Challenging Times

Esther did it, on Saturday, from ten thousand feet:

I am tremendously proud of my daughter. You wouldn’t have got me into the plane, let alone out of it again at ten thousand feet. However, there is more to the story than just being a proud father, and it’s that ‘more’ which makes this story worth including in this blog. My sister and brother-in-law said it very well on their FB page, and I can’t do better than quote what they said there:

Today, our niece Esther jumped out of an aeroplane to raise money for Bristol-based charity ‘Enough’. ‘Enough‘ are reaching out to kids on the Hartcliffe estate in southern Bristol. Esther’s been volunteering with ‘Enough’ for the past couple of years.We are SO proud of her. It’s not too late to sponsor Esther – go to http://fs20.formsite.com/ecouchman1/form681688063/index.html?1277993221805.

This time it’s personal.

Two weeks from today (July 3rd), my younger daughter Esther is going to throw herself out of an aeroplane at 10,000 feet.

She isn’t crazy (well, maybe not)…. She’s doing a sponsored skydive to raise funds for a cause she believes in. This is the ‘Enough‘ ministry, reaching out to kids on the Hartcliffe estate in southern Bristol. Esther’s been volunteering with ‘Enough’ for the past couple of years.

Esther and a group of ‘Enough’ supporters are doing a tandem sky dive with Skydive London. Now I’m scared of heights – I get vertigo standing on a kerbside. Esther may have inherited some of this from me: she is just a bit terrified. But she believes this is worth doing.

Her goal is to raise £1000 for ‘Enough,’ (in addition to the cost of the jump itself). If you think this is a worthwhile cause, and if you’d like to sponsor Esther to throw herself out of an aeroplane, please go here. Esther would be really delighted to hear from you.

Sponsor Esther

The ‘Seize the Day’ podcast for June is now online.

In it, John Ayrton talks to Mark North, from Bolsover Methodist Church, about how they succeeded in reaching one in three of the people in their local community.

Go here to listen.

The ‘Seize the Day’ podcast for March is now available. In it we’re talking to Elaine Storkey, President of Christian relief agency Tearfund, about what the church in the west can learn from the church in developing countries.

Go here to listen.

Biblefresh is a new initiative to encourage and resource churches and Christians in the UK to put the Bible front and centre. At a time when – according to research from the Bible Society – only one in seven church-going Christians even opens a Bible other than in a church service, this has to be a good thing.

It describes itself as:

… a partnership of over fifty agencies, festivals, colleges and denominations who are joining forces to help you grow in appetite and confidence in the scriptures during the year 2011, to coincide with the 400th anniversary celebration of the King James version of the Bible. Biblefresh offers a whole host of ideas and resources to inspire and equip you, your church and your community to read, study, meditate, listen, learn and live the Bible.

Although the main focus will be on 2011 (the four hundredth anniversary of the first English ‘Authorised version’ Bible), there’s a series of launch meetings going on across the country now, spearheaded by my friend Krish Kandiah, Director for Churches in Mission at the Evangelical Alliance.

February’s Slipstream resources are now online, including talks by Krish and by Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, at the Biblefresh launch event in Durham recently, as well as audio and video resources about putting the Bible at the centre, from David Jackman, Vaughan Roberts and Tom Wright.

Go here to listen and watch.

The February ‘Seize the Day’ podcast is now online.

In it we’re talking again to Bob Hopkins, of Anglican Church Planting Initiatives, about the ‘Clusters’ model of church – also known as ‘mid-sized missional communities.’ In this, the third of three conversations with Bob, we’re talking about how to make the transition to a clusters-based church.

Go here to listen

One problem facing missional churches is the tension between gathering for worship, teaching and encouragement, and scattering in mission.

The Seize the Day podcast for December is now online. In it we’re talking again to Bob Hopkins of Anglican Church Planting Initiatives, about the ‘clusters’ approach to church, and how this balances gathering and scattering.

Go here to listen.

The November ‘Seize the Day’ podcast is now online.

In it I’m talking to Bob Hopkins, of Anglican Church Planting Initiatives, about the ‘Clusters’ model of church – also known as ‘mid-sized missional communities.’

This is the first of three conversations with Bob Hopkins – next month, we’ll be talking about how the Clusters model balances gathering for worship and encouragement with scattering for mission.

Also in this programme we’re reviewing the new edition of ‘Perspectives on the World Christian Movement,’ edited by Ralph Winter and Steven Hawthorne.

Go here to listen.

The October ‘Seize the Day’ podcast is now online. In it we’re talking to Barney Barron, minister of Warren Cafe Church, about their experience of launching a cafe church on the Warren Park estate, just outside Portsmouth.

Also in this programme John Ayrton talks to Richard Blakely about the film ‘The Painted Veil,’ and I review Brian Godawa’s book ‘Hollywood Worldviews.’

Go here to listen.

In an earlier post I asked whether the main purpose of the Gospels is to tell us how we should live as followers of Jesus, or whether their main purpose is to tell us who Jesus is and why he died. I still believe that this is their main purpose, but I’ve just read this note in the NLT Study Bible:

One of the core purposes of Mark’s Gospel is to help his readers understand and accept the call to take up their cross and follow Jesus. This call is addressed not only to those who would be Jesus’ apostles, but to all who desired to follow him. For some, the call to discipleship is very hard but God provides grace. Others find it easy to respond to Jesus’ call.

For everyone, following Jesus requires a total commitment to turn from selfish ways. Taking up one’s cross is a metaphor for giving up one’s life to follow Jesus even to death, as illustrated by Jesus’ crucifixion. For example, Peter, Andrew, James and John left their homes and their source of income to follow Jesus. For a rich man, turning from his selfish ways required selling all he had and giving the proceeds to the poor. Following Jesus also means being identified with him without being ashamed, and being faithful to Jesus and his teachings. It requires removing anything that would interfere with following Jesus, regardless of how painful doing so might be. It requires entrusting one’s life entirely to Jesus and repenting of sin. It even requires putting loyalty to Jesus above loyalty to one’s own father and mother. Jesus explicitly commanded his disciples to proclaim his message, as recorded elsewhere. Jesus and the apostles, through their teaching and example, call Jesus’ followers to proclaim the Good News wherever they may be.

Alongside Jesus’ demands for discipleship are the rewards of following Jesus. Those who follow Jesus are promised entrance into the Kingdom of God. They receive his forgiveness for their sins, and they become members of the family of God. They are saved from judgment, and obtain eternal life. (NLT Study Bible page 1667, references not included.)

Ouch. I may need to repent of what I said earlier.