Ignite Revival Blog

25th January 2009

2009-01-25T15:53:00.002Z

The changing of the seasons

Dear friends

2008 has been such a major year of change in world and church terms. From the shaking of the credit crisis and the American elections to the Florida healing outpouring and Year of HOPE so much has had weighty significance about it. Many of the prophetic words for the 2008 were about ‘open doors’ and there is a real sense of a shifting of spiritual seasons with 2009 being prophesied as a year of new wineskins.

We have been uncertain as to the way forward with Ignite in 2009. There have been some different opportunities we’ve explored, but feel most clearly to issue a clearer call to pray.

We need to gather to worship & pray in the seriouness of the hour we are in and in expectation of God’s glory coming in an increased measure.Because of that, we have not planned specific events or conferences yet for 2009, but wait to see what God does amongst a group of leaders who prostrate themselves before Him in abandonment and then stand with heads uplifted looking for His coming.

God’s blessing & gift of His presence at the turning of the year.

William & the Ignite core team

Ignite news

Ignite’s ministry focused around a few things this year:participation in the new ECG conference in Llandudno at Easter, a leaders day with Jane Holloway at Stoke in May, a major renewal conference with Scott McDermott & Miguel Escobar in June and participation in a week’s school of ministry with John & Carol Arnott at St Andrews, Chorleywood.

There has been much blessing from those events. Christian leaders in our network are so hungry for God, and looking for deeper spiritual renewal and encounter with God. Many have testified to increased faith in God for kingdom breakthrough and an overflow in the presence of the Spirit and powerful ministry as they have returned from th e various events.

25th September 2008

2008-09-26T15:10:00.000+01:00

Long summer without blogging. Good one in many ways – family time, faithful plowing on in ministry, taking time to reflect, trying to slacken pace without slackening in pursuing God’s presence. Typical church leader’s summer I guess.

A hard summer in other ways. A few days of real weariness, mental struggle and, I think, satanic oppression, heading into September. Do I really want to press in more, for another season? Wouldn’t it be easier to choose another area of ministry that doesn’t feel like it’s on the spiritual front line quite so much? The flesh wars against the Spirit, the enemy rushes in, yet God through it all tests & refines my heart.

Come through that now and also the disappointment around Todd Bentley regarding Lakeland. Another leader stumbles, but rarely such a high profile one in the midst of battle. Who can choose the time of God’s outpouring and whose heart is truly without weakness that can be probed in the heat of battle? We have aligned ourselves with the Lakeland outpouring, both in Ignite and in the Beacon house of prayer, believing it to be an authentic revival outpouring, from our firsthand experience there. We aren’t thrown by Todd being sidelined. We pray for his full restoration, personally and in ministry; we are disappointed that the key fire starter of this revival has been prevented from stoking more fires in this critical season.

However, Lakeland for us has never been about Todd Bentley but about what God is doing. We are convinced that the winds of change are happening across the nations and that it is a new season. The church is being empowered and equipped with fresh anointing ahead of a season of global turmoil. What will we do with what God is releasing? We must press in, we cannot slacken off. It is time for leaders to seek the Lord, asking what am I receiving from You in this season? How can I walk in greater anointing to meet the needs of this hour and the ministry You have entrusted to me?

God bless
William

12th July 2008

2008-07-12T18:09:00.001+01:00

I’ve just returned from the annual Methodist Conference. As one on the edge of institutional Methodism, it was an eye-opening experience for me. A week of debates, worship, networking, business, paper, vision, re-organising, strategy, pomp and ceremony and so on.

Going from Ignite conferences, where God’s fire has been falling on people, and from our local house of prayer, where we are forcefully taking hold of kingdom promises of revival and spiritual breakthrough in our land, to a traditional religious body like the Conference, is quite a culture shock.

Some things that have stood out to me from being there. Most positively, there is a new mission mood across the denomination; fresh ways of being church and new mission initiatives are indicators to people there of God re-forming the church for mission, that there is a genuine breath of the Spirit in the church. Also encouraging is the desire across the church to engage in the issues of the day and to be a prophetic voice to our culture if our voice can be heard.

Less positively, there is a fanaticism with agendas, religious order, doing things properly and with excess scrutiny, which doesn’t easily equate to releasing the life of the kingdom of becoming a free-flowing missional movement. The feeling engendered in Conference is almost that our spiritual life can be methodically worked out, presented, adopted, agreed and passed down through districts to local level, to widespread mental assent. Done deal! The reality is that, more often, spiritual life irrupts in chaotic ways, and its essence is captured and expressed in more formalised ways. I know that it is both/and rather than either/or, but it did more often feel that we were trying to capture massive weather systems in test tubes.

Still I came away, having contributed, received some hope about our denomination, renewed friendships, found much fuel for intercession, and kept my spirit steadfast about the unusual sense of calling on our ministry with Ignite as a revivalist one – stirring up fires and being harbingers and harvesters of revival in our generation.

Blessings
William

12th June 2008

2008-06-12T16:48:00.001+01:00

It’s been a month since my last blog. Not that things haven’t happened, rather that so much has happened that reflective blogging has had to wait. We went out to Florida to the revival healing meetings three weeks ago! Everything has been up in the air beforehand and running fast with God since getting back. I have to say that, hearing about the revival outpouring initially I wasn’t particularly longing to go, for it felt significant praying and worshipping with the TV broadcasts of the revival. However, whilst watching on TV one night, I felt strongly that God was telling me that revival was coming to the UK and that Stoke on Trent was to be an epicentre. I felt that we should go there so that God could set us on fire with the life and power of the Spirit to spread revival here.

So two weeks ago Karen & I plus our two children Joshua and Sarah went out to Florida, along with three friends from our house of prayer. We have had an amazing time in so many ways. Eight days of soaking in God’s glory, witnessing hundreds of miracles through the name of Jesus, sharing with people from many nations of the world, and being filled with His beautiful Spirit. I sent a text message back home after day two saying, ‘great days. Glory of God tangible and all lost in worship as meetings seem a beautiful chaos with Spirit sovereignly moving, anointing and healing many. Our children discussing their favourite miracle at breakfast!’

Our hearts have been drawn out beyond return. There is so much in this outpouring that has witnessed with our spirits about spiritual breakthrough in our nation and the glory that is coming upon the church in these days. It feels that we are not such a lone voice speaking about revival after all, but one of many ‘nameless and faceless’ Christians rising up to press into the anointing of God for kingdom mission.

Four things about these revival meetings have been impressed on us coming back:

1) The excitement of being in the initial stages of a spiritual outpouring. The team running the meetings are as overwhelmed as the rest of us at what God was doing, and trying to organise the life that was spilling out and flow with the powerful anointing of the Spirit for healing and salvation

2) The privilege of joining together with hundreds of Christian leaders from around the world. We are all hungry for the presence of God and revival fire. People are travelling in every day, many with little money, sent by churches or coming expectant for a fresh touch from God to impact their area with kingdom life and revival fire.

3) The awesome experience of being caught up in the atmosphere of God’s glory. We were lost in wonder, love and praise as the Spirit orchestrated the congregation in wave after wave of worship, prayer, crying out to God, seeking His face in a way that brought heaven down and made a place where God released incredible healings and miracles.

4) The desire of the team to bless the world with this revival. There are significant prophetic words about this outpouring touching the globe in a new empowering of the church for healing and harvest. They clearly want to impart this revival anointing to any who want to take it back to their city or region.

We have come back full of God and want to press in to see God release more of His life and glory in this city, region and nation! More to blog as we unpack this & release it more here.

God bless
William

15th May 2008

2008-05-15T13:51:00.000+01:00

Last week’s Ignite leaders day was great! We had the biggest turn out since we started and we crammed into the Beacon house meeting room. What happens is so simple really – we worship, pray together, listen to someone sharing inspiration from God’s word and minister to each other – but it feels so rich and refreshing to be together in that environment. Worship times are beginning to feel more weighty and gatherings like this are beginning to feel more significant.

Jane Holloway from Birmingham’s World Prayer Centre spoke in the morning. She was challenging and inspiring in good measure and added fuel to the fire of intercession and ministry for leaders there. It is always encouraging to hear the wider picture and to sense the breadth of what God is doing, as we press in for our part. Jane reminded us that this is felt by many to be a year of an open door, and led into prayer that it also might become the year of an open heaven.

Linda & Nick Holt ministered in the afternoon, Linda hot from the revival fire in Lakeland, Florida. She shared about the sense of integrity about the way the team are handling this move of the Spirit and about the awesome presence of the Lord in the meetings. This anointing of the Spirit seems very contagious for folk who return from the revival gatherings, and so Linda & Nick prayed for everyone in the room, that we might receive more fire from the Lord.

There is a growing, burning conviction in me that revival fire is coming to the UK. Those who are hungry will receive – hungry hearts, open churches, desperate cities. Starving people don’t stand on ceremony when food is presented, nor take offence and how it is packaged. Of course they check to see if the food is of quality and not contaminated, but then they dive in. How to maintain a hungry heart and discerning spirit! I’m praying right now that God would give me more revelation, understanding and wisdom. Revelation of Him and what He is doing in these days; understanding of how to run creatively in mission with a revival move of God soon to come; wisdom of how to structure church around the fiery life of the Spirit. Lord, give us more of these and more of You.

William

1st May 2008

2008-05-02T17:12:00.002+01:00

I’m more aware this week that God is on the move and there is anticipation in the air of the church. Miracle healings taking place amongst hundreds in Lakeland, Florida, viewed and participated also by millions on God TV and webcast. Similar spiritual outpouring started at Rick Joyner’s Morning Star ministries in the States and some powerful impartation meetings occurring in Dudley, Birmingham this week. 20,000 people respond to Christ in crusades in Poland, overwhelming the organisers. 500 young people become Christians in the Rhonnda valley of Wales last month. Fasting and praying by many faithful Christians is happening ahead of the global day of prayer on 10th May. ‘The Call’ youth event in Israel is soon to take place, bringing together tens of thousands of on fire teenagers committed to serving Christ.

The word that is starting to be used to describe the coming days for the church is ‘glory’. Not the glory of the church, that we might look good, but the glory of the Lord, that more of His kingdom is released and His end-time purposes fulfilled as the return of Jesus draws ever closer. Tommy Tenney coined the phrase ‘God chasers’ to describe those with a passion to see the presence and glory of God more clearly manifest in our day. One of my prayers during a current time of prayer and fasting is that Jesus would draw out many thousands of God chasers, in our local house of prayer, in our city, in our Ignite network and across the nation. The more a vision of God’s glory grows in us, it becomes a desperate cry, ‘Lord, I don’t want to live without Your glory’. It will look different in different places, but the outbreak of signs of His kingdom and a heightened awareness in church and community of His awesome presence will certainly mark these coming days.

I believe that God is looking for those who will prepare a place of divine visitation and holy habitation of His manifest presence, and consequently that He wants us to actually live in His glory. The generations of Moses, Elijah, the apostles and past revivalists lived in such a dimension, and that is God’s promise and challenge to us now.

Blessings
William

24th April 2008

2008-04-24T18:04:00.001+01:00

I don’t hear revival talked about much these days, as I have mentioned before in these blogs. Not until this last week that is! Two things have made my ears prick up. One was the visit of Kbile Akani to Manchester cathedral last weekend. My friend Paul was organising the event and the whole theme was ‘towards revival in the UK’. Kbile’s experience of outpourings in his nation in Africa made his teaching powerful and challenging. It was a wake up call to churches to look for the things which only God can do, and to rise in faith to believe for fresh outpourings of the Spirit.

Over the same weekend we have begun to hear about Todd Bentley’s healing revival meetings in Lakeland, Florida. God TV is covering the crusade which has quickly become nightly powerful meetings drawing in TV & internet audiences of over 250,000 in the last three weeks. The meetings are marked with miraculous healings and an awesome, almost overwhelming sense of the manifest presence of God.

My wife has been sick the last week, but has been vibrant with faith as she has watched from the couch. Last night we sat and watched Che Ann from California, used by God in ministering revival since the 90’s, prophesying that this is a 3rd wave (after Toronto and Pensacola) that God wants to go around the world. Pastors and church leaders are starting to travel on pilgrimage to Lakeland to enter into this move of God. Testimonies are coming on God TV of people sat at home, being healed, delivered and overcome with the glory of God where they are.

All this in the middle of my local context of citywide 40 days of prayer and fasting for spiritual breakthrough and the glory of God in our locality. I’m a bit blown away by this and my faith is challenged by the Lord, ‘do you believe I can do this again in your day? What will you chase after?’ Watch this space…!

William

3rd April 2008

2008-04-03T15:48:00.001+01:00

I’ve just returned from a week of ministering to Christian leaders. We were at the ECG new conference in chilly Llandudno the week after Easter – a good new Christian event aimed at inspiring a prophetic church to change the world. My wife and I were facilitating the leadership stream of seminars each day. What a privilege! Opening up issues that leaders struggle with was a responsibility for us and yet it became one of those rare opportunities when leaders were able to be vulnerable with each other.

Maybe it helped that, for those of us who led them, we had struggled ourselves with the issues of a leader’s identity, vision, sacrifice and legacy. We had battle scars to show and lessons that the Lord had taught us to share. God was evidently in the midst of those seminars, putting people alongside each other to share & pray, highlighting words of hope and encouragement. I think of the apostle Paul’s desire for his protégé Timothy, that he would be fully equipped for every good work.

Looking out over the seminar room and over the faces of the conference, I know that many challenges lay ahead of each of us as leaders this year. So to be better equipped spiritually for what faces us is a real gift from God. It is so in line with the vision behind Ignite – to renew and resource leaders for missional church and revival harvest.

Lord, strengthen us as leaders and lead us on.

William

20th March 2008

2008-03-20T19:01:00.002Z

In the middle of holy week, right now. Much of the world continues
unobserving, but the church follows the way of the cross painfully,
reverently and hopefully. We pin our hopes on this awesome, fragile Son of
God as his body is broken and life blood flows to take away the sin of the
world. I'm sure his disciples on that day didn't believe a drop of hope
could be wrung from such a wretched situation. I think of many wretched
situations around me and playing out around the world. Transformation
doesn't seem possible never mind likely. Yet, when you factor God in, no
context is hopeless. A spiritual breakthrough was building up, to be focussed
on the shatterpoint of the whole powers of this age. A breakthrough the
likes of which our world or faith had never seen.

Such a breakthrough saw
Jesus plundering hell, shattering the power of sin and death and bringing a
resurrection life, free for all to share in with him. Nothing much
discernible on Good Friday, but nothing that could be denied for anyone with
eyes of faith to see three days later. For leaders and teachers, pastors and
preachers, what treasures we share in this season. May the amazing Lord of
glory open our eyes to the sharp, vivid, rainbow coloured brilliance of the
breakthrough he achieved for us in the cross and resurrection. As a worship
song says: 'There's a light in the darkness that shines, bringing hope for
all the world. There's a door that's been opened to all, to a new and living
way. Praise the name of Jesus!'

Happy Easter
William Porter

13th March 2008

2008-03-13T13:51:00.000Z

The BBC are broadcasting a bold new interpretation of Jesus' Passion over
the next week. I'm looking forward to see how they interpret it. Rumours are
that it's very good. I was interested in the quote from the production team
about the relevance of the story for today: 'With the world the way it is at
the moment, anything that is about something that goes beyond your everyday
existence is of value. People are looking for something beyond their new
car. Telling a story like this quenches that thirst. It makes you feel there
is something beyond your own limited existence'. This quote shows profound
insight into our culture, though it might be dismissed as just another
postmodern yearning for transcendence.

We are praying in our city, and in Ignite, for more spiritual breakthrough,
for people to experience something of God beyond their own limited
existence. This is a theme that will reoccur in this blog a few times over
the following months. Breakthrough in what dimension? Obviously it must
include the church 'breaking out' of its confines and insular thinking into
fresh mission and engagement with community. Yet I am more drawn to pray
about a 'breaking in' of the kingdom here and now. Jesus' words about His
kingdom being 'at hand' mean something about His rule and reality pressing
in on our world, being in our face. Didn't the Celts talk about creating a
'thin place' where heaven is tangible? I don't think our culture buys
anymore into the image of the universe as the watchmaker's watch, in which
God can't intervene. Where science and cosmology debates verge on the
philosophical, isn't our world wrapped around by a greater reality of
eternity? Isn't our experience of the supernatural more like the embryo
growing safely, dimly but deeply aware of a greater world around her? I am
hoping that the 'Passion' broadcast is one of many means in which people
reach out, open up, become aware of God's love and Jesus' presence. Where
praying happens, miracles can occur.!

William Porter

7th March 2008

2008-03-07T13:50:00.002Z

‘Wrestling over prophetic words’

I’ve been having a few good coffee chats recently with friends of my wife and myself. The kind of chats where casual banter mingles with startling vulnerability and you realise that your relationship with that person is growing in depth as hearts are shared. In one recent conversation a friend admitted to wrestling with some prophetic words he was holding on to for his life and ministry. Not that he was giving up on what he believed God had told him, but wrestling with the delayed fulfilment. He was standing in the tension of wanting to press in for what God had promised, but yet also realise that he was probably being refined in the waiting process.

I can really relate to that. I’ve had dozens of prophecies given to me over that last 20 years as I’ve been active in Christian ministry. Of those about half a dozen are the ‘weighty’ ones, significant at the time and directional for my life and work. Most are around the theme of revival and the greater release of the Spirit, which is the context of my life’s dream. Until recently I have been more or less passively waiting for their fulfilment, expectant but looking to God to bring things about in His time. But in the last year or two I have been challenged to contend in prayer over significant personal prophetic words. It has been a shock to think that these prophecies simply bring revelation as to what God wants to do. It is a window through which I am called to lay hold of God and actively pray for these God words to come about. Just like Timothy in 1 Timothy 1v18, I am encouraged to wrestle, follow and actively recall the prophetic words in order to fight my good fight well. God is refining me in the waiting process, but testing my heart to press in for the release of the things He has spoken to me about. The more I pray and press in to God, the burden grows, the faith rises, the conviction becomes stronger about the spiritual outpouring that I believe I will see and be a part of. I have my doubting days about God’s delays, but that, too, must be part of the refining process, just like my friend, whose honesty I admire.

William Porter

28th February 2008

2008-02-28T13:52:00.001Z

'Hype or expectation?'
I don't like hype in Christian circles or anywhere else really. I love the
look of the new iphone, but am googling the internet to find out the reality
about the hype before committing to this amazing gadget. Likewise I'm
sifting the prophetic words for the UK in 2008 and the anticipation of more
kingdom breakthrough to find the reality of what we're seeing happen and
discerning what we feel God is really saying. What is the sifted gold of the
prophetic that we hold on to and pray into for all we're worth? Hype is
over-egging where we're at, expectation is looking for where God is taking
us.
I was at a worship and prayer gathering last night that could have verged on
hype. A popular worship leader, lots of fan club, carried away with his
songs. Very prophetic prayer and worship, were we in danger of getting
carried away? Thankfully it steered a good course between realism and
expectation. And whereas I don't like hype, I do love the bold challenge to
greater faith that Jesus embodied and that the prayer and worship movement
is currently calling us to. One Charismatic critic bemoaned the constant
focus of Charismatics as 'one step beyond the normal'. But 'normal' is a
questionable concept when dealing with the kingdom of God, and our
perspective may not be the one with the greatest clarity on the issue.
Surely God is calling us to see transformation in the midst of trouble, and
His glory in the midst of crisis. In a generation in which Jesus' return
could be near, God is going to redefine our understanding of normal
Christianity. I need God to challenge me to increase my expectation of what
He can do, and to greater faith in response. In short I need less hype yet
more expectation. And that's a fine line.

William Porter

22nd February 2008

2008-02-21T16:49:00.001Z

I liked the issue raised in the March edition of 'Christianity' magazine
concerning spiritual gifts. The writer investigates whether congregations
still practise 'charismatic gifts', such as tongues, prophecy and healing.
Some responses seemed to suggest that their church had domesticated the
gifts, or pushed them under the carpet for the sake of seeker services and
modern religious etiquette. Others, encouragingly, revealed a healthy use of
a range of the Corinthian list of spiritual gifts even in a congregational
setting. Singing in tongues, words of knowledge allied to the healing
ministry, the giving and testing of prophetic words and the like still seem
to be in good use.
It has got me thinking about how much as leaders we encourage our
congregations to an increasing openness to the Spirit and how easily we
create an atmosphere where people can contribute to the spontaneous aspect
of corporate worship, to give voice to the stirrings of the Spirit, to try
and, maybe get it wrong, but usually right, even if immature. Perhaps
strangely today, most Christians in our nation are not hung up on the
theology of charismatic gifts, just starved of the encouragement to use
them, or ignorance of how to utilise them in daily life. The joy of times of
renewal and revival is that the emphasis is on welcoming and responding to
the powerful, graceful life of God irrupting in our lives and midst, which
spills out in all kinds of amazing ways, including dramatic and authentic
use of spiritual gifts. The result is the building up of the body of Christ,
the conviction of unbelievers and the forwarding of the God's mission. My
prayer is that we might have increasingly more of the Lord's presence,
including the generous gifts that He brings

William Porter

15th February 2008

2008-02-15T15:55:00.003Z

Apologies for site being down for last 3 days - due to problems outside of our control

William

14th February 2008

2008-02-14T16:20:00.000Z

I want to ask ‘where are the new charismatic theologians’? The considered reflections on renewal and revival that I read are from the generation above me, those who have lived through a move of the Spirit and who now muse on the lessons learned as an experiment in renewal. The seminal mission writing also comes from that age group, seasoned missiologists who suggest pointers forward for today’s innovators. Creative emerging church thinkers are my age and younger, communicating through blog and shared learning about experimental mission and emerging shapes of church. Here the voiced theology seems to trail behind the practice, but in reality is embedded within it. So, in between the older renewal reflection and the newer mission thinking, where are the new charismatic missiologists and theologians? I’m looking for an integration, not so much between Word and Spirit, but between Spirit and mission. The two flow together and not separate. The Spirit thrusts us out into mission, empowers us for witness and guides us into the riches of Christ. We have begun to discover a renewed confidence in mission practice and forming the fluid kinds of church that flows from that priority. But we have not yet stumbled across the burning bush of our encounter with God that marks us, or the flame of the Spirit that anoints us to make massive gospel impact. We need new prayerful theologians and reflective leaders who will show us the way to that reality or, better, become those ourselves.
William

Ignite Blog - 7th February 2008

2008-02-08T22:09:00.000Z

Here is the start of a regular Ignite blog, to stimulate thinking and chatting about mission issues from a revival perspective.

We are encouraging sharing around the four main priorities of Ignite: prayer, renewal, leadership and evangelism.
We would value your comments about what you would like from an Ignite blog and also from the Ignite website, to help us develop it as a resource.

I had a two minute opportunity this week to share what I believe about revival. It was at my district minister’s synod day, when the speaker, my old PhD supervisor, put me on the spot! The previous questioner was ‘disappointed’ about the spiritual life he saw happening in the Church. What had happened to the excitement of the 80’s and 90’s with Wimber and Toronto? Cue ‘me’, Martyn requested, as I was sitting in the next to back row, listening and, to be truthful, mind wandering a little. What do you say that encapsulates an 80,000 word thesis on revival - one that still has me wrestling with the why’s and how’s God does and doesn’t move by His Spirit in this world - when caught out cold?

My answer wasn’t all that brilliant, a bit disjointed I suspect. Yet I was quite encouraged that my theology and my conviction entwined together in my reply. I do believe that a mission pulse of the Spirit irrupts time and time again in the course of Christian history, and the post modern world hasn’t created a barrier for God to act. I do realise that many evangelical and charismatic Christians had their fingers burned in the renewal of the previous decade, but that disillusionment with hopes for revival didn’t necessarily mean a lack of faith in God empowering us for our kairos moments. I am very expectant of a move of God in this generation, one that thrusts the church out in transforming mission, one that brings in a harvest of people into faith in Christ, one that sees more of the glory of God in our streets and cities, one that may prepare us for the ultimate return of Christ.

I wrestle with a lot of things in my faith and discipleship, as all Christian leaders do, but I am glad that, when push comes to shove, I can be coherent and passionate about what I really believe and what really motivates me to press on in ministry. It fuels my faith and inspires my praying.

William

Ignite Revival Blog

2006-05-27T15:32:00.000+01:00

IGNITE REVIVAL FIRST BLOG – William – 24th May 2006

Our city churches in Stoke have just finished a 9 week period of united healing mission meetings – a mini outpouring of the Spirit with lots of transformed lives, healings, people finding faith – good spiritual fruit! As part of the team that has facilitated we are now exhausted but happy.

I’m excited about the stirrings of the Spirit I experienced in our time of mission, for it points and shouts to me about the ‘more’ of God. I’m one whose heart is for revival – for God to stir His church with His love to become missionary again for the sake of the world at our doorstep. God has done enough to get my attention that He is up to something profound in the opening decade of this century that has His reviving Spirit at the heart of it. The movements of prayer and emerging church are indicators of but are not actually it. Whatever ‘it’ is, is something totally new yet is related deeply to the past; re-digging old wells and sinking new ones like the patriarch, stumbling upon favour as he sought to find his way in his own generation (Gen 26).

I used to long for a ‘revival fix’ for our church, a short and glorious season when God would pour out, the lost would cry out and the church would live out a passionate pursuit of Him. No problems ever again. I guess it’s just like the ‘anointing fix’ I have sometimes wanted for my life, just one touch that will sort all my inadequacies and problems out in an instant and set me on a path of victory and powerful ministry. Both are understandable and both unrealistic.

What I am now looking for is a longer term impact of the coming Kingdom. The churches of our city, as elsewhere in the nation, are working hard at re-connecting people with the gospel, of engaging with our culture, of being out there amongst our communities for transformation. There is a lot of graft of mission work to do. Yet there will be in the middle of this, outpourings of God’s Spirit, fresh anointing, new evangelistic vigour, birthing of vision and urgent motivation to make a difference.

God, set us up for the ‘more’ of You and the surprising life of the Spirit in the midst of the ‘more’ we are doing day by day for Jesus’ kingdom.

William Porter

Book I’m reading

Planting Mission-Shaped Churches Today
Dr Martin Robinson (Monarch 2006 ISBN 978-1-85424-728-5)
To quote: “planting on a significant scale changes the church and changes the world”.
Martin is trying to stimulate church planting movements, not just individual projects. It is very helpful for understanding our UK context for planting, and in sparking conversation and understanding between church planters, recognising we are all learners and experimenters. Perhaps the best read out there for those considering planting or starting a ‘fresh expression’.

Recently watched DVD
Million Dollar Baby – directed by Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood plays Frankie Dunn, an elder boxing coach, manager, who takes on thirty-something Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) and takes her to a world title. Morgan Freeman as Dunn’s second – Scrape – offers narration and gentle wisdom. Most notable for its themes of guilt, redemption, faith and death. The priest is unable to offer anything other than official dogma and ritual to Dunn’s search for peace and ways through a moral maze. It is his own wisdom of life’s experience that show a path through. A poignant, textured movie dealing with powerful relational issues.