THE SON

35p WHAT IS THE X FACTOR AND DOES SIMON HAVE IT?

BIG NAMES ARE

IN THE SON CASUALTY ACTRESS HAS A NEW ROLE – SEE PAGE 3

SEE PAGE 4

MANDY’S ON A NEW MISSION Miner miracle Millions of people around the world watched the dramatic rescue of 33 miners from their ‘tomb’ a mile underground in Chile. After the rescue a story of prayers, faith and belief in God’s hand on the whole drama – see pages 10 and 11

www.theson.org.uk

Winter 2010

FULHAM STRIKER CLINT DEMPSEY’S TRIUMPHS AND TRAGEDIES – SEE STORY BACK PAGE

POP AND FASHION icon Mandy Smith hit the headlines as a teenager when she married Rolling Stone Bill Wyman.

Now more than 20 years later she is making the news again – as a committed Christian who is helping youngsters to avoid the mistakes she made and also doing tireless work for charity

See full story on page 7

SUNDERLAND’S STRIKING SENSATION GIVES THANKS TO GOD FOR SUCCESS – SEE BACK PAGE

Rob Dean commanded a nuclear submarine during the Cold War – now he is fighting a new battle to win souls for Christ

FROM COLD WAR WARRIOR TO FOOT SOLDIER FOR JESUS

AS A nuclear submarine commander Rob Dean was in the front line of the Cold War in the 80s and 90s.

Commanding one of the Royal Navy’s fleet of seven Trafalgar class nuclear-powered subs Rob was among a select handful of individuals in key positions who helped keep the peace between the West and the East.

During those days of tension between Russia and NATO Rob describes himself and his 150-strong crew as ‘Cold War Warriors.’

“We definitely won the Cold War,” said the Royal Navy veteran who retired from active service in 1999.

DARKEST HOURS And today as a committed Christian he is fighting a new battle - helping to win souls for Christ and describing himself as a ‘foot soldier for Jesus.’

His Christian walk has led to him facing many different and challenging roles.

Confirmed in the Anglican church at the age of 21 he served in submarines all over the world.

His naval career saw him change addresses more than 25 times - but one of the most important constants in his life was his Christian faith, underpinned by the Anglican liturgy.

“No matter where I was in the world, that foundational liturgy drawn from the Common

Book of Prayer, connected me with God and with all other Christians.

“As captain of the submarine one of my duties was to lead church services every Sunday, and this too helped remind me that we were doing exactly the same as our families at home and millions of other worshippers across the globe.”

Rob’s faith was deepened when his daughter underwent a major operation in the late 90s.

“Looking back I can see that the Holy Spirit has guided me and led me every step of the way in my life. But it was while my daughter was fac-

ing surgery that I found that God really does answer prayer and it was at this time that I became totally committed to Jesus Christ.”

Rob spent 25 years on submarines, starting his career as a navigator and rising through the ranks to take command of the Oberon-class submarine HMS Osiris in 1982.

SUBMERGED Six years later he took charge of the hunter killer sub HMS Talent, deployed to all corners of the world, including the South Atlantic, the Arctic and seeing service during the first Iraq war.

Armed with torpedoes and cruise missiles and spending months at sea, HMS Talent and other submarines like it have played a vital role in maritime operations.

“We were often at sea, submerged for several months on end and actually sailed under the North Pole during two tours.

I even got to play golf on the icecap at the pole,” he said.

After leaving active service with the Navy, Rob worked with the MoD for a time, before becoming bursar of a leading public school, near to his home in Dorset.

Seven years later he joined a Christian ministry called Christian Vision for Men (CVM) where he was a key • Rob Dean today member of the senior management team, but decided to give up the role after the organisation moved its headquarters to Derbyshire.

Rob is married with three children, two of whom have followed in his footsteps into the Royal Navy.

He still lives in Dorset and spends his time networking with other believers and Christian ministries, as well as working on a range of initiatives aimed at introducing • Rob Dean in his Royal people to the Gospel.

Navy days

£1 billion value of church action in UK CHURCHES contribute at least £1 billion worth of social action initiatives across the country as a whole, according to a survey carried out by an organisation called Church Insight.

In a poll involving nearly 300 churches it was found that an estimated 439,000 hours of volunteer service had been delivered in the previous 12 months – an average of over 1,900 hours per church.

The survey was carried out after 40 leaders of various Christian denominations and charities met with policy advisors to discuss the Big Society initiative and the church’s involvement with it.

The findings in England when combined with similar research in 2008 in Wales, showed that when projected across the country as a whole an estimated 72 million hours of volunteering per annum is provided by churches. This figure only includes church initiatives and Page 2

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Winter 2010

does not include voluntary work by Christians in the community.

The churches in the latest sample estimated they contributed around £1.25 million to finance social action initiatives - and average of £7,500 per church.

Projecting the direct finance across all churches in England gave a figure of £224 million a year. If volunteer time - much of which is specialist in nature – is fully costed, along with a proportion of paid staff time, building ‘hire’ and direct financial contribution it is estimated that the church contributes well over £1 billion worth of social initiatives.

The survey also found that nearly 7 out of 10 churches planned to increase their level of social action in the next 12 months, with 8 out of 10 stating that it was essential or very important that churches maintain their Christian distinctives in social initiatives.

Worlds apart ... from Hollywood to Herne Hill for actress ACTRESS Adjoa Andoh has appeared in scores of TV programmes, performed on stage hundreds of times and earlier this year made her Hollywood debut in the Oscar nominated Invictus in the role of Nelson Mendela’s chief of staff.

But Adjoa, who appeared in more than 70 episodes of the popular BBC drama series Casualty, has been performing a vital new role for the last year.

She has just completed her first year as a Reader in the Church of England, officiating at two churches in the parish of Herne Hill in South London.

In an interview with Nick Mayhew-Smith in the Southwark Bridge newspaper Adjoa explained how she managed to combine two vastly different worlds and how she finds time to serve as a Reader.

“I find it more a mental challenge than a question of time. If I’m doing radio work, voiceovers or audiobooks it’s fairly easy,” said Adjoa. “But when I’m doing a stage play in particular it’s such an all-encompassing process, the way you have to memorise lines and immerse yourself in the storytelling.

“Rehearsals are particularly intensive, but once the show is up and running it becomes easier. I would go to church anyway because I find it such a boost for me. In my capacity as a Reader I am there most Sundays.”

She said that her parish work encompasses many things, including being a member of the During her 26-year career Adjoa has worked in film, television, radio and on the stage. She was born in Bristol in 1963 and grew up in Wickwar, a small village in the Cotswolds.

She successfully auditioned for a play in London during the second year of a law degree in Bristol. She moved to Brixton and since then has enjoyed success across a wide range of theatre, TV and radio dramas, including work with the National Theatre and the RSC, Doctor Who, Eastenders, Casualty and most recently Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime.

She starred in the British film Adulthood in 2008. Invictus was her first Hollywood film.

Adjoa is married to Howard Cunnell, an author and lecturer. They have three children, Jesse, Lily and Daisy.

She was licensed as a Reader to the Herne Hill parish team ministry in October 2009. Her work is split over two churches, St Paul’s and St Saviour’s.

parish prayer team and part of the ministry team planning the scripture study series.

Asked if she had ever mixed Christianity and acting in an explicit way Adjoa said that she once played Ruth for an animated series on the Bible.

“The animators were Russian and they had done an outline with a blonde, blue-eyed Ruth.

When they met me at recording they went away and ‘browned her up’!

“I sometimes play characters who have a strong faith. The last play I did – Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, at the Young Vic – was set just after the abolition of slavery in America and my character ran a boarding house with her husband. She definitely had a faith.”

MYSTIFIED Adjoa said that her faith mystified some of the actors she worked with.

“There is a stereotype that Christians are ‘do-not’ people, telling others what they can’t do. It’s the nay-sayers that get talked about, not those stories of keeping social cohesion going, of giving people hope.

“I’m very judgemental about lots of things, like child labour, exploitation of the weak, multinational firms and so on. But I would put myself in the liberal category. Anybody who knows me for two seconds will know for example that I’m not homophobic, and that I’m a socialist feminist of the 1970s persuasion.

“To me Christianity is an opportunity to say ‘yes, embrace. Be open to God’s love’."

Adjoa the actress Adjoa grew up going to church, although her parents were sporadic church-goers.

“I went to a Congregational chapel, but I did go to the Anglican church on the hill for a while because I wanted to do bell ringing. Like many people who’ve grown up with an active Christian faith, it dropped off towards the end of my teens. I didn’t lose my faith, I just drifted away into student life, living in squats and all that sort of stuff.

“People say you wander away from God, but God doesn’t wander away from you. And then you wander back and say ‘oh, yes’. I think that happened to me before the birth of my second

Adjoa at her licensing ceremony in 2009 daughter, I started going to church regularly again. I got increasingly involved over the years, and then our vicar waved a vocation leaflet at me and that led me on the path to becoming a Licensed Reader.”

10,000 VOLUNTEERS READERS are lay people in the Church of England, from all walks of life, who are called by God, theologically trained and licensed by the Church to preach, teach, lead worship and assist in pastoral, evangelistic and liturgical work.

The office of Reader is the only lay ministry in the Church of England which is voluntary, nationally accredited, licensed and governed by the Church of England’s legal code. There are now over 10,000 Readers, with men and women represented almost equally.

Adjoa pictured with Morgan Freeman who played Nelson Mendela in Invictus

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Winter 2010 Page 3

VOICE OF £1 billion gift survey has highlighted the enormous value the church makes to our society.

A

It may come as something of a surprise to politicians and pressure groups who seek to stifle and undermine Christian values in this country that volunteers from churches contribute more than £1 billion worth of social action in their communities.

It is often said that the church at large is the second largest provider of social services in the UK and this latest survey reinforces that view.

Take away the thousands of mother and toddler groups, close down the youth groups, abandon the lunches for the elderly and needy and then count the cost to society.

Not to mention the valuable advice given constantly and freely in areas such as parenting, debt management, relationship advice and counselling.

It seems increasingly hypocritical that on the one hand the community gratefully receives all this free help and support from Christians - yet on the other is quick to punish those who are prepared to stand up for their faith and Christian values.

REPRIMANDED Barely a week goes by without yet another story in the media about a Christian who has lost their job or been reprimanded for refusing to compromise on their beliefs.

Yet while all this goes on, across the country in the cities, towns, villages and hamlets Christians are willingly giving up their time to help those in need.

Persecution of Christians in this country is, mercifully, limited mainly to verbal attack or actions through legal processes.

Sadly, across the world as a whole it is estimated that around 100 million Christians face persecution, harassment and even death for their beliefs.

Open Doors UK, which campaigns fearlessly on behalf of persecuted Christians across the globe, published a report last year confirming that globally, both in the UK and overseas, Christians are today facing increasing levels of persecution.

It is recognised that in the UK and other parts of the West, the persecution is more subtle, more secretive and often happens behind closed doors.

However, none of this stops those tens of thousands of volunteers who willingly give of their time and money to share the love of Jesus by a simple act of kindness or support.

It is hoped that David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ crusade will give due recognition to the contribution of the church - before it is too late.

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By leading Christian speaker and evangelist J.John

WHAT IS THE REAL X-FACTOR? ...and does Simon Cowell have it

THE much-hyped television talent show, The X-Factor, has again gripped the British public.

representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

This describes everything the ‘X-Factor’ is about and more: glory, power, honour and authority.

Yet in coming to earth, Jesus gave all this away.

Although nothing less than God, the circumstances of the first Christmas – the poverty and squalor of the stable – tell us that Jesus came as a helpless nobody.

Furthermore, at the cross Jesus’ ‘X-Factor’ rating was zero: beaten, stripped, in agony, deserted and mocked, he lacked every trace of ‘star quality.’

Jesus gave it all away so that we might have it.

Why do people find it so compelling? Some probably watch in the hope of seeing musical talent with the X-Factor of the title: that authentic, indefinable star quality.

Others are attracted by the carefully crafted and spectacular television production.

Another attraction is Simon Cowell – ‘Mr X-Factor’ – the pop impresario behind the show and, of course, its chief beneficiary.

Although theoretically just one of the four judges, he most often pronounces judgement and acts as a focus for the audience’s irritation or disagreement.

A skilled self-publicist, he is well aware that although receiving abuse from an audience is not pleasant, hatred is just as marketable as love.

REJECTION Why do so many people apply to The X-Factor, given the near certainty of rejection or ridicule? What is it that makes contestants risk everything in their attempts to win?

I think The X-Factor claims to fulfil some of our deepest human needs. In an age when everybody is a nobody, it offers to make us somebody.

In a culture dominated by criticism and judgement, it offers approval and affirmation.

So rich is the show’s promise that religious imagery is used: what is offered is a ‘blessing’ or even ‘redemption.’

In the opening credits a great X appears in the sky and descends in glory into London – we are about to see heaven pouring out its best on the chosen one. This is why the contestants are so motivated: everything in the world is at stake.

A moment’s thought should tell us that the offered blessing or redemption is utterly inadequate. The rewards are very limited: one single act will win a recording contract.

And it comes with no guarantee: while the judges and audience may have identified an X-Factor winner, the music-buying public may disagree. And next year there will be other contestants; the fame of an X-Factor winner may not last long.

DEPRESSION The inadequacy of The X-Factor’s answer to human need is highlighted by Simon Cowell himself.

He has extraordinary confidence, even arrogance, but has admitted to bouts of deep depression. He strikes me as more victim than villain and I wonder what price he has paid for his fame and fortune.

As Jesus asked: ‘What does it profit a man if he gains the world but loses his soul?’ Simon Cowell and those yearning for their moment of fame may end up in the shadows. But there is a

SUPERFICIAL

real ‘X-Factor’, although many only reach for the pale imitation.

Has anyone ever had the real ‘X-Factor’? As Christmas approaches, we are reminded that Jesus has billions of followers today despite having lived 2,000 years ago.

Many have wondered what it is about Jesus that stirs the mind and heart. Napoleon Bonaparte put it well: ‘Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and myself have founded great empires, but on what did those creations rest?

Upon force.

‘But Jesus founded his on love … Jesus Christ by some mysterious influence … draws the hearts of men towards him that thousands at a word would rush through fire and flood for him, not counting their lives dear to themselves …

I know men, and Jesus Christ was more than a man.’

The Bible tells us that even before he was born, Jesus had the ‘X-factor’ to an unimaginable extent: ‘God … has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact

In the cross we see God’s answer to superficial and inadequate ways of ‘improving’ ourselves.

However, the New Testament writers are unanimous about Jesus being given back the honour, glory and power that he put aside for us.

In the Book of Revelation we see a vision of millions of angelic creatures worshipping Christ and saying, ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!’ (Revelation 5:12).

The desires that The X-Factor claims to answer are universal – we were made that way – but people are striving for authenticity and are tired of manufactured offerings. We all need to be affirmed as individuals, to be approved or forgiven and to know we are valuable. We all need hope and purpose. We all need to be loved.

The X-Factor may seem to offer these things but it cannot keep its promises, even to those who win. In contrast, God’s promises – eternal and infinite value, unconditional love, peace, joy and hope – are given freely to those who seek them.

Jesus said, ‘I have come to bring life and life in abundance.’ This is the real ‘X-Factor’ and it is available to all.

So, this year make the real X-Factor your Christmas number one.

MAJOR MIRACLE FOR THE CHILEAN MINERS – SEE FEATURE ON PAGES 10 & 11 Page 4

THE SON

Winter 2010

Research has revealed that 85 per cent of people agree with the statement that ‘Christmas should be called Christmas because we are still a Christian country.’

But it also shows that only 12 per cent of adults know the facts of the Christmas story in any detail.

A major advertising campaign is being launched this Christmas designed to capture people’s attention and create conversations about the true meaning of Christmas.

In the 21st century, proud parents-to-be proudly announce the coming birth by showing friends and family the scan of the baby. The new Baby Scan Jesus poster (pictured left) uses this convention to place the birth of Christ in an ultra-contemporary context.

CONTEMPORARY Church leaders across the denominations have welcomed the campaign and are urging churches all over the country to get involved.

David Wilkinson, Principal, St John’s College, University of Durham said: “Christmas for me starts with Jesus Christ, who is not just a historical reality but a present experience in the midst of the contemporary world. As a scientist and a Christian, this poster reflects in a brilliant and provocative way my belief that Christ was born as a real human being, but is of relevance to every human being today.

Eye-catching Christmas ad campaign is launched Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading said: “For many parents pregnancy gets real when you see the image from the ultrasound scan. It tells you something is actually kicking off. We’ve got so used to the tinsel wrapped cosiness of the carefully packaged 21st century consumer-fest Christmas, that its astonishing reality – an actual pregnancy, a God come down to earth – is easily missed. But this image demands attention. So does this child. He’s on his way.”

The aim of the campaign is to reach 40 million people by seeing the poster displayed on hundreds of poster sites with radio commercials aired on 200 stations.

IT’S A FACT • IT’S A FACT • IT’S A FACT • IT’S A FACT Christianity is ranked as the largest religion in the world today with approximately two billion adherents, representing around a third of the global population.

The three countries with the largest proportion of Christians are the USA: 85 per cent; Brazil 93 per cent and Mexico 99 per cent.

Britain has 51 million Christians.

Other facts • Approximately 83 million Bibles are distributed globally per year.

• There are approximately 6 million books about Christianity in print today.

• An average of 171,000 Christians worldwide are martyred for their faith every year.

• In the unevangelized world, there are 20,500 full-time Christian workers and 10,200 foreign missionaries.

• There are approximately 38,000 Christian denominations in the world. This statistic takes into consideration cultural distinctions of denominations in different countries.

THE SON

Winter 2010 Page 5

Personal Viepoint By Heather Bellamy of Cross Rhythms LAST month a woman who was eight months pregnant was beaten, locked up and forced to have an abortion in China for breaking the country's one-child-per-family policy.

In Britain we are hopefully appalled and shocked at what happens in China, where it is estimated that the one-child policy leads to 13 million abortions every year. However I'm increasingly troubled that our collective values are slowly changing to reflect a similar culture of death.

This can be seen in the publishing of guidelines to clarify the rules on assisted suicide, said by some to effectively be a murderer's charter; it's seen in over 200,000 abortions a year and thousands of genetically screened and destroyed embryos; it's witnessed the increased public pressure to legalise assisted suicide and the changing boundaries of who should qualify.

+ big questions + big questions + big questions +big questions +

Even legendary movie star and film director Clint Eastwood wants to know...

CATASTROPHIC However a report for the Centre for Policy Studies said that any weakening on the law for assisted suicide would have catastrophic results for society: “For the vulnerable, once it becomes enshrined in the law, this 'right' might turn into an obligation.

“As assisted suicide becomes embedded in our culture, investing resources in caring for these vulnerable groups will be seen as a waste: they'll soon be gone.”

When we begin to see death as an option that benefits society, beginning in public opinion and later in law, then we're heading down the frightening path of eugenics.

Drug addicts across the UK are now being offered money to be sterilised by American charity Project Prevention. Founder Barbara Harris admitted her methods amounted to bribery, but said it was the only way to stop babies being physically and mentally damaged by drugs during pregnancy.

The phrase ‘life unworthy of life’ was a eugenics concept in Nazi Germany: that certain people had no right to live. Are these the values we want to espouse as a nation?

SHOCKING Stating their position with shocking clarity, a Eugenics website shares that the ‘results of one large, highly-respected study of mental retardation illustrates the potential power-for-good of eugenics.

‘If the retarded were given sufficient cash or other incentives to adopt permanent birth control, mental retardation could be cut by approximately one third in just one generation. This step alone would significantly alleviate all social problems, provide a big boost to the economy and cause the 'misery quotient' to plummet.’

I hope that the British public will speak out on behalf of the unborn, the elderly, the disabled, the terminally ill; an outcry at any attempt to destroy their lives through eugenics, euthanasia, assisted suicide or the genetic screening of embryos.

How terrible it would be if we ignored the gradual change in our national values, values heading towards eugenics.

Instead, let's remember our historic collective values, demonstrating care for the weak, valuing each life equally; the strong protecting the vulnerable.

I vote for life not death.

Page 6

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Winter 2010

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE? WHAT happens when we die? That’s a question people are asking more and more these days.

Actor and film director Clint Eastwood is asking that question with his new film Hereafter. As he approaches his 81st birthday next year, he says that now is the “right time” for him to take on a film about mortality. It is a film that has resonated with audiences who are asking the question, “What’s next?”

The film tries to answer that question by focusing on three geographically disparate people who have been traumatized by close encounters with death – a San Francisco psychic, a youngster from London mourning the death of his twin, and a Parisian-based journalist whose life changes after she is almost killed in the 2004 tsunami. What the film suggests is that no matter where we were born, where we have been, where our travels have taken us, we all end up converging at the same place.

SHADOWS Sooner or later we must all pass through death. Before we pass through it ourselves, we pass through it with any number of friends and loved ones. After weeks and months and perhaps even years of trying to avoid it, we must hold the hand of someone very dear to us and face that inevitable journey through the valley of the shadows.

For Christians we never pass through death alone. God is always with us, God is always present, God is there even as we take our last breath and bid this life farewell.

Jesus assures us that God’s love for us is larger than life and stronger than death. When God called each of us out of nothing into being, it was not a careless or irresponsible act, but rather the beginning of a process that God wants to go on forever. Quite simply, God who

By Reverend Dr. Gary Nicolosi Rector of an Anglican Church in Ontario, Canada created us out of love will not abandon us out of love. If God made you, then God loves you. And God’s love lasts forever.

In heaven we will experience God’s love like we have never known it before. How will it be, I don’t know. I can’t describe it. Nobody can. But even in this life I have had glimpses of heaven. Maybe you have, too.

When I was 11 years old, a group of classmates and teachers climbed a mountain in upstate New York. About half way up we stopped along this mountain creek churning down. Around us were the black-green trees, and the soft black-green moss on the rocks and banks. Out of the small brilliant blue patches of sky above came these shafts of white light which turned the splashing waters into showers of diamonds. It was an almost mystical experience, and I thought to myself, “In a place like this, it’s very easy to believe in God.” Glimpses of heaven – you could write yours. These are the moments that come to us only occasionally in this life, perhaps because we couldn’t take them with much more frequency.

They are moments of exhilaration and deep, deep peace which are foretastes of the day when we will be with God forever.

But there is more. In heaven we will not only be with God, we will be with the ones we love. Your parents, your spouse, your children, your relatives and friends – in heaven you will see them again and be with them forever. No more tears. No more sorrow. Just one great fellowship of love united in the presence of God.

When you get home, sit down and write out a list of all the people you love. Carry that list with you wherever you go in the future and add to it as your circle of affection grows. When you die, take that list with you into the next life. When you get to the gates of heaven, St. Peter will stop you and say, “Look, you can’t bring anything with you from the other life.

Let me have that piece of paper.”

And you will probably say, “Oh, it’s really not anything. It’s just a list of people whom I have loved and who have loved me across the years.”

GREAT SMILE And St. Peter will say, “Can I look at it?”

You will hand the list over to St. Peter who will take the list and begin to read it: Joseph, Carol, Frank, James, Jean, Gloria, Marie, Nick, Douglas.”

Then a great smile will break across the face of St. Peter, and he will say, “When I was walking over to work this afternoon, I saw these very people.

They were making a poster. It had your name on it, and it said, Welcome Home!”

This is our hope, because the love that created us in the beginning is larger than life and stronger than death.

So what happens when we die? We will be with God and our loved ones forever. The love we have experienced in this life, in heaven there will be no end to it.

Mandy’s new life as a role model MANDY SMITH hit the headlines as a teenager when she dated Rolling Stone Bill Wyman. She was 18 when they married and barely in her 20s when they divorced.

She continued to enjoy huge success as a pop and fashion icon, TV presenter and author.

She graced glossy magazine covers as a model and later became a best-selling author.

Now in another new chapter in her life the 40-year-old single mother of one has become a committed Christian who is using her experiences to help young girls avoid all the mistakes she made.

Mandy said: “I think the younger generation are missing out on a good set of values.

“Sometimes I drive through the city on a Saturday night and see young girls wearing hardly any clothes on their way to a nightclub,

while others are being sick on the pavement from binge drinking.

“I would never judge another person but I can identify with them. Many of these girls have no proper older role models. They take their values from some rubbish TV show or wannabe celebrities.”

Miss Smith has been teaching youngsters preparing for their first Holy Communion, working for several charities and mentoring teenagers preparing for their GCSEs.

MISTAKES She said she didn’t want young women to make the same mistakes she did.

“Young people need to learn better values and realise they don’t need to fall out of pubs and clubs drunk, or for girls to throw themselves at boys,” she added.

“I used to feel terribly guilty about the life I had left and felt

there was no hope for me,’ Miss Smith said.

“One day I received a letter from one of my old teachers, an amazing nun, who told me Jesus does not look at the mistakes I have made or the times I ignored him.

“They have passed. Returning to my Chrisitan faith has been so wonderful. I love being involved in my parish. I was brought up a Catholic but my mum was too ill to take us to church. I knew I had to get back on that path.

GUIDANCE

Mandy Smith pictured with Rolling Stone Bill Wyman on their wedding day

“My faith has definitely helped me. I treat God as the one I have to ask for guidance. I chat to him every day and he is actually like the man in my life. I was always scared, but I’m not as fearful any more.

“In the darkest moments, I would cling to God, just saying his name over and over.”

She is forgiving towards the rock star ex-husband who could have ruined her life, saying: “People aren’t as protective of celebrities nowadays and if this had happened

recently I think Bill would have ended up in prison.”

Miss Smith, takes her son to church every Sunday. She also attends services twice a week and prays every day.

She volunteers for HomeStart, a family support organisation, and sees her role as offering reassurance and a ‘friendly ear’.

The ex-model is also a volunteer for myplace, a government programme designed to create great places for young people to go.

And she is also spearheading a major charity fund-raising campaign to raise £1 million for an MRI scanner at the Manchester Children’s Hospital. A total of £600,000 has already been raised and Mandy is determined to reach the target as quickly as possible.

Together with her sister Nicola, Mandy has found the time to set up a boutique PR service, specialising in event management and currently working on a TV documentary highlighting the effects of BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder).

Mandy identifies with those who

Mandy Smith...helping others to live better lives suffer poor health, having endured debilitating illness herself in the past.

Now she is not only feeling fighting fit, but passionate about helping others.

THE SON

Winter 2010 Page 7

OH BROTHE BIG BROTHER star Dave Vaughan has revealed the secret of his march to the final of the show’s last series – God told him to enter the house!

Speaking exclusively to Wales on Sunday, he told how he had decided to audition for the show after God visited him in a dream.

The father-of-four from Pontypool admitted his beliefs were not always accepted by his fellow housemates but said they eventually grew to love him.

“I wanted to break down the stereotypical thoughts and preconceived ideas and mind-sets that people have against Christians.

“I had a powerful encounter with God when I was 21 when I was delivered from three or four years of drink and drug problems and from that day on my walk with God has been one of discovering his nature and who he is and God is love and Jesus is the life of the party.

“I knew it would take a few days or weeks for people to get me, I knew I’d probably be a bit

Christian minister Dave Vaughan took the bold step of joining the housemates in the last series of Big Brother..and he won a lot of friends on the way to being voted runner-up in the series

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Page 8

THE SON

Winter 2010

HOLLYWOOD ACTOR Gary Busey says he’s found freedom from drug addiction after decades of drug abuse and numerous brushes with death.

Academy Award nominee Busey says he has finally found restoration and peace in Jesus. Now the Tulsa bad boy, who has battled to beat cancer, is quick to preach the gospel to whoever will listen.

The 66-year-old who has starred in literally dozens of blockbuster movies and top TV series during a near 40 year career first stepped out on a journey of faith nearly 15 years ago.

In 1996, Busey hid in a sea of men attending a Christian event called Promise Keepers in Los Angeles. In a baseball cap and casual clothes he easily blended into the crowd of men listening to a message by a famous American preacher called Wellington Boone. Sensing the Holy Spirit for the first time, Busey was the first one to the front when the altar call was made.

CHANGED COUNTENANCE The change was visible. When Busey returned home, his wife, who once nicknamed him ‘Gary Abusey,’ noticed his changed countenance.

The actor was raised in a Christian home. After graduating from high school in 1962, Busey recalled the time he told his father that he wanted to go to Hollywood to make music. His father answered simply, “You can do everything through Christ.”

In Hollywood his music brought little recognition, but the tall, roguish Oklahoma boy soon got some big breaks. He was cast in a number of television shows popular in the early 1970s, including High Chaparral and Kung Fu. “And I was the last man killed on Gunsmoke,” he boasts.

He landed his first movie role in 1971 with Hell’s Angels.

Fifteen movies later Busey

misunderstood initially beca “And the first three w difficult for me especially and hearing people bitching things about me knowing I’ being who I am.

“It took about three week me and then to really love m

MISJU

“A friend of mine started I was in the house and negative,’ Dave said.

“But a couple of weeks d said they were really sorry t “That’s why the Lord sen want to go to church; they th Christianity isn’t relevant. dull. But the God I serve party.

Big Ben’s

Hollywood star Gary Busey overcomes his bad boy image landed his biggest break ever, the leading role in The Buddy Holly Story in 1978. Busey sang, played the guitar and portrayed the legendary rock ‘n’ roller. Hollywood took notice, and Busey received an Oscar nomination.

His fame also brought some unwanted attention. In 1979 a man who introduced himself as the devil delivered a gift to Busey’s door. The present was a large rock of cocaine with GB carved in it.

Busey’s downward spiritual spiral began, but amazingly he remained a hot Hollywood property.

Fifteen movie roles were his in the 1980s, with a starting role as college football coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant in The Bear.

In 1988 a motorcycle accident almost took his life. During an operation for a head injury, Busey claims he had a near death experience and heard God tell him to seek spiritual help. But his cocaine addiction had strong-armed him.

Speaking at a church in Oklahoma some years later Busey presented a candid testimony of his life. Twelve hundred bikers, street kids and fans crowded into the warehouse church. Busey told the congregation that ‘a star is simply a self-contained mass of gas I am not a star; I am a Christian.’

Busey’s enthusiasm seemed amazing in light of the fact he was recovering from cancer surgery. A

ER!

Christian minister Dave Vaughan on finishing runner-up in Channel 4’s popular TV series

ause of those mindsets. weeks were horrendously going into different rooms g about me and saying nasty d done nothing wrong, just

s for the guys to get used to me.”

UDGED up a Facebook group while some people were really

down the road a lot of them that they’d misjudged me. nt me in there. People don’t hink God isn’t relevant, that They think it’s dead and is the life and soul of the

The 39-year-old Christian minister admitted he did not always enjoy his time in the house and revealed which housemates he was glad to see the back of come eviction night.

“I’ve visited some hardcore Islamic countries where Christians are persecuted and killed on a daily basis and I’ve been in a car in Yemen when we’ve had bullets going past the car and yet the intensity I felt in the house was like something I’d never experienced before.

“The house is full of paradox, even the exhilarating times would always be tempered with an amazing negativity.

“The highs in there were massive but the lows in there were the deepest lows you could ever experience.

“I’ve travelled round the world

s

many times and I’ve been in a lot of very difficult situations and I know what intensity and pressure is but nothing compares to the pressure of being in the house.

“For me, it could have gone one or two ways. I think if certain people would have stayed in and not been evicted the house would have turned into a very negative, dark and quite a depressing place.

VERY DIFFICULT “I tried to like everyone in the house but obviously when you’ve got certain people in there that are making your time in there very difficult for you then you realise you’re not going to have a good experience if you stay.

“Govan made it really difficult for me and to be honest I didn’t really miss him at all when he left.

And I think my time with Caiomhe was very tough because she was very strongly opinionated, the two of them made some rather strong judgements about who I was without even getting to know me and initially they made my time in the house really difficult.”

But since coming second in the final vote and leaving the house Dave has suddenly found himself not just loved but a celebrity. “I went out for an hour and about 150 people stopped me and wanted photos. I went into one shop and it was just a mob, the staff were asking for photos, kids were coming in and when we got outside people were queuing up to see me.

“Five million people now think I’m a celebrity but the reality of it is nothing has changed. Even though on the outside people know who I am and people like Chris Moyles say stuff about me, I’m still the same.

“The support of having Wales behind me has been really overwhelming and just walking down the street and people saying to me ‘you did us proud’ and people supporting me just because I’m Welsh is an amazing thing, something which I don’t know how to thank.

“But while it’s fun to know Tom Jones voted for me and that Cardiff City were really supportive of me, the reality is I’ve come home, settled into family life and I haven’t been badgered by paparazzi.”

BITES

malignant tumor had been discovered in his sinus cavity. Soon after the tumor was removed, Busey said he heard God speak to him.

“I was praying at the time when I heard the Lord say, “Replace the word fear with faith,” he told the audience.

NOT ASHAMED Apparently Busey isn’t ashamed of sharing his faith with friends in the entertainment industry. “I am proud to tell Hollywood I am a Christian,” he said. “For the first time I am now free to be myself.”

Interviewed in 2009 he said: “The greatest power you have is your faith. F-A-I-T-H. And the word faith stands for Fantastic Adventures In Trusting Him. God will be there to fight all your battles, all you have to do is let him. Faith is very

strong. Part of my life ministry is talking about God in terms of bringing back who I really am to the forefront of my identity.

“People will view my legacy in terms of the truth of myself and what I’ve done and what I am.

And it doesn’t matter how people view my legacy.

It matters how God, Jesus, the Holy Ghost, and the angels who protect my heart and brought me into a place of oneness with the supernatural, the spiritual realm, view me. We’re all responsible for mistakes, rejoicing, sadness, bad choices, good choices, emotional behavior, addictions, failures, brain lapses, short-term memory lapses, terrible accidents that take us away from our naturalism— we’re all capable of going through those things, and that’s what earth is about. There’s one reason we’re on earth and that’s to find the truth of ourselves.

THE SON

Winter 2010 Page 9

Miner Mario Gomez, drops to his knees in prayer after being rescued from the mine

ONE BILLION people watched as the miraculous rescue of the 33 miners trapped in a Chilean mine played out on television.

In the days and weeks that have followed, stories have emerged about the power of prayer in the rescue and the impact that the drama had on the faith of the miners.

The miners entombed for 69 days beneath the Chilean desert were afraid and certain that they would die but they were saved after turning to God, the man described as their spiritual leader told the media.

“Only the Lord could guide that drill to us,” José Henriquez, the group’s pastor, declared. For him the rescue, which was watched by people

around the world, was a miracle of God, not of technology.

He has worked for 33 years as a miner and has certainly led a charmed existence. He narrowly survived a mudslide that claimed scores of lives in 1986. In January he helped to save several miners overcome by gas and was rescued after passing out himself. In February he survived the earthquake that devastated central Chile, including his home town of Talca.

SPIRITUAL WELFARE After the rockfall that trapped the miners on August 5, Mr Henriquez, a drill operator, took charge of the group’s spiritual welfare.

He organised twice-daily prayer sessions and Bible readings, using 33 miniature Bibles that he

asked to be sent down the borehole that was their lifeline. His companions have said that he played a crucial role in their survival.

Mr Henriquez brought ‘calm, God and unity to the most difficult moments. He was a leader without a doubt,’ said Raul Bustos, a hydraulics engineer.

Richard Villaroel, a mechanic, who admitted that he was waiting for death and had never prayed before, said: “He was the key man who kept us together through all those days.”

Carlos Parra, the pastor of Camp Esperanza, said that Mr Henriquez was ‘the unifying element’.

“The moment of prayer, of his readings of the Bible, was the most special moment for the miners because it was the only moment that they all

came together, at 12 in the day and at 6 in the evening they came together in this moment of unity,” said Carlos.

After being rescued, Mr Henriquez was the first of the 33 men to go back into the mine. He wanted to return to thank God for getting him out of the depths of the earth alive.

BEAUTIFUL As huge transporters carried away the cranes, drills and generators used in the rescue Mr Henriquez explained how his job was to spread the word of God to the miners. “This was my objective, the work that was entrusted to me,” he said. “Out of all the jobs I think the most beautiful fell to me.”

In the 17 days before they were discovered he

PRESIDENTIAL PRAYERS Chile’s president, Sebastian Pinera earned high praise for his role in keeping spirits high during the rescue efforts.

President Pinera is pictured (right) celebrating the release of the first miner. But before the dramatic rescue was started he prayed throughout the ordeal with relatives of the trapped miners at Camp Hope, the makeshift settlement on the surface of the mine.

“What started as a tragedy is ending as a real blessing,” he told reporters. “I think that the miners have given us an example of unity, of teamwork, of faith. Their families, they never lost faith.”

Before the rescue began, President Pinera reflected on the meaning of the moment:“When the first miner emerges safe and sound, I hope all the bells of all the churches of Chile ring out forcefully, with joy and hope. Faith has moved mountains.”

After the rescue the Protestant chaplain to the President gave thanks to God for the rescue of the miners.

In a remarkably candid interview with BBC Radio Five Live Reverend Alfredo Cooper described how all the miners testified that Jesus was there with them at all times.

And he said that it was clear to “scientists, politicians, presidents” that God answers prayer.

Page 10

THE SON

Winter 2010

MAJOR MIRACLE OF THE MINER RESCUE Billion people watch as miners fall to their knees in prayer after dramatic rescue from their ‘tomb’ in the Chilean mine and his colleagues were terrified, he said. Asked if they thought they were going to die, he replied: “Of course, we were very sure of that. We had to be realistic, and we realised ... there was no way back.”

He said: “I think that some of them cried there, hidden away. That is something obvious.”

He admitted that there were arguments — “that’s like society everywhere, men are never in agreement ... We had joys, we had difficulties, disagreements, agreements, a democratic way of resolving things.” He explained how the men would vote on matters of division, 16 plus one being a majority.

He insisted however that ‘to work in the hands of God you have to always put your problems behind you. So for this, I communicated the words of the Gospel and the seed was planted.

Also the word of God has a power in itself, so whoever received the Word of God received strength, and the Holy Spirit was there. He was ministering to us, He was reconciling us, He was healing us.”

PROMISES

Many of the miners found a faith they had not had before, he said. “We were singing to the Lord, we were doing what pleases the Lord. So everyone accepted Him, many of them reconciled themselves with the Lord, some of them made promises to Him. “This is what the Lord is for, to strengthen the fallen, the weak ... This was really the power of God in action in each one of our hearts because He strengthened the hearts of the men and when a man cries, a man screams to God, God answers the prayer.”

Like many of the miners and their families, Mr Henriquez has no doubt that it was God who saved them on August 22 when, against all odds, a probe found their refuge 700 metres (2,297ft) below the surface.

“The glory belongs to Him,” he said. “Any man is only a mere instrument in the hands of God. The resources of faith, this is what moves mountains.”

Later, when the Bibles were sent down the

borehole, “we could start to administer the word with more certainty. We even did Bible studies, we did two sessions a day”.

Mr Henriquez added: “I believe that the key to all this was in the word of God, in having believed God,” he added. “That’s why I say to the whole world that the Lord wants them to believe in Him to believe in His word”.

His faith in God was key in helping his companions to hold on to hope.

“That spirituality served him well, that knowledge of the word, having worked with the word, because he preached in the church here,” said Jose Gonzalez, Henriquez’s pastor. “That

Miner Esteban Rojas, 44, gets on his knees to pray after reaching the surface. Rojas was the eighteenth miner to be rescued

helped him because he did not have it to read and he had to draw it out from within his heart, to be able to share it with his companions.”

“On the Sunday before we were rescued, I called for a pastor to come, because I am not a pastor,” Mr Henriquez said. “So I told my brother in a letter, ‘Bring a pastor that you consider, and that God has confirmed is a real pastor to come and lead the prayer of salvation.’ And he did that.

And around 20 miners said, ‘Yes, they believed in the Lord.’”

Mr Henriquez was welcomed in his hometown of Talca as a real hero. Talca Mayor Juan Castro named him an honorary citizen.

“The true hero is Jesus Christ,” Mr Henriquez said.

“He is the only hero that should be mentioned. Apart from whatever man may have done both inside and outside that mine, He is the one who deserves the honor and the glory.”

The Rev Javier Soto, a pastor and family friend of Mr Jose Henriquez...the evangelical Christian who led Henriquez said that he had helped convert many of the the miners in prayer and Bible study during the 69 miners to a deeper faith. day ordeal before they were dramatically rescued “He told the men that their

rescue is a signal from God that he has Chile has on his mind, and in great esteem,” Soto said. “He convinced them that they aren’t the same as they were before the accident, that they are messengers of God’s consolation to Chile.”

Mario Sepulveda, 40, the second miner to be saved said: “I have been with God and with the devil”, summing up his ordeal and miraculous salvation. “I seized the hand of God, it was the best hand. I always knew God would get us out of there,” he said.

“I have changed, I am a different man,” said Mario Gomez, the ninth to be rescued and, at 63, the oldest of the group.

Like many of the other survivors, Dario Segovia, a veteran 48-year-old miner who was the 20th to be rescued, said his religious faith has been bolstered.

SECOND CHANCE He attributed his survival to “the prayers of all Chilean people,” said family friend Lorena Espinosa. “He thinks God has given him a second chance at life.”

In the 17 days before a probe drill discovered the miners’ location, Segovia and the other trapped men were consumed by anguish, especially before they had managed to organize themselves. They had to drink contaminated water and ate allotted spoonfuls of canned tuna and salmon every other day.

“He has told us it was a desperate, atrocious time,” said his brother, Alberto Segovia. “All he wants now is to work above ground, start his own small business, open a little store maybe, or buy a delivery truck.”

THE SON

Winter 2010 Page 11

CD REVIEWS

Music Reviews supplied by Cross Rhythms, the UK’s leading Christian music voice. For more than 20,000 reviews, music news, articles, online radio and shop visit www.crossrhythms.co.uk

LZ7 - Light

Third Day - Move

Lindz West and his high-energy bunch of Manchester musicianaries has, down the years, become a truly top rate act, as well as today being possibly Britain’s most effective communicators of Spiritual truth to the pupils of UK schools. After the mainstream pop chart success of This Little Light download single this 14 track set of bouncy, infectious and life-breathing tracks will be enthusiastically embraced both by school kids and older devotees keen to hear accessible rhymes, contagious hooks, hiphop and dance party-beats. This Little Light with its echoes of a hoary old Sunday school anthem is still effervescent fun and is still an encouragement for youth to let their light of faith shine over a grooving beat and hook.The album mixes engaging hip-hop freshness like Come Alive and bassline rumblers like Superstar.

There are some delicious R&B pieces like the catchy and guitar-lick-filled Ditto; there’s synth-infused pop anthems like the inspired and worshipful Greatest Day and the gently grooving You. If you’re looking for bouncy party tracks they’re here in abundance, with the hands-in-theair club bangers Dance This Night Away and Party Time. This Little Light give you value for money. An essential album.

For their 11th studio project the Atlanta-based rockers have returned to the southern rock roots that made them stand out from the crowd in the band’s early days.Third Day fans will already be well aware that Mac Powell possess some of the finest lungs in rock and his gritty delivery is backed by the sublime voices of The Blind Boys Of Alabama on opening track Lift Up Your Face where an atmospheric intro is blown away by a gigantic blast of overdriven guitar and a promise that salvation is calling.The rootsy rock continues on smoking tracks like Follow Me There, Gone and Don’t Give Up Hope which features superb Allman Brothers-style interplay between slide guitar and piano. But those wholike Third Day’s more worshipful side needn’t fear; tracks like Trust In Jesus and Children Of God are huge singalong praise anthems - the latter of which even pulls off the difficult trick of incorporating a children’s choir into a rock song. Best cut of all though is Surrender which starts with a lone acoustic guitar before building to epic proportions with meaty riffs and soaring strings. If you like your rock soulful and gospel-tinged then Move is an album you’ll want to check out.

10/10

9/10

Jars Of Clay - Jars Of Clay Presents The Shelter After 16 years and 12 albums these veterans of the US scene release what is, undoubtedly, one of their finest albums to date. The Shelter was inspired by an old Irish proverb about finding shelter in community, which is relevant as Jars Of Clay have enlisted a small army of friends - including Amy Grant, David Crowder and Sara Groves - to perform on the record.

The opening track Small Rebellions (featuring Brandon Heath) appears, on the surface, to be a delicate pop song but the chorus features lively bursts of electric guitar and the lyrics, If our days could be filled with small rebellions/ Senseless, brutal acts of kindness from us all verge on revolutionary.Third Day’s Mac Powell lends his rich tones to the country-esque shuffle of Eyes Wide Open, a track that also features Burlap To Cashmere, Derek Webb and an inspired bluegrass-style guitar solo.The highlight of the album though has to be Shelter where TobyMac, Brandon Heath and Audrey Assad enrich the hypnotic, chanted lyrics and create something breathtakingly beautiful.

10/10

Addison Road - Stories Back in 2007 Cross Rhythms interviewed Dallas’ Addison Road and described them as having the ‘talent to become international stars’. This is the album that could well take them there.

Considering the number of guitar-based albums out there to make a simple rhythm guitar sound as crisp as the introduction to Need You Now or Fight Another Day shows the masterly level of production on Stories. Don’t Wait takes an electronic lead but flips teenage delusions of indestructibility on their head as she sings, with powerful provocation, Today I lost a friend of mine/I thought we had time to burn. Change In The Making is a song dealing with sanctification (Every day I’m closer to who I’m meant to be) whilst This Little Light Of Mine is, like the LZ7 hit, inspired by the ancient Sunday school ditty and though nothing at all like the Manchester musicianaries track, is equally effective. All in all, a finely crafted album that builds on the band’s previous self-titled album. If there’s a better American pop release this year, I’ve not heard it.

10/10

Lights - The Listening

As Reviewed In this Issue of The Son...

YFriday Everlasting God 10/10

9/10

LZ7 Light 10/10

Third Day Move 9/10

Addison Road Stories 10/10

Jars of Clay The Shelter 9/10

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THE SON

Winter 2010

One of the surprise additions to Radio One’s playlist recently was Saviour by Canada’s Lights. With its bubbling synth figure, thudding beat, anthemic chorus and brittle, little-girl-lost vocal, it was a near perfect pop confection. But, of course, what really made it stand out from pop’s current crop of bump-and-grind sensualists was the lyric I just want to run to you/And break off the chains, and throw them away/I just want to be so much/And shake off the dust that turned me to rust/Sooner than later, I need a saviour/I need a saviour. It turned out that Lights (born Valerie Anne Poxleitner) was the daughter of missionaries and one who, rather than neglecting the faith of her parents, embraced it to make it the focal point of many of her songs.

(Lights’ other hit song Drive My Soul has another memorable chorus When you’re gone, will I lose control/You’re the only road I know/You show me where to go/Who will drive my soul.) Musically, Lights is in electro pop territory with plenty of loops and synth washes; not as quirky as Owl City or as experimental as Postal Service, but with an appealingly distinctive voice and occasional flourishes of memorable lyrics (Don’t think too hard, if you think it hurts that bad) ensure the album’s undulating electro rhythms never reach overkill.

Nearly one million different people visited the Cross Rhythms website last year, making it one of the most popular Christian websites in the UK and among the top sites of its kind in the world. The website includes music reviews, testimonies, prayer rooms, reflections on life and life issues and an online shop. Visit www.crossrhythms.co.uk

THE SON

Winter 2010 Page 13

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE...

Indy 500 race ace thanks God for his victory over alcoholism Al Unser Jr pictured with his wife

AL UNSER JUNIOR comes from one of the best-known families in the high-speed world of Indy Car racing.

The son of Al Unser and nephew of Bobby Unser, both of whom won the gruelling Indianapolis 500, Al Junior was racing sprint cars at the age of 11.

By the age of 20 he was good enough to enter the Indy 500, finishing 10th on his first outing.

His racing career continued to blossom with titles galore all along the way and victory in the coveted 24 hour Daytona race at the age of 24.

In 1989, Unser was on the verge of winning his first Indianapolis 500, but while battling with Emerson Fittipaldi for the lead, the two touched wheels and Unser spun out, hitting the wall and ending his chances.

Unser would have his day at Indy in 1992, however, defeating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 of a second, the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.

In 1994, Unser again won at Indy, this time with Penske Racing. His teammate was Emerson Fittipaldi, the man whom he battled with five years before.

Unser turned in a dominant season-long performance, winning eight of 16 races on his way to his second CART championship, as well as being named ABC’s Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year that year.

ALCOHOLISM Success, however, came at a cost. Failing to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1995 he descended into alcoholism, but continued to compete at the highest levels.

Three years ago he spoke publicly for the first time about his battle with alcoholism when he joined forces with Live outside the Bottle, a national campaign in the USA to help the public understand the need for addressing and treating alcoholism.

In a frank testimony he said: “I’m a recovering

alcoholic. My wife and kids have always tried to get me to stop drinking, but it was God who did. A defining moment in my life was when I went to a retreat and I heard this quote which struck a chord deep within me, ‘I thank God for what He has given me, for what He has taken away from me and for what He has left me.’

“My sister passed away in March 2009 and I’m so thankful I was able to spend pretty much all of 2008 with her, me being sober.

“I know it was God who gave me that time with my sister. She was 49 years old, and she stuck through all the rough times with me. We were extremely close and I’m so blessed to have been sober that last year with her.

“Because of everything that has happened in my life I truly believe everything is meant to be.

God has a plan for my life; I fully trust in Him and know He won’t put anything on my shoulders that I can’t handle. I view life in a whole different way – completely different

from the way I viewed it as a teenager.

“I always believed in God, always felt His presence; yet I never called on Him unless I was in trouble. Especially when I was racing I would call on God, ‘Please, God, let me win this race.’

“But as soon as I was out of the race car, God stayed in the race car. God truly blessed me with all my IndyCar wins – especially the 500 – but I never did thank Him for it.

BLESSING “Today, I thank Him for all the wins, my parents, my kids – everything that goes on in my life.”

“God works every day in my life. There are challenges. But my biggest thing is to give thanks to God because it truly is all Him, and to not pick up a drink. I know if I do those two things He will continue blessing me.”

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THE SON

Winter 2010

Want to become a Christian now?

Rugby star Ugo lines up for Alpha

IF HAVING read this paper you’ve decided you want to become a Christian just say these words: “Jesus, I want to do things your way from now on – come into me and make me a new person.

“I’m sorry for all the bad stuff I’ve done – please forgive me. I am going to try – with your help – to live the life you intended for me.

“Thank you for loving me and never giving up on me.”

It’s as easy as that – we promise.

Welcome to the best life in the world!

If you’ve done that please let us know by e-mailing us at theson@cornerstonevision.com

Ugo Monye in action for Harlequins

Giant with a gift from God HARLEQUINS forward Peter Browne is a giant on the rugby field. At 6ft 7ins and weighing 18 stones he is a formidable opponent in every sense.

He’s competitive, he gets stuck in and he’s not afraid to stand his ground. But Harlequins Pete Browne could never be a dirty player.

The Premiership team’s back row player says his faith could never allow him to intentionally hurt an opponent.

And while many Christians might not on the face of it sit so easily with some of the harsher aspects of a game like rugby, vicar’s son Browne says the whole balance is only what you make of it.

He said: “My dad played rugby too, so the way I was always brought up to see it was that my sport is a gift from God, and lots of guys see that.

PLAY HARD AND FAIR

Peter Browne of Harlequins

The flying 27-year-old winger – who has been sidelined by injury since September – burst onto the rugby scene in his late teens, securing a professional contract with Harlequins, one of Europe’s leading clubs.

Within a year he was a member of the allconquering England Sevens team and then made his full England debut in England’s 39-13 victory over the Pacific Islanders at Twickenham in 2008 and started the rest of the autumn internationals against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

Monye scored his first try for England against Scotland at Twickenham in the Six Nations in March 2009. Later that year his impressive performances secured him a place on the British Lions tour of South Africa.

AGONISINGLY CLOSE He made the XV for the first Test in Durban where he came agonisingly close to scoring two tries.

In the first half he was thwarted from scoring as he dived over the try line but Jean de Villiers got his hand underneath the ball to prevent a try. In the latter stages of the second half, Monye was through to score but was tackled by Morne Steyn and lost control of the ball.

The Lions lost the Test and Monye also lost his place being replaced by Luke Fitzgerald.

The Lions lost the second Test and Monye was recalled, redeeming himself with a 70-metre intercepted try as the Lions restored pride, losing the series 2-1. He was the highest Lions try scorer of the tour with five tries.

His Nigerian parents were practising Christians and Sunday school was part of his boyhood. As a boy, he liked the hymn-singing and being able to meet his friends at St Mary’s Church in Islington, but he admits that he also went to church to please his mum.

In a media interview Ugo said: “The time I started to slip away was when I was 18 and

started to play for Harlequins. I lived with a couple of other rugby guys, and to be honest went wild for a couple of years, partying and drinking. I fell away from Christianity.

“I told my friends that I was a Christian but I wasn’t living like one. But all the time questions about my faith kept going over and over in my mind.

“One afternoon I was getting some treatment from the physio at Harlequins and asked her what she was up to that week.

COINCIDENCES “She said she was going to an Alpha course and offered to get me some information.

I don’t believe in coincidences and discovered that a new Alpha course was starting the following week at the Holy Trinity Church in Brompton Road and I was there.”

He went with a friend, asked a lot of questions, discussed what they heard on the walk home and kept returning. “The course was just amazing – it helped me find myself and my faith again.”

Monye has now become a regular at Holy Trinity and earlier this year became an ambassador for Student and Youth Alpha, encouraging other young people to find out more about Christianity.

He has spoken about his faith to pupils at Eton College. “I look at where I am right now, and I don’t think there’s a coincidence in the fact that since I’ve started to devote myself to my Christian faith, my rugby life has got a whole lot better.

LEAVE YOUR BAGGAGE “I had struggled. I’ll tell you what, it’s too hard to try and do it all by yourself. We’ve just finished another course and there were 500 people there, ordinary people who see the church as a place where they can draw comfort and feel a real sense of community.

“You come to church, you leave your baggage at the door, and for a couple of hours you give thanks to God. I get as much buzz from being in church as I do scoring a try on a Saturday afternoon.”

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“For some reason, I have been gifted with size and speed and I hope I’ve got the aptitude to apply myself.

So I see that as a gift, and there is the whole dirty side of rugby. While I play hard, I try to play fair.”

The athletic 23-year-old who completed a theology degree at Durham University made real strides after joining Newcastle Falcons in the 2007/08 season.

He joined Harlequins from Newcastle at the beginning of the 2010/11 season. He made his competitive debut against Wasps, coming on as a substitute, in the 29-29 draw at Twickenham.

ENGLAND and Harlequins rugby star Ugo Monye’s life changed for the better after he commited himself to the Christian faith.

“I somehow knew God had forgiven me for all the bad stuff in my life.”

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THE SON

Winter 2010 Page 15

TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY FULHAM’S American striker Clint Dempsey has faced tragedy and triumph in his life, but through all the highs and lows his strong Christian faith has given him the strength to fight on.

He has certainly known plenty of success in his playing career - featuring in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups for the USA, being the first American to play in a European final when he lined up for Fulham against Athletico Madrid, having scored the winning goal in the semi final against Juventus with an incredible chip shot.

And England fans will always remember his goal for USA in the opening game of their World Cup campaign in 2010.

But his personal life has been blighted with tragedy. His talented tennis-playing sister suffered a brain aneurism at the age of 16.

Fulham ace Clint Dempsey on grief, glory and his relationship with God

PROFOUND EFFECT

Striker Clint Dempsey points heavenward after scoring for the USA

“I can remember, really clearly, arriving at the hospital and a little doubt forming in the back of mind: ‘What if this is it? What if my sister dies today?’ You get there and everyone is crying. They tell you and your heart falls from your chest. You hit the ground and you cry for hours. You cry until your head aches.”

He was 12 at the time and the experience has had a profound effect on his life. “I can talk about it now as I feel she is in a better place,” he goes on. “But it’s something you can never get over and it’s sad it takes something like that to make you appreciate everything in your life.

“It’s weird because I remember something she told me. We would talk about death and she said, ‘If I ever pass away, do you want me to come back and let you know I’m OK?’ I said: ‘No, that would scare me too bad!’ We talked about it some more and she said, ‘Well, if I ever die I will

help you get the ball in the net.’And that’s why I look up to the sky now when I score - to remember her.”

While in college two of his team-mates, Greg Griffin and Chefik Simo, asked him one day if he wanted to go with them to a concert.

“They were friends of mine and I wanted to go but I was like, ‘I haven’t even got 10 bucks to spend.’ And being broke saved my life.

They got in a car crash, they flipped over and an 18-wheeler hit them. Greg died. Chefik was injured so bad he couldn’t play again.”

CLOSE CALLS

CLINT DEMPSEY FACT FILE Born March 9 1983 Place of Birth Nacogdoches,Texas, USA International Career 62 Caps for USA 18 goals Playing Career 2004 to 2007 New England Revolution 71 appearances 25 goals 2007 to present Fulham 150 appearances 29 goals (as at November 9 2010)

Another time, at 2am on a 16-hour drive, his dad fell asleep at the wheel and flipped the car.

“The only thing that saved us was that we landed on our wheels,” he says. “There’s always been these close calls. And it makes you put life in perspective.”

The teenage Dempsey, who grew up in a Texas trailer park, was crazy about football and his talent soon shone through.

Determined to make his make he trained hard and soon made a name for himself in America’s Major Soccer League, first lining up for the New England Revolution in 2004, for whom he played until 2007 when he signed for Fulham.

His first call-up to the US national side came in 2004 and, in late 2005, Nike heard he was into hip-hop and asked him to freestyle on the team’s World Cup record, Don’t Tread,

with Big Hawk, a rapper from Houston.

Dempsey agreed as long as it was dedicated to his sister and, at his request, the video ends with him placing a flower at her grave.

“Big Hawk was well known in Houston,” he says. “He was a cool guy, a God-fearing man, a Christian and, in musical terms, a pioneer.

But the next year he got shot dead. They called me up to tell me and I just couldn’t believe it.”

The police have never found the killer of John Hawkins.”

Clint is a devout Christian: “My faith is important to me. I grew up in a Catholic family and went to Sunday school and church.

I still go to church every Sunday because it helps me to grow spiritually.

“My faith is what gives me peace of mind and confidence for the future. I mean peace of mind when you go through good and tough times, and not just in football but in life. It also helps me to remember that there is more to life than sport.”

ICING ON THE CAKE Does he find it hard to live out his faith in the Godless world of football? “No – life is difficult but there are distractions no matter what you do.

“Of course there are ups and downs, but that is life. At the end of the day I have achieved more than I ever dreamed off. So if it all stopped today that would be fine. Anything else is icing on the cake.”

Asamoah wins the heart of Sunderland fans SUNDERLAND’S record signing Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan makes a big impact wherever he goes.

The £13 million player who starred in the 2010 World Cup is now making his mark in the Premier League.

He scored on his debut as a substitute in September and followed this up with two goals in his first Premier League start and then helped Sunderland move up to seventh in the table by scoring the equaliser against Spurs at White Hart Lane.

He also scored one of the goals in Sunderland’s sensational 3-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

As well as starring for the Black Cats - as Sunderland are known, ñ Gyan, 25, is also one of the top players for the Black Stars - the name given to Ghana’s international team.

He scored the winning goal against USA in Page 16

THE SON

Winter 2010

“We are Christians and we all know how the World Cup to put his team through to the quarter finals and has scored a total of 22 goals important God is,” he said. “We all respect God and we pray every time before the game and for his country in 45 appearances.

But while success on the pitch is important to after the game. ... We praise God, what he has Asamoah, his relationship with God is even done for us. Then the next day is match-day, so we use that opportunity to give us strength and more vital. help us go on into the game.”

Speaking after scoring against Tottenham he said: “Scoring goals is the most important thing. That is what everyone is expecting from me.

“I thank God I am doing the right thing now and I hope it continues.”

Speaking during the World Cup in South Africa Asamoah said of his Ghanaian team: “We love to sing together, dance together, pray together. It brings joy to our hearts.

This is our team.”

His international captain John Mensah who also plays for Sunderland confirmed Asamoah Gyan scores against the USA that prayer is no afterthought.

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