Andrew has taken up rowing. His team, Teddy Hall C, is the third novice crew (not expected to be participating in the next Olympic games). Nevertheless, they put in a superb performance yesterday at the Christchurch regatta, winning their first race by a huge margin against Balliol B team and then holding off Trinity's A Team in the second round until the finish line. Watch it here in larger size or in the box below. I think Andrew is the first oarsman (bow) in the nearest boat.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Cowboy Evangelism
I have done plenty of cowboy evangelism in my time. Lots of “yee-haa” but not much harvesting. We learned how to present the gospel with a little booklet. We went out on the streets of Westminster with tracts written by Arthur Blessit who led a training day in London in 1981. We tried to fill coaches with people from Hackney to go and hear Eric Delve preach in Walthamstow. We trained with Douglas McBain’s Mustard Seed to preach in the open air. We did sketchboard presentations at the local community fun day. Much energy expended. Few disciples.
When I led the “News Team” in Hackney we went out every week knocking on doors chatting to people about Jesus, inviting them to church etc. We would nearly always find someone welcoming who wanted to talk. I found myself offering lots of pastoral care and comfort to these lost sheep who never came near the church. We discovered after a while that about 1 in 7 households were receptive to visitors from the local church, but we did not spend enough time with these people. We kept trying to get them to come to us and got discouraged when they did not.
It is a shame that we did not hear the message of Luke 10:7 at this time. Stay in the house of the person of peace. ie spend enough time with this household that they catch the message of the Kingdom of God. Our vicar at the time had the best approach: he would go back week after week to his contacts with a beginners course in Christianity (similar to Good News Down Your Street). I remember thinking that we might learn from his example and do the same, but it never seemed to happen. I personally grew weary of seeing little fruit from the door to door ministry, and at about the same time I joined the FGBMFI which held evangelistic dinners. We saw lots of people get saved and healed at these events so I moved my energies into these instead.
Looking back I would say that the opportunities were there. Maybe we should have persevered in spending more time with those who were open. Maybe we needed to be less busy doing other church things in order to have the time and energy to go out and spend time with these people. After all Jesus did say "do not greet anyone along the road". A curious phrase that I interpret to mean we should be single minded and dedicated to the task.
When I led the “News Team” in Hackney we went out every week knocking on doors chatting to people about Jesus, inviting them to church etc. We would nearly always find someone welcoming who wanted to talk. I found myself offering lots of pastoral care and comfort to these lost sheep who never came near the church. We discovered after a while that about 1 in 7 households were receptive to visitors from the local church, but we did not spend enough time with these people. We kept trying to get them to come to us and got discouraged when they did not.
It is a shame that we did not hear the message of Luke 10:7 at this time. Stay in the house of the person of peace. ie spend enough time with this household that they catch the message of the Kingdom of God. Our vicar at the time had the best approach: he would go back week after week to his contacts with a beginners course in Christianity (similar to Good News Down Your Street). I remember thinking that we might learn from his example and do the same, but it never seemed to happen. I personally grew weary of seeing little fruit from the door to door ministry, and at about the same time I joined the FGBMFI which held evangelistic dinners. We saw lots of people get saved and healed at these events so I moved my energies into these instead.
Looking back I would say that the opportunities were there. Maybe we should have persevered in spending more time with those who were open. Maybe we needed to be less busy doing other church things in order to have the time and energy to go out and spend time with these people. After all Jesus did say "do not greet anyone along the road". A curious phrase that I interpret to mean we should be single minded and dedicated to the task.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
What Happens in a Huddle?
I have been asked "What happens in a huddle?" Here is my reply:
I am not yet an expert on Huddles, but my former colleague Nick Haigh (who is now Vicar of the Net in Huddersfield has attended one in Sheffield since summer 2005. We model our meetings on his description of what happens, together with what I gleaned from the training day in June this year and the guiding of the Holy Spirit before and during the meetings.
My understanding and present practice is as follows :
· Ideal size group 5-8 people ie On an average of 10 minutes per person + 10 minutes for leadership input = 60-90 minute meeting
· Absolute confidentiality is agreed. If someone wants permission to share anything (eg a positive testimony) beyond the group permission should be expressly sought.
· The meeting will begin with a short prayer
· If someone arrives at the huddle obviously in need of support or full of what the Lord is doing in their particular ministry area we often gather round and pray for them at this point.
· A few moments are spent on feedback and accountability, following up the issues, plans and resolutions made at the previous meeting
· The leader sets the direction of the meeting (having sought guidance from the Holy Spirit) eg Today we are going to use the Square. A bible reading might be used here.
· The leader may give a brief resume of the Lifeshape that is to be used
· A few moments in silent prayer for the Holy Spirit to show us where we are on this issue
· Each person shares in turn for a couple of minutes about how they are doing, and where they think God is wanting to develop them, and what they find difficult etc It is important to note that the “victim” only shares what s/he feels comfortable sharing. Everyone else listens and refrains from jumping in with "that happened to me" type comments.
· The other members of the group have an opportunity to ask questions to clarify exactly what the issues are, and to help the person on the spot to see past their blind spots. No advice is given at this point, it is better for the person to identify with the Lord what responses might be appropriate. We use questions like “What do you think the Father might want to prune away so you have more time for prayer and bible reading?”
· One or two brief prayers are said for the person asking for God’s help in following through resolutions or responses identified.
· The next person shares as per the previous three points. Until everyone including the Huddle leader has shared and been quizzed.
· We end with a short prayer, asking for the Lord’s protection upon us.
I attended a Huddle training day in Sheffield this June. Part of the session was a "goldfish bowl" huddle in front of everyone present where a huddle meeting was modelled. They used the Huddle Character card which has a number of questions under the headings UP IN OUT. Everyone was encouraged to sit in silence for a couple of minutes prayerfully reading through the questions whilst asking the Holy Spirit to point out which of the questions was most pertinent at present. Each person shared for about a minute and were then asked questions by the huddle leader and by other members of the huddle.
In the huddles at St. Mark’s so far we have used some of the Lifeshapes. In our first meeting we used the Semi-Circle. I reminded people of the teaching about seasons of abiding and fruitfulness, daily, weekly, and monthly rhythms. We also reminded ourselves that pruning is necessary for greater fruitfulness, and that we need the Father to guide us to the best out of a massive choice of “good” things that we could be doing. We then asked the question “What does abiding look like for you? How do you recharge? What restores your soul?” After waiting on the Lord for a couple of minutes we each shared and were quizzed. In our second meeting we used the Triangle to identify whether we were weak in any of the three areas. We shared what we felt the Lord wanted us to do about this. Some of the issues raised were worth exploring more deeply, so we used the Circle together the following week.
My hope over the next few months is to ensure that every leader is able to be reflective about their own spirituality, and can use the Lifeshapes to help them in this. Also that they will grow in their ability to hold one another accountable. I am also looking for opportunities to develop leadership skills through the huddles. I sometimes draw attention to how something shared might alter the way we lead in our cell groups. I expect this area to be more important once we all feel more comfortable using the Lifeshapes intuitively in daily life.
I am not yet an expert on Huddles, but my former colleague Nick Haigh (who is now Vicar of the Net in Huddersfield has attended one in Sheffield since summer 2005. We model our meetings on his description of what happens, together with what I gleaned from the training day in June this year and the guiding of the Holy Spirit before and during the meetings.
My understanding and present practice is as follows :
· Ideal size group 5-8 people ie On an average of 10 minutes per person + 10 minutes for leadership input = 60-90 minute meeting
· Absolute confidentiality is agreed. If someone wants permission to share anything (eg a positive testimony) beyond the group permission should be expressly sought.
· The meeting will begin with a short prayer
· If someone arrives at the huddle obviously in need of support or full of what the Lord is doing in their particular ministry area we often gather round and pray for them at this point.
· A few moments are spent on feedback and accountability, following up the issues, plans and resolutions made at the previous meeting
· The leader sets the direction of the meeting (having sought guidance from the Holy Spirit) eg Today we are going to use the Square. A bible reading might be used here.
· The leader may give a brief resume of the Lifeshape that is to be used
· A few moments in silent prayer for the Holy Spirit to show us where we are on this issue
· Each person shares in turn for a couple of minutes about how they are doing, and where they think God is wanting to develop them, and what they find difficult etc It is important to note that the “victim” only shares what s/he feels comfortable sharing. Everyone else listens and refrains from jumping in with "that happened to me" type comments.
· The other members of the group have an opportunity to ask questions to clarify exactly what the issues are, and to help the person on the spot to see past their blind spots. No advice is given at this point, it is better for the person to identify with the Lord what responses might be appropriate. We use questions like “What do you think the Father might want to prune away so you have more time for prayer and bible reading?”
· One or two brief prayers are said for the person asking for God’s help in following through resolutions or responses identified.
· The next person shares as per the previous three points. Until everyone including the Huddle leader has shared and been quizzed.
· We end with a short prayer, asking for the Lord’s protection upon us.
I attended a Huddle training day in Sheffield this June. Part of the session was a "goldfish bowl" huddle in front of everyone present where a huddle meeting was modelled. They used the Huddle Character card which has a number of questions under the headings UP IN OUT. Everyone was encouraged to sit in silence for a couple of minutes prayerfully reading through the questions whilst asking the Holy Spirit to point out which of the questions was most pertinent at present. Each person shared for about a minute and were then asked questions by the huddle leader and by other members of the huddle.
In the huddles at St. Mark’s so far we have used some of the Lifeshapes. In our first meeting we used the Semi-Circle. I reminded people of the teaching about seasons of abiding and fruitfulness, daily, weekly, and monthly rhythms. We also reminded ourselves that pruning is necessary for greater fruitfulness, and that we need the Father to guide us to the best out of a massive choice of “good” things that we could be doing. We then asked the question “What does abiding look like for you? How do you recharge? What restores your soul?” After waiting on the Lord for a couple of minutes we each shared and were quizzed. In our second meeting we used the Triangle to identify whether we were weak in any of the three areas. We shared what we felt the Lord wanted us to do about this. Some of the issues raised were worth exploring more deeply, so we used the Circle together the following week.
My hope over the next few months is to ensure that every leader is able to be reflective about their own spirituality, and can use the Lifeshapes to help them in this. Also that they will grow in their ability to hold one another accountable. I am also looking for opportunities to develop leadership skills through the huddles. I sometimes draw attention to how something shared might alter the way we lead in our cell groups. I expect this area to be more important once we all feel more comfortable using the Lifeshapes intuitively in daily life.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Huddle for Mission
Since I started blogging in March I have been reflecting on the nature of Church. To reach the "gentiles" with the good news of Jesus and his Kingdom we are going to have to embrace radical church structures which are flexible and easy to reproduce. One church that had made great strides in this area is St. Thomas in Sheffield.
St. Toms has a Parish Church presence in Crookes - a suburb of Sheffield and a City-wide presence through St.Thomas, Philadelphia which has a base/resource centre in an old industrial unit near the city centre.
The history of St. Toms has been an inspiration to me over the years - I read Robert Warren's book "In the Crucible" around the time of my selection conference. I embraced his teaching about Missionary congregations. I have followed with interest the growth of clusters and cells under Mike Breen's leadership.
Out of this has now come TOM - The Order of Mission. The pattern of life is based on the Lifeshapes (originally known as Lifeskills). New disciples are taught these shapes as a way they can live in obedience to the teachings of Christ. They are simple, practical and memorable which means they can easily be transferred to a new disciple. Simple is important for movement and sustainable growth.
Leaders are mentored and trained in the use of the Lifeshapes through Huddles. The principle used is one of High Acountability - Low Control. It is very Apostolic in nature and it realeases people to lead missionary communities.
The following is a descrition of Huddles from a card that is used by Huddle members in The Order of Mission.
A bit more about huddles can be read on the St. Thomas website.
St. Toms has a Parish Church presence in Crookes - a suburb of Sheffield and a City-wide presence through St.Thomas, Philadelphia which has a base/resource centre in an old industrial unit near the city centre.
The history of St. Toms has been an inspiration to me over the years - I read Robert Warren's book "In the Crucible" around the time of my selection conference. I embraced his teaching about Missionary congregations. I have followed with interest the growth of clusters and cells under Mike Breen's leadership.
Out of this has now come TOM - The Order of Mission. The pattern of life is based on the Lifeshapes (originally known as Lifeskills). New disciples are taught these shapes as a way they can live in obedience to the teachings of Christ. They are simple, practical and memorable which means they can easily be transferred to a new disciple. Simple is important for movement and sustainable growth.
Leaders are mentored and trained in the use of the Lifeshapes through Huddles. The principle used is one of High Acountability - Low Control. It is very Apostolic in nature and it realeases people to lead missionary communities.
The following is a descrition of Huddles from a card that is used by Huddle members in The Order of Mission.
‘Huddle’ is the structure by which every member of The Order of Mission engages with on-going support and training. Reflecting our understanding that each one of us is both a follower and a leader, members are both called into a huddle, where they are led, and—over time—call others into a huddle that they lead. Christ-like character is the most fundamental issue for leaders. We also need to learn effective leadership skills. The questions on this card are a tool to help us identify where God is wanting to address our character.
There is a companion card with questions to help us identify where God is wanting to address our skills. In each case, we read through the questions, asking the Holy Spirit to highlight the issue He wants to address. It might be an area where we need to allow Him to change us, or an area where we need to recognise the extent to which He already has—in other words, we expect both the challenge to repent and the encouragement of seeing the kingdom break in.
The huddle leader is called to help the members of their huddle in this process. Lifeskills—the Pattern of Life of the Order—provides the tools to do so, and a summary of the shapes is found on this card. The relationship between the leader and their huddle should be one of ‘low control, high accountability’, whereby the leader is only directive where appropriate, with the aim of releasing the follower as a leader themselves; and the follower gives their leader permission to hold them accountable in both character and skills.
A bit more about huddles can be read on the St. Thomas website.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
The weakness of “Lone Ranger” evangelism
I am increasingly convinced that Jesus knew what he was doing when he sent his disciples out “two by two” into the towns and villages of Israel (Luke 10). A team of two is far more effective than a solitary Christian.
One of my hopes in joining the local branch of the Manchester City Supporters Club was that I would have some opportunities to share my faith with the people I meet week by week. Up to now it has not been as easy as I had hoped, and I want to note a few observations.
I have been welcomed and accepted by the people at the club and I am there as a presence. My faith is the occasional subject of some light hearted banter, but I have not found many natural opportunities to talk about Jesus and the important aspects of faith in him. I am sure though that it would be easier for such conversations to arise if there was another Christian with me. Two Christians can model community in a way that one alone cannot.
I am sure that a lot of prayer happened while the disciples of Jesus walked to the village they visited. It is easier to be faithful in prayer as part of a team. Another believer mixing with the same group of people would be an encouragement to me and vice versa. We could pray together for kingdom opportunities and help one another to stay close to the Lord in this very godless environment. We could pray for discernment of where the Holy Spirit has gone before us and give one another courage in following up such opportunities. We could pray for the people we meet that their spiritual hunger would grow.
Please pray with me that the Lord will send another worker into the harvest field of the Bredbury Blues.
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