idea magazine March / April 2013

THE MAGAZINE OF THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE

www.eauk.org/idea

MAR/APR 2013

NEWS COMMENT features

Home for good the radical hospitality of adoption and fostering

MARK DRISCOLL

GOOD QUESTION

THIS IS OUR PLACE

Controversial US pastor on true identity

Exploring different attitudes to tithing

Meet the Church in Salford

Connect

Good question

On the Job

Big Interview

Theology

Culture

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Christian Resources Exhibitions EQUIPPING AND EMPOWERING YOUR CHURCH IDEA MAGAZINE / 2

Chine Mbubaegbu: Everyone longs for community.

idea-torial “ Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Hebrews 13:2

I live in a new-build block of flats alongside hundreds of others, each of us kept apart by our own four walls, living our lives; separately. When I moved into the flats – my first home - a year ago, I had done so with the best of intentions. I planned to bring with me that sense of ‘community’ we Christians so love talking about. But life happened. Work continued. My diary was constantly full. And yet I didn’t know my neighbours’ names. Until I was set a challenge by Stewardship’s 40acts initiative, which encourages people to show acts of kindness during Lent. My task was to host a tea party for my neighbours, complete with a film crew who captured every nerve-wracking moment. You can watch it on their website.

There is something special about inviting people into our homes, but usually these people are the people we know and love: our friends, our family, members of our church. But are we as comfortable opening our doors to those whom the writer of Hebrews calls “strangers” – those who are unknown? Those who are different? Those who could make us uncomfortable? The doors of the kingdom of God are open to anyone who might want to enter in. To my surprise, when I invited my neighbours for a cuppa and a cake, they came.

Because everyone longs for community.

This edition of idea introduces you to our new Home for Good campaign, in which the Alliance, alongside Care for the Family and CCPAS, are encouraging the Church to help the 4,000 children awaiting adoption in the UK, and the 8,000 in need of foster care. I have been humbled and challenged by those who welcome these vulnerable children into their homes because this demonstrates something of the radical hospitality of the God who has adopted us, broken as we are. The one who has provided us with a home for good.

40acts.org.uk Chine Mbubaegbu Editor

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CONTENTS FEATURES 18-19 Cover story

Krish Kandiah shares the heart of fostering and adoption.

28 This is our place

Introducing leading Christians working together in Salford.

32 Words and deed

Theologian Paula Gooder on the heartbeat of mission.

20

REGULARS

Big interview: Mark Driscoll – the controversial US pastor on identity and who he really is.

4-5 Connect

What’s going on at the Evangelical Alliance?

6-7 Good question Should I tithe?

9 On the job

Meet foster carers Emily and Simon Lee…

13-15 Nations

News from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

36 In your words

idea readers respond

24/25

38 Last word

General director Steve Clifford writes…

Children in need: understanding the complexity of child poverty.

30 Culture: A closer look at mother-son relationships in new film Guilt Trip Head Office 186 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BT tel: 020 7207 2100 fax: 020 7207 2150 info@eauk.org www.eauk.org Evangelical Alliance leadership team Steve Clifford, Helen Calder, Fred Drummond, Elfed Godding, Krish Kandiah, Dave Landrum, Peter Lynas

Email address changes to members@eauk.org Northern Ireland Office 440 Shore Road, Newtownabbey BT37 9RU tel: 028 9029 2266 nireland@eauk.org Wales Office 20 High Street, Cardiff CF10 1PT tel: 029 2022 9822 wales@eauk.org

Scotland Office Evangelical Alliance Scotland has moved: International Christian College, 110 St James Road, Glasgow, G4 0PS tel: 0141 548 1555 scotland@eauk.org

IDEA MAGAZINE / 3

CONNECT

News from the Alliance

Inspiring Christians awarded in parliament

by Andrew Green

The winners of the Inspire Awards 2012 for unsung Christians were announced at a parliamentary reception.

The awards, organised by the Alliance in collaboration with Inspire magazine, are an annual celebration of the work of individual Christians, projects and churches that don’t normally find themselves in the limelight but nevertheless provide invaluable services in their communities across the UK. The judges shortlisted nine entries from the three award categories of inspiring individual, inspiring project, and children’s and youth initiative. Each of these candidates was invited to the reception hosted by Christian MPs in the Houses of Parliament on 29 November.

The overall winners of the three categories were Mike Hulcoop from Aylesbury who won the inspiring individual award for the money management centre he runs from his local church. Ed Walker represented Hope into Action from Northampton, which won the inspiring project award for its work helping vulnerable adults be integrated back into their communities. Martin Dickson collected the children’s and youth initiative IDEA MAGAZINE / 4

award on behalf of Wirral YFC for the work they do to publicly affirm ‘young heroes’ who have been an inspiration to their peers.

Inspiring individual Mike Hulcoop said: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be standing here in the Houses of Parliament winning an award for helping people with their money problems and I’m really honoured. But this award is also a tribute to our all those who make a brave step when they bring their debt problems to our door and begin that journey of unburdening themselves.”

Ed Walker (pictured – right), founder and director of Hope into Action in Peterborough, said: “Standing alongside our tenants, who were formerly homeless, as they rebuild their lives is a humbling, exciting, inspiring and sometimes difficult experience but this award gives us great encouragement that we are doing the right thing. It’s also a testament to those who’ve supported our vision of getting the local church to bring its unique gifts to help give a home to some of the most vulnerable people in society.”

Martin Dickson of Wirral YFC said the children’s and youth initiative award would help in the organisation’s mission to publicly affirm the young people who are an inspiration to the Wirral.

Faith minister Baroness Warsi said of the awards: “Faith communities make a vital contribution to national life - guiding the moral outlook of many, inspiring great numbers of people to public service and providing support to those in need. The participants at these awards are driven by their desire to care for the vulnerable, which is why it is so wonderful that ceremonies like this honour the unsung heroes around the country who make a difference in their communities.

Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance, added: “I am overwhelmed and heartened by hearing how Christian individuals and organisations are doing amazing work in their local communities.

“It was once again an honour to celebrate the community transformations we are so passionate about as Christians.”

Andrew Green: Taking their faith seriously does not equate evangelicals with extremism

Twitter: @tandrewgreen

CHR and the E hierarchy of rights

by Andrew Green, Alliance press officer

Alliance spokespeople were on hand to provide analysis and commentary in January as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on the cases of four Christians claiming workplace discrimination because of their faith.

Dave Landrum, director of advocacy, spoke to 11 BBC regional radio stations on the implications of these landmark rulings.

Two of the applicants to the ECHR, Nadia Eweida and Shirley Chaplin, complained that their employers placed restrictions on their visibly wearing crosses at work.

Gary McFarlane and Lillian Ladele complained about being sacked for refusing to carry out work duties that they felt condoned homosexuality.

Our press release on the outcome was picked up by regional and faith press in both the UK and the United States. The Yorkshire Post quoted Dr Landrum: “If we want to create a society that is diverse and can live with its deepest differences there needs to be a fuller protection for religious beliefs, convictions and actions.”

The cases were much anticipated by the press and reporting started the weekend before the ECHR ruling was announced.

On the day of the announcement, which only ruled in favour of British Airways worker, Nadia Eweida, Dr Landrum was interviewed on BBC 5 Live and BBC London and later in the week contributed to the Sunday Programme on BBC Radio 4. Dr Don Horrocks, interviewed on ITV London Tonight, pointed out the ruling judges’ comments that employers had acted disproportionately in weighing the balance of rights in each of the four cases.

The Washington Post quoted from the same release: “The court has shown a hierarchy of rights now exists in UK law.”

Best of the web 1) Response to Christianity magazine article on homosexuality In our most popular web story of all time, our general director Steve Clifford responds to an article in Christianity magazine on same-sex attraction. eauk.org/the-bible-and-homosexuality

2) Evangelicals and education The latest in the Alliance’s 21st Century Evangelicals research series looks at the important issue of education. eauk.org/snapshot

3) God-shaped holes and godless churches Our Friday Night Theology looks at the implications of London’s first atheist church opening. eauk.org/god-shaped-holes

eauk.org

4) Easter facts and statistics Get help with your Easter sermon with some fascinating statistics from the Alliance’s information and research team. eauk.org/easter-facts

5) A FAITHFUL GOSPEL A peaceful gospel, an Athenian gospel, a kingdom gospel? Watch some great videos from our national consultation exploring: ‘what is the gospel’? eauk.org/a-faithful-gospel

in the media The Alliance welcomes the following new members CHURCHES Amazing Grace Ministries (Kingdom Centre), Croydon » Abridge Evangelical Free Church, Abridge » Agape Love International Ministries, London » All Nations Christian Centre, London » Banner of Praise Ministries, London » Bridgeway, Fulham, London » Calvary Church of God in Christ , London, E11 » Calvary Church of God in Christ, Birmingham » Calvary Church of God in Christ, London, N17 » Calvary Church of God in Christ, London, N19 » Calvary Inspiration Church, Ilford » Christ Church, Kingston Upon Thames » Christ the Lord Tabernacle, London » Christian Life Era Ministries – Temple Wonder Church, Peckham » Command Prayer Centre Ministries International, Manchester » Community Outreach Ministries, London » CrossRoads Community Church, Crewe » D7 Church, Gloucester » Desborough Baptist Church, Desborough » Divine Healing Church of Christ , London » Ealing Christian Centre, London » Elim Church Crawley » Epping Green Chapel, Epping » Everlasting Word of God Church International, London » Five Talent Church International, Luton » Foursquare Gospel Church (The Royal Family), Birmingham » Gomer Faith Ministries, London » Grace Church, Bristol » Grace Temple International, London » Greenhouse Fellowship, Christchurch, Dorset » Guiding Light Assembly, London » Holy Ghost Temple of Faith, London » Hope Community Church, Brentwood » In His Presence Foursquare Church, Leeds » In Spirit and In Truth Ministries, London » Lakes Christian Centre, Windermere » Life Centre Bible Church, London » Life in the Spirit Christian Fellowship, London » LifeGrace Ministries International, London » Living Faith Foursquare Gospel Church, Bedford » Living Word of Faith Outreach Ministries Intl, London » Love Chapel International, London » Ministry of the Word, London » Miracle Life Gospel Church, Coventry » North Thames Vineyard, High Wycombe » Pneuma Christian Centre, Croydon » Prayer Bank Ministries, London » Preston City Mission, Preston » RCCG - House of Champions, Croydon » RCCG Salvation Theatre, Wolverhampton » RCCG - The Covenant Assembly Church, Chatham » Redeemer, London » Richmond Borough Church, Twickenham » River Church, Liverpool » Set the Captives Free Ministry, Enfield » Solent Community Church , Portsmouth » Southlands Christian Church, Horley » St Luke’s Church, Newcastle-upon-Tyne » Tower Christian Centre, London » United Reformed Church, London » Victory Christian Mission, London » Word International Ministries, London » Word of Life Community Church, Manchester.

Organisations Acts of Hope Charitable Trust, High Wycombe » Apostolic Pastoral Association, Manchester » Generation Now, Stockton-On-Tees.

MAR/APR 2013

IDEA MAGAZINE / 5

GOOD QUESTION

Should I tithe?

For some Christians, tithing is an important part of the expression of their Christian faith. For others, giving 10 per cent of their earnings away is an Old Testament practice which we no longer need to follow.

We asked a few experts what they think…

Michael O’Neill, CEO of Stewardship The other day my son Declan, six, told me he wanted to be poor this year. Puzzled, I asked why. He replied: “Because that will mean I gave everything I have to the real poor people.” Declan never asked ‘how much?’. For him, giving was an act of worship and was an outward manifestation of his heart for Jesus and for the poor. For him, and for us, the question is not ‘should I tithe?’ The question is ‘what is my passion?’ Once we identify our passion, our treasure naturally follows. Those who understand stewardship, and understand that all we have comes from God also understand that the answer to the question ‘do I tithe’ is very easy. It’s yes! What we tithe is sometimes a more difficult response and depends upon the extent of our passion. Thankfully, Declan knows Jesus gave us everything, and he wishes to respond in kind. stewardship.org.uk

Alan Wilson, doctor of ministry student Should you tithe? Perhaps. The principle of tithing is clearly taught in the Old Testament, in fact even predating the Mosaic Covenant. What we sometimes miss is that there are several Old Testament tithes which, if taken separately, amount to 23 per cent rather than the basic 10 per cent. There is little mention of tithing in the New Testament. Jesus refers to it in his blazing critique of the religiosity of the Pharisees, but the question of whether he intended the practice to be mandated on his New Covenant people is not necessarily resolved there (should Christian gardeners tithe their daffodils?) and the emphasis in the rest of the New Testament is on a generosity that is inspired by the self-giving of Jesus. At the end of the day, is it not more important to realise that - like a Patek Philippe watch - none of our wealth is really ours to own? Regularly setting aside 10 per cent may help to remind us, but it should hardly be the sum total of our giving. timeforthought.co.uk IDEA MAGAZINE / 6

To tithe or not to tithe: Views from a range of different voices.

Redina Kolaneci, stewardship and fundraising consultant It seems to me that throughout the Old Testament, the New Testament and history of the Church tithing has been part of the biblical writers’ and Christians’ response to the dilemma voiced by the psalmist: “What shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me?” (Psalm 116:12) In the Old Testament, God asked His people to bring the tithe to Him because He knew that excessive attention to wealth and possessions would hinder them from developing an intimate relationship with Him. The same is true of us today. That’s why I believe that tithing is a discipline that curbs our obsession with ‘money and stuff’ and frees us for a closer relationship with God. mcconkey-johnston.co.uk

Israel Olofinjana, team leader, Catford Community Church, and author of Reverse in Ministry and Missions: Africans in the Dark Continent of Europe This is an interesting question with answers shaped by our theological and cultural understandings. To argue from an African and Caribbean church perspective, tithing is not optional but mandatory. This is based on the Old Testament practice of Jewish tithing. The affinity and similarities between the worldview of the Old Testament and that of many Afro-Caribbeans means that tithing is valued and seen as an important means in building our church community. Part of this understanding is what makes some African Christians dance for joy while giving their tithes! I am aware that the New Testament does not demand tithing but talks about generous giving according to our capacity. However, as an African whose worldview does not separate the Old from the New Testament, giving through tithes or other means is important. israelolofinjana.wordpress.com

Myles Wilson, author of Funding the Family Business If we see tithing as a required activity we can slip into a legalistic response of ‘what’s the least I can give to be accepted?’. Better to start on a grace basis of ‘what’s the most I can give in response to God’s overwhelming love for me?’ Instead of giving 10 per cent and assuming we own the other 90 per cent, why not recognise that God owns 100 per cent? He graciously allows us keep what we need for our family needs with the rest available to invest in His Kingdom, using passages like Matthew 6 to guide what we keep and what we give. fundingthefamilybusiness.org

Ched Myers, activist, theologian, biblical scholar Tithing is misunderstood as just another churchly obligation. Biblically it is meant to be, like any sacrifice, a joyful response to the initiative of God (see for example Genesis 28:20-22). In the cosmology of grace, divine generosity animates gratitude, which in turn responds by circulating the gift of commonwealth. Thus tithing in Israel was originally a form of social mutual aid adjudicated through the cultic system (Deuteronomy 14:22-29); the Temple apparatus was a redistributive system in which surplus was shared with those in need. This is why priests who took more than their share of the tithe were labeled “robbers” (Malachi 3:8-12). Christians today can reinhabit this tradition through practices of gifting and mutual aid, best when organised through a church body. chedmyers.org

MAR/APR 2013

IDEA MAGAZINE / 7

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olossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it C with all your heart, as working for the Lord

ON THE JOB

The heart of fostering Emily and Simon Lee talk to Chine Mbubaegbu about the ups and downs of being foster parents…

For foster carers Emily and Simon Lee, there is no better demonstration of the unwavering, unchanging, unconditional and radical love of God than opening up their home to a child who is in difficult circumstances. The couple, based in the north-east, know that foster care is their calling rather than a job.

Emily, 33, was clear right from a very young age that she wanted to become a foster carer. “I have no idea where the original desire came from, but I have always talked about it, since I was a little girl. Simon and I were friends before we started dating, so he knew what he was getting into. We were married for six years before we started going down the route of fostering.”

A year and a half into their first foster placement they had a child of their own – Ivy – who they describe as an “unexpected blessing”. “Ivy wasn’t part of the plan. She’s a blessing that we didn’t know we wanted. A lot of people think fostering or adoption is a second choice, but for us it was really our first choice.”

Ivy, now two years old, has played her own part in welcoming the foster children into the family home. With a special ability to empathise, she has been a vital part in the “therapeutic” role of fostering. The couple had a seven-year-old who was uncontrollable; until Ivy was born and everything changed.

Where he had previously been violent, he was no longer. The Lees also had a one-year-old who could not speak. The first time she interacted was with Ivy. When they started out three and a half years ago, they had considered going with Christian agencies, but felt it was right for them to work with their local council. “It was a long process,” says Simon, 39. “And rightly so. They go into a lot of detail about your personal life and your home life to make sure you are able to fulfil a need in the child’s life rather than your own life.”

Both Emily and Simon had backgrounds in working with young people. Emily, who worked with young offenders, said: “You hear stories of foster homes that are nightmares and make children feel they’re just there to pay the bills. We feel we have a unique opportunity to show a child love – loving them when it’s hard; when they hurt you or when they’re destructive; or when other MAR/APR 2013

people are unable to love them. It’s a unique calling.”

But what happens when it’s time to say goodbye? When the children you have shown love to, nurtured, and come to love yourself leave your home?

“We know that we have a specific role and that’s for a specific time,” says Simon. “We know that there’s something better for them, but when your heart gets involved it’s a wrench. But our role isn’t to be their parent for the long-term. We love them – if we didn’t love them then we wouldn’t be doing our job right.”

Emily adds: “We see our role as to enable the child to bond and attach and to love somebody. The key difference between adoption and fostering is in fostering you have a very therapeutic role. You teach them how to love, how to play, how to eat, how to interact.

You’re preparing them to be ready for a family.”

The couple’s church family have helped support and comfort them through the times when their foster children have left. But the church has also been a great place of stability and friendship while the children are with them.

“A lot of our great friends are in church and so are able to support us and love the children as well,” says Simon. “The leadership have also been really supportive. They get the fact that for us, it’s a calling, it’s our role. Our church also has lots of other young children and babies. Our foster children – who otherwise may have been quite solitary – have found friends in church. They have also built really healthy relationships with adults which for some of them has been a novelty.”

Ultimately Emily and Simon open their home to children because it reflects something of the nature of God. “Fostering gives us a fascinating insight into God. God is dealing with humans all the time who are destructive and violent. But He is that constant love. And that gives us a great comfort to know that the God of everything is experiencing some of the things that we are on a much smaller scale. It’s a wonderful opportunity to pass that love on and instil in them something of what God is.” homeforgood.org.uk IDEA MAGAZINE / 9

Rising theologian: Could it be you?

NEWS

Nationwide search for a theologian of the future As the country debates the importance of religious education, the Evangelical Alliance is partnering with the London School of Theology (LST) and Christianity magazine to find a future theologian.

The Rising Theologian competition is being run to champion and raise awareness of theology in the UK. The prize is the chance to win a fully-funded BA or MA in Theology from LST, which is worth around £20,000.

Dr Krish Kandiah, executive director: churches in mission, at the Evangelical

Alliance said: “All of us are theologians, the only question is whether we are good ones or not. I believe our Church needs to invest in facilitating more of us to formally study theology to help equip us all to grow to maturity in Christ and to make an impact for the gospel in our culture.

“We’re excited that the Rising Theologian will help give someone the chance to study theology who may not otherwise have had the chance.”

The competition is an attempt to rekindle the importance of religious education and theology and will also mark the 70th anniversary of LST, which started life as London Bible College in 1943.

Entry is open to over-18s who live in the UK. Entries can either be a short essay (1,000 words maximum) or a short film clip (five minutes maximum) – entitled: The

future of the Christian church in the UK. A selection of the best entries detailing the thoughts of people as to what the future of the Christian church will be will be published and made available online.

Successful shortlisted candidates will be invited to present their thoughts at a live event at LST on 29 June 2013. The judging panel will be made up of members of the partner organisations and the shortlisted candidates will be able to ask for advice and feedback on their preparation for the live event.

The winner, who will be decided on the night of 29 June, will be able to start their degree in October 2013.

Entries can be submitted by email to: rising@lst.ac.uk by Tuesday, 30 April 2013.

LOCALLY NURTURED LEADERS TRAINING SLAVIC CHRISTIANS TO REACH THEIR OwN PEOPLE wITH THE GOSPEL Throughout Eastern Europe & Central Asia Slavic Gospel Association assists local churches by providing solid foundation courses in Biblical leadership, with the aim of equipping emerging leaders for Gospel ministry.

From our Mission Schools gifted men and women go out better prepared to reach succeeding generations with God’s word, by planting churches, pastoring believers, and using every available means to evangelise those in spiritual darkness.

SPECIFICALLY FRESHLY STRATEGICALLY TARGETED CULTIVATED ERECTED CARE PLANTS CHURCHES IDEA MAGAZINE / 10

For more information please visit www.sga.org.uk call 01323 725583 email office@sga.org.uk Slavic Gospel Association, 37a The Goffs, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 1HF

40acts: Stewardship encourages generosity during Lent

idea-list

idea-list

Five easy ways to be generous during Lent HUG

Let’s face it. Many of us Brits are not entirely comfortable with the invasion of personal space, but a big old hug is reassuring, comforting, life-giving, loving. Open up your arms, step outside your comfort zone and give someone a hug. They might need it.

GRAB A CUPPA

Who doesn’t love a hot cup of tea and freshly-baked cake? But too often we confine our tea parties to our own friends and family. Why not invite the neighbours round to have a natter over a brew. You might just find they become life-long friends.

SAY THANK YOU

In the hustle and bustle of life, the simple Ps and Qs can get forgotten. Why not make a point of saying thank you to the people that aren’t expecting it – the cleaners at work, the cashier at the shop, the bus driver, the refuse collector. It could make their day.

MENTOR SOMEONE

Everyone can benefit from a little guidance from those further along in life – whether in church leadership, in parenting, or at work. Take a look around and think about who might benefit from your help and wisdom.

LISTEN

James 1:19 says we should be “quick to hear, slow to speak”, but sometimes we forget, despite the fact that we have two ears and just one mouth. Take the time to listen to somebody – perhaps someone you sit next to on the bus. Maybe an older person at church who is lonely. Maybe a homeless person.

Being listened to could have a profound effect on someone, and that person could be you.

All of these acts of generosity are explored in Stewardship’s 40acts. Sign up to receive them today.

40acts.org.uk MAR/APR 2013

Do you have a heart for older folk?

CARE NURSE MANAGER Frinton-on-Sea, Essex We care for up to 28 elderly Christians at our attractive, nursing home in Frinton-on,Sea. We are looking for a Care Nurse Manager for our well trained and friendly care team: someone who can deputise for the manager in her absence.

The job calls for a suitably qualified person who can lead the care and nursing teams in the Anna Victoria Nursing Home, and deputise for the manager in her absence: and a committed Christian who can empathise with residents’ beliefs and take devotions from time to time.

Pilgrims’ Friend Society is an Investor in People, with first class training programmes, and a friendly, supportive management team.

To know more, contact us through our website: www.pilgrimsfriend.org.uk, or email hr@pilgrimsfriend.org.uk or telephone 0300 303 1400, or write to our London Office at 175 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2AL.

IDEA MAGAZINE / 11

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS POWERFUL CHANGE one drop at a time!

When Mother Teresa was criticised that her work in the vast city of Calcutta was only a drop in the ocean of suffering I loved her strong retort. “You say what I do is only a drop in an ocean of need but I say that the ocean is made up of many drops! “ These days as we look across our global village we are often left feeling overwhelmed and wondering what difference one person can make. But at Heartcry for Change we believe that as we each commit to REACH – MEND – TEACH – SEND we can influence the world!

REACH – into your heart with generosity and GIVE MEND – broken lives that need care, practical help and hope TEACH – the broken to stand, gain education and grasp their future SEND – out healed people with a passion to reach the next generation.

Rachel Hickson Founder & Director

www.heartcryforchange.com | PO Box 737 | Oxford | Oxfordshire | OX1 9FA | Charity No. 1076993

Celebrating 20 Years of Heartcry

Legacy 2013 21 SEPT

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Register Online for your FREE tickets Date: 21st September 2013 - 9:30am to 5:00pm Tickets:

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www.heartcryfor

NORTHERN IRELAND

National

Still flagging

by David Smyth

The Evangelical Alliance NI (EANI) has called on political, civil and religious leaders to work together for the peace and prosperity of all society, following events surrounding Belfast City Council’s decision to only fly the Union flag from City Hall on designated days.

Specifically, EANI has called on political leaders to design and adopt a ‘Good Relations Commitment’, modelling a way of speaking well to, and of, one another.

This would be a short document setting out practical steps politicians could sign up to, for example, to presume the best intention of each other rather than the worst or to address an issue in private before a public confrontation. Political discourse in recent months has at times been distinctly infantile. If politicians want to see good relationships on the streets they need to model it ‘on the Hill’.

Elected representatives clearly have a role in representing their constituents’ views but too often this reduces important issues to ’them and us’ politics.

This is not a naïve call to niceness but a radical and costly call to right relationship.

The violence and sectarianism which followed Belfast City Council’s decision on flags was condemned by all political leaders but often with caveats which continued to lay the blame at someone else’s door. We have heard too many voices which split our community in two and place the cause of one side above the other.

The Bible is clear that peace and prosperity are intimately linked. In recent months we have seen the cost to the Northern Ireland’s economy when peace is pushed aside. Post-conflict, the landscape is changing rapidly and the political narrative needs to change too. We need to agree the common ground of seeking the wellbeing of all, whatever flag eventually flies above us.

We dare our leaders to take this opportunity

EANI has been developing policies to strengthen faith, family, community and work. These are issues in which we find our identity and purpose. It’s no coincidence that in some of the areas worst affected by the riots these are in short supply.

Northern Ireland needs long term vision from government, civic society and Church which centers identity in these things over and above constitutional symbols.

to see the bigger picture and take brave decisions for the peace and prosperity of all in our society.

A relationships revolution We recently spent some time reflecting on a few of the media enquiries we had received in the past year – Coalition for Marriage, anti-trafficking campaign, abortion, same-sex adoption issues and sexual health to name a few. Two things soon became clear. First, relationships are central to all of these areas. Second, public discourse around these issues is often sexualised, piecemeal and reactive.

As Christians we feel challenged about how to respond to what are difficult and personal issues affecting people’s day-today lives and wellbeing. We are also aware that as the body of Christ we have not always displayed both grace and truth.

Jesus exemplified both. We need a relationships revolution.

Relationships are the cornerstone upon which the Christian faith is built. We are made in the image of a relational God, who through the trinity models the perfection found in right relationship. As an organisation seeking to present Christ credibly as good news for spiritual and social transformation we’re committed to advocating for the importance of relationship across society. This applies to all areas of life both inside and outside of the Church. As part of our response we are producing a series of fold-outs: a collection of around six leaflets packed with challenging questions, statistics and biblical values on relationships, marriage, pornography, casual sex, prostitution and trafficking, and community relations.

Look out for them in the months ahead.

by David Smyth, public policy officer, Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland Twitter: @davesmyth4 eauk.org/northernireland

MAR/APR 2013

IDEA MAGAZINE / 13

SCOTLAND

New addition: Kieran Turner joins Evangelical Alliance Scotland

Once-in-a-generation opportunity Introducing Kieran Turner, the new public policy officer for the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland… ideaKieran: I’ve spent the last few years working in Scottish politics as an assistant to a couple of members of the Scottish parliament (MSPs). Immediately before joining the Alliance I was based in the gorgeous Highlands, and before that in the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh.

Prior to that I worked in Glasgow doing youth and community work in a deprived part of the city.

I passionately believe that the gospel is for the whole of society and that includes the political world. The Church has a massive role to play in Scottish society and already does way more than most politicians realise.

There are going to be increasing

St Andrew’s Day prayer In the last few years the Alliance in Scotland has worked hard, with others to encourage the Church to find a fresh passion for prayer. We are convinced that a passion for His presence ignites the Church and that no significant thing happens that is not born out of an encounter with Jesus. At the end of November we worked with Tearfund, Alpha, Pray for Scotland and others to host a day of prayer and repentance for leaders recognising the idols that many of us have built. More than 300 leaders came and there was a real sense of God’s presence. There were many tears, there was personal prayer and intercession for all areas of public life.

It was a powerful day. We now look forward to working with our partners to encourage the Church in Scotland to keep Jesus at the centre and to be passionate in prayer.

Fred Drummond, national director, Evangelical Alliance Scotland IDEA MAGAZINE / 14

opportunities for the Church to play a positive role in Scotland over the coming years and I’m excited to hopefully play some part in making that happen. As we build credibility through our actions I’m hopeful this will also bring opportunities to speak prophetically into wider Scottish society.

Probably being paid to do something that I love. Apart from that it’s definitely been the variety of amazing people I’ve been able to meet and spend time with. It’s encouraging to know that all over Scotland there are passionate disciples of Jesus who are quietly advancing the Kingdom in a whole host of different ways.

I hope to let politicians know that we are good news. There is a perception among the establishment that evangelical Christians are negative and reactionary and we need to challenge that - and challenge ourselves - to be defined by what we are for rather than primarily what we are against.

The next 18 months in Scotland are going to be massive and will be building to the biggest year in recent Scottish history with the Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and of course the referendum on independence in the space of a few months. The Alliance and the Scottish Church need to be ready for that so we’ll be developing a new advocacy strategy over the next few months as well as

working with coalitions to make the most of these once-in-a-generation opportunities.

My prayer is simply that God would transform Scotland. That Jesus would be Lord of Scotland and that individuals, communities and Scottish society would be transformed by the power of the gospel.

Being Scottish, football is in my DNA, although I pretty much enjoy watching or playing any sport. I really enjoy going out to the cinema, concerts or the theatre. I love to explore new places and get into the outdoors, especially the Highlands. It was amazing living in Inverness. But if I had to pick one thing it’s probably eating out and trying new food. A good meal with good friends and good conversation – does it get any better?

The shape of church to come Church in Scotland at this time is in an interesting place. It faces a number of complex issues: declining numbers, fragmentation, how to connect with the rapidly-changing cultures in which we live and work. Perhaps the biggest questions are around how we live faithfully as the people of God in this and future generations.

To help further the conversation, the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland were excited to be part of a coalition including International Christian College, Church of Scotland and others in bringing theological reflectors and writers Alan Hirsch and Mike Frost to Scotland. On the theme of, ‘the shape of the church to come’, they led discussions with both leaders and students. Day conferences

were held in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee and were all well attended.

These days have helped the ongoing conversations about mission that are so important to our future.

In the next few months we hope to further these conversations through our Confidence in the Gospel work.

Bonnie Thurston wrote How did the early Christians set out and journey in God’s direction?: “First, they took as magnetic north the person of Jesus Christ, his cross, passion and resurrection. Everything else was subordinate to their devotion to him.”

We hope to help the Church in Scotland to find where Jesus is leading it and to have the confidence to move in his direction.

WALES

National

God is on the move in south Wales

by Gethin Russell-Jones

God is doing some surprising work in Wales. Two churches in deeply-contrasting areas are reporting significant growth and transformation.

Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire is a small market town in south-west Wales.

Surrounded by lush farmland, stunning countryside and a dramatic seascape, you might be forgiven for thinking that this is an unlikely spot for revival. But you’d be wrong.

Since the summer of 2012, the town’s Emmanuel Christian Centre & Church has witnessed dozens of conversions and baptisms, primarily through contact with the travelling community.

At the beginning of 2012, a few people from a gypsy background started attending the church’s Sunday meetings. Among them was a young couple who asked to be married in the church during July. A few days later the church’s pastor, John Welsby, received a phone call from a church leader in Lincolnshire who had heard about the proposed wedding.

This pastor worked extensively with the travelling community and news had reached him about the wedding. He asked if his team could host an evangelistic campaign in the church in the build-up to the ceremony.

The mission was held for three evenings during 12-14 June. Over the three nights of the mission and over the following days, 50 people responded to Christ. “The presence of Christ was so evidently real in these meetings,” said John Welsby. A few weeks MAR/APR 2013

later John baptised 32 people. The church was packed and the atmosphere was electric: “The presence of the Lord was so real that those standing outside in the street were also touched by the power of the Lord. They felt and heard a powerful wind that rushed down the street and up into the air. This was followed by stillness and a gentle rain.”

Referring to this dynamic period in the church’s life John said: “During the three-month period, June to August, I could hardly speak out publicly about all that was happening. The awesome power of God’s presence was so real that I could not put into words the experience and I did not want to “touch the ark” (1 Chronicles 13).

Beaufort is in Ebbw Vale, which lies high in the post-industrial valleys of south-east Wales. It is famous for its steel, rugby and MPs (Aneurin Bevan and Michael Foot represented this town). But like many other areas, the past 30 years have not been kind to Ebbw Vale. High unemployment and social deprivation have scarred this proud and rugged town.

But God is on the move. To be specific, He is doing great things in the village of Beaufort on the outskirts of Ebbw Vale.

After 18 months of regular prayer and fasting, Church on the Rise - a Baptist church, is seeing growth. Church numbers

have doubled since the summer of 2012; from 35 to 70. And this growth is the result of working with some of the area’s most vulnerable families and individuals. About a year ago, the church opened a CAP (Christians Against Poverty) centre, working with about 30 families. A few are now already debt-free and a number of others are well on the way to financial freedom. In addition to good financial advice, the church has seen a number of these clients coming to faith as they experience the grace and love present in the church. In the build-up to the summer of 2012, Church on the Rise baptised 11 people and welcomes them into membership. A considerable number of others have come to faith and are waiting to be baptised. The church has outgrown its building and is now looking for a venue that will seat 350.

Senior leader Wayne Evans said: “I thank God for what He is doing among us and I believe it’s because we have been obedient to his call and sought his face in these matters. We have reached out to the helpless and hopeless and those in poverty and have experienced the blessings of God from this work as promised in scripture in Isaiah 58.10-14.”

Twitter: @EAWales

IDEA MAGAZINE / 15

Confidence in the gospel

Galatians for you: The world will always be offended by the cross.

A letter for our times

“The world will always be offended by the cross.”

Photo credit: Image by Creation Swap creationswap.com

The book of Galatians is dynamite, for a disarmingly simple reason — because it is the gospel.

Why write another book about the gospel?

For the same reason that Paul did! So often as Christians, and as churches, we move away from true, biblical faith, sometimes without noticing. So we continue to need to detonate the dynamite of Galatians.

It’s very common in some Christian circles — particularly, perhaps, among evangelicals — to assume that ‘the gospel’ is something mainly for non-Christians. We see it as a set of basic ABC doctrines that are the way in which someone enters the kingdom of God. But once we’re converted, we need more ‘advanced’ material. Paul shows us that the gospel is the A to Z of the Christian life.

The Christian life is always, and only, about “acting in line with the truth of the gospel” (2:14). We must never move beyond it.

Elsewhere in the Church, the “truth of

the gospel” itself is denied. Paul condemns any teaching that is not based on the fact that we are too sinful to contribute to our salvation; and we are saved by belief in Jesus’s work—the “grace of Christ” (1:6).

The job of the Church is not to adapt the message to the modern world, removing elements considered offensive, those which our culture sees as outdated or unfair. The world will always be offended by the cross, and people who love the biblical gospel will always be “persecuted” (6:12). Perhaps today more than ever in the West, we need to hear the challenge: we must never back away from it.

Finally, though, we must never add to the gospel. This was the central issue the churches in first-century Turkey faced. A group of teachers were saying: ‘It’s great that you have faith in Christ. Now, to keep yourself acceptable to Christ, you need to live as Jews.’ Their gospel was Christplus-your-own-efforts. Paul says this is not the gospel: it is “a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all” (1:7). And still today, we find it very easy to add our efforts to Christ’s work. But any revision to the gospel in fact reverses it, making salvation depend on me, rather than Christ. We must never make additions to it.

The gospel is the only entry point to, the only way to continue in, and all we will ever need for, the Christian life. Believers of all shades, in every age and in every place, have faced the pressure to move beyond, back away from, or make additions to it. Our churches need the gospel to explode in and around us today as much as the Galatians did then. It is a letter for our times, and for our hearts. It is the gospel.

Galatians for You, by Tim Keller is out now, available from the Good Book Company, priced at £9.99.

Check out the Alliance’s Confidence in the Gospel campaign: eauk.org/confidence

Dr Timothy Keller is founder and pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan – named one of the top 25 most influential churches in America. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Reason for God, The Prodigal God and Counterfeit Gods.

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Court cases: Manifestations of belief do not have to be necessary in order to be protected.

Politics

Clarifying confusion over cross cases

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in January that British Airways restricted Nadia Eweida’s religious freedom when it told her she couldn’t wear a cross.

That’s the headline news from the judgement but misses some of the nuance, both good and bad, and the loss of three other cases brought with it.

A second claimant, Shirley Chaplin, was a nurse and was also asked to take a cross off. She lost her case because the court found her employer had a justifiable reason to restrict her religious freedom.

A relationship counsellor also lost his case after suggesting he would be unwilling to offer psycho-sexual counselling, which he was in the process of training for, to gay and lesbian couples. Lillian Ladele’s case was the most important of the four.

She was a marriage registrar for Islington Council who, after civil partnerships were introduced in 2005, was told she couldn’t opt out despite her deeply-held religious convictions.

Britain has benefited from a long history of the Church engaging with culture for the benefit of all, but recent developments have called this into question. There is growing concern that Christians have to quieten their beliefs if they are to play a full part in public life. Beliefs which previously would never have been questioned are now encroached on by changing laws and court judgements. Further, the differing judgements in the two cross cases could have the potential for confusion for both

MAR/APR 2013

employers and employees.

When cases such as these four come to court and are splashed across newspaper headlines, it is vital that Christians faithfully represent the details of the cases and the impact of the judgements. When it comes to wearing crosses, the court was fairly clear that an employer needs a good reason to say no. In these instances health and safety in a hospital was a good reason, but brand image for British Airways was not.

The good news of the judgement was that in all four cases the actions, whether wearing a cross or wanting an opt-out because of beliefs about sexual orientation, were recognised as a manifestation of belief.

As these cases made their way through the judicial system that had not always been the case, previous judgements had suggested that views on marriage or the wearing of a cross were not an essential manifestation of belief and therefore didn’t warrant protection.

Manifestations of belief January’s judgement insisted that a manifestation of belief did not have to be necessary in order to be protected; it also rejected the UK government’s formulation of protection for generally recognised religious beliefs and practices. Instead the court found that it is not up to them, or any other court or employer to decide what is central to a belief. What matters is that

something is coherent, not extreme and important to the individual believer.

The court also found that in all four cases religious freedom had been interfered with. This rejected the suggestion by lawyers acting for the UK government that religious freedom was maintained if you had the option of getting another job.

The bad news of the judgement is that only in the case of Nadia Eweida did the court find that the interference was unjustified.

In Lillian Ladele’s case the court accepted that Islington Council’s equal opportunities policy, and in particular the protection against discrimination of people because of their sexual orientation, was a legitimate reason to overrule her religious expression.

The court argued for a wide margin in which employers and national courts can defend any of the rights protected in the European Convention on Human Rights. This was presented as a victory for common sense in allowing for a balancing of rights. However, in finding that Islington Council acted reasonably the court reaffirmed a hierarchy of rights in UK equality law that pushes religious belief to the bottom.

Twitter: @danny_webster

Daniel Webster is the Alliance’s parliamentary officer IDEA MAGAZINE / 17

Home for Good

One child at a time

by Krish Kandiah, executive director: churches in mission, Evangelical Alliance

He was crying when he arrived and he was crying when he left.

But during the nine months in between there has been so much joy and laughter in our home that an enormous hole has been left behind. The house feels strangely empty despite there still being six of us who live here. We don’t hear the shouts of ‘Awesome! Awesome!’ coming from the garden anymore that he used to shout as he raced around on his little bike. We don’t see those big, brown eyes and gorgeous smile getting wider and wider as we introduce him to the joys of camping, the car wash or kite-flying. We miss the spontaneous giggles as another toy car disappears under the sofa. There is no constant chatter from the playroom reminding us how he could barely talk when he arrived and how he could barely stop talking for a second when he left.

Foster care can be a heartbreaking experience as love and affection are poured into the lives of children who have often suffered neglect and abuse, and just as that love and affection begin to be returned, the time comes for them to move into their permanent homes. As our last little charge drove away with tears in his eyes, there were also tears in ours.

The pain is real, but would we do it IDEA MAGAZINE / 18

again? Yes. We are now waiting for the next phone call. Perhaps it will be a little boy starved of affection. Perhaps an older child whose mother is in hospital. Perhaps a toddler with special needs. Perhaps a relinquished or removed newborn baby.

Whoever it is, whatever their story and however long they stay, we know from the start that we will miss them when they are gone. But for all the heartache, it is also the most rewarding thing that our family does.

There is sacrifice and there is satisfaction, but we do not foster because of the way it makes us feel. We foster because there are 89,000 children in the UK who have all experienced trauma of some kind, and need a home and love and help. Each one of them matters to God not as a statistic, but as people made in His image whose stories matter to their Creator. Four thousand of those children need adoption, and there is also a need for 8,000 more foster placements to keep up with demand. The numbers are overwhelming but, one child at a time, together we can make a difference.

Evangelical Alliance, Care for the Family and the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service have come together to launch a campaign called Home for Good. Between

our agencies we have connections with more than 15,000 churches. Our target is to recruit, support and encourage one family per church to use their homes for the good of those who need fostering, or to bring children who need adopting home for good.

This summer we spoke to hundreds of Christian foster carers, adopters and social workers across the UK in conferences in Birmingham, Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, London and Manchester. I was genuinely moved by story after story of heroic families that had deliberately taken on some of the most difficult-to-place children. The most saddening thing to hear was that for many of them their church was the hardest place to bring their foster and adoptive children. Some of them had been turned away from Sunday school because their children were disruptive.

Others had been criticised by members of the congregation for not being able to ‘control their own children’. Little did these critics understand the traumatic background these children had come from and the near miracle it was to have them come to a church service in the first place. The Home for Good campaign aims to help the wider Church to gain an insight into the particular needs and challenges for foster and adoptive families.

Home for Good “ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.” James 1:27 I also heard many stories of how church families had gone the extra mile to get alongside and help foster and adoptive parents and their children. Some older people in the church making an appointment each week to take whichever foster children were in on Monday nights out to the cinema and for a meal, giving their carers a regular night off. Other churches who would provide lifts, meals, clothes, equipment for families when they most needed support. In my own experience, I don’t know how our family would have coped with our adoptive and foster placements without the practical and prayerful support of our church family.

Whether you can foster or not, will you help us make a difference to the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK? Will you help us find homes for good for children many of whom think no one wants them?

Here are three ways you can help us: 1. Pray that we would see a culture change across the UK Church so that we can provide homes for good for all the children

currently waiting in the UK and that our churches would become welcoming places for carers and children alike.

2. Become a Home for Good champion. If you care about this issue and are willing to champion the needs of vulnerable children and spread a passion for fostering and adoption throughout the UK Church, please contact us.

3. E ncourage your church to celebrate Adoption Sunday, joining with thousands of churches around the world from Ukraine to Zambia to the Philippines.

Together we can celebrate our own adoption into God’s family and also learn about God’s compassion for widows and orphans.

If you would like to think more about these issues, why not order our book Home For Good (written by myself and my wife Miriam, published by Hodder) through your local Christian bookshop and encourage others in your church to work through

these things with you. The book tells more about the joys and challenges of fostering and adoption through true stories, through the Bible’s teaching and through our own experience. Better still, why not contact a local fostering or adoption agency and offer a child near you a home for good. homeforgood.org.uk

Twitter: @krishk

Every 22 minutes a child enters the care system.

IT’S TIME FOR US TO HELP. ‘Challenging, thought-provoking, biblical, moving – full of hope and inspiration.’

ROB PARSONS

HOME FOR GOOD Krish Kandiah with Miriam Kandiah 9781444745313 £12.99 | Trade Paperback Publishing on 14th March 2013

www.hodder.co.uk

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IDEA28/01/2013 MAGAZINE15:47 / 19

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Who does he think he is?

Editor Chine Mbubaegbu talks to influential and controversial US pastor Mark Driscoll…

I have settled down to write up this article and – as if on cue – my interviewee has set the cat among the pigeons yet again. While the Twittersphere is set alight with fawning over President Obama’s inauguration, Mark Driscoll posts the following words on his Facebook and Twitter pages, each with hundreds of thousands of followers: “Praying for our president, who today will place his hand on a Bible he does not believe to take an oath to a God he likely does not know.” Fury follows from some.

Praise follows from others. And once again the ‘shock jock’ pastor has divided opinion.

Driscoll, or ‘Pastor Mark’ as he is affectionately known, is the founding

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pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, and was named one of the 25 most influential pastors of the past 25 years

by Preaching magazine. Not many church leaders have the reach that he has. His controversial book Real Marriage, which he co-authored with his wife Grace became a number one New York Times bestseller.

Whether or not people agree with what he says, he certainly gets people talking.

Last year, in an interview with Christianity magazine, he upset a whole swathe of people by describing the UK Church as “a bunch of cowards who aren’t telling the truth”, led by “guys in dresses preaching to grandmas”. Driscoll does not

mince his words and the backlash against him is often brutal. He is well aware of his critics.

“I understand I’m a public figure,” he says. “I put out a lot of content and information to a lot of people. That’s a great honour. Sometimes I don’t do that well and there’s a backlash to that because of my sin and failure. Sometimes it’s just the price of being able to speak to a lot of people on a lot of issues.

“Not everyone’s going to agree and sometimes there will be criticism that comes back. And as much as I’m able, I want to hear that. I want to learn from it and grow from it. I’m not always right; I know that for sure. Sometimes the critics can be helpful to help you do a better job.”

Driscoll’s new book Who Do You Think You Are? aims to help people find their true

Mark Driscoll: Not everyone’s going to agree with me.

identity in Christ rather than in all the other labels that life throws at us. “You can start to define yourself by any number of things: single, married, young, old, rich, poor, black, white, liberal, conservative.

I’ve pastored a church for 16 years and you start to see that a lot of the decisions people make are predicated on the identity they think they have.”

“We live in a culture where people really don’t know who they are so they try on different identities for size. But the best place to start to answer the question of my identity is in Christ. Jesus loves me. Jesus made me. Jesus saves me. Jesus is my perfection. Jesus is my righteousness. And that allows me to be a husband, a father, a

Driscoll has been extremely outspoken on the issue of women in leadership.

Regarding the Church of England’s veto on women bishops, he says “the right vote was made from my theological and biblical convictions”. So does it follow that a woman’s identity should be different from a man’s? “No, I don’t think so. Sometimes the roles can be different. But you see in Genesis 1 that God made us male and female in His image and likeness and so men and women are absolutely equal – they’re different but equal. Because they both bear the image and likeness of God equally. I think it’s incredibly important for a woman to know that her identity is not in ‘wife’, it’s not in ‘mother’, it’s not in ‘worker’, it’s not in her appearance or dress size or her income level or her grade point average. Her identity is in Christ and out of that she can proceed and go forward to do the things God has asked her to do in the various roles in her life.”

I wonder who Mark Driscoll thinks he is.

Do the things the world says about him tally with who he really is? Is there a disconnect; a case of mistaken identity?

“For sure,” he says. “[But] in the age of social media, it’s true of everyone to varying degrees. Because you’re trying to create an identity. You think about what you are going to post, what photos to put up, how you are going to present yourself when it comes to filling in the boxes: what bands do I like? What’s my marital status?

We live in an age where social media forces you to create an identity; to present yourself as somebody. Then as soon as you’ve created that identity then others come to criticise the identity. They’ll make comments; they’ll dislike things that you have said, things you’ve shown, or things you’ve done. I think it does strongly affect people’s identity.

MAR/APR 2013

Read Daniel Webster’s review of Who Do You Think You Are? on page 31. pastor, the different roles that I have. But it changes the way I approach those things because those things might explain me; but it’s really only Jesus who defines me.”

Like all of us, Driscoll knows this is true – that our true identity can only be found in Christ. But he too has occasionally succumbed to the human condition of forgetting where we should seek to find our identity. “My identity was in performance. If I was winning and succeeding then I felt good, but I actually got really proud and arrogant and smug. If I failed or things didn’t go well, or I didn’t perform and I got criticised, then I got despairing and got discouraged and got depressed. And that’s

really not a way to live your life – vacillating between pride and despair. But again, if your identity’s in your performance and not in Jesus’s performance – if it’s in what you’ve done or failed to do and not what he’s done for you – then where you invariably end up is either proud or sad.

“There’s a biblical understanding that we’re made under God but above other animals and lower creation. You either lose your dignity because you think you’re basically just a highly evolved animal or you lose your humility because you think you’re divine or that part of God is within you. Even at the most basic level people don’t even know where they fit. Am I like God or am I like an animal? The Bible says that we’re over the animals but we’re under the Lord.”

One of the prominent identities we have as Christians is our identity that we are adopted into God’s family, as Driscoll explores in his book. That’s why he is a big fan of adopting children. “My brother adopted a little girl and my sister-in-law adopted a little girl. The Bible describes God as a father and one of the salvation metaphors is adoption. We’re not born as children of God, we’re adopted into the family of God and Jesus is like our big brother and the Church is like our extended family with brothers and sisters.

Paul gets into that in his letter in Ephesians – this fact that adoption on a human level demonstrates adoption on a divine level.

Historically the Church has always been for adoption. In the early Roman empire there was often infanticide and children would be literally thrown out with the trash; they would be sold into gladiator games or prostitution or slave labour and it was the Christians who would adopt these children into their family and raise them in Christ.

So it’s a hugely important ministry.”

I ask him whether he thinks it’s actually possible to understand our true identity before we die. “I think like the rest of the Christian life, the goal is progress. In this life we’re not going to experience full perfection. That’s for the life to come. But there can be progress. There can be progress in understanding who we are in Christ. There can be progress out of living in that new identity in Christ.”

IDEA MAGAZINE / 21

r fo rt se ils in ta e de se

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UK AND IRELAND

Chris Wright: If there was more Christian character in evidence there would be fewer Christian quarrels.

THEOLOGY

Becoming more like Jesus

Christian character, like fruit, takes time, writes Chris Wright, international ministries director of the Langham Partnership…

My Utmost for His Highest. I grew up on Oswald Chambers’ classic daily devotional. It helped shape my youthful sense of Christian striving in the 1960s. I still dip into it affectionately now in my 60s and find refreshment and challenge. But there are those who would critique its strong emphasis on the sheer effort of living a sanctified life. Talk of ‘doing my utmost’ smacks of sweat and strain and stretching every sinew to achieve something. Isn’t the Christian life supposed to be about grace and freedom and what God does, not what I do?

Theologically the issue swirls around arguments over the ‘New Perspective on Paul’ (often with minimal understanding of what those lumped under that slogan actually think, write or teach).

For some, any emphasis on the importance of ethical obedience to biblical commands is dangerous talk because it could threaten the ‘heart of the gospel’ that we are saved and justified by grace alone.

We must not allow the good works of sanctification to intrude into the grounds of our justification. And since justification is central to the gospel of grace, good works are better kept in the background. Sometimes the attacks on both sides can be pretty vitriolic – and tragic.

Consumer Christianity At the opposite extreme, is consumer Christianity, where everything is available right now in the heavenly superstore, so long as you buy the right books, watch the top speakers, get along to the lifechanging conferences, and follow the 10 easy steps to spiritual success/victory/fulfilment/ happiness, or whatever it says on the tin. Words like ‘my utmost’, ‘striving’, ‘make every effort’ (to quote Paul), are simply not cool, not ‘relaxed and informal’ the way we want everything in our culture to be. Rules and commandments are for wimps, or legalists.

Is there a better way? A way that affirms absolutely the priority of grace and faith as the sole grounds of our salvation, but equally affirms the need for us to work at the demands of our discipleship, to cultivate habits of heart and life that enable us to grow more and more into the kind of people God wants us to be; more like Christ? Paul’s metaphor of ‘the fruit of the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:2223) seems a good place to start – not least because, compared to the gifts of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit seems strangely neglected today. Are we forgetting something?

If the new Christian life is neither, ‘keep the rules’ nor ‘forget the rules and do what you like’ (Galatians 5:1-18), how are we supposed to live? “By the Spirit,” says Paul, meaning of course, the Spirit of God whom God gives to every believer the moment they put their faith in Christ. Having God’s Spirit dwelling within is definitive of belonging to Christ (Romans 8:9). Christian life starts with the Spirit (3:2-3). So since “we are alive (lit.) by the Spirit” (fact), we must “keep in step with the Spirit” (command; 5:25).

The whole fruit From that same Spirit comes Paul’s beautiful orchard: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Just two points: First, the word ‘fruit’ is singular. Paul can list the gifts (plural) MAR/APR 2013

of the Spirit, and he insists that some people have one or more gifts and some people have others. Nobody has to have the lot. But it is different with the fruit. These are not nine characteristics from which we can take our pick. ‘Well, I’m not very patient, but I try to be kind’.

No they all work together as qualities that should grow within the Spirit-filled person. This is the whole fruit we are to cultivate. This is the kind of character that should define a Christian.

Second (and answering the problem we began with), good fruit comes both from the inner life of the tree (dead trees don’t fruit), and from the hard work of the farmer. Fruit is the gift and work of God’s regenerating grace within us. Yes. But a fruit tree can go wild and unproductive. It needs the farmer to attend to the soil, to water, fertilise, prune, and protect the tree from birds and blight. Fruit is cultivated. And so is the fruit of the Spirit. All the qualities Paul lists are also things that Paul repeatedly commands Christians to strive to practise in daily life. There is work to do. There are habits to form - and others to break. There are attitudes to cultivate and others to crucify. Christian character, like fruit, takes time.

Perhaps if there was more Christian character in evidence (more ripening fruit of the Spirit) there would be fewer Christian quarrels, “biting and devouring one another” (Galatians 5:15).

Certainly, if we showed more of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives we would begin to look more like the Jesus we proclaim.

9aday.org.uk IDEA MAGAZINE / 23

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TURE

The Church and the children in need A call for the Church to tackle child poverty in all its forms. Chine Mbubaegbu writes…

When you hear the words ‘child poverty’, what image springs to mind? Starving refugees swatting away flies in Ethiopia?

Wide-eyed orphans without shoes in Romania? Young children clambering over slums in Delhi? We have been conditioned to think that children live in poverty elsewhere. They do of course. According to the Enough Food If campaign launched by 100 organisations including Tearfund and Christian Aid in January, some two million children die each year from hunger.

Children all over the world are dying in poverty.

But we often fall into the trap of thinking children living in poverty can only be found elsewhere. Not here. Not in the UK. We associate poverty with a lack of money. Therefore since we are one of the richest nations in the world, our children do not face the same levels of poverty as those elsewhere.

So many children in the UK do face this material poverty. There are a staggering 3.6 million children living in poverty in Britain today – that’s 27 per cent of all children.

In some areas that figure can be as high as 70 per cent. Children are living in some IDEA MAGAZINE / 24

unimaginable conditions, watching their parents suffer from alcoholism, going through family breakdown, and being subject to poor parenting. And child poverty is expected to have risen in 2012-13, with 300,000 more children expected to be living in poverty in 2015-16, according to the Child Poverty Action Group.

But material poverty is not the only type of poverty children can experience.

In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow devised a hierarchy of needs – the basic four layers needed for human flourishing: esteem, friendship and love, security, and physical needs. Maslow’s hierarchy has played a great part in Western education.

The children taught in our classrooms and Sunday school classes are not onedimensional, but holistic beings.

In 2012, The Children’s Society’s study Good Childhood Project found that half a million school children are unhappy with their lives. Elaine Hindal, the organisation’s childhood director, said: “We are calling for a radical new approach to childhood, placing their wellbeing at the heart of everything we do… We know that, right now, half a million children are unhappy.

We have discovered the key reasons for this unhappiness and what we can do to make it better. We want our country to be the best place for our children to grow up. Yet unless we act now we risk becoming one of the worst and creating a lost future generation.”

In March, the Evangelical Alliance Council – a group of nearly 100 leading Christians – will explore poverty among children and young people in the UK; focusing on the four degrees of child poverty: spiritual poverty, relational poverty, material poverty, and poverty of being and aspiration.

It will be an opportunity for Council members to hone their thinking and explore how the Church can best tackle the issue of child poverty to bring about lasting transformation in the lives of children.

Ruth Gilson leads the Girls’ Brigade and is vice-chair of the Alliance Board. She said that the picture is not a wholly negative one, but recognised that the issue is very real.

“Every time I visit great Girls’ Brigade (or other Christian) teams working among children in and from a church, I hear the same rhetoric from church leaders and other adults about this work being under review because it doesn’t result in the

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children being in church on Sunday.

“As long as church leadership focuses like this we’ll fail to recognise and relevantly nurture significant and effective children’s ministry that does, and will, reverse spiritual poverty among our children. It’s time to see the various children’s ministries of church as church communities in their own skin - not an activity club that entertains and points to the real spiritual stuff on Sundays.

“Let’s raise the bar - let’s shift our minds from old models. Let’s ask the children’s work leaders about their vision for the children’s spiritual growth - stop thinking of them as ‘just’ clubs and activities, and start really nurturing the thousands of young people, women and men who passionately pastor, evangelise and disciple children every day of the week... then maybe we’ll see a bucket with no hole.”

In 2007, the United Nations (UN) ranked the UK bottom in a list of 21 developing countries when it came to children’s wellbeing. According to the UN: “The true measure of a nation’s standing is how well it attends to its children – their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialisation, and their sense of being loved, valued and included in the families and societies into which they are born.”

Where the UK seems to be failing compared with other nations in providing safe, loving environments for our children, the Church has a unique opportunity to step and stand in the gap.

The Church is doing just that in many places up and down the country – opening

up their doors to run playgroups and youth clubs, running Foodbanks with the Trussell Trust, where those children who don’t have enough to eat can have their basic needs for nutrition met. Love in action.

Church Action on Poverty encourages holistic action to ending child poverty which looks at the welfare of the whole family.

The Children’s Society is also urging the government to reconsider its major changes to the welfare system planned for this year.

Matthew Reed, chief executive of the organisation, said the bill would “punish millions of children and families already struggling to make ends meet”.

“Families already struggling to provide their children with food or a winter coat, or heat their homes are being pushed closer to the brink. Child poverty blights lives and is a scar on our society. Today’s ‘hardship penalty’ punishes working families on low incomes as well as those looking for work, paving the way to a rise in child poverty.”

There are many novel ways of meeting the needs posed by the different forms of child poverty.

A unique church-based project providing help to families in crisis is launching in the UK. Safe Families for Children (SFFC) was started 10 years ago by Dave Anderson, a clinical psychologist who was a member of Willow Creek Church in Chicago.

He offered help to a family in crisis, by looking after their children for a few weeks to give the parents time to get back on their feet.

The embryonic idea developed into a movement embraced by the Church.

TURE

Now the Vardy Foundation is bringing it to the UK and is working with the local authority in Middlesbrough on a three-year pilot scheme.

The concept has already spread to neighbouring Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear and will go live in the north-east on 15 April. This is not fostering or adoption, but takes a very defined intervention approach.

The organisation uses an army of volunteers, called Host Families or Family Friends. They offer respite care to children where parents are struggling with challenging circumstances.

Sir Peter Vardy, founder of the charitable Vardy Foundation, said: “Our vision is that a church would take it on as one of their ministries. It may be a collection of churches in the area or it may be one big church where four or five host families will take the children. It’s wonderful work, for a family to offer hospitality to a child in need.

“I think it makes the Church more socially aware, socially relevant, socially responsible and socially active. It will energise the Church because something is actually being done.

“We’re out there to try to keep families together and do what Jesus would have done if he’d been here. It’s about acts of kindness when families in crisis need help.”

There are children living in poverty in all its forms not far from where you live. But we the Church, the light of the world, have the privilege of being able to see these children’s lives transformed so that they might no longer live in poverty, but live full, whole lives.

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THEOLOGY

Marijke Hoek is the Alliance’s Forum for Change co-ordinator

The radical imagery of adoption God’s adoptive grace not only forms but also shapes His family, writes Marijke Hoek…

Adoption. It’s part of the grand plan. It’s key to the love narrative.

“In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will” (Ephesians 1:5).

In the New Testament, the ‘adoption’ metaphor is uniquely used by Paul. The apostle’s ‘spirit of adoption’ imagery describes salvation (Romans 8:15). Grounded in God’s initiative and Christ’s sacrifice, we now have a secure relationship with the Father through the Son. The ‘adoption’ metaphor opens the window on a rich family motif: sons, Father, children, heirs, co-heirs, firstborn among many brothers (8:14-29). All in all, it reflects Paul’s relational understanding of the gospel. Furthermore, ‘adoption’ (huiothesia) is a great way to communicate his consistent message that God is creating one people composed of Jew and Gentile. It’s a radical piece of imagery that portrays the egalitarian character of salvation. All need to be adopted.

All can be part of God’s family and all will receive a rich heritage.

Paul’s ‘adoption’ term is probably borrowed from the GrecoRoman law and custom, which concerned the adoption of adults in familes. For the Roman world, as for Paul, adoption is not just a change of a legal status, but also the experience of being favoured.

You can hear it in Ephesians 1: “We were chosen; predestined according to His plan; included in Christ.” Favour indeed. God’s love initiated the adoption. Jesus signed our adoption papers with his blood. No wonder Paul includes the ‘Abba, Father’cry as an expression of our assurance. This passionate cry is the response of the heart to the divine work of our adoption. We know for sure we belong to Him and His family.

At the time, the family structure formed the bedrock of society.

Following the adoption, the development of the adoptee takes place in a new set of relations, according to new values, and is highly dependent on the family environment in order to succeed.

So, the metaphor gives foundational images for life: being placed in God’s family; the gaining of a new identity; the re-socialisation in terms of new family values; the understanding of vocation and being invited to a new future.

The notion of adoption is also rooted in the Old Testament where the theme of adoptive sonship derives from the idea of God’s election of Israel as His chosen people (eg Exodus 4:22-23).

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son… I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love” (Hosea 11:1-4). The notion of adoption is found in the lives of Esther and Moses. The adoptive heart can de detected in the IDEA MAGAZINE / 26

“ No longer orphans but heirs.”

parable told in Ezekiel 16 about God’s dealing with a nation in which the prophet takes care of an abandoned baby. No wonder James describes the care for orphans as the pure religion the Father accepts (James 1:27). The God who places the lonely in families (Pslam 68:6) inspires His family to do the same. His adoptive grace not only forms but also shapes His family.

Ephesians speaks of the Father’s pleasure to adopt. It thrills Him to add new members to the family. It is a joy to invite people to a new future. No longer orphans but heirs.

I know something of that pleasure when I listen to the children of Kampala Children’s Centre of which I am a trustee. Kids without a family find a home, a mother who cares for them, education, food, clothing, play, siblings, faith, Christ, joy, a hope and a future. You can hear it in their introduction: “Hi, I am Destiny, and when I grow up I want to be a dancer and a nurse.” Closer to home, many kids and yougsters in the UK need a family. They need a life-changing environment rooted in the character of God where they are chosen, included and favoured.

In a culture of abandonment and fractured family life, we need to hear what the Spirit of adoption is saying to us - individally and collectively. May the scriptures speak to our hearts, inspire and empower us to be a God-sent response. Let’s pray along with Paul: “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen us with power through his Spirit in our inner being, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. And I pray that we, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:14-20).

• Manager

Christian care home in Suffolk

W

e care for up to twenty elderly Christians in our attractive home in Great Finborough and have 28 sheltered housing units, just three miles from Stowmarket, Suffolk. We are an Investor in People, and our friendly care team benefit from first class training and support from head office. Finborough Court is noted for its Christian ethos and family atmosphere, and our ‘pilgrims’ and their relatives express great satisfaction with our services. Now our much-loved manager has to resign for personal reasons, and we are seeking someone who can take over me when she steps down. The person we are looking for will have:

• • • •

Management experience in a residential setting Be able to lead the care and service teams in the home Have excellent communication and people management skills Be able to lead devotional times and give spiritual guidance

Does this sound like you? Please contact: Human Resources email: hr@pilgrimsfriend.org.uk telephone: 0300 303 1400 The Pilgrims’ Friend Society, 175 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2AL

Caring with love

Christian

Or through our website: www.pilgrimsfriend.org.uk

Resourcing your world For 125 years we have been freely resourcing people around the world with the life changing words of the Bible.

Join with us for the next 125 – use mission resources in your community and help us equip others to do the same.

Visit www.sgmlifewords.com and see how you can get involved – help change lives today!

MAR/APR 2013

IDEA MAGAZINE / 27

Gather

This is our place: Salford Alongside Salford’s regeneration has been a rejuvenation of church unity, writes Chine Mbubaegbu…

In recent years, Salford has seen a return to its heyday, and so has the Church in the city. At the heart of the city’s heritage lies Salford Docks, which was opened in 1894 by Queen Victoria and used to be one of the country’s busiest ports. Before it closed in the early 1980s, the docks employed around 5,000 people. When the port started to decline in the 1970s because it could not accommodate larger container ships which came into existence, the city changed. Pride in the city was replaced by a spirit of inadequacy.

There aren’t many people who know Salford better than Dave King, who runs Salford Stories and works to unite churches across the city. His father had been praying for the city for more than 45 years and now the baton has been passed on to him.

“I was always brought up to believe that because I came from Salford, I would never become anything. I always believed that I wasn’t worth much.”

The city is an area of high deprivation.

Government figures in 2011 showed that it was in the top 20 worst areas in the country – joint 14th with Burnley – for indicators such as poverty and unemployment.

The city sees high levels of crime and children failing in education. Dave said he felt challenged by God in the late 1990s to see the Church as responsible and that what was needed was a renewed sense of unity in order to bring hope to the area.

“God asked me what the most dysfunctional family in Salford was. And I was thinking of big crime families,” said Dave, who spoke at our Gather conference in 2012. “But what God said to me was that the Church was the biggest dysfunctional family in the city.”

Churches in Salford were not functioning in unity and so the wake-up call led Dave to work hard to bring the churches together.

“God had said to me that people may look to the government, but that His Church was the role model family for this city.

IDEA MAGAZINE / 28

Photo credit: N Harrison

“God was also clearly saying that we should welcome new churches into the city because really there is only one Church.

We encouraged everyone in the city not to see themselves as isolated cases, but work together in oneness.”

Alongside the renewed sense of unity, which is beginning to bear fruit, has come a regeneration and a rejuvenation of the Salford area. The past few years have seen the redevelopment of Salford Quays, with media organisations such as the BBC moving into the neighbourhood.

Hayley Matthews is the media chaplain based at MediaCityUK and works to build relationships with those working in the media, provide a listening ear and run events, including morning prayer, sacred spaces and monthly film nights.

Hayley said: “It’s an amazing job. I love watching people’s minds change and realising that faith has something to offer.

There are also a lot of people of faith within the media, but not many of them can wear their faith on their sleeves. Even atheists come to talk to me because they know they can do so in absolute confidence.”

Hayley said that unity is often hard, but demonstrates something of the character of Christ. “Unity is really important because we’re one body. Jesus said that by this people will know that we are his disciples.

When people don’t love one another or we don’t accept each other or we don’t live it, people won’t believe it. There are some core things that we all believe.”

Away from the perceived glitz and glamour of Media City is somewhere altogether different. Victory Outreach, run by Pastor Paul Lloyd, has seen drug addicts, alcoholics and gang members have their lives completely transformed through its ministry.

Paul moved to Salford nine years ago from the east end of London to lead the church, which at the time had only a handful

unity is often hard, but demonstrates something of the character of Christ

Unity for mission: We encouraged everyone to work together in oneness.

of people. He had seen his life completely transformed from drug addiction and a life of crime, to a passion to serve God and see others’ lives changed. “I got involved in crime and drugs and it all started to spiral out of control. And then a friend of mine introduced me to Jesus. I wasn’t even looking for him. I gave my life to the Lord in my car outside my friend’s gym.” That was in July 1995 and it took him just six weeks to be delivered from his drug addiction.

Within five years of becoming a Christian, he had worked as a missionary in India and run a rehab centre in Jerusalem. In 2000 he was ordained as a minister.

Now, Victory Outreach in Salford is a bustling, lively church with 250 adults and 60 children from 20 different nationalities meeting on a Sunday. “We have everyone from ex-drug addicts to people with PhDs, lawyers and doctors. We also reach out to men. But our men’s outreach events are different. We climb mountains. We run

MAR/APR 2013

Gather

survival trips with ex-commandos. We camp in the woods, but it’s not people sitting around singing ‘kumbaya’ in sandals. We have got men that have seen a bit of life.”

The church is having a profound impact on vulnerable, hurting, lonely people in the area. “Salford is always spoken about as being a dark, poverty-ridden and gangriddled place. It is downtrodden and lots of people are bound by Salford.

Paul Lloyd

“But this is a city in transition. It’s a very interesting place to be right now. We’re seeing people become Christians all the time, every week. The good thing is that the churches are co-operating with each other.”

The unity resulted in the churches coming together in 2011 to host Party in the Park – an outreach event at Buile Hill Park.

“If you change the spiritual atmosphere in the city, the church will grow. That’s God’s economy. Jesus hasn’t got many churches. We are one church.”

For more stories on unity for mission in towns and cities across the UK, visit our Gather website: wegather.co.uk

IDEA MAGAZINE / 29

Sophie Lister: is a researcher and writer for The Damaris Trust. For more articles and study guides see culturewatch.org and toolsfortalks.com Twitter: @SophieLister1

Culture

The Guilt Trip

Why is it so important for us to honour our parents?

Guilt is such a familiar feature of parent-child relationships that we barely stop to think about it. Whichever side of the equation we’re on, we’ll have experienced inadequacy, frustration, or the fear of somehow letting the other down. In the early scenes of new comedy The Guilt Trip, this dynamic is exaggerated for comic effect – but that doesn’t stop it from ringing true. We watch as doting mother Joyce (Barbra Streisand) repeatedly phones her adult son Andrew (Seth Rogen), and as he repeatedly dodges her calls. She is overbearing; he is evasive and ungrateful.

Things only get worse when Andrew, an aspiring inventor about to set off on a crosscountry business trip, visits his mother at home. Unable to see him as anything other than the child he once was, she fusses over every detail of his existence. She also has a habit of discussing his personal problems with her counsellor, who has advised her to share a little of herself in the hope of strengthening the mother-son bond.

Joyce duly sits Andrew down and tells him a story he’d rather not hear. Widowed when Andrew was young, she confesses that his father was never really the love of her life.

Her heart always belonged to a man named Andrew Margolis, with whom she’d had a fling as a young woman – and after whom she eventually named her son. In the years since, she has often regretted the direction her life took, and wondered whether Andrew Margolis still thinks about her.

Offloaded hopes Startled by this glimpse into his mother’s IDEA MAGAZINE / 30

past, Andrew secretly tracks down his namesake. When he discovers that Margolis actually lives at the end of his planned road trip route, he invites his mother along on the pretext of wanting some company. His real motives are mixed. Deep down, he cares about Joyce and wants to see her happy, but he also wants her off his hands. He can’t stand the burden of being the sole source of meaning in her life.

Through naming Andrew after her longlost love, Joyce has somehow offloaded her unfulfilled hopes and dreams onto him.

And it’s not just that she wants Andrew to find the career and romantic fulfilment she never had: she also desperately needs him to need her. It’s a problem which many children, young and old, will identify with. The weight of expectation, even if it’s lovingly framed, can restrict the possibility of a guilt-free relationship with our parents.

In the course of their journey together, Joyce begins to broaden her horizons. The subsequent shift in her relationship with her son is telling. The less she relies on him to provide her ultimate fulfilment, the more she is able to appreciate the adult he’s become – and to love him unselfishly.

Andrew, given the freedom to withdraw from his mother without fearing her disapproval, is paradoxically drawn closer to her.

Fifth commandment Andrew, too, has some important lessons to learn. Having long dismissed Joyce as an irrelevance and a nuisance, he starts to see her through different eyes. She has useful contributions to make to his business,

life experiences to share, and a sense of humour. In other words, she’s a person in her own right, not just his mother.

In the same way that it’s hard for Joyce to view Andrew as an adult, it’s hard for him to view her as an individual. But once he gains this perspective, he also gains new humility and wholeness. His developing respect for her offers an insight into the biblical fifth commandment, the Old Testament law which sometimes looks a little out of place in the midst of grander exhortations to love God, to not murder or steal. Why does the God of the Bible seem to care so much about the honouring of parents?

If we can dismiss the human figures who first created and cared for us, it’s easier to view ourselves as self-made and self-sufficient entities, owing nothing to anybody. Honouring our parents means acknowledging that we come from somewhere: that wherever we’ve arrived at as adults, we started off our journey helpless and dependent. Challengingly, our attitude towards our parents might reflect something of our beliefs about our place in the universe – and our relationship to God himself.

The Guilt Trip is released on 1 March… and don’t forget Mother’s Day on 10 March!

For free resources see www.damaris.org/guilttrip

REVIEWS UNAPOLOGETIC

by Francis Spufford (Faber) Unapologetic is a beautiful book to read. The writing at points is so brilliant that it makes me feel any attempt to do it justice will be hopelessly inadequate. It is written as a stream of consciousness and deliberately sets out to make an emotional case for why Christianity makes sense. Spufford deliberately ignores and even gently mocks some of the traditional arguments for belief and instead appeals to the heart. His theology might not be everyone’s cup of tea, and he tends to swear a lot more than you might expect in a book about Christian belief, but this is a book well worth reading if for nothing more than his forty-page depiction of Jesus’s journey to the cross.

Reviewed by Daniel Webster

Carnival Kingdom

by Marijke Hoek, Jonathan Ingleby, Andy Kingston-Smith, Carol Kingston-Smith (Wide Margin Books) This crack team of seasoned Christian activists and academics have provided sparkling images from The Lord of the Rings, Martin Luther and even medieval carnivals, which have provided innovative and provocative ways to rethink and reconnect with God’s Kingdom. This book is a fascinating read and will inspire the Church’s imagination for justice.

Reviewed by Krish Kandiah

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

by Mark Driscoll (Thomas Nelson) This could be a good book. It could be a simple and effective guide to finding Christian identity through the book of Ephesians. Unfortunately it doesn’t manage to achieve that, it is often simplistic and presents the Christian life as too straightforward a task. The stories included to give colour to the characteristics Christians should identify with are hit and miss, some are incredibly moving but others far too sterile. The irony in a book about finding identity in Christ is the weight put on acronyms and lists to help you remember and act in certain ways. It’s a book that’s been written before, and written a lot better than this.

Reviewed by Daniel Webster

BECAUSE THEY’RE WORTH IT

by Amanda Jackson (Woman 2 Woman) Throughout time, women have shaped their world for good. This resource highlights some of these biblical, historical and contemporary daughters of God whose courage, tenacity, and compassion have made a world of difference. Delving into this inspirational material will challenge you to be the woman whose ardent advocacy offers hope and restores community life so that women and girls worldwide may fulfil their destiny.

Reviewed by Marijke Hoek

ADVENTuRES IN MUSIC and CULTURE

by Rob Baker (Ambassador International) This is an intriguing little gem of a book. Part travel journal, part adventure story, part musical treatise. Baker is an ethnomusicologist and the book charts his travels and experiences in Africa. We hear about various journeys and the way local Christian expressions are using local music. Baker’s insight is that we need to use the music that means something to people. Then we can add extra meaning to the cultural patterns and resonances of the existing stuff. Too often missionaries land and try to get local folk to sing American soft-rock Christian anthems – but these lack depth in a local context. Baker’s book is really good on painting pictures and showing how music and culture are intertwined. He shows how Christianity thrives when culture is involved and this is a wake-up call to evangelicals who get all sniffy about culture. What strikes you most is just how likeable and engaging Baker is. His lovely little book makes a great travel companion. This book is like sinking into a comfy armchair. It is Billy Graham meets Michael Palin. A rare treat.

Reviewed by Steve Morris MAR/APR 2013

IDEA MAGAZINE / 31

HOPE

The heartbeat of mission

HOPE is working towards 2014 and a year of mission – the whole Church, reaching the whole nation, for a whole year. HOPE’s new resource book The Heartbeat of Mission comes out in March and is packed full of practical, tried and tested ideas for local church mission, together in word and action.

Dozens of ministries and denominations are giving copies to church leaders and Spring Harvest guests will receive a copy with the event’s Theme Guide. At the start of the book, theologian Paula Gooder sets out the biblical principles…

Many years ago, I went to a conference where there were optional workshops. A big sign pointed left to a session on evangelism and right to a session on social action. I remember pausing and wondering how you were meant to choose. That sign implied a belief that evangelism and social action are two entirely different things; in reality the two cannot be so easily split apart.

Proclaiming the gospel means little if we tell people God loves them but do not show them love. Caring for people is all very well but what if they never realise we do it because God loves them?

We need to recognise, deep down, that words and deeds are deeply and profoundly linked and always have been. Right at the dawn of time itself in Genesis 1, creation only happened because God spoke. He spoke and the world came into being. What God formed in creation flowed directly out of the words he spoke. This dynamic, which links word and deed, lies at the heart of who God is and therefore must also lie at the heart of who we are.

Indeed it also lies at the heart of who Jesus is. One of the really important things to recognise about the gospels is that they are an equal mix of what Jesus said and what Jesus did. We can sometimes focus too much on one or the other when the whole point is that Jesus’ words had substance because he lived them out, and his deeds had meaning because of the words he spoke.

Think, for example, about the sermon in the synagogue recorded in Luke 4. There Jesus used Isaiah’s moving prophecy in which he says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

This sermon of Jesus is so powerful largely because Jesus then went out and spent his ministry with the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed. His deeds lived out the words he proclaimed. The whole power of Jesus’ life was that he lived to the utmost every message that he spoke. We know he loves us, not just IDEA MAGAZINE / 32

because he said so but because he opened wide his arms and died for us. We in our turn are called to love extravagantly in what we do just like Jesus did – and we do it because he first loved us.

Words without deeds are ephemeral and unconvincing. Time and time again the New Testament writers remind us that our life in Christ has to bear fruit. There is no point claiming a life in the Spirit if our lives show no sign of the Spirit’s fruit. In a similar way, the epistle of James points out that there is simply no point to our fine words if we do not live them out. We have to be doers of the word and not just hearers or speakers of it (James 1:22-23). Jesus saved some of his most stinging criticisms for those who ‘said’ that they believed one thing and did another.

It is clear that our deeds must match our words or what we say will have little value for anyone. But what of the other way around?

Do we need to put words with our deeds? There is a lovely saying, attributed to St Francis, that goes: “Preach the gospel at all times, use words if necessary.” The idea behind it is that so often we assume that preaching involves standing around spouting, whereas the most powerful sermons (again as we so often see in Jesus’s own life) can be preached with few, if any, words, as we stretch out our hands to lift up those who have fallen, to care for the sick or to comfort the grieving.

The problem, however, is that we can take this too far. The point about St Francis’s saying is that the gospel is preached. It is all too easy for Christians to care for people but never actually tell them why.

Our HOPE actions are an essential part of who we are as Christians. Jesus loves us all so much and lived a life that simply oozed that love to everyone he met. He calls each one of us to do the same and as we love with every fibre of our being, he calls us to proclaim in word and in deed that we have the very best news of all, the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

This is an extract from HOPE – the Heartbeat of Mission, the new book of resources from HOPE. Order online at hopetogether.org.uk

Letters: Have your say

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

Biblical response Just a quick note to say thanks to Steve Clifford for his response to Steve Chalke’s recent article about homosexuality in Christianity magazine. It’s a well thoughtout and biblical response and, this is encouraging when confidence in the Bible even among Christians is something that is increasingly hard to find. The challenge for Christians today is to be people full of grace and truth and it is hard to get the balance right at times. We must be loving and caring and show the love of Christ while at the same time not adapting the truth when it gets uncomfortable. These are hard times to stand up for what is right, while remaining people of grace. Thank you again for the encouragement and commitment to both grace and truth.

Colin Hayes, via email

War games The Jan/Feb issue of idea dwelt much on the meaning of peace. This is a most important subject and the contributions are well worth reading. I should like, in particular, to comment upon the very interesting article by Andrew Goddard (Good Question: Should Christians go to war?) I guess I can be described as a pacifist as I am totally opposed to the idea of war. Those who believe there are rules to war so that someone cannot be killed in one way, although it is OK to kill another way, are treating war as a game. Maybe the influence of computer games that have many war backgrounds gives credence this idea. To those Christians who believe that “we should go to war cautiously” I would commend a paper by the late Alan Litherland. He contributed to an article in autumn 2003 to the Methodist Peace Fellowship entitled:

Another Way With Hitler?. This commenced with reference to a previous article by AN Wilson on “Was World War II worth 56 million lives?” He followed this with details of seven or eight instances over the world when resistance, not war, had won the day.

This is surely the way that Jesus would have us follow his example.

Edgar Moss, via email

Script change First let me say how much I enjoyed the article by Steve Clifford entitled Divine Relocation (Jan/Feb). Having said that there was one negative contained in the article that I would like to raise with you.

In one paragraph he said: “The Divine relocation positioned Jesus the Son of God within an obscure Palestinian town known as Nazareth.” Surely he should have said ‘an obscure Israeli town’ simply because the name ‘Palestine’ was not given to Israel until AD 135. Unfortunately this sort of thing seems to be happening all too often these days with many Bible maps referring to ‘Palestine in the time of Jesus.’ There are other examples too. I’m not suggesting anything malicious here probably more mischievous and possibly bordering on political correctness, although of course there is nothing correct about it at all.

Unfortunately today large sections of the Church are tending to write Israel out of the script and the Palestinians themselves are quite successfully rewriting history when in fact the Arabs of Palestine were not actually called Palestinians until the late 60s under Yasser Arafat. Up until then the now Jerusalem Post used to be called the ‘Palestine Post!’.

Rev Mervyn Tilley, Romford, Essex

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IN YOUR WORDS

Heard in tweets

@revhaigh: “ Fantastic response from Steve Clifford This is exactly what the Evangelical Alliance is about! #unitedvoice” @CllrMMills: “ Credit to @EAUKnews spokesperson on BBC Sunday Programme for warning against British Christians using the rhetoric of persecution” @SpurgeonsUK: “ @idea_mag Just received the latest issue! Every time ‘idea-torial’ makes me happy! #toppunnage ” Follow the Alliance on Twitter: @EAUKnews

Editor Chine Mbubaegbu – idea@eauk.org Consulting editors Steve Morris, Krish Kandiah Contributing writers Daniel Webster, Andrew Green, Sophie Lister Advertising manager Candy O’Donovan – c.odonovan@eauk.org Design Red & Green Marketing Printer Halcyon Print & Design idea is published bimonthly and sent free of charge to members of the Evangelical Alliance. Formed in 1846, the Alliance’s mission is to unite evangelicals to present Christ credibly as good news for spiritual and social transformation. There are around two million evangelical Christians in the UK, according to a 2007 Tearfund survey. idea is published in accordance with the Alliance’s Basis of Faith, although it is impossible in every article to articulate each detail and nuance of belief held by Alliance members. Articles in idea may therefore express views on which there is a divergence of opinion or understanding among evangelicals.

Letters and story ideas from members are welcome, and will be considered by the editorial board, which reserves the right to edit letters and stories for length and style. We regret that we are unable to engage in personal correspondence.

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IDEA MAGAZINE / 33

Steve Clifford: The general director writes...

Twitter: @stevemclifford

LAST WORD

Danger: power at work

Over the last few weeks I have found myself in a number of conversations reflecting on the historic events of recent years and what they communicate about how we are building a society for the future.

A few years into the new millennium we continue to face a global banking and sovereign debt crisis unprecedented in proportions, which impacts all. But as usual, the major effects are felt by the poor.

Our democratic structures are having to face a corroded confidence due to the abuse of MPs’ expenses and perhaps more damaging but less reported, the cash for questions scandal.

Our news media and particularly News International has been exposed for their invasion of our privacy through phone hacking. The BBC appears to have condoned or turned a blind eye to a paedophile ring of extraordinary proportions, as sadly, for decades, did sections of the Church. Our police, it seems, not only failed in their responsibilities of care at Hillsborough but then orchestrated a cover-up which tarnished the name of innocent victims. One is left with the questions: what next? Who next?

Possibly there is a danger that every generation believes that in some unique way we live in historic times. A true assessment is probably 20 to 30 years away. However, as I reflect on our recent history there seems to be a common factor – power. Or I should say – the abuse of power. It has always been IDEA MAGAZINE / 34

the case that power is a dangerous thing, not only to those exposed to its use but also to the ones who exercise it. Whether in the banks, Westminster, the media, police, the Church, the common factor seems to have been power. Power detached from values of self-sacrifice and service result in a quest for personal gain, financial status, sexual satisfaction, reputational gain or protection.

The corrupting impact of power is even more complex, as a recent conversation I had with a former city of London professional revealed. He reflected on the number of senior Christian bankers, fund managers, financial advisors who had been part of the ‘system’. Good people, generous people, Bible-believing people. Yet somehow they failed to see the fundamental flaws that would eventually bring the banking world to within hours of collapse. It would seem they were too close to see it clearly. Perhaps they were caught up in an institutional corruption with the power to do almost whatever they wanted.

Jesus’s disciples were not immune to this quest for power. Just days before the crucifixion, two of Jesus’s close friends came to him. They had been with him for three years; you would have thought they’d know better. The request was simple – they

ruled and exercised authority, with four simple words: “not so with you”. He then continued to outline another way, a way that he had spent a lifetime modelling: “whoever wants to be great among you must be a servant, whoever wants to be first must be a slave”. This was Jesus’s antidote to the corrupting impact of power.

The night before his crucifixion, Jesus, the most powerful person who has ever set foot on earth, is found in the servant role, washing his disciples’ feet. How sad when reflecting on the history of the Church, and perhaps our personal history, that we have reached for the power of status, financial gain, and personal satisfaction at the expense of those that surround us.

So what is our response? Inevitably the government will reach for law, more public enquiries, new quangos, lots of good intentions. But how do we address the human heart, the corruption we so often find within ourselves? Can we offer ‘another way’ which addresses our quest for power and turns the 21st century models of achievement and status upside-down?

Let me leave you with a couple of questions. Could it be that the events of recent years are actually God answering our prayers for the United Kingdom? Could

“ Power is a dangerous thing, not only to those exposed to its use but also to the ones who exercise it.” wanted to sit on his right and left hand in his future glory.

This was not just ‘bagging the best seats’ for a future parade; they wanted the status, recognition and power of such a position. Jesus’s response was clear and strong. It didn’t work like that in his new way of doing things. He clearly contrasted the way the power brokers of his age

it be that God has been bringing into the light some of the dark places in our society which results in us seeing them for what they really are? If that is the case then let’s pray for more – that those things which are hidden might be revealed and let’s ask God that out of these crises, a new kind of leadership will emerge, marked by integrity and a desire for sacrificial service.

W NE

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