Walking around the art room

One afternoon during team days, we had the opportunity to go to an Andy Warhol exhibition in Southampton. This was a fascinating trip, partly because I didn’t really understand the art nor would I want it hanging on my living room walls. But the best part for me was when one of our relay workers spent the time to explain what she looks for in art and what questions she asks herself about the art. To be honest, I was more fascinated with the process of how to understand the art in front of me rather then the two blocks of colours staring at me. But just because I didn’t find it pleasing to the eye, doesn’t mean that what it’s communicating is not relevant! I appreciate those that enjoy this type of art and I am willing to learn more about it, especially as it affects our culture and our ways of thinking. It’s too primitive for me to believe that I should only listen or look at what I like and ignore all the other voices. 

Gareth Leaney blogs brilliantly about the exhibition here.

With Andy Warhol being such a weight in pop culture, identity and celebrity, means that the audience needs to sit up and listen. Especially the Christian - no more burying your head in the sands of Christian culture, but we need to open our eyes and ears to see and hear that the world is speaking and how they desire for something more.

But will we be a part of the conversation? 

Do we have anything to say?

To hear what I need

I don't know about you, but when I wake up in the morning I find that I want nothing to do with the Gospel or Jesus. In fact I prefer to wake up and think about the day ahead and all the things I want to do - my agenda, my life, my identity. As I awake I find my heart so hard and dull. I think that if I was to do everything I wanted then I would be satisfied.

What a lie.

The one thing I need to hear is the Gospel.
I need to hear it because I don't want to hear it.
I need to hear it because my heart needs to be melted
I need to hear it because it brings me life. Christ brings me life and has made me alive.

Team days were all about the Gospel and I didn't want to hear it but I needed to hear it and I am thankful that I did hear it. The Gospel makes fellowship sweet and food tasty and hearts melting... lets keep hearing it and keeping speaking it.

Staff Conference 2011

You always know if you are at a Christian conference when its in the middle of nowhere, coffee on tap and full of diverse people that would probably never talk to each other if they were not Christian. It makes me chuckle. Of course thats not what its all about!

Last week was Staff Conference and it was refreshing and I really enjoyed it and was reminded how amazng Jesus is! Here are some of my thoughts from the week:

1. God is light. This is so important because life can seem very dark at times and we can hide in darkness. But God is light and guides us and surrounds us.

2. Evangelism isn't about throwing up the Gospel. Its about conversation, relationships and sometimes dropping a brick.

3. God asks 3 questions in Genesis 3 and they relevant now.

4. It is a blessing to have this time of fellowship and I enjoyed chatting and be encouraged by my colleagues.

5. Late night chats are the best, even if its at 1am.

6. Worldviews are powerful and just because we may not understand them doesn't mean we label them "stupid". We need time and patience to understand where people are coming from. Its all about art of conversation.

7. Am I using my degree? Am I reading books that engage my mind?

8. IFES Europe is in need of support and encouragement. We are blessed in the UK to have all this support - lets branch out.

9. When we get to the throne of God, will we say - "Gosh, I wished I invested more time in this"

10. I love my job. I love the students in Plymouth and I love working in the South West and I love the friends I have made on my team and those in other regions. I am looking forward to meeting up with you all again soon :)

Enjoying the Trinity

The great thing about being around so many great thinkers in my job is that I can pass on all the things that they do to encourage others. Mike Reeves is a brilliant speaker and makes theology easy to understand. So here are some resources...

You know how hard it can be to understand the Trinity? Its one of those subjects that we feel can be abstract and therefore never really plunge into. Yet imagine enjoying the Trinity? Can this be done? Well why not listen to Mike Reeves speak about the Trinity here:

1. Enjoying the Trinity: A delightfully Different God

2. Enjoying the Trinity: The spreading love

3. Enjoying the Trinity: This changes everything!

A slipper in ice and Gospel fellowship

This is why I love my job - I can go away for a weekend and get to know students, be encouraged by Gods word, see randomness happen around me and warm hearts to the Gospel and its a great joy to call that work!

The best prank over the weekend was the slipper frozen in ice... what a brilliant idea!
The whole weekend was an encouragement and Andy Croft really excited hearts about living for Jesus! Now today is a day off, so its about enjoying rest which means I get to read a novel, go for lunch with a friend, watch a film and make cards... good times.

Here is a view from the houseparty after morning prayer...

JPOD - Staff Worker version 2.0

I am quite enjoying JPOD by Dougles Coupland, probably because I spent a year in IT support at University and can relate to the randomness of this book and at heart I am a geek! During the book there are pages full of random quotes and sentences that just add to the surreal life of Ethan and his JPOD companions. How far from reality is JPOD? Probably not that far off, although no one seems to sleep and they go on random trips to China (which hasn't happened to me yet). But perhaps in the fiction there is a base of reality that highlights the mundane and splashes it across absurdity. So it occurred to me that for fun I could write my own page of JPOD but relating to being a UCCF Staff Worker. And of course it is meant to be weird and not taken seriously.

STAFF WORKER version 2.0

TEAM LEADER upgrade.

Please press any key to continue..

FILTER COFFEE GOSPEL and £1 to buy Starbucks.

"Come and have Breakfast"

Fish and Chips after death.

Freedom. Gospel. Grace. Love.

Are you a miserable Christian?

I Blog. I Think. I Drink... 

Mac books are in Heaven.

I wear Fat Face. I am not Face Face. Face Fat. Book

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Create. I Dream. I Believe.

That is a good question....................................................................?

We have ink on our faces.

TRINITY. LOVE THE CHURCH.

It is good to be a Christian. 

CALVIN. JOY. PRAYER. LOVE

South West Team. Soup

Ruggle Juggle 
Welcome to Exeter. Plymouth. Falmouth. Bristol. Bath

3:16.8:1.2:20.5:1. Genesis. ADAM. CHRIST. APPLE. CROSS. FREE 

Snapshot of Cross Culture.

My morning drink is Exodus with a sprinkle of Romans.

Living for Jesus. Speaking for Jesus.

Houseparty. 3 Block. Seminar. Ear Plugs.

Diving into the Gospel. Team Days. CAKE!

Reforming the heart. EDWARDS. OWEN.

Jesus is beautiful. 

Lets have beautiful feet. 

            Feet need to walk and share good news. 

                    Good news needs to be in our hearts. 

                              Our hearts need to know Christ. 

                                                       CHRIST IS ALL.

 /////////////????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????/////////////

Relationships. Tears. Goodbyes. New pages. Chapters unfold.

Be creative.

Don't wear socks and sandals. 

Do Enjoy.

ALT, CTRL, DEL. 

ESC.

STANDBY until HE Returns.

Colossians - Suffering to make Christ Known (Pt3)

Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that  does not show itself in protection from suffering.... The love of God did not protect His own Son.... He will not necessarily protect us - not from anything it takes to make us like His Son. A lot of hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process. – Elizabeth Elliot

It can seem too easy to think that our Christian lives were made for comfort. And perhaps we can sway to the other extreme and think that if we are suffering then it proves that we are ticking the right boxes. Yet Paul in Colossians 1:24 - 2:5 is quite clear that he is suffering not for the sake of suffering but to make Christ known. He is not living in comfortable christian bubbles nor suffering and grumbling about it. But he is making Christ known and is suffering because of it and through his suffering he is making Christ known.

1v24 "I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" is a bit tricky and at first sight we think that Paul is saying that what Christ has done on the cross is not enough and he has to add to it. But we know from before that this is not the case!!
John Piper explains this well:

"What is lacking is that the infinite value of Christ's afflictions are not known in the world. They are still a mystery (hidden) to most peoples. And God's intention is that the mystery be revealed, extended to all the Gentiles. So the afflictions are lacking in the sense that they are not seen and known among the nations. They must be carried by ministers of the Word. And those ministers of the Word fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ by extending them to others."

So then what should we expect as Christians and how does that affect our sharing of the Gospel? I hope it gives us confidence. That for Jesus being honoured and shown to the nations is not just through amazing lunchbar talks, catchy sermons, loud worship times or fancy events. It will be when His church is humbled, mocked, beaten, dying to self and through that still loving each other and Jesus, clinging to Jesus and sharing his word no matter what.

Transformission 2010 in Pictures

On Saturday I went to Transformission - a South West event for students to have their hearts warmed with the Gospel. Mike Reeves spoke on the Love of God and it was brilliant. I was taking pictures that day and here are some I captured! Also check out the audios on Dave Bish's blog.

Alpha Day in London

On Thursday I went to London for an Alpha day on Friday. I thought I would capture the days in some pictures from the train up to the conference.

Appetite or Conviction?

You know when something isn’t right. You can hear that voice inside you saying that this may not be a good idea. But you find your desires wanting what is in front of you – they scream at you to indulge yourself. Go on… what harm can it do? Just once? Did God actually say it was a sin…?

Lets role back to Genesis 3. The serpent isn’t stupid; in fact he is crafty and knows how to play the game of desire and he does this through advertising and appealing to mans appetite. He makes death look beautiful and disobedience sexy. He plays on the appetite of man and woman to serve themselves and break covenant with God. Through listening to their appetites instead of the conviction of Gods word, they found themselves naked and ashamed. Sin lies and reaps devastation.

But isn’t our appetite tasty? Don’t we love the pull of lust and the forbidden fruit? There is always that temptation to go for what will please our desires especially if they are screaming at us to give it a go.

Imagine if you had a choice between watching or ignoring a film which you know contains sex scenes that will cause you to stumble. The choice seems obvious. But your appetite for seeing it and your desires bring up excuses –

1. I will watch it in order to engage with themes and topics for Gospel outreach.
2. I will fast forward through the sex scenes
3. I will only watch it once and maybe in secret so no one knows.
4. Maybe it won’t affect me much…just this once.

But your convictions scream at you not to watch it. Not to gratify the desires of the flesh. To flee from temptation. Your conviction knows that this may lead you into sin and cause you to stumble and cause you heartache. The Holy Spirit is placing convictions on your heart. But who will you listen to? Yourself or God?

I was challenged about this at Staff Orientation and Forum and how important it is to never go with appetite but always go with conviction. This isn’t just related to movies with sex scenes, but also shopping, internet porn, gossip, books, what you do, late nights etc… and although I am convinced that you cannot do this alone, but only through the Holy Spirit – by walking in the Spirit as Paul describes in Galatians 5. However you do have a responsibility as to whether you will listen and act with the conviction presented to you or go with your appealing appetite. Which is better?

A taste of Heaven

I have just come back from New Staff Conference and feel refreshed and encouraged! Over the years while being involved in student work and missions, I have been to many Christian conferences and each time I always feel like I am getting a taste or glimpse of Heaven. I always feel that friendships are made quickly and deeply, the Gospel is warming our hearts and we share in fellowship over food and laughter. I feel like its a taste of heaven because I see a glimpse of deep, encouraging friendship centered around Christ. Its also an outflowing of Grace.

I am not only looking forward to developing the friendships made this week, but also seeing Christ in them. To see these people grow and love Jesus more everyday. This also makes me excited about being apart of the South West team and enjoying the delights of fellowship here. I can't really put across how much I am looking forward to being apart of this family and being gracious towards each other when we sin, showing the love of Christ by serving each other and reminding each other of the Gospel. And just feeling apart of a greater vision and the family I have been adopted into that has an amazing Father in heaven.

Relay in Peru - The next step

Two years ago this summer I was sitting on the porch of a farm house in the Andes, Peru. I was talking to God and realising that the month in Peru was coming to an end. I asked Him "Will you call me back here?" and He replied, "Yes, but you have to wait"

Lets fast forward a year and I am now in a crowded room full of students and new Relay workers. John Piper is speaking and he asks all those that believe that God is calling them to mission to stand. I was on my feet. Standing in a room full of students that felt that God was calling them to mission abroad. The room buzzed with excitement and fear. What was God going to do now that we were willing to go?

Now today here I am, with Relay over and a summer packed full of visits, outreach, rest and reading coming to an end.

As I look forward I see that two weeks today I leave this country and follow Jesus into Peru to do the next part of Relay. I will be learning Spanish for 3 months and then for the remaining months I will be working alongside the Student movement and help them encourage and equip Peruvian students to reach their non Christian friends on campus. There is also the task of building up a CU there with the help of the student movement.

I am aware of my weaknesses right now and very much aware of how much I need Jesus. I cannot do this without Him, it is not possible. I believe that this time in Peru is such a gift and I want to treasure it and enjoy it and serve God in every opportunity that comes my way.

Please pray for me.

Also, because I wont have as much internet access as I have had, my blog will not be updated as regularly. However, the posts that may be put up will hopefully be an insight into what I am doing and what its like being a Relay Worker in Peru :O)

What came out of Relay 2

In my last post I gave some highlights of Relay 2. This was a week of training, fellowship and just being in awe of Jesus. What I love about Relay is that it is all about Jesus and I am starting to meet the real Jesus, understanding more of Grace and yet still not having it fully grasped. I come away from Relay 2 really challenged...challenged about how I spend my time, how much I love God, how much I am really living for Jesus and about the idols in my life. I am callenged about the students I work with and whether I am really spurring them on to love Jesus more and to tell their friends about Jesus and whether that is reflected in my life...

We worked through Zephaniah and I was blown away with how there is little difference in my heart compared to theirs. With their pride and their idols and their security with man made things. We wrote a list and I was shocked, because my heart didn't want to admit this sinful attitude and wanted to justify myself with saying "Well...i'm not like that"... But I am like that!!

Yet there are peeks of hope in chapters 1 and 2... there are remnants and pleas of seeking humility, righteousness and the Lord. Gods wrath is clear here, He hates sin and wants to purify His people. Is God over-reacting? Not at all... God is God, He is the real deal and it grieves Him that we can worship things that arn't anything like Him, that can't create the universe and are not God...seriously can you not blaim Him for getting a bit angry!?

But Chapter 3 then explodes with Gods mercy and Grace. This amazes me even more. God is very angry at us and yet loves us more deeply then we can imagine. He forgives us, He shows us Grace and will have us back again to be His people. This is something to shout for Joy for! Hurry for Jesus indeed...!

It's good to be reminded this:

"God is God... You are you and don't get the two confused" - Mo

You know what? The bible screams this at us the whole time and yet we still retreat back to our idols where we think we are safe. Therefore we need to continue to read Zephaniah, remind ourselves that we are sinful and deserve being cut off and then remind ourselves of Gods amazing Grace.

Let us Rejoice in His salvation.

Relay 2 Highlights

Relay Two came and went....













Highlights

- The South West Team - Chunk it!!!!
- Fellowship group
- Zephaniah :: Seeing God's anger against our sin, seeing that we are no different to those who go after idols and are proud. To see that God is still gracious and merciful to us...
- Ruggle Juggle...
- The South West coming 5th in the karaoke... " So Long, farewell..."
- Hurry for Jesus!
- The West Wing...
- Rich and Poor day - resulting in no coffee all day...that was very hard!
- Tesco shop
- Getting to know people more and enjoying fellowship...
- Excited about equiping students with the Gospel
- God speaking clearly to me... prayer works!
- Support from wise women...
- It all feels like family... I love being a Relay Worker!!!

The Gospel is True and Heaven is Real.....