Autumn 2009 magazine

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equipping churches to see Jesus' kingdom grow

autumn 2009

New Wine Up North A distinct family feel

David Ruis More than music U H?Q QCH?Ă?M @CLMN MNO>CI ;F<OG W CH=FO>?M MIHAM 4 FIP? =IG? >IQH& B?L? IH NB? ?;LNB& HI'IH? FCE? SIO M;PCHA AL;=? @?;NOLCHA 4 ?IAB;H B?;MFCJ& H?CF <?HH?NNM& >;PC> LOCM& >;PC> A;N?& HC=EC LIA?LM& HC=IF? <LIQH DOF?M QII><LC>A?(

Generation Y Connecting the disconnected p l u s : festivals & faith | summer stories | engaging 20-somethings issue 47

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Kingdom Training Days

NEW WINE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE 2010

...to see the nation For all church leaders wanting to press into God, connect with other leaders and find space for leadership-focused teaching and prayer ministry.

following

naturally

the spirit

supernatural

17-19 May 2010 Harrogate International Centre

With David Parker,

With Gary Best, National Team Leader,

With Jay Pathak and Flint McGlaughlin

Lead Pastor of Desert Vineyard, southern California

Vineyard Churches Canada

Hosted by John Coles and the New Wine Leadership Team For anyone involved in leadership in their local church

19 November 2009

5 November 2009 Trinity, Cheltenham

St Mary’s Longfleet, Poole

hosted by Mark & Karen Bailey

6 November 2009

hosted by Andy Perry

20 November 2009*

Holy Trinity, Ripon Woodlands, Bristol hosted by Ian Parkinson & Mark Tanner

hosted by Dave Mitchell

21 November 2009

7 November 2009* All Saints, Milton, near Cambridge

St Matthews, High Broom,

hosted by Rosie Bunn

Tunbridge Wells

& David Chamberlin

hosted by Chris Wicks

9 November 2009

23 November 2009

St Paul’s, Ealing, London All Saints', Marple, Stockport hosted by Mark & Lindsay Melluish hosted by Ian & Nadine Parkinson

*Includes networking opportunity for those training for church leadership (ordinands).

Find out more and book online at www.new-wine.org

0% Over 4 t for discoun r younge leaders

For best rates book online before 13 January 2010 at www.new-wine.org

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Autumn 2009 Issue 47

Free copies of New Wine Magazine for your church! If you would like extra copies of New Wine Magazine to give to your friends, simply contact the New Wine office and we will happily post some to you. Editor Mark Melluish Magazine Manager Lucy Williams Commissioning Editor Kirsty Wilkins Advertising and Classifieds Jeremy Geake; Jonathan Tearne Graphic Designer Sue Pearson Print Halcyon New Wine Magazine is published three times a year by the New Wine Trust as part of their mission. Your feedback is welcome; letters may be edited and published in future issues. Address 4A Ridley Avenue, Ealing W13 9XW Tel 020 8567 6717 Fax 020 8799 3770 Email mag@new-wine.org Web www.new-wine.org For advertising please phone 020 8799 3777 or email advertising@new-wine.org

Cut and paste You can copy text from the New Wine Magazine into local newsletters, church magazines and similar non-commercial communications provided you put a credit line, ‘This material copyright New Wine Magazine and used with permission’ (this excludes any material marked ©).

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contents what’s happening 3

A note from John Coles

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Editor’s Letter

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News

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All the Highs Get the lowdown on this year’s Summer Conferences

58 The Emerald Isle International Spotlight: Ireland

real people 20 Sharing Christ on Campus Graduate Graham tells us about sharing his faith with other students 24 More than music David Ruis finds that worship is a journey of faith 64 Living the Dream Dreams are one of God’s chosen ways of communicating with us

“Sabbath is a gift to be enjoyed, not a drag to be endured.” Page 30

going deeper 13

Connecting with Generation Y Insight into this relational generation

36 Room to be Radical Why every church needs a 20s ministry 42 Godly Globalisation Material wealth can help make poverty history 46 Called to be Kind Mark Carey’s final article in his series on the book of Ruth 54 Up Front Leadership matters

life stuff 19

real life

Learning to Lead One student explains why she studied at Westminster Theological College

26 Hope and a Future Healing a broken Peru

30 Long, Lazy Sundays What’s the point of the Sabbath?

32 The Only Way is Up New Wine N&E: the story so far

40 Lost in Wonder Similarities between summer festivals and Christianity

50 Can a Nation be Changed? Iranians are turning to Christ for answers 52 Loving the Least Including everyone is not an optional extra

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Shelf Life Recent book and CD releases “How a church can make room for 20-somethings.” Page 36

“It was praise and worship, but it was lost praise and worship.” Page 40

Please recycle this magazine when you have finished with it.

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unstoppable A gathering place for people of all ages and backgrounds to come and enjoy inspiring teaching, spirit-filled worship, excellent children’s groups, relaxation, fun and friendship. London and South East: 24-30 July 2010 Royal Bath and West Showground, Somerset North and East: 31 July - 6 August 2010 Newark and Nottinghamshire County Showground, Newark Central and South West: 1-7 August 2010 Royal Bath and West Showground, Somerset Whether on your own, with your church, with family or friends, come and be inspired to change lives, communities and the nation!

www.new-wine.org/summer

0 1 0 2 s e c n e r e f n o c r e m m su

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new wine | what’s happening

Dear Friends, One of my abiding memories of the New Wine Summer Conferences is walking in the sunshine around the Newark showground on the last afternoon. I was quietly praying that God would anoint what I had prepared for that evening. As I looked around I saw groups of people doing ordinary family things: kids riding bikes, having water fights and eating ice creams, parents packing up ready to leave after the celebration and people gathering around barbecues, the smell of which is so evocative of good summer holidays with the family. I was struck both by the ordinariness and the extraordinariness of this scene. The ordinariness is in families doing family stuff; there is nothing particularly special about that is there? It’s what we are created for; God’s creatures living in harmony with him, each other and creation. The ‘rightness’ of this scenario is self-evident, and if life were always like this, all would be well in the world. And that of course is also the extraordinary nature of this scene. Life is sadly not like this for many. The world is so broken that there are very few places where families live happily together with each generation at ease both with itself and with another generation and where they live alongside relative strangers without suspicion, mistrust or conflict. The towns and cities in which we spend most of time are not generally known for such neighbourliness. One of the great signs of the rule of God in a community is inter-generational harmony. The Old Testament finishes with a great prophetic cry and insight into how God will be at work in and through his people as the end of time draws near: ‘He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers’ (Malachi 3:6). I believe the church has a mandate to model to our society mutual respect between generations. Events like our summer conferences do that on the macro scale, but the local church has a vital role in the community in the way it structures its worship and social life. This isn’t an argument for all-age services everywhere all the time, but more of plea for us to look again at how we teach, encourage and enable healthy inter-generational relationships. And I want to encourage men to play their full part in this too. It’s now fairly universally understood that children (especially boys) raised without fathers (or with absentee fathers) are more likely to become dysfunctional in their relationships, and subsequently criminal, than those raised with a loving father-figure present. One of the ways we can do this in the local church is by deliberately seeking the opinions of the next generation and by systematically ensuring they are included in leadership training and decision making. One of Bill Johnston’s one-liners is that ‘our ceiling must be the next generation’s floor.’ There is no way the nation can be changed unless the baton is successfully handed from one generation to the next such that lessons learnt, progress made and influence gained are not lost. So instead of holding on to power in the church, we need to be investing relationally, emotionally, spiritually and educationally in the next generation. As I write this a member of our church is, at 17, about to become the youngest ever person to sail single-handedly around the world. He developed his love for sailing because his father first introduced him to it as a seven year old. When we create opportunities for the younger generation it can pave the way for a life of staggering achievement. In our churches, let’s continue to work at inter-generational harmony and love so that we release the next generation into staggering achievements in serving the Lord and changing the nation. With very best wishes,

John Coles Director of New Wine

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new wine | what’s happening

New Wine’s core values • Local Church Life that is welcoming, relational, accessible for all generations, and builds family and community life. • Inspiring Worship that is passionate, intimate, culturally appropriate and facilitates encounter with God. • Anointed Leadership that is visionary, courageous, humble, consistent, full of faith, and releases church members into their Godgiven ministries. • Spirit-empowered Mission that is evangelistic, holistic, kingdom centred and concerned with justice and care for the poor, and encourages new church-planting initiatives. • Orthodox Theology with doctrine and ethics founded on the person, teaching and work of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible. • Bible-based Teaching and training that is thoughtful, relevant, and equips for everyday life and ministry. • Personal Discipleship that is based on living like Jesus, exemplifying love, prayerfulness, holiness, integrity, accountability, humility and generosity. • Every-member Ministry that discerns each person’s calling and expresses God’s love through the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit.

Welcome Welcome to the autumn issue of the New Wine Magazine, containing stories of God at work around our nation. What a summer we have had as a movement together. For those of you who had the privilege of being at the summer conferences, we were encouraged, inspired, built up and challenged in many different ways… and not only by the speakers. Rain poured down on some days, the sun shone on others and many of us fought our way through muddy fields to find that meeting place with our Heavenly Father. And we met with him in the most powerful and intimate of ways. A story of transformation comes from all three conferences. Transformation internally as we watched the presence of God together, as we were rooted to our seats (or encouraged to leave them) by the speakers, as we were challenged on our holiness of living and spurred on in evangelism and outreach. We were also encouraged to have transformation in our relationships, friendships and marriages as well as with our flatmates, college and school friends, work colleagues and those we mix with in our communities. We were spurred on in our hopes and dreams for this nation and reminded again of the greater purpose and passion for which we exist, the purpose of seeing God’s kingdom lived out in our own lives with a passion so that others might see the heartbeat of Jesus within us.

Kids Leaders Conference • 4-6 October 2010 Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire New Wine partners with kids' leaders and workers to see them empowered and inspired to lead renewed kids' ministry that encourages a Spirit-filled encounter with Jesus.

As kids’ leaders we have the awesome honour and responsibility of growing and releasing kids into all God has for them: identity, relationship and empowered purpose. This three-day conference is a place for you to be refreshed and renewed, challenged and inspired.

Kids Workers Training Days • 8 May 2010 Trinity Cheltenham • 15 May 2010 Holy Trinity, Ripon • 5 June 2010 St Barnabas, Finchley Come and be inspired and empowered to reach out to the 0 to 14s in your community, help them encounter Jesus and disciple them to pursue all God has for them through the Holy Spirit.

www.new-wine.org/kids Free teaching, stories, testimonies and resources to equip you in your children’s ministry.

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new wine | what’s happening

This summer also saw the launch of the New Wine Training Partnership, which brings the opportunity to do theology through your local church, work towards a degree or just study for the sake of pursuing a deeper knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a Christian. We ran a collection for the partnership, and managed to reach just beyond our target of £120,000. Thank you to those who gave so generously to the collections. We are thrilled to be able to pursue this dream of seeing theological education through the local church. As I drove home from the third of the conferences, late in the night with the family asleep in the car, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if we all truly lived out what we sang about, spoke about and hoped for. Surely we would see a nation changed. In this magazine you will find stories of hope, stories of renewal and stories of conversion that bring life. I trust that, in reading it, you will be inspired and encouraged to join with us to see this nation changed. God bless you in all you do

Our vision is to see the nation changed through Christians and churches being filled with the Spirit,

alive with the joy of knowing and worshipping Jesus Christ, living out his word, and doing the works of the

kingdom

of God

Mark Melluish Editor, New Wine Magazine mag@new-wine.org

www.new-wine.org

New Wine Ministry Training Days These one-day training courses are intended for all those who want to learn how to minister healing, prayer and prophecy in the power of the Holy Spirit, or as a refresher for those who are already doing so.

Healing Days Pastoral Prayer Days Prophecy Days Find out more at

www.new-wine.org

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new wine | copy here

It’s a date! New Wine host events throughout the year aimed at training, equipping and inspiring you and your church. NOVEMBER 2009 Kingdom Training Days 2009 5 November Trinity, Cheltenham – hosted by Mark Bailey & Karen Bailey 6 November Holy Trinity, Ripon - hosted by Ian Parkinson & Mark Tanner Sat 7 November All Saints, Milton – hosted by Rosie Bunn & David Chamberlin Mon 9 November St Paul’s, Ealing – hosted by Mark & Lindsay Melluish 19 November St Mary’s Longfleet – hosted by Andy Perry 20 November Woodlands, Bristol – hosted by Dave Mitchell 21 November St Matthews, High Broom – hosted by Chris Wicks 23 November All Saints’, Marple – hosted by Ian and Nadine Parkinson Healing Ministry NORTH EAST - 14 November Tollerton Village Hall, Tollerton, York With Francis Wainaina Online booking available For non-booking enquiries contact: Rev Chris Park Tel: 01347 838122 Email: pastaparko@tiscali.co.uk WALES - 14 November Prince’s Drive Baptist Church, Colwyn Bay With Gary Weston Online booking available For non-booking enquiries contact: Derek Riseborough Tel: 01745 330334 Email: derekriseborough@tiscali.co.uk

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LONDON 28 November St Barnabas Church, Finchley With Henry Kendal For more info contact: Gail Beckett Tel: 020 8343 5770. Email: gailbeckett@stbarnabas.co.uk

JANUARY-MARCH 2010

Pastoral Prayer Training 28 November 2009 Pickering Methodist Church, Pickering With Elaine Wainaina Online booking available For non-booking enquiries: Tel 01751 473589 Email peterhallsworth@tiscali.co.uk

Women’s Days 2010 27 February, London 6 March, Harrogate

Prophetic Gifting Training CENTRAL - 24 October Emmanuel Church, Werrington, Peterborough With John White Online booking available For non-booking enquiries contact: Val Watkinson Tel: 01733 576541 Email: church@werringtonparish.org.uk

Leadership Conference 2010 17-19 May, Harrogate

21 November Holy Trinity, Tewkesbury With Keith Powell Online booking available For non-booking enquiries contact: Sarah Haughan Tel: 07718 395 295 Email: young.haughans@virgin.net 21 November St Peter’s Church, Iver With Mark Philps To book, or for information, contact: Tim Eady Tel: 01753 653131 Email: timothy_eady@yahoo.co.uk NORTH EAST & SOUTH EAST 7 November St Paul’s Church, Orpington With Anne Coles To book, or for information, contact: Paula. Tel 01689 850697 Email: paula.lynds@stpaulscrofton.co.uk

Rural & Village Ministry Church Leaders' Forum - for church leaders 26-27 January, Leicestershire Leaders Wives 2010 15-17 January, Buckinghamshire 3-5 February, Leicestershire

Inner-City & Urban Priority Area Church Leaders' Forum 2010 25-26 March, Leicestershire

MAY-JUNE 2010

Kids Work Training Days 2010 8 May Cheltenham 15 May, Ripon 5 June, London

JULY-AUGUST 2010 ‘UNSTOPPABLE’ Summer Conferences 24-30 July, Shepton Mallet London & South East 31 July – 6 August, Newark North & East 1-7 August, Shepton Mallet Central & South West

OCTOBER 2010 Kids Leaders Conference 2010 4-6 October Derbyshire

To find ou tm any of the ore about se www.new- events, visit wine.org

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new wine | what’s happening

Speaking up The Bible Society of Ghana wants to see a whole generation of children growing up reading the Bible and hopes to give a million Bibles to children across the country by 2011. Brian Dacre, Head of Supporter Relations at Bible Society in Swindon, says that after one child, Kelvin, read his copy he ‘…began asking for God’s help every day and found that school was easier. It’s an amazing story of how interaction with God, through the Bible, impacted one child’s life.’

Christians across the UK are being urged to ‘speak up’ on behalf of the poor as Christians Against Poverty (CAP) revealed the nation’s favourite anti-poverty Bible verse. Matt Barlow, CAP Chief Executive, said: ‘…We wanted to draw attention to the fundamental commitment of Christians to help relieve poverty.’ The national debt counselling charity launched a campaign in July to find a verse to encourage Christians to reaffirm God’s desire to reach the poor and disadvantaged. ‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy’ from Proverbs 31:8-9 garnered nearly a third of all votes. Thirty-two per cent of all respondents confirmed that it best summed up their desire for Christians to relieve poverty. For more information on CAP visit www.capuk.org

Course for skateboarders goes global

A revised version of the NIV Bible will be released in 2011. ‘The new 2011 NIV is all about maintaining and enhancing the original values of the NIV for today’s readers’, says Douglas Moo, chairman of the Committee of Bible Translation. ‘We’re looking for a translation that is above all accurate, that says what the original authors said in a way they would have said it had they been speaking English to the global Englishspeaking audience today.’

The world’s first ‘introduction to Christianity’ course aimed exclusively at the skateboarding community has gone global. The 12-session course was written to appeal to young people within the skateboarding culture. ‘We wrote it so skaters would have a relevant and contextualised way to explore the Christian faith for themselves’, says Bath Youth for Christ Youth Worker and course creator Jo Dolby. Bath Youth for Christ have now made it available to church communities across the world via the Internet. A simple download will provide organisations with the complete course plans, multimedia and professionally designed course summary sheets. Find out more at www.one-eighty.org.uk

Strengthened by faith Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told the Christian radio station, Premier, that communities will be strengthened by people of faith during an exclusive interview on faith and the future of the UK. ‘Our communities will be strengthened by the involvement of people of faith in them, and our society will be better because people with convictions about what a good society means are playing a part in creating that society’, the PM shared. ‘I’d like to see more and more people involved in the running of our public institutions, and the people who’ve got strong values to be right at the centre of the progress we can make for the future.’ An accompanying poll conducted by ComRes on behalf of Premier confirmed that 59 per cent of the general public believe religious groups provide vital services to the local community while 69 per cent of people think that greater government collaboration with religious groups is a pre-requisite to the improvement of the quality of community life. For more information visit www.premier.org.uk 7

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new wine | what’s happening

On a high Over July and August, over 30,000 people attended our three Summer Conferences. Here’s the lowdown from those who were there

I was on the ministry team here 12 months ago. A few months earlier I began to suffer from arthritis in my left ankle. It got worse as New Wine approached and I prayed that God would give me relief from the pain for one week to enable me to cope with the standing involved with ministry. At the team meeting on the first evening my ankle was prayed for. I was immediately free from pain and swelling and I am still free today, 12 months on. Praise and thanks to the Lord! Ian Hutchinson, Ripley, Derbyshire I have been in pain for around 6 weeks in knees and hips. I have had to take strong painkillers. On Wednesday I was prayed for in a healing seminar. The pain has completely gone. I look forward to going dancing once again. John Barnes, Preston My wife Jane has a long history of hip problems, and has had three hip replacement operations. Since October last year she’s been in great pain again and a fourth replacement operation had been planned for September. At New Wine she was completely healed of hip pain and gave her testimony in Venue One, walking back and forth across the stage. She spoke with her consultant when we got home and the operation has been cancelled! I’m a curate and had arranged time off with the Diocese to look after Jane following the operation, so I had to explain to them what had happened. Our Bishop, the Rt Revd Keith Sinclair, confessed to reacting with almost disbelief at first, but later said that ‘on seeing the evident difference to her, both the on the following day and in subsequent weeks, there is no doubt in my mind that the healing is real, sustained and given by God graciously in answer to prayer’. Keith Addenbrooke, Wirral Thank you for an amazing week. This was the first time I have ever been. All I can say was that I spent a week with God. I arrived on Saturday, having been off work for two months with stress exhaustion, depression and panic attacks and was struggling to cope on the first morning in Venue One with so many people. Monday morning after someone prayed for me, I bounced out of my tent and felt amazing. My children were delighted to get their mum back - apparently, I’m no longer crabby. A month on, people are asking what happened to me and am I still better! The rest of the week was even more amazing. God met with me in every seminar in every person who prayed for me and I came away with a renewed and new relationship with God. Thank you so much. The best holiday I have ever had. Sarah, Hambrook, West Sussex

TEXTIMONIES Inflammatory arthritis has stopped me lifting hands + face in worship. Came praying 4 release. Now able 2 worship pain free and neck easier now! Thank you Lord! 8

I’m a leader. Came here feeling down and ou t. Been massively encouraged and no w feel able to carry on responding to God’ s call.

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new wine | what’s happening

has ’ Lounge Leadersll you how wonderful it. Rural

ers Can’t te ther lead of et with o e as a time m w to is n th d bee n a ly ery lone . work is v nergising e d n a n o ti c e n n co organ Steve M k you for ek – than e w d o o g unge is A really aders’ Lo e L e h T ! g it e had so organisin ce – I hav la p le b a alu helpful such a v ant and ic if re n ig s ally k. The ca many re this wee re e h s n d o ti an conversa onderful is also w ts s o h e of th d. preciate much ap oupland Simon C viding a h for pro c u m o s u kind Thank yo so much rs. ce, with la er leade p l th o fu ti h it w t beau c e n ty, to con with like hospitali ndships ie fr g in o t. ong d gif To build uch a Go ders is s a le d te r hea y hil Henr Kath & P

king week. Just LooJesus into my life this I invited gate king dele Just Loo king Just Loo I came to d have rs ago an four yea h the Lord lking wit been wa ear I’m n. This y since the assion. for Comp working

After years of feeling unworthy and useless due 2 illness God has used this week 2 show me that I am precious 2 him and a hero and a healer, even in my circumstances. Praise God!

ill r 12 yrs now and st Been a Christian fo al ted bible + historic struggle with limi s. nd ie ersations with fr knowledge in conv helpful ng has been hugely This year’s teachi s. John difficult question for fielding these aching ing and ge neral te Le nnox, Amy Orr-Ew ank you New Wine! have been great. Th 9

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new wine | what’s happening Nikki settled well at Boulder Gang for the first time ever. She watched the children and laughed and joined in with the silly actions. His mum was sure he wouldn’t settle, so this was an answer to the prayer we’d prayed that morning! Our Place team member Thank you once again for making this week at New Wine great. Alicia really enjoys coming and as a family we just feel so welcome. It’s such a blessing that all the workers give of their time and of themselves to make Our Place the sanctuary it is! Our Place parent

My little boy doesn’t like church, or praying, or the Bible – but this week his faith has gone through the roof! He laid hands on me and his Dad last night and prayed for us. He doesn’t want to go home. We came to New Wine, a first-time family, worried about how our fiveyear-old son would react to being here. We have been amazed by the change in him and of the stories he tells us of his times in Groundbreakers. On Monday he came out of the session and told us he had been learning how to heal. Back at the campsite someone said that she had a pain in her knee. Our son placed a hand on her knee and raised his other hand in the air, just as he had been taught, and then simply asked God to make it better. Thank you Groundbreakers, our son now talks freely of God. My son had prayer in Groundbreakers last year for his eczema. It is under control and is really clear. Praise God and thank you! The Pebbles theme for the LSE week was ‘Kids of the Kingdom’. The children learnt that Jesus is the King, and he has an amazing Kingdom, we can be Princes and Princesses in his Kingdom and do amazing things too! On the penultimate day, the children had the opportunity to ask Jesus to be their special friend, say thank you to Jesus for dying on the cross and sorry for the wrong things they have done. The children were given the choice to stand up and pray a simple prayer whilst the other children stretched their hand towards those that stood. In total, 220 3- and 4-year olds decided that they wanted Jesus to be their friend! It was amazing seeing 3- and 4-year old children so excited about worshipping God. Children were shouting, clapping, waving flags they had made, playing instruments, dancing, singing all to our King! In Pebbles we taught the children about how Jesus is with us through his Holy Spirit and asked them if they wanted to receive the Spirit and do Kingdom stuff. One child started speaking in tongues, many stood up, wanting the Holy Spirit!

I thought I was useless and that I didn’t have a purpose in life until I went to the girly evening. Now I am my own person and I know God loves me no matter what. This week God did 3 things that changed me and I say thanks to Club One! 1. Club One helped me find God again. 2. My family is more at peace with each other. 3. God helped my new baby brother! Jesus, I love you!

er gone after two pray Pain in right knee Lord. Amazing! My husband is not a Christian but sessions thank you

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I have been praying for peace, calm and patience this week. An incident happened the other day and I remained calm instead of getting uptight. I did not recognise myself! Praise the Lord!

came with us to help put up the tent. He stayed till late Monday and we did both parts of Paul and Becky’s marriage talks. He did not feel threatened at all and we along with others renewed our vows. I can’t wait to go home to him x

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new wine | what’s happening

ging. life chan n e e b s a h ecies, This week had proph e v a h I l ed and As norma oors ope n d , n e iv g d! gifts Praise Go :) d e v l o s issues re

Having been sent to boarding scho ol as a child, I have li ved with feelings of abando nment. I have never felt accepted by Father God. Over the last couple of days I have been over whelmed by the love of the Father an d at last feel part of the family of God. 11

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new wine | going deeper

The brand new studio album featuring songs: You Alone Can Rescue, This Is How We Know and Through It All.

Includes songs: With Me, All To You, God Only Wise and The Way That You Father Me.

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More titles available from www.kingswayshop.com, iTunes or your local Christian bookstore

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new wine | going deeper

connecting with

generation How can we engage with the young adults in our communities? Rich Wilson gives us insight into this relational generation Who are the young adults of today? Some say their thumbs have evolved to become the dominant digit due to texting and computer games. Others think they view mobile phones and the internet as extensions of themselves, often preferring to communicate via these means rather than using their voice. Sociologists have labelled those born between 1982 and 1995 as Generation Y. God knows they are brimming with potential, disconnected from him and church, yet destined for more and longing for something real. From my work with Fusion, a charity passionate about student mission, I estimate that less than two per cent of students are involved with church and a similar percentage is mirrored in the 18 to 30 age group nationally. The reasons for this are varied and complex. This generation has grown up in an age of opportunity and entertainment, they are fully aware of all that is possible. As a society we have moved from nibbling on the fruit from the tree of knowledge to having daily banquets as the internet and media have revealed everything we could ever want to know and even more we’d rather not know. Expectations have been raised sky high for how life should treat us and what is rightfully ours. Our minds, lives and aspirations are overloaded and need continually recalibrating around God’s kingdom agenda. The challenge before us is about first keeping today’s teenagers and 20-somethings connected to church, and secondly, reaching deeper into this largely unreached people group. I am convinced that one affects the other and that if the right pathways are created for following Christ through the difficult decade of the 20s then more ‘would-be’ followers will be attracted. Every local church should aspire to having a ministry among young adults and prayerfully look to create such pathways. A small group of 20-somethings in every local church in the UK would look like revival had broken out. We need to put our faith in such a possibility.

“A small group of 20somethings in every local church in the UK would look like revival had broken out”

What do they want? One of the hallmarks of Generation Y is that they place high value on friendships. We therefore need to cultivate a relational mindset to engage an instinctively relational generation. That means both

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new wine | going deeper

creating Christ-centred communities and bringing Christ to other-centred communities where friendships and shared activity are already happening. With God’s compassionate purpose motivating us we make ourselves available to meet some of humanity’s deepest needs around being known, accepted and valued, and reflecting something of what it is to be made in the image of a communal God. The UK pub culture is something churches are starting to adopt. One blogger from a US Christian background made an interesting observation about her weekly pub visit:

“We need not only the old and young in the same meetings, but contexts where relationships can be developed and stories and perspectives shared”

‘I think the thing that surprised me the most was how contrary to the rather unfair stereotype of English emotional disconnection this whole way of life is. This is much more relational than many of my fellow Americans ever get. In the case of my buddy Pete and his mates, and with many others over here, they have had all sorts of life conversations in their little local pub. It’s sharing all of life…one pint at a time. One could maintain a certain superficiality for a while, but you couldn’t keep it up forever. With a lifestyle like this eventually people become…connected for a very long time, and all by simple proximity.’ The idea for a local church adopting a local pub is not new but its implementation might just be the start of a building campaign among unchurched young adults.

How to respond I believe the unique pressures Christian 20-somethings face are best supported through being rooted in local church relationships. There are three common areas that need addressing personally, practically and theologically. Firstly, the new challenges faced often appear to be all consuming. Perspective is needed and for eyes and heads to be lifted up and fixed on a more distant Kingdom goal. Secondly, faith is proved through difficulty and uncertainty. Reassurance by the lorry load is required to help stay the course. Thirdly, disappointments can rob hope and vision, and encouragement enables people to persevere. These three areas often reveal where we place our identity, self worth and significance.

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Our practical response is to become more mindful of the questions, challenges and battles this age group are facing and to stand with them. There are practical steps that each one of us can outwork. Who do we know in this age group? What can we do to better support and pray for those people? Where have we encountered God’s grace and what part of our story can we share with them? The 20s is a decade of transition to adulthood and there are often a number of different rights of passage, one of which is leaving home for the first time. For those going off to university there is a clear need for preparation, resourcing and sending to be part of a new community and mission field. Studentlinkup.org is one such pathway that can help sending churches and school leavers with this transition. Our prophetic response is to work hard at the connectedness between generations. The gap between old and young is alarmingly large, yet the high value the church places on all people means we should be best placed to model something different. We need not only the old and young in the same meetings, but contexts where relationships can be developed and stories and perspectives shared. Our missional response is about taking many more risks to reach this generation, releasing and commissioning young adult leaders more readily and sending them out in twos and small groups. The kingdom of Heaven will be demonstrated through the community of heaven and none more so when we begin to engage in the culture that 18 to 30s inhabit. An example is Club Mission, which was started two years ago by a Christian girl looking out for drunk and distressed female students. It became recognised by the Student Union authorities and doors began to open. Paul (20) is now heading up the project: ‘If you haven’t been, Loughborough Student Union building is basically a massive nightclub. It hosts a number of big gigs every year as well as huge student nights multiple times during the week. Last year, Club Mission was so well received it became an official part of the Student Union, working alongside the security staff. We’ve been given a room to chat to people, another one to pray in as well as having a mobile prayer team walking around the venue.’ The Club Mission team are now ministering to over 100 students a week thanks to one girl who gave up her Friday night. However, what is at stake is more than local churches balancing age groups, it is the ongoing evangelisation of this nation and the releasing of future Christian leaders in the church and society. I believe God asks you and the church you are part of, to pray and participate in this Kingdom-building programme.

Rich Wilson is the National Team Leader for Fusion and is responsible for strategy that builds partnership with students, churches and other organisations. Rich is also involved in the leadership of Open Heaven Church.

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new wine | going deeper

“What is at stake is more than local churches balancing age groups, it is the ongoing evangelisation of this nation and the releasing of future Christian leaders�

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new wine | going deeper

27 February 2010 Westminster Central Hall, London With Debra Green (City Links) and Mike Pilavachi (Soul Survivor, Watford).

6 March 2010 International Conference Centre, Harrogate With Deborah Reed (Bethel Church California).

Do you have a longing to bring God’s love into the world around you? To see lives changed by the transforming power of his Spirit? Come and be inspired, challenged and encouraged!

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new wine | life stuff

Why study at Westminster Theological Centre (WTC)? Jenny Flannagan explains more about her decision I signed up to study at WTC because I was fairly sure I didn’t want to be a vicar. In many contexts, that decision didn’t really leave me with anywhere to go. I think I’m a leader and God put that inside me. But I want to lead in contexts where being branded a professional Christian isn’t going to help. And WTC was equally committed to training leaders for ordination, and not for ordination. I was quite fussy when looking for somewhere to study. The reasons? I didn’t want to stop the rest of my life to keep learning. In addition, I had a fairly academic background and wanted somewhere that would challenge and engage me. My church background was charismatic (Pentecostal in my teenage years) and I wanted that to be celebrated and examined. I’d heard a lot of wacky theology growing up (alongside some great stuff) and I was restless to find some more plausible thinking. And then there was the fact I worked for Tearfund, and was understanding more deeply how God’s kingdom transforms every dimension of life, not just some spiritual part. I wanted to wrestle with the big story of the Bible, what God had to say (and what he’d said in the past) about his world and what he wanted for it. I wanted to know what that meant in the face of gross economic inequality, child poverty, AIDS, global warming and countless other injustices. WTC appealed to me because they never wanted to separate studying from the rest of life, or my brain from the rest of me.

Connecting lives

Jenny Flannagan works for Tearfund and the Micah Network, co-ordinating the Integral Mission Initiative.

It’s not that I’ve found answers to all my questions, but I’ve been able to raise them all. Whenever we met to study we would wait on God and listen to him. Lessons could be disrupted when God seemed to have another agenda. The implications of what we were learning from the Bible were talked about; we couldn’t help but make the connections with our own lives. I ended up studying at the same time as a friend and I were developing the Just People course at work (Just People is a six-week interactive course for churches looking at compassion and justice). It was brilliant to be pushing the boundaries of what I knew and understood. And to discover how God’s justice and compassion for the whole of creation flows through the whole Bible, while writing a course for churches to enable them to experience some of that same journey.

Open to the Spirit I’ve done modules on various parts of the Old and New Testament, learnt Greek and Hebrew (at a basic level!) and most recently taken a missiology module, which for me felt like coming home. Lecturer Bob Ekblad knitted together cogent, dynamic theology with his experiences from living in Honduras and then working in Skagit county jail in Washington State. In the same breath, among other things, he spoke about the ministry of Jesus, local political advocacy and miraculous healing. WTC is where I’ve encountered theology that isn’t anaemic. It’s not all about words and theories, and neither is it all about experiences, but it is fixated on Jesus, open to the Spirit, astute and attuned to the times, ferociously compassionate, responsible, responsive, deeply subversive… and it lets me question everything. If you are interested in learning more about WTC visit www.nwtp.org.uk

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new wine | real people

Sharing Christ on Campus Having graduated from the University of Nottingham in July this year, Graham Rooke tells us more about sharing his faith with other students What did you enjoy most about your course? I enjoyed having a strong knowledge that I was there because God had called me to take Management Studies; he had a plan for me in Nottingham. Another thing I enjoyed was the breadth of my course. It allowed me to gain knowledge in a whole range of issues from finance, economics and strategy to entrepreneurship, HR and marketing.

How did you put your faith into practice? In the first few weeks, ‘putting faith into practice’ meant being up front with people that I was a Christian. As time passed it meant actively getting involved with church ministries as well as meeting with Christian friends to pray, study the Bible and encourage each other. It also meant being radically different in the way I talked about people and approached friendships, relationships, alcohol, drugs, pornography and other things that were ‘normal’. It meant talking to the person my friends would run away from, leaving the room when friends watched pornography and making a commitment not to drink excessively or take drugs. Furthermore I always found the Business School quite a competitive environment so another place for me to ‘put faith into practice’ was in my approach to my studies and the future. Instead of moaning about how much work we had to do, I would try to remember that God had called me to that course, be joyful in that and try to honour him with my work. Whereas everyone around me was stressing about the recession and graduate unemployment, I could try and relax and hopefully be in a position to explain why.

Did you find opportunities to share the gospel? One of my best moments was giving out free water and pizza to those returning from nightclubs, and hearing members of my group discussing how amazing grace is with their non-Christian friends… at 2am in the morning. Another highlight was in my second year. My neighbour was an Iranian student who was fascinated with the gospel. He would knock on my door every time he had a new question and it was great to help bring his thoughts back to Jesus. He noticed the difference in my life to the average university student and hopefully that is something that pointed him towards Jesus.

What advice can you give people starting university this year? Find a good church. This may require patience and it may take a few weeks, months even, but it is worth establishing where God wants you to settle.

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Churches and CUs can be great for making friends. I had a number of older Christian friends who gave me advice on how they dealt with situations regarding alcohol, making friends, loneliness etc. One thing I wasn’t prepared for is how much free time I had. If you know you won’t have that much contact time on your course, it is worth considering how you want to spend that time. Establishing the balance between the demands of your course, friends, sports, music, church and CU activities, a balance that seeks to glorify God, is something I wish I had settled on earlier.

What’s next for you? I am off to Melbourne, Australia with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) to do their six-month-long Discipleship Training School (DTS). This involves three months of Bible teaching and then three months of outreach. The DTS I am doing will involve various youth work projects in Melbourne and other Australian cities, followed by youth work in another different country.

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new wine | real people Next April I expect to return to the UK and job hunt. I am eager to enter Human Resources so will look for full-time jobs, further internship opportunities to boost my CV and graduate schemes. Though I have felt God saying I don’t need to plan too much. Ultimately I will keep praying and trusting God will lead me to where he wants me.

Why did you decide to do discipleship training? I always thought I would do a gap year after university as a way of rewarding myself for getting through everything! And I wanted to do a discipleship year whether it be with YWAM, the New Wine Training Partnership, a Christian charity or a local church. I met a lot of students who had done a DTS with YWAM in their gap years before university and I was able to see how the things they learnt about God had made a difference in their lives. It was this that convinced me to apply for a YWAM course.

Why did you choose Australia as part of your course? Because I am not fluent enough in a second language to do a DTS in a non-English speaking country, and because I wanted to get away to focus on God, places like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa became options. As I looked through the options, the one that settled on my heart was Melbourne. I felt a real peace about going there. My time in Australia will give me time to listen to what God is saying about next April when I am due to return to the UK. The fact that God has been faithful to me during my time at university helps me trust in him when the future is unknown!

We’reallooking for a i c e sp

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We’re looking for a graduate eager to produce their best work, with a determination to succeed and an enthusiasm for being part of a team. Of course, your academic ability will be very important to us, you’ll need to have a 2.1 preferably in either maths or science and at least 300-360 UCAS tariff points. Naturally you will be looking for a rewarding career and your starting salary will depend on your qualifications - we’re thinking in terms of £20k, to be reviewed twice a year throughout your training contract. External and in-house training will also be provided to qualify you for ICAEW membership. The partners at JCS are practising Christians and you’ll be joining a team of over 30 accountants and support staff with a broad client base in London and the South East of England.

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Registered to carry on audit work and regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

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new wine | real people

more than music Worship leader, songwriter and speaker David Ruis finds that worship is a journey of faith. Kirsty Wilkins caught up with him at the Central and South West Summer Conference to find out more It could be said that worship is all about music. After all, it’s a significant aspect. With one arm slung over the back of his chair, David Ruis explains in his easy-going manner that music is ‘part of the expression of church’. He uses two Bible verses as examples: ‘If you’re filled with the Spirit, you sing’ (Ephesians 5:19). And ‘...you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God’ (Colossians 3:16). Yet it has to go beyond that, beyond the music. It’s how you live every day ‘that brings integrity to a song.’ Worship is where there is spirit and truth as seen in John 4:24: ‘God is spirit and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.’ David Ruis, perhaps best known for his songwriting, co-led worship at the Central and South West conference this year. He describes his role as more of a facilitator or guide, establishing ‘an atmosphere to encounter God.’ And there’s a balance between creating a professional experience and one that is meaningful. It depends on your goal: ‘Is it to be excellent and create a great presentation? Or to be worship-orientated and encounter God?’ One element doesn’t need to contradict another; we can firstly be God-centred, and while doing that, be professional.

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More than a meeting One of the most significant lessons David has learnt is that worship is a journey of faith. Particularly in the Western environment, he explains that ‘church has become a one-off, once-a-week meeting.’ At the moment, he is planting a church in Hollywood and finds that, in such an appearance-driven culture, attendees have become disengaged. ‘People want a church where they attend the meeting, then go home and get on with their lives.’ But, he continues, ‘that’s not what the guts of church is, not my understanding of the kingdom of God.’ Going to church only on Sundays ‘can be effective, but does it create a sense of journey? No.’ It’s when people share their lives with each other, in a community, that’s where ‘worship is healthiest.’ It’s this sense of journey that helps shape an effective worship leader. Cultivating community, trust and friendship among a team means that members can invest in each other’s lives and these aspects separate performance from worship. ‘Even though you may play with excellence, it won’t feel like a performance,’ he says. It also separates a presentation from the heart of worship. ‘You can’t get that heart without cultivating it behind the scenes, both within your personal life as well as the worship community.’ In addition, a sense of ownership, a feeling that this is my

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new wine | real people

“We’re creating an understanding that we’re on a journey together, not just putting together a song list” Instruments and relationships church, creates an understanding of ‘which songs will best communicate where our hearts are, what God is saying to us and what we need to say back to him. We’re creating an understanding that we’re on a journey together, not just putting together a song list.’ Equipping and teaching is also essential for worship leaders to be effective, as well as the space to experiment and take risks. ‘We should create space to try things that may not work so we know what will work, for example have a worship night once a month where people can learn, talk and explore. Maybe the pastor could do a series on worship, as equipping people in worship should become part of the church if we want it to be cultivated.’ When asked what David enjoys most as a worship leader, he explains it’s ‘when we draw near to God, he draws near to us and it’s evident. There’s no great outward show, but you know you’ve encountered God together.’ David Ruis helps oversee the Vineyard communities in Nepal and India and is engaged in several justice initiatives, both domestic and international. His deep passion is to see the church awakened to the theological and practical realities of the fusion of worship and justice.

When leading worship in Venue One during the evening celebrations, David uses some unusual instruments, including clapsticks from Australia, a type of shell from India and bagpipes. Partly he ‘just enjoys the creativity of it’, but it’s also do with the fact the instruments represent a relationship he has formed. The instruments have been given to him by different people from the countries he’s travelled to. While also providing a unique sound, he tries, ‘if it’s appropriate, to give a voice to some things that don’t normally have a voice in the context of worship.’ After all, justice concerns are close to David’s heart. ‘A huge component of the integrity of music, sound and liturgy is how we deal with the poor and issues of justice,’ he says.

David Ruis helps oversee the Vineyard communities in Nepal and India and is engaged in several justice initiatives, both domestic and international. His deep passion is to see the church awakened to the theological and practical realities of the fusion of worship and justice.

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new wine | real life

Hope and a future What are some of the issues those living in Peru are facing? Jonathan Spencer explains how Tearfund is helping people help themselves ‘The price of a woman was the same as a chicken’, says Victoria, sitting in the camp in the shadow of the Andes. She is explaining the Quechuan culture’s arranged marriage system, and how couples marry very young. With a betrothal agreed, a young woman is often locked in her parents’ house to prevent her from escaping. Husbands frequently leave and it is common for young men from other villages to steal young girls, take them back to their village and marry them. Many are later abandoned. Victoria was born on the side of a nearby mountain. Losing her husband 10 years ago, she was left to raise her two children on her own. She felt very lonely, crying out to God for support. Today, she marvels at how the Lord’s faithfulness has brought her to the place she now finds herself. Victoria has a passion for gender issues. Through her theological training and engagement in regional politics, she understands the value of women to God, even though they do not have the same value in Peru. With God’s help, she set up Shalom with her husband in 1992 to help the poor and to host church leaders from the UK. Taking comfort from the Bible, and how God uses widows and the poor for his purposes, Victoria believes God has strengthened her character and temperament to be able to deal with the suffering in her life. ‘I am happy to seek God with everything I have’, she says. ‘What I want is for my children to run the race more than I have done. My children mean so much to me and I have many plans for them. I ask God for strength to run Shalom, and my family are a real support to me.’

Connecting people Tearfund works with people like Victoria and through church-based organisations such as her company Shalom, where inspirational resilience and vision meet resolute courage and determination to work with what God provides in the community he puts us in. Tearfund is seeing transformation through churches and partner agencies, mobilising volunteers to fight poverty and injustice. It’s a biblical mandate to fight poverty and injustice, but as thousands of churches engage with Tearfund to share their vision, to step up and release millions from poverty, it’s the spiritual transformation that brings living hope and purpose to mission. Integral mission, Tearfund calls it meeting practical, social and spiritual needs. And it’s a fractured world that needs it. New Wine shares the vision: in hearts and minds, with the young and the old, in practice and spirit, through faith and with Christ. They share the energy to see nations changed and lives transformed by Christians, individuals and whole churches, locally and globally, living out the word of God.

Helping those in need Peruvian farmer Armando Diaz says the land used to produce far more than it does today. His family have cultivated fields near Challhuani for generations but now the nutrients in the soil have eroded away. ‘Fertilizers are expensive and they make the land sick’, he says. ‘And the winters are now much shorter, with hotter and drier summers. It all leads to less yield from the land.’ 26

Armando had a repeating vision after becoming a Christian. He was carrying a lamp giving off intense light. When pressure from his wife’s parents, who disliked him being a Christian, stopped Armando going to church, he turned to the alcohol that had consumed his earlier life. ‘Everything started to go wrong’, says his wife Clara, who felt this was because they had ‘stopped loving God.’ One day Armando saw the same vision of the lamp. Leaving his sheep he went to church. Later he returned to find them exactly where he had left them. At that point he understood the dream – the lamp leading, protecting him and guiding him, watching over his family and work. Clara was healed from her terrible pains and the farm was soon back on its feet. Committed to the local church, Armando works among the widows and single mothers, helping them with their needs. Each year he also plants an early crop so that it harvests early, providing food for his poor neighbours. ‘I’m committed to bringing the first fruits of the land to God, to the poor people in need, regardless of faith’, he says.

“Tearfund is seeing transformation through churches and partner agencies, mobilising volunteers to fight poverty and injustice.” Transforming the nation Pastor Sergio Perez, who started a church in his home 20 years ago, says ‘Peru is very broken. My passion is to see people’s faith transform our nation.’ He explains the church has a vision to change Peru materially and spiritually. Pastor Sergio received a grant in 2003 from Shalom, initially responding to a severe earthquake in the region. Shalom also funded the beginnings of a church building, entirely constructed by its members and volunteers. Now with a young congregation of over 100 there are plans to launch a Christian radio station and with many rooms over several earthquakeresistant floors, there’s plenty of space for families that need shelter. As another pastor added, ‘Shalom begins and the church continues.’

Information about overseas trips connecting UK church leaders and churches with integral mission projects is available at www.tearfund.org/connected or by emailing connectedchurch@tearfund.org

Jonathan Spencer is part of Tearfund’s Media Team, focussing on communicating the role of the local and global church in overseas relief and development.

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new wine | real life

View from Challhuani, Peru

Photos credited to Polly Huges/Tearfund

Shalom works in the slums of Lima

John Coles leads prayer for Pastor Sergio Perez 27

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New Era Dawns for Youth Music

The UK’s leading Christian concert orchestra & choir for under 26’s New OneSound website goes live on 1st November!

www.onesound.org.uk

Previously known as the MAYC Orchestra & Singers, OneSound have started a journey which will welcome all young people to experience Christian music making at the highest standard. Having made their name performing at the Royal Albert Hall, and recording with Matt Redman, the decision to become an ecumenical organisation is an exciting one, as Artistic Director Matt Beckingham explains. “Becoming ecumenical means we can celebrate with more young people the exceptional musical gifts God has given them, and share these gifts with a wider audience across the country. We pray that our love for Jesus shines through in all we do, and that this may impact on the lives of both the members and those who come to see us�.

Such a move is widely welcomed, but what difference will this actually make on the future of the ensemble? “OneSound’s journey is now much clearer,â€? says Trustee, Morven Adey. “With events booked in Cathedrals in the South through to The Sage concert hall in the North, the vision to bring OneSound’s passion for ‘making music with a purpose’ to more people is becoming a reality. As OneSound receives no central funding, we are truly blessed by individual givers who make all this possibleâ€?. For information on where they are appearing, how to join, or to ďŹ nd out more, OneSound is launching a new website on 1st November. www.onesound.org.uk O&S Music. (incorporating OneSound) Registered Charity No. 1121823

Discover D i over the isc t e cconnections th onnections ti bbetween... ettween... e Judaism J udaism and Christianity...Israel Christianity y...I . srael and the Church Church 10 x 1-hour 1 1-hour B Bible-based ible-based tteaching eachiing sessions on 5 D DVDs VDs with accompanying accompanying LLeader’s eader’s and and Student Guides What users and d group leaders are saying abou aboutt the Kesher Course... ‘My wife and I have ha ave used the Kesher materials many times times in a range of different different settings. We We have found it invaluable invaluablle in teaching Christians about the Jewish Jew wish roots roots of their faith and God’ss heartt for the Jewish people. It is a gift from frroom God and always moves those thhose who follow the Course.’ Robin Aldridge, CEO CE EO - The Church’ Church’s ’s Ministry to Jewish People ‘I commend the Kesher K Course wholeheartedly wholeheartedly and without wiithout reservation. reservation. I know of no otherr course that intr introduces oduces people peeople to the rreal eal (historical) Jesus. Jesus Kesher Kessher is both intellectually stimulating aand nd easy to follow. follow w. We We teach teacch Kesher regularly regularly in various venues on the Isle of Wight. Wight. i By opening our minds m to to the Jewish roots roots of Christianity, Christianityy, God is using Kesher inn our own church church and on the Isle of Wight, Wight, i rrenew eenew faith and rrevive evive the chur church.’ rcch.’ Rev Rev. v. Dr Dr. r. Peter Pimentel Pimen ntel - Vicar Viicar of St. Paul’s Paul’’s Barton, Isle off Wight Wight i ‘When we undertook underrtook to host a Kesher Course at ourr church, church, we, the Stewards Stewards were werre not sure surre of from the rresponse, esponse, fr om m not only our church church but also our Circuit. C cuit. We Cir We need not have worried as we w were were overwhelmed: 83 people from from 23 churches churches attended. We We were werre both challenged and encouragedd to look at Scripture Scripturre through throu ugh fresh fresh eyes. From From it has grown grown a wonderful woonderful fellowship with Christians from from m other Study. denominations too meet together in Bible Study y. It has totally t transformed people’ss understanding understannding of the Bible and the roots roots of our faith.’ Walker Steward, Halesowen David W aalker - Church Steward d, Providence Methodist Church, Hal lesowen ‘The The Kesher Cou Course urse has been an eye eyeeye-opener opener for all of us. us Understanding our Hebr Hebrew reew rroots o oots has faith immensely. has deepened our fai ith and enriched us immensely y. Jesus is revealed revealed to us in a new light and this t inspired inspir reed us in ourr worship and love for Him.’ 5HY 6WHSKHQ 7DOERW 3UD\HU 'HYHORSPHQW 2IÂżFHU (DVWERXUQH 3UD\HU &HQWUH 5HY Y 6WHSKHQ 7 7DOERW 3UD\HU 'HY D YHORSPHQW 2IÂżFHUU (DVWERXUQH 3UD\HU U &HQWUH After attending a Kesher Course, I felt felt like an orphan orphaan being connected to my Family Roots, Roots, my prodigal coming from inheritance. Like the pr roodigal son coming home, my heart hea art leaping with joy...like joyy...like . from a black blinding rroom ooom into blindin ng light. Like being born again...again. Hallelujah! leader Nevill Smith - Church lea ader and Christian businessman, East Sussex

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she’s just heard...

Inspiring, uplifting, rejoicing, radio. With music, news, debate, prayer, testimony and the best in Christian programming, we’re a station like no other.

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new wine | life stuff

Long Lazy Sundays The Sabbath is one day in the week where we can relax, unwind and spend time with the Lord, explains Michele Guinness

Typical minister’s spouse, I have never really enjoyed Sundays. For anyone involved in making worship happen, it can seem more like hard work than Sabbath rest. My husband Peter has a day off on Fridays and for years I worked full-time and missed it. Saturday, inevitably, became a doeverything-you-can’t-do-the-rest-of-the-week day. Result? No proper day off or Sabbath.

‘If it’s good enough for God, it’s good enough for us,’ said Archbishop Henry Orombe at the New Wine Leadership Conference. He was talking about Sabbath. What is it about that particular issue that fills us with such a mixture of joy and guilt? We want it so badly, but we don’t always take it.

I didn’t really appreciate what I was missing until we took a three-month sabbatical in France, where we had just bought a retirement house. Peter insisted on making Sunday a Sabbath even before we managed to locate a church. I resented it. Isn’t every day a Sabbath on your sabbatical? Typical male, I thought, copping out of doing the vital DIY. Long, lazy Sundays? He was becoming too French! In fact, that first Sunday turned out to be a glorious day and as we biked through the peaceful countryside, I begin to understand what a gift from God Sabbath is. In Hebraic tradition it’s one day a week with no buying or selling, when our employer doesn’t own us, and we don’t own our employees. It’s a picture of the new heaven and earth where all the hierarchies of power and wealth, all the inequalities, exploitations and injustices of society, and all the stress of the workplace is gone forever. A taste of heaven? That was exactly how it felt. By the end of the day I was totally revitalised, especially after a time of worship in front of a real log fire with a glass of Pineau de Charente. If only every day could be Sunday.

Having married time The first use of the word ‘holy’ in the Bible is in Genesis 2:3, and it’s not for a physical space, or for a building or even for a person, but for a block of time. On the seventh day God shouts triumphantly, ‘It is finished!’, and rests. Sabbath is the crown of creation, the ultimate gift to the people he has made with such love. In effect he says, ‘Look at what I’ve made for you. Now let’s enjoy it together.’ Sabbath, of course, is also one of the ten instructions for living given to his people at Sinai. ‘Will you take me to be your lawful God?’ he asks his people. ‘We will’, they reply (Exodus 19:5). It sounds like a marriage, with the Ten Commandments as the contract. The wedding ring, the seal of their commitment, is Sabbath. Then comes seventeen chapters of tabernacle building. What is that about? God wants to get as close as he can to the people loves. But one thing takes priority over building the tabernacle: Sabbath. ‘Make me a sanctuary, not just in space – but in time. Your precious time. Make me a sanctuary in you. Then we’ll be really close.’ We’re doing a marriage enrichment course in our church and every Sunday I hear couples nudging each other and asking, ‘Have you had your married time this week?’ The failure of the Jewish people to keep the Sabbath broke God’s heart. Maybe God whispers to us, ‘Are we getting any married time this week? A chance just to relax and be together? Is one day in seven really too much to ask?’

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“Typical male, I thought, copping out of doing the vital DIY. Long, lazy Sundays? He was becoming too French!”

In Isaiah 58:13-14 (paraphrased from The Message), he says to his beloved longingly: ‘If you walk with me on the Sabbath and don’t use it for personal reasons, if you welcome it with joy, and treat it as a special celebration, if you honour it by refusing “business as usual”, making money and running here and there, then you’ll be free to enjoy your God. And I’ll make you ride high and soar above all the stresses of the other six days. I’ll make you feast on your inheritance as my children.’

Slaves to busyness It often feels as if the world, or even the church, has us by the throat. But we do not need to work seven days a week. Workaholism, not work, is one of the curses of our society. ‘Human freedom is expressed as much in the ability to stop work as in the ability to work’, said the Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks. We don’t have to be slaves to our busyness. A dedicated Sabbath is a chance to check out what drives us. Who is master of our lives: God or our work? If we can’t let go of the urge for achievement one day in seven, we are seriously and dangerously out of emotional and spiritual kilter. Jewish slaves always refused work on the Sabbath on pain of death. The Romans were convinced they would work less, but in fact, they achieved more in six days than the Gentiles did in seven. Our government rejected the Keep Sunday Special campaign because, business chiefs argued, they needed Sunday trading to be successful. Mrs Thatcher conceded the point. But what did it achieve? A loss of a precious family and community day the French have managed to preserve and enjoy. When I was a child, Friday evenings were our family night, the one night I could guarantee my parents wouldn’t go out. We had the Kiddush service, bread and wine, a favourite meal, and then played Monopoly for the rest of the evening. One Jewish woman said, ‘Friday evening comes, the table is laid, the food is ready, everyone dresses and something magical descends upon the house. The atmosphere is completely different. It is a day when I am transported out of the mundane misery of everyday – it’s just washed away. As I light candles I unwind.’

A gift to be enjoyed Luke tells us Jesus’ normal practice was to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. It was sabbatarianism he rejected – the deadly, joyless day full of ‘don’ts’ and ‘must nots’ that the Pharisees had made it. Sabbath is a gift to be enjoyed, not a drag to be endured. It is certainly not a covenant obligation any more. But it is an opportunity. We all need one special, different, ‘holy’ day, whether it’s Sunday or another day in the week. One day for lunch with friends, walks and books. And no emails. And perhaps it should start the previous evening with bread and wine, good food, extended family and a sense of his presence. It’s only when we stop we hear God’s still, small voice whispering words of love, encouragement and refreshment. ‘Sabbath is one of those phenomena’, wrote Rabbi Sacks, ‘incomprehensible from outside that you have to live in order to understand, a still point in the turning world.’

For resources, including a family Sabbath service that combines Jewish, Christian and Celtic themes, see ‘The Heavenly Party’ by Michele Guinness.

Michele Guinness worked for many years in TV and radio before she became Head of Communications for the NHS in Cumbria and Lancashire. She left to concentrate on speaking and writing. Her latest book, ‘Autumn Leave – A Season in France’, was released in July 2009.

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The only way is up When New Wine North was first suggested, hearts were fired by the Spirit of God. Hosts Ian and Nadine Parkinson tell us how it all began

As we walked on stage at the Harrogate showground on 30 July 2005, and looked out over 2,000 expectant faces, something welled up within us. After three years of anticipation and planning, here we were launching a New Wine Summer Conference in the North, for the North. We knew that this was going to be something of incredible significance for the growth of the Kingdom in our region. For us, the journey had begun towards the end of the Shepton Mallet conferences in the summer of 2002. A large gathering of local church leaders had been invited by the New Wine leadership for a discussion of how New Wine might grow the summer conferences now that the two existing weeks were approaching capacity. It was suggested that New Wine consider launching a conference in the North, and instantly a buzz of excitement went around the room as many hearts were simultaneously fired by the Spirit of God. The notion gained momentum through the coming months. Dozens of northern church leaders responded to an invitation to meet with John Coles in early 2003 to discuss the possibilities further – it had clearly captured people’s imaginations. Passionate as we were about the prospect of a conference in the North, it came as something of a surprise to be invited to lead this new venture.

The countdown As we gathered with other northern leaders of New Wine churches, what became apparent was that, quite apart from the benefit a conference would bring, this was going to have a significant impact in terms of networking and connecting charismatic leaders across the North. It reinforced our identity, strengthened us in our ministry, and encouraged us as we sought to bring in the Kingdom, often in unpromising situations. A sense of teamwork began to develop across the North. God spoke prophetically, giving us pictures of the fire of his Spirit spreading out across the North from Harrogate, which was to be the location of the first New Wine North Summer Conference.

“God spoke prophetically, giving us pictures of the fire of his Spirit spreading out across the North” The summer of 2004 saw us saying farewell to Shepton Mallet. Hugely blessed and encouraged by the volume of prayer we received, by prophetic words brought and by the incredibly generous offering of £100,000 given to underwrite the northern conference, we began the year-long countdown to

Harrogate 20 05

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2006 Newark

Newark 2007

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Harrogate. It didn’t take long to work out that this was going to be a popular step forward for New Wine. Within six weeks of bookings opening, all 3,500 places were filled, at least 50 per cent of them taken by people who had never been to a New Wine Summer Conference before. Already we were having to think about how to create more space for 2006! Harrogate 2005 was terrific. Smaller numbers meant a greater sense of intimacy. The shortage of larger churches in the region meant that the teams, without which the summer conferences cannot run, were drawn from a much wider range of churches. Many of us were operating in unknown territory well beyond our comfort zones, and God blessed us for it. One slightly odd dimension to the week was the knowledge that we would not be returning the following year. The reality was that Harrogate was not set up to enable us to expand and, with 3,500 on site, every venue was full.

Relocation & regionalisation Just weeks before the 2005 conference we agreed a deal with the Newark showground for 2006. The news that we were moving 60 miles south was not initially welcomed, with many quick to point out that Newark wasn’t actually in the North. We had explored many sites in the North, none of which were remotely suitable. Newark had historically been described as ‘The Gateway to the North’, so we took encouragement from this, longing for God to use the conference as a spiritual gateway into the heart of the North. With a capacity of 9,000, infinitely better buildings and facilities, and staff that were falling over backwards to welcome us, it seemed as if God had prepared a place for us in Newark. Moreover, it would cost significantly less than Harrogate, a big consideration when we initially had to run at a loss. The real benefit became more obvious a couple of years down the line, when our region grew and the conference became New Wine North and East.

7

New ark 200 8

If the staff were welcoming to us at Newark, the weather was not! Our first evening celebration had to be cancelled when a tropical storm struck out the power for several hours. Nevertheless, more than 5,000 people enjoyed a superb week as we saw God do wonderful things among us. Around the same number returned the following year for what will always be remembered as ‘the wet week’. Several weeks of persistent rain before the conference had left the water table extraordinarily high, such that rain on the arrival day meant that parts of the site were flooded, leaving us in danger of losing around 30 per cent of the campable area. Perhaps it was the sheer determination to battle the elements and to get stuck in that led to us seeing so much happen in so many lives. ‘We’re not here for the weather but for God’, said one delegate as she struggled to put up her tent in the middle of yet another heavy shower. Indeed, one of the hallmarks of the Newark conferences has been the incredible levels of spiritual hunger demonstrated year on year. There were evenings this summer when there seemed to be more people filling the aisles for ministry then there were left in seats.

A new identity These last two years have seen the conference, in a sense, ‘coming of age’. We have grown numerically – with around 6,500 people and more than 500 churches represented this year – and it is thrilling to hear stories of the impact that the conference has had on the life of local churches. ‘Things will never be the same again’, is the joyful and regularly repeated refrain. But most significantly, the conference has developed a distinct identity and feel. The North is a self-consciously definable area, as is the East. It has its own culture and distinctive feel – you need your passport stamping at Watford Gap! The Church is, by and large, less well developed and the huge urban expanses often include areas of spiritual wilderness (six of the nine national centres of greatest deprivation lie within the Newark

09 k 20 33 r a w Ne

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new wine | real life

conference catchment area). From the outset, the conference has focused on resourcing the church in very specific areas, and we have sought to be intentional in tackling some of the major issues confronting churches and their leaders. Our first significant initiative was to run a School of Leadership: five morning sessions for leaders seeking to lead their church into renewal and mission, including teaching, group time and prayer from those experienced in Holy Spirit ministry. In its first year, the school was booked up within a couple of days of being advertised. It has become an annual fixture and, for some, the most significant time of equipping for ministry they have ever experienced.

“We look for the re-evangelisation of our nation and the transformation of some of the most deprived communities” Building on the success of the leadership school, this year saw the launch of our School of Prophetic Ministry. This was an attempt to further equip those who had some experience in the prophetic and who were recognised as such by their own church leader. Deeper teaching on growing in the prophetic was accompanied by wider ministry experience, culminating in an afternoon on the streets of Mansfield ‘Treasure Hunting’ for people whom God had previously identified to the group through prophetic insight. We’ll certainly have a rush on places for this school next year, though with the launch of a School of Evangelism in 2010, people might just be spoiled for choice.

Growth & diversity As the conference has grown we have drawn in more churches and people from inner city and council estate areas who have not been able to engage naturally with some of the teaching styles. Partly in an attempt to offer Bible teaching in a more accessible style, and partly to give a higher profile to urban mission and ministry, we launched our urban stream, EmPower, in 2008. God has gifted us with a wonderful partnership with The Message Trust, who have committed to resourcing us with teaching, worship, drama and other styles of ministry. We hadn’t realised how popular it would be and had to turn hundreds away each day. Even with our expanded venue this summer, we were uncomfortably full so are planning to grow and develop this further next year. Given the effectiveness of The Message Trust’s Eden projects in impacting some of the toughest estates in Manchester, we are partnering with them in seeking to launch a series of projects throughout our northern cities. A massive offering in 2008 has made it possible to develop the Eden network nationally, launch regional hubs in Sheffield, and start work in the Leeds/Bradford area and further north in Newcastle. We are longing to see more people envisioned through urban mission and released to serve on these new Eden teams as we look for the re-evangelisation of our nation and the transformation of some of the most deprived communities. An offering was taken in 2007 that enabled us to start a bursary fund to enable churches from the New Wine Urban Priority Area (UPA) network to offer a limited number of subsidised places to those in their churches who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to come. A highlight of last year’s conference was to hear of one such family who all came to Christ during the week!

34

eam r t S n Urba 9 0 0 2 wer EmPo

A dream come true Over the last five years it has been thrilling to see what we dreamed of begin to come to pass: a deeper sense of identity, a greater sense of belonging and a greater confidence in living as the people of God. And we trust that this is just the beginning of what God has in store for us. Shortly before this year’s conference, God spoke to the northern leadership team through a Scripture which we believe describes his longing for the North and East. It is a promise that we are already realising, but which we are looking forward to seeing far more widely fulfilled:

When he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will shout and sing! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the desert. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived. Isaiah 35:5-7 (NLT)

May God bring it about!

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New W North & iEnae st

“The Urban Stream is brilliant. It provides great ideas for worship, is entertaining and challenging.” “I attended the Leadership School the first year and it was wonderful. It was good to share experiences and know that I was not alone, particularly when seeking to take a church into renewal.” “N&E has bought me together with like-minded leaders in my own area. This has been essential to my growth as a Christian and a leader in the Church.” “Having a summer conference in the North has meant the world to me. Apart from being more accessible than Shepton Mallet, it has a ‘local’ flavour which I think is very important to encouraging northern churches and it makes networking more realistic and meaningful.” “The Urban Stream addresses a massive need in both the Church and New Wine to connect with the real lives of many people who live and work in the inner city. The different teaching style and more direct worship engage those who can find the main morning meeting hard to follow. The unashamed call to mission and to identify with the issues of poverty, sex, abuse and addiction has given both leaders and members a place where they can both be understood and understand. The seminar stream has equipped and challenged people to make a difference in the areas where the majority of the UK population live, the inner cities.” “It was a great privilege to see over 150 people out on the streets of Mansfield spreading the good news of Jesus in our town. I think the willingness to engage with real people out on the streets was really exciting and speaks volumes about the commitment to the Kingdom that lies at the heart of New Wine.”

… ...is frie n dly, down t o earth, pack ed with pra ctical wisdom and overflowin g with j oy. Go d does so mu c h stuff there . Ian and Na d bring a ver y precious ‘family’ fee l to it. …... has a dis tinctively northern fe el. The ton e of the semina rs is direct and no-nonse ns e. There is a j ob to be done a nd Newark is sues not only th e call to do it but also the ca ll for intim a c y with the Fa ther to mak e our mission eff ective and l o ving. The feel ar ound the sit e is one of frie ndliness an d northern h umour. …... feels lik e being par t of a family. It m ay be a lar g e and exte nded fa mily, but it ’s a family non etheless.

EmPowe r 2009 Urban Stream

Ian and Nadine Parkinson host the North and East Summer Conference, and work together in leading All Saints’ Marple, Stockport. Their passion is to see every person equipped for mission and ministry and reaching their full potential as ambassadors of the Kingdom.

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new wine | going deeper

Does every church need a 20s ministry? Eric Pickerill takes a look at a few common questions and shares valuable lessons he has learnt.

Question 1: Why would we spend time, energy and

Question 2: Why does attracting and keeping this age

money reaching out to 20-somethings when they are the most difficult to reach?

group seem so elusive?

A blunt answer is that if we don’t reach 20-somethings, then we may as well go ahead and sign the death certificate for our churches. The reality is that people who are in their late teens and twenties are the future of the church, the next generation. If we don’t reach the next generation, then we haven’t been faithful to our call to proclaim God’s faithfulness ‘from generation to generation’ (Luke 1:50). If we are going to reach 20-somethings, then we need to see the value and the necessity of making room for them in our churches.

Many churches have tried but had no success. Too often we think the answer to reaching 20-somethings is a new programme such as a cool worship service or a college ministry. Starting a new programme will not necessarily work because effectiveness does not centre on techniques. There are a handful of lessons I have learned over the years that, with sustained practice and by grace, will result in growing communities of 20-somethings in our churches.

Fired up I remember the meeting like it was yesterday. Several friends, almost all in their 20s, sitting around a long table in one of our church’s meeting rooms, each answering the question, ‘What do you think we should name this thing?’ I don’t remember all the names offered, but Joshua House was to be the name of the new ‘baby’. We were referring to a group of 20-somethings at the Columbus Vineyard who were meeting Jesus through small gatherings. It all started when a college freshmen asked if he could create a place to invite his friends. After floundering for a few months, the group was finally sparked when one guy was introduced to Jesus. A flame was lit and others soon started catching on fire. On my first visit, I remember walking down into a cold, dingy basement where young people were scattered around the room. Within 20 minutes there was no place to sit – not on the floor, not even on the stairway leading up to the next level. The atmosphere was no longer cold and dingy, but hot and full of life as worship and prayer was pulsating through the room. This was definitely different to any other community I had been a part of. It was a place where people in their 20s were passionately following Jesus, and a place where it was actually cool to do so. Over the past 15 years that group grew to over fifty small groups around the city, and a gathering of 800 for worship on Sunday nights. It has provided the leadership for church planting teams across the US and as far as Amsterdam. I first attended that small group at 22, then started pastoring Joshua House at 26, which I led for 10 years. I grew up with Joshua House, and learned a lot about how a church can make room for 20-somethings. 36

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Lesson 1: Preach the radical, world-changing gospel of

Lesson 3: Invest in young leaders

the Kingdom

Even if you only have one young adult in your church, get together with him or her and tell them that you want to build a church that can reach their friends. Ask them questions and learn from their experience. Ask them to pray and dream about reaching their peers. Start a mentoring group for 20-somethings and, if possible, have the senior pastor of your church lead it. Let 20-somethings have a genuine role in the Sunday service, leading worship and preaching. You want to communicate that they are valued and that you want to partner with them, even as you lead them.

With all the ‘emergent’ conversation it is easy for a pastor to come away with the feeling that in order to reach 20-somethings, what is needed is a cool, relevant, low-threshold gospel. Over the years I have found that making the gospel relevant to the culture (contextualisation) is extremely important, and as a cross-cultural church planter in Amsterdam, I find contextualising the gospel all the more important. This does not mean that the gospel needs to be watered down. In fact, in my experience, 20-somethings are looking for just the opposite. In Paul’s evangelistic sermons in the book of Acts, he managed to do both. He preached an incredibly relevant gospel and at the same time called people to a radically counter-cultural life. In a world where everything is relativised, where rough edges are rubbed off to make consumption easy, young people are looking for something radical that makes a difference in their lives and in the world, even if there is a cost involved. Twenty-somethings desire far better than cool and culturally relevant. They want to be part of something counter-cultural and radical, part of a movement that really believes in and lives the gospel. They want to practise faith, sacrifice and prayer, and see people set free and changed as they follow the crucified God who is alive among us. For too long the gospel has been reduced to one of personal salvation: Jesus came to save me from my sins. It is true that Jesus came to save individuals from their sins, but he came for much more than that. He came to rescue and redeem all creation (Romans 8). If all creation is being restored to the glory of God and we are called to partner with God in his work, then we get to share with him in preaching the gospel, working for justice in the world, healing the sick, caring for the poor and breaking down racial barriers. This is the world-changing gospel that 20-somethings are hungry for.

Lesson 2: Create a church for outsiders

Lesson 4: Make room for a new community Give the green light for the 20-something leaders in your church to form and build a new community that will make room for their friends, not for people already in your church. Encourage the leaders to start small and, in the process, guide them through the ups and downs, giving them space, time, energy and resources. Don’t be afraid to lead and create boundaries for the new community. Give them vision for living in the tension of creating a place for 20-somethings, while at the same time staying completely involved in the life of the whole church.

Lesson 5: Give it away (and watch it grow) Once you have a 20-something leader or team who shares your church’s vision and values, and you have made room for a new community. Step back and let them lead. Give guidance, encourage them and stay involved behind the scenes, but let them own it, allowing them to take risks. Like building any other ministry in a church, creating a space for young adults in your community is not a science. There are no easy answers or solutions. Instead, it will take commitment to developing new relationships, vision for allowing new ways of doing things, and excitement and acceptance of new risks. But the church is meant to be reproduced into the next generation, which means we are meant to act as midwives as the gospel of Jesus is birthed and formed in a newer, and younger, community.

Twenty-somethings are outsiders to the church. The church’s true calling, its very existence, is for those on the outside. When you start having outsiders come into your church, celebrate it as the most important thing you can do as a community. Create a church where outsiders feel completely at home.

For the past 15 years, Eric Pickerill has been involved in the establishment and leadership of Joshua House, a thriving 20-something community at the Columbus, Ohio Vineyard Church. A year ago he left to plant a new church in Amsterdam.

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with: Brian McLaren Steve Chalke MBE Ruth Dearnley Jeff Lucas Nims Obunge MBE

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&$3 0RQH\ LV D WKUHH VHVVLRQ FRXUVH GHVLJQHG WR UHDFK \RXU FRPPXQLW\ LQ D SUDFWLFDO ZD\ ,W IHDWXUHV ZHHNO\ '9' SUHVHQWDWLRQV WR WHDFK SHRSOH EXGJHWLQJ VNLOOV DQG D VLPSOH FDVK EDVHG V\VWHP 7KLV FRXUVH KDV XQLYHUVDO DSSHDO DQG WUDLQHG YROXQWHHUV IURP \RXU FKXUFK ZLOO EH HPSRZHUHG WR KHOS DQ\RQH JHW PRUH LQ FRQWURO RI WKHLU ÀQDQFHV To find training dates near you and order your FREE info pack, visit www.capmoney.org or call 01274 760567.

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www.pilgrimhomes.org.uk

Care Team Leader/Deputy Manager for a Chris an Care Home

The job: A hands-on team leader, helping to care for 20 elderly residents at a purpose built, well managed care home in Great Finborough, Suffolk. The benefits: Excellent support from an experienced team and manager. Comprehensive Induction and training opportunities. (We are an Investor in People.) It’s a very satisfying role for someone who would like to invest their talents in caring especially for older members of the family of God. (Galatians 6:10). About us: Pilgrim Homes is a Christian charity founded in 1807 to serve older Christians. We are renowned for our loving care and Christian ethos. We not only pray for our residents, but for our staff, too. About you: Your will have supervisory experience in residential care, or a nursing qualification. You may have an NVQ at level 3 or above. And, of course, you will be a Christian, able to share the beliefs and values of our ‘pilgrims’.

Pilgrim Homes 175 Tower Bridge, London SE1 2AL Tel: 0300 303 1400 Fax: 0300 303 1415 Email: info@pilgrimhomes.org.uk www.pilgrimhomes.org.uk

Pilgrim Homes (formerly known as the Aged Pilgrims’ Friend Society) is a registered charity and a registered provider of social housing. Charity Number 242266 : RP A0822

www.pilgrimhomes.org.uk

Domiciliary Care Manager at Royd Court in Mirfield, West Yorkshire Designed to develop into an extra care housing scheme and opened in December 2006, Royd Court has grown into a friendly neighbourhood of older Christians living independently in their own flats, but sharing fellowship and receiving personal care when they need it. This position will appeal to Christians with appropriate skills and experience who want to invest their talents in caring especially for the family of God. (Galatians 6:10) This is an excellent opportunity to be involved in the development of our new domiciliary care service. It is a ‘hands on’ job, with with overall responsibility for management and development of the team. It involves good budget management and engaging with the Care Quality Commission and Kirklees Social Services. You will be a registered nurse or have management experience at senior level within a care environment, with good interpersonal and communications skills. A flat is available if required. Pilgrim Homes is an investor in People, in every sense of the word. Royd Court is also supported by a helpful, readily accessible head office team. If you feel that God is calling you to this role and would like to know more, please call: Pilgrim Homes 175 Tower Bridge, London SE1 2AL Tel: 0300 303 1400 Fax: 0300 303 1415 Email: info@pilgrimhomes.org.uk www.pilgrimhomes.org.uk Pilgrim Homes (formerly known as the Aged Pilgrims’ Friend Society) is a registered charity and a registered provider of social housing. Charity Number 242266 : RP A0822

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new wine | life stuff

Lost in wonder Summer music festivals are extremely popular in the UK. Are there any similarities between these events and Christianity? Jon Tearne looks at the evidence

It’s early July and there’s a smell of barbeques in the air. With the sun shining and cider flowing, 55,000 people flood Hyde Park in central London to watch Blur, one of the top British bands of the nineties. They are about to play their first gig in eight years. There is an atmosphere of freedom as the same people who would ordinarily sit in silence on the tube clamour to speak to strangers. I find myself in a conversation for half an hour with an enthusiastic music fan about what we should expect as the first song and the politics of wearing various bands’ t-shirts at gigs. I have friends who will build their whole year around four soaking wet days in a field in Hampshire, during which they may only see two bands play. They will then spend the rest of the year re-living those four days. Many people live for music in this way and speak much more passionately about it than politics, religion or the environment.

Love’s the greatest thing As front man Damon Albarn took the stage there was an explosion of cheers from the crowd. For the next hour and a half he had the complete attention of every person there. And the wonderful thing about bands who have been around for a while is that their fans know the songs by heart. The first tune, as with every other, had several thousand backing singers, myself included. They played a song called Tender, which has an anthem-like quality that seemed to unite the crowd the more we sang. ‘Come on, come on, come on. Get through it…love’s the greatest thing that we have.’ It was praise and worship but it was lost praise and worship. Albarn even brought the song down to a single acoustic guitar as the crowd continued to sing, ‘Lord I need to find someone who can heal my mind.’ The styles, arrangements and the focus on love were similar to that with which many of us have come to associate with charismatic worship sessions. The line ‘Love’s the greatest thing that we have’ is particularly reminiscent of 1 Corinthians 13.

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new wine | life stuff

But here’s the kicker. The line that follows this is, ‘I’m waiting for that feeling, I’m waiting for that feeling to come.’ It felt as if each person was singing of their desire for something more, something they could feel at the centre of their beings. People were literally crying out for more.

Still and silent The atmosphere of freedom was momentary. The next day the vast majority of those completely abandoned to the songs would have been back on the tube silent and still ‘waiting for that feeling to come.’ Everyone in Hyde Park wanted more; they just didn’t know of what.

“The music we find all around us in our culture is one of searching; it expresses uncertainty”

As I stood in the open air singing those words with 55,000 others I couldn’t help but feel the profundity of what it means for the whole of humanity to be made in the image of God. It challenged me about my desire to see all people really experience the power of the Holy Spirit and come to find a focus for their worship – the God who is love. As John Coles made clear at the summer conferences this year, Jesus is for ‘everyone, everywhere.’

More than a feeling The music we find all around us in our culture is one of searching; it expresses uncertainty. In contrast, the music of our worship times should be stuff that gives us hope and inspiration. Let’s use it to be just that. Let’s be inspired to use the blessings given to us as blessings for those that haven’t yet received. Those that don’t already know Jesus are ‘waiting for that feeling to come.’ The good news is that it’s much more than a feeling. The challenging news is the prodigals run home when God’s people are doing the works of his Kingdom. Let us get filled up, sent out in the power of his name and give to all the love of God that is much more than a feeling; it’s a whole new life where all will find ‘someone who can heal their minds.’

Jon Tearne is a worship leader at All Saints Church, Peckham

With arms wide open Looking around Hyde Park I noticed quite an amusing dynamic considering the opinion in many churches that men don’t like singing. For every handful of men I have seen silent in the pews at church I have seen thousands singing their hearts out with their arms flung wide at gigs and festivals around the country. Where does this abandonment come from? Love for the band, passion for the music, connection with the lyrics, a sense of belonging with the people around us? Perhaps. Or is that we are each created with a longing to surrender ourselves fully in awe and praise of the one who created us; that we’re made to worship. 41

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new wine | going deeper

Godly globalisation

Why do faith and business seem to go together like oil and water? Peter Heslam explores how material wealth can help make poverty history Business has become one of the most significant and influential institutions of society for three key reasons. First, it is the means by which most people experience the impact of scientific and technological innovation, which has rapidly increased in recent years and has dramatically affected the way people live. Secondly, business is becoming a global form of culture in which millions of people across the world interact with each other on a daily basis. There has never been a time when so many people across the world have belonged to the same community of work. Thirdly, global business enterprise demonstrates an ability to help lift people out of poverty by virtue of their own honest endeavour. These three factors alone are sufficient to indicate that, despite the recent economic turmoil, business is vested with unprecedented opportunities to be an agent of positive social, material and spiritual transformation in the contemporary world. No account of contemporary culture, theological or otherwise, is adequate if it fails to understand the purpose, potential and constraints of the commercial sphere.

The poverty scandal A key reason why theology needs to engage with business is because of the biblical evidence that poverty is not part of the divine plan for human beings. Made in the image of God, humans are destined for shalom, a form of well-being that is as much physical as spiritual. Because poverty scars that image, it must be overcome. God has, therefore, a ‘bias to the poor’, which is embodied in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, whose message to the poor is one of good news. For this reason, material poverty is a theological as well as a socio-economic scandal. Business is the primary means by which, in God’s redemptive purposes, this scandal is addressed. This is because material wealth is the only solution to material poverty, and the only sphere that generates such wealth is business. This ought to mean that being pro-poor (as all people of faith must surely be) is tantamount to being pro-business, that to be concerned about poverty is to be enthusiastic about wealth. In reality, however, this is far from the way things are, at least in rich societies. Contrary to popular perception, it is people in poor countries who are generally most alive to the benefits of wealth.

A wealthy appetite

“Material poverty is a theological as well as a socio-economic scandal”

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The vocation of business to alleviate and safeguard against poverty is often overlooked because the focus of the development community is on definitions and causes of poverty. It is questionable how useful this knowledge would be compared to answers to the question, ‘What causes wealth?’ While attention is often drawn to the fact that nearly half the world’s population lives on less than $2 dollars per day, the question of what happened to the other half is rarely asked. To address poverty effectively, a solutions-oriented approach is necessary, in which wealth-creation is central because business is indispensable to the very goals it is so often assumed are achievable merely through public and charitable initiatives.

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new wine | going deeper

“Christian business people working in the global economy are uniquely placed to help bring transformation to the circumstances of the world’s poor”

An approach to development is needed, therefore, that recognises the vast numbers of poor people who are dignified, resilient, creative entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers. Aid should therefore be targeted at catalysing enterprise development in poor countries. Business alone is not enough to achieve prosperity, of course. This requires two particularly important factors that are frequently overlooked: first, the social institutions that characterise all free societies, such as property rights, the rule of law, an independent judiciary and a free press; and secondly, the cultivation and exercise of virtue beyond the requirements of the law. These elements have strong biblical foundations, and provide the context in which business can flourish. But basic conditions such as these aside, why is it so often ignored or denied, not only in development circles but also in the media, academia and civil society, that it is impossible to banish poverty without the vigorous growth of enterprise?

Christ at work One reason is the way faith and business are so often regarded as oil and water in churches, which have played a key role in highlighting the plight of the world’s poor. In as much as Western culture has been radically influenced by Christianity over the past 2,000 years, this negative attitude can also be found in wider culture, though the traffic in attitudes flows in both directions – there is good evidence that the church’s attitude grew out of its wider cultural context during the early centuries of its history. But insofar as the contemporary blind spot towards the potential of business is attributable to Christian teaching, the church needs urgently to develop a theology and practical engagement with business that is based on the paradigm of transformation. For the critical question is not whether contemporary global business is good or bad but what kind of globalisation is good? Whether it turns out in practice to be largely good or largely bad depends, at least to some extent, on how radically and creatively people with the appropriate skills follow Christ into the global marketplace, seeking to pervade every area of business with the transformative power of his truth, liberty and justice.

Business on a mission The call to seek first the kingdom of God (Mt 6.33) is not just for ministers and professional missionaries, leaving business people merely to support them financially. Rather, in the 21st century, business holds a vital key to unlock societies to the freedoms and joys of the kingdom of God. Countries that have closed the door to traditional missionaries are competing with each other to attract professional entrepreneurs who can help grow their economies. Taking the opportunities for Christian witness that are naturally available in commerce is a vital and strategic means of co-operating in God’s mission to the world. This mission involves bringing salvation, healing and shalom to every sphere of society. The impact of the Fall is waiting to be undone. Because of the Cross and Resurrection, evil can be overturned and the scourge of poverty can be addressed. History is replete with examples of how Christians have picked up this challenge – through the political and economic framework of the Roman Empire, the trade relations of the Age of Exploration, the invention of the printing press, even through the colonial apparatus, and, most recently, through global business enterprise. Christian business people working in the global economy are uniquely placed to help bring transformation to the circumstances of the world’s poor. As they do so, they are ensuring that globalisation works as a blessing, rather than as a curse. They are helping to realise globalisation’s potential to bring social uplift, serve the common good and even help protect the environment. Without a rigorous and theologically balanced engagement with the transformative role of business in today’s world, it is not obvious that the church will have a sufficiently compelling vision to allow it to ‘make a difference’ in contemporary culture. For a reconstruction of its theology will require a major shift in orientation and tone. But such a reconstruction is an important first step in making poverty history.

Revd Dr Peter S Heslam is Director of Transforming Business, a research and outreach project at Cambridge University on enterprise solutions to poverty and writes for the quarterly journal ‘Faith in Business’.

DAY OF PRAYER

FOR THE ARMED FORCES

THE ARMED FORCES’ CHAPLAINCIES AND THE MILITARY CHRISTIAN ORGANISATIONS WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO JOIN THEM FOR A DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE ARMED FORCES.

ON: AT:

Thursday, 5 November 2009 St Martin-in-the-Fields Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ TIMING: 1245 – 1600 DRESS: Working dress or civilian equivalent

The main service will take place from 1245 – 1345, followed by refreshments in St Martin’s Hall. There will then be an opportunity for prayer followed by a short act of corporate worship ending at 1600. RSVP: forcesprayerday@yahoo.co.uk or 02392 814410 For more information: www.pray4ourforces.org.uk You are most welcome to join us for all or part of the programme. If you can’t join us, please pray with us on the day.

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Your eye on the Christian world Get t he online edition for just £20 a year

Or have the newspaper delivered to your home each week Annual postal subscription in the UK costs £60, pensioners £40, students £30 To subscribe: Email: jennifer.muwonge@churchnewspaper.com The Record: Essential news and comment for clergy free every week To get your free copy: email: therecord@churchnewspaper.com The Church of England Newspaper, 14 Great College Street, Westminster, London, SW1P 3RX www.churchnewspaper.com T H E O R I G I N A L C H U R C H N E W S PA P E R E S TA B L I S H E D I N 1 8 2 8

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Standing together Become a Friend of New Wine Coming together is a beginning Keeping together is progress Working together is success Henry Ford

New Wine’s vision is to see the nation changed through Christians and churches being filled with the Spirit, alive with the joy of knowing and worshipping Jesus Christ, living out his word, and doing the works of the kingdom of God. You can help make our vision a reality by becoming a Friend of New Wine.

Your regular financial support will make a real difference to the growth and development of New Wine. Your giving will enable us to reach more individuals, more churches and even more countries. Apply via the website: www.new-wine.org

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unstoppable Summer Conferences 2010

For best rates book online before 30 November 2009

www.new-wine.org/summer

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new wine | going deeper

An Israelite family found themselves in the land of Moab fleeing famine. They were struck by tragedy as all the males of the family died and Naomi and her two daughters-in-law were left fending for themselves. Naomi decided to return home and while one of her daughters-in-law returned to her family the other, Ruth, insisted on staying with Naomi saying ‘your people will be my people and your God my God’ (Ruth 1:16). They returned to Bethlehem and built a new life despite Naomi’s bitterness and the bleak outlook in a society that gave little help to women in their position. Ruth was able to glean leftover grain from the harvest and while doing so came to the attention of Boaz, a relative of Naomi. Gradually love blossomed and Boaz and Ruth married. This enabled Naomi to be relieved of her bitterness and hold in her arms a child who would be the great, great grandfather of David.

A reputation for kindness In Ruth we see a person who showed wonderful kindness. Boaz recognised this, saying, ‘this kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier’ (3:10). Her kindness won his heart. Ruth’s acts of kindness also gained her respect. Her reputation was revealed in the report the foreman gave to Boaz when asked about her (2:6-7). The foreman firstly said she had come with Naomi from Moab, which speaks of her faithfulness. Secondly he said that she had asked permission to glean behind the harvesters, which speaks of her in polite respect. And thirdly he said that she worked steadily with only a short break, in other words she was a hard worker. Author, inventor and intellectual Thomas Paine said that ‘reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us’. Reputation is nothing unless there is the substance of good deeds and character behind it, and in Ruth we find this clearly to be the case. Her reputation was based on the solid ground of her character.

The book of Ruth is set in times of famine, a lack of leadership and no social cohesion. But it’s also a love story reflecting the Lord’s faithfulness and kindness to his people. Mark Carey, in the final article in his series, explains why today’s society is not so different

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What are you reputed for? Does your reputation go before you and is it supported by good character? Have you a reputation for kindness built on performing the deeds of faithful love as Ruth’s was?

The power of kindness Boaz responded to kindness with kindness. Isn’t that so often the case? When someone has been kind to me I remember them and am more open to returning the kindness. The world around us doesn’t expect kindness and people are really touched and moved when it does happen. In recent times some people who aren’t Christians have discovered the power of acts of kindness. Danny Wallace, a comedian, wrote a book called ‘Join Me’ in 2002, telling of the group he started by accident. The group’s purpose was to encourage members to perform random acts of kindness, particularly on Fridays which they termed ‘Good Fridays’. On reading the book I was struck by the

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new wine | going deeper

“Acts of kindness are done not because they have to be done

but from a place of love, compassion and joy” conviction that sometimes the Lord uses people other than Christians to bear a prophetic message to the church. Is the Lord calling us in these times of turbulence to respond with kindness? Boaz responded to Ruth’s kindness by making an act of redemption according to the law of the day, even though he didn’t need to as he wasn’t the nearest kin to Naomi. Acts of kindness are done not because they have to be done but from a place of love, compassion and joy. They aren’t done with an expectation of return but they often elicit one because in the economy of God what you invest in brings about a return. The word kindness occurs a number of times in Ruth. We find it in Naomi’s words of release to her daughters-in-law: ‘may the Lord show kindness to you’ (1:8), and in her words of praise to God over Ruth meeting Boaz: ‘He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead’ (2:20). Boaz commends the kindness he sees in Ruth (3:10).

“Reputation is nothing unless there is the substance of good deeds and character behind it” A characteristic of God The word ‘kindness’ is translated from the Hebrew word ‘hesed’ and we should understand it as one of the characteristics of God himself; it marks out his dealings with his people. Hesed is the way that God reacts to us. He is unfailing in his love, lavishes his favour on us, he is gracious, kind and merciful. He is faithful to his covenant promises to be with his people, loving, prospering, helping, saving and restoring them as well as lifting them out of trouble and suffering. There is a big implication for us in this because the people who have experienced the Lord’s hesed (kindness) are intended to reflect this in their relationships. We are called to be a people who are kind to others, reflecting the very character of God. We are to, as someone once put it, ‘perform the deeds of faithful love’ like Ruth and Boaz. I had an amazing time at New Wine North and East 2009. Throughout the week in celebrations and seminars, around the site and the streets of nearby Mansfield, we saw the kindness of the Lord being worked out. Stories abounded of healing, people being set free, being called and having vision restored. There was a genuine hunger and thirst for the Lord and to step out in his work. I pray this will be manifested in the hesed of the Lord being experienced in our workplaces, homes, schools, places of leisure and churches. That thousands of people will be released in fresh understanding of the kindness of God. And that this kindness is shared so that all will turn to Jesus who performed on the Cross a deed of faithful love that enables the whole of creation to experience the hesed of God.

Mark Carey leads St Mary’s Harrogate. He and his wife Penny are on the leadership team of the North and East Summer Conference.

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d Doing missionisacnip les making d 25-26 March 2010 Hothorpe Hall, Leicestershire

UPA churches matter immensely to God, but how do we ensure they are places of blessing within our community? This forum will focus on how to build real communities that love the people both inside and outside our churches. With space and time to worship, network, share stories, and receive personal prophetic ministry, this forum will encourage and resource you in your mission and ministry.

For more information visit www.new-wine.org, phone 020 8567 6717 or email info@new-wine.org

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new wine | copy here

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new wine | real life

Can a nation be changed? What is the situation in Iran today? Simon Baynham takes a look at how Iranians are turning to Christ for answers

When you hear news about the nation of Iran it is most often to do with fundamentalist rhetoric coming from radical Islamic clerics, threats of political and potential military conflict including the possibility of nuclear weapons, or the sense of a culture that is so foreign to the way we think and live in the West. For the past 13 centuries Iran has been under the control of Islam. However the Islamic faith has never been a core part of the Iranian identity in the time it has dominated the country, and the Iranian people carved out their own syncretistic religion from mainstream Islam to make it more palatable. For Christians Iran is a nation that has known the hand of God upon it, from the Old Testament lives of Esther, Habbakuk and Daniel to the anointing of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 on a range of peoples, which heralded the establishment of the Church. Although established in the 1st century AD, the Iranian Church diminished as a result of the Islamic invasion in the 7th century through persecution, emigration to other Christian lands or forcible conversion to Islam. So, in light of this background, what’s happening in Iran today?

Finding a solution Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has been a focal point for conflict, with the war against Iraq in the 1980s and radical revolutionary Islamic views expressed by the regime itself as well as by its protégé terrorist organisation Hizbollah. At the same time the country has experienced: 50% population increase to about 65 million (about 60% under the age of 30) High inflation (about 30%) and unemployment Significant cases of clinical depression (71% of young people) The highest opiate drug addiction rate in the world.

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Such realities have led to an underlying and growing frustration with a regime that projects itself outwardly as religiously pious, and yet is well known for corruption that sustains its minority elite. This experience of Islamic ideology in every aspect of their lives has left many Iranians with a sense of disillusion and despair. As a result many have been looking elsewhere for answers. Most recently we have seen this frustration expressed through the news with reports about the presidential election in June 2009. Many of a socalled Reformist view have expressed their opinion at the way in which the ruling conservative regime has ridden rough shod over the Constitution. With questions about procedures and the ruling incumbents, there has developed growing questions about the structures of the Islamic Republic state with uncertain consequences for the future.

Longing for the truth 222 Ministries International is one of a number of Christian groups that have been engaged in bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Iran. Along with their sister groups, they are convinced that God has not forgotten the people of Iran – he is pouring out his Spirit in ways that are transforming many thousands of lives. More Iranians have come to Christ since 1979 than in the previous 13 centuries put together! Ordinary people in Iran have seen what Islam has to offer and many are now thirsty for truth. There is an urgent need for evangelism, discipleship, church planting and leadership training, even more since (widely agreed among the Iranian Christian community) at least one million Iranians have come to Christ in this time. Strong faith is crucial for Christians living in Iran; each month 222 Ministries receive many wonderful testimonies of how people have met Jesus and experienced his healing in their lives. One recent example came from a young lady who called with prayer requests for her son and other family members who were sick; the result was that they were healed. The counsellor encouraged the lady to share her faith with others and pray for them. She prayed for the sick in her workplace and led many to Christ. She also went to several Islamic religious places where people traditionally go to seek healing and spoke about the healing power of Jesus. One lady she

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new wine | real life had led to Christ wrote the prayer of salvation on a piece of paper and gave copies to other people she met. Some of these pieces of paper had the 222 Ministries contact number written on them and many people called. As a result of her boldness and prayers, this young lady had led 93 people to Christ with many being healed. In another case a young woman called from a small Iranian city to say that her husband had suffered from a bleeding nose for many years; the doctors didn’t know why. She asked our counsellor to pray for her husband. Later the husband called. ‘I would love to dedicate my life to a God who has healed me after eight years of bleeding. Since you prayed for me the bleeding has stopped. Nothing, no doctor, no medicine, had helped. My operation was due very soon. After your prayers the bleeding stopped, my headache went and I can breathe easily.’ As a result many members of his family called and committed themselves to Christ.

Hope in Jesus As people are discipled and grow in faith, believers join house churches which are beacons of hope. Strong faith is crucial for Christians living in a climate of hostility, particularly for those coming from a Muslim background. The possible introduction into the Iranian civil code of a law against apostasy poses the threat of mandatory death sentences for men and life imprisonment for women. Even now Christians are suffering for their faith in Iranian prisons.

God has not forgotten the people of Iran – he is pouring out his Spirit in ways that are transforming

many thousands of lives. Top left: Iranian boy searching for drugs Below left : Milhad Tower, Tehran Below: Praying for a pastor

222 Ministries place their hope in Jesus Christ, look in faith to the redemption of this nation and hope to see Iran changed for Christ. They believe the day is coming when it will be possible to share the Gospel openly in Iran. Those who are now praying and working for change are passionate about getting ready now, so they can cross the start line as soon as the gun is fired. Visit www.222ministries.com or www.elam.com to find out more.

Prayer points One of the greatest resources we have as Christians is the power of prayer, and prayer can change a nation. Would you join with us to pray for the nation of Iran? Please could you pray for: Those in positions of influence and authority, and that righteousness will come to the government of Iran Those who seek for truth, that they would know God’s touch Those Iranians who have come to faith in Christ Those who have to work out their faith with only TV/internet to support them Members of house churches Christian leaders working in Iran Those who had to leave for surrounding countries to escape persecution Farsi speakers in surrounding countries, including Afghanistan, Armenia and Pakistan Christians being persecuted and suffering in prison

Simon Baynham is the International Projects Director of 222 Ministries International, which is involved in planting churches and bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to Farsi speaking people. Its vision is to see Iran changed for Christ.

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new wine | real life

Loving

the least

Why is it such a challenge to break race, class and gender boundaries in our churches? Daphne Edwards explains why inclusion is not an optional extra ‘Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you”, but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet”, have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?’ (James 2:2-4). Everyone should feel welcomed and accepted in our churches, yet often we find ourselves becoming judgmental, conforming to the thinking of this world rather than seeing it through God’s eyes.

As I meditated on this scripture I saw Jesus rise from where he was sitting, put his arms around this man and kiss his mutilated face. With that act of extravagant love he healed the man’s soul and corrected his warped image of God.

To build a better church, and for Christianity to flourish, we need to rediscover a passionate commitment to the unconditional love Jesus offers to all creation. After all, inclusion is central to the gospel.

In our society, the lepers are any who feel outcast, and we should act as Jesus did towards them. We must preach the message of the Father who

I am reminded of a story I heard of a minister who decided to dress up as a tramp and sit on the step of his church one Sunday morning to see what reaction he would receive from his congregation. Unfortunately, most walked by rather embarrassed and certainly no-one invited him inside. There was an air of astonishment when he walked to the front of the church and commenced the meeting. Everyone was dumb-struck! How easy it is to judge by appearances. When Samuel was sent to anoint David he was told, ‘The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7).

“...the marginalised, excluded, oppressed, unwanted and unloved are brought under the reign of God.”

We should not look down our noses at other people and compare them unfavourably with ourselves. Rather, we should look up to God, thank him for the undeserved grace that saved us, and ask him for the power to share that grace with others, humbly and graciously. When we are more concerned about how we present our outward appearance, speech and behaviour than about how our heart appears to God, perhaps we are what Jesus bluntly described as beautiful on the outside but full of everything unclean on the inside (Matthew 23:27).

Extravagant love It seems today we have churches for different sectors of society: poor or rich, young or old, black or white. But I believe it’s not God’s best. It all starts with Jesus. Many stories in the gospels bring the outsider in; the marginalised, excluded, oppressed, unwanted and unloved are brought under the reign of God. As we read the story of the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, the woman caught in adultery and the healing of the leper, we can ask God where we fit in, and accept the challenge to act as he acted. 52

Take the story of the leper. One day he came to Jesus and said, ‘Are you willing to heal me?’ Why did he ask such a question of Jesus? The religious society of his day had acted towards him in such a way that he was not sure if God really accepted him. His opinion of God was created by the Lord’s representatives in his community. Jesus did not heal him immediately but firstly dealt with the religious people’s misrepresentation of God to this man. The Bible tells us that Jesus then touched him.

accepts the prodigal on his return by embracing him, giving him all he can and saying he is precious. Jesus prayed that we would be one as he and the Father are one, that we would be brought to complete unity so the world may believe Christ is in us to bring his Kingdom about in this world. The model of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church and life-long opponent of slavery, and William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was to include the disadvantaged as they campaigned for major reforms on their behalf.

The heart of revival We must imitate God’s pattern that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. In reply to the Lord’s enquiring questions on our judgement day as seen in Matthew 25:31-46, will we be able to answer, ‘Lord we saw you hungry and we fed you, thirsty and we gave you a drink. You were a stranger and we showed you hospitality, naked and we clothed you, sick and we cared for you, imprisoned and we visited you.’ On that day it won’t be about theology, creeds, doctrines or prayer books, but whether we have done what he asked us to do. When my husband and I ran a church for the poor, I had four young boys, and being around severely disadvantaged people could have been a worry

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new wine | real life

“Pray for those your heart rejects, that you do not want to sit next to or speak to, that you do not understand or do not think are as good as you” as a parent. But it created in them a compassionate heart because they encountered Christ in the lives of the poor, they met Jesus as they embraced those whom society rejected, and they realised how Christ embraced them too in their own personal walk. It is one of the best things a parent can do for a child. So how can churches overcome their fears and misconceptions of inclusion? How as individuals can we change our perception and thinking so deeply embedded because of our different circumstances of life? I believe there has to be a revival in our lives. We have to come before God as individuals, humble ourselves and seek his face, repent of ways that have displeased our Father and commit to doing his will in our personal lives, which then will undoubtedly affect our churches. Prayer is the key to any revival. And the heart needs to be revived if our churches are to be inclusive. Pray for those your heart rejects, that you do not want to sit next to or speak to, that you do not understand or do not think are as good as you. Then pray that God will bring healing – not only for ourselves, but for our communities and the nation.

Daphne Edwards has worked with the homeless for 14 years. She set up and ran a soup kitchen in Uxbridge, west London, before becoming the ‘Worker with Homeless People’ in Ealing. Her passion is living out the compassion of Jesus in practical ways.

Creating an inclusive church is impossible in our own strength and determination. But as we seek God to change us, all things are possible through the power of his Spirit working in: ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’

Called to mission? CLC needs missionary personnel for its bookshops in Birmingham, Canterbury, Ipswich, Leicester, London, Sheffield, Welling & Wolverhampton, & for the busy Winchester distribution hub. To know more, or for information on other UK and even overseas needs.....

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Long term or short term, gap year or study leave, contact us. Some personal support needed. CLC does not pay salaries but can cover accommodation & household costs for those serving full time. CLC has ministry in 57 countries.

Could CLC be the mission place for you?

See clc.org.uk and links 53

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new wine | going deeper

UP FRONT

Is leadership all about keeping your church happy? Mark Bailey offers some insight Over the last couple of months, I’ve been to the dentist a few times, taken the car into the garage and made the odd trip to the doctor. Check-ups, inspections and routine evaluations are part of our everyday lives, and yet as leaders, we so often don’t stop, take stock and address the issues we have to work through. In this article, I’d like to reflect on a number of issues many of us as leaders have to wrestle with.

Be yourself What should we be doing? So often it’s easy to imitate what others in ministry are doing, to look to the ‘cooler’ churches around. However, each one of us is called to do ministry in a unique and irreplaceable way. Of course we’re meant to learn from other churches and leaders, but ultimately we have to allow God to shape our souls and DNA. And each one of us needs to be the person God has called us to be. It takes different types of churches to reach different types of people.

Build the Kingdom

Serve one master One of the most defining moments at the beginning of my time at Trinity Cheltenham was the sense that the Lord was asking me this question: ‘Who do you want to keep happy? Them (the members of the church) or me?’ It was a releasing and defining moment for me in ministry.

It’s so important to have a heart for the area, place and people to whom God has called us to minister. From time to time I come across leaders who want to keep their church at arm’s length, and don’t particularly like where they’re based. While we all may have moments like that, ultimately I’m convinced that true and effective ministry has to come out of a love for the people to whom God has called us to minister. Why do we continue to do what we do? Well, hopefully for the best of reasons – with a desire to build God’s kingdom, not our own empire. Our motives must always be pure if we’re going to see effective ministry as we seek to proclaim Jesus and demonstrate the Kingdom with signs and wonders.

“Vision is not just a good buzzword, it’s essential for any organisation”

Over the next 12 months I’m fairly sure our nation will have an election. One of the things that is so discouraging about politics is that so often the candidates don’t appear to be speaking with conviction. Rather, experts have walked them through the relevant talking points so they can please the largest number of people.

The same thing happens in the church. As leaders we can be politicians or pastors, but we need to remember that if God has called us then we should do whatever it takes to please him. The good news is that when we get to heaven we won’t be standing before the PCC, a board of deacons, or the relevant denominational equivalent. We will be standing before the Lord who will call us to give an account for all that he’s entrusted us with.

54

Check your vision Vision is not just a good buzzword, it’s essential for any movement or organisation. And it’s particularly important for the church if we’re ever going to thrive. If we do a study on successful and fruitful churches, you will find that their styles are very different and their theological

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new wine | going deeper

convictions may not be exactly the same. However, what you will always see in every one of them is a leader with a team around who is passionate, with a white-hot vision, and is always willing to submit on areas of personal preference but never on the issue of vision!

Work together One final thought is that Jesus was the master recruiter. And his method of recruitment? ‘Follow me’. You can’t lead if you can’t recruit. As I increasingly appoint people onto the staff at Trinity and release others into different areas of leadership around the life of the church, it is essential they too have the ability to recruit. No-one can lead a church on their own. Recruiting is more art than science, more about vision than task. It is also just as much about keeping people on your team as it is about inviting them. How long are people staying on our teams? And are we recruiting leaders? I hope I have offered challenge and encouragement in this article. It’s not about what we’re meant to do, but reflections, insights and direction that will help all of us to keep on growing our skills as leaders.

Mark Bailey has been the Lead Pastor at Trinity Cheltenham for the past 15 years. Mark and his wife Karen head up New Wine Central and South West.

New Wine Networks

Our vision is to support, equip and resource all church leaders in their local mission

Link with Like-Minded Leaders Training and Resources Core Groups for Mutual Mentoring

Local Network Groups for Worship, Teaching, Ministry

Get Connected: www.new-wine.org/leaders

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new wine | going deeper

Rural and Village Ministry Church Leaders Forum

26-27 January 2010 Hothorpe Hall, Leicestershire Leading rural and village ministry is full of unique challenges and progress sometimes seems agonisingly slow. Yet we believe rural areas are close to God’s heart, and long to see them won for his Kingdom. This forum will focus on refreshing those who are ministering, while encouraging one another to press in for renewal.

Visit www.new-wine.org, phone 020 8567 6717 or email info@new-wine.org

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Enjoyy an autumn break Enjo break at at Lee Lee Abbe Abbey! y! 16-20 6-20 NOVEMBER B BISHOP ISHOP LEE ER RAYFIELD AY LD E AYFIE Enjoying njoying the angless An opportunity to look at the th he distinct perspective perspective of each off the gospels with Lee Rayfield, Bishop B of Swindon. 4 nights from from £204 full board booard 16-20 6-20 NOVEMBER LEE ABBEY Y TEAM

Creative Christmas crafts Creative craftss and food Create Cr eate something new for Christmas! C There There will be different differentt workshops each day offerin offering ng a chance to learn new skills. skills. 4 nights from from £204 full board booard

TToo see ourr full programme programme visit w www.leeabbey.org.uk ww.leeeabbey.org.uk or ccall all 0800 3899 1189

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new wine | what’s happening

The Emerald Isle New Wine Ireland has seen significant growth since their first summer event in 2003. Hilary McClay shares what makes their conference unique There are probably two things that make New Wine Ireland a little different from other New Wine events: 1. We don’t camp as it’s not a popular pastime in Ireland. Ever wonder why we are called the Emerald Isle? You don’t get that green without plenty of rain, so camping is much too risky. 2. We operate and run events in two different countries – Northern Ireland and the Republic.

This year saw the fourth New Wine Ireland Summer Conference in Sligo. People gathered on the west coast from about 100 churches all across Ireland, from Coleraine in the north, to Cork in the south, and Belfast and Dublin on the east coast. We took over an IT college campus as well as the next-door primary school, and erected a village of marquees between them. Most people stayed in two adjoining villages of self-catering flats and houses, which were vacated by students for the summer.

It’s really important that New Wine Ireland is an all-Ireland event. We have too much division and dissension in our history, plus the Republic of Ireland in particular doesn’t have many thriving evangelical churches. But that does mean we operate in two different jurisdictions with two different currencies (sterling and euro), which makes budgeting a headache, and balancing the budget a miracle. But we are really committed to New Wine Ireland being a vehicle for bringing together Christians from all denominations, and all parts of the island. It was exciting to be able to go into the Sligo town during the afternoons of the conference. We got involved in Healing on the Streets and outreach projects like servant evangelism giveaways. Like any other New Wine event, these can partly be a training opportunity for people keen to try out new styles of outreach, and also a way of blessing the local community. Looking ahead we believe God is calling New Wine Ireland to be intentional about sending teams into all of Ireland for the equipping and empowering of the whole church, to reach this Emerald Isle so whole communities are given the opportunity to experience God’s grace, and to know personally the God of all grace and power. Please pray for us as we set out on this path, as we put in place plans for next year’s Summer Conference and year-round activities.

David Parker from the Desert Vineyard in California gave the Bible readings. The evening celebration speakers were David McClay (Willowfield Church, Belfast), Paul Reid (CFC Church, Belfast), Mary Pytches (New Wine England), Simon Guillebaud (Burundi) and Jackie Pullinger (Hong Kong). Along with all our seminars they fed into our commitment in New Wine Ireland to go deeper with, and further for, God.

Feedback from New Wine Ireland 2009

Around 1,200 people attended, which is a significant growth from the first year when we totalled 400. It’s really exciting to see more churches bringing groups, being refreshed, healed and encouraged, and heading home wanting to make a difference in their community.

This was my first experience of New Wine. I have been thrilled with the atmosphere of love and celebration and the opportunity to meet and worship with other Christians from all over Ireland. This week has been so encouraging and Spirit-filled.

Looking back… and ahead

We put New Wine into our diary at the beginning of each year, and work our time off around it. We couldn’t come if it weren’t for the kids’ work. Thank you so much for blessing us as a family each year. We love coming and so do our kids.

Over the years leading up to the first Sligo conference in 2006, there has been a certain amount of New Wine activity in Ireland, with the first leaders’ course held in 1994. During the next ten years there were more leaders’ courses, plus training days and a few New Wine weekends for churches to come together.

I thought the conference was life changing.

The first attempt to run a New Wine Ireland Summer Conference took place in a little village on the west coast of Ireland called Lisdoonvarna. That was before we found Sligo. Situated about half-way up the island, Sligo is accessible to people from all over; it’s not too far from the border but significantly in the Republic of Ireland. It offers beautiful scenery, places to visit, good self-catering accommodation and a venue with enough flexibility to run all the programmes that make up New Wine.

This was our family’s first visit to New Wine and we will definitely be coming back next year. The best thing about this conference is that is so family-geared. We feel more empowered, enthused and equipped to make a difference where God has placed us. A fantastic experience, so intimate and personal. God touched my heart and began to break chains that have tortured me for years.

David and Hilary McClay lead New Wine Ireland, and host the summer conference with Ken and Helen Clarke. For more information visit www.new-wineireland.co.uk or phone +44 (0)28 9028 7011. Photo credist: www.chrisnelsonphoto.com

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new wine | what’s happening

Other events As well as a Summer Conference, New Wine Ireland runs a range of other events during the year, typically:

Regional days in Belfast, Cavan, Dublin, Cork and other places Prayer ministry training in Belfast and Dublin and other places on request Kingdom Women: an annual day conference attended by over 300 women Network groups for church leaders Training day for kids’ workers and worship leaders Training days such as ‘Making the church good news’, ‘Hearing the voice of God’ and ‘Ministry to the poor’. 59

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new wine | life stuff

Hope Unleashed Author: Andy Hawthorne Publisher: David C Cook What, exactly, should the priority of the church be? Should it be the lamp on a stand – bold, unashamed gospel proclamation to as many as possible? Or should it be more salt and yeast – serving and blessing the vulnerable and the marginalised with no questions asked?

A quick glance at some recent book and CD releases

The answer, of course, is both. Christians who truly want to follow Jesus should explain the good news with words but also make sure to demonstrate the gospel through what’s been described as random acts of kindness. Hope Unleashed is filling with true stories and practical ideas and strategies for Christian mission based on word and deed.

Confidence in the Living God Author: Andrew Watson Publisher: The Bible Reading Fellowship Using the story of David and Goliath, Andrew Watson shows how the Lord can be our confidence, whatever the odds. He explores how God can develop a proper self-confidence within individuals and his church, revealing the gospel through transforming words and transformed lives. He also considers how we can confidently tackle the challenges of day-to-day living, whether a difficult work situation or family relationship, or anxiety about the future. The book includes a study guide and can be used as a church course on the subject of confidence.

Iran 30 Authors: David Yeghnazar and Simon Taylor Publisher: Elam Ministries It is only the gospel that can bring peace to Iranians and the whole of the Middle East. But for the gospel to be preached with power there must be prayer. ‘Iran 30’ is a new prayer guide designed to help readers discover what is happening behind the scenes and help them to pray effectively over 30 days. This is a free resource, which can be ordered via www.iran30.org

Burn Bright

Saving Grace ‘Saving Grace’ is New Wine’s first studio album, featuring Eoghan Heaslip, Neil Bennetts, David Ruis, David Gate, Nicki Rogers, Nicole Brown and Jules Woodbridge. ‘Our hope and prayer for these twelve exciting new songs is that they enable and equip worship in the local church’, says Eoghan Heaslip. ‘All of these songs have been written by local church worship leaders and for ministry and use in the local church and reflect our values in worship that is passionate, intimate and that facilitates encounter with God.’

Following on from studio albums ‘Hold On’ and ‘Unfailing Love’, the time was right to capture and share Trent leading worship at their home church (Trent Vineyard, Nottingham). There are four brand new tracks, along with some of their most influential songs, such as ‘Perfect Sacrifice’ and ‘I Will Hold On’. Bonus features include behind-thescenes footage and band interviews, a look at the Arches (one of Trent Vineyard’s key ministries), an interview with pastors John and Debby Wright, and Songteach videos (learn to play the songs). Trent are known for their collective approach to writing songs breathing fresh expression into biblical themes, crafting songs born out of their walk with God as part of the Trent Vineyard.

We Shall Not Be Shaken Matt Redman’s new studio album ‘We Shall Not Be Shaken’ is produced by Robert Marvin who produced Matt’s previous album ‘Beautiful News’. It is a collection of congregational songs that will inspire the local church across the world. ‘This album praises God’s steadiness’, Matt says. ‘We’re being reminded how shake-able earthly things are…so it feels appropriate now to address the economy in a worship song. Nothing in the Psalms was ever detached from its era.’ ‘We Shall Not Be Shaken’ is intentionally Psalm-like, using simple poetic lyrics to express unbreakable truth in an age of utter brokenness. 61

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Then we would love to hear from you! Haven of Peace Academy (HOPAC), an international Christian K-12 school overlooking the Indian Ocean in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is recruiting candidates to serve as primary principal beginning in August of 2010. HOPAC administrators must be committed Christians in agreement with HOPAC’s faith statement, be fluent in written and spoken English and have Bachelor degree and 2 years of school leadership experience. The Tanzania Ministry of Education also requires that expatriate administrators and teachers be aged 55 or younger. Contact the Personnel Coordinator at personnel@hopac.net or visit our website at www.hopac.net for more information and to download our application form.

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Conditions If you wish to advertise in our Winter issue, bookings must reach us by 9 December. Please submit text in clear type. Copy will be set to our specifications. Tel/fax numbers count as two words; websites, postcodes and PO Boxes as one. Contact advertising@new-wine.org or 020 8799 3765. Semi-display ads should be supplied on disc as a hi-res PDF or in Quark Express for PC, or Illustrator/Freehand for Apple Mac accompanied by a hard copy proof. Ads supplied in any other manner will be reformatted, in which case exact matching cannot be guaranteed and an extra cost may be incurred. New Wine does not necessarily agree with all the views and practices of advertisers.

E LIKE SAM

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63

new wine | real people

Living the dream Dreams are one of God’s chosen ways of communicating with his people

They tell us that we all dream, probably many times, every night. But speaking personally I hardly ever remember my dreams, just the occasional really weird one, or a recurring nightmare from my school days of not being able to find a book in the school library. I therefore find it quite strange that the Bible speaks quite a lot about dreams. Thanks to ‘the dreamcoat’, almost everyone knows about Joseph and his dreams, and how God spoke to him about his future. Later in prison God helped Joseph interpret the dreams of his fellow prisoners. That gift of interpretation put Joseph in a position of great power and influence that saved a generation from starvation and brought about reconciliation with his own family. We have had some teaching about dreams in church recently, and I have been struck anew by the fact that Joseph’s own father should have paid a lot more attention when Joseph started to talk about his dreams. As a young man Jacob had a profound encounter with God through a dream. Remember Jacob’s ladder? Dreams are clearly one of God’s chosen ways of communicating with his people. Moving into the New Testament, dreams play a significant part in Jesus’ own story. God speaks to Joseph in dreams, firstly to tell him who Mary’s baby is, secondly to warn him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape from Herod, and later in another dream to return to live in Nazareth. The Magi also hear from God in dreams, dreams which warn and direct them. In addition, Peter has a very clear message from God in a dream while staying with Simon the tanner (Acts 10). This prepares him to respond to the invitation to take the gospel to the gentiles.

‘Your young men will see visions; your old men will dream dreams’ (Acts 2:17) So dreams play all sorts of significant rolls in the Bible. And what’s more they are part of the promise of the Holy Spirit: ‘Your young men will see visions; your old men will dream dreams’ (Acts 2:17). When I do remember even part of a dream I need to ask God if he is speaking to me through it. Is he giving me direction, focus, warning? If, like me, you don’t remember many of your dreams, we have to make sure we are listening for God’s voice coming to us in different ways. There is one line in a Joseph song I don’t think has much theological weight: ‘Any dream will do’. I want to suggest that God sows into our heart and mind his dreams for our lives, his plans and purposes for how we should live, and where we should invest our time and energy. They are plans unique to us, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). It’s not that any dream will do, but that God’s dream is lived out through our lives. The trouble is that the passage of time tends to rob us of our dreams. We may forget, or simply drift away from, the dreams we have of making a difference, of sharing our faith with others. There is a tendency to settle for less than the best; to think that any dream will do.

Ask him to speak his dreams into your life so that they become your dreams, encouraging you as you step out for him. Hilary McClay leads New Wine Ireland and hosts the summer conference with her husband David. 64

Photo credit: www.chrisnelsonphoto.com

Did you come back from one of the summer conferences having met with God in a life-changing way? Were you inspired by hearing what someone else is doing for God and wonder what happened to your dreams? Ask God to stir them up in you again.

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Kingdom Training Days

NEW WINE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE 2010

...to see the nation For all church leaders wanting to press into God, connect with other leaders and find space for leadership-focused teaching and prayer ministry.

following

naturally

the spirit

supernatural

17-19 May 2010 Harrogate International Centre

With David Parker,

With Gary Best, National Team Leader,

With Jay Pathak and Flint McGlaughlin

Lead Pastor of Desert Vineyard, southern California

Vineyard Churches Canada

Hosted by John Coles and the New Wine Leadership Team For anyone involved in leadership in their local church

19 November 2009

5 November 2009 Trinity, Cheltenham

St Mary’s Longfleet, Poole

hosted by Mark & Karen Bailey

6 November 2009

hosted by Andy Perry

20 November 2009*

Holy Trinity, Ripon Woodlands, Bristol hosted by Ian Parkinson & Mark Tanner

hosted by Dave Mitchell

21 November 2009

7 November 2009* All Saints, Milton, near Cambridge

St Matthews, High Broom,

hosted by Rosie Bunn

Tunbridge Wells

& David Chamberlin

hosted by Chris Wicks

9 November 2009

23 November 2009

St Paul’s, Ealing, London All Saints', Marple, Stockport hosted by Mark & Lindsay Melluish hosted by Ian & Nadine Parkinson

*Includes networking opportunity for those training for church leadership (ordinands).

Find out more and book online at www.new-wine.org

0% Over 4 t for discoun r younge leaders

For best rates book online before 13 January 2010 at www.new-wine.org

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equipping churches to see Jesus' kingdom grow

autumn 2009

New Wine Up North A distinct family feel

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Generation Y Connecting the disconnected p l u s : festivals & faith | summer stories | engaging 20-somethings issue 47

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