smokeygecko Thoughts

Watch this on Youtube.

Because at CVM we get to make fun videos

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Here’s a video from Os Guinness on the state of the Christian Church in the West. (YouTube)

Found at A Better Hope

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Thoughts on fighting on the same team.

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Whilst browsing theresurgence.com I came across this video from the 2010 Desiring God pastors conference.

John Piper, to whom I owe much, explaining the heart of C.S. Lewis and the impact Lewis had on his life. Fascinating viewing. It unpacked for me many things that I had felt about Lewis but could not put my finger on.

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As the first post after a few months of absence I’m going to look back on a great start to the year. But first let me back up a bit.

Last July I started work with Christian Vision for Men in England, moving back from the US where I was previously working with YWAM. I came on board working closely with Carl and was immediately thrust into the world of UK evangelism and training, clocking up thousands of miles on the roads (which I’ve actually acquired a taste for – beats plane travel for ease and minimal fuss). I’ve visited dozens of churches, been involved in several regional days and one national conference.

I also put my hand to the website, creating a blog, worked on some videos, set up some online booking/purchasing stuff, and made copious cups of tea.

In the middle of all that I moved from Bath to Derbyshire as the offices relocated to the middle of the country.

There’s been scheming and dreaming, long hours and big tasks. I’ve been thrust into an environment where dreams can be realised quickly but with that comes the responsibility of following through with the idea and delivering. CVM at it’s core is small and robust, always aiming to punch above it’s weight. Many people would be surprised to see how much we accomplish with the size of team that we have. It’s a truly exciting environment, one where there is always a strong sense of purpose, direction and provision from God.

Which leads me to some of the events of January. On Friday 22nd Jan we sent out an appeal letter as we were facing the very real prospect of going under as an organisation. Thanks to the new email system we just integrated (gotta love the Chimp) I was able to track opens, clicks etc. Within minutes donations started coming in, and in, and in … An email sent out at 4 in the afternoon on a Friday generated such a strong response that we were soon heading out of the woods.

The money spoke of the dedication of the band of brothers that stretches across the UK with the same heartbeat to see men saved. But more than this it was the messages of support that caused me to catch my breath. Blokes (and lasses) were standing by us, not letting us go down. It really was very humbling. I joined CVM because I felt that they were a group of real people with a clear and purposeful calling. Apparently, hundreds of people across the UK think so too.

The lessons that I learnt in YWAM were being reinforced in CVM. Where God guides, He provides. Whether that’s $1000 for a plane ticket to a foreign mission field or £20,000 to keep a home-grown mission agency going.

The next thing to unfold was an article published on the Times Online blog by Ruth Gledhill. Picking up on an older CVM survey the article outlined some of the aims of CVM also highlighting the urgency that we face as a national church. Ruth Gledhill’s blog being well-followed as it is, was soon picked up spawning many other blog pieces, some friendly and some otherwise. Before my eyes suddenly many people who wouldn’t be talking about CVM and talking, commenting, blogging …

It was a fascinating scene to observe. My feeling is that this is the beginning of something.

That feeling is more than just some thoughts on the blog world but part of a bigger belief that this year God will use CVM is some pretty huge ways. Codelife is on the horizon as are many, many other exciting projects. Who can know where we will be in 12 months?

I’ll endeavour to keep my thoughts coming now … Stay posted!

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“It is important for us to make a distinction between the spiritual fruit of joy and the cultural concept of happiness.”

R. C. Sproul writing on the Dark Night of the Soul.

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CVM have just launched a new website called talkinghead.

Quite simply it’s men, sharing their stories, on video. Lots of men; lots of videos.

Check it out!

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On Sunday morning, or whenever you corporately meet, take a second to glance around and conduct a quick demographic survey. If your church is like mine there’ll be a fairly healthy smattering of kids, married couples and older folk but there could well be a gap in 20-30 single somethings, and an even bigger gap where the guys should be.

You could dismiss this by saying something like, “Young people grow up and then move away for university” – but does this answer the question? If you’re in a town or city then surely there will be people moving in to the city replacing those who are moving out.

I think it’s time to own the fact that by and large many churches struggle with retaining young men and women when they enter their twenties. Rather than simply explaining away this phenomenon I think it’s pertinent that we work out how we’re losing these people and how we’re going to get them back.

Being a man isn’t a problem, it’s the solution

The church was started by a man in his thirties with a bunch of his mates. They all had jobs and some had families. After 3 or so years of training Jesus (the guy who started the church) left eleven guys to get on with it. Of these eleven, ten were martyred for their beliefs. The love that these men had for Jesus led them to give everything they had for the church. This is the calibre of man that Jesus picked to lead the church. 2,000 years later and the job spec hasn’t changed, but perhaps the candidates have.

To succeed as a man in life you need to show some determination. To father and lead a family, hold down a job, provide a future and encourage men around you takes grit and courage. Through all of this a man’s character is shown and every aspect of his god-given manhood is used. My question is, do we encourage any of this in church or not?

Let me explain what I mean.

I wonder if you know of this man? He’s competitive, and likes sports. He’s stubborn and doesn’t like to admit he’s wrong. He wants to be right and win the argument, oh, and he wants to have lots of great sex.

Stereotype? Maybe. But here we have him. Now, let’s look at how some churches may see him. He’ll be branded as: strong and not meek/mild, proud and not soft-hearted, arrogant and divisive, and lustful and degrading to women. He’ll know sooner rather than later that he’s just sinful and all he desires are wrong. He’ll either have to neuter himself or leave the church. Not once will he be encouraged in who he is.

However, I don’t think this is how Jesus sees him. Sure, he might be misusing his passions – but our God is a redeemer, not a large anti-testosterone pill. Instead of pre-condemning the up-and-coming men in the church we should celebrate them and encourage them. Let’s look at them the way that a loving father who wants the best will look at them.

This guy I mentioned could be viewed this way. He is competitive; he’s not satisfied till he gives his best. He’s stubborn; he’ll fight for his faith. He regards truth highly and wont settle for anything less. Oh, his healthy sex-drive is a great ingredient for a healthy marriage, which is the core of a healthy family.

If we decide that we don’t need to defend truth, or work hard for our Lord and Saviour, and that easy compromise is preferable and healthy families don’t rate that highly then sure, we don’t need young men in the church. We can condemn all manly desires as sinful and not welcome and we can effectively skim off the boys as they reach manhood.

But if we wake up and realise that we value God’s truth and that it is under attack, that compromise is as disgusting as it is rife and that the family model is so far off from God’s plan, then maybe we’ll think about making at an effort to keep our boys instead of repelling them and take the effort train them to become the men God is calling them to be.

If we lose the young men, we lose the church. Game over. But if we give the guys a glimpse of how God sees them and how He wants to use them, then watch their natural talents come into play as they grab hold of life and pour their lives out for the church in love for their leader, Jesus.

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Bible Study Magazine, from Logos, has an interesting article in this month’s edition, where, “Jeff Struecker recounts how studying the Bible helped him during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, which was portrayed in the book and movie Black Hawk Down, as well as during his career as an Army Ranger and chaplain.”

You can read the full article (pdf) here.

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Carl Beech has just finished a four-part series entitled ‘Real Men Don’t Do Church’ over on the CVM Blog. Looking at why men might not find church in the UK appealing today, Carl analyses the problem before offering helpful advice on what to do about it.

“Most men completely by-pass church.  They see it as a place that according to a BBC radio survey is for wimps, women and irrelevant!  Let’s not make the mistake of thinking that when the “wheels come off” in a man’s life they look to the church.  A small minority might, but for the most part their perception of what/who Jesus is and stands for will be quite the opposite of what they feel they need in a crisis.  So what are we going to do to put hairs back on the chest of the Gospel?”

Read more …

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four

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