This month's most popular posts

  • Sheep and Shepherds Preparing for next Sunday's Video talk, which we're filming later today, I found a great deal of interesting detail from this source, reproduced at www.baptistbiblebelievers.com Manner And Customs of Bible Lands by Fred H. Wight Copyright @ 1953 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - Shepherd ... posted on December 10, 2013
  • WHAT MORE COULD HE HAVE DONE FOR US? (This is from last Sunday night's talk at the Ivy AGM - Awesome Gratitude Meeting) One of my favourite author/ speakers died last year – his name was Brennan Manning. If you have ever read ‘Ragamuffin Gospel’ you’ll never forget ... posted on January 29, 2014
  • Curses and Blessings, Balaam & Barak It's not just the strange tale of a talking donkey. Numbers 22 has a lot to tell us about blessings and curses and how words work God's way. posted on February 11, 2023

The Management of Perception

Richard Reising visited Ivy today, and gave some great input which I’m going to be pretty much directly quoting from my notes on and putting out as a series of posts on CHURCH MARKETING… I know, I know… Marketing is a dirty word in church circles but marketing principles are not contrary to scripture – they pretty much come out of it! Marketing is NOT what you think it is. It’s not telemarketing people ringing and bothering you etc. It’s the management of perception. That’s pretty simple. It’s not the manipulation of perception! Management = to know were we are today, where we need to be and make the neccessary adjustments How is the church today perceived? How do we want it to be perceived? What do we have to do to bring about the change.  If you ask people what the church is for, you’ll probably get an answer you don’t agree with. Your church has a perception. OR (worse) nobody knows about you! Everything you do that forms a perception of who you are – it’s marketing. Whether […]

Don’t let it pass you by

This was the second talk by Rick Murrill, from Chelmsford (see my previous post)  We want to give each other permission – for you to be who God called you to be. How do we love the Lord with all our heart and being? The only way we know we’re doing it is when we catch ourselves doing it. Nothing meaningful takes place in my life, unless it’s expressed in the power of the Holy Spirit. Not just doing it. Not just stepping out in the strength we have. Imagine you’re standing on one side of the river. The Lord says I want you to cross over. There’s a bridge. That’s how we’d think we would go over. Now while I’m waiting on the Lord, the bridge blows up. But what the Lord says didn’t change. We assume the way it’s done – instead of submitting to the way the Lord wants to see it done. We look for that natural way. What does it mean to love the Lord? To desperately desire him. How do I express that? There’s […]

What makes us different?

Here’s my notes on some of the input from Rick Murrill – a great speaker I shared slots at a men’s event with last week. Man went to a men’s conference, heard that he was head of the house. Went home and told his wife. And after that he never saw her for 2 days. Then… the left eye opened up a little bit. What’s different about humans? Why are we different to chimps and gorillas? Is it just because we’re tool users? (Lots of men aren’t!). Actually some monkeys have done that. Burying our dead, and Fire are distinctive to humans. But none of that tells us what’s different. Gen 1 tells me twice – I’m ‘made in his image.’   That shows us… We’re CREATIVE – because he’s a Creator. Look at all that’s being built. And if there’s a Creator, I’m created as something – not just ‘by chance.’ We’re EMOTIONAL – because God expresses emotions. We’re FORGIVING – because God is a forgiver (no animal does that). These attributes of God are found in humanity. This didn’t […]

Beware. This may not build your self esteem.

‘Jars of Clay.’ Whole talks I’ve heard about this passage and blogs I read around it talk about being ‘cracked pots.’ There’s a problem with that. It’s not in the text. It doesn’t say anything about the pots being cracked. I wonder whether we want to add that in because we want to make it about US again. The point is not about your cracks. Don’t make it about that. The point is, the container is NOT the point. It’s what’s inside that matters.

Debra Green at Ivy Msnchester

Debra Green at Ivy Manchester Olympic Church The Main Event Life’s full of challenges, there are hurdles in the race of life. How do we sustain? Hebrews 12:1-3 This shows us how not to lose heart! We have got so much surrounding us, that’s helping us on. 1) All Heaven is on your side! Jesus is praying for you, interceding for you before the Father. Especially at the times when you fail and feel discouraged, 2) The heroes of faith – listed in chapter 11: the church Triumphant. They did it! They made it! They kept going and crossed the line. And it wasn’t all glory days and perfect obedience 3) The church militant, Those we are running with now. The way you run is critical to someone running alongside you. You are part of someone else’s crowd. How do you look when you look at you? The ministry of smiling. Of hospitality. Of rejoicing in your success. Do you feel like giving up? Sickness, debt, job loss? The people around you need you to keep going. They are in […]

George Verwer at Message Prayer Day

Psalm 67 It’s a missionary’s psalm. May ALL the peoples praise you!! One of the emphases of Proverbs is the need for wisdom. So much information – so little wisdom these days. People can be brilliant in one field and awfully foolish in other ways. The wiser you get, the less confidence you’ll get the truth you need from the media. Most people who go Overseas in mission end up going back to their own country – and end up influencing there. So Go into all the world! 2000 years on, how is that going? 5 different kinds of countries: 1) Massive Growth: 1 million more Christians a year in Brazil. Exploding growth in S Korea And China, church growth spreading from countryside to the cities. Philippines. Singapore. Many nations – Global South. This was not true 50 years ago! We long for more here! 2) significant breakthroughs – but not great. Algeria. Very little fruit visible for some missionaries USA – lots of new movements, but some decline. 3) People think nothing’s happening – but it is. Eg France. […]