Here I Stand...

Don’t Complicate the "Missionary Call" by David Sitton

2011-08-02T08:27:00.001+01:00

I was never called to be a missionary, nor was I drafted. I volunteered. No special call was needed. I chose to go; I wanted to go; I was compelled to go. And where I go is always determined by an open Bible and a stretched-out map of the regions where Christ is still unknown and un-praised!

I chuckle when I hear missionaries and pastors talk about “surrendering to the call” of ministry. I always want to ask, “After you surrendered, were you water-boarded, or just hauled off in handcuffs and leg irons.” Was it really necessary for you to be abducted by a heavenly vision before you would go into the work of the gospel?

The missionary call is not like a prison dog that tracks us down, sniffs us out, and hog-ties us for the nations. That is silly-talk and really bad theology. Nowhere in Scripture is a mysterious (supernatural) call a prerequisite before we can respond to the Great Commission. The opposite is actually true.

Don’t Wait for a Call

No aspect of mission is more bogged down with extra-biblical baggage than the “missionary call.” The clear command of Christ “to go” should be, by itself, sufficient to set you on your way “into all the world. . . proclaiming the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). You can’t go wrong by trying to go. Trust the Lord to direct your moving feet. If you are convinced of your “call” to “stay”, this will only serve as added confirmation that you are right. Don’t fear the risk of ending up some place the Lord doesn’t want you. Too many already took that “risk” when they assumed a stateside ministry or vocation with no confirmation other than their own desires.

Dramatic calls to ministry are the exception. If you have it in your heart to go, then go. Then, lean on the sovereignty of God to get you where he wants you in the harvest. Don’t worry about “running ahead of God.” You aren’t that quick!

Try to Go

Paul tried to go into Asia, but the Lord wouldn’t let him. He then tried to go to Bithynia, but was “kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.” Still, he kept trying to go. I count at least six cities in Acts 16 where Paul tried to take the gospel. It was only then that the Lord gave him a vision of the Macedonian. He woke up the next morning and immediately headed for the regions north, having “concluded that God had called them to preach the gospel in Macedonia.

The heavenly vision wasn’t a “call” to mission, it was specific guidance for missionaries that were already going.

The point? Don’t complicate the missionary call. Get radical with the going and God will get radical in the specific guiding.

David Sitton is the founder and president of To Every Tribe Ministries. David is a career church planting missionary who lived and worked in Papua New Guinea for 16 years, making first gospel contact with several headhunting, cannibalistic tribes.

Get in the mix...

2011-07-27T18:58:00.002+01:00

I came across this list of suggestions of how to get involved in church and make a difference in your community:

• Find a good local church.
• Get involved.
• Become a member.
• Stay there as long as you can.
• Put away thoughts of a revolution for a while.
• Join the plodding visionaries.
• Go to church this Sunday and worship in Spirit and truth.
• Be patient with your leaders.
• Rejoice when the gospel is faithfully proclaimed.
• Bear with those who hurt you.
• Give people the benefit of the doubt.
• Say “hi” to the teenager that no one notices.
• Welcome the old ladies with the blue hair and the young men with tattoos.
• Volunteer for the nursery.
• Attend the congregational meeting.
• Bring your fried chicken to the potluck like everybody else.
• Invite a friend.
• Take a new couple out for coffee.
• Give to the Christmas offering.
• Sing like you mean it.
• Be thankful someone vacuumed the carpet for you.
• Enjoy the Sundays that “click.”
• Pray extra hard on the Sundays that don’t.
• And in all of this, do not despise the days and weeks and years of small things (Zechariah 4:8–10).

Amos 5: 21-24

2011-07-26T15:30:00.002+01:00

Plodding Visionaries

2011-07-11T22:55:00.003+01:00

Local churches are built when humble servants commit, and remain, and serve, and do so over a period of years. Local churches are built by those Kevin DeYoung identified as “plodding visionaries.” Kevin DeYoung made says:

“It is easy to blast the church for all her failures. It is harder to live in the church day after day, year after year, with all of the ho hum, hum drum, and to slowly and consistently make a difference. What we need are fewer revolutionaries and a few more plodding visionaries. We need to ask the right questions, we need to have the right expectations, and we need to establish the right vision.…

Here is my burden for our generation: along with all of the necessary pleas we have to be earnest and intense and radical and sold out. With all of that, I want to wave the banner from Zechariah 4:10, “Do not despise the days of small things.” This is what I mean by being plodding visionaries. If you are a visionary, you don’t have your head in the sand. You are going somewhere. You are looking out. You are moving in a direction. But you are a plodder. One foot in front of the other. Many of us are attracted to a Tasmanian Devil kind of Christianity…splattering, spinning around. You get fired up—praise God for that—and you spin out like the Tasmanian Devil ready to conquer the world for Christ and you blow up into a tree somewhere.

But we need plodding visionaries.

When I wrote the book on the church I read nine books that called for a revolution. Every other day it seems like I read of a new manifesto. We may need to just simplify a little: Get on the right road and keep going. Our generation in particular is prone to radicalism without follow-through. We want to change the world and we have never changed a diaper. You want to make a difference for Christ? Here is where you can start: this Sunday, volunteer for the nursery. Say, “Here I am, pastor. What can I do to serve?”

No church can be built without plodding visionaries.”

I stole this post from CJ Mahaney who originally posted it here.

Maybe tomorrow...

2011-07-04T18:58:00.002+01:00

“I am often asked what a Christian should do if the cheerfulness of obedience is not there. It is a good question. My answer is not to simply get on with your duty because feelings are irrelevant!

My answer has three steps:

First, confess the sin of joylessness. Acknowledge the culpable coldness of your heart. Don't say it doesn't matter how you feel.

Second, pray earnestly that God would restore the joy of obedience.

Third, go ahead and do the outward dimension of your duty in the hope that the doing will rekindle the delight.”

John Piper

set sail

2011-06-19T17:15:00.000+01:00

follow...

2011-06-11T10:27:00.003+01:00

Jesus said "follow me". Does your life look like His?

Follow. It Isn't complicated.

This clip was taken form a seris of DVDs called BASIC by Francis Chan.

do...

2011-05-18T20:15:00.004+01:00

1 John 3:16-19 says:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Love with action. Do. Talk is cheap and small talk even cheaper. If we don't, how can the love of God be in us?

Do. It isn't complicated.

go...

2011-05-13T18:42:00.007+01:00

...during his earthly missional ministry Jesus not only confessed that he was sent into a culture as a missionary, but also sent Christians on the exact same mission. For example, in Johns Gospel alone, Jesus told us no less than thirty -nine times that he was a missionary from heaven who came to minister incarnationally in an earthly culture. Jesus also commands us to be missionaries in culture as he was: “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” He also said, ‘As the the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (Driscoll, M., (2008). Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods. Crossway)

Mark 16:15
And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Go. It isn't complicated.

praying

2011-04-28T16:25:00.002+01:00

Need to start praying like this...

without ceasing... (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Following the same theme I just read a good blog post called 'Praying at all times in the Spirit (part 1)' read it here.

barcelona...

2011-04-25T11:05:00.007+01:00

A few days in Barcelona during April...

Most of the time we headed down to La Rambla and went from there; markets, cafes, restaurants, old town, macba, the harbour, the beach etc it was all pretty heavy.

We also went to Park Guell and Sagrada Familia church to check out Gaudi's magic and of course Rachel wanted to go to Camp Nou...

the GOSPEL

2011-04-04T19:52:00.002+01:00

Another video.

This one has been floating around for a couple of weeks and its heavy...

G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.

Memorising Scripture...

2011-03-15T17:13:00.003Z

Piper doing his thing, with some decent looking typography thrown in.

Are you...

world record... pt6/7

2011-03-04T19:48:00.001Z

DAY6(7)

ASIA

We land in Hong Kong and pull up a pew as we’ve got three hours before our connection to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Martin goes to get some money to change to Vietnamese Dong. But soon comes back sulking because he can’t find an ATM. I of course mange to find an ATM and get 2,500HK dollars which is exciting, what’s more is when its changed into Vietnamese Dong we become millionaires. 25,000Dong is £1. So I return to Martin a millionaire. We board the plane to Ho Chi Minh City and are on our way to the final destination. When we arrive at Ho Chi Minh City it’s about 8pm and the connection to the drop zone in Nha Trang is not till 5:55am the next morning. So we need somewhere to stay, we head over to airport information and they make a reservation for us at a hotel. They also arrange for a taxi to the hotel, which is hugely helpful as outside the airport it’s similar to Venezuela in that it is chaos and people mob us. Being a Westerner means that street sellers, taxi drivers, everyone wants your custom they are desperate to make a living. One thing I have realized from being in different cultures in the last week at that living in the UK we literally have no idea. No idea about real life, what it means to struggle. We are so comfortable, life is easy. We get into the taxi and head towards the hotel. Ho Chi Minh City is crazy, the roads are total mayhem. Everyone drives mo-peds there are about 20 mo-peds to every car on the road. I saw a guy with a whole pile of boxes strapped to the back of his bike. Endless couples, even families sharing one bike. One bike even had a family of five all squeezed on. You can imagine the state of the roads with bikes everywhere. When we get to the hotel we have something to eat in the hotel restaurant. Martin orders an authentic Vietnamese dish I on the other hand cause a huge controversy and upset Martin by asking if they have ketchup and order chicken and chips. We eat and realize that is only the 4th real, non-airplane food meal we’ve had. The whole bill only works out at about £6 it is so cheap. We go back to the hotel and straight to bed as we’ve got another early start with our car to the airport booked at 3:30am.

We arrive at the airport just before 4o’clock in the morning and our flight isn’t till 5:55. The airport is closed, all the lights are out and doors locked. I didn’t know that airports even shut. It makes sense though as Ho Chi Minh City airport is hardly LAX or Heathrow. So now were sitting outside the airport and waiting, wondering what the time the airport opens. The airport finally opens and we check in. The flight was with an internal Vietnamese airline. So we hoped that everything was above board. Whilst waiting at the gate I had a look round to see if there was anything to eat for breakfast. I came across a ham and cheese sandwich for 52,000Dong. So I bought a couple and sat down with Martin to eat what I thought would be a perfectly harmless sandwich. I was wrong. I bit into the sandwich and was nearly sick.

The bread was as hard as stone, I opened up the sandwich and inside the lettuce was black and the ham brown. Disgusting. Mine went straight in the bin, I looked over at Martin who shrugged his shoulders and carried on eating.

We boarded the flight and aside from it being an old plane the journey thankfully was fine. We arrive at Nha Trang airport, which is the size of my back garden and the terminal building the size of the shed! Outside we look for a our arranged transfer who is not there, we are then hounded and circled by about 6 or 7 seven taxi drivers all shouting at us “you want taxi, you want taxi?” We tried to tell them no but that didn’t mean anything to them and they persisted that we needed a taxi. This went on for about 10minutes and they finally left us alone as we walked back into the airport, or shed. I tried to phone the number we had for the drop zone, a guy called Hank but my phone wasn’t working. We didn’t have an address just a phone number that wasn’t working.

So we were stuck.

I just kept trying my phone but to no avail. An hour passed and the situation hadn’t changed. We had no idea of where we were going, and no way of finding out, we were stranded in Vietnam. At this point the airport staff started to turn out the lights – Martin and me looked at each other. Martin prayed “Jesus I know you didn’t bring me here for nothing…” One of the staff started to walk towards us and the other began to lock one set of the doors. The one walking towards us pointed to the door. What was he going to do? Where were we going to go? Just then a little Vietnamese man barged through the doors, past the staff and started to wave around a piece of paper with our names on it. Just in time. The taxi drops us at the drop zone, which is on the beach. There is no one around. The runway is a different location. So now we are on a beach in Vietnam waiting under a tent covered in skydive posters. Well at lest we’re half way there. We are told by the taxi driver to wait at the beach and someone will come and pick us up. So we wait. We’re sitting on the beach for about 2hours before we are finally picked up by Hank. Hank takes us to the runway were there are other jumpers and there seems to be a bit of an atmosphere about the world record. Hank introduces us to Daryl and Steve who have set up the whole event skydive Vietnam. The event is a boogie, a skydive festival with people from all over the world coming to jump. We talk to Daryl and Steve who are concerned about the weather as there is very low cloud cover, which is obviously a problem if you want to skydive. It is decided that in order for Martin to set the world record they will do a ‘hop and pop.’ A hop and pop is jump at a low altitude at around 4,000ft with a standard jump being around 12,000-14,000ft. You hop out the plane and pop open your canopy with no freefall. Martin was going to jump with Wendy Smith as his camerawomen. Wendy Smith is an award winning camerawomen and considered to be the top female skydiver in the world. After he’d been briefed he came looking a little worried. He would be jumping from a helicopter, which he’s never done before and landing on a beach, which he’d never done before. Not only that but because of the cloud cover he’d be jumping from 2,800ft, which is very low. The lowest he’d jumped previous was 8,000. Obviously very tired and very jet lagged he was concerned but knew he had no choice but to jump. He was so close to setting a Guinness World Record. I was taken back to the beach with everyone else that wouldn’t be able to jump. By the time I got back to the beach it was packed with locals. Around 700 locals had turned out just to see the skydives.

Whilst waiting for the jumpers I decided to get some water from a street seller. It cost me 10,000dong, which is about 35p I was amazed at how cheap everything was. When I got back Daryl told me that a few of the locals were laughing at me, he asked how much I paid for the water. Apparently they saw me coming and I paid double what I should have. I’m sure that 20p means a lot more to them than it does me and if it helps them survive then I’ll get over it.

By now people had begun to jump and the crowds were loving it. They were going mental clapping and cheering as each person landed. Martin landed safely and set the world record for skydiving on six continents in six days!!! At last we could relax. Hank arranged for us to back to the hotel he was staying at where we could wait for our taxi back to Nha Trang airport. We had a few hours to kill before our very long journey home so we decided to have a look round the shops to soak up some culture. We had a look for something eatable, something our delicate stomachs could handle. We approached a street seller who selling some sort of baguettes but it looked a little dangerous so we just asked to have the bread and played it safe. As we were walking around a guy on a mo-ped followed us asking if we wanted a lift. We told him we were ok but he persisted to follow us for the 20 minutes convinced we would change our minds. It was quite intimidating, being followed. We go back to the hotel, get the taxi and head to the airport.

At the airport we are waiting in departures to board the plane when the flight to Ho Chi Minh City is cancelled. That means we will miss our flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong. We were going to stay in Hong Kong and relax over night but now that’s not going to happen. In the departure lounge we recognize a couple from earlier, Omar and Sherry. Omar tells us that Hank is working out how we can get back to Ho Chi Minh City in the quickest way possible. There are no flights to Ho Chi Minh City until the following morning so Hank books the four of us on an overnight train meaning we will get to Ho Chi Minh City around 4am. That’s about five hours earlier than if we waited for a flight.

The train is absolutely out of this world. We were constantly asked to buy stuff. It took an hour before we were all left alone. The train itself was made of cabins each with six beds inside. They were so small, Martin could not lay down flat, you were unable to even sit up in the bed, and it was ridiculously cramped. The toilet was a hole in the floor with a pedal to release water as a chain. There was no on board food trolley or bar. After the most mental journey ever we arrived at Ho Chi Minh City at 4o’clock in the morning. Omar and Sherry’s flight was at 9 and we got booked on to the next available flight, which was at 11:40. After speaking to Omer it turns out that he is a stunt double in films as well as doing commercials that use skydiving. The both of them were two of the nicest people you could ever meet, they left to go back to America and we were left with another 3 hours to wait before our flight to Hong Kong. We finally get to Hong Kong at 3o’clock in the afternoon and our flight to London isn’t till 1o’clock in the morning. So this time we had a 10hour wait to get on a 13hour flight. We found an Internet point, had something to eat and slept a lot waiting for the flight. By now we were both gone, our body clocks didn’t have clue what time zone we were in, we were shattered. Boarding finally came around. We got on the plane and were on our way home with the record 6 jumps, 6 continents in 159 hours- 6days 7hours. Crossing the date line, however, turned the official time to 7days 7 hours- still a world record!!!

On the long flight home I had some time to reflect on what I have just been a part of, incredible. I thought about how blessed I am at home in comparison to the desperation in places like Vietnam and Venezuela as well as how lucky I am to be able to go all over the world. I hope and pray that the trip wasn’t in vain as the whole purpose was to raise awareness and then funds for the aids orphans in South Africa. Someone once said, “If you want something you’ve never had before then you need to do something you’ve never done before.” This trip has never been done before and now potentially aids orphans in Africa will have something they’ve never had before….

world record... pt4/5

2011-03-03T21:28:00.001Z

DAY4/5

AUSTRALASIA

We arrived in Sydney at 8:30am on Tuesday 4th March. During the flight we crossed the International Date Line and so literally lost a day. Monday the 3rd never existed.

When we got to passport control I was asked why and when I was in South America as we’d been there in the last six days and why I hadn’t my jabs for hepatitis A & B, malaria and rabies. We had to go through to quarantine and be interviewed. Martin was fine as living in South Africa he has had all his jabs. He got proper stressed, fearing the worst, that I’d be deported. I had no idea I was meant to get the jabs in the first place. No one had told me, I didn’t know South America was considered ‘at risk.’ The interviewer was a very nice lady and I filled in questionnaires to determine whether I had the symptoms of Yellow Fever, I got the all clear and we were on our way. We had to get the train from the airport to a place called Campbell Town. Once there we had to call the drop zone and they would send someone to pick us up. But both of Martin’s phones were dead and mine was on its last legs. So I called the drop zone and told them where we were. They told me that we should get to Campbell town at around 10:45am and someone would be there to meet us. However, that was not the case and they were 45minutes late, just leaving us to cook in the midday Sydney sun.

We drove for about an hour through the suburbs to get to the drop zone. At the drop zone there was no messing about, Martin was on the next load and that was in 10 minutes. So less than four hours after landing Martin had to jump.

While he was being briefed, gear checked and all that I sorted out paying. I try the first credit card; the MasterCard that we have used everywhere else and it doesn’t work. So I try the next one, doesn’t work. Finally I try the debit card and that doesn’t work. I tried all the cards again and they still didn’t work. Every time they were all declined. Martin was about to jump so I didn’t have lot of options. After talking to the receptionist she kindly agreed to let us pay at their office in New South Wales, this would give us the chance to try an ATM and pay with cash.

The jump thankfully went well that was now five out of six. Again at the drop zone the record attempt created a bit of a buzz. The camerawomen was a bit of a know it all but did a good job so she can be forgiven. We got dropped off at their office in the city to sort out paying. We tried all the cards again but still they were all being declined. I take the cards and go and look for an ATM, so I’m running around New South Wales looking for an ATM machine praying that I can get cash out. I find one but have no luck.

We literally don’t know what to do. It was now around 3o’clock in the afternoon and again we hadn’t eaten since we’d been on the plane. The flight to Hong Kong was not till the early hours and we had no way of paying for anywhere to stay or even have any money to pay to get us to the airport. We were in a big pile of brown stuff. What do we do? By this time my phone is dead as well so we have no way of contacting anyone. The guy in the office, Joel, it’s only his second day so he doesn’t really know what to do either. Joel looks on the Internet to get the number for the bank. We know that there is money on the cards. Martin uses their office phone to call the bank back in the UK but the number isn’t working. I go to find another ATM and try again, on the off chance that at lest one of the cards will work, we are desperate. I get back to tell Martin nothing worked, he tells me he still can’t get through.

We are stranded in Sydney.

By this time another guy from Sydney skydive shows up, Greg. He like Joel understands and is very helpful. Greg was originally from South Africa so during this epic saga Martin made a new best friend. Greg was really interested in what were doing, as it is his home. Greg tried another number and at last it worked. After about two hours we get our foot in the door. So now Martin is on the phone in Australia calling the UK listening to an automated answer machine. After pressing 8 for ‘stranded on the other side of the world’ He gets through to the bank.

Basically the bank had canceled all the cards due to suspected fraud as they were used in 4 different continents in four consecutive days. Martin explained to them that actually it was not fraud. The bank apologized and re-activated the cards! We paid Sydney skydives and said goodbye to our new Aussie mates and were on our way.

The hotel we were recommended was full so Greg had kindly booked us into the ‘Ibis’ hotel. He gave us some directions but we were soon lost. It was now about 6o’clock in the evening and we still hadn’t eaten. We were wondering round Sydney looking for a hotel that everyone we asked, didn’t know where it was. We decided to stop and eat and found a pub restaurant. We were soon back out looking for this hotel. There was an Internet café on the corner so I went in and ‘googled’ the address for the hotel so we could find it. It was literally only 2blocks away! We get there and it turns out that it is the wrong ‘Ibis.’ We were booked in to the Ibis airport. We catch a taxi because by now we are absolutely shattered. We got to the airport at about 8pm and get some plug converters so we could charge our phones.

Today was by far the most stressful and tiring so far.

At the hotel I decide to wash my pants in the sink as I’ve had the same pair on since we started. As we were traveling light I didn’t bring any spares. I was looking forward to having clean pants! We clean up and pretty much go straight to bed. Our flight to Hong Kong leaves at 8o’clock the next morning so we need to check in by 6.

In the morning I put on my nice clean pants, we sort ourselves out, spend some time reading and praying and catch a glimpse of Benny Hinn on the TV! By now we have got this traveling business down to an art. We check in early and have a nice nutritious McDonalds breakfast and get a few souvenirs. We board the plane, which this time is Cathy Pacific and head towards Asia…

world record... pt3

2011-03-02T18:09:00.001Z

DAY3

NORTH AMERICA

The flight from Miami to LA was 5and half hours and I slept most of it. We were met in LA by Claudia a student at skydive Elsinore in LA. It’s now around 1am and we’re on the way to the hotel where we will be staying the night. It’s 3am and we arrange for a lift to the drop zone for the morning, check in and get something to eat as we haven’t eaten since that ‘rat’ roll in Venezuela. We are on familiar ground and they speak our language so we both order burger and chips. It’s definatly time for bed and we get to our room to discover that have a double bed each! After not sleeping properly since Madrid two days ago it was so nice to have a real bed and a shower. The hotel is clean and comfortable but is ‘trashy.’ The car park is full of trailers. The carpet was tiled with palm trees and the hallways were pink and turquoise. There were some interesting guests such as the guy with a cowboy hat walking around at 3o’clock in the morning asking for a bourbon on the rocks, despite the bar being well closed.

Anyway we got a good nights rest, got cleaned up and picked up on time. There was no messing around and we got to the drop zone in LA by 10:30. We were introduced to John Hamilton who runs a very tight ship at skydive Elsinore. Martin is on the 11:30 load and everything is well. Day four 4, North America. The plane got stuck in the mud on the runway, which was quite funny but it was a problem that was easily fixed. While I was waiting for Martin to land I had a few minutes to reflect on the trip so far.

We were at the half way point.

The jump went well but unfortunately Joe the guy filming the free-fall didn’t get any stills.

We were leaving the drop zone at lunchtime at about 1o’clock and on our way to LAX airport. Skydive Elsinore was a big drop zone and very business focused so for the first time no discounts, no t- shirts. They just took our picture for their website and sent us on our way; it was just another jump to them.

The guy who dropped us at the airport was a very unique person. He was curious about the sizes of trees in Africa and the UK and asked us both what whether we had big trees at home!

We got to LAX with a ridiculous amount of time before our flight to Sydney, Australia. Our flight departed at 10:30pm. So we had an 8 wait for a 14-hour flight. I can’t tell you how bored we were. We managed to eat for the third time of the whole trip a proper meal, a meal that wasn’t airplane food so that was a genuine treat. We also managed to find Internet access so for the first time we got a chance to check our emails/facebook etc. We then got to spend five hours waiting to get on the plane for a 14 hours flight. Bored. Absolute nightmare.

Boarding time finally came around and Martin got our seats moved to an exit row so that he had some legroom. Which meant for me I had enough room to swing a dead cat. We were flying with Qantas and they were by far the best and most comfortable airline during the whole trip. The food was the nicest and freshest. We got all sorts of treats including fresh fruit and hot towels, it was nice. Very nice.

world record... pt2

2011-03-01T18:16:00.001Z

DAY2

SOUTH AMERICA

We arrive at Caracas, Venezuela and it is total mayhem. The airport is total chaos. We queue for over an hour to get through passport control; people are climbing over each other to get to the kiosk with the shortest line. Martin and me however are British so we join one line and stay there queuing civilized, as one should. We get through arrivals and there are people everywhere, police, army, security all sorts. The two of us obviously stand out as tourists as several people surround us asking us where we need to go. After a desperate 15minutes where we couldn’t find anyone from Skydive Venezuela I try to call the drop zone to see if in fact our lift is here. My phone doesn’t work. But amongst all the mayhem we spot someone wearing a skydive Venezuela staff t-shirt. I don’t know what would have happened if we didn’t find him. We had no cash, we didn’t even know the currency and of course we don’t speak Spanish. So of course it was a huge relief to find our driver.

As we have no money Martin tries to explain we need an ATM, he flashed the MasterCard and he understands. Of course the ATM is all in Spanish so its total guess work that results in failure. It’s now about 4o’clock in the afternoon and so we set of to the drop zone where we’ll be staying. We drive for about 2 hours through Caracas it’s a beautiful place but so broken and desperate. Caracas is run into the ground; poverty is everywhere the city is covered in rubbish. We carry on driving to the drop zone the roads are littered with street sellers desperately trying to make a living selling anything from sweets and followers to tea, coffee and water. Some sell stuff to fix your phone to the dashboard one guy was even fire juggling on the side of the road. This was not the M25. We finally arrive at the drop zone accommodation at around 8o’clock in the evening. It’s now pitch black and way too late to jump. Our flight to LA via Miami is at 4o’clock in the afternoon so Martin will have to jump in the morning. We get shown to our room, it has a double bed in it and literally that’s it. We look each other bemused, we are knackered, jet lagged and not four, so top and tail isn’t going to work. The house keeper just keeps speaking at us in Spanish and we just stand there looking horrified not saying a word. She speaks more Spanish and walks off. Great. She comes back and ushers us to follow her, she moves us into a room exactly the same but with bunk beds. Martin decides to take a shower but because we don’t have any towels he uses one of the record t-shirts to dry himself, gross. Lights out, air-conditioning on and we get to bed at around 9o’clock. We were told that we would be picked up at 6o’oclock to go the drop zone.

After being woken a couple of times during the night by other drunken guests we get up at 5o’clock. Martin takes another shower and uses the same record breaking t-shirt to dry himself- sick. After spending a bit of time reading and praying we go down at 6 to wait for the lift to the drop zone. There is no sign of anyone…6:30 comes and the Spanish speaking house cleaner tries to say something, who knows what. About 2 minutes later he comes back with a skydive Venezuela staff t-shirt and gestures to swap with one of the record breaking ones. So he wasn’t try to tell us that the lift was late or whatever.

It’s now about 7o’clock and we haven’t eaten or drank a thing since the flight, about 13 hours ago. We crack open a pack of starburst and joke about the lovely fruit salad breakfast. Finally at around 9o’clock a guy called Luis came by the house to pick us up and better still he spoke English. This was a huge relief, as we haven’t spoke to anyone in two days. We are at the drop zone and introduced to Giancarlo who is the Skydive Venezuela manager. As we have no cash I ask if we can get some food from the café and add to the total of the jumps etc. That’s fine, so at around 10:30 after 14hours of not drinking anything in South America’s climate we finally get some water! We share a jamón york y queso sandwich, ham and cheese. For the first time in my life during those 14 hours I didn’t have water and food the basic needs to survive at my disposal, like I would have at home. It made me realize just how lucky and blessed I really am. We spent the next two hours waiting for the jump. There was a Venezuelan journalist there who took a particular interest and even asked to have our photos taken. She gave us her email address and took ours, so who knows. After the jump Giancarlo gave us a few Skydive Venezuela t-shirts, which was a nice gesture. Whilst we are waiting for Joseph to come and take us back to the airport Martin can’t find his ticket or passport. This was obviously a big deal. We empty all the bags and search everywhere but can’t find them. We hope they are back at the house otherwise we are in serious brown stuff. It turns out that Martin had left them in Joseph’s car. I took back his passport and his tickets and put them in my bag and looked after them from then on. We then took another two-hour drive back through Caracas to the airport. We arrived in good time to catch our flight to Miami. Venezuela is a beautiful country and skydive Venezuela like the country was full of characters, warm, welcoming and friendly. As we check in the assistant takes a real interest in what we are doing, the trip, Project O and the orphans.

Once in departures we decide to eat as we still haven’t eaten properly and unfortunately Venezuela is yet to discover Starbucks and here was no McDonalds, pizza place or grill. So we decided to take our chances at some café that looked nice enough. We knew we would be eating on the plane so got two sausage-rolls or at lest that’s what they looked like. I must also point out that there was no ketchup anywhere. I bit into this thing and, well, it wasn’t a sausage roll. It was full of some vegetable stuff and some kind of stringy meat that to this day I have no idea what it was. We were so hungry that we didn’t care if it was cat, dog, rat or steak. It was time to board the plane to Miami and leave this beautiful country or so we thought. We were delayed for over an hour before they told us that it was due to a serious problem with another airline.

When we finally go to get on the plane the airline staff check everyone’s bag. When they put Martin’s bag through the x-ray machine they panic. Parachutes house a little computer called a ‘Cyprus’ that measures altitude and acts as a fail-safe so if you fail to open your canopy it automatically cuts open the parachute. So there is a circuit board and a series of wires and blades. So if you have never seen a parachute before it and know what you’re looking at you may think its some sort of bomb. They want to unpack it and look at it one guy even reaches for scissors! Martin shows them the paperwork for the ‘Cyprus’ and clears up all the confusion. The staff apologize and let us board the plane. We at last leave Venezuela an hour and half late which is worrying, as we need to catch a connecting flight to LA.

The flight to Miami was pretty standard and only lasts three hours. When we arrive we realize that we only have 10minutes to catch our connection. Its 9:05pm at our flight leaves at 9:15pm we get through passport control and are told to follow the yellow dots on the floor. We start to run until the dots stop. I scan the room looking for someone to help and tell us where to go now. An airline staff member points us in the right direction. At security to get through departures there is a queue some people kindly step aside and let us in front of them we ask the staff member if can jump the line because our flight is leaving now. He tells us that we’ve got 5 minutes and that’s plenty of time- is he having a laugh? When we get through security we run to our gate. Which is gate 32, there is sign saying ‘gates 16-40 this way.’ So we start to run past gate 16, 17, 18, 19. One of my bags is open, as I didn’t close it properly at security so stuff is flying out. So I’ve got to keep stopping to pick it up. Martin is gone. I finally catch up outside our gate. Were both red in the face, out of breathe, tired, stressed. At the gate there is no one at the counter so we run straight past. There is no plane. Nothing all shut. The wall gets a kick out of frustration. I look at my watch and its exactly 9:15pm so if we’ve missed the plane its only just and so at the least it should be still at the gate. After what seems forever an American airline staff shows up. I ask her if we’ve missed our flight, panic lining my voice. She looks down and starts typing away at her computer. She looks up and smiles, then looks back and carries on typing. It’s like being in a film. She looks back up and tells us that we haven’t missed the flight and that it is delayed and isn’t due to arrive till 9:50, my watch says 9:15 but the clock on the wall says 8:50pm. In the panic we hadn’t taken into account the slight time difference. So we were an hour early. We sat down, cooled down, got out breath back and had a drink.

world record... pt1

2011-02-28T17:33:00.005Z

3 years ago, today, I accompanied Martin Downs from Project O on a world record attempt as he aimed to complete six skydives on six continents in six days.

During the trip I kept a journal, recording the events from each day and documenting the trip. Over this week I am going to post each days entry to remember and celebrate, what was achieved that week, 3 years ago.

DAY1

The first continent was Africa. As Martin lives in South Africa he cracked on and completed the first jump. I was to meet him between Africa and Europe. With the Europe jump being in Madrid, Spain, Martin was flying into London Heathrow to get a connection to Spain. I had to meet him there…

Thursday 28th February 5:15am London Heathrow

EUROPE

The flight to Madrid, Spain was quick and easy and we arrived around lunchtime. We had pre- arranged for our transfer to the drop zone. When we got through to arrivals we looked around for our transfer but they were not anywhere to be seen. Martin called the drop zone and they told us to get taxi. So we found a bureau de change, got some euros and hopped in a taxi.

Once at the drop zone we went straight through to reception where the Spanish receptionist didn’t have a clue what we were saying; this wouldn’t be the first time on the trip we would get lost in translation. She managed to get hold a couple of English speaking staff to help us out. They checked Martin’s parachute and introduced us to a Hungarian called Peter. Peter would be jumping with Martin and filming the free-fall. Peter took Martin to the landing zone to brief him about the jump. I was left with a couple of skydive Madrid staff and was able to talk to them about what and why Martin was doing what he was. I then sorted out a place to stay for the night, as our flight to Caracas, Venezuela was not until the next morning, as well as getting a lift arranged to the airport. By this time Martin and Peter were back. Peter was the most laid back guy ever. He constantly had a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He casually told me that if I were coming up in the plane to take photographs then I would need to wear a rig, a parachute to you and me. That was fine, actually no it wasn’t. Why would I need to wear a rig? Peter explained it was just a precaution, but I’d be fine. Wait, why, what!? He carried on, “if the plane breaks down or you run into trouble just pull this cord, which will release the canopy.” So now not only do I have to go up in one of those planes that resembles a tin than something that could fly but I have to wear a rig- just in case! I said to Martin slightly sarcastically, slightly truthful and very afraid that “to die is to gain right?” he chuckled and gave that look that your dad gives you and told me that ‘It will be fine.” So we’re all loaded into this little plane Me, Martin, Peter and a couple of other guys who like to jump out of planes for fun and we take off. I’m strapped into the co-pilot seat and ready with the camera. We climb 12,000 in 2minutes my ears pop a hundred times and my head is pounding. At 14000ft the door slides open and Martin along with the others all jump out. I’m now left in this plane at 14000ft with its door wide open. I look over at the Spanish pilot and think to myself if he thinks that I’m getting up to shut that door he has got another think coming. He looks back at me and gives me the thumbs up. I force a smile and return the gesture. I unknowingly just gave him my approval to vertically nose dive the plane back to the ground. In doing so the door shut but my head exploded. Tears streamed down my face, as my body tried to cope with the dramatic change in altitude and air pressure. My head was clamped in a vice and it hurt. We soon land so I dump my rig and run over to Martin and Peter who are in the landing area with the Project O banner. I take some photos of the two of them with the banner and we head back over to reception. On the way over Martin tells me that he watched us land and that we actually landed before him! The plane I was in hit the ground before he did, how I didn’t throw up I don’t know.

Martin got his parachute packed whilst Peter showed us the footage he had captured which was very nice and really professional. All that was left to do was get the witness statements signed for ‘jump2’ and pay. Guinness requires that both witnesses be professionals and two guys that jumped with Martin were with the paratroopers and they were more than happy to help out. They and several others showed an interested in the cause of the trip so we handed out some leaflets and shared with them the state of South Africa’s lost generation. When we came to pay Martin handed over a credit card and the Spanish receptionist waved her finger and said “no.” Crap we didn’t have any cash and had other way of paying, we only had credit cards. It looked like we would have to stick around and clean some toilets. We looked at each other then back at her she again waved her finger and said “no-no pay.” What a relief, skydive Madrid really blessed us and gave us everything for free. So, with jump2 Europe done and we headed to the hotel.

We wake up early the next morning and Martin tries to get some room service as he’s desperate for coffee but his Spanish doesn’t do him any favors. He tries about three times but the coffee never shows up. We get picked on time to go the airport and arrive about an hour and half before our departure to Venezuela. Martin wonders over to the American Express stand to try and get some cash for Venezuela the only problem is neither of us knows the currency. In broken English the assistant tells us that the card is not authorized. We panic as that would mean we have no money. We don’t know what to do so we pray, get on the plane and hope it works in Venezuela. On the flight we get some rather funny looking Spanish airplane food, and as we are flying from one Spanish speaking country to another Martin thanks the air stewardess with a beautiful “Merci”- twice. Africa done, Europe done, South America here we come!

perspective...

2011-02-13T13:59:00.001Z

crazy love...

2011-02-06T13:21:00.007Z

Most of use "I'm waiting for God to reveal His calling on my life." as a means of avoiding action. Did you hear God calling you to sit in front of the television yesterday? Or to go on your last vacation? Or exercise this morning? Probably not, but you still did it. The point isn't that vacations or exercise are wrong, but that we are quick to rationalise our entertainment and priorities yet are slow to commit to serving God.
Chan, F (2008) Crazy Love, overwhelmed by a relentless God. Colorado Springs: David C Cook.

What does the Lord require? That we act justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly.

Micah 6:8

Look after orphans and widows. Keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

the city...

2011-01-29T14:44:00.003Z

Emmanuel church has recently joined TheCity, essentially a social networking website developed for churches as a way of aiding and improving communication and community within the church.

On TheCity there is a section called stories, a place for testimonies, to encourage one and other. As a church we were asked/ challenged to write our story, our testimony, in 100 words or less. Here is mine:

‘Love your brother as yourself’ do me a favour.

I looked at a homeless man. “How could someone be so stupid and end up in that situation.” Global poverty. Millions dying. “Oh well, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Then Jesus.

I look at a homeless man. “How’s your day been? Fancy a sandwich?” Global poverty. Millions dying. Trained as a teacher, planning on going to Africa. Why? It has been said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

‘Love one another. By this people will know you are my disciple.’

I try.

far better...

2011-01-19T20:10:00.000Z

Sale Now On...

2011-01-04T21:16:00.004Z

Christmas has been and gone. We have all accumulated more stuff. A new year has begun. We want to accumulate more stuff. The high street is trying its best to reach out to us. Lure us in. Convincing us now is the best time to buy even more stuff because that stuff is now cheaper in the sales.

Stuff. More stuff.

Do we even need it? Do we even want it?

A long time ago... a very, very long time ago a prophet in the bible said "Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy?" [Isaiah 55:2]

We can carry on spending money on stuff. Stuff which is not bread. Stuff that does not satisfy. Or we can look to Jesus who said "I am the bread of life." [John 6:48].

What will you spend your time, and money on during this new year? Throughout 2011?

Stuff or Jesus.
Jesus or stuff.

Coming for me...

2010-11-17T21:36:00.004Z

"We wanted to do something authentic, that we hope will represent the severe circumstances that Christians under persecution face on a daily basis.

The video contains mulitple clips of true accounts of Christians suffering and living in fear. These strong images represent the countless victims who are assaulted, maimed and even martyred because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

Open Doors alongside the artists sharing are lending their voices to the struggle with the hope to give a voice to the voiceless.

We ask that you would do the same.

For more information and to see what you can do for the Persecuted Church please visit: www.opendoorsuk.org

"We rarely view the truth of it all, because the news only bring us what they choose to report." - Jahaziel

Let's prayerfully do all we can to bring about change."

Support the cause and buy the single from iTunes - here

Oscar Romero...

2010-11-12T18:49:00.002Z

When talking about making a difference statistics can overwhelm us. At those times I like to remember something little Oscar Romero said. Oscar had this little antidote to encourage us to keep fighting the good fight...

The Prayer of Oscar Romero:

"We cannot do everything,
there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders;
ministers, not messiah."

Another Hero...

2010-11-08T18:15:00.008Z

About a year ago I called Matt Chandler a hero, at the time he had just been diagnosed with some sort of 'brain' cancer and yet he was talking about how it is to be used for the Glory of God. Incredible.

Another hero is Francis Chan

He has been mentioned on here twice before: [1] [2]

And although I've wanted to, I've never got round to reading any of his published stuff. Today I came across another blog that recommends his book Crazy Love

"I really enjoyed Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love. I need to read it again.

On page 169 he describes how, while attending a Christian college, he began to purposefully put himself in uncomfortable situations, like sharing his faith in downtown L. A. Here’s what he discovered:

The greatest blessing I received during those trips to the inner city was seeing God work in situations where He has to. As a result, I’ve made it a commitment to consistently put myself in situations that scare me and require God to come through. When I survey my life, I realize that those times have been the most meaningful and satisfying of my life. They were the times when I truly experienced life and God.

Amen. This is why God invites us to move toward need—toward discomfort—not toward comfort. It is the secret Paul discovered and why he said, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

In Christ, your pain, even if delivered by a “messenger of Satan” (2 Corinthians 12:7), is designed to bring you joy because it’s designed to encourage you to cast your all on God, whose grace will be sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9)."

2 things...

1) I think I need to put myself in more situations like that.

2)Mum, you now know what to get me for Christmas...

2 questions...

1) Do you need to put yourself in more situations like that.

2) Anyone else read it? Any good? Or should I get something else from Santa?

Amos 5 21-24

2010-10-30T14:21:00.000+01:00

I can't stand your religious meetings.
I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions.

I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
your pretentious slogans and goals.

I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes,
your public relations and image making.

I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
When was the last time you sang to me?

Do you know what I want?

I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.

That's what I want. That's all I want.

Keep It Simple [2]

2010-10-26T10:26:00.002+01:00

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo DaVinci

In the first post on simplicity I touched on the need for us to live our lives with simplicity by loving God and loving people. In this second of two posts I want to be bold and look at an aspect of the church.

Recently in church the buzz word seems to be 'missional'. I'm fully into it and think that the shift of perspective on what it's s to be 'missional' is heavy, as more and more churches look to engage with culture and their communities. Yet there can be a stumbling block, when we get consumed in conversation and discussion- 'What does this look like?' 'How?' Too much coffee and talking without any follow thorough...

I came across this 2 minute video from friend a while ago and it explains what a missional church looks like in a such a simple way:

Keept It Simple [1]

2010-10-23T11:01:00.002+01:00

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Albert Einstein

This is the first of two posts about the need to keep things simple.

About a month ago or so I received a prophetic word about the need to keep life simple; loving God, worshiping Him, being thankful, believing in his purposes for life, standing on the truth in His word...

Then I came across this quote, not sure where, or who by , but I think it sums up what was being communicated:

"God has not called us to be clever and defeat all the arguments of unbelievers. You don’t win souls by winning arguments. No, “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21)."

The Gospel is simple; love God, love people.

Are you in danger of over complicating life?

e.kids

2010-09-30T21:57:00.007+01:00

Last Saturday, 25th September 2010, Emmanuel Church London launched e.kids, a Kids Club reaching out to the local community...

Check out some pictures of from the different parts of the programme:

Songs

Games- Eating maggots (Jelly Snakes) out of custard!
Uh Oh, here comes hook and the savages...
They stole the cabin boys eggs and egged me!
1-2-3- 'ahhhh'
Alice doing the bible lesson...
Point of decision... 'Live at peace with one and other.'
It was a brilliant, much fun was had, and the gospel taught. We had a great response from parents and the kids loved it!

e.kids runs on the last Saturday of every month... if you want more info then drop me a comment and I'll get back to you.

War...

2010-09-26T13:06:00.010+01:00

2 challenging videos both with 'war' as their theme. Watch them and be challenged.

The first one is about a Pastor in Iraq. He's perspective is simple yet challenging given his circumstances; love will conquer hate...

The second is a challenge to make war against sin and pursue righteousness....

Colossians 3:5 (English Standard Version)

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Make war against sin, love others.

School Days...

2010-09-13T21:15:00.006+01:00

I have now finished my PGCE (teacher training) and last week was my first full week as a primary school teacher! It has been both amazing and overwhelming. I have a Year 2 class (6 and 7 years old) at a school in Brockley, Lewisham and it is perfect. The kids are brilliant. Most come from a tough, urban and often single parent background.

I'm looking forward to the opportunity to have a positive influence on their lives. I'm looking forward to being able to shape, mould and influence them. I'm looking forward to being able to show grace, love and forgiveness to them, as Jesus has to me.

I am looking forward to the year ahead...

a taste of heaven

2010-08-25T16:38:00.005+01:00

Dominic emailed me a link to this clip of Micky Flanagan on 'Mock the Week' and it strikes pretty close to home, I get a lot of stick about having to have ketchup with pretty much every meal...

During my wedding speech I managed to give the red stuff a guest appearance and I don't think the day would have been the same without it...

Your Life...

2010-08-23T18:12:00.001+01:00

Your Life from Andrew Hosack on Vimeo.

Two worlds collide…

2010-08-19T11:35:00.012+01:00

South Africa was hard work.

Me and Rachel spent time visiting orphans in the Valley of 1000 Hills where we delivered food parcels to sponsor children and helped teach English and bible lessons. We were able to go to a Zulu school where Project O runs a breakfast club for the most vulnerable children and had a chance to sit in lessons and participate as well as going down to the homeless shelter and spending time being a listening ear and praying for people.

It was inspiring to see the work that Project O does supporting AIDs orphans and it was amazing to really see the gospel in action. It was incredible to be able to see lives being changed…

But it was tough. Challenging. Emotional.

Meeting ‘Slice’ and Freddy at the homeless shelter whom although the same age as me live lives so differentit is hard to draw comparisons.

Visiting AIDs orphans in the Valley of 1000 Hills and seeing their living conditions was tough.

Watching grandmothers (Gogos in Zulu) rejoice over the monthly food parcels being delivered while we have food in abundance was challenging.

Finding out that the 2 year old I’ve been holding will more than likely die before he is 10 because he is HIV+ was emotional.

Yet amongst all the statistics and stories there was hope. Project O through its staff and volunteers is literally a lifeline.

And from extreme poverty to extreme wealth…

On our way home we extended out stop over in Dubai for a couple of nights. We stayed at the Atlantis, the Palm. We spent a couple of days in 5* luxury; crystal clear private beach, water park, Michelin star restaurants, the works, and yet 8 hours away life is so different...

Luke 12: 48

“…everyone to whom muchwas given, of him much will be required…”

To find out more about Project O click here.

S.A [1]

2010-07-25T13:27:00.008+01:00

This evening me and Rachel are flying out to South Africa for 3 weeks. We are going to be staying with some friends, Marin and Vashti, who have set up a Christian charity called Project O.

Project O provide support for HIV/AIDs orphans in South Africa through sponsorship, feeding programmes, building homes and a million other ways. They have recently built the worlds first zero carbon footprint, 100% self sustaining childrens home and have plans to build 100 more, as well as a school. We are both really excited about getting involved while we are there...

Yet you don't need to get on a plane and travel half way around the world to help...

Have a look at the Project O website and see how you make a difference.

www.projecto.org.za

Toy Story, A Great Story...

2010-07-20T20:31:00.014+01:00

Yesterday me and Rachel went to see the third instalment of the Toy Story. Although neither of us had joined the facebook group 'Move out of the way children I've been waiting 11 years to see Toy Story 3...' we could have.

The film was brilliant.

Don Miller (His site//Wiki) thought that the film was so good he wrote a 3 part blog series highlighting the lessons we can learn from such a good film.

Here's what he wrote:

"Toy Story 3: What We Can Learn From a Great Story Pt. 1 of 3

Today I’ll launch a three-part series about the movie Toy Story 3. Yes, the movie was that good.
It’s rare a story comes along in which the elements are as perfectly clear as they are in this film. The movie is graphically impressive, to be sure, but what really shines is the story itself, and in this movie, the story has been chiseled down to the basic foundational elements, elements that, amazingly, too many screenwriters ignore.
The reason I’m excited about this series is because the elements of a great story are also the elements of a great life. And when those elements are clearly defined, it’s hard for a story to go wrong.
If you’re leading or managing a team, I’m betting you can learn more from the movie Toy Story 3 than you can from a dozen books on business.
If you’ve seen the movie, you know the story. Andy is heading off to college, and the toys are trying to navigate a difficult transition. They might get stored in the attic, or they might get donated to a local daycare center, but what they really want is to be reunited with Andy and to be played with, as was their created purpose. Thus the adventure ensues.

A great story is simply this: A character that wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.

Again, the genius of the movie Toy Story 3 is that it offers clarity to each of these elements. It’s true in stories and it’s true in life. When we know exactly what we want, and exactly what opposes us, life doesn’t feel muddled or unclear. And if a team knows exactly what they are trying to accomplish, and exactly what opposes them, they are more likely to engage.
One of the primary qualities of a good story, and for that matter a
good life, is clarity. Clarity clarity clarity.
So my question to you is this: Are the element of your personal story clear? Do you know what you want, and do you know what opposes you?
If you lead a team, is it perfectly clear to each member what it is you are trying to accomplish, and what it is that opposes that ambition?
In your next team meeting, pull out a white board and write down the ambition. Then ask the team what opposes that ambition. Circle the opposition you can actually do something about, and chalk the rest up to chance (opposition that is outside your control lends great excitement to the adventure.) and see how much more engaged your team becomes. Why? Because you’ve launched them into a story.

You can do this as an individual too. Clearly define your ambition, and clearly define what you have to overcome, and then go for it. The stuff that makes a great story also makes a great life.Tomorrow, I’ll get more specific about how some lessons from the movie Toy Story 3 apply to our lives.

Toy Story 3: What We Can Learn From a Great Story Pt. 2 of 3
What made Toy Story 3 great was more than just colorful characters and great graphics, though those were certainly in abundance. What made Toy Story 3 great was a strict adherence to some basic story

principles, and those principles can also make a life great. I’ll create a short, incomplete list:

1. We knew exactly what the characters wanted. There wasn’t a scene in the movie when we didn’t know what the principles characters wanted. Whether it was to escape the daycare, or get back to Andy, or find a new home, the ambition was clearly defined. And because it was defined, the audience sat wondering how the characters were going to get what they wanted, rather than wondering what it is the characters were trying to accomplish.
2. The characters were good. A constant theme through the movie is family, brotherhood, and a sense that under no circumstances would they separate. They were in the adventure as a team, weak or strong, and they would live or die as a team.
3. The point was love. This may be the most powerful force in the movie, and one of the reasons the Toy Story franchise has made billions. The sole ambition of the group of protagonists was that they love each other, and that they get back to the service of the one who loved them and whom they loved in return. It’s an age-old theme, but it’s powerful and it triggers a remarkably meaningful response in almost all of us.
4. The antagonist was clearly defined. The Toys knew exactly who was against them, and so they knew whom they were trying to escape from. The audience is not left to wonder who the bad guy is because it was made clear. The interesting thing is the bad guy was bad because he had been hurt and couldn’t trust anymore, and so couldn’t love. He was controlling and wanted to be in charge and enslave people. The Toys still gave him the benefit ofthe doubt, but once he was proven bad, they decided to escape. An entire study could be done on the bad guy in the film, and the dynamics that surround him. The toys did not seek vengeance, for instance, they simply sought to be out from under the bad guys thumb. And toward the end, they even tried to redeem the bad guy.
5. The ambition is realized. The final scene of the film is incredibly powerful. The Toys, who intensely desired to be played with by their owner, actually got what they wanted. The writers at Pixar were setting up the final scene all along, even bringing in extra characters early on in the movie to make it happen. And man does it pay off. I doubt there was a person in the theater that wasn’t fighting back tears. It’s a heavenly scene, for sure.
There is, without question, a very real spiritual overlap in this movie. The Toys want to be reunited with their owner. Their owner loves them. Something has come between their owner and they are confused about whether their owner still loves them. It's powerful stuff, and it's relatable because it's true.
So what do we do with this in our own lives? Tomorrow I’ll talk about the kinds of stories we can tell based on the overall narrative we are living within.

Toy Story 3: What We Can Learn From a Great Story Pt. 3 of 3

I’ve spent the last two days blogging about a movie that, in my opinion, is nearly perfect. I can’t overstate how well this movie is written. And what I’m not saying is that Toy Story 3 is my favorite movie, because it isn’t, or that it’s even in my top ten, I’d have to think about that for a while. What it is, however, is the best-written screenplay to come down the pipe in many years. And of course it has much to teach about life, leadership and the very nature of our existence. So I’ll wrap up this series with a list of things we can learn from the movie. Feel free to keep the list going in the comments.

A great story, and a great life, must be clear. Now of course Toy Story is a movie and life is life. Life will never be as clear as a film (unless it’s a poorly written film) but to the degree we can clarify our objectives and define our antagonist, life begins to feel more meaningful.
Great stories are about love. Now this one is tough to execute, but life works best when we defend love. This means we defend the innocent, we defend brotherhood, we defend romantic love, and we identify and defend that which is pure. In the movie, the Toys stick together no matter what, and they are willing to sacrifice and even die for each other. Our corrupted natures are going to fight this, but we have to fight back.
A great life much be planned. I’m certain to get some push back on this one. There are, of course, many exceptions, and we are in no way in complete control of our lives, however, I’d argue that a person who plans out a year is going to have a more interesting year than a person that just lets whatever happens happen. I think it’s true in our work and in our relationships. A person who has a vision of a great relationship with their children and sits down for a week to plan out what those relationships might look like is going to have more success than a person who doesn’t. There is nothing sinful about being intentional. God may change our path, but I don’t think that’s an excuse to sit on a couch and not move forward.
Great characters have integrity. Each of the heroic protagonists in Toy Story live by a code. They put others before themselves, they fight the lie that their existence doesn’t matter, and they show grace when they are wronged. A moral code matters if we want to live a meaningful story.
Great characters believe their stories can be redeemed. One of the great plot lines in the movie is the recurring theme that things are going to work out. This changes from act to act, and yet the characters continue to believe that life can get better, and ultimately, their faith that they would be reunited with their master is realized. I think this is a universal theme, and as a Christian I, of course, apply this to my own faith that someday I will be reunited with God because of my relationship with Christ.
There are plenty of other lessons to be learned from this movie and I invite you to share what you learned. Ultimately, stories are mental maps, they posit ideas of right and wrong, good and bad, what is beautiful and what is profane. I’m curious, if you saw the film, what you might have learned."

I am partial to a bit of Pixar, and when such lessons can be gleaned from their narratives... cartoons are not just for kids.

What will you give you life to...

2010-07-14T22:09:00.002+01:00

Your Life from Andrew Hosack on Vimeo.

09-07-09...

2010-07-09T07:52:00.006+01:00

A year ago, today. Amazing.

My favourite story...

2010-07-03T08:42:00.005+01:00

There is a well known story about a child throwing starfish into the sea, the parable of the story serves as a reminder of how one person can make a difference.

Here Simon Guillebaud tells that story. Guillebaud tells it with such passion and conviction it will leave you challenged and inspired to be make a difference.

Are you going to?

We are responsible [2]

2010-06-22T20:27:00.004+01:00

We've read the statistics, we've seen the news, we've heard the stories...

(click on the image to make it bigger)

We are responsible [1]

2010-06-20T12:46:00.011+01:00

(click on the image to make it bigger)

"...you can choose to look the other way, but you can never say, ‘I did not know." William Wilberforce

What is wrong with the world...

2010-06-12T14:04:00.010+01:00

The World Cup is finally here... it is amazing, football, football, football for a month. I'm writing this post prior to England's first game and with the 'prestigious' Group B Korea Rep v Greece game on in the background.

As we are all fully aware the World Cup is in South Africa, the first time that the African continent has hosted the tournament, the atmosphere looks incredible. South Africa is clearly passionate and proud to be having the worlds gaze firmly fixed on them for the next few weeks.

Yet beneath the glitz and the glamour there is an ugly reality. As well documented poverty and AIDs are rife in Africa and South Africa is not excluded. A couple weeks back Dispatches, a Channel 4 television programme aired a documentary- 'The Lost Girls of South Africa.'

The programme followed the lives of 4 girls aged between 11-13 who had been raped. More shocking, however, were the statistics revealed that a child is raped in South Africa every three minutes and almost nine out of 10 cases of child rape are never reported.

We are both saddened and angered when we read such statistics, as these comments from the the Dispatches website show:

"I can't express the anger and pain that I'm feeling after watching the program..."
"This programme has moved me so much that I am trying to figure out how I can give up my worthless job in PR to go and work amongst those poor girls..."
"My Heart cried watching this documentary..."

The world is not right. We know it is not as it should be. We are stuck in a reality that is not just. Our hearts cry, we give up our jobs, we are left in pain and anger as we long for hope. We wrestle with our consciousness, with our spirit as we desperately yearn for something more, something better, for the world to be as it is meant to be...

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth...
...Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." From Revelation 21

We long for Jesus.

Source: Solidarity Helping Hand (published an analysis of statistics in June 2009). According to the South Africa government statistics site there are 60 cases of child rape reported every day in South Africa.

Poetry in motion...

2010-06-09T13:49:00.003+01:00

My little brother Joe has started to have a go at writing some poetry.

'The Pit Of Your Soul'

(click on it to make it bigger):

"Jesus!

For He is the truth! And alone fills my soul!"

Amen

Broadstairs...

2010-06-01T13:57:00.005+01:00

Yesterday, on bank holiday we went down to Broadstairs with Alex & Lois and Tim & Kathryn.

We done the the usual, fish and chips, ice creams, mini golf and I dug a really, really big hole.

We thought it might be a laugh to go into the sea. It wasn't.

I think Alex had a knickbocker glory.

Rachel was the surprise package at mini-golf...

Lovely.

The Ya̧nomamö...

2010-05-30T10:36:00.008+01:00

After half term I have got two weeks left of my final teaching practice. I can now begin to see the light of what seems to have been a very long tunnel...

This term, in geography we have been learning about the rainforest and in one lesson we discussed what it might be like to live there before we went onto to look at the Ya̧nomamö, an indigenous tribe that live in the Amazon rainforest.

The Ya̧nomamö were largely uncontacted by the 'outside' world until the 20th century and possibly even as I write this they may still not of heard of Jesus...

Romans 10:14-15 says:

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? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!

Who is going to tell the Ya̧nomamö?

To go to the Amazon rainforest to preach to some indigenous tribe is a pretty big ask...

But, what about closer to home? Who are the Ya̧nomamö in your community, in your college, at work? Those largely uncontacted by the local church. Those who still have not heard of Jesus, yet to hear of the perfect love from a perfect saviour.

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? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!

Who is going to tell the Ya̧nomamö?

Preach To Yourself...

2010-05-18T21:21:00.002+01:00

As it stands I am half way through the final teaching placement of my PGCE. This is causing me to jump through hoops left right and centre. It is tedious, laborious and put plainly, a pain the in arse. Throw looking for a job into the mix and leave to simmer, you have a lovely recipe for tiredness and stress.

I am done. Cream crackered.

Maybe I need to start talking to myself...

“Have you realised that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday.

Somebody is talking. Who is talking? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.’…

The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why art thou cast down’– what business have you to be disquieted?

You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: ‘Hope thou in God’– instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do.

Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, and defy other people, and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: ‘I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, who is also the health of my countenance and my God.’" (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure)

Like me, is it time to start to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself? Do you need to say to your soul: ‘Why art thou cast down’– what business have you to be disquieted? Say to yourself: ‘Hope thou in God' remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do.

These next few weeks are going to be a breeze.

Thank you Jesus.

Rachel's Birthday...

2010-05-08T14:24:00.007+01:00

To mark the occasion we went to Burton on the Water in the Cotswolds for the weekend. It was really nice...proper English countryside.

And for her birthday Rachel got to feed the penguins:

Do we all need to be radical...

2010-05-02T14:01:00.005+01:00

Life generally isn’t black and white.

Take the election; Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrats. All three parties have policies I agree with and think are based on Biblical principles. All three have policies I disagree with and think unbiblical.

Who to vote for? It isn’t back and white.

What about Christianity?

Is attending church every week, going to small group enough or do we really have to die to ourselves... Do we really need give up everything we have (Luke 14:33) to follow Jesus? Do we all really have to go to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19)? Isn't that type of radical faith for the few, the ones who are 'called' ?

Do we all need to be radical?

Isn't there a middle ground?

All or nothing.

His the glory. Amen.

23 on the 22nd...

2010-04-22T18:58:00.002+01:00

Today I'm 23 and whilst that is very clearly a long way from retirement I don't want to waste my life. I came across this video a while ago from the 'Desiring God' lot, which is just as challenging to a 23 year old as it is to a 65 year old...

Watch it. Be challenged. Treasure Christ above all things. Make a difference. Don't waste your life...

Times Education Supplement...

2010-03-28T11:45:00.003+01:00

The Februarys addition of the TES, controversial.

I start my final placement next week, the week before Easter then 8 weeks after. I'll keep my ear to the ground and let you know if I come across anything suspicious...

Can 1 person make a difference...

2010-03-14T13:05:00.003Z

Here I Stand...
a 20 something working out how to follow Jesus, be a husband and make a difference.

I want my life to count for something, and am all about trying to make a difference and have already touched on the subject in previous posts. In an early post I spoke about how it is the little things (life's inches) that we do, when added up that make a difference, and last week I touched on how if we all play a part individually then accumulatively a huge difference can be made.

I firmly believe that we can make a difference, that we can change the world! I know I may sound like some disillusioned dreamer, but it doesn't sit right with me that whilst I slept last night around (depending on your source) 30,000 children died from malnutrition. Or a little closer to home; 40% of children in London, the 6th richest city in the world, live in poverty(source).

It is all very well to say it is the little things added up, and the accumulatively effort that makes a difference but none the less the statistics can still be overwhelming... Can one person really make a difference?

Yet the bible is clear we must care for those need. So does scripture give us an any indication to whether one person can make a difference?

In the Old Testament book of Numbers God finally becomes tired of the Israelites' consistent moaning and bad attitude and decides to send a plague among them... Numbers 16:44-50(ESV) is where it gets interesting and we read:

"and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces. And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun." So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped."

Aaron, one person, stood between the living and dead.

Can one person make a difference?

Yes.

Do Something Now...

2010-03-11T16:09:00.003Z

I've been listening to the new Passion album AWAKENING and this was in the digitalbook that came with the itunes download:

"On our own we can each make a difference in the world, but collectively we are a force for good that exponentially surpasses what we can do alone..." (click on the image to see it larger)

It reminded me of this song:

If we all do our bit individually it is when we add them all up that the difference is made.

Do something now...

Our God is stronger...

2010-03-10T18:38:00.001Z

"Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other. Our God is healer, awesome in power, our God."

Passion: Awakening: Track 3: Our God

Blog thief...

2010-02-25T21:00:00.009Z

Me and Steve from Froud's World were speaking yesterday about people taking posts from other peoples blogs then re-posting them on their own sites... with that in mind I've got two crackers for you, the first one I've been sitting on for a while and second was posted this week...

1) Adoption by CJ Mahaney:

"Today's post will be short, not simply to take less of your time, but because at the end I would encourage you to pause for a moment of reflection.

In the ancient world a father's inheritance was passed along to his son. If a father had no son, he had no heir. Necessitated by this dilemma, a son-less father would search for a suitable son to adopt. This adopted son would become the father's heir.

Now think about this: God had a Son. And not only did the Father have an heir, He had a perfect Heir, a beloved and well-pleasing Heir, Matthew 3:17, 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22, 9:35; 2 Peter 1:17.

Reflect on this: God had a Son—a perfect Heir.

Which means that under the shadow of the ancient custom:

Your adoption was unnecessary.

My adoption was unnecessary."

2) Jesus and all Things from the Desiring God blog:

"Is Colossians 1:15-20 the most important paragraph in the Bible for a Christian worldview?

"[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."

I hope you find them as encouraging as I did...

Half Term...

2010-02-21T10:55:00.007Z

During half term me and Rachel spent a couple of days with her family in Cornwall here:

We had fish and chips here:

Rachel's mum grew up in Plymouth so we drove over there and went for a walk along the Barbican:

and had lunch at the the 'world famous' Cap'n Jaspers:

I had a 'Jasperizer' a quarter pounder bacon burger atop a quarter pounder cheese burger topped with fried onions:

Then when we got home we went and saw this:

Jesus wants the rose...

2010-02-12T15:08:00.004Z

From 2009's Desiring God Conference:

“Jesus wants the rose!” That's the whole point of the gospel: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Amen.

South African Summer...

2010-02-08T17:21:00.003Z

Last night me and Rachel booked our flights to go visit and volunteer with Project O in Durban, South Africa. We'll be out there for 3 weeks serving and sight seeing and we cannot wait.

Project O works with AIDs orphans and has been described as the most exciting charity in years...

A while back I posted about their launch of the worlds first zero carbon footprint, 100% self sustaining children's home. More recently the BBC sent out a film crew and with the footage made this promo:

If you want to find out more about Project O visit there website: www.project-o.org and come and join us this summer!

"Being more than conquers..."

2010-01-31T22:06:00.003Z

Part 2 from the afternoon session...

More Than Conquers.
Romans 8:37

Creation is a mess, just look at the news. We are at war! Satan is not interested in unbelievers, he already has them, so instead he prowls like a lion looking to take us out. We are at war and so need to live like it.

Being more than conquers means:
• Accepting the consequences the war.
• Facing up to the consequences of war.
• Overcoming the consequences of war
• Redeeming the consequences of war.

Accepting the consequences the war.
Sin, war, rape, murder, abortion, AIDs, the list goes on. We need to accept we are at war, not giving up hope but willing to fight, make a difference. If we do not accept that we are at war then we will not make a difference because we are not willing to fight.

Facing up to the consequences of war.
Remember we are immortal until He calls us home!

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.” Thomas E. Lawrence

What do you need to face up to, what do you need to change, what bothers you enough to move you in to action?

Overcoming the consequences of war.
Why aren’t out neighbours and colleagues asking us about our great hope? Is it because it looks like our hope is the same as theirs?

When you get in look at your bank statement and see where you put your hope and what you worship. We’ve bought into societies values. We must be more intentional with our lives. We are called to be salt and light, that doesn’t happen by being passive, it requires action; we need to get our hands dirty, being intentional.

Proverbs 4:23- Are you even guarding your heart?

Redeeming the consequences of war.
The old has gone and the new has come, all things DO work for the good.

Let us redeem our families, our friends, our neighbours and our communities from the devastating effects of sin and this war. Let us sign up, let us live the Gospel, let us make a difference.

Life isn’t a dress rehearsal…

“I’ll do anything, I’ll go anywhere, you make it clear.”

2010-01-30T11:59:00.004Z

Last Saturday was Emmanuel Church London Mens' Day with Simon Guillebaud from Burundi, Central Africa. It was a very challenging day with Guillebaud sharing about how to live life to the full.

I'm sharing my notes from the day for two reasons:

(1) So that the readers of this blog (both of you) might be challenged and find them helpful and (2) it is a nice little place to store them.

This is part one of two- A LIFE OF ADVENTURE.

Burundi is very dark; murder, rape, AIDS and low life expectancy are the reality. But it is in the darkest places that light shines its brightest. It is the same gospel in Burundi as in the UK. It is that Gospel that makes a difference; and between Burundi and the UK it is only the context that changes.

God uses people that are ‘up for it.’ Are you? Are you willing to pray:
“I’ll do anything, I’ll go anywhere, you make it clear.”

The Adventure of Calling.
Genesis 12:1-7 Abram's Adventure

John 10:10 says Jesus has come to give us life and life to the full, not an easy, safe, long life but one that is full, an adventure. The classic line in Braveheart rings true “All men die, but men truly live.” So many Christians fail to experience life to the full.

To experience that full life you need to COME.

Claim God’s promises.
Obey God’s instructions.
Maintain faith in God’s leading.
Embrace risk for God’s glory.

Claim God’s promises.
Not in some twisted name and claim theology to get a new Mercedes, but knowing that when God has called you He will never leave or forsake you, He has a plan, He provides.

God said to Abram:
"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great,  and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,  and whoever curses you I will curse;  and all peoples on earth  will be blessed through you.” So Abram left..."

Claiming God’s promise.

Obey God’s instructions.
CS Lewis says “God cannot bless us until he has us.” Obedience means submitting (John 14:23, just one example). You can learn more from 5 minutes of obedience then 10 years of study.

When Abram left to go to a land that would be shown to him, he obeyed God’s instructions.

Maintain faith in God’s leading.
Hang in there, look at the Joseph's life in Genius, maintain faith.

"LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone." - Thomas Merton

Embrace risk for God’s glory.

Hudson Taylor says “Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith”. To take risks is to have faith, either the bible is true or it isn’t. God can take us, ordinary people and do extraordinary things.

So stop playing safe, take risks. That’s adventure, that’s calling, that’s life…

Priorities...

2010-01-10T12:49:00.007Z

Often we get consumed with serving and whatever but as Christians our priority has to be, always, our relationship with God, everything else must be secondary. Georgie boy puts it like this:

"I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished... I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and meditation on it."

GEORGE MULLER OF BRISTOL.

Driscoll says your priorities should be:

"1. Godly Man 2. Godly Husband 3. Godly Father 4. Godly Pastor (or whatever your profession) in that order. You change the order you ruin it all."

I agree.

More snow...

2010-01-09T14:37:00.003Z

Taken from satellite this past week.

2010...

2010-01-05T11:28:00.003Z

What to make of a new year and a new decade...

After watching this video by Simon Guillebaud I have been inspired to make the most of this year, as cliche as that sounds...

This year will see me qualify as teacher, get a job, celebrate my first wedding anniversary and set the beginnings of getting the wheels in motion for a big move in 2011...

I often find myself living in the future, putting time and energy into planning what could and might happen. Concentrating on the future is clearly a good thing as without goals, dreams and vision you stagnate, however, it is as important to focus on the here and now. I want to do that this year by making this year a year of dreaming, risking and making a difference. Not simply going through the motions, stuck in the day to day of life, stuck in routine... concentrating on the future but 'packaging myself to where I am going' making the most of now, taking risks...

2010: making a difference, dreaming, risking...

Joy to the World- the Lord has come...

2009-12-24T11:27:00.001Z

Christmas day tomorrow- Joy to the world, the Lord has come!

Snow and Jesus...

2009-12-20T12:06:00.004Z

Isaiah 1:18:

"... though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow..."

Amen.

WHITEheath...

2009-12-20T11:38:00.005Z

It's all about snow at Christmas, it takes the festive vibe to the next level.

On Saturday me and Rachel walked across Blackheath on our way into town, where we had lunch at Borough Market (never disappoints, ever!) and took a little walk along South Bank before finishing off the Christmas shopping.

Hamleys...

2009-12-20T11:33:00.004Z

Spent about an hour and half in here the other day with Dom and Vash. Definitely made it feel like Christmas.

Amazing...

Hero...

2009-12-07T17:56:00.004Z

First heard of Matt Chandler a while back through Acts 29 and The Resurgence. Matt is the lead Pastor of The Village Church, if you haven't listened to him preach then go get a podcast or two...

Anyway. Long story short, Matt was diagnosed with having a brain tumor last week. The way he has responded is why he's a hero.

Here's what he was saying on his twitter page:

"Thanks for all the prayers...I have a small mass In my frontal lobe...date with the neurosurgeon early next week...I am His and confident."

"I'm overwhelmed by all the prayer and support..1st Doctor today at 12:45..I'll let you know when we do...Christ is All"

Then he wrote this a couple days before he had brian surgery to remove the tumor:

"Jesus you are my great reward...your Kingdom come your will be done."

The Village showed this video at the services yesterday, the way Chandler talks about potentially fatal surgery for the glory of God is amazing. (Watch the video)

Matt Chandler- hero.

Eager Emmanuel ...

2009-12-06T11:09:00.004Z

Love came down...

Although it is only the 6th December today, Emmanuel Church London is hosting its Christmas service.

4pm in the Old Royal Navy College, King William Quarter, Greenwich.

Keston Ponds...

2009-11-30T21:22:00.001Z

Fireworks and Graduation

2009-11-30T21:11:00.003Z

Blackheath fireworks, photos don't really do it justice...

Graduation at Sheffield City Hall.

Brighton...

2009-11-30T20:59:00.002Z

Backtrack...

2009-11-30T20:45:00.003Z

November has been busy...

I started my first proper placement at a school in SE London in a year 3 class, which, basically kept me on my toes with a lot of work to do, and is the reason I haven't been on here.

Although it hasn't been all work and no play, this month me and Rachel spent a weekend in Brighton, went to watch the Blackheath fireworks and both graduated amongst other things.

Some happy snaps will follow....

John on The Cross...

2009-11-03T07:24:00.000Z

“His suffering absorbed all the judgement that guilty sinners deserved and purchased all the good that forgiven sinners enjoy. Therefore all our boasting in these things should be a boasting in the cross of Christ.”

John Piper

Matt on The Cross...

2009-10-25T11:32:00.003Z

"This is how we know
This is how we know what love is
Just one look at Your cross
And this is where we see
This is where we see how love works
For You surrendered Your all."

Matt Redman.

Terry on The Cross...

2009-10-24T13:24:00.004+01:00

“God has ordained a way to satisfy His justice, vindicate His name, uphold the law, fulfil the promises, realise Israel’s identity, defeat Satan, justify sinners, release captives, demonstrate His unspeakable love and begin a new creation.”

Terry Virgo.

Zero carbon footprint, self sufficient children's home...

2009-10-17T17:42:00.007+01:00

As mentioned in my last post Project O have launched the world's first zero carbon footprint, self sufficient children's home. Here are some photos from the event...

The home.

Martin addressing the media.

One of the South African President's daughters.

Cutting the tape.

Zulu dancers.

Skydiving display.

To find out more about Project O visit their website:

www.project-o.org

World's first...

2009-10-16T07:47:00.004+01:00

Yesterday, in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa the worlds first ZERO CARBON FOOTPRINT- SELF SUSTAINING children's home was launched by Project O, the home is being used to support HIV/AID orphans.

Amazing!

This picture of the home was taken a few weeks ago, with the founder of the charity, Martin Downs, digging in to get the house finished...

For more information, or to support this incredible, groundbreaking work visit: www.project-o.org

I dare you to pray this...

2009-10-11T13:40:00.003+01:00

PROVERBS 30:7-10

"Two things I ask of you, O LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD ?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

Do not slander a servant to his master,
or he will curse you, and you will pay for it."

Friends...

2009-10-03T18:25:00.009+01:00

We all love weekends, today me and Rach went into town...

1) First we went to Central Perk, the cafe from Friends. For 2 weeks Central Perk cafe has been set up in Soho, London to celebrate the show's 15 year anniversary. It was chaos with people queuing up round the block to get in, mental...

2) Then we had a little wander down to Carnaby St. and came across Gap 1969. One of only 2 Gap stores in the world (the other's in Paris) to celebrate Gap's 40 year anniversary. The shop is only open for 19 days 69 hours and the jeans are all limited edition with only 69 of each style. Rachel's pair is no.47 of 69 and mine no.23 of 69. Special. It was the last day so we got a got a (RED) pair each on the cheap...

3) Time for a coffee break... Dominic over at Broadwi ck Bleecker is running a competition for Soho's best coffee and on the way home we popped into Flat White which is defiantly a contender for Rachel to grab a coffee...

4) Then a little walk through Chinatown on the way to Charing Cross to get the train home.

Weekends are the best.

My life...

2009-09-27T10:26:00.012+01:00

This video is quality... content and creativity. Beautiful.

Wouldn't mind going, shame its mile away...

My favorite quote...

2009-09-25T22:46:00.004+01:00

"If jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." CT Studd

It's pretty deep, but if the bible is true, if the Son of God died in my place then surely this changes everything.

What else can I do but live my life to Him in return...

Proverbs 22:6...

2009-09-17T18:18:00.004+01:00

A week ago today I started a PGCE, which in case you're out of the loop is a 1 year post graduate course in training to be a teacher. I'm doing primary school.

Today was my first day on placement and it was brilliant. I can't wait to be a teacher!

Over the summer we were asked "What aspects of the national curriculum are you excited about teaching and why?" I thought I'd share with you lot what I wrote...

Having recently graduated from a design degree I would be lying if I said I was not excited about teaching technology. Being able to engage with your surroundings in order to create is amazing. Design and technology is all about problem solving, a skill that is valuable across all subjects and the whole curriculum.

Children have the most wonderful imaginations and their creativity is almost limitless. I look forward to using my skills and knowledge of design to take hold of their imagination and creativity and using it to make them think and engage with the curriculum. Teaching them the importance of problem solving, a skill not just needed in the classroom but in life.

Design and technology can easily be used to stimulate a child to engage with the curriculum. Using literacy and numeracy to inform design; how would you describe it? Is it the right size?

Design and Technology is a subject where working in groups can help a child learn valuable communicating and teamwork skills. Both attributes are important to a child’s development.

All this as well as having loads of fun, and making loads of mess!

Another area of the curriculum I look forward to teaching is literacy. I really enjoying reading and I look forward to not only teaching children to read, a skill they will use all they lives but I hope to pass on a passion for reading. I anticipate engaging with the class through a good book. I can still remember being on the carpet and listening to Mrs Ashdown read us ‘Please Mrs Butler ‘ by Allan Ahlberg, arguably the best poem ever written! Another literacy classic I enjoyed at primary school was ‘Not now Bernard’. I cannot wait to share these literacy delights with a class.

Obviously literacy is not only about reading and includes writing. I am distraught the ‘magic pencil’ is now obsolete. “Round and down and up” these were the words that built the foundations for me being able to write. I look forward to learning current methods in order to help children read and write. Whether I have a key stage 1 class and we’re learning to spell our names, a task I had great difficulty with (Sean- without a ‘SH ‘in sight followed by Macnamara!) or with a key stage 2 class, I‘m confident I will eventually have class of bloggers!

Finally, I feel I will have a lot in common with the fidgets in my class, as I too will long for PE lessons. Throughout my school years PE was easily my favorite subject, with sports day a highlight of the year. I do hope I have a class overflowing with talent, ready to represent in the 2012 Olympics. First things first though, I would love for my class to win the sports day trophy!!!

...

Proverbs 22:6- Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Have you heard...

2009-09-15T18:38:00.001+01:00

'Have you heard?' by Simon Brading and Graham Kendrick.

Started singing this at church a couple weeks back, it's a brilliant song, it speaks pure truth.

Have a cheeky little listen and let me know what you think...

Grace or karma...

2009-09-08T11:24:00.007+01:00

Bono from U2 talks about grace and karma. Thing is I've got a bit of beef with Bono for 2 reasons:

1) U2 are crap.

2) With his fame he could have so much more influence over millions. Literally the world is his stage..

So when I read this article I was made up, he unashamedly boasts in Christ and the cross. He has a great understanding of grace, and drops it hard on the interviewer.

Fair play in my book...

Maybe U2 aren't that bad...

"Is Bono, the lead singer and songwriter for the rock group U2, a Christian? He says he is and writes about Christianity in his lyrics. Yet many people question whether Bono is “really” a Christian, due to his notoriously bad language, liberal politics, and rock star antics (though he has been faithfully married for 23 years). But in a new book of interviews, Bono in Conversation by Michka Assayas, Bono, though using some salty language, makes an explicit confession of faith.

The interviewer, Mr. Assayas, begins by asking Bono, Doesn’t he think “appalling things” happen when people become religious? Bono counters, “It’s a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.”

The interviewer asks, What’s that? “At the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one,” explains Bono. “And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that. . . . Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.”

The interviewer asks, Like what? “That’s between me and God. But I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge,” says Bono. “It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity."

Then the interviewer marvels, “The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.”

“The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death,” replies Bono. “It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven.”

The interviewer marvels some more: “That’s a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it’s close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has His rank among the world’s great thinkers. But Son of God, isn’t that farfetched?”

Bono comes back, “Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off that hook. Christ says, No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m saying: ‘I’m the Messiah.’ I’m saying: ‘I am God incarnate.’ . . . So what you’re left with is either Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. . . . The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that’s far fetched.”

1 year in...

2009-09-06T20:47:00.004+01:00

Emmanuel church london is celebrating its first year anniversary...

11th October is the one, with Terry Virgo dropping in for a word. The other 2 shouldn't be bad either...

Get yourself down:

Every Sunday- 4pm

Old Royal Navy College- King William Quater- Greenwich

(500) days of summer...

2009-09-03T13:48:00.010+01:00

Me and Rach went with Dom and Alice to watch '(500) days of summer' this evening, it was brilliant...

Check the trailer:

Went to the Greenwich Picturehouse, which, if you've been you know is the best cinema this side of the river...

Bank holiday...

2009-09-03T09:41:00.006+01:00

Last weekend it was Alex and Lois' wedding:

God with us...

2009-08-27T12:03:00.014+01:00

Since being in London me and Rachel have joined Emmanuel Church London, a church plant based in Greenwich which is part of the Newfrontiers family of churches.

The church launched last September and has already doubled in size. It is exciting to be part of a church that is so young and growing so quickly. It obviously has a very different feel to St Thomas' Philadelphia the church we were members of whilst studying in Sheffield which had a membership of about 2000.

Community
Like St Thomas' Philadelphia did when I first got to Sheffield, Emmanuel has made me and Rachel both feel proper welcome... Both churches clearly don't miss a trick(!)

Dominic the best man at my wedding is the worship leader at the church, which was how we got in the mix really. The only down side is like Dom, Steve who leads our small group is a Tottenham Hotspur fan, along with Stuart the Pastor.

You can't you have it all...

www.emmanuechurchlondon.org

About me...

2009-08-27T12:02:00.002+01:00

Added little more to my about me: "From South London. Went to university in Sheffield where I met my beautiful wife Rachel. Graduated, got married and am now back in London."

Bet it feels like you know me a whole lot more...

I'm gonna believe...

2009-08-19T19:53:00.003+01:00

New song from Desperation Band: Light of the world.

"Send Your glory"

By no merit of my own at all...

2009-08-17T13:37:00.005+01:00

"I was brought into the hearing of the gospel through no merit of my own at all.

My rebellion was subdued, my hardness removed, my blindness overcome, and my deadness awakened through no merit of my own at all.

Thus I became a believer in Christ through no merit of my own at all.

And so I am an heir of God with Christ through no merit of my own at all.

Now when I put forward effort to please the Lord who bought me, this is to me no merit at all, because

...it is not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

...God is working in me that which is pleasing in his sight. (Hebrews 13:21)

...he fulfills every resolve for good by his power. (2 Thessalonians 1:11)

And therefore there is no ground for boasting in myself, but only in God's mighty grace.

Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:31)"

Sidewalk...

2009-08-16T13:03:00.007+01:00

Sidewalk Sunday School is part of Metro Ministries (website) (wikipedia) in New York City reaching out to over 20,000 children weekly!

Before going to universty I spent my gap year doing an internship with Metro and it was simply the most defining time of my life...

After internship I moved to Sheffield for university and was put in touch with a guy named Barry who was planning to start Sidewalk in the UK. Throughout university I spent most Saturdays with Barry and others doing Sidewalk Sunday School in Sheffield. Sharing the gospel to children and families in Firth park, Sheffield, an area with a very high percentage of Muslims.

Since moving back down to London I obviously haven't been in involved and miss it...

SIDEWALK UK WEBSTIE
METRO MINISTRIES WEBSITE

It can be eradicated...

2009-08-11T18:58:00.004+01:00

I keep seeing this billboard advert everywhere, which is good because it's brilliant...

Watch a short video and find out more here.

A month ago. Yesterday...

2009-08-10T20:58:00.008+01:00

A month ago yesterday was my wedding day. Easily the best day of my life...

We're still waiting for the official wedding photos, and when they come, no doubt I'll put a couple up. But in the mean time here a couple taken by our brother-in-law who had our camera for the day...

At the church:

At the reception:

All the boys:

All the girls:

During the speeches:

Inch By Inch…

2009-08-09T12:41:00.010+01:00

Last night me and Rach watched ‘Any Given Sunday’. I reckon it may be in my top 5 and so I convinced Rach she might like it, but she didn’t. She was disappointed with the lack of romance. What can you do… looks like next time I’ll be watching ‘Love Actually’. Looking forward to that one…

Anyway back to ‘Any Given Sunday’ towards the end of the film is the famous Al Pacino team talk, which you find yourself waiting for the whole film…

There is a lot of truth in there…

There are inches all around us. Opportunities. Opportunities to share the gospel. Opportunities to put a smile on someones face. Opportunities to make a difference. These opportunities are all around us, every minute, every second. We need to take these opportunities with both hands. Being the light of the world (Matthew5:14) isn’t passive- it requires action.

The simple truth is that inches aren’t big but when we add up all those inches, all those opportunities, that’s what makes the difference. We get so concerned with the big picture that we forget to take care of the simple stuff. It’s the simple stuff that makes the difference. Helping stack the chairs after church, buying the big issue seller a sandwich, it’s these little inches that when you add them up make the difference.

So, look around, look for that inch, and fight for it. Take the opportunities and make a difference.

Why I've called this blog 'Here I Stand'…

2009-08-06T08:29:00.000+01:00

In short the great reformer, Martin Luther risked excommunication unless he recanted from his writings.

His Reply: "I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand, I can do no other, May God help me. Amen."

Boldness is often admired. Sticking to your guns regardless of the consequences is often much easier said than done.

Martin Luther was bold. He didn't back down or shy away. This is admirable. To be bold for the sake of the gospel is admirable.

So, Here I stand at 22 newly married with my whole life ahead of me dreaming big dreams about the future. I pray that I won't back down or shy away. That I would be bold for the sake of the gospel, my whole life... I can do no other, God help me. Amen.

6 reasons to blog...

2009-08-05T22:14:00.000+01:00

This list is taken from John Piper@Desiring God;

1. To write.
2. To teach.
3. To recommend.
4. To interact.
5. To develop an eye for what is meaningful.
6. To be known.

Time to get the ball rolling...