associated materials, which claim to tell the true story of Tony Anthony’s life, do not do so. Both the Evangelical Alliance and Avanti Ministries take serious note of the findings of the report and as a result Avanti has concluded that it is not appropriate to
The board of Tony Anthony Avanti Ministries are now considering the ramifications for Avanti Ministries’ future.”
Avanti subsequently closed. •
In July 2013, we also produced a Q&A regarding Evangelical Alliance and Avanti Ministries.
•
In September 2013, the Council of the Evangelical Alliance voted unanimously to remove Avanti Ministries from membership.
For more, read further articles on the republishing of Taming the Tiger by Christian Today and Premier.
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by Amaris Cole
Greed and giving up Sin. It seems a bit old fashioned, doesn’t it? Miserable as. Living in. It’s not sexy. We prefer to fix rather than abstain. Photoshop for blemishes, books for self-help, the internet for quick cures. Let’s not examine the cause, it’s easier to just find a solution. But the Bible is clear about it. And when it comes to sin in today’s society, our recent British values survey shows half of evangelicals believe greed is number one. In an age where it almost seems that sin is forgotten, greed is collecting dust with the best, or rather worst, of them. We might not like to admit it, but even we Christians can be guilty of this vice. What a contrast then, to visit a community of Christians who live differently. I went to East Sussex to visit the Bruderhof – brothers and sisters living communally and practising radical discipleship in the spirit of the first church in Jerusalem. I went expecting to feel compelled to live a more simple life, but realised it’s the motivation behind this lifestyle that’s the inspiring thing. IDEA MAGAZINE / 28
“People just want things, but when they die, they can’t take anything with them,” Fiona said to me while we sat in the simple apartment that she shares with her husband. “For most people, it is about what I want, rather than what do I owe Jesus.” “Jesus said a lot about material possessions. Maybe the Church should pay more attention to these commands.” Fiona and David joined the community when their children were young. From their very first visit, which came about when they happened to drive past the site on a family holiday, their lives changed. “We got home and realised everything we had was rubbish,” David said. “People often join here because they’re searching for something, but we weren’t really seeking anything. We weren’t unhappy with our lives, but we weren’t happy either. Many people’s lives are like that, and they just accept it as normal, like we did” Each family on the site is given their own apartment. “We live here for now,” I’m told by her son, who lives a few flats down the corridor, “until we move somewhere else.” Members take a vow when they join to go where they’re asked. With communities in
America, Germany, Paraguay and Australia, families can expect to move every so often, going to share their specific skills with others – wherever in the world they’re needed. Work is important here. “We see it as a form of worship,” I’m told while visiting the Community Playthings workshop. Each item the sophisticated factory produces is worked on until it’s perfect. Furniture, toys and nursery equipment leave the site with a 10year warranty – I saw a 50-year-old toy truck in the showroom that could still take the weight of a grown man. This is good stuff. Each of the men and women I pass were focussed on their task, clearly taking pride in their work, like any other craftsman. But there’s one major difference – there’s no money here. “Not even pocket money,” I’m assured. So what motivates them to work from 7.30am each day? “Working together is how we show our love to each other and our love to Jesus,” they respond. “As a community we need to support ourselves, but no one here has to worry about putting bread on the table individually. There’s no mortgages, no bills, no debts. That stress is missing, meaning we can use our hearts and minds for more important things.” All roles – from cleaning
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everything for God more. He later joined, and ended up running the furniture business here for many years. Ron, Fiona and David aren’t the only people here who have given up everything to join the community. But it isn’t a sacrifice, they say, you gain a lot more than you lose. Even in community, you can be materialistic – wanting to not share the things you do have. But it’s an “attitude of the heart to make sure you share”. to being the school principal – are held in equal importance, and despite preference and skills, members can be asked to do any task within the community. Outside of this community people are seen as a commodity. We work until we can’t be of use anymore, and are then packed off to a home or left to get along by ourselves. But not here. Everyone works. Whether it’s in this workshop, the farm, the office, the kitchens or the school, everyone serves one another. And when they can no longer serve, they’re “given better care than you’d find anywhere in the world”. I met Ron, 87, working on the components that connect the nursery furniture together. Sat in his wheelchair at a workstation, he delighted in showing me the “game” he plays all day, rolling these joiners into the box once he’s finished making them. In any other business, I’m sure Ron would have been retired years ago, but here he does what he’s able. I ask how Ron arrived here. After seeing a few minutes about the Bruderhof on the BBC in the 1950s, he knew he had to find out
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
The pursuit of ‘community’ has become fashionable lately – both in the Christian world, and the secular one. As we become increasingly self-sufficient and rely on technology more and human interaction less, the desire for a community to exist in has increased. “The question for the Church is how serious it is about giving up everything to follow Jesus. If a group of believers give up everything to follow Christ, community will naturally come into being. If we try to manufacture a community, it will fall apart. Christ needs to be the centre.” Around the site, there are many children. All bare-footed and bright-faced. With a school onsite and fields, woods and a stream within walking distance, it certainly does seem an idyllic childhood – if very different from the one experienced by their peers.
who do choose to leave when they hit 18 often go on to have successful careers because of this. The fact that many choose to stay, however, shows that the majority don’t feel they’ve missed out. “The dangers of materialism is something we can teach our children very early on,” a mother told me. “People look around the community and they see the children don’t have television, computers or phones, but see that the children are happy. We are meeting more and more parents who say that: that all these things don’t make their children happy.” “We are just 300 people who share together, following what Jesus taught: ‘Sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me’.” For more information about the Bruderhof, visit bruderhof.com For information about the furniture and toys produced at the East Sussex site, visit communityplaythings.co.uk
The children are brought up largely technology-free. There are no computers in the school, they don’t have phones and the majority of the games seem to either be outside or involving the wooden toys made in the workshop. The work ethic they’re taught is also clear. In fact, those children
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CULTURE Edited by threads. For more posts like this, visit threadsuk.com
by Gabriella Llewellyn
Where’s my stage? And other lies that keep us from serving. I never dreamed of working backstage, which is what I do at my job for my husband’s band. It’s dark and has none of the lights and glamour of the stage. I run in and out of black curtains, grabbing more t-shirts, sending emails, taking pictures, and generally trying to be useful. Most days I even wear all black to fit into the background.
We only need to look at Jesus to see the truth about the centre stage. Even though he actually deserved the worship, the honour and the spotlight, he lowered himself to be the least of these. He came to serve, to wash feet, to be killed for the sake of his people. Jesus rejected the ‘stage’ because he knew it wasn’t the way he was going to be the most effective for the kingdom.
No one knows who I am, or that I’m even there. And to be honest it’s taken me a while to learn to be OK with that.
Of course this doesn’t mean that having a platform is evil. Having a platform to serve from can be such a powerful and beautiful tool. But the main purpose for a platform is to serve the good of others and bring glory to God. When those two things aren’t happening, the platform has lost its eternal value. People with the brightest spotlights should be the biggest servants. If they’re not, then they’re abusing their role.
Some days I get scared that if I keep working in the background I’ll fade away. Some days I think I’m worth more. Some days I believe so many lies it immobilises me. I don’t think I’m alone in these insecurities, or alone in my need to fight them. Even though most of us don’t work behind an actual, physical stage, it doesn’t mean that we don’t struggle with feeling like we’re living on the side lines of someone else’s show. As a millennial I’ve grown up believing that I can do anything and be the best. I know it sounds dumb, and that’s because it is. I also live in a society that’s all about selfpromotion — on social media, in work, even when it comes to faith communities, we long for a sense of worth and leadership. Working backstage has uncovered so many lies I didn’t even know I believed about what it means to be a human who is worth something. 1. The stage is worth more than anything else around it. My big lie that I catch myself believing is that what happens on stage is worth more than what happens off it. Basically, that to be worth anything I need to have a spotlight, a microphone, a throng of fans validating my self-worth. I think we all have a ‘stage’ that we aspire to. We want to be the best at what we do, the leader, the talent, the worshipped one. When we’re not, we feel like we’ve failed.
2. What happens backstage doesn’t matter. OK, obviously this one isn’t true. So why do we all believe it? The most hard-working member of our road team is our tour manager, Tom. He’s the first one awake, the last one to go to bed, he drives trucks, loads gear, deals with challenging people. He even gives up his meals sometimes for our bus driver when there isn’t enough. He’s a legend that serves with his all – at all times. We couldn’t live without Tom. But no one asks Tom for his autograph. He’s one of the most valued members of our team, but publicly, no one even knows he exists. What happens backstage matters just as much as what happens on stage. If you’re feeling discontent and under-recognised in your team, in your ministry, in your life, I would challenge you to ask yourself: “What makes it all worthwhile?” If the answer is the approval and appreciation of other people, then maybe it’s not the right job for you. “So that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” – Matthew 6:4
3. Where are my fans? How do I get them? I know it’s uncomfortable to talk about, because we all pretend we don’t care about glory. Wake up! We all care about the glory. If you treat life like your stage you may stumble into the spotlight, but you’ll miss the eternal point. Every Christian has been taught this world is not our home, that this life is fading, a breath, a vapour. And yet so many of us — myself included— are so caught up in living our best life now. We’re all guilty of hoarding up our medals and treasures here on earth, and all they do is cloud our vision of heaven. You don’t get fans; you’re not meant to be worshipped. None of us are. And that shouldn’t bother us. The closest we should ever get to being on the stage of God is getting to be the spotlight that shines on Him or the microphone through which He speaks. And we all get to be those things in our lives, through our words, and in our actions. “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12:33-34. I feel like I’ve done a lot of preaching, so let me end on this note of encouragement to the one who is struggling with self-worth: you are worth so much more than what you do or don’t do. Before you did anything, Jesus did everything because he thought you were worth it. Rest in that, abide in his love, and trust that he sees you and is all the audience you need — in this life and the next. Gabriella Llewellyn is a writer currently living on the road. She is the social media manager and written voice for the Northern Irish worship band Rend Collective. We need your help to ensure the “missing generation” is no longer missing. threads is reaching out to the missing generation, young adults in their 20s and 30s who are leaving the Church in droves as they see faith as irrelevant, out of touch and side-lined from the very real issues they are facing. For as little as £3 a month, you could become a supporter of threads and play your part in ensuring this generation is no longer missing – visit eauk.org/supportthreads or call 0207 520 3848
IDEA MAGAZINE / 30
MUSIC
CULTURE
The idea-playlist Our list of the best things to read, do and listen to. The idea iPod ONLY THE BRAVE – Tim Hughes from Pocketful of Faith SAY THE WORD – Hillsong United from Empires HOLD BACK THE RIVER – James Bay from Chaos and the Calm
REVIEWS HONEST EVANGELISM
THE MESSAGE OF WORSHIP
by Rico Tice
by John Risbridger IVP
Rico Tice is the evangelist behind Christianity Explored who has driven Bible study ministry for non-believers and new Christians. In his new book, we find a practical guide for evangelism when the ‘explain the reason behind your faith question’ comes up. Tice’s pointers and key words for evangelising are a great way to stay on track when talking with friends, family or work colleagues. They are useful steps without providing a robotic method to evangelism. They are a useful guide to fully introducing Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers. This small book is packed full of stories and personal accounts while providing honest advice from an experienced church evangelist. Honest Evangelism is an easy, manageable and fruitful read.
Sadly over the years, worship in the context of our church communities, rather than being the vehicle which draws us closer to God and to each other, has caused deep areas of disagreement and even division. John Risbridger in his book The message of worship comes to the subject as both a hands-on, gifted pastor/teacher, leading a healthy growing church in Southampton, but also as a musician who has lead worship both in small congregational settings and large Christian festivals. The message of worship is both an insightful, biblical overview of the place of worship in the life of the believer and the church community, with a strong practical application for everyday life
Reviewed by Tosin Oyeniyi
Reviewed by Steve Clifford
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
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IDEA-LIST by the LICC team
5 simple things to try at work this week
For more ideas on how to live out your faith at work take a look at LICC’s new workplace discipleship resource Transforming Work at licc.org.uk/tw or download the app (available through Apple and Android).
1 - BE NOSY It’s easy for us to get so used to relating to people at work on a purely professional level that we forget that our colleagues and clients have whole lives outside of the workplace. So as you go to work today, be nosy. Start showing a friendly curiosity about people’s lives and ask God to heighten your awareness of the state of those around you. Is anyone distracted, under pressure, unusually tired? Simply asking someone how they’re doing – and actually listening to the answer – is a simple way to reflect God’s love that can make a huge difference.
2 - PUT GOD ON YOUR TO-DO LIST God knows we’re forgetful and has always encouraged His people to use all sorts of practical ways of reminding themselves of His presence and commandments (Deuteronomy 6:5-9). Evangelical Alliance staff hard at work in our London centre.
Every day in the UK around two million Christians go to work and engage with tens of millions of people in thousands of workplaces and organisations. What amazing opportunities to have a transformative impact for Christ – but do we feel confident in making the most of those opportunities? The team at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, who empower and equip Christians to make a difference wherever they find themselves, have come up with five simple things to try at work this week.
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So try using just a few small things to help you remember God at work this week – a particular image on your screen saver, a meaningful laptop password, an unusual but significant object on your desk, even a note on your ‘to-do’ list – sometimes we need to be more literal about inviting God into our everyday practical tasks!
3 - WAVE GOODBYE TO EMAIL Sometimes it’s too easy to shoot off an email without thinking how it’s going to be received. Emails can add stress, be misleading and be detrimental to working relationships. So this week, before writing an email, think about whether you need to send it. “Could I make the effort to talk face-to-face with the person?” Sometimes they’re just down the corridor or at the next work station. Even if they’re further away, a quick call can really help you understand each other, and the task at hand.
4 - CAFFEINATE YOUR PRAYERS If we’re God’s children when we’re worshipping in church, we’re still his children when we’re serving at work. That means we can draw on His wisdom and resources for those workplace challenges we face – but we often forget that. So why not use your daily trips to the coffee point as a chance to spend a minute praying about a work issue using just one line from the Lord’s Prayer: “Hallowed be your name” - God, help me to remember that ultimately it’s you I’m serving at work today. “Your Kingdom come” - In my relationship with that customer; in my conversation with that colleague. “Give us today our daily bread” - I really need your help to work efficiently and finish this project on time!
5 - CHANGE THE BOATS DIRECTION What frustrates you about your workplace? What do you moan about to your colleagues, your friends, your other half? When you’ve identified something you’d like to see changed – unhealthy competition, gossip, an absence of joy – then do something simple to address it: give away a sales lead, talk up your colleagues, buy chocolate for your team. It might feel like a drop in the ocean, but it only needs a shift of one degree to take an enormous ocean liner to a completely different destination.
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 make any comments about the Evangelical Alliance by emailing idea@eauk.org
INVESTING IN CHILDREN Today I received your latest magazine, idea (July/ August 2015) and was interested to read the article; ‘The stories they didn’t teach at Sunday School’. This automatically got my attention as a children’s director. As I read it I had a few thoughts I wanted and felt was important to share. For the last seven years I have worked for St Paul’s and St George’s church in Edinburgh. As I have grown in my role, I have become increasingly convicted of the privilege it is to have children as part of your church. I have also realised the challenge it is to teach them from the Bible. As I read each of your four leaders comments on what passages they were not taught in their Sunday schools I started to think of all the passages they were taught. For many years without them being able to remember, Sunday school teachers will have taught them from the Bible and invested in their lives. They will have taught them, loved them, discipled them and cared for them. I wonder where the acknowledgement of their service and ministry was. Week after week my team and I love opening up the Bible with the children in our church. Do we think they will remember all of the teaching? Potentially not but that is not what we do it for. We turn up every week because we feel called to invest in children’s lives so that they can live
Editor Amaris Cole – idea@eauk.org Consulting editors Chine Mbubaegbu and Peter Lynas Contributing writers Lucy Cooper, Amelia Abplanalp, Lisa Adams, Nicky Waters, Kim Walker, Chine Mbubaegbu. Advertising manager Candy O’Donovan c.odonovan@eauk.org Design & Print Cliffe Enterprise SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
each day wherever they are and whatever age they are as people living for Jesus. Paul Coulter, Ken Clarke, Neil Dawson and Caroline Bradley are all exceptional leaders in the church. They are most obviously living lives focused on Jesus and His Kingdom. I can only hope and pray that the children who are part of our church today are living lives like these people into their adulthood. And to know that the children you minister too are continuing to walk with Jesus is a gift to anyone who has ever been part of children’s ministry. Every week I want to allow the children to know that each part of the Bible is true and real, and relevant to them each day of their lives no matter what age they are. We do not know what stories children will remember but we do know that we are called to faithfully teach it to them. Children’s ministry is not only about teaching the Bible. It is about allowing children to grow in a relationship with Jesus each day of their lives, which includes teaching the Bible, and if they continue in this relationship into adulthood then praise God. Gemma Stoddart Children’s Director of St Paul’s & St George’s Church, Edinburgh
Director of media & communications Chine Mbubaegbu
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
HEARD IN TWEETS
Gareth Davies @garethjdavies66 Wise and challenging words from @ stevemclifford via @idea_mag on the battle against cynicism (towards politicians) bit. ly/1eXvKSx Ian Warelow @respecteb Absolutely loved: The Church, outreach, wealth and class eauk.co/1fIOohd via @idea_mag. Couldn’t put this any better myself Joanna Wright @TheMrsWright1 @ EAUKnews Staff bring & share lunch demonstrating 1 of our values- relationship. (Could get used to this.) roy hutchinson @rhutch Staff at @ EAUKnews are so kind - popped in unannounced and they were very generous. Now off to an @LondonCM meeting at our Kings Cross site Amaris Cole @AmarisColeEA Just had a reply from my MP @PriskMark on an email I sent about the assisted dying bill. Have you contacted yours? eauk.org/current-affairs/ politics.cfm
Pray for us on the move
We’re so thankful for so many of you who prayer for us regularly. We’re pleased to let you know you can now get Evangelical Alliance prayer updates automatically on your mobile phone or tablet through the free PrayerMate app on iOS and Android. Subscribing is easy, just visit: praynow4.org/ea AN ENCOURAGING IDEA I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading the EA magazine and always look forward to it coming. It is always encouraging and informative, and helpful with the way it presents things. The issue leading up to the election was especially helpful. The edition that has just reached me has again encouraged me. Thank you to all those involved! Looking forward to the next edition... Yours most sincerely, Wayne (via email)
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, self-addressed 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. IDEA MAGAZINE / 33
LAST WORD
Steve Clifford the general director, writes…
The greatest challenge facing the Church in the UK “I want you to know it wasn’t the great Christian music that attracted me, or indeed stunning preaching or the amazing church I was to join. It was Jesus. Someone introduced me to Jesus. I heard about his life, his death, his historyshattering resurrection and deep down at the core of my being I just knew it was true, and because it was true it was to have a profound impact on every area of my life.” I’ve come to the conclusion that God is challenging me big time at the moment. I became a Christian when I was 17 years old – more years ago than I care to count. I want you to know it wasn’t the great Christian music that attracted me, or indeed stunning preaching or the amazing church I was to join. It was Jesus. Someone introduced me to Jesus. I heard about his life, his death, his history-shattering resurrection and deep down at the core of my being I just knew it was true, and because it was true it was to have a profound impact on every area of my life. At 17 years of age I became a follower of Jesus, the most amazing person who has ever walked the earth. As I now look back over the years, I’ve come to realise how easy it is to get caught up in the ‘stuff’ of life. Not necessarily ‘bad stuff’, but the busyness, even of church and Christian ministry, and I’ve realised how in all this we might somehow lose sight of Jesus. It’s not that he’s out of sight. I read his book, sing his songs, even have fairly regular conversations with him, but he is not somehow centre stage, he’s not in the spotlight, he’s not where he deserves to be. IDEA MAGAZINE / 34
In the next few weeks a piece of research will be released that gives a snapshot of the English population’s understanding of who Jesus is. The results are shocking. You’ll be able to read those in the next idea magazine. People don’t know who Jesus is. Living in a country that has historically been so influenced by the Christian faith - our legal system, political structures and education - this kind of research has to ask major questions of the British education system, our national broadcasters, indeed the media as a whole. But what about the challenge to us as a Church? Have we let our family, friends, neighbours, workmates, the people that surround us, down? It’s a challenge we can’t ignore. It’s got to be, for me, the greatest challenge facing the Church here in the UK. How can we raise the bar of the UK population’s understanding of who Jesus is? It’s pretty obvious really: people are unlikely to become followers of Jesus until they have some knowledge of the true Jesus. The one we have come to love and obey. Let me be absolutely clear. We mustn’t stop our foodbanks, night shelters, street pastors and debt counselling. The Church is doing amazing things, meeting the needs of some of the most vulnerable in our society, but simply doing good works is not enough. I
have come to the conclusion that it has to be the number one challenge facing the UK Church, as we commit ourselves to God’s mission. Every person across the United Kingdom should have the opportunity to hear, to understand, to experience and come to a conclusion about Jesus. They might not accept him, but surely they need to be given the chance to reject the real Jesus, not the figment of the imagination of a secular, 21st century world. So back to my personal challenge. Does the way that I live, relate, interact with the world around me, invite questions, inspire curiosity and challenge the status quo? How willing am I, in everyday life, to refer to Jesus, share my faith, offer a prayer and provoke a challenge? Do I really believe, deep down, that the biblical account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is true, and because it’s true, every aspect of life faces the challenge of ‘getting into line’? How sure am I that the good news is really good news for my gay neighbour, and the Muslim family that live next door? Am I convinced that the most loving act I could possibly engage in, would be to introduce my friend, whatever their background or life experience, to Jesus, the saviour of the world?
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
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