Search for Hero Inside Yourself (Mark II)

Tonight I gave a talk at one of the Lancaster small groups on the film Evan Almighty, which until today I'd never seen.

I suppose it was a reasonable film, with some funny one-liners and was fairly entertaining.

What the film did well was expose sin: the main character, Evan, and one of the supporting characters, Congressman Long, both rule God out of their lives and in so doing make a mess of things - including their own lives, the lives of other people and the planet. It was interesting seeing a film that closely linked environmental degradation with sin.

However, if the film was good at exposing the fundamental human problem, the solution it put forward was not good. Essentially it was this: just do more random acts of kindness. If God's design is best for us all, just do it. This (bizarrely!) is how the film interprets the story of the Flood and Noah's Ark. In other words, we're still to search for the hero inside ourselves.

Of course, that sounds great - but it's completely unrealistic. I can't just pull up my socks and be nice. I need a complete change of heart. And that's where the film is devastatingly quiet: there's no mention of Jesus. And so there's no hope of the radical change that my heart requires.

PLEASE support us!

Many of you will have heard that me and my Relay Workers are raising money for UCCF's gospel project.

* If Peter and Sarah raise more pledges for UCCF's gospel project than Nick by the end of February, then hard-core Blackburn fan Nick must wear a Burnley shirt on the day of their choice.
* If Nick raises more pledges for UCCF's gospel project than Peter and Sarah by the end of February, they must each wear a piece of clothing of Nick's choice on the day of his choice. Nick has chosen for me to wear a tutu and Sarah to wear a banana suit.

Sarah and I are currently ahead at the time of writing ... but only by £3. Pledges will not be counted after midnight on Friday, so please, please pledge away. You can give your pledges here. Given 57p pays for a gospel, can you think of a better way of using your money?

Why I love Relay

The second round of Relay applications is drawing to a close. And has Mo has noted, there are places in the country where many people that are weighing up whether or not to do Relay are perhaps being persuaded that the better option is to do a church apprenticeship instead, on the grounds that theologically the local church is more central to what God is doing in the world than CUs.

Now I realise that pretty much everyone in Christian ministry seems to recommend whatever they did themselves as the path. I also have nothing against church apprenticeships. Many friends of mine have gone on the serve the church in this way and have learned loads. However, the basic principle of what Mo says is true: that encouraging recent graduates to do Relay is also an incredible way of growing the church. Far from draining the resources of the church, Relay is a brilliant way of growing Christians who can serve the churches whilst Relay Workers (in helping CUs to do what churches can't on campus) and, particularly, for the years afterwards.

I owe many things to Relay and I've spoken about my experiences both as a Relay Worker and on Relay staff before. Here are some of the other things that I love about Relay, and where I consider the programme to be a massive grace to the worldwide church:

• The wonderful, wonderful emphasis on grace. Saved by grace, changed by grace, ministering by grace. Many of the people I know that understand grace best are those that have been touched by the Relay programme.
• The gentleness and humility that comes through working alongside those of different evangelical convictions. It's sad to meet people who hold convictions and who loudly proclaim these convictions merely because it's the party line of the Christians with whom they have been built up. In my own experience (and in the experiences of many others), working alongside Christians from very different backgrounds and realising that these other Christians loved Jesus just as much as I do was very humbling.
• A great theology of worship. It seems to me that overwork is one of the massive problems in Christian ministry. Relay taught me that Christian ministry is great - but it's not God, and that I can honour God through getting good rest and time off.
• A holistic emphasis on growth. I love the fact that I get to share my life with the Relay Workers I supervise. Yes - I care about their ministry. But I also care about them. The fact that this is built into the Relay programme is a massive bonus.
• Equipping for a lifetime ahead. Relay is equally valuable for life no matter what a Relay Worker choose to do after their year. The lessons learned aren't merely significant for the year of ministry.

I could go on. I know there's plenty of church apprenticeships that to some extent offer what I've mentioned above. But I hate to see just a good thing as Relay criticised just because it's not offered through local churches.

Look Around You: Little Mouse

Just found this on YouTube. Look Around You is complete genius... just spent the whole afternoon watching Series 1 with folks from church...

UCLan mission on reflection

Yesterday the week-long mission at the University of Central Lancashire came to its conclusion, the third and final mission held by CUs in the region in which I work.

I've found that, of all of the sorts of universities in Britain, it's at university campuses of the nature of UCLan that are hardest to reach with the gospel. Whereas traditional universities have many things that facilitate proclamation (such as large halls of residence with fairly open access, and suitable central venues for events), at newer universities there are no such blessings. Add a large number of students that commute in from other towns, and university buildings spread right across whole towns and it sometimes feels like an uphill task. Perhaps the greatest challenge is the widespread perception amongst students at such institutions that the gospel is irrelevant (as I have written about before).

With this context in mind, then, reflection on the mission at UCLan gives plenty of reasons to be thankful to God. There were a wide range of events (from pub quiz to five-a-side competition to beginners' salsa lessons!) where the gospel was clearly explained in a down-to-earth manner by the ever excellent Steve Casey (who was in his element this week in the UCLan context). Each event had between 25 and 70 non-Christians. Many were intrigued and several have signed up for the CU's 'Encounter' course that starts next week. Unsurprisingly, most were the friends of CU members - but it's pleasing nonetheless to work alongside a CU that evidently isn't a Christian bubble, and where students have obviously sought to live out 1 Thessalonians 2:8. It's really good to work alongside other Christians that have deep convictions that lead them to live and speak for Jesus.

I was also really chuffed by the number of CU students that were willing to come and do questionnaires. We were given the full run of the student refectories: this meant that students weren't having to rush past in the cold and rain, but were willing to talk. I personally had several conversations that went on for well over an hour. Please pray especially for Dan and Owen. I also had a three hour long conversation with John at one of the events - really looking forward to carrying conversations on in the future.

Perhaps the highlight of the week came for me yesterday. Some of you will have heard me speak about Martin, a student who made a profession early in Autumn term, but who had gone incognito. It turned out that he'd been shaken by reading parts of the Old Testament and the character of God there.It was brilliant to meet with him, to hear about his concerns and ultimately to point him to the cross. He's certainly still trusting Jesus (perhaps more so now he's seen more of the holiness of God). A brilliant reminder of 2 Peter 2 - that God knows how to preserve his people, even against the odds.

Yesterday didn't really feel like it was the end. It felt much more like the latest step in ongoing relational evangelism. Pray that's the case.

Juno: love in a broken world

So it seems like everyone is going to see Juno, including me!

I really enjoyed the film. As others have noted, the screen-play is really well written. I loved some of the witty one liners (especially early in the film) and the characterisation was good too.

I guess that the film is really all about love. Like many more 'postmodern' films of late, though, Juno doesn't idealise the world in which we live. Perhaps the most poignant part of the film is where the lead character, Juno, asks her father about true love. His answer is this: "In my opinion, the best thing you can do is to find a person who loves you for exactly who you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person will still think that the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with." And yet this is juxtaposed alongside a tinge of sadness: Juno's father freely admits that he's made mistakes in the past, and is himself in his second marriage. Elsewhere in the film, we see portrayals of divorce and separation - and yet still glimmers of hope through love.

Of course, all this is true. It's true that we do live in a broken world, but as people still retaining something of God's image, we still have the capacity to love and to be loved, despite the fact that we all are hurt by and hurt others.

But my major gripe with the film is still the idea that love conquers all. As Juno gives away her baby, as another couple separate, as one woman starts a life of single motherhood, everything is still presented with a rosy glow. It's true that love is still a massive part of our existence, but so is pain caused by broken relationships. When we experience something short of what Juno's father speaks of (and inevitably we do), it really hurts. And that's something that is glossed over by what is an otherwise excellent film.

"Praise completes the joy"

In recent days, I've been working through Isaiah with Allan Harman's excellent commentary. I'm not sure I've ever worked all the way through Isaiah in one period of time, and I'm understanding the heart of his prophecy more and more.

One chapter that particularly stood out to me is chapter 12, which is a little gem. It looks forward beyond Jesus' death and resurrection (or, in Isaiah's language, the second exodus brought about by Immanuel), and the response of God's people.

The focus of verses 1-3 is the deliverance that God has brought his people ('although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me') and the wonder joy that saved people experience.

The focus of verses 4-6 is on the response that saved people make. One of these is spontaneous praise and thanksgiving to God. The other is to proclaim how wonderful God is to everyone! ('make known among the nations what he has done ... let this be known to the whole world').

I'm currently on mission with the University of Central Lancashire CU. It's tempting to want to guilt trip people into getting involved in evangelism or to whip them up into an emotional frenzy. But what's Isaiah's approach? It's this: remember the truths of the gospel. As the gospel truths permeate your mind and your heart and your soul, then that will inevitably lead to joyful thanksgiving and the desire to tell others of God's goodness and wonder, shown in his saving work.

I once remember reading that CS Lewis commented wisely, 'Praise completes the joy.' When we see a beautiful sunset, or hear a wonderful piece of music or witness a terrific goal, we can't help but tell others. Praise completes the joy! I'm praying that for me and for members of UCLan CU, declaring God's praises to the nations represented on campus in Preston complete the joy of the gospel that we experience, and ever drive us deeper into the wonderful gospel and the wonderful God that's behind it all.