Dear Freedom

Kabul24

2009-10-12T17:02:00.005+01:00

Kabul24 is the story of 8 western hostages and 16 Afghan hostages, all employees of Shelter Now International (SNI), who were held by the Taliban for 105 days during 2001.

Having lived in Central Asia for 10 years around this time as a member of a team working for a faith-based humanitarian-aid organisation much like SNI I found it quite moving to read of people just a few hundred miles away who suffered immensely for doing a similar job. The account of their treatment, the conditions in which they lived and the challenges that they faced are harrowing at times, but then any account of being taken hostage by the Taliban isn’t going to be pleasant.

The authors seem slightly unsure in their writing as to whether they are writing a glamorised Hollywood script (it has been made into a film by the same people) or a factual account of an unknown passage of recent history. This confusion is shown when on a number of occasions you get significant quantities of repeated information in very much a “previously on...” style of writing.

Overall this is an interesting account of a relatively unknown group of people, doing a very uncommon job in a very broken and unreached part of the world and for that reason I would commend the book to you as worth reading.

You can buy the book here.

I review books as a blogger for the publisher Thomas Nelson. I am asked to review them honestly and receive no incentive to review them positively.

Trusting our minds...

2009-03-26T21:39:00.006Z

This evening on abcNEWS Nightline in the States there will be a screening of a debate that took place at Mars Hill Church in Seattle on the topic: Does Satan Exist? Contending that Satan does exist was/will be Mark Driscoll, teaching pastor at Mars Hill, and Annie Lobert, founder of "Hookers for Jesus" and former prostitute herself. Arguing against the existence of Satan was Deepak Chopra, philosopher-come-self-help-guru, and Bishop Carlton Pearson, a former "fundamentalist" who has embraced an "inclusive" gospel.

I'd encourage you to watch the debate - I wouldn't encourage you to use the abcNEWS media player as it's terrible, so if you can figure out how to download the video then that's well worth the effort, if you can't figure it out then endure it anyway! Toward the end Driscoll asked Chopra why he so implicitly trusted his own mind if it was just the result of evolution. The question reminded me of C.S. Lewis' statement:

"If the solar system was brought about by an accidental collision, then the appearance of organic life on this planet was also an accident, and the whole evolution of Man was an accident too. If so, then all our present thoughts are mere accidents - the accidental by-product of the movement of atoms. And this holds for the thoughts of the materialists and astronomers as well as for anyone else's. But if their thoughts - i.e., Materialism and Astronomy - are mere accidental by-products, why should we believe them to be true? I see no reason for believing that one accident should be able to give me a correct account of all the other accidents. It's like expecting the accidental shape taken by the splash when you upset a milk-jug should give you a correct account of how the jug was made and why it was upset."

Chopra's response was to say that he didn't trust his mind, but that he trusted his "spirit", which still begs the question as to why he sees fit to trust his "spirit". The question is still left irritatingly unanswered!

Driscoll concluded with reading from 1 John 5:19 onward:

"We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."

I'll conclude with that too!

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Today you can know that you are loved...

2009-03-18T18:13:00.005Z

I'm just finishing up preparing this talk on whether Christians make better lovers. I've been listening to and quoting Ben Gibbard's (front man for Death Cab for Cutie) song "Someday You Will Be Loved". You can listen to the song on Spotify, it's from Death Cab's album "Plans". The song makes me grieve for our culture, for those abused and abusing day in, day out because our unwillingness to submit our lives, and particularly our sexuality, to the Lordship of Christ. The final verse should be a call to evangelism and reminds me of what we read in Romans 10:14.

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"

"But I know your heart belongs to someone you've yet to meet" Their hearts belong to Jesus. Please read and weep with me.

"I once knew a girl
In the years of my youth
With eyes like the summer
All beauty and truth
In the morning I fled
Left a note and it read
Someday you will be loved.

I cannot pretend that I felt any regret
Cause each broken heart will eventually mend
As the blood runs red down the needle and thread
Someday you will be loved.

You'll be loved you'll be loved
Like you never have known
The memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved.

You may feel alone when you're falling asleep
And everytime tears roll down your cheeks
But I know your heart belongs to someone you've yet to meet
Someday you will be loved."

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Scratching the surface...

2009-03-17T19:00:00.004Z

It's ironic, but the shorter a talk is then the more difficult it is to write. Learning the art of writing, fashioning and delivering a ten minute talk is a difficult thing to do, let alone master! I'm currently trying to write a "meal-with-a-message" style talk on the question "Do Christians make better lovers?" I have eight to ten minutes to create an environment of trust in which questions of sex, relationships, love, sexuality and the like can be discussed in a productive way and one in which the gospel can shine as a light in a dark place. We find this subject to be particularly sensitive, personal and private and this makes the task all the harder...

Anyway... I should stop procrastinating!

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Smashing Idols

2009-03-13T08:00:00.000Z

Why did Jonah run? (if you think it was out of fear, like I did, then you need this all the more!)

Why do we run? Where do we run? How do we run?

Can I thoroughly recommend to you Tim Keller's talks that he did at the Evangelist Conference in 2007. You can find the talks here.

"The expulsive replacement: rejoicing in Jesus in the face of your own idols."

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Theology --> Lifestyle

2009-03-12T08:00:00.001Z

I read this with a student recently:

"And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:9-10)

Theology is a word about God. Good theology will result in a good and God-honouring lifestyle. Bad theology...

God bless.

Dear Freedom

This week at Number 1…

2009-03-11T08:00:00.000Z

At number one in the BBC Radio 1 singles chart is Flo Rida featuring Kesha singing “Right Round”. You can listen to it on Spotify and read the lyrics here.

The song is made up of a dialogue between Flo Rida and Kesha. The basic gist of the song is repeated in the title and the corus with:

“You spin my head right round, right round
When you go down, when you go down down”

The song is loaded with sexual innuendo and extols the virtues of girls, bling and beautiful bodies. The implication is that if you have enough money you can buy whatever you like, whether it’s material possessions or women. Flo Rida is very clear that he knows what he loves by how he spends his money: “My money love her like a numba one fan” and he goes onto sing that:

“From the top of the pole I watch her go down
She got me throwin my money around
Ain’t nothin more beautiful to be found
It’s goin down down”

So, what is there to commend in this song? Well, Flo Rida is very strong on his understanding that sex, beauty and relationship are good things; he shows us very clearly that our finances betray our hearts and he is very willing to put his mouth where his money is and vice versa! I wonder how Flo Rida would respond to Jesus when he says:

“Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:28-29)

Sadly though Flo Rida has taken what is a good thing and made it a “god” thing. This song does not encourage us to view women as humans made in the image of God, but as objects to be manipulated and possessed – literally bought! When Adam met Eve he sang her a song. He sang:

“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:23)

The commentator Matthew Henry says of the creation of woman:

“That the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”

We must ensure that we treasure all of mankind, both male and female, as made in the image of God and not persons for us to objectify, manipulate or possess in any way.

As we, and those around us, hear this song we might like to consider some questions to ask of it:

Does the song put men and women on an equal footing as one another?

Is it right for radio stations and artists to promote the objectifying of women?

There’s a very strong view of the beauty of the human body and of sexuality, but what would a society be like if all the males acted like Flo Rida seeks to?

Finally, we might like to ask the question the Jesus poses to all of us in Mark 8:36 when he asks “…what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

For some helpful thoughts about Christianity, Christians and sex you might like to consider Mark Driscoll's series on Song of Songs, which can be found here.

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Engaging without paying...

2009-03-10T08:00:00.000Z

For the last year or so I've been trying to figure out how to engage with the charts. I don't generally feel that listening to Radio 1's chart show is an abundantly good use of my time, particularly because it is so strung out. I also miss a lot of the lyrics and so it can often be a totally fruitless exercise! Whilst I enjoy radio I do find it frustrating that you don't get to choose what to listen to and when... I've also tried reading the lyrics of songs that do well in the charts and thinking through them that way, but then music is made to be music and to be listened to and not read... So, my conundrum was how can I listen to some of the music that our world is listening to at a time that is convenient for me, where I can listen over and over again by my own determining, that won't cost me money to download tracks and CDs and that is still legal?!

And along came Spotify.

If you don't use Spotify already then go over there now, download the program (it works on both PC and Mac - what more could you want!) and start listening. It's free, with a 30 second advert every 20 minutes, and you can listen to more or less anything whenever you like. It is legal, most of the major record labels have signed up to the service and around ten-thousand new tracks are being added every day.

Christians need to be seeking to read, listen to and engage with today's poets, musicians, and singer-songwriters and this is a fantastic resource to take advantage of...

God bless.

Dear Freedom

TUoS FREE Events Week 5

2009-03-09T20:02:00.003Z

The final post from Carrie and Nathan the former evangelism secretaries for Sheffield CU.

Friday - 9.15pm

So here we are, our last event of the week has finished and the current exec have quite literally collapsed into a heap!

The sports quiz last night was a great time – we had a good number of people there, great fun was had by all and Graham gave a short but concise talk on Jesus calming the storm, asking everyone who they say Jesus is. Elsewhere CU members put on dialogue dinners - inviting their friends for dinner and to hear a testimony or short talk. The responses to these of course were mixed but praise God that people were bold enough to take the gospel to their friends.

Today we had our last lunchbar and evening talk. The lunchbar was called ‘Religious truth? Or just different personal paths to God?” Graham as ever spoke gently but respectfully, challenging the guests to investigate the claims of the Bible for themselves.

This evening we had two events running. In Coffee Revolution at the union Graham spoke on Jesus’ death and challenged people on the choice they had to make about who he was. There were fewer people than the last evening event but be praying that the people there have gone away challenged by what they heard and willing to keep thinking about the relevance for them. At the same time, International Café was hosting an international food evening at a local church. This gave an opportunity for international students to come and hear the gospel whilst enjoying tasty treats from around the world. There were a few of the regulars along with a few new faces, the gospel was proclaimed clearly, relationships were built on and good conversations were had.

It’s been a really exciting week, we’ve seen a great enthusiasm for mission from the CU members and some brilliant conversations had and relationships built up. It may be the end of the week but it’s really just the beginning. Please be praying that CU members don’t see this as the end of their ‘mission’ but will continue to be stepping out of their comfort zones and be living and speaking for Jesus continually, making evangelism a lifestyle rather than an event. We have the follow up course starting up on Tuesday, which will be a great opportunity for people to come, find out more and ask their questions. Pray that people will want to find out more and will have their lives transformed by the gospel.

TUoS FREE Events Week 4

2009-03-05T16:59:00.004Z

There's an update from Pete Dray, the Northumbria events week speaker, on how things are going up here. He says:

"Please do keep praying for the Free outreach here. It's been quite a struggle over recent days - there are a small number of committed CU members, but pray that more get involved over the next couple of days. I'm speaking on Mark 7 tonight at a pub quiz, and then Mark 8 tomorrow night. Pray that there's something of a gathering of momentum, and that we see some of the same faces coming back."

From Nathan and Carrie in Sheffield:

Thursday - 16.30pm

Tiredness is beginning to bite for a lot of us today! But we are still really encouraged by everything that is going on and the stories we are hearing. Last night's event was a talk on 'FREE from religion' in a cafe in the Students' Union which was a great venue, contributing to a nice, informal atmosphere. Graham Daniels spoke well again and there were more non christians to hear the gospel. Continue to praise God that people are coming back to hear more and pray for both those who have been there along with those who aren't but need to be!

Its still really exciting to see the CU members behind events week so much with lots of them turning up again at 8.30 to get the day started with Bible and prayer. Another lunchbar today, on 'the Bible: an ancient book, untrustworthy and full of mistakes?'. A brilliant turnout, Graham was clear, gracious and challenging in his talk leaving people with plenty to think about. Be praying for the converstations that are continuing throughout the week, that we will be gentle and respectful in our answers.

Tonight is the CIS sports quiz being held in a local Indian restaurant. Be praying for people involved in Uni sports teams as they encourage their team mates to come along and for the CIS guys as they run it. For the non-sporty among the CU tonight is a chance for them to get together with their mates, have dinner and share a bit more of what they believe so be praying for opportunitites and boldness.

One day to go...

TUoS FREE Events Week 3

2009-03-04T22:40:00.003Z

Wednesday - 16.40pm

Things feel like they're starting to go off here! There are so many reasons to be encouraged and praise God I'm not sure where to begin. One of the first things that come to mind is that Carrie and I as organisers are finding ourselves with time on our hands! The CU are all chipping in to help out and so everything that needs to be done gets done usually without us having to say anything. This means the we are more free to get involved with our own personal evangelism as well as our course work!

Last night Graham spoke on 'FREE to be honest' to a considerably smaller audience compared to the lunchbars, but these talks are aimed at people who are seeking in a much more meaningful way and the fact that 5 or 6 people heard the gospel explained clearly and personally from Mark's gospel is a reason to praise God. Please pray for the rest of the evening events, for those who come along and for Graham as he speaks.

Today's lunch bar was on 'Heaven: isn't trying my best enough to get me there?' Graham spoke very clearly and challenged people about their perceptions of what happens when we die. The questions were much more genuine from people who seemed to be truth seeking rather than arguing and conversations lasted well into the afternoon. Praise God for answered prayer! It has also been deeply encouraging to hear of people who have been meeting up with their friends and new acquaintances to discuss the talks afterwards. This is the epitome of what these events are designed to lead to so praise the Lord that that is what is happening!

I (Nathan) also had some encouraging chat with some of my hockey team mates after the match today (6-2 loss to York Uni 2nds - ouch!) and was able invite some of them to the Christians in Sport sports quiz tomorrow night - including one or two who I would have never thought would come! Please pray for the quiz that friends and team mates would come and hear the gospel. Also tomorrow night, CU members will be putting on 'dialogue dinners' which involve them inviting their friends for dinner and to hear a testimony or short talk. Please pray for those engaging in this more informal but still potentially scary evangelism and for the friends who come along.

TUoS FREE Events Week 2

2009-03-03T22:44:00.004Z

Tuesday - 5.50pm

Our first evening event last night was something special. Wokmania was packed, the queues were immense and Graham delivered the gospel to around 120 non-Christians. It was a really encouraging evening and has led to more invites to events as well as friends meeting up for coffee to talk more about this Jesus thing! Praise God that we were able to put on such a big event, that so many heard the gospel and that for some at least it was not just a one night thing. Please pray also for those that were there that God would bring them back for more and keep the conversations flowing!

This morning as I walked around the union I was hugely encouraged by what was going on. Outside the union I saw CU members all over the place both handing out flyers and in conversation with people over questionnaires, at times in the cold and the rain. I also found myself not needing to organise a lot of things because they were already taken care of! It was hugely encouraging, even humbling to see everyone pulling together to see the gospel proclaimed. Praise God for the enthusiasm and efforts of the CU and pray that everyone would be similarly encouraged, especially when met with apathy and opposition by their friends, coursemates and others they talk to.

Today our lunchbar was on 'Has Science Killed God?' Ed Pennington from Christ Church, Fulwood spoke very well to a room of about 90-100 people (approx 50 non-Christians). There were questions afterwards, some which seem to be from people with an agenda who are less interested in searching for the truth than engaging in argument. This is of course not a new concept but please pray for both those who are so blind to the gospel of grace and also those who are genuinely seeking but may be put off by a hostile atmosphere. Whilst also praising God for the numbers of people who are coming and the clarity with which God's truth is being spoken.

TUoS FREE Events Week 1

2009-03-02T22:40:00.005Z

This week Carrie and Nathan, the evangelism secretaries from the University of Sheffield Christian Union, will be "guest-blogging" on the goings on there so that you can pray for the week of events that they are putting on there. Here's their first post:

Monday - 5.15pm

So it's finally here! After months of planning, our events week is suddenly in full flow. We have had a hectic first day which began at 8.30 this morning with a team meeting and then a prayer meeting. We had good turn out with about 50 people which was quite a surprise and meant we had to spill out of the meeting room we had booked into the common area. Fortunately the cleaners didn't mind us blocking their way!

We spent the morning on the concourse outside the Student's Union main building with a stall where our CU Guests (CUGs) gave out tea, coffee and hot chocolate and CU members got involved with flyering and questionnaires. Its was fantastic to see so many getting into conversations with other students and inviting them to our lunchbar. Praise God that so many of the CU are passionate enough about the gospel to offer it to complete strangers!

The lunchbar today was called 'Suffering: Doesn't it prove that God is either powerless or heartless?' Graham Daniels spoke to a room of about 60 including 30 or 40 non christians and received a round of applause both before and afterwards! There were several sincere and respectful comments and questions and I for one was encouraged by the atmosphere. Praise God for the chance to broach a subject like this and pray for those who were present, that they would be thinking about what Graham spoke on, along with what they themselves believe and that they would come back to hear more!

We are currently preparing for our first evening event tonight at Wokmania, a local chinese all you can eat buffet. We have booked the whole restaurant out and have sold almost 190 tickets and are still getting requests for more. Graham will do a short talk called 'FREE from guilt' and we will use the event as an introduction to the rest of the week. Praise God that we have been able to sell so many tickets, that so many non-christians will be there and pray that God would speak through Graham to the people who hear him.

We thank God that there are so many supporting us in prayer - it is truly humbling to think of how many more people are a part of this events week than those who are here!

Blog update...

2009-03-01T08:08:00.000Z

Apologies for my absence the last couple of weeks. I've been recuperating after the Newcastle Events Week as well as taking some time to catch up on reading and the like. I'm aware that I still owe the final roundup post for the Newcastle Events week as well as some photos, which I now do have! I'll try to get round to putting those up for the beginning of next week.

This week I've given over my blog to Carrie and Nathan. Please do be praying for The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University as they hold their events weeks and particularly for Graham Daniels and the Christians in Sport team as they speak and spend time with the students.

This week is also the Northumbria University (in Newcastle) CU events week that I'm helping out at. Please do be praying for the CU members here; that they would have courage to be inviting along their friends, that they would take the opportunity afforded to them this week and that they would support their fellow CU members by helping out at the stall and around the campus. Pete Dray is here with us this week doing the talks and he will be updating his blog with the goings on and how you can particularly pray for him.

God bless.

Dear Freedom

UNCU Events Week 4

2009-02-12T22:13:00.003Z

Highs of 1°C :: Lows of -1°C :: SNOW!

University of Newcastle Christian Union Events Week :: Thursday

Just a quick update before I hit the sack. I’ve managed to get an evening off and it’s been great to chill out a bit. The day has mostly been a snowy one and that meant that numbers at the lunchbar and around the tent were a bit lower. The topic today was “I’m not interested in ancient history. Why take the Bible seriously?” There seemed to be an excellent number of questions afterwards. There were also various issues with the marquee and such large quantities of snow-come-water! Please do pray that the marquee holds out for the last day and that we don’t have any problems with that regard.

One of the really encouraging things today was the grill-a-Christian event that some of the members of the CU had organised for the afternoon. It was great to see some eighty people turn up in the tent to hear a group of their fellow students explain something of the reason for the hope that they have and to answer any and every question. There were some incredibly moving moments as some of the students come from non-Christian homes and talked of their grief that their parents are currently on their way to hell. Please do pray for those students that were on the panel that God would protect them after they stuck their heads above the parapet and do pray for those who heard their clear explanations of the gospel. They ended the event very movingly by asking the audience to contemplate the question that God asks of us “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?”

This evening there has been a curry and talk event so do pray for those who have heard Mo’s talk there. You’ll find a review of that event and today’s happenings over on Mo’s blog, which you can find here.

Tomorrow is the final day of the events week. There will be lunchbars and a jazz event in the evening. Please pray for perseverance, for endurance, for joy, for grace and for blind eyes to be opened and for people to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

Thanks again for your support and prayers – they are much appreciated.

God bless.

Dear Freedom

UNCU Events Week 3

2009-02-12T07:21:00.001Z

Highs of 3°C :: Lows of -1°C :: Clear skies, sunshine and cold… just cold!

University of Newcastle Christian Union Events Week :: Wednesday (written on Thursday!)

Day (fortunately not week!) three is notoriously the hardest day of a mission. You feel like you’re a whole age from the beginning of the week, but realise that you’ve got the same again before the end! However the prayer meeting was still well attended and a few people even did the actions for “Our God is a Great Big God”.

We spent the morning doing worldview surveys and it was fantastic to get eight students turn up and volunteer to help out with that – because of university rules the CUGs (CU Guests) aren’t allowed to approach students by themselves, but have to be with a CU member who is a student. In a way this is good because it does mean that they can support CU members rather than doing their job for them. We did a good number of surveys in the morning and it’s been interesting to see the dominant worldviews – mostly existentialism and naturalism – this seems a bit of a shift from the last students I did surveys with where there were far more nihilists…

The lunchbars went fantastically well. You can see Mo’s account on his blog. I got to sit in the first one as my friend came along – please do pray for him, L. The title was: “I’m not a murderer or a rapist. Why isn’t being good, good enough? Mo spoke fantastically well on morality not even being in the right ball park when it comes to acceptance by God. There were over two hundred people across the two lunchbars, which is an absolutely awesome turnout. Please do be praying that as such significant numbers of people hear the gospel that they will turn to Jesus and that the Holy Spirit will be working in their hearts and minds.

In the evening we had little grub-crawls come meal-with-a-message. The university halls CU groups had organised little groups of people to go round three CU members’ houses and to have starter at one house, main at the next and pudding at the last house and over pudding there was a little “gospel-thought” from a CUG that went along. We had twelve in our little group including six non-Christian girls. I did a little though on Jesus not being who we expect him to be based around the account of the healing of the paralysed man in Mark 2. Do pray for those that came along to those events that they would continue to investigate the claims of Jesus.

Today we have lunchbars and a curry night so do be praying for ticket sales for the evening and for strength, endurance, grace, peace and joy for Mo and the others who are busy supporting the CU.

God bless.

Dear Freedom

UNCU Events Week 2

2009-02-10T22:59:00.003Z

Highs of 4°C :: Lows of -3°C :: Clear skies, sunshine, rain, snow, wind and permafrost come mud!

University of Newcastle Christian Union Events Week :: Monday/Tuesday

Yesterday evening we had the Globe Café event, which was geared towards international students. What an excellent event that was! There were over 150 people there for what is a regular café evening for international students and I was able to sit and chat with a four guys from Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and mainland China – all there and all friends because of the Globe Café. If you’re an international student in Newcastle then that is the place to be on a Monday night! Mo spoke on Mark 7 and the distinctiveness of the claims of Jesus that our hearts are the big problem. Please pray for those who were there, that they would consider their own hearts and be honest with and about Jesus’ diagnosis of the problem.

This morning we met again at the bright and early hour of 8am (early for students and people that work with students!) in a freezing cold tent. In the CU guest meeting I lead the thought for the day looking at some things that I’ve been reflecting on recently from Hebrews 1 and 2. We must remember who Jesus is, we must proclaim him clearly and we must not neglect the great salvation that he offers! During the meeting I volunteered to coordinate the work outside the tent for the morning and over the lunchbars and so immediately went and bought a full thermal base-layer from Millets… I am now totally warm from my ankles to my wrists to my neck!

We spent the morning doing worldview surveys, which are a great questionnaire based tool that allow you to determine a persons “worldview” through a series of simple questions about people’s understanding of truth, reality, humanity and God. These surveys created quite a buzz outside the tent which was a good pull for those interested in today’s lunchbar: “I don’t like discrimination. Why doesn’t God accept everyone?” Mo is live-blogging over at his blog on how the talks are going and some of the questions that are being asked – do head over there for an idea of how that’s going – it’s difficult for me to gauge from outside of the warmth of the tent!

This evening we had the pub quiz and a short talk from Mark : “Would God want someone like me?” I sat with a bunch of guys who were friends of a CU member. We didn’t win the quiz, we didn’t have any particularly great conversations and they didn’t seem particularly interested, but they were there and praise God for CU members bringing their friends along and seeking to introduce them to Jesus. Please continue to pray for CU members as they invite friends along and as they seek to live and speak for Jesus among those with whom they live their lives on a daily basis.

Tomorrow we have more lunchbars, more worldview surveys and more laid-back “meal-with-a-message” type events around the city. Do be praying for myself and others as we do little “thought-for-the-day” style talks to provoke some discussion at those.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. The “photo-man” has promised photos tomorrow… We’ll see!

God bless.

Dear Freedom

UNCU Events Week 1

2009-02-09T16:59:00.006Z

Highs of 4°C :: Lows of 1°C :: Clear skies, sunshine and a form of permafrost underfoot!

University of Newcastle Christian Union Events Week :: Monday

What a fantastic beginning to the week! We met to pray at the very godly hour of 8am and there were around 30 students and CU guests there including the three intrepid “men” who had stayed the night in the marquee the night before – please pray for the nutters who have volunteered to do that each night! We had a great time of prayer together and then had a good time as a group of CU guests looking at John 17 together and Jesus’ prayer in the garden. Fantastic to be reminded that the reason for our evangelism is the Trinity and the privilege of inviting people back into restored community with the Trinity!

Today the first lunchbars were held – we’re holding the same lunchbar twice from 12-1pm and 1-2pm with the hope of spanning all possible lunchbreaks. Mo was speaking on the topic of “I’m not really bothered. What’s in Christianity for me?” There were around 100 people in total that attended the two lunchbars and there seemed to be a good bunch of questions after the second talk, there were also a good number of feedback forms handed in. Please do pray for those who develop a keen interest early on in the week that they would continue to return throughout the week and develop their interest and understanding.

During the rest of the day we have been handing out flyers to advertise the events, chatting to people in the marquee (praise God for the warmth of the tent!) and drinking innumerable numbers of cups of tea from a much appreciated urn! Please do pray as we get some first contact and worldview survey materials together for the rest of the week. This evening we will be meeting in a local church for an international evening and a talk on Mark 7 and the topic "But is it real?" Please do be praying particularly for Mo as he speaks that he would be particularly clear for the international students that will be there.

There are hopefully some photos coming soon and I would also encourage you to look at Mo’s blog as he is also “live-blogging” the week. You can find his blog here.

More to come later today or early tomorrow...

God bless.

Dear Freedom

This week...

2009-02-08T22:19:00.005Z

This coming week (9th-13th February) is the Newcastle Events Week – details can be found at http://www.free-newcastle.co.uk They have events running every lunchtime (twice!) and every evening. They also have a marquee set up on campus, where the events will be held (yes, I realise it’s bitterly cold, but they’ve promised heating – a definite thing to pray for!), and will be running a café all day everyday. Please particularly pray for Maurice McCracken who will be speaking – please pray that he would be faithful to the gospel and that God would give him patience, stamina and endurance for the week. Please pray for the CU members as they invite friends, course-mates, team-mates, house-mates and anyone else, that they would have courage and a thick skin to any mockery or rejection. Please pray for myself and the other CU guests that we wouldn’t get hypothermia (!), that we would enjoy the privilege of working with the CU and that we would be faithful to the gospel as we spend our time chatting with people and getting to know friends of CU members and strangers.

This year’s theme for the Newcastle events week is Free, which is based around the gospel distribution project that I’ve mentioned before. Newcastle CU has 6,000 copies of Mark’s gospel to give to students. This is quite a task, but they have shifted a significant number already. Please do continue to pray for the Free project both in Newcastle and across the country. I’m going to endeavour, I hope, to blog each day about what happens during events week, what can be prayed for and what is coming up.

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Watching films to the glory of God!

2009-02-07T13:39:00.006Z

Yesterday I listened to a superb talk by Andrew Fellows which can be found on bethinking.org, UCCF's apologetics website and superb home of a plethora of resources! Andrew directs the work of English L'Abri, which I had the privilege of visiting last year. Andrew spoke on the topic "Engaging with Film". I listened to it as part of my preparation of speaking at Northumbria CU last night on "The Arena of the Gospel", which is the second part of the Free for All course and investigates the idea of Jesus' lordship over all things. I would strongly recommend downloading and listening to this talk.

During the talk Andrew gives us nine “worldview questions” or “apologetics checkpoints” to ask ourselves whilst watching and enjoying films:

"What does the story reflect about what it means to be human? Is there a strong sense of the dignity or the glory of humanity? Is it honest about the depravity of human beings?

What type of universe exists; naturalist or super-naturalist?

How does the story reflect history; fatalistic or do our choices determine the outcome?

How is evil portrayed; banalised or taken seriously?

Does existence have meaning; bestowed upon us or created?

How does the story deal with the issue of justice?

How does the story reflect relationships?

How does redemption fit into the story? Who needs saving? Who is the “messiah”?

Does the story have hope when it looks to the future?"

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Guess who's back... back again...

2009-02-06T22:16:00.005Z

Probably a little known fact is that I'm a bit (I own almost all his albums) of an Eminem fan... We all have our vices ;-)

On Monday Eminem released his first fully original track for the best part of five years called "Crack a Bottle", which also features Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. It's the typically brutal Marshall Mathers where "In Eminem's world, all women are whores and he is eager to rape and murder them." as Bob Herbert described him in his article "In America: A Musical Betrayal", which was published in the New York Times and quoted in Bernard Goldberg's book "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America".

In some ways Eminem's willingness to take his brutal existential worldview to its conclusion is refreshing as he seems to quite literally speak his mind, but it's like a bresh of fresh air that comes with a punch in the windpipe! Mid-way through Dr. Dre betrays this existentialism:

"But hey, what else can I say? I love LA.
Cuz over and above all, its just another day
And this one begins where the last one ends.
Pick up where we left off and get smashed again."

I do however think that Eminem is a phenomenally influential "poet" of today - despite his 5 year silence he was still voted "The Best Rapper Alive!" by Vibe Magazine in 2008.

The song is currently at number 3 in the iTunes chart and has been released as a bit of a primer for his up and coming album "Relapse" which is due for release in the late spring of this year... It will be interesting to see how and whether his views have changed during his downtime. I'll hopefully let you know once I've bought it and braced myself for the lyrical onslaught.

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Mars Hill today...

2009-02-04T17:17:00.004Z

No, I'm not referring to Mark Driscoll's hangout. In fact I find naming a church after a centre for the exchange of ideas slightly odd as the church's job is surely to proclaim just one idea - that of Christ Jesus and him crucified. Anyway, that's an issue for another day!

No, I am referring to a modern day Areopagus (Mars Hill) namely Google. A place where the employees "spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new" (Acts 17:21) ... or so it seems! On a regular basis one hour plus long lectures are posted on the @google Talks YouTube channel. Authors, musicians, politicians, philosophers, businessmen etc. It is a true centre for the telling and hearing of all things new. Many of the participants are people who massively influence much of our culture today and so it is well worth subscribing to if you seek to be culturally relevant.

Some of my favourites have been; Christopher Hitchens, Slajov Žižek, George Soros and even Tim Keller, author of "The Reason for God", who you can watch below.

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Evil and moral indifference

2009-02-03T10:32:00.007Z

I'm reading Esther Lightcap Meek's book "Longing to Know" at the moment. It's an interesting book and essentially an explanation of the way that the epistemological ideas of Hungarian philosopher Michael Polanyi coincide and work with Christian epistemology - according to Meek (I've yet to be convinced that she's right, but I haven't finished the book yet!).

Yesterday I read this:

“This horror [9/11] is not one that denies God’s existence or the reality of good. That will happen only if we ever come to view such an event as good or of indifferent moral value, if we were to view it and feel no moral outrage. Human outrage at evil confirms God’s reality, for there is no other way to account for the passion we feel. This is profoundly rational.”

Integration, Not Deduction – pg.79

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Free to think: Is faith reasonable?

2009-02-02T12:35:00.004Z

Here's the recording of a talk that I did at an events week hosted by the Christian Union of the Queen's Campus of Durham University, which is in Stockton.

**Please excuse the "mobile-phone-by-speaker" noises - it wasn't mine! It does get better as the talk goes on!**

There's an introduction, then there's a video, and then there's the main content of the talk.

Listen to the introduction here.

Listen to the main talk here.

God bless.

Dear Freedom

Attention!

2009-01-30T16:50:00.005Z

Thoughts from Hebrews 1 and 2.

"...we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard..." (Hebrews 2:1)

What have we heard?

"...in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son..." (Hebrews 1:2)

Why must we pay attention?

"...how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3)

What is this salvation?

"After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..." (Hebrews 1:3)

How do we know this?

"...it was attested to us by those who heard..." (Hebrews 2:3)

What are we called by them to do?

"...we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard..." (Hebrews 2:1)

God bless.

Dear Freedom