Happy Home Groups

Home Groups are an extremely important part of Church life. They provide accountability, discipleship, fellowship and opportunities to develop genuine relationships with other committed members at B.C.C. Check out the following link for much more detailed information about their work: http://www.bristolcommunitychurch.org/homegroups.asp

During the Wednesday (early) morning prayer meeting I felt a real burden to pray for our Home Group Leaders. I can honestly say that in my 15 years in the Church, our current set of Home Group leaders are probably the strongest and most united we've ever had and I'm not just saying that! I really appreciate the excellent work they do and I encourage you to pay for them too. It's not an easy job!

I'm in Ian and Alison's Group which meets in Winterbourne (the posh end - obviously! Lol). They took over the running of this Group back in January 2008 after we made some changes to the existing group led by John and Linda. Although a smaller group, we have had some excellent meetings this year; everyone has been assigned a date to lead an evening and this new system works really well. It makes for a really varied time as each week someone different brings something different and leads the group in their own way. One week we will be digging deeper into Sunday's message, another week someone will share something from Scripture whilst another week a person will take a few minutes to share a personal testimony. However, what joins all these different 'strands' together is the Holy Spirit who adds a truly cutting edge to the contributions as they dovetail beautifully with the current prophetic themes running through the Church.

I recommend you pray for the BCC Home Group Leaders: Neil and Wendy Bright, Richard and Kim Brown, Tim and Liz Leaman, Paul and Francesca Meager, Dave and Nicky Summerhill, Ian and Alison Purnell (WOOP! WOOP!) and Mark and Karen Southall. They do an excellent job; we couldn't run the Church properly without them.

P.S. Bright Home Group take note: Ian and Alison don't award points for those who get there early! Come to think of it, neither do any other Groups!!

Unity and Peanut Butter On Toast

I wonder if you can guess what I did last night? No, I did not settle down for a three-hour West Wing marathon and neither did I make up a batch of flapjack covered in Nigella's Peanut Butter and Snickers Sauce. It had nothing to do with watching football (one of my favourite past times as you know) nor did it involve reading/writing. Let me put you out of your misery...I had a meeting with Jon and Kat!

As the key worship leaders in BCC, every so often we get together to review how things are going, plan diaries for the next few months and, in Kat's case, eat peanut butter on toast with ground sea salt on top! One of the things I value about these times is the closeness we enjoy as a Team and the real sense of unity between us. We are all very different and have different styles of leading and musical backgrounds/experience. You would think we would end up fighting one another! Actually, we work together really well. One of our prayers at the end of the meeting was about protecting our unity together and I have been thinking about it ever since.

Unity is not guaranteed and neither is it easy to maintain. It must be protected and requires a humble sacrificial attitude from the participants. It is costly. Psalm 133:1-3 describes the value of spiritual unity, "How good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!" Unity is not some low-grade, common-denominator approach that welcomes everyone in to something just because they can spell 'Jesus'. I believe it is a group of people joined through spiritual revelation to a calling, task or project who are willing to invest everything they have in seeing it accomplished. It is all for Jesus and not for them.

I believe that I had a taster of this kind of Kingdom unity when I met with Kat and Jon last night. It is worth guarding, protecting and promoting. Consider your own life today. Are you committed to unity? Are you fighting to protect that unity from an enemy who loves to bring division and destruction? Refresh and renew your commitment to those Jesus-centred works to which He has called you. The fruit will be immense!

Small Talk / Big Impact

Hey Blogreaders. Hope you are all well today and had a good weekend. I really enjoyed my Saturday morning walk out in the sunshine, enjoying God's presence as I listened to a podcast. It was wonderful to see the sun shining; it looked like Spring might be on the way. Yesterday's meeting was a Guest Service and I believe 3 people responded to the Gospel Message plus some others came forward for healing too. Excellent news. It is so encouraging to see these services bearing fruit. One of those who responded came to the ENERGY social last week and it was great to see him become a Christian during yesterday's meeting. Happy New Birth Day! (not too cheesy I hope, but you get the sentiment).

All in all it was a good meeting. Claire preached in the Church for the first time on 'The Scandal of Grace' and when 'Cesca did her talk with the kids, I was amazed to see just how many children came forward to listen. Having lots of children and young people is always a sign of a healthy Church. However, my personal highlight was a conversation I had with someone at the end of the meeting. This person is a long-standing member of the Church and has been through some real highs AND some real lows in the years of being in B.C.C.

As I spoke to him, I could see evidence after evidence of God's grace in this precious life. He was a totally different person to the person who joined many years ago. God had answered prayer after prayer and despite ongoing personal challenges and difficulties, his heart was full of praise and thanks. Our short conversation really touched me and encouraged me after a busy week.

I believe that B.C.C is a place where God can do deep character surgery. Like the conversation I had with this friend yesterday, God adds people to us and after the initial 'honeymoon' wears off, God gets down to the important work of character development. Sometimes He puts His finger on extremely painful areas and issues which need to be brought to the surface for cleaning and healing. Other times, He brings up areas of sin and the flesh which need to be handled with repenatance, forgiveness and restoration. If the person can stick it out and co-operate with God and the people He gives to deal with things, the fruit is truly awesome. As I spoke to him yesterday, I saw the precious fruit which had come from serious character surgery over many, many years in the Church.

Remember, signs, wonders, miracles, financial provision, healing are all part of God's Kingdom but I think the work which really matters is the work of character (Romans 5:3-4); this is what prepares us for eternity and will survive the fire of judgment (1 Corinthians 3:13). Let God do His character work in you! God has put you in the Church for a reason. He has positioned you in a safe place, with people who He can use to help make you more like His Son Jesus. It will be worth it in the end.

Pizza Party Update

What an excellent game-playin', pizza-tastic, Park Lane buyin'/Monopoly-losin', peanut butter sauce tryin', Uno-spinin' evening we had last night with the youth. Much fun was had by all. Sadly I lost the Monopoly Showdown with Monopoly Matt (formerly known as 'Intro Matt') after a high-risk strategy saw me spend all my pennies on houses for Park Lane / Mayfair only to land on one of Matt's properties and go bankrupt. Hey - that's recession for you! Thanks to the Purnells for hosting us. We had a great evening. If you want to have a look at some photos of the evening, try this link... http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=89959&id=609663012 Have a great day.

Hanging With The Youth

I love being with our young people. They are a great bunch despite their ups and downs. I remember when Neil (Bright) first came along to BCC. I invited him to come and join us for the youth weekend away. The experience of being with ENERGY that weekend had such a profound affect on him that he really began to look at the Church in a fresh, faith-filled way. In the same way, Kat came on our first trip to Croyde with the Youth back in 2004. Again, such was the power of the Holy Spirit's living and working through the youth, she took significant steps forward in joining her heart to B.C.C. Recently I heard of two testimonies from visitors to the Church who were really impressed with the efforts of the young people to engage their teenage son/daughter in conversation and make them feel at home. Others who have sinced joined us as committed members all commented on the impact of seeing the young people sitting at the front of the Church, worshipping, taking notes, sharing from the front and generally getting stuck in.

They are great company and for all their struggles and problems, God's presence really impacts others who come into contact with them. Tonight we're having a half-term youth social. The Purnells have kindly loaned us their home for the evening and it should be a lot of fun. We are having pizza followed by ice cream topped off with Nigella's peanut butter and snickers sauce. Originally, we'd planned a 4x4 driving experience for 15 lucky punters but alas we had to cancel due to lack of interest. I really dislike cancelling events; it feels so negative. However I was reminded of Proverbs 16:9, "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps" (New Living Translation). I think we can forget how important it is to have a plan, to submit that plan to God and then be flexible and adaptable in letting Him shape and craft the outcome He desires.

I really believe tonight is what God wants. Lots of the youth are coming along. There will inevitably be some good conversations, lots of fun and laughter, lots of good food (come on Domino's Pizza, don't let us down) and any guests will be impacted by experiencing and encountering the love that ENERGY has for Jesus and for one another (John 13:35).

We'll save you some sauce.....NOT!!!

The War on Purity

Happy Monday Everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. I'm really excited about another week of living for Jesus, doing the works He has prepared for me to do (Ephesians 2:10) and storing up for myself treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20) as a result of my obedient acts here on earth (John 14:15). See my preach "The Shout of Faith" for more details! I have had some good feedback from people about that message from yesterday's meeting; God has been speaking to people and helping them focus on the important truth that our lives "were designed to contribute towards eternity" (quote from John's message a couple of weeks ago).

One of the things I touched on in that message has been particularly potent in my recent thinking: parenting. Having an eternal mindset when it comes to parenting our children/young people helps motivate us to fight those battles, maintain consistent loving discipline and see them grow up into men and women of faith.

In my 12 years of pastoring young people I have noticed how youth culture has changed a great deal. Primarily due to the liberalisation of our culture and the onset of high speed internet access and technological advancements, youth culture has become 1. increasingly clandestine and 2. highly sexualised. It comes as no surprise that young people hide what they do from their parents; that is nothing new! What is rather more sinister, however, is the sheer amount of opportunities they now have to participate in hidden, secretive behaviour which inevitably is unhealthy, unhelpful or plain unholy! Chat rooms, Internet, satellite channels being piped into young people's bedrooms via the portable tv, MSN, mobile phones, Facebook/Bebo and other social networking sites and so on have created extra platforms for young people to pursue this secretive life away from the eyes of parents and carers. Do you know what your children/young people are looking at? (Psalm 119:9). Software like Covenant Eyes can be a helpful tool in this battle against secret sin. I'm not advocating a young person cannot have any privacy. I'm simply saying that there are far more serious temptations out there than ever before and unless we help our young people navigate these choppy waters, they too will become casualties in this war on purity (1 Peter 5:8).

Secondly, youth culture has bulldozed through the sexual boundaries of 20 years ago and things that were once considered 'outrageous' are now accepted practice! Courtesy of the media, the internet and a significant shift in government policy making, young people's minds are soaked with endless sexual images and sexual talk. It has become normal practice. We hear about a 13 year old boy becoming a father. We have the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe. Pornography is rife. Semi-naked women are draped over the pages of magazines, newspapers and tv adverts selling everything from gum disease treatments to food.

I think you get the picture. Parents, don't be naive about what they have to deal with. I could blog forever about this so I will conclude with this simple piece of advice: find out what your children are looking at and don't be scared to talk to them about it! Don't just bury your head in the sand and hope it goes away - join the battle and get stuck in. If you need help then draw other Godly men and women from the Church and beyond to stand with you and offer advice, prayer and support. Don't be afraid to write letters/emails, talk to Head Teachers and so on where you think there are issues of righteousness at stake (I emailed Face Book recently about some highly offensive comments which needed to be removed). Don't give up fighting! Your kids will thank you in the end. And so will Jesus.

Prayer Power

REVIVAL IS HERE! Thought that might get your attention. I have been experiencing something of a personal prayer revival recently. One of the biggest challenges for long-standing Christians is remaining fresh in their faith. Disappointments, problems, the monotony of domestic life and getting 'stuck in a spiritual rut' can can all contribute towards apathy, lukewarmness and makes for a very bland, unsatisfying Christian life. Is it any wonder the world suddenly becomes an attractive proposition? In my 20 years of walking with Jesus I have found God step in time and time again and recapture my heart with a fresh, deep love for His Son and the work of His Kingdom. I have not initiated it nor have I brushed off my copy of '5 Simple Steps for Super Spirituality' and dived into Chapter 1. It is all a work of God's grace. In the last couple of weeks I have suddenly found myself with a greater desire to pray. There is a richness and warmth in my fellowship with Him. My love for Jesus has grown stronger and purer; it reminds me of the simple love I had for God when I was converted at 16. I think Noah was building the ark in those days....Anyway, this week I was attending the early morning prayer meeting. As I sat there James 5:16 popped into my mind and I have been thinking about it ever since. The Amplified Bible puts it this way, “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in it working].” Despite there only being a few of us there I came away feeling like we had really done business with God and our prayers had changed things. Do you believe your prayers make a difference? Can I recommend you ask God to give you a fresh motivation to pray and consider coming along to our Wednesday morning/Saturday morning prayer meetings? We need all the encouragement we can get and God has divinely equipped us with the best weapon of them all against the spiritual poison of discouragement: prayer. Have a great weekend.

The Plane Thing is the Main Thing

It was an early start for me today: 4.30am!! I was going to Heathrow to drop off John and Linda. When I went to bed last night, it was snowing here in Bristol so I did wonder if I might need to borrow a snowplough for the journey this morning. Thankfully the promised blizzard never materialised and I was able to pick up J+L without any problems. As we drove down the M4 I had plenty of time to chat with John. He is one of the few people in the world who really inspires me not just because he is so sharp in his walk with Jesus and is an excellent role model in living a life of faith but also because he can be great fun and can be very witty too! After I dropped them off at Heathrow, I was driving home thinking about how important it is for us to leave a good 'deposit' in one another's lives when we meet, even if it's a simple talk whilst driving in the car. I have come across my fair share of moaning, complaining, critical Christians in my time and what they deposit in my life does not encourage me or endear me to spend more time with them. I have been reflecting on my own life, asking what sort of a deposit I leave in the lives of ALL the people I meet, not just Christians. Sadly, it is not always helpful or positive. I think Jesus was someone who people wanted to be around and He always left a good deposit in people's lives even when the content was challenging, directional or difficult to understand. I imagine He was a lot of fun as well. Think about the deposit you leave in people's lives today; is it helpful, holy and humorous or do you take out your frustrations on others, sucking life out of people or bringing others down by your own negative spirit? I'm praying God's life in me will pour out into the lives of others whether I'm in a good mood or not. Enjoy the day.

Peanut Butter and Snickers Sauce

First thing's first: Nigella's Peanut Butter and Snickers Sauce. Here's the link to her website if you want to have a go; it is delicious served on ice-cream! http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=12515
Having mentioned it in the meeting yesterday, I thought I should follow up on my promise to put it on the blog so here it is. We had another excellent meeting yesterday morning. I think we are learning how to do these 'soft' starts to the morning meetings. Kat picked just the right song to start off the morning which drew people into worship and the Church quickly settled down and started to seek God. There was a real sense of the majesty of God and His awesome power. There was a calmness and peace which seemed to settle over the people. My favourite part of the meeting came when we welcomed in people as official members of the Church. It is always so encouraging to hear testimonies from people who have a revelation that God has planted them in BCC. I firmly believe that God adds people into a Church; it is not a decision we take by weighing up the 'pros and cons' but is based on a conviction of faith that this is where God wants us to be. Welcome to James, Jamie, Jim and Rachel, Richard and Gill. Clearly, if you want to join BCC then being a 'James' (or a derivative thereof) will help speed up the process! Have a great day.

LIFE and Life to the Full

On Tuesday evening, we had our Boys' LIFE (Living In Faith Everyday) Group. These LIFE Groups are basically smaller, more intimate groups which meet every 2-3 weeks. They are essentially homegroups for young people and aim to provide a practical expression to BELONG to the CHURCH (see youth pages on our website for more details). The Girls have their own meetings and Matt Hooper and I run Boys' sessions. Since July of last year, the Boys' Life Groups have had a really different feel to them. A number of the older lads finally left ENERGY to move onto a new phase of their lives in the Church. It is great that they have settled into Homegroups and made decisions about joining the Church as adults in their own right. This is so encouraging. In the meantime, the current Boys' Life Groups have got a bit smaller (we average about 6-8) and it has taken some time for them to re-adjust to these changes. We had a great time on Tuesday evening and I came away encouraged. This week we were reviewing last week's Prayer and Fasting sessions. I was so pleased to hear that the lads had really enjoyed the experience and God had spoken to them. One shared about how he wants to have a greater impact for Jesus on his school, another talked about a verse from Psalms related to trusting God and just having a simple faith in Him. Another shared a personal story of finding comfort after a family bereavement. Sometimes the work of a Youth Pastor can be pretty well...er...ordinary! There is a general 'routine' of organising things, dealing with pastoral matters, keeping the Team encouraged, staying on top of administrative issues, working with Parents, keeping things fresh and prophetic in nature and so on. Moments like Tuesday evening make it all worth while though; God is gracing these amazing lads to love and live for Him. This is blended with a great atmosphere of fun, laughter and just winning the battles of faith on a day by day basis. Keep praying for our Young People as well as Matt and I as we seek to lead them.

Watch Out For The Wolves

I was listening to a message by Colin Urquhart which really caught my attention. You can listen to it via itunes, it's titled: 'Honour the Anointing' (11th January 2009). In this message, Colin recounts the story of the split and destruction of a Church in Denmark. This Church was very dear to his heart and the Leadership and many of the people received his apostolic gifting. Tragically, this huge Church of 2500 people; a flagship Church in the nation was torn apart by a rebellious group of leaders who simply pursued their own interests and agendas. Satan got into the Church and it went from 2500 to 150 in a short space of time. As I listened to Colin share this message, I was touched by his humility and deep pastoral concern for all of the people concerned, especially some of the key leaders who suffered emotional breakdowns as a result. Clearly, this is a complex situation and not one which can be clearly explained in a short blog entry. You can listen to the message yourselves. All I want to say is we have a real enemy. He wants to kill, steal and destroy. Churches are vulnerable structures as they are under constant spiritual attack. These spiritual attacks do not exist in a vacuum; they manifest themselves through people. The 'rebels' (as Colin refers to them) who precipitated this crisis did not have horns and tails. They were 'ordinary' people who came across as godly people but underneath they began to criticise, judge and develop a proud heart. Their actions were catastrophic to the Church because of the demonic forces which attached themselves to their works. Let's not be naieve; any Church who means business with God is vulnerable and faces these challenges. We are no exception. What can you do? Pray to God, submit to those leaders under whom God has placed you, remain humble and teachable, do not tolerate moaning and complaining either in your own hearts or in the hearts of others, be a people of love, faith and hope. We have been taught all these things in recent years and despite all of the challenges, God's grace is over us and we are advancing! Enjoy the snow....

Sunday Meeting

Another week begins here in Bristol and at the time of writing this, it's snowing! I wanted to make a couple of observations about yesterday's meeting. There was a really strong prophetic theme coming through about persevering when things get difficult. A couple of people shared how their weeks had been really challenging and they had to seek God. John reminded us that Jesus always promised us trouble this side of heaven (John 16:33) and sometimes we have to make an effort to reach out to God, re-committing our lives to stand and pursue Him. I was leading the worship yesterday and we sang 'Here I Am (Majesty)', a Delirious song from a few years ago. I love how God puts songs into my mind and when the time is right I can use them in the corporate context. There was such an anointing on this song yesterday morning and it really lifted people. Worship is such a strong part of the life of BCC and when it carries a prophetic edge it can change the whole course of a meeting. John's message also dovetailed with the rest of the meeting's prophetic edge and is well worth a listen (check out our website or go to itunes). Yesterday was one of those times when the worship, word, sharing and prayers all blended together into an integrated whole. It's a work of the Holy Spirit and it is not something we can orchestrate. It really encourages me that God is in control of the Church and clearly directs our times together. Have a great day! Do leave a comment if you want to - it let's me know there are some of you out there reading this blog.