Tag: New Thing

#NTGlobal, in Nairobi. Day One, Session one – Who’s In The Room? New Thing Global

Pastor Oscar Muriu from Nairobi Chapel introduces his team and various movement leaders: Nick – Executive Pastor Bejee – she leads the leadership development program for NC Esther – hosts teams and conference Pastor Morafi – leads a planting movement across Africa (9), ready to plant in Burundi, Ethiopia and now in Germany (with Chogo and Kevin) Pastor Collins – slum churches in Nairobi (36) – 14 planted this year. 16 ready to start soon. Pastor Luke – oversees planting from Nairobi Chapel Tobias – in Mombasa Steve, Richard, Ngari, in Nairobi, Albo too – but he’s going to Milwaukee soon. Lamaz – in Botswana And they are looking to plant in all 54 capital cities in Africa, at the moment they have planted in 3. And are working to plant into London & Germany. Oscar: God has placed his power in us. This is an important international meeting – heaven is watching! Joe Wilson – started 34 churches so far, 15 on the way, in former Soviet Union. Great work happening – especially in Albania. With him is Altin, […]

TIME TO KICK THE ROOF IN!

In Luke 5 Jesus is in a house teaching, the crowd checking him out was so large inside and out that some friends bringing a paralysed man couldn’t get into the house. No disabled access! No way in, nobody moving to make a way through. It says there was NO WAY TO DO IT. So what did they do? ‘Sorry pal, we’ll have to take you home again?’ No! There was no way so they made a way. They got creative. Dangerous even. They climbed up on the roof and kicked the roof in so they could lower their friend down on a bed in front of Jesus! This appeals to me from ex police days, where one of my favourite jobs was to be ‘Donger man’ on raids. The Donger was what we called that battering ram which provided a useful key for the majority of locked doors with 14 stone behind it. I’m terrible at DIY, but if you want something smashing, I’m your guy. What those guys did to the roof and how Mark’s account says when Jesus saw […]

How the gospel can go viral like the Ice Bucket Challenge

This is my talk from our recent baptism service at Ivy, where I looked at the Ice Bucket challenge and drew out its lessons for leaders and churches committed to helping people find their way back to God. It followed 5 scheduled baptisms; some breathtaking stories of life change with Jesus as the star of every story – after the talk a number of people indicated that wanted to follow Him too, and then 3 more people were baptised too! (If it was good enough for the Ethiopian eunuch and Phillip…) I blogged some of the thoughts from my notes of this already on what has been one of the most read blog items I’ve ever done here if you want to look at that too, but there is more on the talk than that item. Thanks for dropping by and I hope you enjoy the talk.  Let me know your thoughts?    

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 it. I have read lots of what he’s written and listened to many of his talks, but it was only this week I heard the amazing story about how he got the name “Brennan.” Because his real name was Richard Xavier Francis Manning – a good Irish catholic name, to be sure. While growing up, his best friend was Ray. The two of them did everything together: went to school together, bought a car together as teenagers, double-dated, and so forth. They even enlisted in the Army together, went to boot camp together and fought on the frontlines together in the Korean War. One night while sitting in a foxhole, Brennan was reminiscing about the old days in Brooklyn while Ray listened and ate a chocolate bar. Suddenly a live grenade came into the trench. Ray looked at Brennan, smiled, […]