THE MAGAZINE OF THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE
THE CHURCH EDITION
We explore the Church in all its glory
BIG INTERVIEW
DIVORCE
GOOD QUESTION
Terry Virgo on his Newfrontiers legacy
How do churches deal with marriage breakdowns in their congregations?
What’s the point of church?
On the Job
Connect
60 seconds with…
Culture
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MAR/APR 2014
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Chine Mbubaegbu: I hope, like us, you will be inspired, encouraged and challenged by all that churches are doing across the country.
idea-torial Why I love church
I love my church. When I walk through its doors on a Sunday morning, it feels like home: a safe space where I can come and meet with God alongside my church family. We are not all the same. I love that my church is a great reflection of the diversity and creativity of the God we worship. I love that in my church there were babies born this week, and there are greatgrandparents and teenagers and students and couples and singletons. In 1 Peter 2, we hear how the Church is “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God”. I love that though we are a holy, chosen priesthood belonging to God that our church is a place where we can come; broken. I love that in my church there are widows and divorcees and hurting people and lonely people; people who are in need of healing; people who are in desperate need of God’s transforming, life-giving grace. I love that as the 1 Peter passage continues, we can “declare the praises of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His wonderful light”.
“A chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.” I love that we know that our mission is for other broken people to come into relationship with this God. We know that that’s the best thing we can do for our neighbours and that it’s this that will lead to the transformation of our community.
CONTENTS FEATURES 7 Geoff Tunnicliffe
As secretary general of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe has a unique perspective on the Church around the world.
20 Divorce
How should the Church respond to rising rates of divorce among its congregation?
12 Once laughed at as one of the worst places to live in the UK, Hull is on the up. Having been awarded the Capital of Culture 2017 award, church leaders want to use it to further improve the city’s image.
30 Big Interview
Terry Virgo has helped plant numerous churches but he has now handed over leadership of Newfrontiers to others. We catch up with him.
REGULARS 4-5 Connect
Find out what the Alliance has been up to…
11 Good question
22
Are mono-ethnic churches a good thing? We get the lowdown from both sides of the argument.
27 Theology
What’s the point of church? Church leader Jason Clark answers.
Being a chaplain and acting as a representative of the Church can be challenging whatever the environment, whether Manchester United or the local hospital.
36 In your words
idea readers respond…
38 Last word
The general director writes…
That’s not just the mission of my church, but the heart-cry of thousands of churches up and down the country who – driven by God’s love – want to tell others about Him. In this special themed edition of idea, we celebrate the Church in all its glory: including exploring how churches engage with the world and how they respond to divorce in their congregations. Our big interview this edition is with Terry Virgo, the founder of the Newfrontiers movement which has planted 900 churches in 60 nations around the world. There’s lots more packed into this edition. I hope, like us, you will be inspired, encouraged and challenged by all that churches are doing across the country. Chine Mbubaegbu, Head of Media @ChineMbubaegbu
We’re on Twitter! Follow us @idea_mag MAR/APR 2014
32 Holly Price from the Damaris Trust explores the message behind Stephen Frears’ film Philomena – set for release on DVD in March. Head Office Evangelical Alliance has moved:
176 Copenhagen Street, London N1 0ST tel: 020 7520 3830
(Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm)
fax: 020 7520 3850 info@eauk.org www.eauk.org Evangelical Alliance leadership team Steve Clifford, Helen Calder, Fred Drummond, Elfed Godding, Krish Kandiah, Dave Landrum, Peter Lynas
Email address changes to members@eauk.org Northern Ireland Office First Floor Ravenhill House 105 Ravenhill Road, Belfast BT6 8DR tel: 028 9073 9079 nireland@eauk.org
Scotland Office International Christian College, 110 St James Road, Glasgow, G4 0PS tel: 0141 548 1555 scotland@eauk.org
Wales Office 20 High Street, Cardiff CF10 1PT tel: 029 2022 9822 wales@eauk.org
IDEA MAGAZINE / 3
News from the Alliance
CONNECT
apping the wells of our T Christian heritage
by Daniel Webster, advocacy programmes manager
Across the UK we have inspiring examples of what it means to be a Christian and to transform society. It’s easy to look back down the centuries and see evangelical leaders who stood up and made their voice heard, and made a difference for their communities and our country. We can look at Wilberforce who loosed the bonds of slavery, introducing the same bill into parliament year after year until it passed and freedom and justice reigned, or 7th Earl of Shaftesbury who looked upon the plight of the poor and factory workers and said that this will not do. At the start of the 20th century the tradition was still strong. William Booth, growing up in the East End of London, saw the ravaging effects of poverty and committed to fight. Another century on, and it still goes on. Christians are in every area of public life, they are in politics, they are in media, they are leading in public life, and they are being a voice for good in their communities. In Tottenham in the wake of the 2011 riots and after the inquest verdict into the death of Mark Duggan, it was Nims Obunge, a local church leader who became the go-to person; the person who mediated between communities devastated by death and authorities seeking to maintain order. We build on the legacy of our spiritual forefathers not by seeking to return to an age past, but by learning from them and working out what we can do in our context to provide leadership. The Evangelical Alliance wants to see Christian public leaders across the country and in every area of life. Public leaders are not a special class of people; it is you and me, it is people committed to making their voice heard and working for good. It is why a new website will launched be shortly, resources provided and training events held. You can register to find out more and if you would like the advocacy team to come to your church to provide training please get in touch. thepublicleader.com IDEA MAGAZINE / 4
Pray with us
Please pray with us for the Church and the wonderful work that God is doing in our churches across the UK: 1. P raise God for the work churches are already engaged in with their local authorities and communities, and pray for God’s blessing on this work. 2. With Mothering Sunday just around the corner, please pray for the hundreds of churches that are part of Home for Good, encouraging Christians to step up and fulfil the need for thousands of adoption and fostering homes in the UK.
Mums for Good Take part in our Mums for Good photo competition launched in February and the chance to win a professional family photo shoot. As part of the competition, we want to find the best photo showing both the highs, and lows of being a mum. The image could be a tantrum, a messy teatime, or a serene scene of calm with your tot – whatever it is we would love to see what precious moments you feel sum up being a mum.
3. Pray for the launch of our Public Leadership programme this spring; pray that God would work through the Alliance to raise up Christian leaders in the public sphere from our churches. 4. Please join us in praying for the Alliance’s Confidence in the Gospel events, bringing churches together in cities across the UK to work for a renewed boldness in sharing the good news. 5. Please pray for all those in leadership in our churches; pray that God would strengthen and guide them in all that they are doing.
The competition is part of our celebration of motherhood and will play a part in our Home for Good campaign. With 6,000 children currently waiting to be adopted and 9,000 more foster families urgently needed, we know there are thousands of mums out there who could give them a loving home. Look out for more details of the competition on our website and our promotion for Mothers Day in March eauk.org and also visit homeforgood.org.uk/mumsforgood
Terry Ally: There are more Christians who tune into the secular media than those who tune into the Christian media.
in the media
ecular media: S fear not by Terry Ally, press officer, Evangelical Alliance
In another couple of months a new book – Paradoxology – by the Alliance’s executive director: churches in mission, Dr Krish Kandiah, will be released. Paradoxology deals with the 13 most difficult paradoxes in the Bible which face the average Christian. The book, I think, challenges us to step out of our comfort zones, to stop living on the warm plateau we reached in our Christian faith and to climb higher in the spiritual realm. It’s not for the faint-hearted. When it comes to publicity and press, I believe that many churches and Christian organisations are similar to the people this book is targeting. Most are happy to stay within their certain comfort zone pitching only to the Christian media. One of the reasons could be because they feel that the secular media is not interested in them because they are Christian and they talk about the Bible. That is not true. At the Truth, Power and Communication: Faith and Media in dialogue conference held at Windsor Castle recently which brought together mainstream journalists with Christian communicators, one of the clear messages which came out of the two-day
meeting was that the secular press is definitely not against us because we are Christians.
dedicated to helping other people who are now in the same situation.
They want quality output from us – genuine newsworthy content. By remaining silent and shunning the secular media, we may well be remaining silent on things that may make a great story.
It was quality content which was snapped up by the BBC, ITV and many local and regional newspapers. The secular media did stories before the awards and after the awards. Within minutes of receiving the award in parliament, BBC radio was on the phone to obtain the first reaction from the winner in the Inspiring Individual category. BBC and ITV sent cameras to parliament to document their work.
Our recent Inspire Awards was a demonstration of this. We had a great story to tell. It was about a couple who had provided food and help for thousands of homeless people in their town over the last 10 years. These stories are a dime a dozen across the UK so what makes it unique? It was the fact that this couple were themselves homeless. They and their five children were kicked out on the street and remained homeless for more than a year. With the help of their church they were able to rebuild their lives which they have since
In their interviews Carol and Len Fowler unashamedly spoke about Jesus Christ, which the media happily broadcasted. If the research is done, I am sure that there are more Christians who tune into the secular media than those who tune into the Christian media. The secular media wants our quality, unique stories and we should not be afraid to pitch our material to them.
MOORLANDS MIDLANDS Children & Schools Work Studies; Community & Family Studies; Cross-Cultural Studies; Missional Leadership Studies; Missional Youth Work Studies.
MAR/APR 2014
IDEA MAGAZINE / 5
in the media
eauk.org/join
The Alliance welcomes the following new members… churches christian growth centre, Basildon » church of god mission international, London » rccg the salvation trumpeters angel, London » victory believers church international, London » divine connection international church, London » tabernacle of david, London » rccg the fountain church, barking » leicester malayalam church, London » Rccg Victory Centre, Walsall » Rccg Victory Centre Plumstead, London » Rccg Triumphant Christian Connections, Romford » New Life Baptist Church, Guildford » St. Theodore’s Church, Leicester » Leicester Vineyard Church, Leicester » Calvary Love Assemblies Of God Church, London » Fijian Assembly Of God (Gb) Aldershot » Network Church Sheffield, Sheffield » Apostolic Grace Ministries, London » Asian Christian Church Bolton, Bolton » Aylesbury Vineyard Church, Aylesbury » Rccg Hope Hall Chelmsford, Chelmsford » Rccg House Of Mercy – Abbey Wood, London » St. Andrew’s Church, Crawley » Rccg House Of Praise – Nechells, Birmingham » Rccg House Of Praise – Grays, Grays » Rccg God’s House International Centre, Bristol » Church Of The Resurrection, Leicester » Kingdom Citizens Church – Reading, Reading » Kingdom Citizens Church – London, London » Love Temple Christian Church, London » Rccg Emmanuel Chapel Kettering, Kettering » Netherauldhouse Evangelical Church, Glasgow » Rccg Harvest Fellowship, Rugby » Whitley Lodge Baptist Church, Whitley Bay » Erdington Elim Church, Birmingham » Rccg Covenant Restoration Assembly Peckham, London » Rccg Covenant Restoration Assembly St Ann’s, Nottingham » Living Waters Church International (Uk), Manchester » Rccg Green Pastures Parish, Leicester » Rccg Faith & Holiness Centre, Thornton Heath » Rccg House Of Praise Birmingham, Birmingham » Church Of God World Fellowship – Blackheath, London » Rccg Kingdom Of Praise And Thanksgiving Hackney, London » Lighthouse To The Nations, Bristol » Rccg House Of Prayer Manchester, Manchester » Rccg International Bible Christian Fellowship, Middlesbrough » Rccg Jubilee House For All Nations, Romford » World Outreach Church International, Leicester » Rccg Living Faith House Brockley, London » All Saints Church – Belgrave, Leicester » Perfect Covenant Family Church, Thornton Heath » Gateway Church, Barnsley » Rccg Pillar Of Power Parish, London » The Everlasting Arms Ministries, London » Fusion Church, Morecambe » Rccg King’s Chapel Plumstead, London » Rccg Living Water Parish Wimbledon, London » Assemblies Of The First Born Battersea Hq, London » City Of God Christian Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne » Rccg My Father’s House, Salford » Victory Church, Cwmbran » Rccg Palace Of Grace Parish, Eastleigh » Rccg Praise Tabernacle, Wembley » Rccg House Of Joy Parish, Manchester » Rccg Testimony Parish, IDEA MAGAZINE / 6
Birmingham » Dundonald Church, London » Rccg Living Water Parish Stoke-On-Trent, Stoke-On-Trent » Barton Evangelical Church, Canterbury » Rccg Salvation Theatre Birmingham, Birmingham » Gospel Of Christ International Prayer Ministries, London » Rccg Living Bread Parish, Newcastle Upon Tyne » Rccg Peace And Love Assembly, Rochester » Rccg Haven Of Rest, Preston » Rccg Great High Place, Welling » Rccg House Of Glory For All Nations, Feltham » Rccg Christ Domain Sidcup, Sidcup » Rccg Unchangeable God Chapel Sydenham, London » Rccg Sanctuary Of Mercy, London » Rccg Inspiration House, Harlow » Rccg The Risen Christ, Knebworth » Rccg Everlasting Father’s Arena, York » Angelus Temple Foursquare Gospel Church, London » christ church earlsfield, London » rccg resurrection house shoreditch, London » Rccg Rivers Of Joy, Dagenham » Rccg The King’s Parish Walthamstow, London » Rccg The Lord’s Vine Harlow, Harlow » Rccg Covenant Restoration Assembly, Nottingham » Rccg Turning Point Parish, Barking » Rccg The Promised Land, London » Rccg House Of Mercy High Wycombe, High Wycombe » Rccg Testimony Assembly Birmingham, Birmingham » rccg testimony chapel @ west bromwich, West Bromwich » Rccg Jesus Praise Tabernacle Battersea, London » Rccg Still Waters Colchester, Colchester » Rccg Holy Ghost Zone, London » Rccg Solution Assembly, Newcastle Upon Tyne » Christ Church Exmouth, Exmouth » Rccg Vine Branch Parish Lewisham, London » Rccg The New Creation Assembly For All Nations, London » Rccg House Of Mercy Aylesbury, Aylesbury » Rccg The Gateway Church New Addington, Croydon » Rccg The Zoe Parish Paisley, Paisley » Rccg Unchangeable God Centre Bournemouth, Bournemouth » Rccg Holy Ghost Zone Norwich, Norwich » New Life Church, Dorking » Oasis Of Love Christian Centre, London » The Apex Church, Cowes » Mosaic, Leicester » Heritage Church, Preston » Rccg Chapel Of Grace Bradford, Bradford » Rccg Peace House Stoke-On-Trent, Stoke-OnTrent » Kirkby Baptist Church, Liverpool » Christ Church, Inverness » The Gateway Church, King’s Lynn » Foursquare Gospel Church Praise Chapel, London » St Mark’s Gabalfa Cardiff, Cardiff » Worship Tabernacle, London » Goshen Light Church, London » Charlbury Baptist Church, Chipping Norton » Cornerstone Global Ministries, Southampton » St. Johns Hampton Wick, Kingston Upon Thames » Rccg Victorious Family Parish, Rochester » Rccg Victory Assembly Sidcup, London » Rccg Victory Centre Leeds, Leeds » Rccg Victory Centre Oxford, Oxford » Rccg Winners Way Chatham, Chatham, Mount Zion Christian Ministries – Freedom Arena, London » Cardiff Vineyard Church, Cardiff » Miracle Christian Centre International Ministries, Watford » Family Church Waterside, Southampton » Onelife
Church, Slough » Celebration Church Uk, Watford » Rccg Victory Centre For All Nations Lincoln, Lincoln » Rccg Victory Centre For All Nations, Luton » Freedom Church, Chester » Rccg My Father’s House Dunstable, Dunstable » God Central Church, Harlow » Rccg Praise City, London » Southgate Family Church, Birmingham » Rccg Kingdom Light Centre Hatfield, Hatfield » Breath Of Life Faith Ministries, Bournemouth » Verwood Family Church, Verwood » The Potters House Church, Bury St. Edmunds » Rccg Lighthouse Parish, Clydebank » The King’s Church, Stowmarket » Rccg Covenant Restoration Assembly Dudley , Dudley » Rccg The Pathfinder Parish, Manchester » Rccg River Of Love Woolwich, London » Rccg Precious Peoples Parish Manchester, Manchester » Rccg Glorious High Throne, Wallington » Rccg House Of Peace For All Nations Southall, Southall » Rccg Kingdom Life Assembly Brighton, Brighton » Derby Hall Assemblies, London » The Potters House Pentecostal Church, Stockport » Rccg Chapel Of Glory International Watford, Watford » Rccg Breakthrough Chapel, Hornchurch » Rccg Renewal Ground, London » The Potters House Christian Fellowship, London » Maranatha Center, London » Llanishen Evangelical Church, Cardiff » Rccg Testimony Assembly Romford, Romford » New Life Evangelistic Ministries International, London » Victory International Church Uk, London » Rccg Covenant Restoration Assembly, Dunfermline » Rccg Kingdom Life Assembly Doncaster, Doncaster » Rccg The Potter’s House, London » Holy Ghost Christian Centre, London » Rccg Good News Haven Thamesmead, London.
Organisations Belfast Bible College, Belfast » Inspire Movement, Chesterfield » Kingdom Life Tv, London » Partners In Harvest (Europe), Hemel Hempstead » The Chinese Overseas Christian Mission, Milton Keynes » Westminster Theological Centre, Cheltenham » Azalea, Luton.
Corporate Supporoter 2Buy2, Bridgend.
We are committed to seeing the Church living out this unity as we seek to be good news people.
60 seconds with...
Geoff Tunnicliffe As secretary general of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) – which started in 1952 – Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe has a unique perspective on the Church around the world. We caught up with him to hear about his vision for the WEA as it prepares for its general assembly in October this year. idea: How did you become general secretary of the WEA?
What are the major issues facing the Church in the next decade?
I usually tell people that I drank a lot of coffee (or tea) with people around the world. That is actually not far from the truth. For many years I was an executive with an international mission agency. In that role I saw a great need for much more collaboration. On leaving this agency I began to serve the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada as director of global initiatives with the mandate of building such a strategy. It was out of this context I began to work with the WEA and was eventually asked to serve as secretary general. I was deeply humbled to be offered that role more than nine years ago.
We are facing both huge challenges and opportunities in the next 10 years. With the continued growth, particular in the majority of the evangelical Church world, how will we steward our influence and resources for greater kingdom impact? How will we seek greater Christian unity not only among evangelicals but in the broader Christian family? How will we deepen our biblical engagement so that all of life is guided and influenced by scripture? How will we deal with on one hand greater radical secularisation and on the other radical religious movements? How will we more fully engage as a global community to respond to the big issues facing the planet; extreme poverty, corruption, environmental degradation, national and regional conflicts/ wars, human trafficking etc. How will we connect Sunday to the rest of the week so that all Christians are equipped, empowered and released for service? How will we more effectively disciple the nations? I think there are more but I will stop there.
What excites you about the WEA’s vision? I have seen the transformative impact of the Church when it is united and works together. At the heart of WEA we are committed to seeing the Church living out this unity as we seek to be good news people. It is a great privilege to serve as a platform that builds this collaboration. We have also seen remarkable open doors to speak to the highest level of governments, international bodies and other faith communities.
So the WEA is holding its general assembly in Seoul, South Korea, this October. What are your hopes for the gathering?
Geoff Tunnicliffe is secretary general of the World Evangelical Alliance
The WEA holds a member meeting every six years. At this working assembly we lay out a strategy for the following years. It is our intent that we will develop collaborative strategies for some of the issues I have already mentioned. It also gives a unique opportunity to equip the leaders of our national and regional alliances to help them to be more effective in their work. How would you describe the work of the Alliance in the UK? I love what EAUK is doing. It is a great model on how to build unity for strategic purposes. We deeply respect how EAUK engages with many challenging and complex issues faced by the UK Church with a prophetic yet respectful voice. What’s your favourite Bible verse? I have been thinking a lot about Acts 4:13: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” I ask myself more than my knowledge, position or education, will people see that I have been with Jesus?. For more information on the WEA General Assembly, visit wea2014.org
SOUTH KOREA
MAR/APR 2014
IDEA MAGAZINE / 7
NEWS
Inspire Awards ceremony
Carol and Len Fowler of The Well Centre with Alliance general director Steve Clifford
Inspiring faith in the community Evangelical Christians are good news for their local communities. That’s what the latest Inspire Awards – run by Inspire magazine in collaboration with the Evangelical Alliance – found. Among the 2013 winners were a former homeless couple, a youth project leader and the pioneer behind a debt advice counselling centre. The awards celebrate unsung Christian heroes whose work has helped to change lives in their communities. Winners were announced in the House of Commons by shadow employment minister Stephen Timms MP, Evangelical Alliance general director Steve Clifford and Inspire magazine editor Russ Bravo. Carol and Len Fowler, who were once destitute, opened The Well Centre in Blackpool, Lancashire, for the homeless 10 years ago. It has since expanded and is now helping hundreds of people every year. They were the unsung heroes of the year in the Inspiring Project category. On winning the award, Carol said: “It’s about showing God’s love, grace and mercy and this is what we are trying to do and in a small way show people there is hope. Sometimes we have had people come in who are suicidal and we have been able to sit down with them and say ‘there is hope’ because Jesus is our hope.
We have seen lives changed and we just thank God that we have been able to be part of this ministry and it will continue to grow.” Hannah Gibbons, an award-winning financial adviser, picked up the Inspiring Individual award for her work in setting up and running the Christians Against Poverty (CAP) centre that Gillingham Community Church, Dorset, had been longing to start. Since its establishment in 2008 they have helped more than 400 people, some of whom were at their wits end. In Bournemouth, Dorset, The Shine Project which helps teenage girls with problems of self-identity was the winner in the Inspiring Youth/Children’s Initiative category. The youth programme is in big demand by schools across Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch requiring it to put on more programmes to cope with the demand. Shadow employment minister Stephen Timms MP, speaking at the awards, said: “Believing in Jesus inspires people to do wonderful things. You don’t have to be a believer to realise that. Believing in Jesus moves people on to not just think something is a good idea, but to act on it. The contributions we are celebrating this afternoon are examples not of a dying phenomenon, but a growing one.”
Churches start 40 Days with Jesus It’s a familiar problem: churches are packed on Easter Sunday with guests. They are the same guests that fill the pews at Christmas time. But what happens to them in between? KingsGate Community Church, a member of the Evangelical Alliance, and CWR are giving churches a helping hand in how to engage with guests post-Easter by launching a new resource, 40 Days with Jesus. Instead of having Easter Sunday as a standalone celebration, it is marked as Part 1 – the start of a six-week journey. Senior Pastor Dave Smith said: “How can we make sure that Easter is not just a one-off event? What would happen if we said ‘Welcome to week one of a journey’ and invited people to come with us.” The six weeks explore the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus and the way he changed the lives of those he encountered. The resource is based around a successful teaching series which was run at Alliance member KingsGate Community Church in Peterborough following Easter 2012. What initially started as a six-week sermon series has now IDEA MAGAZINE / 8
developed into a range of resources designed to help churches go on this 40-day journey for themselves and learn together. Based around a new 40-day book, 40 Days with Jesus comes with free sermon outlines, small group studies and video teaching. 40 Days with Jesus has already received praise from church leaders including Greg Haslam of Westminster Chapel, who said: “Here is heart-warming devotional reading of the first order, colourful theological fire-crackers, and unforgettable glimpses of the real Jesus convincing his friends, and even us, that he is really alive! Six weeks that could completely restore your life.” 40days.info cwr.org.uk/ 40days
Watch The video
EASTER
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? For you:
Be strengthened as you read this 40-day devotional exploring the life-changing encounters biblical characters had with the risen Jesus.
For your small group:
Free online videos and study guides to help small groups learn and share together as they work through the 40-day devotional.
For your church:
Free online sermon outlines for church leaders exploring each of the 6 encounters highlighted in the devotional and small group resources.
Bulk buy available for small groups and churches ISBN: 978-1-78259-138-2 RRP £6.99 each ALSO AVAILABLE IN EBOOK FORMATS
Dave Smith is one of the most inspirational Christian leaders in the UK today. I am delighted that through this book he has given us not only profound insights into the teachings of the New Testament but helped each of us draw daily closer to Jesus Christ.
– NICKY GUMBEL For more information visit www.40days.info or call 01252 784710 Applying God’s Word to everyday life and relationships
MAR/APR 2014
PUBLISHING & MEDIA www.cwr.org.uk IDEA MAGAZINE / 9
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Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord
On the Job
I n praise of the church secretary by Richard Woodall
There is often a temptation in church to get wrapped up in our own acts of ‘service’, enjoy what we do, and secretly like the attention it brings. But what about the roles in which the hard work takes place behind the scenes? It certainly isn’t the glamour role of worship leader and doesn’t have the trendy image associated with a youth worker, but nonetheless without it a church would cease to function. Being a church secretary or administration guru can often mean picking up the pieces from tasks which others have failed to do. Making sure the church minutes are kept up-to-date, drawing up rotas for cleaning; it can be a lonely and burdensome role. And the tasks that come with the role often go under the radar. Alan Cameron, aged 64, has been administrator manager at Coton Green Church in Tamworth for almost eight years. He describes his role at the evangelical free church as that of a facilitator. A qualified accountant, prior to taking up the role he spent almost 30 years in the public and charity sector. Initially full-time, he now works three-and-a-half days a week. Describing his job as “pivotal” and one which encompasses finance and human resources, he sees it as helping to bring about the kingdom of God in Tamworth. IDEA MAGAZINE / 10
Alan Cameron
“I have a passion to see God’s kingdom grow and people saved,” he said. “This role alongside my skills and experience allows me to contribute to God’s overall purpose. “As the senior non-pastoral employee I line-manage the 10 paid staff that look after our building, run the pre-school, and carry out administration tasks including our IT infrastructure and communications. “In addition, I advise trustees and elders on the financial and legal implications of decisions taken in the life of the church. “Often I describe my role as that of facilitator – allowing the eldership to lead the church as the spirit leads while keeping the trustees out of jail!” A notably full-on role, but why do it? Does he ever get frustrated by being the point of reference for church-related queries? “I believe this job is God’s calling on my life and that He has equipped me through education, training and experience equipped me to do it. “Without hesitation, I would recommend to others such a role. In my opinion, there is no other role which gives such job satisfaction. I’ve had many jobs over the years – this is an opportunity to work on behalf of the Lord with and for a great bunch of people.” Recognition more readily comes to worship leaders and musicians rather than church secretaries or cleaners. What is Alan’s experience? Does he wish he had more chance to stand in the limelight or to get credit, and what frustrates him? “It all depends on our attitude of mind. I believe we all, in whatever capacity, work unto the Lord so our job title is essentially irrelevant. It is our desire to serve the Lord
that binds us together, whatever our role. We are blessed that this view is shared by our leadership and our congregation. “We all get frustrated from time to time. In my case it’s usually when I have a self -imposed deadline to meet and I feel that I’m getting sidetracked – then the Holy Spirit usually reminds me it is God’s timing that’s important not man’s, least of all my own.” What does a day in the life of Alan look like? The church secretary, who is married to Thelma, said: “It’s hard to describe but it would usually start at about 9am with a coffee and a chat with our senior pastor to discuss any issues that need addressing. “Depending on the time of the month I may spend time on financial reports for our trustees and members or in preparing our accounts required by the Charity Commission at the end of our year. “Payroll or personnel issues may take up a fair amount of the day but being available to speak with members of the congregation on a whole range of issues is a prime part of my role. It supports the relational aspect of our church and my place in it.” Alan – who has two grown-up daughters called Isobel and Philippa – doubles up as an elder of the church, a house group leader and oversees a weekly outreach. How and why does he do it all? He says it comes with being authentic in all aspects of his paid role at church. “I do not believe the role I undertake would be sustainable or effective without this close connection because of the complexity of our organisation.”
Mono-ethnic churches: Good or bad? We hear two sides of the argument.
Good Question
re mono-ethnic churches A a good thing? “Anything that makes us exclusive in our thinking also tends to limit our ability to influence.” Carl Terlecki and wife Taryn are on the leadership team at Jubilee Training Centre in Maidstone
In Galatians 3:26-29 we are all called sons of God. Our identity is found in Christ and ethnicity should not play any negative role in how we relate to one another and engage with kingdom work. In Ephesians 4:12-13, Paul writes about Christians attaining unity in the faith, growing up and becoming mature, being knitted together with all parts of the body working properly, and all of this in love. One question that comes to mind is: ‘Do mono-ethnic churches help to build up the body of Christ?’ After visiting and working with many churches in different countries and cultures, I can conclude that mono-ethnic churches struggle with their redemptive call to impact and transform community. Anything that makes us exclusive in our thinking also tends to limit our ability to influence. God has called us to penetrate and impact all walks of society, which becomes difficult when we are focused on only one particular population group. Does this mean that a mono-ethnic church is a bad thing for God’s kingdom? Well, if we are in a part of a nation with a uniform culture, a mono-ethnic church is going to be representative of its community. Most situations that churches face in today’s ‘global village’ are not like this. The norm is a mix of nationalities and cultures. So, in multi-cultural communities, are mono-ethnic churches fulfilling their redemptive call? Are they engaging with their community and are they helping to build up the body of Christ? I look forward to a day in which our cultural and social biases are less of a hindrance in kingdom work. There is nothing better than being in an environment where the different flavours of various cultures and backgrounds join together informed by kingdom values, rather than working against kingdom values. Then we will truly reflect the Father’s creative and diverse character as we celebrate Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth. Jesus came that we would have life and life to the full; he came to break down the walls of separation and give us freedom. Let us strive to do the same! MAR/APR 2014
“We need to see mono-ethnic churches in the right context and the specific functions they serve.”
Central to this question is the conundrum of the one and the many. The gospel’s transformative power has reconciled alienated humanity into the one kingdom of God. With this comes the desire to unite all people into the body of Christ. Therefore, one may logically ask whether mono-ethnic churches are theologically sound as they Wien Fung is pastoral worker for the seemingly detach themselves English congregation at the Chinese from the many and huddle Church in London. It has five congregations. together as one. First, we need to ask what makes a church a body of Christ? “The Church” is a universal entity that embraces all believers. Christ’s fullness is mediated in the diversity of the body and fills all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23). Therefore, every church does not exist on its own as a detached entity. By partaking of the “one bread”, the many can be one body (1 Corinthians 10:17). We share in the joy with the universal Church and are united with those who are diverse and beyond our particular community. Furthermore, this releases us from the need to manufacture unity. The present Church is a single body with diverse parts. In Revelation 7:9, we see a redemptive ideal of the eschatological community where all peoples worship Christ together. When we celebrate and learn from the diversity (ethnicity, age, gender, class, life-stages, culture, physical, emotional, and intellectual conditions) within the Christian community, we do experience a glimpse and a foretaste of the eschatological hope. However, the question is whether diversity (ethnicity and all other forms) should and could be actualised in every particular community in the here and now? I would argue that a drive to do so will be in danger of elevating the particular over the universal. Second, we need to see mono-ethnic churches in the right context and the specific functions they serve. Without seeing their location in a multicultural context, one may conclude that churches in mono-ethnic countries are bad unless they import multi-ethnic worshippers into their communities! Furthermore, we cannot ignore the language barriers faced by diasporas (even multi-ethnic churches need to operate by a dominant language). Ethnic churches provide the necessary language and cultural bridge for the gospel among diasporas and they facilitate the crucial reintegration of disciples to their monoethnic cultures upon their return to their homelands. When we see mono-ethnic churches from these theological and missional perspectives, we can begin to see them as a thing to be welcomed. IDEA MAGAZINE / 11
F
TURE
Working around the globe to inspire the local Church by Lucy Cooper
Often, as local church, we feel like we can make little difference to global poverty. But we can create powerful partnerships and personal connections across communities that can change lives, according to international missionary organisations. The Church is called to engage with God’s heart for people in poverty and to reach out in mission, not only locally but to all nations. We want to care for the lost and least but how can we do this without our efforts feeling like a demoralising drop in the ocean? International church partnerships enable local churches not only to understand global issues better but to form bonds with another community in a different part of the world, working together to bring change to their area. UK churches that connect with church projects abroad find that it brings change closer to home than they expected. “Traditionally, churches just send money abroad. Now we are realising that, as churches and communities, if we walk together we learn from one another,” said Jamie Fyleman, head of UK church relationships at Tearfund. “When local UK churches unite around a theme that people are interested in, the whole community gets involved and the Church becomes more relevant. To have a genuine two-way relationship, a spiritual exchange, is incredibly powerful.” Kerith Community Church in Bracknell partners with a church project in Serenje, Zambia, through Tearfund’s Connected Church programme. The lively family church, convicted to respond to the global HIV/Aids epidemic, focus their commitment, giving and prayer on the community where many are affected by the disease. A visit was just the start: “When you’ve IDEA MAGAZINE / 12
sat with a family and watched them with no hope in their eyes you feel you just have to do something,” said Simon Benham. “On our return we shared our passion for Serenje and it provoked interest from those outside the church too. A local football team donated kits and we received offers of help from the whole community.” Holy Trinity Church Springfield in Chelmsford has a vision for sending Bibles to China. Through the Bible Society’s partnership scheme, B The Word, they support Bible printing and distribution and receive updates about the impact scripture is having in the country. Vicar Keith Roddy said: “We give through regular mission giving and the weekly collection from our Planet Life Sunday School. When people see the desire of the people in China for scripture, it draws them into mission. “They say: ‘If they value it so much, I should too’. The spread of God’s word is an essential part of mission. We benefit from seeing the global perspective, rather than just the local.” Peter Ivermee, a disaster relief volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse, spoke of the benefit of a direct connection between gift and outcome for churches. “A typhoon hit the Philippines and we had to provide jerry cans and chlorine to kill the germs in the water. We needed £1,800 to buy this chlorine and this was the exact amount that Christchurch Baptist Church, Dorset, had donated. To tell them that the money meant that 4,000 people did not get dysentery as a direct
result was great. The more visual and direct the link, the better.” Sheddocksley Baptist Church in Aberdeen responded to the oppressed Dalit community’s cry for help. The partnership, through Operation Mobilisation (OM), focuses on work in Lalganj, Uttar Pradesh in India (pictured). The pastor Stephen Hibberd and a team have helped build classrooms in the local school and teams visit regularly using their skills including running a medical camp alongside local medics. Stephen said: “The personal connection with the work in Lalganj has been tremendous. More than 60 people in the church sponsor the education of a child at the school. It’s been another way for us to demonstrate to our community that our faith impacts our daily life. Local schools have joined with us to support the Lalgani school.” Letchworth Garden City Church (LGCC) has a strong partnership with churches in Mbale, Uganda, through Compassion UK’s church partnership programme, sponsoring more than 200 children in one project. “Some organisations more or less tell the local church to pray, pay, then get out of the way. Instead, both the sending and receiving church is enabled to take its rightful place on the front-line of mission,” said senior pastor, Dominic De Souza. On visits, churches have learned to let go of pre-conceived ideas of mission and instead to listen to the unique needs of that local community. LGCC linked up with a formerly sponsored child running training for local pastors in Uganda and Dominic helps leaders understand Islam and evangelism in the strongly Muslim area. Dominic added: “We have noticed an increase in mission-consciousness and activity in our church – not just internationally but nationally and locally too. Our heart is increasingly breaking for the things that break God’s heart.”
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The Way to Life A new evangelistic booklet from SGM Lifewords illustrating steps to faith through the Bible’s own words. The Way to Life is ideal to give to friends who know little about Jesus or are taking part in an introductory course. Order now at www.sgmlifewords.com/waytolife or by phone on 020 7730 2155. While donations to help spread the Bible’s life words are very welcome, our resources are free to those who are not able to contribute.
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IDEA MAGAZINE / 13
Confidence in the Gospel
Discipleship: a time for action by Krish Kandiah, executive director: churches in mission
Some 1,523 out of 2,228 passengers and crew were drowned during the sinking of the Titanic – a loss of 68 per cent. But according to Peter Brierley’s research, of every class of ten children in Sunday school in 1985 between the ages of zero and nine, only three were still connected with the Church in 2005. For some time a particular statistic has haunted me. It’s been quietly displayed for the last two years on the Alliance’s ‘It takes a whole church’ microsite – but it’s still a terrifying statistic. If true, it should send shivers down our spines. We have a titanic problem. As I have travelled around the UK talking to 20 somethings at universities, festivals and conferences, no one seems surprised by these numbers. Most can point to their own experience of friends who have walked away from church and many from faith. The main reason for this exodus? Anecdotally it is time pressure, boredom, or fear of ridicule. Through friends at Open Doors I arranged a live Skype link-up at a young adults conference with 800 students from the UK and one Egyptian 20-year-old. We heard a little about the challenges facing Egyptian Christians at that time. We heard how police shot at protestors during a peaceful protest march, we heard how Christians had to hold prayer meetings in caves for fear of persecution. This young Egyptian believer prayed for the assembled British students to remain faithful to God despite facing challenges at college and work. He prayed with such fervour and urgency most of us were deeply challenged at how small our challenges were to his own. It was then it dawned on me that we often blame the large numbers of young adults leaving the Church on external factors: social media, peer pressure, education, the press, militant atheism. IDEA MAGAZINE / 14
But around the world and throughout history Christians face much sterner external pressures and yet hold fast. We are struggling to hold on to our own young people, let alone reach the nation. When you compare our situation with China or the early Church – not only did they hold on to their young people they saw exponential growth in the Church. The trouble does not seem to be external to the Church; but internal. We are not producing mature Christians that are able to endure the pressures of ordinary life. This problem is not confined to 20somethings but seems to be endemic throughout the Church. Many have identified the “discipleship deficit” as the key challenge facing the Church today. Take for example the South African born missiologist Alan Hirsch: “The Church in the West has largely forgotten the art of disciple-making and has largely reduced it to an intellectual assimilation of theological ideas. As a result, we have a rather anemic cultural Christianity highly susceptible to the lures of consumerism.” Similarly Antoine Rutayisire, a Rwandan church leader and seminary principal, challenged the Third Lausanne congress in Cape Town by providing a startling autopsy of the Rwandan Genocide that saw Christian Hutus killing Christian Tutsis. He argued that the main challenge was the flawed gospel and with it an inadequate model of discipleship exported from the West to the rest of the world. “It’s time for us to decide about
discipleship – to not just stem the flow of those leaving the Church but to see our Church rise to the challenge of living for God and reach our nation with the whole of the good news of the gospel.” One of the groups engaging with discipleship is livelife123.org which focuses on investing in accountable and intentional relationships between believers. It aims to encourage people to be discipled, to be accountable to others and to act as mentors for young people. It is led by Urban Saints alongside several partner organisations. More closer to home at the next Evangelical Alliance council meeting we are gathering significant leaders from across the UK to hear from God and from one another to assess how we can move forward collectively. No single stream of the evangelical movement in the UK has the answer to this. In fact we will be hearing from: • T racy Cotterell from LICC about why the workplace is the frontline for disciple-making. • P aul Machonachie from 3DM challenging us to take seriously creating a disciplemaking culture in our churches • L ucy Peppiatt from Westminster Theological College encouraging the Church to take the spiritual disciplines
Discipleship: We are struggling to hold on to our own young people, let alone reach the nation.
Confidence in the Gospel
“We are not producing mature Christians that are able to endure the pressures of ordinary life.”
seriously for character formation • J ohn Stevens from the FIEC arguing for deeper biblical engagement in forming disciples • J im Brown from Exodus church in Belfast presenting a mentoring model for disciple-making Not to mention a global perspective on spiritual formation from Daniel Bourdenay, the general secretary of IFES, and Paula Gooder giving a biblical exposition on the nature of New Testament disciple-making. The fun begins as these different approaches to discipleship interact and challenge one another’s assumptions and we gain a panoramic picture of the way forward in this vital area. As usual most of the talks will be available to download but we invite you to join the conversation on what you think is the key to seeing the discipleship deficit across the UK transformed. Then let’s pray it won’t be statistics that haunt our imaginations but an overwhelming vision of God’s Church empowered by God’s spirit doing God’s work. Look out for our next research report, on the theme of discipleship, coming out in April.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
National eauk.org/northernireland
Four corners: churches working together
by Thomas McConaghie, Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland
As 2014 rolled in, Northern Ireland was hearing about the outcome of the Haass discussions. The contentious issues brought little agreement and commentators used many ‘un’ words to describe the results of months of discourse. Uninspiring, unremarkable, unexceptional. As Christians we inhabit an alternative narrative to the tired prevailing conversations. We, who know our identity and story, believe and preach a gospel which is inherently hopeful. Our language and tone, therefore, should reflect truth, hope and joy in the public square. It is this message that the 4 Corners Festival humbly espouses, showing how the Church in Belfast can, and does, celebrate together. Focussing on what unites rather than what divides, the festival seeks to promote genuine cross-community interaction and discussion through a series of events in the different corners of the city. Living in a city with a history like Belfast can create a subtle illusion. I love Belfast; I make that statement deliberately and often. I consider it home. It will be the home for my children. I want to see it flourish, with its dwellers enjoying true peace and reconciliation, all for the glory of God. Yet my experience of the city has been significantly narrowed by the choices I have made; where I choose to live, where I shop, where I eat and drink... Of the five years I’ve lived in Belfast, most of my time has been spent in the south, the east, and the city centre. I don’t know the nuances and quirks of the north and the west. I don’t know the best cafés. I don’t have a favourite park there, and I haven’t forged any meaningful relationships in those parts. Does this invalidate my claim to love Belfast? Hardly. Rather than feeling embarrassed or ridiculed for feeling like a tourist in my own city, the 4 Corners Festival enriched and affirmed my love for Belfast. It brought us out of the comfort of the known, IDEA MAGAZINE / 16
into the corners of the city which we have avoided, intentionally or inadvertently. The origins of the festival came about over a coffee between Presbyterian minister Steve Stockman and Father Martin Magill. Martin invited Steve to his parochial house in the west of the city, a world he’d never entered before. Similarly, Martin travelled to East Belfast for a local arts festival and struggled to find his way around the area. After this, they agreed that an event should be held close to Christian Unity week. The programme is filled with events of significant togetherness. “4 Corners, 4 Stories with local politicians” gave an opportunity to listen to a few of our representatives talking openly and honestly about their faith and other reasons for getting into politics. Professor Roddy Cowie – a psychologist from Queen’s University – gave a fascinating talk on the psychology of peace in the Sermon on the Mount. Perhaps one of the most profound evenings was listening to Pat Magee and Jo Berry talk about peace and reconciliation. Pat Magee was a Brighton bomber, involved in the bomb which killed Jo Berry’s father. It was a fascinating and moving story of forgiveness, repentance and hope.
One of the most striking aspects of this year’s festival was the opening event. It kicked off with Christ-like unity, as charities and church goers from each corner of the city came together to serve a feast to the homeless at Belfast’s City Hall, hosted by the Lord Mayor. The last 15 months have seen the City Hall stuck in the centre of a divisive debate; yet, the 4 Corners Festival inconspicuously rang decibels of hope and selflessness by serving the vulnerable and the marginalised. This story reminds me of the parable of great banquet in Luke 14:13-14: ‘“When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.’ A different people, a different focus, a different narrative. The exciting thing is that the 4 Corners Festival is just one example of churches working together for the wellbeing of our city. When you hear the cynics preach that Northern Ireland is stuck in a bigoted, regressive and hopeless void, they are not looking in the same places I am.
WALES
National eauk.org/wales
Ground-breaking charity needs financial boost
by Gethin Russell-Jones
Just before the last millennium celebrations, someone in Wales had a inspired idea. In 1999, Dan Boucher, Evangelical Alliance Wales’ then Assembly liaison officer, invited a number of churches and organisations to form an umbrella body for the Christian voluntary sector in the nation. Gweini was born; a collaboration between Cornerstone Church, Swansea, Evangelical Alliance Wales and Tearfund. Since then, Gweini has established local groups across Wales; harnessing and mobilising Christian action in their localities. Through conferences and workshops, thousands of volunteers have been presented with opportunities of service and encouraged to reach out to others with the practical love of Jesus. Reports and surveys have been published, revealing the extent to which local churches are working together to make a difference in Wales. Last year saw the publication of Power of Ten; how Christian collaborations are changing the face of Wales. Gweini is at the heart of promoting and encouraging a wide range of programmes; from foodbanks, Christians Against Poverty and Street Pastors to local night shelters. Tens of thousands of residents in Wales are being cared for, kept safe and lifted out of poverty through the enterprising intervention of local Christians. Among other highlights, last year Gweini hosted the Equipping the Church in an Addictive Society conference, showcasing how Christian charities are helping people deal with the effects of addictive behaviour. A number of the speakers and participants spoke openly about their addictive histories and how personal faith and the help of other Christians had brought them through. It also gathered the expertise and support of specialists throughout Wales with a view to publishing a Manifesto for Wales. This will represent Christian perspectives to the various political parties in the build up to the next government elections. But Gweini is facing financial difficulty and has launched an appeal to raise money MAR/APR 2014
Domestic violence is just one of the issues being tackled by Gweini.
to continue its work. As a charity it is reliant upon the support of the Evangelical Alliance Wales. Rev Elfed Godding, national director for Evangelical Alliance Wales, paints a realistic picture about the current state of play.
to violence against women, which included physical, mental and sexual abuse, whether taking place in churches, homes, friendships or communities. Domestic violence against men is also a worrying issue that needs to be tackled.
“To be frank, Gweini’s future is in danger,” said Elfed. “We are in great financial need at a time when the need for this work is greatest. Without the generous support of those who care deeply about a Christian voice speaking out in Wales’ voluntary sector, Gweini’s future looks bleak.
According to Christian charity Restored, violence against women is as much an issue within the Church as outside. Domestic violence against men is also a problem that must be tackled. It seems that the gates of the faithful offer no greater protection than anyone else’s. In fact the faith community may create a conducive context for violence against women through promoting ideas of male headship and female submission.
“This is a need that is close to my heart. Gweini is at the very core of the Welsh Alliance’s vision and all that we are working for to give Christians a voice. Your generosity will enable us to speak directly into your communities by developing more local Gweinis, expressing across the Welsh constituencies all that Gweini is doing nationally.” In his impassioned appeal, Rev Godding illustrated Gweini’s role in hosting a groundbreaking conference in January. One in Three – the church’s response to violence against women was held on Tuesday, 28 January, at Glenwood Church, Cardiff. The conference sought to articulate a response
Although a dark subject, long neglected, the conference demonstrated Gweini’s courage to tackle taboo issues. But this event, and many others, are not simply talking shops. Through listening to and working with churches, Gweini’s agenda is always collaborative and practical. Shining the light in the darkness is only one part of the equation; setting the captives free is also essential. And in the words of a well-known slogan Gweini believes that in partnership with local churches and other organisations, we are better together. IDEA MAGAZINE / 17
SCOTLAND
National eauk.org/scotland
Making a Deep Impact Almost 400 youth workers gathered in Aviemore in January for what was the largest Deep Impact conference ever to be held in Scotland. Evangelical Alliance Scotland’s Kieran Turner considers what impact this could have for the future of the Church. Deep Impact, which since 2009 has officially been the youth wing of the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland, has been holding annual training conferences for Scottish youth workers for the last 15 years. Initially starting as a Youth for Christ initiative for the Highlands and Islands, it has now grown into Scotland’s largest Christian youth work training event, and with Danielle Strickland (Salvation Army, Stop the Traffik) attending this year from Canada, expectations were high for Deep Impact 2014. The format is simple: take over a large, well-appointed hotel resort in a gorgeous location at the start of the year. Offer a programme of relaxation, worship, seminars and space. Mix it with good food and just about every Christian organisation in Scotland and you have the essence of a Deep Impact weekend. Attending the event as somewhat of an outsider (not a youth worker) it is immediately striking how much this is valued. There is a buzz of noise as people mill about the food court, mixing with the stalls and catching up with old friends. After a tentative start
worship and ministry are embraced and the teaching is devoured as Danielle Strickland encourages everyone to ‘wake up’ and not be sleeping to what God is doing. How we need to hear this in Scotland where evangelical church involvement is at its lowest level for generations, especially among young people. While other parts of the UK are experiencing fantastic renewal and growth, driven by immigration and evangelism, in many parts of Scotland the Church is on life support. It is all the more encouraging then that God does seem to be doing something in Scotland and that events like Deep Impact are growing year on year. Powerpoint in Edinburgh – which is a Christian youth event – regularly attracts up to 1,000 young people and there is a growing hunger among young people to engage with God and transform their world. (The initiative now works in Glasgow too). For the second year running the Powerpoint band led the worship and it is hard to overstate the encouragement of seeing an organic, home-grown group stepping up and not relying on a big name
Deep Impact
to fill the gap. (Powerpoint Edinburgh is a Christian youth event). Going away from Aviemore it’s hard not to think that if the Church is to really impact our young people and our wider society it will be through people in that room. There is a huge challenge there, and there is no mistaking that. However it also makes me proud of the Evangelical Alliance and in so many ways it is doing what we do best; facilitating coalitions of partners, equipping leaders and working to see the Church rise up united, inspired for mission and confident in voice. Deep Impact is facilitated by the Scottish Christian Youth Work Forum (SCYWF) and is the youth wing of the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland. Current partners include: Youth Alpha, Tearfund, Scripture Union Scotland, International Christian College, Youth for Christ, OM UK, Firestarters, Baptist Union of Scotland, DNA, Urban Saints Scotland, YMCA Scotland and the Salvation Army. deep-impact.org.uk
Referendum update The Evangelical Alliance Scotland’s work in the run-up to the independence referendum continues at pace and we are delighted to confirm that we have now booked the Members Restaurant of the Scottish Parliament for 23 April to celebrate the publication of our new report: What Kind of Nation? We’re also pleased to announce that Roseanna Cunningham MSP, minister with responsibility for churches and faith groups, has agreed to speak at the event. We are anticipating a busy event but have allocated a number of spaces for Alliance members to attend. If you would like to join us on the night please contact the Alliance Scotland office for further details. IDEA MAGAZINE / 18
Alex Salmond with the Alliance’s Kieran Turner. The SNP leader was at a conference examining the role of churches in an independent Scotland. In September, the people of Scotland will be asked whether they think the country should be independent.
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This is our Place
Hull: “Out of the shadows”
Once named one of the worst places to live in the UK, Hull is on the up. The Church in Hull is making an impact in communities and local leaders believe that the City of Culture 2017 award is just the beginning. Is Hull truly emerging from the shadows? Lucy Cooper talks to some of the leaders in the city… A hard reputation has been hard to find for the city of Hull. Dubbed by former residents of the city as a “a sad story of unemployment, teenage pregnancy, and rampant selfneglect”, you might think it an unlikely candidate to win the UK City of Culture. “But that is what it has done, seeing off competition from Dundee, Leicester and Swansea Bay to win the UK City of Culture 2017.” The city is the 10th most deprived of the 326 local authority areas in England, according to the government study Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2010. The Economist argued that, due to deprivation, trying to revive places like Hull, Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton with public money was foolish , instead suggesting inhabitants find jobs and houses in more successful cities. The Church sees a very different, hopeful, picture and the City of Culture judges clearly agree. The panel concluded that Hull had put forward the most compelling case of a city “coming out of the shadows”. Widespread and creative engagement with the community is reminding locals of Hull’s cultural past and future potential. Rob Pritchard, who runs Longhill Link-Up Trust which works to improve people’s lives in the community, said: “People say Hull is rubbish. This is nearly always from those who have never been to this beautiful city of mine. “It is a hidden gem. Yes, we have our problems but we have a vibrant community sector with volunteers and organisations making a difference.” A 2013 survey revealed that Christians in Hull are making a major impact. Social and Economic Action Resource of Churches (SEARCH) published encouraging statistics to coincide with a city-wide initiative called ‘Believe in Hull’. It found 68 churches and Christian organisations running 286 practical projects, using around 1,800 volunteers and supporting IDEA MAGAZINE / 20
Credit Hull City Council
approximately 10,000 people each week.
meet to pray each week.
In October 2013, ‘Believe in Hull’ saw churches from across the city, and from all denominations, come together to demonstrate and share God’s love.
Hull Churches Home from Hospital (HCHFH) supports older people in their homes as they leave hospital. Mervyn Cross, the mission apprentice at HCHFH, said: “We assist people, through convalescence, to continue to live confidently and independently. Trained volunteers give personal support and we link people into local connections, activities and lunch clubs.”
Archbishop of York John Sentamu said: “Hull is a wonderful city, full of energy and life. God believes in Hull, and the people of God ‘Believe in Hull’ – do you?” The Bishop of Hull Rev Richard Frith added: “We are called by God to love our neighbours as ourselves, and the survey shows how that is being worked out in practice.” ‘Believe in Hull’ sparked a fresh wave of unity among churches, and leaders now
Longhill Link-Up Trust, set up by St Michael All Angels Church, is a bustling community centre running numerous practical projects. Now it provides expelled children and potential NEETs (not in education, employment or training) with
This is our Place support, after school clubs and mentoring. The centre is also home to a job club, adult education classes, debt advice, a community café, a lunch club for pensioners, cooking on a budget classes and a youth project. “To avoid a dependency culture that a foodbank might create, we encourage people to grow food and bulk-buy in a group. We give people advice and help with job interviews,” added Rob. A new mission apprentice two-year scheme began in spring of 2013 funded by Church of England Commissioners. Andy Dorton, social responsibility officer for the Church
of England, explains the model: “We have taken five local converts as mission apprentices. They work with the churchconnected organisations through which they came to faith. They meet and learn together, share their faith in their contexts and encourage others in practical mission and discipleship.” The five represented organisations are Hull Churches Home from Hospital service, St Michael’s Orchard Park Youth Project, The Ark, Longhill Link-Up Trust and Hull Youth for Christ. “Those who have come to faith through these various expressions of the body of Christ are the best people to carry the good news to those people who come from the same circumstances that they do.” “In this financially poor place, mission can be difficult but this long-term action across the city – the practical outworking of the gospel – is really effective,” said Andy.
“Hull has changed dramatically from a few years ago. The atmosphere is changing, becoming more family friendly. There is now greater awareness, and there has been a reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour. We were awarded a purple flag for being an enjoyable place to visit. People wouldn’t come to Hull before. Now they do.” Neal Barnes, vicar of Holy Trinity church, said: “After repeated knock-backs over the years, the City of Culture announcement heralded a red-letter day for our city. There is a huge amount of grass-roots cultural activity going on and we are already starting to see Hull’s potential being realised. We don’t have to wait until 2017 to see fruit. “The concept of ‘coming out of the shadows’ feels relevant and in line with our mission to the city – emerging from the shadow of poor perception.
Hull Street Angels Trinity has charitable status and focuses on welcoming people to Hull and making it a safer and more enjoyable place to be. Working in partnership with the council, police, the NHS, and nightlife businesses, volunteers from all backgrounds patrol the Trinity quarter in high-visibility jackets, offering practical help and assistance.
“Cultural activities spring from God’s creativity and the fact that we are, by nature, creative and made in the image of God. The Church can bring spiritual meaning to cultural activities. I pray that Hull will come out of the shadows in a spiritual sense too.
Karen Thompson, co-ordinator of Hull Street Angels Trinity, said: “We have a calming presence, helping people find their
“Into the city of culture, we want to bring Jesus, who gives meaning to all life and brings hope and healing.”
God’s Word in today’s world Trans World Radio exists to reach the world for Jesus Christ. In the UK, TWR broadcasts quality, speech-led Christian radio – committed to the practical application of Scripture, to help you from doubt to decision to discipleship
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way home as they leave bars and clubs intoxicated. We are trained in first aid, assess them and want to stop too many heading to A&E if they don’t need to.
Sky Guide 0138 Freesat channel 790 Online / twr.org.uk TWR-UK App www.twr.org.uk twitter.com/TWRuk facebook.com/TransWorldRadioUK IDEA MAGAZINE / 21
in the thick of it Manchseter United dressing room
Serving on the frontline Being a chaplain and acting as a representative of the Church can be challenging whatever the environment. Richard Woodall finds out more from those involved in chaplaincy work. The most important part of the Church’s ministry takes place outside the building, you could argue. That’s certainly the case for chaplains who work across a wide variety of areas including health, the police and the oil and gas industry. Their growth in number over the last two decades has put their role under the spotlight, with the National Secular Society recently contending that religious bodies should be funding chaplains in hospitals rather than the NHS. But what are chaplains here for? And does their presence make a difference to the lives of those they interact with or are they just viewed as a unnecessary and irrelevant by the people they spend time with? Father-of-three Antony Feltham-White (pictured), aged 46, has been a chaplain in the Armed Forces since 2005. He felt the calling to become a chaplain because of a desire to spend more time with those outside the Church. He has toured on duty in Iraq for seven months as well as twice going to Afghanistan. Despite admitting some tours involved a lot of “getting shot at” he finds the time with troops fulfilling as well as taxing. “Each tour you go out on is different. Most army chaplains would be prepared to serve on tour time and time again were it not so exhausting. You find there are lots of people who want your time.” IDEA MAGAZINE / 22
John Boyers
But if you want to be a chaplain, why not go somewhere safer, or more predictable? “We send young men and women into dark places in the world and it’s important we show them some light too. I help troops focus on what they are doing, to be there if they are called to exercise lethal force as a last resort. “You have to let God take over – but I feel I am doing exactly what God wants me to do.” But it’s not just on the battlefield they need support, he said. “There is an enormous legacy when members of the Armed Forces lose a friend, they have no time to grieve and are forced to compartmentalise. Then when they come home it’s difficult to bring it back and deal with it.” Rev John Boyers, aged 64, is chaplain at Manchester United and a Baptist minister. Before taking up the post with the Premier League side in 1992, he was chaplain at Watford Football Club. It has been a path that has allowed him to build trust with some famous faces. “Chaplaincy work in sport is about relationship and trust. If people can’t trust you, you have nothing to offer them. “Over the years some of the players got to know me when they were younger, well before becoming household names. As relatively unknown members of the academy development system, they got to trust me as 16 or 17-year-olds, appreciated my support and concern, and my role in the club. Now, as members of the first team squad, their attitude remains the same. “The biggest challenge is the size of this club. When I was at Watford there were 45 people including coaches and players on the playing side and maybe 30 on the non-playing side. But Manchester United is absolutely huge; there are 800-plus full-time staff and 3,000 part-time staff. “The constant challenge is building relationships and letting people know how they can contact you.”
Chaplains: It’s not just spiritual; it’s pastoral as well.
What about the biggest man at the football club? The manager. Does he have any contact? “Sir Alex was always very supportive and positive and I’ve found David Moyes no less so,” he said. “The role of chaplain is about providing part of a support network for players and other members of staff. It’s not just spiritual; it’s pastoral as well, giving help and encouragement when it’s needed. “Chaplains don’t help all of the people all of the time, but for some people, some of the time, the chaplain really is important. You see both the pressures and problems of people who are world famous – as well as those who do not make it professionally – and the issues and challenges which face other ‘ordinary’ members of staff.” Rev Bob Mayo, parish priest at St Stephen and St Thomas in Shepherd’s Bush, London, is chaplain at Championship side Queens Park Rangers. The 51-year-old vicar said the role is “an intentional presence”. “There tends to be a 50/50 interest from the players as well as an underlying level of intrigue. They like the fact there is contact but you’re very much on their territory. Some banter and others like a deeper chat. You tend to be the one person who is known across the club.” Rev Mayo, a QPR fan, added: “It’s a really tough world as a professional footballer. In most jobs you would be given three months’ notice if your employers want to move you on; in football if you get a transfer the new team often want you the next Saturday. That’s hard if you have family and are settled.” But it’s not just the glamorous or dangerous careers chaplains
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in the thick of it “ We send young men and women into dark places in the world and it’s important we show them some light too.” operate in. One big area is health and work in hospitals particularly. Illness and death tend to be occasions when people will ask questions they otherwise wouldn’t. It’s also an opportunity to demonstrate God’s love and care. Rev Rosie Finch, 74, is a chaplain volunteer at Gloucester Hospital. She previously worked at Ipswich Hospital in a similar role. In addition to offering Communion, one of the main roles when visiting patients is simply listening. “Some people will talk to a chaplain rather than their family or friends if they have concerns about their health. “Quite a lot of elderly people who are in hospital have some sort of church connection but because they are immobile or their vicar has changed they seem to have been forgotten by the Church. When they come to hospital they reconnect with their faith and that’s really important. “Because the nurses are pressed for time they often don’t have time to listen to patients. As chaplains the key thing we have is time. But tragic circumstances also mean it’s not just the elderly who occupy a chaplain’s time,” she said. “Being called out to a parent who has just lost a child is very difficult, or even where a young person has committed suicide. You just have to rely on God.”
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Till death us do part? Richard Woodall explores the Church’s response to rising rates of divorce among Christians.
“To love and to cherish, till death us do part.” We all know the vows. Couples on their wedding day will have proclaimed them aloud, and what a commitment those words speak of. The Bible tells us marriage is intended to be a picture of Jesus and the Church. And yet stubbornly thrown into this perfect image is the D word: divorce. Lawyers say the beginning of each year produces a tide of inquiries about the financial cost of a divorce, with experts claiming £2,000 is the minimum you can expect to pay – but this is without taking into account of the cost of setting up a new home. Within the Church, we think we know what our own opinion of divorce is until it affects someone close to us. And statistics suggest the Church is only too familiar with it. Eight per cent of the adult population in England and Wales were either separated or divorced in 2008. In the evangelical Church latest figures from the Langham International Partnership show 4.5 per cent of the total evangelical population in England were either divorced or separated.
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For the past 15 years Holy Trinity Brompton Church (HTB) in London has run its Restored Lives course for divorced or separated couples.
Phil Green, aged 34, married his first wife, Rebekah, at the age of 22. She was 20.
With a central theme of forgiveness, it is geared towards those in and outside of the Church.
“The first year of marriage was great – that came as a surprise as everyone had said it was going to be really difficult, and it wasn’t. The second year was pretty good too. It was the third year when the cracks began to appear.
Rev Nicky Lee, associate vicar at HTB, said the course originally launched in response to the “break-down” in marriage across society. Now other churches across the UK are starting to run the course. But does the availability of such a course imply that divorce is ok and feed unrealistic expectations of a fast spiritual and emotional recovery? And does it also risk alienating divorcees, marking them out as special cases in need of a course? This appears not to be the case, according to Rev Lee. “Feedback from the course has been really positive,” he said. “Not everyone on it is divorced. Some on Restored Lives are still married. As a result of doing the course they feel in a position to have another go at restoring their marriage. It is in no sense promoting divorce, it’s quite the reverse.”
Five years later they separated; the separation ended in divorce.
“In our case at least it was a mixture, of unwise expectations and a growing number of issues that we failed to deal with. We changed, and instead of ensuring we grew closer, we let ourselves grow apart.” Phil added: “At first divorce wasn’t an option either of us were prepared to consider. However, as time went on, it seemed like the least-worst option-for me at least, I know Rebekah disagrees with me on this. That’s not to say I thought it was okay– I do believe, that in our particular case, my choice to divorce was a sinful choice. “Although I certainly don’t blame our church, or the Church-at-large for this, I do believe that it is absolutely essential that
“ For quite a while I hung on to the hope that God would restore what was broken.”
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(Malachi 2:16). It’s dangerous to have divorce as an option as at times the temptation to separate will be so strong. But we shouldn’t demonise divorce as there are some legitimate reasons for it. “No matter how we interpret the Bible on divorce, there’s the underpinning theme of grace that goes far beyond the rightness or wrongness of such a controversial debate.” How would the wider Church family react to couples getting divorced? Neil Powell again: “We would seek to counsel a member of our church a long time before divorce. We want a culture in church where we teach and equip all married members to recognise unhealthy patterns in a marriage. If all else fails we would institute some form of church discipline against a guilty party.” Dan Steel noted each situation was different but showing love and care was always important. churches provide the space and safety to enable people to hold up their hands and say: ‘Hey, our marriage is a mess – we need help!’” UK law allows five reasons for a divorce: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion if you’ve lived apart for two years and both parties consent, or five years of living apart if one party doesn’t consent. According to Grant Thornton research in 2011, the most common reason for a marriage to end was couples claiming they had fallen out of love and grown apart. But what has the Church got to say about marriages ending? Even among evangelicals, there is no consensus. Neil Powell is pastor at City Church in Birmingham. “There is only one ground for initiating divorce,” he said. “Jesus says that a Christian may initiate a divorce on the single ground of porneia which I take from Matthew 19 to be sexual immorality after marriage. “Jesus does not say that people cannot divorce but that they should not divorce. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach divorce is permissible but only as a concession to sin.” MAR/APR 2014
Others take a different view of when divorce is permissible. Dan Steel, pastor at Magdalen Road Evangelical Church in Oxford, believes biblical divorce can be permitted for marital unfaithfulness, abandonment, and circumstances of abuse. Even in a case of unfaithfulness, divorce is not always necessarily the right thing and “reconciliation should be sought initially”. Phil – who is now married to Hannah – said: “I was overwhelmed with the support and love I received from my church and Christian friends and family. There were people who challenged me. However, with the benefit of hindsight I wonder if it would have been good for more people to challenge me sooner. That said, I take full responsibility for my actions. I’m not trying to pass the buck.” His first wife, Rebekah, is on staff at The Forge Church in Suffolk. She said: “For quite a while I hung on to the hope that God would restore what was broken. We have to remember God hates divorce
What does this all mean for couples who ’fall out of love’ or are unhappy in their marriage? Should their church be praying for the restoration of their marriage? Dan Steel said: “Happiness is an interesting concept that can be unhelpfully foundational in our modern culture. Marriage is not necessarily about happiness. I would urge people to work hard and stay together in this situation.” Neil Powell agrees: “Staying married may indeed be painful and lead to unhappiness but the gospel is bigger than sin. Marriage points to Jesus in that it is a covenant where we make a ‘binding promise of future love’ (Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage) and that of course is what the gospel is.” Does he think evangelicals are becoming more accepting of divorce? “Yes and especially on the grounds of irreconcilable breakdown. Increasingly the church will decide to let divorces simply happen without challenging people.” For more information on Restored Lives visit rdscourse.org.uk IDEA MAGAZINE / 25
Church growth
Evidence: This cutting edge research will shape our thinking for years to come.
Fresh Expressions vital for the future of the Church
by Amanda Pilz
Fresh Expressions of Church are growing all over the country, according to the Church of England’s Church growth research programme. The report, produced by the Church Army’s research unit as part of the Church of England’s 18-month research programme, examined all the Fresh Expressions in 10 representative dioceses. On average within a diocese, Fresh Expressions make up 15 per cent of the churches and 10 per cent of the attendance. Between January 2012 and October 2013, the Church Army’s research unit spoke to the leaders of 518 Fresh Expressions in the dioceses of Liverpool, Canterbury, Leicester, Derby, Chelmsford, Norwich, Ripon and Leeds, Blackburn, Bristol and Portsmouth. Against a background of wider church decline, the report found that these young churches were showing signs of growth. For every one person sent out from an existing church to start a Fresh Expression, there are now two and a half more people. Nothing else in the Church of England has this impact. It is also interesting to note that 66 per cent of them either continue to grow numerically or maintain the growth gained. As some people within the Church have anticipated, the report found that many of the Fresh Expressions of Church (52 per cent) are led by those who are not ordained, but what is new is that 40 per cent are led by people without any church accreditation and often without formal training. They are also equally likely to be led by women as men. Most often the men are ordained, working full-time and paid, whereas the women are not ordained, parttime and voluntary. George Lings, Church Army’s research unit leader, said: “As we conducted the research here at the Church Army, it was energising to hear the Fresh Expressions leaders talk about the growth they are seeing. My view is that the Fresh Expressions movement is very important for the future life of the Church of England and now for the first time we have harder evidence to back up that conviction, as we move from reliance on stories to having statistics as well.” In the report, the pace of change is quite striking: 40 per cent of the Fresh Expressions of church researched had started in the last three years and by 2012 more than four times as many per year were being started compared to 2004 and the launch of the Mission-shaped Church report. The diversity of Fresh Expressions of Church is also significant. It is a world of many young, diverse and small communities. The average size is 44 people and these gatherings occur in all kinds of social contexts – deeply rural, city centre, in rich or poor areas. IDEA MAGAZINE / 26
United Network, Clitheroe (Diocese of Blackburn)
Reflecting on what has been unearthed by the report and what still may need to be done, George Lings said: “Although we have made a good start on assessing the impact of Fresh Expressions of Church, our team feels that further research is advisable. The feedback we’ve received from the dioceses surveyed is very positive, enabling them to evaluate progress and sharpen strategy. “As a team we have been energised by what has been discovered and our hope and prayer is that the findings are an encouragement and gift to the Church. This is especially apt as Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has made ‘evangelism and witness’ one of his three top priorities.” Church Army chief executive, Mark Russell, said: “Fresh Expressions of Church are a huge part of our response to the evangelistic challenge facing the Church. For some time we have lacked hard data on the effectiveness of Fresh Expressions. Church Army’s work provides the answer – Fresh Expressions work. This cutting edge research will shape our thinking for years to come.” Church Army’s research unit is part of the Cranmer Hall, St John’s College, Durham Consortium.
Jason Clark: is senior pastor of Vineyard Church in Sutton.
Theology
What’s the point of church For some, church has lost its meaning because it is no longer relevant or sincere. But the concept outlined in Scripture shows us that being part of a church is an important component of our faith. Protestants and then evangelicals reacted against the control of salvation by the Church. They developed new understandings of the Church, where the Church became a vehicle to support the processes of salvation. Yet this response continued on an unintended trajectory. For it is a very short step from ‘using’ the Church to access the private benefits of salvation, to viewing the church as unnecessary – if not a primary obstacle – to salvation. Yet salvation is literally to be made part of a new people and a new social body – the body of Christ. Salvation is not a guarantee of a way of life for individuals; rather it is a way of life with God’s people in the world, bringing a new way of living to the world. So how does the Church enable people to become this new distinct social group in the world? It does so in the way it has always done – with its worship. The desire to live a comfortable life, to own a great home, to have an abundance of amazing relationships, to retire early and live somewhere like we went on holiday, is the dream most people are pursuing. Christians in their worship, their prayers and imaginations, all too often focus their life on those dreams too. Worship is the orientation of our time, energy and money into what we think life is about – the ‘worthship’ of life. The only question is: what are we worshipping? The Church is a place for worship, where our imaginations and dreams are invited to be ones of redemption, the cross and God’s kingdom. To be a Christian is to imagine how we might bring the kingdom into the world, instead of Christianity being a dream for escape into a consumer fantasy. It is a call to live out dreams of the kingdom – of what Jesus is doing in the places we already live. Jeremiah 29 provides a biblical example of this dream, a way to imagine life as part of God’s people, and one very relevant to our 24/7 global society today. It also provides an example of what that looks like in everyday life and our worship. All too often we jump to verse 11 of
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Jeremiah 29: ‘“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you”. We are all too quick to claim this verse, imagining how God will bless us with wealth and the good life. Yet Jeremiah 29 focuses on a way of life that subverts those kinds of dreams. For the promise of Jeremiah 29:11 is predicated on the verses that precede it. Verses five to nine carry the call to invest the most important aspects of life: jobs, homes, and relationships, and all the dreams and aspirations we have for them, for the welfare of the city, i.e. those around us. God’s people in exile are called to pour themselves into the world, not for their dreams, but for God’s dreams for His world. In a consumer society, who on earth takes their home, jobs and relationships and gives them to God for the welfare of others? No wonder we need the promise of verse 11! God knows that while the rest of the Western world is keenly focused on their dreams for their jobs, homes and relationships, those who give those dreams and realities over for the sake of God and others, need to hear a promise; that God will bless and not harm them. Imagine what it would do to our world, if instead of Christians obsessively praying for great jobs, and moving to dream destinations, if they invested their dreams for the lives of others? Imagine the impact on those living in fear of missing the good life, tired from the commitments and isolations needed to make a consumer life, if they saw a people able to live fully in this world, free from the self-obsessions of consumer dreams. The Church would be the place where God’s people re-tell the dream of Jeremiah 29, reminding each other that despite the pressures of consumer life, they live in a different reality. It would be a place to connect with each other, to share the struggles and joys of investing life for the welfare of others, centred on the worship of God by His people. Maybe that’s the point of church.
“ The Church is a place for worship, where our imaginations and dreams are invited to be ones of redemption.”
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SEASON 1
CHURCH EDITION IS HERE! Superbook engages today’s kids with the stories of the Bible - in a fun and captivating way! Our Church Edition is a fantastic resource that can be used in Sunday Schools and children ministries. You will receive 13 brand new Superbook episodes on DVD and a downloadable Leader’s Guide and Activity Sheet for every episode!
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Special Offer for Alliance members:
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£125
inc. postage in UK/Europe
Discount Code: EA125
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£150
fOR A pREvIEw AND TO ORDER:
www.SUpERbOOk.ORg.Uk OR CAll 0800 432 0700 IDEA MAGAZINE / 28
RESOURCES Superbook for Alliance churches Alliance churches are being offered the chance to use an innovative new animated series which introduces children to the amazing stories of the Bible. As technology and visual effects continue to advance, the highest creative standards are needed to capture children’s attention. And this is certainly true of Superbook a revised and updated version of the animated classic designed to spark young people’s interest in the Bible. Created by Alliance member the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), the series brings much-loved characters to life to appeal to the minds and hearts of children around the world. Senior Producer John Schafer and his team of artists, creatives and industry veterans worked hard to ensure that Superbook would be relevant to tech-savvy kids of today. The first season of 13 episodes has been finished. Production of season two episodes is nearly done with season three and four in development. Now CBN is launching its Superbook Church Edition – an innovative resource for churches to use in their children’s work. This resource includes 13 Superbook episodes of 25-minutes each, taking viewers on a journey through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. With the Church Edition also comes a downloadable Leaders Guide and Activity Sheet for each episode to help youth leaders to relay the main lessons that can be learned from each story. As an extension to the Superbook DVD’s we have launched a brand new website at www.superbook.tv where children can learn about God and the Bible in an entertaining and educative way. “Whether it is our kids game, our kids radio, our character creator, or our interactive questions about God, we want kids to have fun on our site while simultaneously learning about the Bible and growing in their relationship with Jesus,” say the creators. But CBN are keen that Superbook does not replace quality spiritual input much-needed from Christian parents. They said: “We’ve designed our website to be a safe place for kids, but the best safety children can have is their parents’ or guardians’ involvement with their online activities. “We encourage you to spend time with your child online, not only to supervise their activities and educate them, but also to encourage them with what they are learning within our site.” Churches that have already used the resource have been wowed by it. Leaders at Newfrontiers Gateway Church in Ashford said: “This is the best Christian animated series out there. The children love them and are hooked! “The lesson material is excellent while we particularly like the object lessons as they help connecting the Bible stories to real life.” CBN is offering fellow Alliance members the Superbook Church Edition at a special discounted rate of £125 instead of £150. (postage included for orders within UK/Europe) Orders can be made online at www.superbook.org.uk or over the phone by calling 0800 432 0700. Just quote “EA125”.
REVIEWS Popcultured: Thinking Christianly About Style, Media and Entertainment by Steve Turner (Inter-Varsity Press) Many churches give little assistance when it comes to assessing popular culture from a Christian point of view. If you require help in this area you will find much wisdom in this book from poet and journalist Steve Turner. After discussing the prevalence of the media and pop culture the author goes on to offer advice on how Christians should respond to television and the movies, celebrity culture, fashion, journalism, advertising, comedy and computer technology. He avoids the opposite errors of rejecting popular culture out of hand and becoming so immersed in it that critical reflection becomes impossible. Reviewed by Graham Hedges
Travels with an inflatable elephant. Attempts to Make Things Happen. And Not Happen by Jerry Marshall (Instant Apostle) Leading a creative, risky and faith-filled life and sharing the hard-won lessons in entrepreneurial leadership are the themes of Jerry Marshall’s book as he applies his faith to (social) enterprise, fighting poverty and political campaigning. His candidness about failures and successes provides rich insights for life and the interplay between work, family and community. In the current economic and social turmoil, entrepreneurial initiatives that aim for the common good; restore relationships and are undergirded by biblical values bring transition from the ground up. The audacity, skill, wit, trial and error leave me thoroughly refreshed and challenged. Reviewed by Marijke Hoek
superbook.org.uk MAR/APR 2014
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Terry Virgo: We should expect to see more evidence of the power of God.
Big INterview
erry Virgo: T Passing on the baton Richard Woodall meets Terry Virgo – one of the best known faces in the charismatic Church and an inspiration for thousands of church leaders seeking to break new ground and plant churches. Mention the name Newfrontiers and there’s one name synonymous with the charismatic church movement: Terry Virgo. But having handed over the leadership of Newfrontiers, he is still just as eager to see more people healed or enter the kingdom. Since July 2011, the global group of churches – founded in 1980 with a mission to “establish the kingdom of God by making disciples, training leaders and planting churches” – has no longer been in the hands of a single leader. Oversight of the UK Newfrontiers churches is now the responsibility of various leaders with Terry having moved from Christ the King Church, Brighton, to being based at King’s Church in Kingston-upon-Thames. From a 40-person office to working from his study in his south-west London home, it’s quite a change. But such a monumental change in the leadership has not affected two important emphases: salvation and healing. Describing the Alpha course as one of the “key weapons” in bringing people into the kingdom, Terry is unequivocal about the impact of the 900-plus worldwide network of Newfrontiers churches, especially when it comes to work in the UK. “In my experience over the last five years, we are seeing more people healed then we have ever seen before. It’s not massively dramatic but it never used to be there before. That encourages me.
“People like Tim Keller have emphasised being evangelistic in the midst of your church life. There’s much more church inclusion that way.” Passing on the leadership of Newfrontiers had been in his thoughts long before it happened, but the final decision came from perhaps an unexpected source. “The climax was we had Mark Driscoll speaking for us at the Brighton conference (in summer 2008). Without any warning, in his final talk, he said ‘you need to think about handing over’. He had been in my home and seen a photo of my daughter’s wedding and he used the image to say ‘Terry needs to find a husband for his ‘daughter’ (Newfrontiers being that ‘daughter’). “It was in front of 5,000 people but right from the beginning I knew it was God, immediately embraced Mark, and said ‘God has spoken to us’. We had talked about it before as an international team but we’d never had the edge to make it happen. Initially we thought who would be the right person but we knew of other church denominations who had handed over to one person and it had not worked very well. “Why look for one person if there are a number of fine leaders around? Mark, by speaking as he did, put it in our face.”
“We must be faithful, keep working, believe the gospel reaps and pray for days of visitation.”
“And we are seeing more people converted too than we have ever seen before. “In Brighton, we prayed one year: ‘Please may we see one person saved every week this year’? It seemed to us at the time a remarkably high goal to set. Latterly, if we had a Sunday where two or three people weren’t saved we would be shocked because we were seeing regular conversions. “That’s not happening in Kingston yet – it’s a new church IDEA MAGAZINE / 30
plant. We see Sundays as very much purpose built to be a gospel presentation within the preaching.
“I felt God speaking to me,” said Terry. “It was the trigger we needed. Sometimes you wake up and realise everything has changed. The guys have picked up the baton and are running with it; it’s not in my hands anymore. It takes a while to wake up to that.” Could he ever have foreseen, even with an expectant faith, the growth that Newfrontiers has experienced? “No. When we first started it was a number of house churches all within an hour’s drive from where I lived.”
Despite the fact Terry admits in the past Newfrontiers did not have a strong enough focus on social issues – foodbanks, debt advice etc – you could make the case that in word and action Newfrontiers resembles a modern-day New Testament Church. The miraculous is expected, the lame are healed, and God speaks with clarity. Could or should this be the pattern for other denominations? Quoting Isaiah 9:7, Terry says: “Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. I believe for a Church
of impact in the end times. For impact there has to be power, we should expect to see more evidence of the power of God in terms of signs and wonders. “Having said that, I realise there are times and seasons. The Wesleyan era, the ministry of George Whitefield or the 1859 revival where 1,000,000 people were added to the British Church in a few years; there are times when God seems to come in power. “I keep praying we might yet see revival. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that if we don’t see revival England is in a real problem, and that was before the so-called swinging 60s.” So what should we do then? “We must be faithful, keep working, believe the gospel reaps and pray for days of visitation.” But what does revival actually look like and how do we know when it has come? “It starts in the Church and it overflows,” says Terry. “A real revival affects the culture. It’s God coming to His own people initially and there being an awakening with an overspill in terms of conversion.” Although he doesn’t see such a revival yet, listening to him, you sense the Church in the UK isn’t in too bad a place. In light of that, what did he think of Mark Driscoll’s controversial comments last year? The Seattle-based pastor said: “Name for me the one young, good Bible teacher that is known across Great Britain. You don’t have one – that’s the problem. There are a bunch of cowards who aren’t telling the truth.” What is of note about Terry’s answer is that he first chooses to praise rather than criticise. “Mark is a remarkable gospel preacher, a latter-day Spurgeon. His appraisal of the UK – it’s hard to see where he is coming from and have to name a name. There aren’t many high profile speakers in the UK. J John maybe. But the UK is very different from America. I think it’s just a bit of a silly rant from Mark.” Terry – who formerly worked in the civil service in London prior to being a church leader – also fended off criticism of charismatic Christianity from US pastor John MacArthur who said in October it “dishonours God” and “offers nothing to enrich true worship”. “Someone said (to me) that he watches too much American television and needs to go around the world. There’s much on American television that is deplorable and it’s called charismatic but much of it has nothing to do with charismatic churches. In America if you say you are charismatic, people will think you are into prosperity.” Closer to home, how can the UK Church continue to be relevant in 2014? His answer is more simplistic than I’d imagined it would be. “It’s communicating the gospel to someone who thinks they’ve rejected him but doesn’t understand what they are rejecting. We see the Church presented on television on programmes like The Vicar of Dibley or through national religious events. “People think they understand but they don’t understand there is a relevant gospel which helps you to live every day, raise your family and do a good day’s work. “Our challenge is to penetrate the culture with the gospel and to help people discover.” MAR/APR 2014
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Holly Price : is a writer with Damaris, which provides free resources for Damaris Film Clubs as well as the Damaris Film Blog. See damaris.org/filmclubs and damaris.org/filmblog
Culture
Philomena: Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) is lost. A BBC journalist recently fired after a brief foray into politics, he has been half-heartedly entertaining the idea of writing a book on Russian history. But when a woman approaches him with the 50-year-old secret of a teenager whose convent sold her toddler, he scoffs. That’s a human interest story. That’s one direction he’s certain is a dead end: “Human interest story is a euphemism for stories about vulnerable, weak-minded, ignorant people to be read by vulnerable, weak-minded, ignorant people.” And yet, perhaps, if he were to inject a little drama and reunite mother and long-lost son, he might get his career back on track. So Martin meets Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), an elderly Irish-Catholic widow, who – under Sixsmith’s cynical gaze – might be described as the perfect protagonist of a typical human interest saga. Philomena is straight-talking; Martin is sarcastic. She is effusively kind; he, excessively snooty. She regularly attends churches to pray and confess; he cannot abide the sight of them. This delightfully mismatched pair set off in search of Philomena’s lost child.
The institution and the ideal Inspired by the investigative book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee (2009), this film portrays shocking real-life events. In Ireland, 1952, Philomena Lee was sent to a convent after she fell pregnant out of wedlock. When her child was three, the church sold him for £1,000 to be adopted in America, and forced Philomena to sign a document relinquishing her right to find out what had become of him. Director Stephen Frears (The Queen) could easily have capitalised on the emotive nature of these events, pitting the ‘evil’ nuns against the ‘noble’ mother – as Sixsmith intended at the beginning of the journey. But the true story offers a more complex narrative, and its power comes from realistic contrasts. Martin and Philomena’s differing approaches to life set the scene for another IDEA MAGAZINE / 32
“God has offered forgiveness to every person, regardless of our past misdemeanours.” juxtaposition: we witness the hypocrisy of an institution but also the integrity of a personal faith. However broad or narrow our definition of ‘the Church’, as we look back on its history it’s undeniable that it has at times been responsible for horrendous misrepresentations of God. If our mission is to show the world what God is like, then it is crucial that we keep asking, what is the Church best-known for? And, as the people who make up the Church, what kind of God are our lives preaching? What kind of gospel are we practising in our hearts?
Pain as penance When he first meets her, Martin cannot help but repeatedly roll his eyes at Philomena’s ostensibly simple faith – both in people and in God. As they travel to the convent and then to America, he grows increasingly confused and frustrated by it, and compensates for her graciousness by being rude instead. While Martin may be narrow-minded when it comes to judging others, Philomena remains blinkered also. In spite of her sincere repentance, she cannot believe that God will forgive her indiscretion. The nuns insisted that her suffering would atone for her sins. But, in spite of the drudgery of convent work
and the trauma of losing her son, the dead weight of guilt still hangs on Philomena, keeping her focus fixed on her past. The heartbreaking truth is that, in reality, just as Philomena longed to be reunited with her son, God longed to be reconciled with Philomena. He voluntarily sent His son to suffer and die to atone for her sins, so that He could bring justice as well as mercy. In fact, the truth is that God has offered forgiveness to every person, regardless of our past misdemeanours. Sceptics like Martin would decry this as ‘too easy’ – but it was far from easy for God to be separated from His only son. It was anything but easy for Him to pour out all the punishment for our wrongdoing on His innocent son. But He did it gladly because He loves us: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:6-8, NLT). Do we accept God’s forgiveness for us – and even for those who have wronged us? How might the world be transformed if the Church was best-known for this, the most astounding human interest story of all? Philomena is released on DVD on 24 March 2014
Idea-list
5 things you’ll only find in church by Chine Mbubaegbu
1) Tambourines
How many times have you seen a tambourine played outside your church building? Well, I can safely say I don’t think I’ve ever seen one outside the Lord’s House. These biblical instruments are referred to several times in the Psalms and clearly are ways of expressing the joy of the Lord. But let’s just not get too overzealous in our tambourine-playing, shall we?
2) Rota-obsession
Worship team rota, kids’ team rota, welcome rota, set-up rota, set-down rota, flowers rota, lighting rota, coffee rota, organ rota, offering rota, Alpha supper rota, readings rota, communion rota, preaching rota, car-pooling rota, student lunch rota, new baby/ ill person meal-making rota, PA rota, service anchoring rota, new visitor rota, chair curvature rota, prayer rota, counting-the-numberof-people-in-the-service-with-clicky-thing rota, crèche rota, car park rota, washing up rota, babysitting rota, rota-making rota.
3) All ages
Although it might cause a few disagreements over the sound levels of the worship team or choir, the Church is one of the few places where you might be able to spend Sunday mornings and mid-week evenings with people from across the generations. What a heartwarming sight it is to see great grandmothers holding newborn babies and teenagers playing rounders with middle-aged people.
4) Bring and share lunches Ah, the classic early Church influence of sharing-all-you-have with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s all remember though that this is absolutely not a competition over who can cook the best quiche/lasagne/shepherd’s pie. This is about reflecting the triune God who symbolises community. Indeed.
5) Notices
One of the highlights of the church service, I’d say. But seriously under-rated. Often to be found in that graveyard slot between sung worship and the sermon. Whether it’s a snazzy video projection notice or someone popping their glasses on to read from the printed church notice sheet, The Notices will try their hardest to be heard over the din of people chatting, children escaping to Sunday School and the stewards handing round the collection buckets. Let’s show the notices a little love, my brothers and sisters. A round of applause at the end is entirely appropriate. MAR/APR 2014
ROYAL BATH & WEST SHOWGROUND, SHEPTON MALLET, SOMERSET
WEEK 1 Saturday 26 July – Friday 1 August
WEEK 2 Sunday 3 August – Saturday 9 August CONFIRMED SPEAKERS INCLUDE
Christy Wimber, William P Young, John & Debby Wright, Ken Costa, Steve & Charlotte Gambill.
See website for further details including prices, children’s groups, teams information and more.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 33
MUSIC
Switchfoot: who we are Lucy Cooper finds out more about the Grammy awardwinning rock band. With 15 years, eight albums, millions of record sales and endless global tours under their belt, you’d think that Grammy-awardwinning rock band Switchfoot wouldn’t feel they needed to tell the world who they are. But the band’s brand new album and documentary film, both named Fading West, not only tell of Switchfoot’s 2012 tour, music inspiration, and life of rock ‘n’ roll and surfing – they give glimpses into the journey as a band, as individuals, and understanding their true identity. Guitarist Drew Shirley explained to me that there are both epic and intimate moments: “When we looked at footage for the movie, we knew we had a story worth telling. It is more than experiences and the fabric of the band. You see into our souls, our families, our struggles, our successes as well as our failures, our grief and our joy.” As husbands and fathers, the biggest challenge for each member of Switchfoot is having to spend so much time away from their families while on the road. While in Australia, lead singer and songwriter Jon Foreman’s daughter was taken into hospital for emergency surgery. He had to fly home. “That is what establishes a brotherhood. It is when you face life and death as a family. It made us wrestle with what we believe and what we sing about. It’s in the toughest times that the issues of faith and life come into perspective. You make a choice to believe rather than doubt,” says Jon in the Fading West film. The guys also speak about needing to press the reset button and keep things in perspective through surfing and time at home. “The stage is an over-inflated place. It is a fake reality. People don’t really know you. They think they like you and they want to talk to you and listen to what you have to say. But the reality is that they don’t know you. We have to detox from that. Family is a good way to do that – suddenly you’re taking your child to use the potty,” says Drew. IDEA MAGAZINE / 34
“ Christianity is a faith and not a genre of music.” “I love what I do – but am I being a good husband? Am I being a good father? Those are the questions I ask myself all the time. Marriage in rock ‘n’ roll is a wasteland. You look around and a lot of them are tragically affected in negative ways by stress, success, travel, adultery or pressures. It is such a blessing to have our wives and families behind us 100 per cent. “The song Who we are is all about knowing your identity and living from a place of security. Our kids sang the backing on that track – a beautiful moment. I am a father, a husband, a rock guitarist, a friend, a music producer. Let who you are determine what you do, not what you do determine who you are.” World tours include big gigs where they lose power and huge music festivals with tough crowds. “We bring songs we believe in to uncomfortable places. That is where they can be heard. We want to share songs of hope,” says Jon in the film. Drew adds: “We will play music for anyone and everyone. We play in neutral venues. We play the same sets to very different audiences – whether a Christian festival or HFS festival in Baltimore” “Being open to playing music in any environment is good because we want to be a light in darkness and we want to be fishers of men not keepers of fish tanks.” When asked if they consider themselves to be a ‘Christian band’, Switchfoot say they tend to shy away from that label. “Christianity is a faith and not a genre of music. God calls us to experience life and express who we are as a believer. Christianity is who I am and music is what I do.” states Drew. “Being a Christian is much more than just being in a band and maybe playing a song that someone might label as ‘Christian’. It has to do with how you live. How you treat
your wife, your husband, your kids or your co-workers. How you live life in private.” In a recent blog, Jon responded to similar questions: “None of these songs has been born again, and to that end there is no such thing as Christian music. Christ didn’t come and die for my songs, he came for me. My songs are a part of my life. But judging from Scripture I can only conclude that our God is much more interested in how I treat the poor and the broken and the hungry than the personal pronouns I use when I sing. “An obligation to say this or do that does not sound like the glorious freedom that Christ died to afford me. My life will be judged by my obedience, not my ability to confine my lyrics to this box or that.” Switchfoot are well known for songs such as Dare you to move or Meant to live which were written 10 or 15 years ago. “We still enjoy those songs and glad we are known for them but I love our latest songs. They are the most exciting to me. I’ve told Jon I think some of those lyrics took all those years to write because they came from experience and not just knowledge or a good idea. He has lived it. “We have struggled with our identity and so can now produce songs like Who we are or Worth the fight. The lyrics of Worth the fight sum it all up for me: ‘Love alone is worth the fight’. If you are gonna be a lover you have to be a fighter because if you leave things as they are they fall apart, crack and crumble,” concludes Drew. Switchfoot talk of the journey as faith strengthening and a real time of growth and fruit in their friendship, careers and personal lives. The Fading West film is available on video streaming sites including iTunes or Amazon. The Fading West album was released in January. switchfoot.com
CHARTS
Positions shown indicate total sales during the sales period Sunday, 1 December 2013, to Saturday, 1 February 2014, hence the preponderance of carols in this sample.
1
Essential Carols
2
Carols from King’s College Cambridge
3
Your Grace Finds Me
4
The Flood
5
Glorious Ruins
6
Rise
7
Tides
8
The Best ofJohn Tavener
9
Voice of Joy
King’s College Choir/Willcocks (Decca) King’s College Choir/Willcocks (Warner Classics) Matt Redman (Six Steps)
Soul Survivor & Momentum (Integrity Music)
Skillet (Warner Bros) Bethel Music (Integrity Music) Various Artists (Classics for Pleasure)
Friar Alessandro (Decca)
Zion
11
We are Young & Free
12
10,000 Reasons
Hillsong United (Hillsong Music) Y&F (Hillsong Music)
Matt Redman (Six Steps)
Classic FM - Carols from King’s
King’s College Choir/Willcocks (UCJ)
14
The Best Christmas Carols Album
15
Christmas at King’s
16
MY LIGHTHOUSE
Hillsong Live (Hillsong Music)
10
13
FEATURING KEY TRACK
Various Artists (Integrity Music)
King’s College Choir (Warner Classics)
Awake
Skillet (Atlantic)
17
Thrive
18
God’s Great Big Dance Floor - Step 02
19
Carols from King’s College Cambridge
20
Cornerstone
Casting Crowns (Reunion) Martin Smith (Integrity Music)
King’s College Choir (Classic FM) Hillsong Live (Hillsong Music)
©2014 Official Charts Company IDEA MAGAZINE / 35
MAR/APR 2014 IdeaMagazine.indd 1
30/01/2014 16:15
Letters: Have your say.
IN YOUR WORDS
In your words
e love hearing from you, so have your say on any W of the issues raised in idea or any comments about the Evangelical Alliance by emailing idea@eauk.org
Relevant It would be wonderful if young people were able to “evaluate scientific evidence” (Alan Cram, letters, Jan/Feb, p36). Unfortunately the modern dumbed-down school science syllabus makes this unlikely; there is little scope for actual understanding. On the contrary, I doubt if many professional biologists have actually evaluated the evidence for evolution. When they do, they may develop concerns about it but dismiss these on the grounds that everyone else believes it so it must be true. The herd instinct is quite strong in science, and any biologist publicly expressing doubts about evolution would find it difficult to get a job. That means that serious research into alternatives has to be carried out by amateurs or academics in other disciplines. There are good scientific reasons to doubt evolution, quite apart from what the Bible teaches. The apparently spontaneous creation of information, in flat contradiction to thermodynamics and information theory, is one of them. To get round this most biologists either ignore it or claim that life is not fully subject to the laws of physics (thus agreeing with creationists!). It suits atheists to pretend there are ‘God vs. science’ debates. These are usually actually ‘science vs. science’ debates. There can be no conflict between true science and Christian belief. Dr Dave Kimber, via email
Debt default Some debt advice does seems to focus more on the treatment than the cause – maybe because it’s trying to reach everyone and feels it can’t make ‘spiritual’ points. But I think Dave Landrum is right to point out causes: our modern ‘it’s my right’ etc. These should be understood and challenged much more profoundly. We’ve all been affected and shocked by the recent financial troubles not least because they have been allowed to happen by supposedly the best and brightest
financial minds in the world. How have they, and we, been so comprehensively hoodwinked? It’s hard to escape the sense of a malevolent deceiver behind it all. Could or should Christians have been more vocal about the issues? There are Christians working in the heart of the City. Is our loving and just God trying to teach our culture something that Christians already know – but are missing out on challenging society about? Perhaps we just find it so difficult to find words that make sense – but we have to, and more work like Dave Landrum’s article would be welcome. Jon Sharp, via email
Polygamous ways The traditional Church view of monogamy (Good Question on the same topic in the Nov/Dec 2013 edition) is maybe rooted in Genesis 2:24 and reiterated by Jesus in Matthew 19:5, but polygamy is never explicitly condemned in Scripture. Clearly there was an issue in the early Church which led Paul to say elders/deacons should be the husband of one wife but that implies it was still accepted practice. Secondly, the article concentrates on the word ‘two’ in Genesis 2:24, ignoring the man leaving his mother and father and joining his wife. Unless you are arguing for plural ‘wives’ here the argument about the word ‘two’ is irrelevant as it is implicit already. The issue I want to raise in the light of the changing attitude to marriage as defined by parliament, is that polygamy implies sexism, or you end up with meaningless connection. Polygamy is always seen as a man having more than one wife. If you accept that either man or woman can marry more than one, you have a potential growing network of ill-defined relationships. And in the new order of Parliament, that could contain any number or combination of men and women. So further to your article, I believe monogamy is logical in an egalitarian society. Phil Platt, via email
Are you reading this, but haven’t yet signed up to become a member of the Evangelical Alliance? What are you waiting for? Join us! eauk.org/join IDEA MAGAZINE / 36
Heard in tweets Steve Holmes@SteveRHolmes:
“ @idea_mag: you’re quoted in @TheScotsman this morning! scotsman. com/news/politics/…”
HOPE @HOPEtogether:
“@idea_mag Thanks for the great feature on the commemorations. Resources for churches coming soon at bit.ly/1cqHPcx ”
Meg Underdown@MegUnderdown
@Craig4CardiffN good article on personal debt & effects on the poorest: The debt default eauk.co/1hhSbQF via @ DrDaveLandrum @idea_mag
CVM@CVMen
CVM’s @jeremygeake is in the latest @ idea_mag talking about 100yrs since #WW1 – with @HOPEtogether #greaterlove pic. twitter.com/EoBuVcV16S
Editor Chine Mbubaegbu – idea@eauk.org Assistant editor Richard Woodall Consulting editors Steve Morris, Krish Kandiah Contributing writers Terry Ally, Lucy Cooper, Amanda Pilz, Holly Price, Daniel Webster Advertising manager Candy O’Donovan – c.odonovan@eauk.org Design 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. Unsolicited material will only be returned if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
idea accepts advertisements and inserts to offset printing costs. Advertising in idea does not imply editorial endorsement. The Alliance reserves the right to accept or refuse advertisements at its discretion. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from the editor.
Leaders’ questions
What’s the hardest part of being a church leader? David Holden, leader of New Community Church, London, part of the Newfrontiers family “I would say the hardest part is making sure I only do what I know God has called me to do. It’s a constant challenge when leading a church to do many things that others should do and therefore you need to be good at delegation. God gives us grace and gifts to do what He’s called us to do, otherwise it just ends up as ‘work only’. 1 Corinthians 15:10 has really helped me in this. It says: “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”
Octavia Williams, pastor at Walworth Christian Fellowship, Southwark “As a church pastor I am challenged with people’s low commitment level to prayer. Prayer meetings record the lowest level of church attendance. It is clear from Scripture (Acts 2) that after Jesus’ ascension the Church was born on the day of Pentecost out of a 10-day prolonged prayer meeting in the Upper Room. One would think that prayer would come naturally to a follower of Jesus but I have found mobilising the church to pray is more often an uphill task. Nonetheless, I take consolation in knowing that there were more than 500 people who had seen Jesus after he had risen but only 120 people assembled in the Upper Room to pray.”
John Marshall, leader of Church Lane Evangelical Church, Stafford “Loving people unconditionally is such a challenge. The love we must have for the congregation means we want the best for them. It validates the personal sacrifices church leaders make. If that love is rebutted and people treat church like a service industry, never giving, always taking and leaving on a whim then it is really hard to love them. At the same time, it leaves me even more amazed at Christ’s unconditional love for me.”
Nick Atkins, rector at St Matthew’s Church, Ipswich “There are quite a few areas that make being a Christian leader difficult. Moving creates the problem of leaving friends and making new relationships. As a vicar within the Anglican church, for a variety reasons, combining parishes brings the problem of time management between the congregations and extra duties. In addition levels of commitment amongst the church members can also be particularly disappointing at times.”
John Welsby, leader of Emmanuel Christian Centre in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire “Well, Moses as Israel’s leader from Egypt to the Promised Land, had it all. He had grumbles, rebels, gossip, disloyalty... but also loyal friends and family. Best of all, despite lapses of anger and disobedience with his patience sorely tried and feeling like a failure, God loved him in his repentance and still used him. Why therefore as a leader, do I empathise with Moses? Ecclesiastes 1:9 says: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun’.”
Neil Powell, church pastor at City Church, Birmingham “For me it’s remembering that it’s not about me. It’s a daily decision to remember that all true ministry flows out of a secure identity – I am in Christ – rather than out of a desperate desire to create an identity for myself. Fail to grasp this one truth and I will be the biggest danger to my ministry.”
Want to receive idea for leaders our regular e-mail for church leaders? Sign up to receive it straight to your inbox: eauk.org/stay-in-the-loop MAR/APR 2014
IDEA MAGAZINE / 37
Steve Clifford: The general director writes... Twitter: @stevemclifford
LAST WORD
Christian Union, sharing her faith with her pupils (I’m not sure you would be allowed to in quite the same way today) and her commitment to prayer. Here was a life which at times struggled with fears and insecurities but was far bigger than it presented. People had come to faith; others were called to and supported in ministry; many thankful to God for the influence of her life and faith.
A celebration of life
This Christmas was significant in the Clifford family as at 9.15am on Boxing Day morning I received a phone call saying that my mother had died.
She had been unwell for a while but deteriorated quickly and died peacefully without regaining consciousness. I am sure many of you will recognise the mixture of emotions; sad that she was gone; relieved she was free of the discomfort of her last months; glad of the assurance she was in a better place. If you asked me about my mother (until relatively recently) I would have described a woman whose life had been dramatically overturned by the death of her husband less than six years after they married. A young widow with two children without security of home or income. Her life became one of ‘survival’ – child rearing, teaching (a profession she re-entered) and
IDEA MAGAZINE / 38
her church. She rarely left her home town of Bradford and taught in the same school for 28 years. However, in the few years before her death and the weeks that have followed, another story emerged. She was not a highflying educated professional (thank God for those who are called to this). She was a primary school class teacher. In 28 years of teaching she had responsibility for more than 900 pupils. I was in the pub having lunch with my mother a few years ago when a man in his 40s came up and whispered in my ear: “Excuse me, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but is that Mrs Clifford?” She had taught him 30 years earlier. He took the moment to express his thanks to her for being such a wonderful teacher. In fact he was a plumber and indicated that if she needed to, she should call him. At the ‘Celebration of Life’ service and in reading various letters and cards, I realised the profound impact she had had on so many lives – running a school
I began to reflect on what it means for our lives to ‘count’, to ‘make a difference’. As we read Christian literature, it’s so easy to get the impression that there are certain ‘superstars’ of the faith: men and women doing extraordinary work, influencing culture, business, government and whole sections of society. Let’s thank God for these people. However, I have a suspicion that in the age to come there will be other stories being told. Stories of unsung heroes of the faith who devotedly lived their lives, day in day out, influencing others, giving sacrificially but secretly, praying faithfully and God being moved by their prayers. Over the years, I have had the privilege of meeting scores of such heroes. It’s so easy to miss them in the crowd or perhaps in the busyness of church life. However as I’ve asked questions and listened hard, I have begun to realise before me often stands someone who has no idea that they provoke ‘great smiles in heaven’. The challenge of 1 Peter 2:12 rings in my ear: “Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” 2014 will go down as the year of HOPE. Churches all over the country are committed to impacting their communities with the gospel in words and actions. But how does this work out for me in my street, place of work or education, my social club or among my family and friends? In the words of the apostle Peter, what could my “good deeds” look like? Are there little acts of kindness, words of recognition/encouragement or offers of prayer which will have an influence way beyond my expectations? You will be pleased to know my mother left very clear instructions as to the expectations of her two sons as they planned her service of celebration (which she insisted it was called): bright clothes, no flowers (money to be donated to charity), certain hymns and readings and last but not least that her commode should be returned to Bradford council. All of her requests were fulfilled!
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