It’s struck me as this year opens up like never before just how good the good news is that it really is possible for me and you to be more and more like Christ.
How True Change Is Possible
Tag: Bible
Unlocking The Most Important Question For Next Year
Rather than come up with another TO DO (or not to do) list for 2024, there’s a more important question – and it’s not about doing
Getting My Feet Wet In The Jordan – Where God Got His Hands Dirty
As I stood there on Tuesday praying in the waters of the Jordan where He was baptised I reflected that Jesus did not just drop down some divine dictat from the safety of heaven for us to try to follow. He chose to come into the midst of the mess in the Middle East as the Prince of Peace by revealing himself as the friend of sinners, the one John the Baptist saw is ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’ God got his feet wet in the Jordan. God got his hands dirty. He is the answer.
Rachel Jordan Wolf at LAUNCH. The Harvest is PLENTIFUL!
Talking Jesus Research The most important question anyone can ever answer is WHO IS JESUS? That’s a big question. Let’s ask the whole nation. Found a jaw dropping answer the the question, ‘What do you think about the resurrection of Jesus?” 16% of the population of the UK ticked they believe the resurrection of Jesus happened – as described, from the Bible. 29% believe it yes it happened but not all the detail can be taken literally. What about we talk with those people? What if we helped them know what Easter really is about? We own Easter. We only have eggs and bunnies to compete with. Could we work together as the people of the resurrected Jesus to help them meet him? In 2017 the BBC went to Comres, wanted to show that more people believe in reincarnation. They found that was not true. But they ran the headline only that 41% don’t believe in the resurrection. Remember the truth – not the BBC version. 45% of the people in our nation believe already enough for a great conversation. […]
‘Ministry In The Blood And The Mud.’ Patrick O’Connell, NewThing Global Director on the Future Church Podcast.
My friend Patrick O’Connell is the Global Director of NewThing, the network which I and Ivy Church are privileged to be part of, which exists to partner with movement makers and catalyse reproducing disciples, leaders, churches, networks, and movements. Here he tells the story of how he came to faith, having met his wife in a punk rock mosh pit, joined the army, he went into business and while finally successful in worldly terms when he finally after 4 years accepted an invitation to go to church and everything changed! He went from church goer to church planter, now serving thousands of church leaders and planters worldwide through NewThing’s dream – to see a church planted in every community around the world. We discuss, among other things – How might we help connect people far from God so they don’t just learn to cope, but receive hope. What army life taught him about teams and sacrifice, and how that applies to the army of God and ministry ‘in the blood and the mud.’ How do we collaborate and form networks that are all […]
We Don’t Need Another Welsh Revival, We Need To Change The Church. Julian Richards. New Podcast Episode on Future Church.
This podcast details a story of miraculous provision and remarkable spiritual openness in our culture but we hear how Julian is convinced the answer for Wales (and everywhere else) is NOT for ‘another Welsh Revival’ dropped down from above, but by disciples faithfully serving, loving and winning their neighbours and nation for Christ.
New Podcast Episode: The Life, Deaths, And Resurrections Of A Pastor-Prophet. Chris Wickland Has a Word for the FUTURE Church.
I met Chris Wickland recently when he came as one of the guest speakers at a leader’s retreat. I’ll never forget his incredible story of how he went from witchcraft to Christ. Having been aware of the supernatural realm and its realities more than most, Chris described seeing and hearing visions and dreams which have led to him publicly declaring major words regarding the church and the nations ahead of time. These include the rise and fall of various political leaders, Church closures across the world (publicly declared April 2019) to humble the church, providing insight to governments re natural disasters, and predicting economic upheavals and collapse both present and to come; However as a Pastor-Prophet Chris says in the podcast he always wants to bring hope not fear, so God’s people can be ready! As we talk I learn more about his story, his life (and deaths), hearing about how he was saved from a suicide attempt when as a new Christian he drove his car off a cliff, and how he has died and been resurrected (not just […]
How To Avoid The Most Costly Leadership Error
Getting the wrong people on your team (or leading it!) can be one of the most expensive and stressful issues you’ll ever face. I was thrilled to hear wisdom from my friend William Vanderbloemen on how we really can do so much better at this. He is an entrepreneur, pastor, speaker, author, and CEO and founder of Vanderbloemen Search Group, which has helped thousands of churches, ministries, and faith-based organisations create a great culture and find people who will consistently make it better to achieve their God given goals. We looked at many issues on the Future Church podcast here including:
God the Father, the Loaf of Life, the archbishop of York, and preaching
How complex the church consistently makes what Christ came to make simple.
The REAL Benedict Option
Benedict rose to the challenge (calling others who would awake to it also) of another way than that offered by the Church of his day – creating alternate counterculture learning communities to live simply, biblically and faithfully. He didn’t set out to change the world and had no idea how important these little groups of faithful, obedient disciples would prove to be for generations to come. What might such ‘apostolic hubs’ look like in our day?