THE MAGAZINE OF THE
MESS 18 AGE | ISSUE 26 AUTUMN 20
A lasting impact BrightLine share some of the legacy of Higher Manchester 2016
INSIDE Meet Will, Liz and Faith The family part of Eden Buttershaw
Ben Jack
Unpacks the heart of Advance2020
Teaching
From Bishop Philip North and Andy Hawthorne PLUS Genetik Sessions • Good Seeds Gardening • Respect ME • n:flame • Higher South Wales
Dear friends, This summer it’s been great to attend some of the amazing Christian festivals that have sprung up across the UK. As well as speaking at these events, I had the privilege of hearing many other speakers. The most unforgettable of these was Alan Hirsch. Speaking on the fivefold ministry from Ephesians 4, Alan suggested that in the West we have built a church around the gifts of the shepherd and the teacher with much of our training and resources going on these two important but not exclusive gifts. But it means we have neglected the gifts of the apostle, the prophet and the evangelist. To put it into business terms, we have a great HR department without any sales or marketing. Is it any wonder we aren’t growing?
Photo © Audacious Church
ANDY’S RANT
‘A prophetic voice’
As I listened I realised afresh that this is a key part of our calling as The Message – to bring a prophetic voice to the church and to train and release positive, faith-filled evangelists. At the Greater Manchester Prayer Gathering in July
Thanks so much for standing with us as we push on with that great dream. God bless,
Founder & CEO The Message Trust P.S. Part of our encouragement to the church is joining with hundreds of other Christians to pray regularly for Greater Manchester. If you’re based in the North West, join us for our next Prayer Gathering on 22 November at Audacious Church. You really don’t want to miss it! Find out all the details at message.org.uk. The Message Trust is a registered data user and only uses personal data in connection with its charitable purposes. Registered Office: Lancaster House, Lancaster Campus, Harper Road, Sharston, Manchester, M22 4RG. The Message Trust is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales No. 3961183 Registered Charity No. 1081467 VAT Registration No. GB 727 177616
IN THIS ISSUE
06 Cover story
BrightLine share about the ongoing impact of Higher in Manchester
08 Respect ME Introducing new team
Editor Simon Baker
Associate Editor Ian Rowbottom Design & Illustration Simon Baker Hannah Beatrice Owens Bethan Wilson Matthew Varah Wilson
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members taking our work across the UK
11 n:flame merge
Joining forces with the North London youth charity
Picture Editor Hannah Beatrice Owens Additional Photography Rachael Silvester Contributors Deborah Frawley Andy Hawthorne Ben Jack Philip North Emily Shore
14 Coming home 14
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Subscription & Supporter Enquiries E: info@message.org.uk T: 0161 946 2300
20 Simple gospel Ben Jack unpacks the
Giving E: giving@message.org.uk T: Tom Kinsey 0161 946 2335 Contact E: flow@message.org.uk T: 0161 946 2300
We meet Will, Liz and Faith, part of Eden Buttershaw
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heart of Advance2020
24 We need a revolution Philip North casts a
Flow Magazine The Message Trust Lancaster House Harper Road Sharston Manchester M22 4RG www.message.org.uk/flow
vision for renewal
28 Go fish Andy Hawthorne’s tips OUR COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT The paper used for Flow is manufactured using pulp sourced from sustainable sources from within Europe. It is 100% TCF (Totally Chlorine Free) and is manufactured to ISO14001 standards.
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for fishing Galilee-style 3
BIG PICTURE
Genetik Sessions Summer School
Andy Wells (Amongst Wolves) coaches a drumming session as part of Genetik Sessions in Manchester, where young people have the chance to develop creative skills and grow in their faith. At the end of the week, 24 young people stood to accept a call from God to go deeper in their relationship with him.
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‘Young people do want to hear about Jesus’ A school has seen their Christian Union grow from nothing to 60 young people after the impact of Higher Manchester 2016. Back in Spring 2016, over four weeks our mission teams visited 55 schools, 23 youth groups and delivered five explosive gospel gigs at the O2 Apollo. This was the first ever Higher Tour and it proclaimed the gospel to 30,000 young people. Now, more than two years on, we’re still seeing the ripples across the city. One of the schools – in Weaverham, just outside Northwich – was visited by BrightLine, our high-energy four-piece consisting of graduates from the Message Academy. ‘We had a great session,’ says Daniel – BrightLine’s singer, beatboxer and high-energy front man. ‘The kids loved it. The staff loved it. After the schools visit, the school put on two 6
coaches to take students to the Higher Apollo gigs.’ Many of the students made a commitment to Jesus on the night of the Apollo gig. Because of this, the school set up a Christian club called Boost – and BrightLine were invited back a few weeks later to see it for themselves, finding dozens of students who were now attending weekly. This was 2016. ‘In our busy schedule I hadn’t really thought much more about it since,’ continues Daniel. ‘But earlier this year – two years on – we were invited to go back. To be honest I’m not sure what I expected to find. It was amazing – there were 65 students there!’
A number of the students had started to bring their not-yet-Christian friends with them. ‘There were a number who were interested in what was going on and who were interested in the local church. ‘Each one of those 65 young people represents a story of their own. One of the teachers told us about a student who had been at the school when we first visited in 2016. She was having a tough time and it was impacting her school life. After our visit, she began to listen to our music and our message
AN EVENT FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH
CHURCH LAUNCH DONCASTER AREA
SATURDAY 20 OCTOBER 2018
WA K E F I E L D A R E A
SATURDAY 27 OCTOBER 2018
SHEFFIELD AREA
SATURDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2018
For more information, please call: 0333 3402883 or email higher@message.org.uk
and the teacher said that as a result there had been a dramatic change in her whole demeanour and her attitude towards life. Music is so powerful, and this is why we write and create what we do – to impact the message of what these young people are listening to through their headphones.’ Having an opportunity to see the ongoing impact of Higher was a rare experience for the band. ‘It’s so encouraging to see fruit that lasts. Normally we’ll go into a school and see young people respond but we then we have to leave them to it and head off on mission elsewhere. We rarely get the chance
to see these young people on their journey of faith beyond our gigs – it’s inspiring to know that what we do has a lasting impact.’ Against a backdrop of what sometimes feels like increasing opposition to the gospel, Daniel is quick to counter. ‘As time goes on I realise more and more that the gospel is effective. And young people do actually want to hear about Jesus. I think there’s a misconception that they don’t want to hear about God or faith but in reality, it’s quite the opposite. They’re longing for something more. Often when you present the gospel to them they
respond with, “Why have I never heard this before?” No one has told them that their life has purpose or that they are unique. What a message! I love that I get to deliver it.’
Keep up with BrightLine and the Higher Tour on social media and at highertour.com. 7
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Respect ME grows across the UK The work of mission team Respect ME is growing, with new teams launching in Yorkshire/ Lincolnshire and Teesside. Lydia, Joe and Kia are the three newest Respect ME team members, using personal stories, compelling cultural examples and detailed subject knowledge to deliver lessons in secondary schools on sex, relationships and self-esteem. We spoke to the new team members to find out what they’re most looking forward to as they grow the work of Respect ME across the UK.
L–R: Rachael, Emma, Adam, Lydia and Joe
Why are you passionate about the work of Respect ME? Lydia, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire: Now more than ever, in a world of mass media influencers and pressure from peers, our young people need to know that there is a God who loves them and wants the best for their lives. I’ve seen the need first-hand from having spent a number of years as a secondary school teacher. Respect ME tackles the tough topics, restoring self-worth using biblical truths and I’m so excited to be part of that. Joe, Teesside: I am passionate about young people living life to the full and I love how Respect ME uses personal testimony, looks at what the Bible says
NEWS
and engages with young people in a really open and relevant way to equip them to think through their choices and understand why God’s way works best for them. I was working in schools before joining the Respect ME team delivering similar material, but I feel like this is about going to the next level. Kia, Teesside: I believe that Respect ME lessons will spark important, life-changing conversations among teenagers in Teesside. These will transform their current perspectives and relationships while also allowing the opportunity to accept Jesus and have a relationship with their creator.
What excites you about working for Respect ME? Lydia: It’s all about speaking life and love over young people and introducing them to Jesus. It’s as simple as that. Joe: I’m looking forward to young people coming to faith because the reality is they are only going to have healthy relationships if Jesus is at the centre. Kia: I’m excited to see how the Holy Spirit moves and I’d be delighted to see the impact of Respect ME spread beyond the students to also impact the teachers and staff. Can you share a highlight of your time working in schools? Lydia: Recently, a room full of students spontaneously applauded one of our Bible-based anti-bullying videos. It’s great to see those lightbulb moments when the young people in our lessons start to see past the media lies and engage with the truth. Joe: Recently, I had a boy in Year 7 ask me about Jesus in the middle of a session. He called me over at the end because he wanted to know more. He wasn’t a believer, but it got him thinking that maybe there is a God and more to life than what he could physically see. On his written feedback he responded to the question ‘How were you helped by the session?’ by saying ‘I came to faith.’ How beautiful is that? Find Respect ME on social media, and visit respectme.co.uk to book the team for your local school. 9
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Time to take South Wales Higher This November will see The Message’s biggest initiative in Wales since launching our work there in 2015. In the last twelve months, the Higher Tour has visited more regions than ever before – Manchester, the Midlands, the Channel Islands and Cambridgeshire.‘ We’ve seen thousands of young people respond to the gospel,’ says Tom Butler, The Message’s Head of UK Mission. ‘But more importantly many of those are now rooted in local churches and continuing their journey of faith in the context of Christian community. The best stories we’ll tell will be in a few years’ time when it’s these young people who are seeing many of their own friends come to faith – but now it’s vital we keep taking Higher to even more places across the UK so we can reach an entire generation with the message of Christ.’ The Message’s teams will visit more than 50 schools in The Valleys, Gwent,
Swansea, Cardiff, Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan. We’ll be putting on five massive gigs over three weekends in November. And our team is working in partnership with local churches to help young people find a local youth group where they can grow in their faith. ‘One of the touchstone scriptures of The Message is Isaiah 43:19,’ says Gary Smith, Director of Message Wales. ‘“See, I’m doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” ‘With Higher South Wales this has never been more evident to us as an organisation and for the church across South Wales. We’re so excited to see our cities and towns impacted with the message of Jesus.’ If you’re in South Wales, why not get involved? Get in touch with the team via info@messagewales.org, or donate to the Higher Tour at highertour.com.
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In September The Message joined forces with established London charity n:flame to continue its work in schools across the capital. It’s a move that will see the work of n:flame strengthened and The Message’s reach extended so we can introduce even more young people to Jesus for the first time. ‘I love that n:flame shares our passion to keep the gospel front and centre,’ said Andy Hawthorne. ‘Together we are going to build something beautiful for our capital city.’
Established for 20 years, n:flame have been delivering schools work and evangelistic events, along with training for young evangelists, through a small staff team and significant volunteer base in North London. The plan is now for this kind of schools work to be released across the whole city, and by joining with our capital-wide vision for a generation of disciples of Christ we’ll together be able to send even more workers to reach those who need to hear the message of the gospel the most.
HOST ED BY ANDY HAWTHORNE, SAM WARD AND JAMIE S EWELL WORSHIP LED BY COM E HOME PE R FORMANC ES FROM VITAL SIG NS SAT UR DAY 13 OC TOBER 2018, DOORS 7PM B E R N IE GRANT C ENTRE, TOTTENHAM, N15 4RX £5 • B OOK ONLINE AT M ESSAG E.ORG .UK/LONDON
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North London youth charity n:flame joins the Message family
Good Seeds Garden Services is the latest business to be added to the Message Enterprise Centre business portfolio. Offering full-service garden work to houses and businesses across Manchester, it’s providing an opportunity for training and professional development for our apprentices. Team leader Andy Campsall – part of Eden Latchford (Warrington) – brings 15 years’ experience and a passion to see lives impacted by faith in Jesus.
‘George,* one of our team members, has had a remarkable journey,’ comments Andy. ‘We first met him in prison where he gave his life to the Lord. Since then he’s been released and spent time at The Oaks getting his life back on track. ‘Now, as a full MEC team member, he’s working towards an NVQ qualification. It’s such a pleasure to be working alongside him and seeing every day the way God has changed his life.’ Based in Stockport or South Manchester? Get in touch for a quote today. Visit goodseeds.co.uk or call 0161 946 2300.
Patio Cleaning Landscaping Gutter cleaning Weeding & Hoeing Fencing Garden Maintenance Garden Clearance Lawn Mowing Hedge Trimming 0161 946 2300 info@goodseeds.co.uk
South Manchester Garden services
www.goodseeds.co.uk Good Seeds Garden Services • Lancaster Campus, Harper Road, Sharston, M22 4RG. Part of the Message Enterprise Centre • themec.org.uk
Quality service from the ground up
* We’ve changed George’s name to protect his identity
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A new business for the Message Enterprise Centre
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114 churches visited by a Message speaker in the last twelve months. Want a speaker for your church? Email sam.wright@ message.org.uk
Eden Bus Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister
of Scotland, visited our Glasgow-based Eden Bus over the summer. She met Raymond Bainbridge, our Eden Bus manager and was given a tour of the bus and its facilities.
150 people interested in joining an Eden team at this year’s summer festivals
£305,000 the amount raised at this year’s Urban Hero Awards in June
Mates on a mission Celebrating the remarkable people with us on the journey Rt Revd Philip North joined us at Proximity 2018. The Bishop of Burnley carries a passion for urban mission and is a voice in the Church of England calling for a revolution in our ministry with the poor. Catch up with what he shared with us on page 24. After more than 15 years of service, Collette Dallas, The Message’s Finance Director, has stepped down to move into the next season of her life and ministry. She’s continuing to passionately support us in prayer and remains part of the family. Chipper Betts is our new hub leader for the Midlands. He’ll be working to extend our ministry in the region by helping plant new Eden teams and continuing the legacy of Higher Midlands 2018. 13
Liz, Will and Faith joined Eden in Buttershaw, Bradford. They share their story of relocating and how it has impacted them as a family
fe e ls l i k e
coming h ome
STORY
hen we first heard about Eden we felt a strong calling, but we also knew that if it was right, it had to be right for all of us. Faith was about nine years old at the time, and she really did not want to go. We visited Buttershaw as a possibility, and as we were driving up the M1 she said, ‘I don’t know why we’re bothering. We’re not moving.’ The turning point came when God spoke directly to Faith. He gave her a picture of a red balloon stuck inside a white house, and it couldn’t get out. Through tears, she told us: ‘God says we’ve got to move to Bradford, but I don’t want to go.’ We were completely shocked. What was amazing was that, after her initial sadness, Faith really started to lead the way. God gave her prophetic words, and she even painted pictures. She was way ahead of us and just ran with it.
The r e is a r e a l l ac k o f ho pe , w hic h t e nd s to s ho w itse lf in thin g s lik e pe t t y c r im e , t e e nag e pr e g na nc ie s, a nd fami lie s su rv iv ing o n b e ne fits 15
STORY
We visited Buttershaw on a Saturday morning and when we got out of the car and sat on the church wall it just felt like we were home. It’s hard to explain but we felt such peace about it. It’s a large estate of about 7000 people, and for a number of years it was known as the drugs capital of Yorkshire. The council and the government have consistently failed to keep their promises to Buttershaw, and people here just feel let down, again and again. There is a real lack of hope, which tends to show itself in things like petty crime, teenage pregnancies, and families that haven’t worked for two or three generations, surviving on benefits.
Th e r e a r e t hing s w e hav e ha d to l e av e b e hind, b u t it wo u ld fe e l a hu nd r e d t im e s wo r se to k no w t hat G o d ha d c a l le d u s to so m e t hing a nd w e w e r e n’t wa l k ing in it
We’ve also noticed that it’s not the kind of estate where people are constantly hanging around and chatting in the street. People are generally quite wary of each other and it can be difficult to really get to know someone. We’ve been here for 18 months and it feels like we’re
FA I TH ’S A W I N N ER AT T H E U RBA N H ERO AWARD S Faith collected the Courage Award at the 2018 Urban Hero Awards in recognition of the key role she played in seeing her family move to Buttershaw to join Eden. The award was sponsored by Arden Lea Nurseries.
Will works at a family centre on the estate that employs 45-50 people, and over 80% are local to Buttershaw, so it’s probably one of the biggest employers in Buttershaw. We get local kids coming through the nursery, to be taught by local people, so it’s playing a big part in building a stronger sense of community and starting to break the cycle of hopelessness.
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only just starting to build real friendships. Most families have lived here for several generations, so it’s quite unusual to have outsiders coming in, but this is both a challenge and a brilliant opportunity for us to build authentic community. That’s one of the great things about Eden – you’re not just stepping in from the outside with a handful of quick-fixes, you’re setting down roots, making a home and a life in this place. It’s all about relationship.
I NTRODUCI NG BUTTERSHAW Post town: Bradford Population: approx. 7,000 Schools: Two primary, one secondary Origins: sprang up after World War II as the textile industry grew but suffered as industry declined through the 1970s and 80s Setting for: the 2013 film, The Selfish Giant, based on the Oscar Wilde play
One of the things that we’re really praying for is to reach more of the young people in Buttershaw – motivating them to get up and out of the house, away from their screens and devices – and the only way we can really do that is by living it, and by encouraging the young people who are already engaging with us. We have a youth social every couple of months, and the young people are starting to get to the point where they’re comfortable inviting their friends along, so that helps us to reach even more of Buttershaw’s youth and make those connections. We then have two lifegroups that have grown out of this, and a Youth Church gathering every other week. So there are lots of points of contact for starting to build those relationships, as well as opportunities to encounter Jesus and the gospel and go deeper, when they’re ready for that. Lots of the parents have been absolutely blown away by what the Eden team is doing, and how we’re 17
STORY
investing in their children, because it’s just not what they have been used to in Buttershaw. Liz also helps with the girls’ group at the local council-run youth club, which is a really good chance to get to know some of the local girls. Now we’re starting to see some of them coming along to the socials, and a couple have even got involved with lifegroups and Youth Church. It’s all starting to blend a little bit, in a really natural way.
W e fe e l r e a l ly passio nat e a b o u t t his: if G o d c a lls yo u, He c a lls yo u as a fa m ily
One of the things that we’ve noticed over the last few months is that if we just sit
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here waiting for people to come to us it’s not going to happen. We need to go out there and meet people where they are. At Halloween, for example, we decided not to hide away at the back of the house with the lights off but to be visible, and to meet darkness with light. We set up out at the front of the house with hot chocolate and “Bags of Hope” (chocolate and a Bible verse!). We probably saw over 100 kids that night and were able to send them away with the good news of the gospel, rather than letting fear and darkness have the last word. Faith was such a big factor in our decision to make this move, and it has been amazing to see how God has provided for her here. She was at the local primary school on the estate for just a year and made better friends there than she had done at her previous school down south. This was a real answer to prayer. She has grown and thrived through the Eden groups too, mixing with the other kids and laughing off jokes about her exotic southern accent! She goes to a girls’ breakfast every month, and Liz has deliberately taken a step back from this to give her the space to get involved on her own terms. Before we committed to Eden we wanted to speak to another team member who had made the move with school-aged children, to encourage us that we were
doing the right thing for Faith, but there didn’t seem to be anyone! It just goes against the grain to uproot your family, take your children out of school, leave your comfortable church and your middle-class life and move hundreds of miles across the country. But, for us, it really helped that we all clearly knew that it was the right thing. There has been no point when we’ve questioned why we’re doing this. There are things we have had to leave behind, and there are certainly challenges, but it would feel a hundred times worse to live our lives knowing that God had called us to something and we weren’t walking in it. Hopefully we can be that one family that did it, and can be an encouragement to others. We feel really passionate about this: if God calls you, He calls you as a family. Whatever we were giving up, we couldn’t not come. We knew we were meant to be here, and we have always felt at home in Buttershaw. Whenever we’ve been away for a few days, driving back into the estate just feels right. It feels like coming home.
Is God calling you to a new home? Join Eden and be part of a movement of sacrificial Christians who live long-term in deprived communities. Visit joineden.org today to find out more. 19
Advance 2020 represents one of the greatest opportunities for explosive gospel growth in the lifetime of The Message. Ben Jack gets to the heart of what it’s all about
Back to Basics n Instagram post of a cheeseburger with the comment, ‘Best. Burger. Ever.’ can be the making of a restaurant if posted by the right person. But does anyone actually believe it’s true? When the naïve and ‘take-everything-literally’ hero of one of my favourite films, Elf, arrives in New York city and sees a coffee shop advertising the ‘World’s Best Cup of Coffee’, he runs inside to enthusiastically congratulate them – only to be greeted by a room of bewildered faces. But we know better than Buddy: we accept the language of ‘awesome’ for what it is, reading between the hyperbolic lines to see a simple endorsement that this burger is pretty good! I want to be clear that I don’t intend any sense of hyperbole with what comes next. I genuinely, passionately, literally believe that in the next few years we are going to see the greatest evangelistic awakening this nation has seen in decades. As I visit church communities across the country, I can’t ignore the sense I get from ministries and leaders of all ages and backgrounds that God is powerfully on the move in our nation. The fields are rich for harvest and God is asking us again, ‘Who shall I send? Who will go for us?’ (Isaiah 6:8). Isaiah’s answer was simple – and so should ours be. ‘Here am I. Send me.’ I’m passionate about Advance because I believe it’s a brilliant way for us to equip and encourage one another to be a people who get excited about what God is calling us to. And at its core, I think Advance is as simple as Isaiah’s response – and here are five ‘basics’ which both underpin Advance and serve as a way we can meaningfully answer God’s call. 20
FEATURE
Back to prayer Prayer is the bedrock of our spiritual life. It’s also, therefore, the bedrock of our evangelism. The power of salvation belongs to God alone, so we must constantly and continuously be asking him to provide opportunities for us to share our faith and to bring those who do not yet know him to life (check out Luke 18:1-8 and Romans 1:16). Back to Basics Try writing a list of five not-yet-Christian friends and family and praying for them every day. For your church, it could be devoting serious time within your services to pray for the lost as part of your worship.
Back to the Bible Biblical illiteracy is one of the greatest challenges the church faces today. If we don’t know what we believe and why, our message to the world lacks clarity and integrity. We must resolve to take the word of God seriously – especially in areas where it challenges our cultural predispositions. After all, the gospel is inherently a counter-cultural message which sees God-centred reality conflicting with human-centred culture. Interpretation and application can be tricky, but our starting position should be serious engagement to discover biblical truth, rather than trivial engagement to confirm our bias (see Matthew 4:4 and Hebrews 4:12). Back to Basics Try setting your alarm half an hour earlier to spend time reading and studying the Bible. For your church, it could be starting adult Sunday school classes before or after your regular service to create space for teaching the Bible. 21
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Back to the kingdom The kingdom of God is not limited to a particular place, but the reality of God’s rule and reign over everything. There is a past, present and future dynamic to God’s kingdom – and understanding all three is essential if we are to make sense of who God is, who we are in light of this, and what that means for our lives today and in the eternity to come (read Mark 1:15).
Back to sacrifice For many Christianity is comfortable – but Jesus makes it clear that following him is costly. God gave the greatest treasure of heaven, his own son, to rescue us from our rebellion. Jesus paid the cost to save us and asks us to live likewise. Take a look at your faith and ask, ‘Where is the cost?’ Be encouraged in the things you have given to God, and commit to letting go of the things you haven’t, so you can live fully in the freedom he has bought for you at the greatest cost of all (check out Matthew 16:24 and Ephesians 5:2).
Back to proclamation Evangelism is the business of every Christian, not just the ‘professionals’. Not everyone is called to preach from a stage, but we all engage in conversations daily that can be used to help people encounter Jesus. We need to be intentional about speaking of Jesus as a normal aspect of our daily lives. Once the other four basics are in place (prayer, the Bible, God’s kingdom and sacrifice), it makes proclamation easier, even if it remains challenging and costly (Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1:8). 22
Back to Basics For you and your church that could be rooting your identity in the words ‘thy kingdom come’. What would it look like for God’s kingdom to come in your life, and through you and your church as kingdom ambassadors in your community?
Back to Basics Is there a distraction in your life you could lay down? Could you think afresh about how you spend your time and finances? For your church it could be making changes to elements of your service to make it accessible to new people, or to be sacrificially generous with your resources. God often asks us to lay aside our comforts for the blessing of those who don’t yet have the hope of eternal comfort in his kingdom.
Back to Basics Resolve to tell a friend your testimony over coffee this week. For your church it could be providing personal witness training and regular opportunities to go into your community to offer prayer, a listening ear, and the chance for people to ask questions.
In an age of over-exaggeration, the least hyperbolic thing I could do would be to post a picture of the cross of Christ online, with the following caption: ‘Best. King. Ever’. Do our lives declare the same truth? The vision of Advance is to help us do exactly that – to get back to basics so that the world can meet the best king ever.
Find out more about Advance and start or join a group at advance2020.org.
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Through Advance we have a unique opportunity to get back to the basics. The evangelist mentoring groups, personal witness training and all we’re planning for 2020 are a way for us to return to, live out and speak out a simple truth: the king of the universe loves and accepts us and there is hope for all the world.
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The poverty Revolution Is the decline of the church inevitable? Philip North, Bishop of Burnley, suggests instead that inevitable renewal will start on the margins
t the start of Jesus’ ministry, in Luke 4, he stands up in the synagogue and quotes Isaiah 61. ‘I have come to proclaim good news to the poor,’ he says – and if we read on in Isaiah we read about those who will ‘rebuild the ruined walls’ and ‘restore the shattered cities.’ Who are they? I believe it’s the poor of this world – not the rich – who will bring about the restoration Jesus is talking about. Renewal will come from the margins and from the broken, abandoned places that people want to forget. As I scour through the pages of church history, I cannot find a single renewal movement that has not
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begun amongst the poor. There simply isn’t one. But look at where St Francis began in the 11th century. Look at the Acts of the Apostles – where did they begin? Look at Wesley, look at Newman – they went to the forgotten, marginalised areas. So how do we achieve it?
We need a revolution Jesus spent his life with marginalised women, voiceless children, publicans, tax collectors, the crippled, the lame, the poor, the forgotten and the oppressed.
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And from there he started a movement which utterly transformed what it means to be human.
‘We’ll worry about belonging first and belief will follow’
It’s crucial that we don’t spiritualise the word ‘poor.’ It means the poor – and we don’t get to escape by changing it to mean perhaps spiritual or emotional poverty. You see, when we start with the poor, the rich will catch on. It works that way round, regardless of what the world tells you. Look at the music people listen to. Look at the clothes they wear. Look at our architecture. Look at sport. Look at political ideas. They all emerge from poorer communities and then the rich catch on. And what’s true of our cultural life is true also of our faith. We don’t need a strong urban church just to have a strong urban church. We need a strong urban church in order to renew the whole church, in order to renew a nation. What would a church be like that left the poor behind? It would be financially viable, but it would not be the church of Jesus Christ. It would be a smug Christian support group.
The revolution that starts in the urban church won’t stop there. It’s about the whole church.
Revolutions need a plan It’s not about a cookie-cutter strategy, but I think our revolution will feature four things. Firstly, it’ll be about belonging before it’s about belief. We’ll build communities that are invitational, relational and with a strong ability to listen. We’ll worry about belonging first and belief will follow. Secondly, we’ll see local leaders raised up where we might least expect them. Jesus took an unlikely packed lunch in John 6 and fed five thousand: when it seems like there isn’t enough, God makes it enough. Local leaders who understand their community and who speak their language are at the heart of our revolution. Thirdly, we’ll share the gospel with simplicity and clarity and we’ll expect people to respond to it. Our local leaders will put it into words that people understand. They’ll invite people to real community and be clear about the hope that they carry. And finally, we’ll marry proclamation and service. Often we can focus on one or the other, either delivering huge evangelistic initiatives or doing great social work. But unless we can do both together, we’ve missed the point. To proclaim without serving is empty hypocrisy. To serve without proclaiming means that we’re subjecting people to the greatest deprivation of all, which is to be deprived 25
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of hearing the saving news of God in Jesus Christ.
Above all we need prayer Without prayer we are as much use to God as an ashtray on a motorbike. The communities we form must be rooted in prayer. Not just spontaneous prayer, when it feels good. People often say to me, ‘My life is prayer. I’m always praying. I see a lovely tree and I pray. I pray when I’m driving...’ How can you pray when you’re driving?! I once tried to pray while I was driving and I nearly crashed the minibus and nearly killed eight people.
‘Without prayer we are as much use to God as an ashtray on a motorbike’ There has to be a discipline to our prayer, time set aside to it, routines that are established and that we are accountable for. If you’re involved in urban ministry there will be times when it is incredibly tough. There’ll be times when your plans fall flat. Only prayer can give you that courage and determination to keep going. Walk the streets, pray the streets. Be seen praying in your communities. Without the fuel of prayer, it’ll come to nothing.
The inevitable revolution When I was at theological college – which I hated every second of – I learnt a lot about heresy. We learnt about Arianism and modalism and Gnosticism and Pelagianism and Donatism. What we didn’t learn is the heresy that is most prevalent in western Europe today. It’s the belief that the decline of Christianity in western Europe is inevitable, and that all we can do is ensure that the body is perfectly arranged in the coffin. Look around the world – it’s an age of faith. People are giving their lives to Jesus in unprecedented numbers. Yet in our strange cultural bubble we’ve bought into the lie that church decline is inevitable. But it’s not. Renewal is inevitable. Because Jesus is Lord. That’s the one objective truth. Do you know from where renewal will come? It will come from the margins, from the edges, from the forgotten places. We need a revolution. You are the revolutionaries. Let’s go and start.
This is an edited version of Bishop Philip’s talk to delegates at Proximity 2018. Listen to his full message on the Message Podcast – subscribe at message.org.uk/podcast.
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Jesus repurposed Simon Peter’s career and made him a fisher of men. What can we learn from his story? Andy Hawthorne explores
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recently met with a church leader and he said something that really encouraged me. ‘The thing about The Message is that you won’t ever let the church forget that we are all about fishing for men.’ That is really what it’s all about. The primary Christian call is to be fishers of men. It’s precisely what Jesus called Simon Peter and the early disciples to. In Luke 5 Jesus first commissions Simon Peter: ‘…He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets to catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down my nets.”’ My guess is that Simon Peter could really have done without this that morning. He’s a fisherman with no social security safety net. He fishes to feed his family. He’s been out all night and caught nothing – perhaps his family won’t be able to eat that day. And along comes a travelling preacher, telling the professional fisherman how to fish.
‘Little did Peter know that he was about to be swept off his feet by Jesus and his life would change forever’
Little did Peter know that he was about to be swept off his feet by Jesus and his life would change forever. ‘When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break… When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man! ...Then Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So, they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.’ Jesus’ miracle is remarkable – and I believe he wants to release similar miracles through us. But I think we can learn from what it looks like to fish Galilee-style when we think about sharing our faith and fishing for men.
It takes careful preparation You couldn’t have just gone fishing on the Sea of Galilee at night with no preparation. You had to wash and repair nets, make sure the boat was sea-worthy and plan your route. How fixed up is your part of the net? Are people going to slip through a hole with your name on it?
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It’s often hard work Fishing Galilee-style wasn’t easy – it wasn’t sitting on an idyllic lake with a Sunday paper and a flask. It was fighting along with a team of fishermen, grafting and working hard to bring in their catch. It was for tough guys who would give it all they’d got to bring in their catch. This is a beautiful picture of Christian mission.
It’s always a team business You didn’t go fishing on your own. Instead you went with a large net and a team working together with a single focus. There’s no such thing as a single fisherman. In this business I need you and you need me. There’s no room for little, petty arguments. We’ll lose fish.
We need to cast our nets all the time Being skilled and experienced and having the best equipment and buildings is all well and good, but we aren’t going to catch anything unless we cast our nets. How important is it that we keep putting our nets out there? Back to the story. It’s three years later, and the disciples have been through the whole journey with Jesus. They performed 30
miracles, healings and cast out demons. Jesus had invested in them massively. And then comes the incredible trial of the cross. Jesus dies a brutal death and it all goes pear-shaped. Simon Peter runs away weeping having denied Christ, and he goes back to what he knew – being the loud, foul-mouthed, angry fisherman that he used to be. Jesus had told Simon Peter to leave the fishing behind, and now he’s gone straight back. In John 21 we find the story of another terrible night of fishing. Simon Peter and the others are tired and they hear a voice from the shore. ‘Friends, throw your nets on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ Sound familiar? 153 fish jump into the nets at the word of Jesus. Peter doesn’t hang about. He takes off his robes, jumps in to the sea and swims as fast as he can toward Jesus. Together they have breakfast and Jesus recommissions him to be a fisher of men. And the good news is that Simon Peter really got it this time – and became one of the best fishers of men the world has ever seen. We are meant to be people who go after others, and sometimes we all need reminding of who we are meant to be. It’s easy to get distracted by life and sidevlined by sin – just as Peter did – but the Lord is always working on his people to get us back to what it’s all about. We are called to be fishers of men.
Hear teaching like this and get inspired and equipped for mission at the Message Conference on 2 February 2019. Book now at message.org.uk/conference.
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