The vision is still Jesus

Just had this article up on the main 24-7prayer site. Hope you like it:

At the beginning of the last decade Pete Greig wrote in an inspired call to prayer this memorable line, “The vision is Jesus, obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus”

Hard to believe that it was written 10 years ago! In those 10 years a lot has happened; we’ve all grown up. Yet in the midst of our growing up and at the turn of a new decade we know this one thing: The vision is still Jesus.

We may have got slicker, better organized, more well known, but we have not lost sight that it is all about Jesus.

We may count prayer rooms, we may take marketing and image seriously, and we even have accountants!!! But it’s not about statistics, prayer rooms or branding - it never has been and it never will be. All this has never overshadowed the fact that what we do is all about Jesus.

It’s for the glory of His name, it’s about the advancement of His kingdom, it’s the belief that this broken dying and hurting world needs a saviour. We hold to the conviction that Jesus is the answer, and that we, his body here on earth, are called to express and bring Jesus into every sphere of life. There is no other way, and that is why we believe in calling the church to prayer.

That in our increase in intimacy and fervency as we pray, 24-7, we will be energized and inspired to proclaim the message of Jesus, the hope of the nations, to the nations. That as we get serious, devote ourselves to prayer and intimacy, that as we call out to him persistently, He will answer in order that our families, our friends, our work colleagues, our towns, our cities, our nations will be touched by Jesus. That His kingdom will come here on earth as it in Heaven.

We are serious. We have been serious for ten years. We don’t know how long this crazy adventure of 24-7prayer will last, but as long as we exist, as long as it goes on, we will seek to call the body of Christ to prayer in order that the kingdom of Jesus will be established here on earth.

We recognize that this movement has inspired new communities, but it has also inspired established communities and we are grateful that we have been able to journey alongside the old and witness the birth of the new in order that the name of Jesus would be made great and his kingdom established. There will be new initiatives, new destinations, and new adventures in the next 10 years; our prayer, hope and challenge is that all we do remains Christ centered.

Listen, Jesus is not my boyfriend! I don’t like the idea of dating Jesus! Equally I don’t like that we can sometimes feel neutered and frowned upon for declaring our love for our Lord. This is not some teenage romance that has been birthed; this is deep, serious love.

As we have prayed, more and more people have chosen to live sacrificially because of their love for Jesus. We are passionately in love with Him. That may make you feel uncomfortable! But as we have prayed, we have realized that this love has demanded change in our lifestyles, change in our attitudes and change in our hearts. This prayer movement has birthed passionate Jesus followers and we pray that this would continue.

As a new decade begins our prayer is that more workers for the harvest would be raised up; more people would be inspired to go anywhere and do anything ‘for the sake of the gospel’. That as the body prays we would see more people filled with passionate love and abandon, giving their lives to Jesus.

It’s all about Jesus and the advancement of His kingdom

We believe in a Jesus revolution - driven by Him, birthed in prayer, producing revolutionary, radical, zealous Jesus followers. That’s why we pray.

2 Chronicles 7: 14 “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

This is our cry and will remain our cry for the next decade. This is why we pray: we pray in order that the reign of King Jesus would be established here on this earth. That the unstoppable, relentless force that is His kingdom would be advanced, proclaimed and established in our generation. That lives would be changed, captives would be set free, the hurting would be healed, the broken would be restored, the lifeless would be revived, that people living in darkness would see a great light and His kingdom would come.

At some point in the next 10 years you may find yourself alone one cold winter morning in a small badly heated prayer room at about 2am; you may be struggling to stave off sleep, you may be tired and looking for inspiration, you may even feel like giving in to that tiredness; you may find it hard to remember why you signed up for this ‘ungodly’ hour and feel like curling up under a prayer shawl or just going home to your warm bed. But remember this:

The vision is still Jesus, “obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus”

Bibles for Ibiza

For the last couple of years we have given out "Jesus Loves Porn Star" bibles in the west end of San Antonio. They have gone down a treat and people have been very keen to receive a copy. More importantly people have actually read them which is very encouraging.

I may have mentioned before but we had one guy come up to us and say he had torn his favourite bit out to keep in his pocket. We had bouncers and bar workers openly reading the bible, people popped into our centre just ti pick up bibles. For me it was real eye opener that the bible is still popular, and I guess the thing I found most interesting is that presentation, packaging and style are important when it comes to people picking up a book and actually reading it.

So heres the big idea, this year we want to get our own message new testaments printed "Jesus Loves Ibiza" bibles. I have had a word with Navpress and they can only do a minimum print run of 5000 bibles, we get out own custom made covers, write our own blurb on the back and inside the front cover. A fantastic opportunity to spread the word and get people engaging with God's story.

Got a way to go, need to raise some funds, find a designer who will work with us on this one and get it all in place by mid May. So if you know of any foundations or organisations that are interested in funding a project like this giive me a shout. Also if you are designer and feel you could help I would love to hear from you.

Another thought I am having is that I could sell 2500 at £5.00 each, which would enable me to give the other 2500 away for free. Something along the lines of "for every bible you buy we will give one away".

Thoughts on a postcard please?

Asleep In The Light

Watched a great document about Keith Green the other day, he was only 28 when he died in a plane crash with another family and two of his children. I was very impacted by his sold outness and his intensity. I also think he was a prophetic voice to the church. This song called asleep in the light reveals some of his intensity.


Do you see, do you see, all the people sinking down,

Don't you care, don't you care, are you gonna let them drown,

How can you be so numb, not to care if they come,

You close your eyes and pretend the job's done.

Oh Bless me Lord, bless me Lord, you know it's all I ever hear,

No one aches, no one hurts, no one even sheds one tear,

But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds, and He cares for your needs,

And you just lay back and keep soaking it in, oh, can't you see it's such sin?

Cause He brings people to your door,

And you turn them away, as you smile and say,

God bless you, be at peace, and all Heaven just weeps,

Cause Jesus came to your door, you've left Him out on the streets.

Open up, open up, and give yourself away,

You've seen the need, you hear the cry, so how can you delay,

God's calling and you're the one, but like Jonah you run,

He's told you to speak, but you keep holding it in,

Oh, can't you see it's such sin?

The world is sleeping in the dark,

That the church can't fight, cause it's asleep in the light,

How can you be so dead, when you've been so well fed,

Jesus rose from the grave, and you, you can't even get out of bed,

Oh, Jesus rose from the dead, come on, get out of your bed.

How can you be so numb, not to care if they come,

You close your eyes and pretend the job's done,

You close your eyes and pretend the job's done,

Don't close your eyes, don't pretend the job's done.

Come away, come away, come away with Me, My love,

Come away, from this mess, come away with Me, My love.

Content

To covet is to fantasize a life other than what is given to me.

-Eugene Peterson

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

-Hebrews 13

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

-Phillipians 4

Decades

I have been asked to write something about the new year, turn of the decade. Not sure what to write just yet but it will come.

We don’t often think of our lives in decades, for me being born in January 1970 I have always had a useful link with the progression of my years and the decades. So far I have lived 4 and am about to embark on my 5th and find it a bit scary that I will be 40 next month.

Even as I sit here in my kitchen with the thought in my head “what will happen in the next decade?” I can’t answer it, no one can. God is wild unpredictable and in the words of CS Lewis, “He is good but He isn’t safe” how can I plan for the next decade with a God like that?

Life in general is unpredictable, I think about being born in a two up two down in East Belfast and then wonder how I managed to end up walking my dog by the Mediterranean sea this morning! All in the space of 40 years...

I think about the turn of the decade in 1989, I was in a prison cell when the bells chimed and we entered the 90's. You just never know where you will end up. Plans are strange, they don't always seem to work.

Ibiza was never part of the plan, but I am so glad I am here. My 30's have been great years and for me it has been a very fulfilling decade. I'm hoping the next decade will be just as good, if not even better.

I'm trying to think of my most memorable moment of the last decade, I probably have about 10.

1. Watching both my sons grow, start school and then seeing them both start senior school.....

2. Prague for my 10th wedding anniversary with my wife.

3. U2 in Barcelona

4. Snorkeling and cigar smoking in Cuba

5. The day we decided to move to Ibiza and driving to Ibiza from Diss in the UK

6. The death of my dear friend and mentor Simon Newberry

7. The birth and growth of 24-7 prayer.

8. France with my family

9. My big brothers marriage

10. Gods faithfulness

Actually I could 50, but thats enough for now.

Fully Proclaim

What does the full proclamation of the gospel look like? My friend Billy has really challenged me about this, I think in turn he had been challenged by a guy called Bill Johnson.

Paul talked about having fully proclaimed the gospel, with words, deeds, signs and miracles! Different strands of christendom emphasize various approaches to the proclamation of the gospel.

It's been refreshing over the last few years to see the church become more engaged in society and proclaim the gospel through deeds. Initiatives like street pastors in the Uk are a great example of the gospel being proclaimed through deeds. The church has rediscovered its social action arm, although the Salvation Army and the Catholic Church never lost it.

What about words? In many of these new initiatives including our own here in Ibiza the proclamation of the gospel through words would seem to be the hardest. We don't want to offend people, we don't want to talk about hell, we are nervous of saying there is only one way to God. Yet we need to find away to do this the proclamation of the gospel through deeds and words. Words articulate belief systems, deeds model the outworking of that belief system. At some point we have to be willing to use words. I'm not sure I totally agree with the over use of the quote attributed to St Francis of Assisi to some how steer us away from verbally preaching the gospel "Preach the gospel at all times and if you have to use words" I think we have to use words. Yes we have to be wise, we have to have intelligent answers, we have to be willing to give an answer for what we believe in season and out of season.

Signs and miracles, any follower of Jesus has to believe in miracles, to deny that they happen would be to deny the work of Christ whilst he was here on the earth. Of course you may be a dispensationalist, but I'm not. I want to believe for more miracles, signs, healings, divine intervention. I want to expect them more. There are many people out there who need a miracle, it messes with my head because we don't always get them. But that doesn't stop me from believing for them.

I want to "Fully Proclaim" the gospel. I'm excited about this, I'm not ashamed of the gospel just got to improve at proclaiming it.......

Call of duty

This is seriously my favourite xbox360 game ever!

"what is my call of duty as a christian?"

I think this verse from the bible sums it up pretty well.

Micah 6: 7 "And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

Anybody got xbox live and fancy some online action, give me a shout.....

Angry

Pants, I dropped my lap top!! it's dented in the corner and won't charge properly.

It got me thinking about anger, something I am looking into on a personal level. What makes us angry? why do we explode? sometimes it can be something innocuous that causes us to get angry at other timer times it can be something we feel totally justified at getting angry about.

I guess we have our own levels for justifying anger. We also have our own internal and external brakes that stop us from getting angry or going to far with our anger.

I have been reading about inhibitions, not in the negative sense, but the need to inhibit our anger and respond in the correct way. For me if I am tired, hungry or under pressure my anger is less inhibited. So physical state affects my mental outlook, after all we are a whole system.

People will say stuff like "you need to go to your happy place" for me my anger is to instant to find a happy place. I can be quite snappy and abrupt, others let it build and internalize their anger, sometimes it comes out other times it just eats away under the surface, generally leading to unhappiness.

I'm trying to get better in this area of my life, so I'm doing what I need to adjust. For me it's a number of things; keeping hydrated, eating well, sleeping well, exercising, reading books (I like to understand things) and of course prayer.

There are 4 levels of learning for me:
1: Incompetence
( you are not aware you have an issue)
2. Knowledgeable incompetence
(You become aware that you have an issue)
3. Knowledgeable competence
(You make a conscious effort to address the issue)
4. Competence
(You have trained yourself to deal with the issue and the control of it becomes a built in response that you don't have to think about)

I am somewhere between 2 and 3, slowly addressing the issue and making every effort to become a more tranquil person. Yes I am still a little angry about my dented lap top that is not functioning properly, but it's no ones fault so i need to take a chill pill.