Born for Porn?

I wasn't sure whether to write this or not but I decided to take a risk and go for it as I think it will challenge those of you who have children or teenagers or work with them. Ironically, this evening we are doing a "Sex Factor Revisited Session" on relationships with the Youth, so it seemed appropriate to blog about it here.

I was watching a programme on C4 last night called 'The Sex Education Programme'. Don't worry, it's not as sordid as it sounds. This is a week-long series designed to address the thorny issues of sex education with teenagers. It involves going into schools with their 'Sex Education Roadshow' and being extremely frank and honest about all matters relating to sex with a hall full of honest but embarrassed teenagers who seemed to have WAY too much carnal knowledge of these intimate matters. Clearly, this is done from the world's perspective and their teaching is far from Biblical. The general attitude is 'Well, they're all doing it so we may as well make sure they know what they're doing and don't get pregnant or an STI'. No-one was even questioning whether this cultural downgrading of sexual activity to pure biological acts which satiates our Freudian drives is right or not. But that's for another Blog entry!

One thing which stood out for me was their attempt to address the issue of pornography and the affect it is having on teenagers today. According to research, the first time a teenager views pornography is 11. You read that correctly: E-L-E-V-E-N. That's the first year of secondary school. Pornography is not new in the history of humanity but the ease with which it can be accessed and the sheer unfiltered volumes of it parked for all to see on the internet is a very recent development and both shocking and disturbing.

They gathered about 20 parents of teenagers at a private cinema in London to show them clips of extremely explicit, hardcore pornographic material young people have admitted to watching. The Presenter's opening comment to these parents was highly disturbing: they could not show some of the material which had been viewed by the young people in their survey because it contained animals or children and this was illegal. They proceeded to show the 'legal' clips to these already traumatised parents and we watched them react. One woman looked like she was going to vomit. Many of them could not even look at some of the scenes and cowered behind their hands or bags of popcorn. There were cries of disgust and gasps of shock. At the end one woman said, 'that is not pornography, that is evil'.

I ask you again. Do you know what your children are watching and do you know how to find out what they are watching? I was stunned both by these parents' pure, unadulterated naivety and their complete inability to find their way around a P.C. to find out what their teenage daughters and sons (mainly) are viewing. The powers of evil and darkness behind pornography are very strong and very powerful. The Bible makes this very clear (Ephesians 6). It is soul destroying, highly addictive and a powerful, corrosive force working against the development of healthy, normal relationships.

We must help the next generation fight these battles. They face challenges we never did. Parents, talk to your kids about these issues because if you don't teach them what the Bible says and demonstrate it in your own lives, the world will be only too happy to step in. Involve other trusted strong, Christian adults in this work. Get them to pray and talk through issues with your kids when necessary, reinforcing the strong Biblical messages you have already said. Use Covenant Eyes. Monitor their texts and WAP use on their phones. If you are not very technically minded then talk to people who are, they'll be happy to help!

Thank God that the same power which raised Jesus from the dead now lives and resides in us (Romans 8:11) and we can overcome this world and everything it throws at us (1 John 4:4).

Look At My Face - I AM Bovvered

Youth get a very bad press. So many of the stories about young people in the media are very negative. It can be pretty bleak if you don't have Jesus. Yesterday, over 20 young people in the Church got involved in running our Youth Service and showed that not only does Jesus gives you a fresh start but a new way of living as well. Here are a few highlights for me from the morning's meeting:

Banners Becca Taylor and a few of the ENERGY girls had made two outstanding banners (big ones too!). I'd not seen them until yesterday and they blew me away. Well done!

Atmosphere One of my fears was that it would turn into a bit of a 'Let's Be Entertained By The Youth' event but God owned what we did and encouraged the Church through the input from them. The Church was full to bursting and nearly all the chairs had been put out with lots of guests and visitors coming along to enjoy the meeting. At the end, there was a real buzz in the air as people had refreshments and tucked into the huge mountain of homemade cakes and biscuits courtesy of the young people.

Baptisms It is always encouraging to see people choosing to make this public declaration of their faith in Jesus. I loved being a part of this and I congratulate Richard and Debbie!

Contributions The quality of contributions from the young people was extremely high: Russ and Steve did the 'main talk' and they actually began to preach, interact and speak prophetically to the Church rather than simply read out a prepared statement from a sheet. They volunteered to do this talky bit on Tuesday evening because they wanted to stretch their faith a bit and they were extremely well organised in putting it together. We had a run through on Saturday lunchtime and again on Sunday morning before they delivered it. You can download this message now! The Fresh Start Files from Samuel, Hana and Jo were also very well put together and informative. I wanted the Church to get more of a personal take on what we have been doing in ENERGY over the year and Esther, Sarah, Anna and Dan helped do that through their own brief testimonies.

Other Stuff Mike did a great job hosting things. It is not an easy job as you have so much to think about and you feel the pressure! He did so well though and I know he spent a lot of time planning and going through what he needed to say. The Youth Band also helped keep our focus on Jesus and introduced a new song 'Evermore'. We also had a wonderful afternoon of food and fun in the sun courtesy of Dennis and Mary (yes, they even organised the great weather for us!).

Thanks Thanks to all those of you who prayed for us and got involved and supported the Youth Service (especially Neil Taylor who sorted out all the PA stuff, the Two Towers DVD, put up with me harassing him all week with requests to do stuff etc).

Don't believe everything you see or hear in the media; there is a generation of Young People out there who love God, want to serve Him and despite considerable temptations to do otherwise, are committed to follow Jesus, live for eternity and complete what He has called them to do in this dark, dark world.

Don't Run Like Radcliffe - Finish The Race

After 4 months of study I finished reading through the Book of Exodus this morning! The last few Chapters of this book have highlighted something really important to me: finish what God wants you to do. It seems like there is alot of repetition in the closing chapters of Exodus but actually much of this simply shows that the Israelites finished what they had been told to do.

I've been finding things really challenging recently. Some of what we have been hearing from John's Sunday messages have been outstanding. Our lives were designed to contribute towards eternity but how difficult that can be sometimes! Living in this temporal world with all the temptations and tests that come with it can easily obfuscate The Truth that we must store up for ourselves treasure in heaven. Even when we don't want to do it, keep telling yourself this truth and gather others around you who share the same view. (Matthew 6:19-21). Drive it deep into your soul by speaking The Word of God over and over.

Exodus 40:33 (ESV) says, "Moses finished the work" (my emphasis). I love the blunt, simple finality of that statement. I think heaven rejoiced over this one man who got the job done. I want that to be my epitaph: "James finished what God called him to do". Some of this work will not be glamorous, seen by others or even popular with the crowd. However, it will achieve the goal of ensuring my eternity will be full of rich spiritual rewards. I'm sure Moses felt the same way: Hebrews 11: 24-26 (ESV), "By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward" (my emphasis). Moses was looking forward to that reward. So am I. I hope you are too.

See you at the Youth Service on Sunday. Don't forget to put your clocks forward 1 hour on Saturday night!

Teens Take Control

As I write this, the Youth Service is in it's final stages of planning and preparation. On Sunday we will be seeking to input some prophetic life into the Church by running the morning meeting. In all honesty, I prefer young people to be involved in our meetings every week and not just for a special 'one-off'; that's why we don't take them out to do special sessions with them. However, I know that as a Church we don't view these services as 'performances' where we come to be entertained by the Young People who get paraded around like acts in a circus! These meetings are different both in terms of content and style but we are still seeking to bring God's will, purposes and presence into that meeting even though the programme is already prepared and it is run by different people. It is also really encouraging for you to see what God is doing amongst us and these sorts of meetings can give a window onto that work.

The theme is 'A Fresh Start' and over 20 young people will be involved in the Service. Some will be praying, others will host, there will be some short teaching slots looking at three different characters who received a fresh start from God, a couple of the boys will be doing the main message and a few of the older teens will be helping out in the Youth Band. Unlike previous years, we will not be seeing Street Dance or Direct Acting perform as these ministries are taking a break at this time, so this Service will have quite a different feel about it, not least because we have two people being baptised as well: the meeting should be full!

I really encourage you all to come along, bring friends and pray for God's presence to move in and through all that we do. There will also be a table loaded with homemade cakes and biscuits (again, made by the young people) for us all to enjoy after the Service. See you there!

**DON'T FORGET TO PUT YOUR CLOCKS FORWARD 1 HOUR BEFORE YOU GO TO BED ON SATURDAY NIGHT. MISS THAT AND YOU'LL MISS MOST OF THE YOUTH SERVICE!**

Meet Moses

It is SO important we learn, love and live The Truth: the Word of God. So many Christians survive on a diet of low-grade, half-digested interpretation from other Christians and never really dig into the Bible first hand. Many, many Christians have died over the years so you and I are free to hold a complete, accurately translated Bible in our hands right now. How many of us squander this glorious freedom by leaving the Bible on a shelf and the television on!

Having read through the Bible several times, using different translations over many years I felt the Lord direct my study in a different direction in 2008. I wanted to dig deeper into the wonderful truths of the Bible by going through each book with a good quality commentary and developing my understanding and revelation. I'm not simply feeding off someone else's revelation; instead I'm increasing my knowledge and using other's views to let the Holy Spirit spark thoughts in my own mind.

I started off in Genesis then went to Matthew and now after four months of expository study, my time in Exodus is drawing to an end. I have loved it! At times I have picked up historical, cultural and linguistic insights which I would never have known or understood had I not been using a solid, Bible-honouring commentary which digs deeper into the glorious truths contained therein. By approaching the Bible in this way, I've got to know the central character in the Book of Exodus: Moses. ENERGY have heard alot about him in recent months and our trip to Croyde at the end of April will be focusing on his life and what we can learn from him as Christians in 2009.

I've seen Moses' ups and downs, his successes and his failures. I've seen how he handled crisis after crisis and how he had a hunger for a deep intimate walk with God which superceded everything and everyone else. I've walked through his life by living his life through the pages of Exodus and the revelation God has given me in so doing has been a rich source of comfort, support and challenge. I won't go into everything I've learnt as this blog is already too long but watch this space!

Studying books in this way is not a theological, dead, boring exercise. It's about taking the Canon of Scripture (i.e. the written 66 books you hold in your hand when you pick up a complete Bible) and letting the Holy Spirit take these words and apply them to your life in a fresh, dynamic way. The Canon of Scripture is closed. You can't add any more Books to it, no matter what The Cults say! However, the interpretation of this awesome Bible is not closed because the Holy Spirit will take God's Word (translated as logos in the Greek e.g Hebrews 4:12) and speak to Jesus' followers, leading them into all truth (John 16:13), providing them with the daily word Jesus spoke of in Matthew 4:4 (where 'word' translates the Greek rhema).

Augustine, Calvin, Luther and more recently C.S. Lewis, Stott, R.T. Kendall, Driscoll and others offer their interpretations of Scripture. Don't confuse their views with Scripture. As long as you are in-line with the core teachings of the Bible (for example, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and so on) then the Holy Spirit can lead you into the most profound revelations which will feed your soul and those around you. Understanding the Bible is not for the few, it's the many. It helps to be 'trained' to handle the Scriptures well, especially those who feel a call to preach, teach or lead a Church but I would suggest that so much theological training is liberal, humanistic or lacking in the Holy Spirit that you'd be best to save your time and money!

I thank God the Holy Spirit has lead my reading and study, spoken to me and taught me so much from the life of Moses. I look forward to more! Sorry, this has been a long entry again. I get a bit carried away sometimes!

Fun in the Sun

Over the weekend, about 15 of us went down to a lovely cottage neat Tiverton, Devon to celebrate someone's birthday. Decorum prohibits me from sharing the specific age but needless to say it was a bit of a landmark. Pray for them. Anyway, most of the people who went were from B.C.C. but there were a few others who I didn't know that well, if at all. The venue was a wonderful extended cottage set in the folds of the rolling valleys of Devonshire countryside. It was located down some rather narrow lanes and the drive leading to the front door was very steep indeed. It included a huge kitchen, living room, extensive upstairs bedrooms with washing facilities and a converted barn with cinema-sized screen, pool table and underfloor heating.

We had some really great times to relax, have a laugh and build friendships over the weekend. There were plenty of edible treats (I baked a few myself: flapjack, chocolate brownies, Smarties cookies and caramel shortbread) and tasty coffee courtesy of Dave and Nicky's Nespresso Machine. We enjoyed some meals together too, sang "Happy Birthday" a few too many times (in some rather dodgy keys) and in the evenings relaxed in front of the open fire or sung along to ABBA SongStar (yes, there is footage of some of us making idiots of ourselves) in the Games Room. Some people enjoyed the rugby on Saturday afternoon, others participated in a bit of cricket in the garden and the weather was PERFECT the whole time!!

On Sunday morning, a few of us travelled back up the M5 to Taunton to visit Kingdom Faith Church, South West. I'd wanted to visit for a while and when I knew we were going to be down this end of the Country, I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to pop in. At the moment, they meet in a local school and as we pulled in it reminded me of the many years B.C.C. used to live a similarly transient existence, moving from place to place like spiritual nomads! The amount of work required in setting up and taking down every week is very demanding but it certainly shows how committed you are to the task in hand when this is what is required of all those wanting to get involved.

For the sake of brevity, I will focus on the message preached by Judith Butler, the Leader of the Church. She shared for about an hour and I really liked both the spirit and content of what was said. Essentially, she said we must always keep the Cross at the centre of our Gospel and not allow things to be softened by a desire to be more appealing to the world; you can't have forgiveness without repentance and too many Churches were willing to go down this route in order to see more people come through the door. It sounded like some of her 'no nonsense' approach had also come at a cost within the Church itself as people had become offended and left. Some of her message was highly prophetic and confirmed the themes we have been hearing about in B.C.C.: always very encouraging! I came away feeling both challenged and built up.

Why do I emphasise this? Well, Judith's message was particularly important as I read in Christianity Magazine over the weekend that Brian McLaren, the unapologetic apologist for emergent church movements who's views on hell, penal substitutionary atonement, sexuality and expressions of church are highly questionable, will be speaking at this year's Spring Harvest Conference. Jude vs4-5 says, "For certain men...have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a licence for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." I would suggest that anyone who does not place Christ, His life, death and resurrection at the centre of the Gospel message may well find themselves meeting the criteria in the above verses. As we enter another week, you do the same!

P.S. I came back to the Cottage to find people had listened to the live webstream of KF Horsham's Message followed by John Maskell's message from itunes - what an excellent Sunday morning double-whammy!

Training the Tongue

As promised, here is an edited version of what Gary Rumbold prophesied over the Church a few weeks ago: GaryRumbold%28Edited%29.doc (You can also listen to the message he preached entitled "Danger!" on the website or itunes http://www.bristolcommunitychurch.org/podcasts.asp). I have kept in the content relevant to us as a Church and taken out anything of a more personal nature regarding individuals. I know John was really encouraged by what Gary shared and it dovetails beautifully with what the Spirit of God has already been speaking to us about in recent months: a good sign!

Let's be honest, sometimes we need to hear these encouraging words of faith as we can get disappointed, discouraged or just plain downcast. It's important we keep speaking God's Truth over us, the Church and the specific work He has called us to do. It concerns me that so often when we meet up socially or informally we can easily slip into moaning, criticism and whining. It will masquerade as 'giving positive feedback', or 'just telling it like it is' or even ' I'm entitled to my opinion aren't I?' but the subtext is a lack of faith and a proud heart. There is always a place for "letting off steam" with the right people at the right time but it can't be a constant way of life. We must really guard what we say and the words we speak over people and situations: they will make the difference between spiritual life and death (Proverbs 10:19, 18:21, James 3:3-12).

After four months going through the Exodus, I am approaching the final couple of Chapters. I will miss Moses! I feel like I have really got to know him as I have gone on a journey through his life from birth to death. I've seen his ups and downs; his successes and failures; his defeats and his triumphs. I have been thinking about where to go next in my detailed study of the Bible and I remembered that during a time of fasting last year the Lord speak to me about reading through the Book of James again.

One of the verses quoted above highlights the power of the tongue and although I have not started studying James yet, this verse sparked a thought in me which I put to good use at the prayer meeting last Saturday morning. Using the prophetic words spoken over us by both Paul Taylor and Gary Rumbold, I read them back to the prayer group and then using that as a springboard, we identified key prophetic areas to pray into. Grouping some of the areas into more generic headings, we then put them up on Flip Chart paper and moved into the big room to spend the rest of the session praying into these issues. It was awesome and everyone got involved. We really did business and I encourage you to take hold of the tried and tested words spoken over your life and by applying faith, speak them into existence. Have a great weekend.

Lord of the Bling

This morning I was down at St. Mary Redcliffe School doing an assembly with about 200 teenagers. I have been doing assemblies for along time. It is a really good discipline for any of us who think we are good communicators: you have 8 minutes to say something meaningful to a group of (usually) reluctant teenagers, most of whom are still half asleep or just plain irritated at being made to sit through a talk by a short, balding bloke who isn't very 'cool'. Some of the Staff can be far from interested too!

This morning I showed a clip from The Two Towers which features Gollum arguing with himself about his murky past and what he has done. At one point he points an accusatory finger (at himself) and hisses, 'You're a muuuuuurderer.' Using this clip I began to talk about 'Dirty Little Secrets'. Have you ever noticed that many, many followers of God all through the pages of the Bible had these nasty, sometimes sordid, sometimes unpleasant dirty little secrets or skeletons in the cupboards of their lives? Moses murdered a man in cold blood (Exodus 2:12), David was an adulterer and a murder (2 Samuel 11), Peter was hotheaded and quick to run when the pressure was on (Luke 8:32-33, Luke 22:33, 54-62), Saul (later to become Paul) liked nothing better than to see Christians put to death and considered it his mission in life to do this job before a trip to Damascus changed all that (Acts 8:1-3, Acts 9:1-32).

I'm sure many of us would be totally ashamed or embarrassed to see the minutiae of our lives flashed up on a big screen for all to see - reality TV at in it's most literal sense! However, the Gospel of Jesus Christ means we, like Moses, David, Peter, Paul and so on, can know TWO things. First of all we are changed by the Gospel as we become new creations, clean and able to enjoy a fresh start with God(2 Corinthians 5:17). All of our dirty little secrets are obliterated by the bomb of God's loving, forgiving grace. Secondly, even when we do make mistakes and sin, God will still forgive us when we repent (1 John 1:5-10) and welcome us back into fellowship with Him through Jesus His Perfect Son. Now that's something worth rejoicing about as we enjoy this amazing day.

Spring has Sprung

I love the fact that God knows when we need a bit of encouragement. As I write this, the sun is shining outside and it is a truly beautiful day. We even have fresh cut daffodils in the Office and it seems that Spring has finally sprung! Even in our walks with Him, He knows when the time is right to drop something encouraging into our lives that helps us see the 'Bigger Picture' of what He is doing and how He is working.

Sometimes, I do find Church work pretty hard work. It is not because my diary is incredibly busy, things tend to vary a lot from day to day and week to week, instead it is the spiritual aspect to all we do here in the Church which can be draining. The Bible makes it clear that our lives are, first and foremost, spiritual and we contend against spiritual powers (Ephesians 6). The Church (spiritual), advances the Kingdom of God (spiritual) in a world that hates the Gospel (spiritual) and teaches quite the opposite (spiritual). In the midst of all this, God regularly drops in little items of encouragement which help me a great deal.

An example of this came last week when I spoke to someone who has recently become a Christian. He came to speak to me at the end of a meeting and said, in a hushed tone, 'I must speak to you about something really important'. These are not always the words you want to hear! He then went on to describe an experience which had happened to him the previous week: he had been at home listening to a worship CD. During this time meeting with God he had suddenly felt a warm tingling at the back of his throat and found himself speaking in a language he'd never heard of or used before. Is this normal? was his question. Wow! I was so encouraged to hear this. God is at work. Don't ignore these little signs of encouragement the Lord wants to give you today: keep your eyes and ears open because they are there if you look hard enough.

ENERGY Advice Shop: Letting The Word Do The Work

I promised you all a blog about last Tuesday's Advice Shop with the Youth here at Bristol Community Church, so here it is. One of my favourite Proverbs (and one I regularly use with the Youth) is Proverbs 13:20, "He who walks with the wise grows wise but a companion of fools suffers harm." The Advice Shop was a way of speaking wisdom into the lives of the Youth. They live in a world which teaches them all sorts of lies and rubbish about what is and is not acceptable especially in the areas of sex, relationships, money, appropriate dress, language and so on. We wanted to use God's Word to strike back against these lies and teach them the truth!

I'd asked some other people from Church to come and be a panel of 'experts' who would answer any question thrown at them by ENERGY. I was keen to use 'experts' who had come from a Christian background themselves as they have first-hand experience of what it is like facing the pressures of growing up in this environment. Neil and Becca Taylor, Julia Pike and David Harris graciously accepted the invite and came along prepared for what lay ahead!

We received about 30 (anonymous) questions in the end and some of those came through a special webpage that had been set up on the Youth Pages of the Church's website (thanks Neil). They asked some brilliant questions (well done to all of you who participated!) ranging from the silly to the serious. I'd grouped the questions into different categories so there was some consistency in the answers being given and we worked through them as best we could.

What worked really well was the way one person would highlight one really important point and then someone else would reinforce that through their own experience or a verse from the Bible and then someone else would bring in another really important point. The Panel had prepared really well (I'd given them a bit of a heads up on some of the questions so they had time to think about their answers - it cuts down on waffle and gives them time to find relevant Scriptures!) and I loved the fact that they quoted a lot from the Bible. It's easy to argue with one or two people giving an answer but unless you are willing to downgrade the inerrant, inspired, perfect Word of God in your life, it's not so easy to argue with the Bible. Time and time again, the Panel used the Word of God to correct, rebuke and train these young people in how to live God's way (2 Timothy 3:16). As I reflect back on the evening, it was this dimension to the event which really made the difference. The Bible is living and active and when we use it to govern our lives the Word does the work.

Thanks to the Panel and all those who supported us by coming along, making cakes, setting up lights, clearing up etc. Thanks especially to the Young People who got involved and attended this really prophetic, important time hearing bible-based answers to their questions. Now go and do something about it or you're a fool (Matthew 7:24-27) and you don't love Jesus (John 14:15, 1 John 5:3)!

Heathrow Here I Come

Welcome back John and Linda! They safely touched down at Heathrow yesterday evening and I went to collect them after their extremely long journey back from New Zealand. It was great to see them and they both had a truly wonderful time out there and have come back refreshed and raring to go despite having 12 hours of jet lag to negotiate and 36 hours of non-stop travel under their belts. It took some time for them to get off the plane (it was one of those huge, 500-seater, double-decker jobs), get through immigration and collect their luggage so I was waiting for a while in the Arrivals Lounge before they came through. I carefully positioned myself so I had a good view of all the people streaming through the Arrivals Doors, being greeted by family and friends. In the hour I was there, I must have seen literally hundreds of people came through those doors. The Lord began to speak to me about a few things as I witnessed all this going on...

1. He Is THE Lord There must have been dozens of nationalities ranging from countries all across the globe. Heathrow is a truly international airport as evidenced by the numbers of different languages I heard in that time. We can lose our perspective on the sheer size and magnitude of God's Holy Reign and Power so quickly can't we? Don't forget that when it says Jesus is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings (Revelation 19:16), that means He rules over ALL these different tribes and nations. I only knew TWO people there: John and Linda, but God knew every single person there, intimately: He knew their lives, their names, where they had come from, where they were going and everything in between (Psalm 139:1-24).

2. The Joy of Meeting On a couple of occasions some of the travellers were parents or grandparents who had been away for a while. I watched one set of Grandparents as they came through the doors. Two very excited, smiling Grandchildren came running up the concourse and pounced on them, showering them with daffodils, hugs, kisses and smiles. There is a tremendous, infectious joy in being with people who are important to you. I love the fact that Moses was a man who regularly met with a Holy God; a consuming fire sat on top of a mountain with flames of His glory enshrouding this little Hebrew YET God drew near. I think Moses feared God but in his desire to develop this intimate relationship, he put a smile on the face of God as well. Do you run to meet God? Do you feel that joy at meeting His Majesty once again?

3. Wait I'm not very good at waiting. In fact, I'm pretty bad at it. My Mum always used to say that I was like 'a bull in a china shop' and I can charge into things without stopping and waiting for the best moment. Sometimes this can be a good thing as it means I can drive things forward and create a forward sense of momentum and direction. However, most of the time it can cause problems. One of the fruits of being a follower of Jesus is patience (Psalm 40:1, Galatians 5:22). As I waited at Heathrow last night God made me wait. I was aware of His Presence. I started to pray and met with the Lord. I began to override my flesh and tapped into the Spirit.

Thankfully, you don't need to drive to Heathrow and hang around in the Arrivals' Lounge for a while to experience all of the above. Instead, take a few minutes today to reflect on what I've written, see what stands out for you, give it to the Lord and let Him have His way.

Have an awesome weekend!

B.C.C.'s Got Talent

I was thinking about some of the amazingly gifted people we have in the Church. The Bible makes it clear that every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). Sadly, not everyone uses those God-given gifts to bring honour and glory to Jesus. Some of us may think that only 'upfront' gifts like preaching, leading worship and so on are the really important gifts, however this is simply not true! A good example of this was our special Youth Advice Shop Evening on Tuesday evening.

This was a chance for the young people in ENERGY to send in (anonymously) any questions they had about growing up as a Christian teenager. This facility was set up by our Web Master Neil and as a result we had some really excellent questions! As part of the evening Peter came and set up some special lights for us. Some of the Youth Team made refreshments and helped serve them. The Panel (thanks Julia, Becca, Neil and Dave!) dispensed some really godly wisdom on a number of tricky topics, sharing their own experiences and biblical views from years of walking with God. Wisdom is a gift too! (James 1:5).

Let me give you some other examples of God's gifts at work in people's lives here in B.C.C. all of which bringing HIM praise and honour: those of who work with the kids in our Sunday School Ministry, the P.A. Guys who do such an excellent job making us heard each week, the servants running the coffee/teas at the end of Church, the amazing musicians we have in B.C.C. Did you know that Jon Pike's album Found has been reviewed in Cross Rhythms Magazine by one of their senior reviewers and received a RESOUNDING endorsement: 9 out of 10??!! http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/products/Jon_Pike/Found/77549/ The preachers and teachers of God's word who share with wisdom and authority despite critics and complainers, the evangelists who go out on the streets as well as those who minister God's love and life to the hurting, Kirsty and the Bourne Family Project Team who are building bridges with the local community and beyond, our Parents and Toddler Group, Bob and the work of Aid International which has raised over £500 000 (net) in the 8 and a half years since it's inception. There are many more examples so forgive me if I've missed out anyone.

It's only until you stop and think about what God has given us that we truly appreciate how much we have. Remember that all these gifts come from God. All this work we do is the work prepared by God for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). He calls us and equips us to do it. Let's make sure He gets all the praise.

Three Cheers for Chorleywood

Have you lost your first love? I became a Christian when I was 16 (Moses was still on the earth in those days) and sometimes, when I am going a bit stale in my walk with Jesus, I remember that first encounter with the Lord. As I stood with thousands of others at a Billy Graham Rally at Earl's Court in London on 30 June 1989 I felt the Holy Spirit fill me and birth in me a tremendous love for Jesus. This love is still there nearly 20 years on and going strong.

Those first few months of being a Christian were awesome. I knew nothing about the Bible or about God or what I was supposed to be doing but I knew I had changed. Gone was the shy, insecure, under-confident teenager and in came someone who knew he was loved by Someone much bigger. I spent hours talking to a couple of my new Christian friends who helped me so much and even put together some worship tapes for me to listen to (I'd never heard of Wesley Owen in those days!). Some of Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith's early stuff still reminds me of that Summer/Autumn time.

I went to St. Andrew's, Chorleywood, an outstanding, vibrant, theologically sound, Anglican Church (and it still is!) which was about 6 miles drive from where I lived in Watford. Every Sunday I would sort out a lift or get the tube from Watford Met. Station, changing at Moor Park and waiting for another train to Chorleywood before walking the last 15 minutes to St. Andrew's. I was hungry for Jesus and committed to doing whatever it took to pursue Him. I rarely missed anything and loved being with God's people and lapping up the Lord's Presence.

Today my passion for the Lord is still burning stronger than ever but I WANT MORE! There is a shout of love in my heart. I was reading about Moses this morning (Exodus 33:12-21). Here was a man who knew God intimately; Moses had met with God on Mount Sinai, he had received the 10 Commandments, he had seen the Lord do truly awesome miracles which set them free from the slavery of Egypt AND YET in these verses we see him asking for more. In the Hebrew, these verses reflect something of an idiom which could be translated 'I want to get up close and personal with You Lord." He wanted a deeper relationship with the God and God gave it to him.

If you are flirting with the world, griping about Church, feeling dry and distant from the Lord, everything is a hard struggle with little or no relief, then it may be that you too have lost that shout of love in your heart. Talk to God today and seek Him. Don't settle for a low-grade, compromised life of faith: I don't believe that is the kind of life we are called to live. Remember what God has done for you. Thank Him for all the tremendous blessings you have to enjoy today. Position yourself in the right place and, as Gary mentioned last Sunday, listen to the right people who can help you move forward. Go for it!

P.S. pray for us tonight as Neil and Becca, Julia and Dave join us for the ENERGY Advice Shop. They are tackling the 25+ questions sent in by the young people on a huge array of different subjects and hopefully they'll will do it with considerable wisdom and practical insight. Pray! I'll blog more about it later in the week.

Danger Danger

[With apologies to Fight Club] The first rule about Contend is that you don't talk about Contend. The second rule about Contend is that YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT CONTEND! Lol. I was going to blog about the amazing time we had on Friday night when Gary Rumbold came to speak to nearly 40+ guys about the challenges of remaining sexually pure in this corrupt and polluted world, using his own life experiences as illustrations, but in view of the rules about Contend, I'd better not! We did have an excellent time and I believe that his talk was recorded. It's worth a listen but is not for the faint-hearted.

What I wanted to touch on today, at the start of this wonderful new week of Kingdom living, is the truly outstanding time we had in yesterday's meeting. I know that sometimes these phrases are completely overused in Christian circles but I can honestly say that it was one of the most powerful times of meeting with God I have had for along time. Gary stayed over on Friday night and joined us to speak God's word and minister life to us as a community of believers during Sunday's meeting. Here are a few of the highlights...

1. Enter The Throne Room From the start there was a real sense of expectation and excitement from most of the people. We began to sing refrains that reminded me of the activity of heaven (Revelation 5:11-14) and there was a strong sense of the majesty of God and how we needed to press into the Throne Room.

2. Spiritual Gifts Gary began to sing prophetically and I felt this was a real turning point in the meeting: it's like we opened the door to something even more powerful. Did you hear the response from the people? It is always a good sign when the congregation begin to get behind something and from where I was sitting I could hear all the people behind me singing their hearts out. Did the angels join with us? We also heard the spoken prophetic gift in action as Gary and his colleague John prophesied over us as a Church and over Neil, Wendy and I. All of these words have been recorded and when John has read them I will put the relevant ones up on this Blog for you. They resonated with much of what we have already heard and confirmed out sense of God owning who we are and what we're doing.

We also experienced some powerful times of singing in tongues. This much misunderstood (and in some quarters, much maligned) gift exploded into the meeting and what I noticed was how it drew people deeper and deeper into worship; their focus was turning away from themselves and onto Jesus.

3. Danger! Danger! Gary's preach is now available on the website/itunes for you to download (http://www.bristolcommunitychurch.org/podcasts.asp). I thought his visual aid was very helpful and the content of his message echoed with so much of what has already been taught in the Church. This is always a good sign and I think this is why we get on so well with some of the Kingdom faith Team - they have very similar values and revelation to us. The core of Gary's message was about God bringing all areas of our lives into alignment and how we must co-operate with that and not stray into the 'Danger Zone'. He fleshed this out a bit, looking at what some of those specific things can be and what we need to do about it. It's a great message, go and listen to it again!

4. Visitors We are getting a lot of new people coming through the doors of the Church. Wasn't it great to see virtually every seat taken and the Bourne Chapel full? There were plenty of visitors there yesterday and as I looked out across the Church it encouraged me a great deal to see new faces wanting to meet Jesus and move forward in their lives of faith.

So much more happened and this Blog entry is already really long. I'm going to sign off now. I hope you get a flavour of what happened and the truly awesome time we had together. Watch this space for a synopsis of the core prophetic message from the morning.

Let's Get Ready To Rumbold

This weekend we are in for a real treat: Gary Rumbold is coming to speak at Contend on Saturday evening and then staying with Neil and Wendy so he can speak at our Sunday Morning Meeting. Gary heads up the Pastoral Team at Kingdom Faith Church in Horsham, the flagship congregation of the KF Network, an apostolic movement influencing people right across the globe. As well as a vibrant, dynamic 500+ Church at the heart of London’s commuter belt, a training College, Conferences and ministry trips abroad, Kingdom Faith run an annual event in Peterborough: Faith Camp. This event sees thousands of Christians (including dozens from B.C.C.!) gather from all over the world for a week of teaching, ministry and worship. You can find out more about Kingdom Faith and all they do by clicking here: http://www.kingdomfaith.com/

It is amazing how God makes relational connections with the right people at the right time. A few years ago, we did not really have any formal relational links with the Leadership Team of Kingdom Faith. We attended Faith Camp but that was about it! However, God began to open up doors for us when Neil (Bright) attended one of the their Leadership Conferences in September 2006. He immediately 'connected' with some of their Team and so the link began to grow. Thank God for Neil and thank God for golf (I think it was the round of golf Neil had with Clive which set things in motion)!! Yes, I know - praising God for golf is not something you see regularly on this Blog!

Remember, B.C.C. is not a formal "Covenant Partner" with Kingdom Faith. We do not tithe into their ministry or commit to attend their various conferences yet in the last couple of years our links with them have grown stronger and stronger as they have reached out to us and we have responded:

• Clive Urquhart has come to preach both at Contend and during a Sunday morning,
• Jane Urquhart has also visited and spoken at Unique,
• We have attended some of their Leadership Training Events as well as visited their Ladies' Days down in Horsham,
• We have met up with them at Faith Camp,
• Paul Taylor (one of the Core Team who oversees the whole of the Kingdom Faith movement) came to speak on a Sunday morning and shared a powerful prophetic word (download it from this link: http://www.bristolcommunitychurch.org/podcasts.asp),
• One of our former members of ENERGY went to Kingdom Faith College and is now into her 2nd Year,
• A few members of B.C.C. have family ties with people in the Horsham Church and now
• Gary Rumbold is coming to minister over the weekend.

It is exciting to see how God adds people to your walk with Him to help encourage you and confirm you are on the right path (Proverbs 13:20). MEN: PLEASE COME AND HEAR GARY SPEAK AT CONTEND ON SATURDAY AND LET'S ALL COME PREPARED FOR AN AWESOME TIME WHEN HE SHARES ON SUNDAY MORNING! Thanks. Have a good weekend - I know we will! Lol.

A Special Atmosphere

Neil (Bright) said something yesterday that encouraged me a great deal. He had been talking with a visitor (someone's Mum actually) who had attended one of our recent Sunday meetings. This person had been a couple of times before and she said that there was a really 'special atmosphere' here in the Church. I always listen to views of visitors to B.C.C. as they can often bring a fresh perspective on what God is doing amongst us. As outsiders looking in, they can see things in a new way that we forget or ignore because we are so used to it. The supernatural, dynamic working of God can, paradoxically, become an everyday occurrence thereby diminishing it's impact on us. We do enjoy some really special moments when we gather for corporate worship and ministry. It excites me that this is not a one-off occurrence but a steady, consistent flow of life in and through us over the months and, indeed, years that we meet. Come on God!!

Another good example of this was our Home Group Leaders' Meeting last night. Despite John being away in New Zealand, it was still a good opportunity for us to meet up, share and pray together. I can't sing the Home Group Leaders' praise enough. They are such an excellent group of people. Everyone is different and this is reflected in the different ways they run their Groups.However, despite this diversity of style and approach, the unity between us was palpable. It is also important that we are able to encourage one another and share common experiences which can help others as they lead their Groups. We do laugh a bit too! We concluded the evening with a time of worship and communion. I felt that 'special atmosphere' as Richard led us in a time of worship and Neil broke bread and passed around the wine. The current times we are enjoying on Sunday mornings are percolating through into other gatherings and this is only just the beginning!

Cadbury's Creme Eggs Galore

It looks like spring has sprung! I hope you are enjoying the sunshine, wherever you are. I had a great day yesterday, one of the highlights being our morning meeting. Did you pick up on the theme running through proceedings? Trusting in and waiting for God. It can be a real challenge when we have to wait, especially when we have to do it patiently (Psalm 37:7 and Psalm 40:1) but, as yesterday's testimonies demonstrated, God always comes through in the end. It is always very encouraging when the Holy Spirit brings a prophetic edge to our corporate gatherings, often by using different people to contribute different things which in turn help us identify what it is that we need to focusing on.

Neil shared the word of God with us. He is developing his own style and technique and it is evidence of God's grace that despite having preached in just a handful of Sunday morning meetings, his homiletic skills are going from strength to strength. It's not easy you know! Hearing God, identifying what is on His heart, crafting a message around these key points of revelation, explaining concepts clearly and simply, tracking the leading of God as you share and not being locked into delivering a dry, dead theological lecture and most of all, leaving the people inspired at the end, has to be a work of God.

Yesterday you witnessed a 'relay' effort. Neil started the first leg of the relay by bringing a clear, prophetically sharp word that set the scene for what God was saying to us. The next person (me) took over and started to run with the baton. I had not planned on saying any of what I shared but as I spoke it simply flowed out under the anointing of God. Sometimes you just know that God's word is hitting home with people all across the room and that was certainly my experience as I spoke. Once we had gone back into worship again Richard approached me and it was clear he was carrying a burden that we needed to provide an opportunity for people to respond to all that had been shared. He then took the baton and sprinted for the finishing line. It was the right thing to do as there was a prompt and definitive response to this appeal.

What a relay! I'm wondering if we should re-name Neil 'The Bolt' Bright in honour of the current Olympic Gold Medallist?! Thanks also to those of you who treated me to a Cadbury's Creme Egg. I asked for one and got given SEVEN plus a Fair Trade Cereal bar. Thanks everyone, I ate them all myself yesterday afternoon and felt pretty sick afterwards! Next week I'm thinking of asking for a BMW.....Lol.