Special post: Elim Bible Week

I was asked on Facebook how the conference I am attending is going...so here's some - very abbreviated - notes from one of the main speakers, Dary Northrop. I tried to put it on my wall as my status, but it was too long!

A sermon on Luke 19 about reaching out to people

1. It is often difficult for people to find Jesus (1-4)

"Everyone needs a moment to see who Jesus is for himself"

2. It's never difficult for Jesus to find you (5)

Zac had a story. Everyone has a story - listen to the story

Jesus doesn't look down on people - He looks up at people

3. Jesus loves the person more than the crowd (6-7)

Jesus didn't please the crowd "if you want to end up miserable, try pleasing the crowd"

The story of Jesus is a story of ministering to one.

Jesus was fully present in the conversation he was having with Zac - the power of being "fully present" in a conversation

Jesus had the time and He took the time

4.Only Jesus can change the heart (8-9)

Jesus didn't say to Zac "You did cheat on your taxes"

We have to give the Spirit of God space to work in people's lives

Pulled and Pushed

Last week was spent at Elim's annual conference in Prestatyn, North Wales, hence the silence from Outthere in the blogosphere.

Elim's annual bash in the land of song combines conducting charity business with some first class ministry from experienced and capable speakers.

One of the discussions in the business sessions revolved around how we should celebrate the hundredth anniversary of our birth in 2015. Our interaction generated some ideas that I think have some mileage. It will be interesting to see what emerges as our vehicles of celebration for our centenary.

What will the world look like in 2015 anyway? Will all the options of celebrating such anniversaries still be open to the church in 2015? Will we be battling for survival in the face of sustained persecution? Or riding a wave of revival and seeing the nation come back to God? Or, paradoxically, will it be a strange amalgam of both?

One of the things worth remembering is that the Pentecostal fathers and mothers didn't set out to invent pentecostalism. They set out to rediscover the dynamism of early Christianity, a dynamism that pulled them closer to God and pushed them into mission. If Elim is still experiencing the pull and the push in 2015 we'll have much to celebrate, whatever the social and political conditions.

Progressive Pentecostals

John Glass, Elim's General Superintendent always writes a quality editorial in Direction Magazine. In the April edition he draws attention to the term "Progressive Pentecostals". The term is used by Donald Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori, in their book, Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement, to describe the rise of a pentecostalism that combines social action and evangelism.

John commented that this kind of two pronged outreach approach was becoming more common in Elim. Later in the magazine the Elim Church in Kingstanding is featured and it certainly exemplifies progressive pentecostalism.

You can catch up with John on his blog

Find out more about Direction Magazine here