Boris at his Christmas best

Whatever you might think of Boris Johnson his anarchic streak must bring a smile to your face .

Where did all those people go?

Just before Christmas our band did an event in a Church of Scotland church building. In conversation with the minister of the church, I remarked at how impressive the building was. I enthused at how wonderful his Christmas services must be in a building that was so suited to the traditonal type carol service. He replied that only a few people turned up because most of his congregation were elderly and struggled to turn out to evening events.

He then told me that at one time the church seated 980 people. On Sundays when communion was served they had to have two services. Amazing!

No doubt this was the case throughout Scotland - and the rest of the UK. Where did all those people go? What happened?

Jesus - the One who lives up to His Name

He was to be called Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins. The name and the explanation trip of the tongue in a way that can sometimes bypass our hearts and minds.

This Christmas I was thinking, "How can I at least make people think about the Name and its meaning?" Here's what I came up with:

"Jesus, the One who lives up to His Name".

We are used to people living up to their name in a negative way - "Bernard Madoff - he made off with other people's money", for example.

Jesus is the one who really does live up to His Name. He saves people from the eternal consequences of their sins - judgment and hell. And He saves them from the present consequnces of their sins - guilt and shame. He really is the one who lives up to His Name.

May you know the reality and power of the Name of Jesus during this Christmas season.

Christmas Eve once again

Wonderful music from John Rutter. Hope you'll feel the real wonder of Christmas.

Light, Life, Love - in the bunker

Kurt Reuber was a doctor in the German army at Stalingrad. He was also a protestant minister. In December 1942 on the back of a Russian map, he sketched a picture of the baby Jesus being held by his mother. On the left of the picture the German translates as "1942 - Christmas in the cauldron". In smaller letters at the bottom "Festung Stalingrad" - "Fortress Stalingrad". And on the right, "Light, life and love".

At the time the German army was surrounded and faced annihilation.

Reuber hung the sketch in his bunker. He commented that when his unit came to his bunker for a Christmas celebration everyone was spellbound by the drawing.

You can read more about this amazing work on Wiki

"Thirst knows no season"

Christmas is one of those times preachers have to work a little bit harder to make sure that their sermons retain some bite, even though most people are familiar with the passages from which they preach. You're always on the look out for a good story that will illustrate in a fresh way the great truths of the Chritstmas story. And you're also on the hunt for evangelistic hooks.

One that I came across recently might help some of you preachers preparing for Christmas Eve carol services.

According to the Coca-Cola archives, our current image of Santa Claus is largely shaped by the Coca-Cola Santa (well they would say that, wouldn't they?), who first appeared in the 1930s. The image was part of an advertising campaign that began in 1922. Coca-Cola executives were concerned that Coke was seen as a seasonal beverage - something that you drank in the summer.

To counter this they came up with the slogan "Thirst knows no season." How true that is. Hearts are perhaps more aware of their spiritual thirst at Christmas than at any other time of the year.

You can read the official version here

Monday Fun: Christmas Capers

There was nothing quite like the Some Mothers Do 'Av 'Em Christmas special.

Stopping off at the spiritual travel lodge

I had an interesting conversation with an elderly Englishman who had converted to Buddhism. We exchanged notes on how we had come to believe what we did. He told me how he'd gone into a Buddhist centre and just felt Buddhism was for him. I explained that I'd grown up in a Christian family, and how even though the beliefs that had been handed down to me looked, in my teenage years, a bit like a piece of obsolete furniture, on closer inspection I found that they were more like a priceless antique.

He was quite taken by this description. I then asked him if his beliefs were now fixed or if he was still on a journey. People are always on a journey, he said (meaning he was!) and then he said something that I didn't expect him to say "You never know, you might convince me to convert to your faith."

Christmas is a good time to invite people to church, whatever their faith background. For like my Buddhist friend their current faith position is more like a stop at a spiritual travel lodge than arrival at their final, settled belief.

Dinner with Jesus? For everyone?

This and this over at Euangelion are worth a read. Perhaps hospitality and the practice of the Lord's Supper (or "dinner" as Dunn would have us call it) played a major part in the spread of the gospel. Something the contemporary church could learn from Dunn's studies and the practice of the N.T. church?

Oral Roberts

Just found out last night that Oral Roberts has gone to be with the Lord. He was a legend.

From naivety to complexity...and back to naivety again

I was able to attend the "Big IF" day conference hosted by Alpha Scotland. Made some new friends and had the chance to listen to Peter Greig for the first time. He said a lot of very helpful things about prayer.

One of the challenges from the day was to become naive again. Let me explain. PG said that we begin the Christian life being naive about God. We just expect Him to answer prayer. We expect Him to make things work for us. Often He does! And life can seem a breeze. Then it gets complicated. We get tired - perhaps even confused. The challenge was to allow God to lead us out of complexity and attendant pain, disappointment, confusion, etc., and back into a second naivety.

There's a challenge for you!

Doors and People

I was at a meeting recently the objective of which was to bring different faiths together to present their take on God and the world. Good to see some evangelicals presenting the case for Christ - Free Church of Scotland in this case.

One of the most arresting statements however, came from a JW. If an evangelical had said 90% of what this man said we would have loudly amened him.

The statement that stuck out was "People say we love doors. We don't love doors - we love people." I have to admit I felt really convicted. Here was a man with whom I could find much to disagree on, but because he and his organisation loved people and wanted them to find their faith they were prepared to be dismissed as door-lovers. Something there I need to reflect on.

Christianity in the raw

This is the kind of little story that - well, it just makes you think. It makes you think about whether we have as much as we think we have. The kind of little story that unintentionally but urgently and acutely raises questions about the health of Western Christianity.

Last 80's post: Shine Jesus Shine - the song of a generation

I can't remember if it was the late 80's or early 90's when I visited my old school. It was a fairly traditional church school and its religious ethos tended towards liberal Anglicanism. You can imagine my amazement when I discovered that Shine, Jesus Shine had been included in the new school hymn book. That alone was enough to convince me that the Holy Spirit had taken the church into a revolution in the 80's, and we are stil feeling the impact of that revolution today.

John Wimber - one of the most influential leaders of the 80's

This clip of John Wimber leading a congregation in worship is like a little cameo of the 80's. Singing in the Spirit was for many the high point of worship. The haunting "Spirit of the Living God" was one of those real heart cry songs. And John Wimber had enormous influence on the church, especially in Britain. Quite moved when I first watched this video

John Wimber - one of the most influential leaders of the 80's

This clip of John Wimber leading a congregation in worship is like a little cameo of the 80's. Singing in the Spirit was for many the high point of worship. The haunting "Spirit of the Living God" was one of those real heart cry songs. And John Wimber had enormous influence on the church, especially in Britain. Quite moved when I first watched this video.

MIssion England: Reaching the lost in the 80's

This video was made to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Mission England. If you forward to about 26 seconds you will hear from Gavin Reid, one of the main leaders who organised the event. And then there are a couple of other stories, with clips from the celebration at Norwich cathedral between. Have a watch and, if you're not into mass evangelism, you might be tempted to revise your opinion.

CFNI - Great and Mighty Army / Trees of the Field

This was the more heartfelt version of "There's a great and mighty army" that I was looking for. Just feel the confidence! Never really got into " The Trees of the Fields"

80's Week - Derek Prince and baptism in the Spirit

Derek Prince wasn't your average Pentecostal pastor with his public school and Cambridge background. His teaching ministry was known throughout the world. Here he is teaching on a doctrine which had a massive impact on the church in the 80's.

The 80's - A Great and Mighty Army

Classic 80's praise

Triumphant 80's praise

"Praise brings the victory". Our younger readers might have never heard such a statement. Back in the day - the 80's - that almost summed up charismatic doctrine on praise and worship.

Along with it was a triumphant - some would say triumphalist - outlook on the world.

Consider these lines from some of our songs of praise:

"We'll take the nations for Jesus as Satan's kingdom falls
Righteousness and truth will prevail through our God"

or

"There's a great and mighty army
In the earth today,
Dressed in splendid armour,
They're in full array.
The hosts of darkness tremble
As they walk their way,
There's a great and mighty army in the earth today.

"So I'll shout, I'll shout the victory,
The enemy is under my feet.
So I'll shout I'll shout the victory,
For great is our King, great is our King, great is the King of Kings!"

Then the next verse went "I am in that mighty army in the earth today..." etc.

There were loads of "victory" songs like this.

And we had teaching on praise. Remember all those Hebrew word studies? And how Paul and Silas got the victory in jail because they were praising?

Is this still the outlook in the charismatic world? Have we forgotten this dimension of praise? Or is it so embedded in the charismatic psyche and liturgy that we just don't notice it any more?

Have we lost the note of triumph? Or have we just got over our triumphalism? I'd love to know what you think.

And for our younger readers. Please feel free to try this at home. You don't need your parents' permission.

Above is a tame version of one of the above songs.