Evaporating vision

Some very challenging words from John Piper, taken from a talk he gave on the life of Jonathan Edwards:

"I think that what happens for many pastors is that the ministry does not flourish with as much power and joy as they had hoped and just to survive emotionally they start to give way to amusements and diversions and hobbies. The ministry becomes a 40-hour-a-week job that you do like any other, and then the evenings and days off are filled up with harmless, enjoyable diversions. And the whole feel changes. The radical urgency fades. The wartime mentality shifts to a peacetime mentality. The lifestyle starts to get cushy. The all-consuming singleness of vision evaporates.

"Let me say it again. Our people need a God-besotted man. Even if they criticize the fact that you are not available at the dinner on Saturday night because you must be with God, they need at least one man in their life who is radically and totally focused on God and the pursuit of the knowledge of God, and the ministry of the word of God."

Read the whole thing here

The Prayer Art

I've just read this book on prayer by my good friend Dan Chesney. Some really inspirational stuff undergirded by sound biblical teaching on our union with Christ. What's so special about this book is not just that it is written by a serious practitioner of the prayer art, but that Dan allows us into his own prayer world.

You can purchase it at Dan's website.

Must read / watch - honest

This is just brilliant.

A tribute to the volunteers, Crawley campaign 1998-2009

I have to honour in some way the volunteers who I served with during my Crawley years. The Magnificent Seven motif is fitting. Optimistic. Gung-ho. Can do. Never say die. Hold the line. Dig in. And every other time honoured positive cliche you can think of. Not just seven who fought like seven hundred. More like a hundred who fought like a hundred thousand. Hitch up the wagons again gang! Head west! There's gold in the hills! Make today's frontiers obsolete. Break open some new territory. And above all, keep the faith.

Farewell

Well, after eleven and a half years my time as pastor of Elim Church Crawley has come to an end.

Last weekend we had a farewell banquet. What a feast that was! And some very kind people brought some very gracious tributes. It was a bit like being present at your own funeral...I don't actually think my funeral will be as good as the farewell do - not that I'll have much to do with it!

Beryl and the children and I really do appreciate Elim Church Crawley for fantastic support and patience during our time with this wonderful church. We have learnt so much, grown so much and we are leaving with a greater vision of God and deeper love and respect for His peeople. Well done ECC. You are going on to greater things.

Worth a look

A few interesting articles from the blogosphere

This on wasting time and how not to.

Some good stuff on vision and change from Mark Driscoll .

Thoughtful piece on the complexities of the second world war at the timesonline .

And you just have to watch Paxo v. Boris . Thanks to David Cooke over at cookiesdays for the heads up on this one.

The Importance of Urgency

I watched this interview with John Kotter from Harvard Businiess School recently. I am sure some of the things he is saying are relevant in church life.

Not always sure that the church is as urgent in spirit as its meesage suggests it should be. What do you think?

The promise is for your children as well (Acts 2.39)

If you are a children's worker - or a parent for that matter - this post over at the help I work with children blog is must reading. Children are far more spiritually open and aware than we sometimes think. They are also able to grasp spiritual truth in ways that would surprise at least some of us. Lynn's post is a timely reminder and a real encouragement to build expectation into our children and perhaps a stimulus to our own expectations when working with children.

Generation A

The following is taken from a review of Douglas Coupland's latest novel Generation A:

"Meanwhile, at the heart of the novel, he makes a serious point about how the bombardment of media content has eroded our ability to tell satisfying stories about ourselves. 'To survive,’ says one character, 'people need to become self-branding charisma robots.’ But despite this bleak diagnosis, Generation A is Coupland’s most hopeful novel yet. The 'A’ indicates that we are at the beginning of something new, ready to build fresh narratives from the consumer rubble. " Read the whole thing here

The reviewer's last sentence I find more than a little intriguing.

The partly Jewish president of Iran

The Telegraph yesterday carried a story claiming that President Ahmadinejad of Iran has Jewish roots. How bizzarre! I suppose in some circles that will strengthen his candidature for Antichrist. And if that were so, I suppose we could thank the Telegraph for helping to reveal the Antichrist! Which in turn might mean that the Telegraph is right up there with Hal Lindsay when it comes to end-times teaching.

Tim Keller Blog

Check out Tim Keller's new blog. I'm looking forward to reading his posts. Keller has been a favourite for a while.

Life Goals

Follow the links at this post for some thought provoking advice on goals and goalsetting over at Cookiesdays .