Billy Graham: 60 years on

Transcription

www.eauk.org/idea
T H E M AG A Z I N E O F T H E E VA N G E L I C A L A L L I A N C E
Billy Graham:
60 years on
BAKER CHICK
Martha Collison on faith, food
and new-found fame
IN YOUR WORDS
60 SECONDS
BIG INTERVIEW
Mpho Tutu on continuing
her father’s legacy
GOOD QUESTION
THEOLOGY
POWER
Why the Church needs
to engage with politics
CONNECT
ON THE JOB
NOV/DEC 2014
NEWS
COMMENT
FEATURES
IDEA MAGAZINE / 2
CONTENTS
Amaris Cole:
“God reassures His people throughout the Bible that He has a
plan and that they shouldn’t worry. God told the Israelites not
to fear or be anxious, “for I am your God” (Isaiah 41:10).”
idea-torial
New beginnings
Change is rarely easy. It can seem
daunting – that’s why God reassures
His people throughout the Bible that
He has a plan and that they shouldn’t worry. God
told the Israelites not to fear or be anxious, “for
I am your God” (Isaiah 41:10) and, of course, He
promised Jeremiah in 29:11: “I know the plans
I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to
harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
New beginnings are a blessing. As I was putting
together this issue of idea, my very first, I was
constantly reminded of what a huge privilege it
is to work for Him. What a great new opportunity.
As the new girl, I’m obviously trying to impress
my Alliance bosses, former editor Chine
Mbubaegbu (what a hard act to follow!) and
general director Steve Clifford, but it’s great to
work somewhere that holds God as the ultimate
boss. The Alliance is truly Christ-filled, and it’s
amazing to be a part of it.
That leads me to this month’s issue. It’s not
unusual for my mind to be filled with thoughts
of food, but this time I had an excuse. We met
Martha Collison of Great British Bake Off-fame.
At only 17, this young lady is certainly making
the most of her new, God-given opportunity.
Find her interview on page eight. We also look at
two great missions of the past, which were great
new ventures in their day. In fact, on page 20 we
examine how Billy Graham’s crusade is still the
closest the UK has come to revival, 60 years on,
and examine the key role the Alliance played. And
OMF celebrate their 150th anniversary next year –
hear about their amazing history on page 18.
I am excited by the new opportunities God gives
us. Are you?
Amaris Cole,
Editor
Front cover image: Billy Graham
We’re on Twitter!
Follow us @idea_mag
FEATURES
6 Faith behind bars
Christianity Explored in prisons.
14 Christmas Starts…
Have a look at this year’s
campaign.
18-19 150 years in Asia
22
OMF celebrate their 150th
anniversary.
20-21 The letter that
saved lives
We discover the Alliance’s role
in the Harringay Crusade.
Grace, forgiveness and the
Tutu legacy
Mpho Tutu speaks about forgiveness
being the heart of faith.
REGULARS
4-5 Connect
News from the Alliance.
8-9 Sixty Seconds with
Meet Martha from the Great
British Bake Off.
10-12 Nations
35
News from Northern Ireland,
Scotland and Wales.
Soul Story
Get on up: the story of James Brown.
16 On the Job
Meet a Christian waiter –
with a difference.
36 Good Question
What’s wrong with polygamy?
37 In your words
idea readers respond.
38 Last Word
General director Steve Clifford
writes…
36
What’s wrong with polygamy?
Don Horrocks explores.
Head Office
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Evangelical Alliance
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Fred Drummond, Elfed
Godding, Dave Landrum,
Peter Lynas
Wales Office
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Cardiff CF10 1PT
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College, 110 St James Road,
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Registered Charity No England and Wales: 212325, Scotland: SC040576.
Registered Office: 176 Copenhagen Street, London, N1 0ST
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014
IDEA MAGAZINE / 3
CONNECT
News from the Alliance
Council meets to discuss power,
politics and public leadership
(Photo credit: by Alex Moyler)
by Amaris Cole
The Church needs to
“get comfortable” with
engaging in politics, the
Evangelical Alliance’s
Council heard when it met
in September.
More than 100 leaders gathered for the
two-day meeting of Council members and
guests to talk, worship and pray together, as
well as engaging with the theme of power
and politics.
Gavin Shuker MP spoke about how
Christians should handle power in public
life, saying there is a need for the Church to
get comfortable exercising power, even if
sometimes it exercises it badly.
“There is a massive need for people to
engage with power,” the MP for Luton
South said. “For Christians, the exercising of
power is deeply important – it’s part of our
redemption.”
He admitted that institutions, such as
political parties and indeed the Church, can
be places of low-level corruption, but added:
“We need to learn how to love institutions,
to change and transform them, while
recognising they’re broken as well.”
He said if every evangelical joined a political
party, there would be a huge impact to the
quality of politics.
In a closed panel of political leaders from
across the UK, panellists commented that
the Church did not understand the pressures
on them, and certainly did not engage in
politics.
The power survey carried out by the
Alliance’s advocacy team, which 2,000
evangelicals took part in, will be released
in February ahead of the general election.
But the Council took a smaller version of
the survey and the results were released at
the meeting.
Almost half of the 46 Council members
who participated said they were less
trusting of the government today than
previously, with 27 per cent answering
that they had lost faith in those in power.
Worryingly, a third of those surveyed
said that when they voted for an MP, they
chose the ‘least bad’ option.
The Council met at High Leigh Conference
Centre in Hertfordshire on 17 to 18
September.
Churches should be supporting their local
Christian politicians, it was agreed, and not
just by offering prayer.
PRAY WITH US
Praise God for the launch of Home for Good
as an independent organisation this autumn,
and pray that they will be a wonderful
blessing for the thousands of children in
need of fostering and adoption.
As our Council heard about the importance
of Christians engaging with power, politics
and public leadership, please pray that
churches will recognise the need for this
involvement.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 4
Please pray for the Christmas Starts with
Christ campaign that is being launched on
30 November 2014 – the Alliance is one of
16 churches and organisations uniting to
speak out and bring Christ back to the heart
of Christmas.
Please pray for a joint threads and South
Asian Forum event for young adults in their
20s and 30s on 25 November, exploring
issues of identity around being young,
Asian, British and Christian.
Join with us in thanksgiving for all the
Alliance’s supporters and members.
Praise God that He provides for this work
through the generous gifts and prayers of
those in partnership with us.
Would you like to become a supporter?
eauk.org/support
News from the Alliance
CONNECT
New Council members
The Alliance welcomed the following new Council
members during the meeting in September…
Kofi Banful
Brian Harley
Heather Rayner
Senior pastor of the Praise Christian Centre
London with a vision to be ‘witnesses of
Christ to the ends of the earth’.
Chairman of the group for evangelism and
renewal in the United Reform Church.
A chartered accountant who will serve
as a member of the Evangelical Alliance
Finance Committee.
Stephen Cave
A member of the Alliance’s Northern Ireland
executive, Stephen works for Biblica and will
also join the Alliance’s Board.
Ken Clarke
David Hull
Methodist Minister and Chair of Methodist
Evangelicals Together.
Graham Hutchinson
Pastor at York Elim Pentecostal Church and
co-Chair of One Voice York.
A member of the Northern Ireland executive, Kay Morgan-Gurr
Ken is the Honorary Bishop of Down and
National director of Children Worldwide and
Drumore Diocese.
director of Family Foundations Trust.
Paul Coulter
Mike O’Neil
Paul is a member of the Northern Ireland
CEO of Stewardship and former executive
executive and lectures at Belfast Bible
director of Hope for New York.
College.
Margaret Ferguson
Kiera Phyo
Superintendent of East Belfast Mission
in inner East Belfast with a passion for
evangelism, Margaret is also a member of
the Northern Ireland executive.
Leads Tearfund’s youth and emerging
generation team and co-leads Restore
Church in Peckham.
Will your church pray for
the persecuted Church?
This year’s International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted
Church will be held on Sunday, 16 November 2014, and the
Religious Liberty Commission is encouraging churches across
the UK to unite in prayer for persecuted Christians.
The Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) is a commission of
the Evangelical Alliance that brings organisations working on
behalf of persecuted Christians together to speak with one
voice. The current RLC members are Release International,
Open Doors (UK & Ireland) and Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
Each member organisation has its own distinctive mandate,
but all feel the issue of Christian persecution is so important
that they want to speak together regularly to raise awareness
of key developments globally, in a significant and collaborative
way.
Dave Landrum, director of advocacy at the Alliance, said: “We
read in the Bible ‘If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with
it’. Let’s make this a reality on 16 November and join with
Christians across the globe praying for our brothers and sisters
who are persecuted for their faith.”
A range of resources are available to help your church mark
IDOP Sunday. Visit the website for links to the online IDOP
resources produced by RLC members.
eauk.org/rlc
Caroline Taylor
Serving as a member of the Evangelical
Alliance Finance Committee, Caroline has
received the Financial Leadership Award
for raising the awareness of finance at
Toybox.
Ruth Walker
A member of the Alliance’s Scotland
executive, Ruth runs consultancy
Turquoise Insight, specialising in business
strategy and mentoring.
Richard Webb
Chair of the board of directors for the East
Midlands Baptist Association.
Noel Wright
Assistant Territorial Evangelism Secretary
of The Salvation Army.
Tell us
your stories
You’ll hopefully have received our latest appeal in which
we also encouraged you, our members, to tell us how your
churches are being good news in your communities. Here are
just a couple of the great stories we got back:
We are a small, elderly congregation of 30, but we are trying to
reach out to the local community. There are blocks of retirement
flats opposite the church. We have a weekly 20 minute café-style
“shoppers” service. We have a monthly community lunch. We
hold a bi-monthly Sunday café-style service with special guest
speakers/musicians. We believe that folk coming to the end of
their earthly life need to know Jesus and then experience His love
as much as those who are younger.
Miss CP Wilson
My church, Christ Church, Wharton, Winsford, serves our
community with a Christians Against Poverty (CAP) centre, CAP
money courses, a foodbank, mother and toddler group and
pre-school group. We have a children and families minister who
works with children in the church, the local schools and church
clubs.
Mr and Mrs Walker
eauk.org/autumnappeal2014
IDEA MAGAZINE / 5
GLOBAL
United mission to reach prisoners
worldwide with the gospel
Two Christian
organisations are joining
together to reach a
million prisoners around
the world with the good
news of Jesus Christ.
Alliance member Christianity Explored
Ministries (CEM) have announced a
major new link-up with Prison Fellowship
International (PFI).
The new initiative will see the Christianity
Explored course form a key part of PFI’s
strategy of taking the gospel to prisoners
throughout the world.
Founded in 1979, PFI has a network of
45,000 volunteers and currently undertakes
monthly prison ministry with two million
inmates in 3,700 prisons in 127 countries.
There are an estimated 10 million inmates
in 22,000 jails across the world. The Prisoners
Journey, PFI’s new, three-strand evangelism
programme (of which Christianity Explored
is the core part) aims to reach one million of
these prisoners with the gospel by 2020.
Two pilot projects have just been launched
in Nigeria and South Africa. A total of 250
volunteers and chaplains were trained in
two Nigerian locations, Abuja and Lagos, on
how to run the course. Those who attended
the training were very positive and realised
the impact will be felt outside of the prison,
as well as within. One minister enthused
about the materials: “This programme is
not just about the inmates. I have seen that
some of the things we learnt we could use in
our other church programmes and activities.”
Another 60 volunteers and chaplains
completed the leaders’ training in South
Africa. One participant said afterwards: “It’s
very difficult to put into words what the
course meant for me personally. I come from
a family who went to church twice a year,
made me do confirmation (because it’s the
right thing to do) and that’s it. We never
‘lived’ Christianity.
“So I have longed for a closer relationship
with God for as long as I can remember
but never quite fitted in with the wellspoken people of the church - they always
know how to pray, what to say at the right
IDEA MAGAZINE / 6
time, seem to have all the answers - and
I had nothing. The (Christianity Explored)
material we received has been teaching me
a lot, and I’m so grateful for it.”
The Starting Out phase of The Prisoners
Journey encourages participants to embark
on a journey with Jesus Christ, emphasising
that he, too, experienced much of what
they feel now, including fear, loneliness,
alienation and abandonment.
Prisoners wanting to learn more are invited
to join the second phase of the programme,
Exploring Jesus, where they go through the
Christianity Explored materials in a group
setting. This second phase is an eight-week
course that simply lets the gospel of Mark tell
the gospel of Jesus. It focuses on who Christ
is (his identity), what he came to do (his
mission) and our response to him (his call).
The final phase, Overcoming Obstacles,
seeks to engage prisoners with a real,
personal relationship with Christ within the
context of the Church.
It is estimated that 9,000 prisoners will
attend a welcome event for The Prisoners
Journey in Nigeria and South Africa in the
coming weeks and months. PFI anticipates
that 3,000 of these will go on to complete
the course in 15 prisons by the end of the
year. Plans are well underway for another 15
countries to join the programme in 2015.
Ian Roberts, chief executive of CEM, said:
“We’ve been thrilled how the Prisons Edition
of Christianity Explored has already been
embraced by chaplains and volunteers
in the United Kingdom and beyond. We
There are an estimated
10 million inmates in
22,000 jails across the
world.
are even more delighted now to have this
opportunity of partnering with PFI, an
organisation whose scope of ministry in
prisons and heart to share the gospel is
unparalleled.
“We trust the enthusiasm that The Prisoners
Journey training has been received will
multiply and lead to prisoners all over the
world exploring Mark’s gospel and finding
true freedom and salvation in Jesus Christ.”
Timothy Khoo, president and CEO of PFI,
says the bold scope of The Prisoners Journey
programme comes in direct response to the
overwhelming needs observed through the
work of the organisation and their national
affiliates. He said: “The immensity of the task
in reaching one million prisoners by the year
2020 with the life-transforming gospel of
Jesus Christ, cannot be achieved by Prison
Fellowship International alone.
“Through the generosity of Christianity
Explored, this goal becomes eminently
achievable because it exemplifies the best
of partnership in Christian ministry. God
is honoured and blesses unity like this.”
NEWS
Krish Kandiah
leaves the
Alliance
Dr Krish Kandiah left the Alliance this
autumn to become the new president of
the London School of Theology (LST).
Krish became the latest in a number of distinguished Christian
leaders to take up the post: most recently former Archbishop of
Canterbury Lord Carey. While previously the president role was
largely outward-facing, Krish will additionally be responsible for the
overall academic and spiritual leadership of LST. As president, Krish
will play an active role in the day-to-day life at LST, as a member
of the teaching staff and as a key member of the senior leadership
team, working alongside LST’s executive director Laura Nairn, who
is responsible for the overall management of the college. A key
objective will be to promote the value of theological education
across the wider evangelical world.
Krish joins LST from the Evangelical Alliance where he has served
since 2007. He has been involved in championing some of the
Alliance’s most high profile initiatives including Biblefresh,
Confidence in the Gospel and Home for Good.
Although Krish is leaving the Alliance, he remains director and
founder of the newly independent adoption fostering charity Home
for Good.
Krish said: “I count it an incredible privilege to join the team at
LST, a college which has helped shape so much of the evangelical
landscape in the UK and beyond. As I travel I have found a genuine
hunger for theology across the world as Christians want to go
beyond simplistic answers and superficiality and instead get to
know the glory and majesty of God. With huge advances in digital
technology I am excited to be leading a theological college that
brings world-class scholarship and a passion for innovation.”
Grant Masom, chair of the LST Board, welcomed the appointment:
“This is an important step forward for the London School of
Krish Kandiah
Theology. As the leading and largest interdenominational
evangelical theological college in Europe, LST is at the forefront of
delivering transforming theological education. Krish brings a wealth
of experience, a fresh outlook and incredible energy, which we are
sure will benefit LST students, staff and faculty, and through them
the wider Christian world.”
Christians want to go beyond
simplistic answers and
superficiality and instead
get to know the glory and
majesty of God.
Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance, said:
“We are delighted for Krish and excited for him as he takes up this
fantastic position at one of our member organisations. Strong links
already exist between LST and the Alliance, with myself and my two
predecessors Joel Edwards and Clive Calver having been trained
there. This is not goodbye. In fact, we look forward to forging even
closer relationships in the coming years.”
IDEA MAGAZINE / 7
60 SECONDS WITH…
Cupcakes and chemistry: the schoolgirl
who’s cooking up a bright future
Martha Collison was one
of the stars of this year’s
Great British Bake Off.
During the show Danny
Webster caught up with
her to find out about the
experience and the impact
it had on her.
idea: What’s it been like taking part on the
Bake Off?
I didn’t tell my parents until I’d submitted the
application form because I never thought
I’d get onto the programme – it was all a bit
scary. The best part of it had to be meeting
the other 12 bakers. You get really close
and it becomes like a family. The hardest
part has definitely been trying to juggle
practising with my exams. At the beginning I
was practising quite a lot, because you don’t
want to be rubbish on the telly! It was just
crazy trying to balance it, I don’t really know
how I did it because it was really difficult to
find time to practise and to revise, to be at
school and on the show.
What goes through your head
when you’re told to make a Swedish
Princess cake?
My first reaction to the Swedish Princess
Cake was that two hours is really not a very
long time to make any cake, let alone one
that has 14 steps. But I did like the technical
a lot more than the others did because
nobody could practice and do it beforehand,
so everyone was in the same boat.
What experience did you have of baking
before the show?
The first thing I baked was with my mum.
We had a kids’ cookbook and we would
work through it and make simple things
like tomato pasta, rock cakes and pancakes.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 8
I love doing it to relax. When I was 16 I did
a wedding cake. That was quite nervewracking and I’m very thankful to the lovely
couple that allowed me to do that – not
many couples would be relaxed enough to
let a 16-year-old bake their wedding cake.
Did your faith help you to cope with the
stress of the competition?
It was really tricky to manage, but to have
a quiet time when you’re reading the Bible
and praying takes your mind off it and
helps you to be a bit at ease. In between
two weeks (of filming) I went to the Big
Church Day Out to volunteer for a weekend
while the others were practising their
socks off. Because it’s a big competition
you want to do well, but I was at a festival
with my friends volunteering, so (the other
contestants) asked a few questions about
that and my faith. But mostly we just talked
about baking.
Tell me about what you’re getting up to
with Tearfund and their No Child Taken
Campaign?
It’s very exciting; at the same time as I was
getting involved in baking on the telly, the
Having my faith in God
definitely helped out
with the stress because
there was so much on
my plate to juggle:
being at school, being
picked for head girl,
doing Bake Off and
going to church.
Tearfund Big Bake was also planned. I’ve
always had a passion to stop child trafficking
because it’s something that makes me really
upset. For the campaign to involve baking
and my most hated thing in the world, at the
time I had a voice to say these things, felt
like such a God coincidence. I decided to get
involved as soon as I could. I phoned up and
I’ve done a couple of videos for them.
What difference has being on the Bake Off
made to your life?
I never thought that I would have my picture
taken by people or autographs and stuff, but
it happens all the time now. It’s so funny, I’m
still me – just a normal 17-year-old. I went
shopping yesterday and I think five people
stopped me and took pictures. It’s really
strange. Being on the Bake Off has made me
grow up. I’ve been put into the adult world
of TV and radio and having to speak in front
of people. I’d love to go into baking in the
future and I feel so lucky and blessed to
have been given such a massive opportunity
when I’m so young. I haven’t done university
yet, so I’ve still got all these things to come.
Every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world, a
child is trafficked. Tearfund is calling for people
to help end this shocking reality by supporting
the charity’s No Child Taken campaign. Visit
tearfund.org/nochildtaken for more
information.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 9
NORTHERN IRELAND
eauk.org/northernireland
An issue of morality or social justice?
by David Smyth, public policy officer, Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland
“Does the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland only speak out on
‘moral issues’ or do you work on issues of social justice too?”
This was the question posed to me recently in a room full of
Christians. It’s not the first time this sentiment has been implied
in conversations, by both Christians and non-Christians alike. The
inference is that we – evangelical Christians – speak loudly on
certain issues, while remaining silent on others. In one sense, it was a
welcome and timely question.
I understand the genuine concerns that lead to it being asked. There
is a very real fear that Christians are becoming known not by their
love or proclamation of good news, but by what they stand against.
This is particularly true in Northern Ireland, which is often depicted
in the media as a backward and regressive place because of Christian
views on certain issues, like abortion and same-sex marriage.
I accept the fact that evangelicals are heard to speak and act on
certain issues more than others. There are many reasons for this, not
least a dramatic shifting landscape of values. Added to this is a wider
Western caricature of evangelicals in the media where ‘Christian
views’ are only sought or considered newsworthy in particular
stories.
I also think Christians are heard most clearly on the issues where
we are saying something very different to the culture around
us. We believe human life was created in the image of God and
is not a cosmic accident to be ended at our convenience. We
believe in radically different boundaries when it comes to sex and
relationships. We talk of moral responsibility to a culture obsessed
with autonomy. We put our faith in the supernatural in an age of
rationality. Much is lost in translation in the conversation between
those of us seeking to live faithful, God-truth in a rapidly changing
culture. We see the world through a different lens and these conflicts
are often interpreted as the Church moralising into a ‘secular’ public
square.
There are certainly other areas we seek to speak into more often:
“The cars in the car park are shiny and German,
Distinctly at odds with the theme of the sermon.”
(The Divine Comedy - the eye of the needle)
To echo Neil Hannon’s perceptive song-writing abilities, we’re in
the middle of a piece of work designed to challenge a culture
of consumerism and we’re encouraging Christians to a deeper
theological engagement on creation care. For the last few years
we have also been engaged in many low-key meetings with both
politicians and the Church about the conflation of the evangelical
faith with political power. Christians must not be afraid to speak –
even when we reveal ourselves to be weak, broken or hypocritical.
We speak humbly, challenging ourselves alongside others,
remembering that Jesus reserved his most stinging words for
religious hypocrites.
This all said on the merits of the question, let me also humbly
challenge the premise behind it.
I’m not convinced of the dichotomy between ‘moral issues’ on the
one hand and ‘social justice issues’ on the other. Take abortion for
instance. This might be labelled an issue of private morality for
each individual to decide under God where the lines lie between
personal freedom and responsibility, between life and death. This
is certainly part of the story. However, given that in England and
IDEA MAGAZINE / 10
Wales, for every four children born one has been aborted, and that
seven million abortions (the population of Scotland and Northern
Ireland combined) have occurred since the 1967 Act, it could surely
also be labelled a social justice issue. Advocating for the weak, the
vulnerable – those without much status or protection. Is this not the
heart of social justice?
Advocating for the rights of some minorities is currently at the
cutting edge of equality and social justice. Advocating for the
protection of other minorities is labelled as an issue of personal
morality. Advocating for the family is broadly considered a morality
issue, whereas advocating for the community as social justice. This
is strange, given that family is the fundamental building block of
society. We need to be aware of the wider forces at play that label
causes and drive agendas.
You don’t hear many people saying: “I’m personally against human
trafficking but wouldn’t force my views on others.” Yet we hear this
reasoning around many other issues where fundamental dignity,
freedom and human relationships are being degraded. Is it merely a
linguistic fallacy that some issues are tagged ‘personal morality’ and
others are ‘social justice’? Is it connected to the fact that social justice,
whatever that means exactly, is culturally on trend while public
morality is a post-modern pariah?
I haven’t room to mention our policy work on adoption and
fostering, well-being, human trafficking and poverty issues. Nor
have I elaborated on the amazing work of our member churches
and organisations, helping people out of debt or campaigning on
issues of international development. We continue our work of unity,
advocacy and seeking to change the narrative of the evangelical
community in Northern Ireland. In all of this we ask for your
continued prayers and support as we look to the Lord of all morality
and justice. We are happy to continue the conversation on Twitter, at
@EANI.
SCOTLAND
eauk.org/scotland
Wanted:
Peacemakers for
reconciliation work
by Gordon Kennedy
Now the vote has been taken place,
the Church in Scotland is helping
to unite people. The Evangelical
Alliance longs to see communities of
reconciliation and hope throughout
Scotland. Two thousand copies of our
document What kind of Nation? were
requested by Christians throughout
the nation. At its heart, the document
is a call to work for a society of hope
and justice. As Scotland moves
forward, for the Alliance the key is
reconciliation. Can the Church become
peacemakers across our nation?
The risk of love is a broken heart and the price of reconciliation is
hard work. Having been made in the image of God, men and women
are creatures who love. But that image is marred by the stain of
our sin, and so we find love difficult. Often, our relationships get
broken and our love for one another falters. Relationships aren’t like
a laptop or a washing machine: if one of these breaks down you
can just replace it. But relationships are important and shouldn’t be
disposable. When they are broken or fractured we need to seek to
restore them – that’s what reconciliation is all about.
Often our relationships are put under strain by an honest
disagreement: shall we vote Yes or No? What hymn book shall
we use, if any? Will we use our congregational finances to fund a
building project or a relief and development mission? We may all
agree that we are allowed to disagree, but too often we find that
our relationships cool and our love fails after we have disagreed. We
need to grow in the work of reconciliation.
We read in scripture that “perfect love drives out fear” (1 John
4:18) and experience teaches us that fear damages love. Fear is a
significant element in our broken relationships and overcoming it
is the first step to living in reconciliation. But we are too afraid of
being wrong as it makes us look foolish and unimportant. And so
when someone disagrees with us we react defensively and often
aggressively. We are afraid of failure and this fear holds us back from
risky choices. We hate to admit this, though, even to ourselves. We
are afraid of so many things, but freedom from this fear brings peace.
As Christians we know that God has been at work in Christ,
reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). The Lord has
died for us so that we might know the fullness of his generous love.
We need to put what we believe about the cross into action. It is
there that our broken relationship with God is fully restored. We have
been wrong, but now are made right with God. We do not fear any
judgment of condemnation, rejection or the emptiness of an eternity
separated from our God because we have been set free.
So if we disagree with someone on some issue of debate and it
turns out we are wrong, why should we be afraid? Christ has died for
us and still loves us. If we take a risk and it fails, why should we be
afraid? There is nothing we can do to make God love us less. We have
been made right with God through the death of Christ, so we are
brought into a right relationship with God and can therefore live in a
right relationship with one another.
Those who God has made peace with are empowered to make
peace. Each one who is reconciled to God is commissioned as
His agent of reconciliation. God has reconciled Himself to the
world through the sacrifice of Christ. We must serve the cause of
reconciliation by sacrificial living.
The work of reconciliation is urgent. We see the need for
reconciliation in every situation around us: in nations torn apart by
violent conflict, in communities and families divided over political
futures, in congregations weakened by bitter disputes and long
held resentments. The work of reconciliation is God’s gift to us as
He reconciles us to Himself in Christ. The people of God working as
agents of reconciliation and peace are God’s gift to a world of broken
relationships.
The next time you find yourself praying for God to bless you,
remember the Lord Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers (the
agents of reconciliation) for they shall be called the sons of God”
(Matthew 5:9).
The Rev Gordon Kennedy, chair of the Evangelical Alliance board
in Scotland, is writing a booklet on reconciliation for Christians in
Scotland.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 11
WALES eauk.org/wales
Star-spangled mission in Wales
by Gethin Russell-Jones, Evangelical Alliance Wales
MLW Bridgend Mission - Taste of the Louisiana
Evangelical Alliance Wales is involved in many collaborations: Gweini, CICC (Cymru
Institute for Contemporary Christianity), Media Voice Wales and The Net, for
example. Through these, Christians from various streams and denominations are
working together. But there’s a new kid on block with an American accent.
As its name suggests, Mission Links connects churches in the
United States with Wales. These are not occasional, one-off
relationships, but a reflection of a long-term commitment on both
sides of the Atlantic.
Mission Links - Wales (MLW) initiates, develops and supports longterm partnership collaborations between Welsh churches and
those oversees, especially churches in the US. Churches that feel
called by God to play a part in the spiritual transformation of the
whole of Wales get involved. As an initiative of Evangelical Alliance
Wales, MLW hopes to promote multi-access and multi-ministry
partnerships in all 22 counties of the country. Currently, short
mission trips for all ages are being promoted, as well as medium
and longer term internships for young people. Opportunities for the
over-50s age group to serve are also on offer. These creative ministry
opportunities exist in education, business, the charity sector, sport
and music.
MLW is directed by Rev Rob Burns, who has served in the US for
11 years and worked with US churches for 25 years. But for the last
15 years, Rob has lived and served in Wales, giving him the perfect
position for this role. He is directly accountable to Rev Elfed Godding,
national director of Evangelical Alliance in Wales. Rev Rob Jones and
Rev Nigel James also act as ambassadors for MLW.
Rob Burns said: “Many other opportunities will exist in the future. Our
prayer is that the resulting unity developed among the partnering
churches in each county will foster even more mission, evangelism,
social action, worship, fellowship, emerging missional communities
and therefore, huge kingdom impact!”
This summer saw three mission link collaborations take place in
South Wales. The first was in Bridgend, where 38 members of First
West, the First Baptist Church, West Munroe, joined with more than
200 local Christians in sharing the gospel. In schools, care homes
and community events, the gospel was communicated to more
than 12,000 residents. One event alone at Bridgend Leisure Centre
IDEA MAGAZINE / 12
attracted 550 people. A few of the American party were highly
accomplished musicians and this created quite a stir at a local
hostelry; during an impromptu jamming session at The Bear Hotel
in Cowbridge, a crowd gathered in appreciation of the excellent
musicians on show. Later that night the artists revealed they were
from a church in Louisiana, to the shock of the audience. This was
the sixth year for this transatlantic collaboration and more than 200
people indicated they wanted to know more about following Jesus.
For a second consecutive year, ACTS (A Church for Today’s Society)
church in the Rhondda linked with Wedgwood Baptist, Fort Worth.
The church in Texas brought 25 people on the mission, who served
local schools, homes and the foodbank. One event drew more than
200 visitors.
For the first time, five churches in the vale of Glamorgan joined
Mission Links. The churches were joined by seven visitors from North
Fort Worth Church. One day-long community event drew in 1,000
visitors and the week-long mission was very busy, too. Youth work,
children’s clubs, business meetings and worship events were all
well attended.
Reflecting on the summer’s events, Mission Links coordinator Rob
Burns said: “These are long-term relationships between Welsh and
American churches. They are mutually beneficial and require great
commitment on all sides. And there’s no one-size-fits-all situation.
American gifts and Welsh needs are matched so that ministry can
multiply and greater numbers are exposed to the good news that
God loves them.”
Elfed Godding, national director of the Evangelical Alliance in Wales,
said: “Wales is a small nation, but we have demonstrated time and
time again that working collaboratively brings huge benefits. As
resources, gifts and people are mobilised around a common cause,
local churches are in a greater position to share the gospel and make
mission a year-round habit – not simply a summer fling.”
NEWS
Home for Good celebrates
independence
by Amaris Cole
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson
expressed his support for Home for Good
as the campaign formed an independent
charity this September, urging more families
to consider giving children in care the “start
in life they deserve”.
The Alliance’s church-based adoption and
fostering campaign has now launched out to
become a full charity committed to rescuing
the 6,000 children waiting for adoption and
more than 9,000 in care.
Exactly 75 years after the government
activated Operation Pied Piper to whisk
children out of harm’s way as World War Two
loomed, Home for Good are dedicated to
solving a new crisis, as more children than
ever before are taken into care.
Today, one child is taken into care every 20
minutes.
Mayor Boris Johnson said the 75th
anniversary of the Operation is an
opportunity to remember the kindness
of those who willingly provided safety for
young Londoners.
The mayor added: “It should also remind
us that thousands of youngsters today, in
the capital and across the country, are also
in need of a loving home and I urge more
people to consider fostering and adoption
to help them get the start in life they
deserve.”
Since launching, Home for Good has reached
more than 250,000 Christians, with 200
churches taking part in the first Adoption
Sunday.
General director of the Alliance, Steve
Clifford, says Home for Good goes with the
prayers and blessings of the entire Alliance
family: “In the same way that Tearfund was
incubated and birthed out of the Evangelical
Alliance nearly 50 years ago, so it is a delight
and privilege to now be releasing Home for
Good as an independent charity. The impact
of the Home for Good campaign over the
last two years has been extraordinary.”
While recognising the enormous challenge
of finding homes for thousands of children
in need, he said the Church in the UK is
already responding.
Dr Krish Kandiah, former executive director
of churches in mission at the Alliance, said:
“With more children than ever coming
into the care system in the UK we took
the decision that Home for Good needs to
become its own charity to make sure every
child that needs a forever family finds one.
“We believe the Church is uniquely placed to
help find thousands of children the homes
they need; indeed it is a vital part of every
Christian’s calling to play their part in caring
for the vulnerable.”
homeforgood.org.uk
IDEA MAGAZINE / 13
F
TURE
Churches
unite to
promote
Christmas
More churches than ever before are
backing this year’s Christmas Starts with
Christ campaign – a coalition of church
and denominational groups who unite to
produce an annual advertising campaign to
highlight the real reason for the season.
Organisers, including the Alliance, feel this
year’s campaign – through the backing
of the Church – will help make inroads
into stemming the tide of a lack of public
awareness of the reason for the yuletide
festivities.
A ComRes survey analysing the success of
last year’s campaign shows an increasing
awareness of Christmas Starts with Christ
among the general public.
The Network is hoping to double the
number of churches involved this year –
from 4,500 last year to 10,000 this year,
in order to increase the effectiveness and
remind more people of the Christmas story.
“When we started this campaign we were
worried because 51 per cent of adults
thought that the birth of Christ had no
relevance to Christmas, but research has
shown that we are reversing this, especially
among the 18 to 24-year-olds. In this group
four out of 10 now understand more about
the true meaning of Christmas,” said Francis
Goodwin of Church Ads.
Last year – the fifth anniversary of the
campaign – saw it become a multi-platform
campaign, adding a significant increase in
its digital and social media presence to the
traditional poster and radio advertising.
As a result, it reached five million listeners
on the Vodafone Top 20 network chart
and XFM. And 1,000 people used the
#ChristmasStarts hashtag, reaching just
over 1.3 million people.
There were 22,000 downloads of
posters, 9,000 downloads of the radio
advertisements and 140,000 page views of
the website.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 14
ComRes says that 67 per cent of people
thought that the Christmas message was
conveyed effectively and 49 per cent of
people felt that the advertising made them
think more about the true meaning of
Christmas.
ChurchAds.Net was formally set up in 1992
after it ran an experimental Christmas
advertising campaign in Oxford in 1991. It
has since run many high-profile campaigns
around Easter and Christmas.
The 2009 Christmas campaign, which was
the first to run under the Christmas Starts
with Christ theme, was intended to last
for five years but so successful is it that it
continues into its sixth year, this year.
Francis urged Christian organisations and
churches to make use of the resources
provided free of charge to show people that
the Church is united in putting Christ back at
the heart of the season.
Free resources for your church
All of the posters and radio advertisements are provided free of cost for download
and use through the website christmasstartswithchrist.com for churches, church
groups, Christian organisations, radio stations, newspapers and anyone who needs
material to promote the true meaning of Christmas. Posters are available for bus
stops while a range of other customisable posters are available for co-branding for
local use.
christmasstartswithchrist.com
IDEA MAGAZINE / 15
ON THE JOB
Would you dine in the
“I know that God values people above all
else, which is an inexpressible comfort to
me.” Amaris Cole meets Darren Paskell,
the blind waiter who refuses to be held
back by disability.
dark?
But have there been any accidents? “I once completely soaked a
gentleman’s suit as I went to clear away his dish as I failed to notice
the full glass of water he’d placed right in the middle of his otherwise
empty plate. However, I have now served more than 2,250 guests,
so the chances of any of my future customers being soaked by me
should be relatively slim,” he promises.
Darren Paskell is registered blind. He can just about see enough to
detect sunshine, but no more than that. He doesn’t let that hold him
back though. He thinks nothing of “traversing London’s transport
infrastructure”, saying his blindness generally has more of an impact
on the strategy employed toward completing an activity rather than
the initial activity choice itself.
Working is an enjoyable piece of stability in Darren’s life. He works
part-time at the famous Dans le Noir (in the dark) restaurant in
Farringdon, London. He explains the concept: “Our customers are
treated to a complete dining-in-the-dark experience and are served
by blind waiters, though our chefs and bar staff have plenty of light
to assist them.”
The restaurant believes dining in total darkness creates a sensory
experience, helping visitors to re-evaluate the perception of taste
and smell. Darkness also kills shyness, its founders say, encouraging
social conviviality.
Most customers are understandably nervous to begin with. “It’s
quite disorientating to find yourself in a room with no idea of your
surroundings and many of our dinner guests have never been
physically guided anywhere by someone else before,” Darren says.
“However, the vast majority take it in their stride. Many tell me how
liberating they find the experience of just being able to talk and eat
with their friends without worrying about how they look or appear
to others.” Eating with cutlery proves difficult for some, but very few
will give up eating altogether, Darren tells me. “A waiter is always just
a call away.”
IDEA MAGAZINE / 16
For Darren, faith gives him a chance to accept many of the
challenges he faces. “Somehow, anything may seem a little less
daunting when we find ourselves facing our future with company.
It’s quite disorientating to find
yourself in a room with no idea of
your surroundings and many of
our dinner guests have never been
physically guided anywhere by
someone else before
“I can’t say that my faith has proved to be an intrinsic instant answer
for everything. What I can say is that I honestly don’t know how I
would have remained where I am without God’s support. Any man
(never mind deity) who chooses to listen to my regular ranting
frankly deserves my respect,” he said.
Being brought up a Catholic, Darren has always been aware of
Christianity, but began tentatively seeking faith during sixth form.
It took a chance encounter with three students on a train station
platform to finally demonstrate how eagerly Christ was seeking him.
“Being only two months into my first year at Royal Holloway
University, I was still learning my way around. One early Saturday
morning in November, I found myself alone with three people at
Egham train station,” he said.
“When the train pulled in, my three fellow passengers kindly offered
to guide me on board. We got chatting and discovered we were all
heading to Brighton; a 90-minute journey with plenty of time for
conversation. When I heard that they’d just spent the night taking
part in a 24-7 Prayer night, I was intrigued. I asked them about their
church, and they told me about The Journey Church and invited me
along. This was back in 2007 and I’ve been there ever since.”
As part of River Church, an Alliance member, The Journey will shortly
be celebrating their 10th birthday, and have recently become
responsible for a community centre facility at the heart of Englefield
Green, offering after school clubs, regular drop-in sessions and
access to citizens advice services such as debt counselling.
And what are Darren’s dreams for the future? “To be working fulltime, maybe with a new family, but hopefully a little wiser having
eagerly embraced more of life’s surprises.”
Dans le Noir Restaurant
IDEA MAGAZINE / 17
F
TURE
Celebrating
150 years
of mission
in Asia
In 2015, OMF International celebrates the 150-year
anniversary of Hudson Taylor founding the mission
in Asia. Evolving from the China Inland Mission, OMF
continues to work throughout East Asia, supported
by its 1,400 members from 40 nations. The charity are
set to spend the new year remembering the past and
thanking God for his faithfulness, while also thinking
about what God has in store for the future. Amaris
Cole catches up with Rose Dowsett, who has worked
with both OMF and Evangelical Alliance, to discuss
the history of OMF and the strands that hold its past,
present and future together.
Taylor was hugely concerned with inland
China where, as far as anybody knew, there
were millions of people who hadn’t heard
the good news.
Hudson Taylor
Rose Dowsett
Hudson Taylor’s story is a rich and inspiring
one. From childhood, he was fascinated
by China. At 21 he travelled to China with
the Chinese Evangelisation Society (CES) to
correct the fact that few Chinese people had
heard the gospel. At that time, foreigners
were only allowed in the treaty ports, but
IDEA MAGAZINE / 18
Back in England a few years later, Taylor
became convinced that it was not simply a
question of whether we have faith in God,
but that we trust God who is faithful. “God
wanted China to hear the gospel. Taylor
became so burned about this that he and
his wife Maria decided to trust God for a new
enterprise that would focus on inland China,”
Rose said, explaining the start of the China
Inland Mission (CIM).
This new charity was unique, Rose says.
Firstly, it was interdenominational. Taylor
cared more that people were passionate
for the Lord and for the gospel than
An OMF mission today
their churchmanship. Similarly, he was
not concerned with advanced academic
qualifications, despite the existing mission
societies almost exclusively using ordained
missionaries. Taylor was happy to include
people from all walks of life. “He cared much
more about the spiritual calibre of men and
women. He insisted that women were to
be missionaries in their own right. That was
revolutionary.”
Cultural sensitivity was also key: all workers
learnt and used Chinese, were respectful
of Chinese customs – where they did not
conflict with Christian principles – and
were even asked to wear Chinese costume.
The men grew pigtails. Rose said: “He
wanted to reduce any unnecessary barriers
F
TURE
crucial decisions are made in Asia.
The headquarters are close to the place of
action. “We are not controlled by people
thousands of miles away who may not know
what’s best for those on the ground.”
Today, there are millions of indigenous
Christians. Does this mean OMF’s task is
finished? “We hear about the huge number
of Christians in China, but when you set
that against the numbers of the population,
there is still a long way to go. There are
still many communities without access to
the gospel.” In areas with a strong Muslim
majority, or very strong Buddhist control,
there are millions of people who have
never heard the name of Christ. So OMF is
still pioneering, working with the national
Church. In Japan, often the national leaders
will tell the charity when and where they
need missionary input. Interestingly enough,
they sometimes say that it is easier for
foreigners to pioneer in new areas than for
Japanese Christians.”
between the missionaries and locals. He was
culturally sensitive both in terms of cultural
adaptation by missionaries, and also the
desire that indigenous groups of believers
should, as soon as possible, be responsible
for themselves and take responsibility for
reaching their own communities.”
Chinese Christians being independent of
foreign missionaries was central to the
Church surviving when CIM were forced
to leave after the Communists came to
power, Rose believes. Indigenous leaders
were built up. The famous Chinese church
leaders Watchman Nee and Wang Ming-Dao
were inspired by CIM missionaries, but CIM
did not want to control them. This is why
they went on to develop their very own
ministries, Rose explained.
But what about the mission today? “Our
primary concern is still the character, faith
and commitment of candidates. It’s about
what God can do, we can’t bring anybody
to new life – God alone can do that – but
at the same time, God expects his people
to be the mouthpiece of the gospel and to
demonstrate the gospel in the way we live.”
“We try to live close to the levels of those we
work amongst. For example, those who work
in slums of Manila spend much of their time
living in slums rather than moving in and
out,” Rose commented on the continuing
need for cultural sensitivity.
One of the things that was interesting about
CIM and is still true of OMF today is that
So how should the UK Church react to the
changing scene in Asia? Rose said: “I would
love to see many more people here in the UK
concerned for Asia, certainly at the level of
prayer. We have a huge Asian diaspora in the
UK and many people need to be involved
in befriending and discipling East Asians
here. If you want help with how to do that
effectively, groups like Friends International
and OMF can help train you in a way that is
most effective.”
There are still invitations coming from East
Asia, in consultation with national churches,
and OMF are answering them. The charity
say the UK needs to ask: “How can we best
serve you?”
“It means those who go must be those
who are prepared to work with and under
national leadership,” Rose reflects. “It is: ‘How,
together, can we build the Kingdom of God
and further the gospel of God?’”
IDEA MAGAZINE / 19
F
TURE
Billy Graham and
the letter that
saved 38,000 lives
Billy Graham’s legendary mission took place more than half a century ago, but today
it still boasts the title of being the largest Christian event in the UK. Ever. And it was
triggered by one seemingly insignificant letter to the Evangelical Alliance. As the
60th anniversary of the Greater London Crusade is celebrated this year, Amaris Cole
looks back at how it began.
The Harringay Crusade saw 38,000 people
give their lives to God. Nearly two million
people attended the 12-week crusade,
which spanned from 1 March to 22 May
1954. This was the closest Britain came to
revival in the 21st century, but this mighty
mission had humble beginnings.
More than 38,000 registered a
decision to convert – the number of
people who live in the Lake District.
An estimated 50,000 people
attended Hyde Park on Good
Friday to hear Billy Graham preach
– the number who watched One
Direction at Man City’s stadium.
Grand total of attendance for the
Crusade 1,047,300 – more than four
times the population of Liverpool.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 20
“In the middle of September 1951 a letter
from Philadelphia, reached the secretary of
the Evangelistic Alliance in London. It was
from the Rev Ralph W Mitchell, secretary
for evangelism of the Pocket Testament
League. There was nothing particularly
significant about the letter apart from one
sentence; and that sentence simply offered a
suggestion. It was to the effect that a young
American evangelist, by the name of Billy
Graham, might be invited to Britain for an
evangelistic crusade in the not too distant
future,” wrote Frank Colquhoun in The
Official Record of the Billy Graham Greater
London Crusade 1954.
Graham was already known in the UK.
From 1944, he was involved in a host of
evangelistic Youth For Christ meetings
across Britain, though not everyone
approved. “Stanley Barker, for example,
the evangelistically minded minister
of Bordesley Green Baptist Church in
Birmingham, was unconvinced that the
way to reach 95 per cent of people in
Birmingham who allegedly did not attend
church was through ‘surplus saints’, as he
labelled them, from America.”* This changed
when the pair met, though. In fact, the
former sceptic was so convinced of Graham’s
ability to evangelise that he “engaged in
frantic telephoning of his contacts”, urging
each of them to attend the youth meetings
in the area, seeing attendance rise to 2,500.
This was the power of Graham: his charisma
and love of God won over even the strongest
cynic. This set the stage for the possibility
of a crusade – an idea that was germinating
with church leaders both here and across
the pond.
The Festival of Britain came next. The
hunger for evangelism intensified and
public meetings were held during the 1951
festival to move plans ahead for a major
evangelical ‘Exhibition’, which would serve as
a warm-up for the Crusade. The Alliance was
pivotal to this. Executive officer Roy Cattell
brought together a group of 160 evangelical
organisations to get behind the exhibition.
They agreed the slogan should be ‘For
Such a Time as This’. It was said to show
evangelical unity and strength of character
“on a scale never before seen”. The Alliance
knew it could do still more, and planned to
organise a mission “of still greater service to
the evangelical world”. But how?
Then the letter arrived. Graham was secured
as America’s foremost evangelist, having
converted top celebrities in the US, such as
Louis Zamperini, an Olympic track star and
Stuart Hamblen, a popular cowboy singer.
So in 1952, John Cordle and Roy Cattell went
to the United States to, as Graham himself
put it, “try to talk me into accepting their
invitation to hold a Crusade”. He added:
“They impressed me with their burden
for England; they expressed themselves
eloquently about the social and spiritual
problems there since the war.”
Signalling his willingness to carry out the
Crusade, the stage was set. Committees and
subcommittees were established in June
1953 by the Alliance to organise different
elements of the crusade, including prayer,
literature, publicity, counselling and perhaps
most importantly, evangelism – no detail
was missed.
Evangelical Christendom, the Alliance’s
publication at the time, said that “statistics
alone are a very poor medium for conveying
the wonderful story of the Greater London
F
TURE
Crusade”. But the figures truly are staggering. During the course of
the Crusade, 1,756,300 people attended the stadiums to hear Billy
Graham preach. A further 116,500 attended additional meetings and
services conducted by Mr Graham, and 174,500 were reached by
serves led by his team.
Digging through the archive at the Alliance’s
office today uncovers an account from Evangelical
Christendom in 1954
The Evangelical Alliance was clearly integral to the logistical and
spiritual success of the 12-week tour. The crusade united Christians
in mission from across the country and indeed the world to speak
together in one voice. The crusade spoke confidently and effectively
in voice to a post-war generation who were desperate for the
gospel. Times may have changed, but the work of the Alliance has
not.
*One Body in Christ: The History and Significance of the Evangelical
Alliance by Ian Randall and David Hilborn
IDEA MAGAZINE / 21
BIG INTERVIEW
Grace, forgiveness and
Chine Mbubaegbu meets
Rev Mpho Tutu…
In April 2012, Rev Mpho Tutu returned to her home to find the body
of her domestic worker lying in her daughter’s bedroom. Angela was
40 years old and had been strangled and stabbed to death.
“Ultimately it benefits the
forgiver most. It’s the forgiver
who gets freed to move on
their own journey and to find
themselves.”
How do you ever get over such a sight? And further still, is there any
hope that you might be able to forgive the killer?
It’s forgiveness that punctuates so much of the words, message and
life of Mpho – an Episcopal priest who is the founder and executive
director of the Tutu Institute for Prayer and Pilgrimage.
As Christians we are called to forgive. It’s an act that lies at the heart
of our faith. But as incarnational, fallen humans, it can so often be
one of the hardest things to do. When someone has wronged us,
everything in us wants to cry injustice; to hold the other to account;
to not let people get away with it. But through the Holy Spirit at
work in us, this counter-cultural act can be a beautiful demonstration
of God’s radical grace in our lives.
Forgiveness has become the thing that the Tutu family is known for.
Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu is one of the most
recognisable Christian faces in our world. A man of reconciliation
and peace, he is known for his opposition to apartheid in South
Africa.
And now his daughter Mpho is continuing her father’s work. The
two have recently penned The Book of Forgiving together – offering a
deeply personal guide to the forgiveness process.
I meet Mpho in a nomadic yurt. She emanates grace and serenity,
bringing a sense of calm in the middle of a bustling Greenbelt
Festival in August. Softly spoken, she pauses and thinks deeply
before giving me her answers.
The daughter-and-father-penned book follows Archbishop Tutu’s
previous book No Future Without Forgiveness, in which he details his
upbringing in South Africa and reflects on the part he played as head
of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“My father wrote No Future Without Forgiveness and that really
explained the why of forgiveness – why we need to forgive. And this
new book is the how-to manual. What is the process we engage in in
order to be able to forgive?” Mpho tells me.
“It really is written as a companion to the forgiveness journey. The
journey of forgiveness is a journey of four steps: first you need to tell
the story, then you need to name a hurt, then at that point you can
actually forgive and let go of the injury. Then you decide whether
you want to renew the relationship, to create a new relationship.
You don’t continue the relationship under the same terms. Or you
need to release the relationship – you may need to do this because
a person that harmed you is dead, or because the person is abusive
and is not going to change.”
IDEA MAGAZINE / 22
Greenbelt Festival Official
But is forgiveness more about the forgiver or the person
being forgiven?
Mpho says: “Ultimately it benefits the forgiver most. It’s the forgiver
who gets freed to move in their own journey and to find themselves.”
The world had felt like a particularly dark place in the weeks before
we met. Every day, news headlines brought more doom and gloom
and horrors: the downing of flight MH17, bloody conflict in Gaza and
Israel, and rising tensions in Iraq. Mpho has previously spoken out
about the need to not let evil triumph.
Is there any hope amid this darkness?
“I think that evil is the absence of love – and the best thing to
combat evil is to be the most loving person you can be,” she says.
BIG INTERVIEW
d the Tutu legacy
news. And so our question as Christians must always be – is what I
am doing, is what I am saying, representative of the good news of
Christ?”
With a father like Desmond Tutu, it’s no surprise that Mpho has
turned out to be the person she is. “I think the biggest lesson that
I’ve learnt from my dad is: to love and to pray. Everything else can
get caught up in those two lessons. His presence, the spirit that he
not only carries but shares, is a spirit of love. And it is undergirded by
a practice of prayer.”
Join the forgiveness
challenge
The Tutu Global Forgiveness Challenge will help you
discover how the act of forgiving can bring more love and
peace to your life. When enough of us forgive – we can
change the world!
Sign up, and you’ll receive a daily inspirational email from
the Archbishop and Mpho Tutu, with a link to join their
online forgiveness community. The 30-day Challenge starts
whenever you do.
forgivenesschallenge.com
“And to do the most loving thing you know to do. Injustice is
injustice and it harms people and our planet in so many ways. So
whether it’s war or abuse or racism, it is wrong.
“What gives me hope is people. In any situation of injustice, there
is – if you look – always someone who can see through to where
the love lies, and who can hold onto that vision of where the love
is. I think when I look around the world, I see really that all of the
wrongs of the world are interwoven in a way, and really touch all of
us – because every injustice deprives all of us of the ability to live our
best life.”
But Mpho sometimes despairs about the Church; the Church that is
supposed to bring God’s hope and grace into a broken world. “The
evangel is to share good news to everyone. Jesus came to bring good
Mpho Tutu leading communion at Greenbelt Festival
IDEA MAGAZINE / 23
F
TURE
Sing Silent Night
this Christmas
This Christmas choirs all over the
country will help communities to
remember a remarkable World War 1
event with a special version of Silent
Night, released by HOPE.
much-loved Christmas carol, Silent Night, then they ventured out
across No Man’s Land to exchange gifts – some even played football.
To mark the centenary of the 1914 Christmas Truce, HOPE and
Integrity Music commissioned Ben Cantelon and Nick Herbert to
write a new verse and chorus for Joseph Mohr’s famous carol, Silent
Night, originally written in German as Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht.
But, says Roy Crowne HOPE’s director, there’s still a missing piece:
“Christians aren’t confident in talking about Jesus. It’s great to see so
many churches looking out. But HOPE’s vision is of a Church where
each of us is confident to put our faith into words.”
Their new words point people to Jesus: “Peace and hope have come,
through Jesus Christ, the Son...” And the new version carol has
caught on. Already there’s a Motown version to go out on the new
Motown Gospel Christmas CD. Opera singer Stuart Pendred, guest
soloist at the Salvation Army’s annual carol service, is to sing it at
the Royal Albert Hall event. A TV documentary about the history of
the carol Silent Night, presented by Simon Callow to be broadcast
over Christmas, is to include the new version. All over the country
in schools, sport stadiums, cathedrals and churches, choirs and
congregations will sing Silent Night as part of Silent Night Carols
events.
After a year of being good news, HOPE is challenging the Church
to talk about the good news. “We want to see people becoming
Christians,” Roy says. “HOPE encourages churches to develop a
rhythm of mission, so connections made at summer events lead to
autumn harvest supper invitations and opportunities to find out
more about Jesus.”
The events have the backing of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge,
who is president of the Football Association. He says: “Even in the
bleakest of times, Christmas offers peace and hope. This Christmas,
the Silent Night Carols are a powerful way to remember the sacrifice
made by so many in the Great War and to celebrate the peace we
enjoy.”
The final piece of Hope14 and the year of mission is linked to the
World War 1 centenary commemorations.
The challenge is for Christians all over the country to use this unique
opportunity to talk about the peace and hope that Jesus gives.
Silent Night carols
Greater Love
This Christmas choirs all over the country will help communities
to remember a remarkable World War 1 event. Peace broke out in
the trenches. There was no fighting for 24 hours. Enemies sang the
Silent Night Carols are part of HOPE’s Greater Love campaign,
helping churches to serve their communities as the nation
commemorates the centenary of the First World War. The events
Churches all over the country have caught HOPE’s vision: working
together, putting faith into action and making links with the
community. There’s been an explosion of summer festivals and
family fun days. The Church has left the building to reach out to
make new connections.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 24
REVIEWS
have the backing of Sports Chaplaincy UK. Resources are available
at hopetogether.org.uk/greaterlove.
Roy Crowne, HOPE’s director, says: “It’s been amazing how the
Silent Night Carols events have come together. There’s been a
huge response, so we are expecting thousands of people to be
at events held all over the country this December, in football
stadiums, schools, churches and wherever people sing Christmas
carols.
“The Christian churches, military chaplaincies and sports chaplains
who have met to plan Silent Night Carols want people to
celebrate, reflect and join us as we pray that this Christmas people
will find fresh hope for the future. Most of all we want people to
discover the peace and hope found in knowing Jesus personally –
supernatural peace that anyone who knows Jesus can experience
even when you are surrounded by fighting.”
HOPE is partnering with Tearfund to produce free copies of a Silent
Night Carols programme, for churches to use at events, with the
words of 10 favourite carols including the new version of Silent
Night, and a special focus on Syria as a contemporary war zone
where Christians are bringing fresh hope.
Copies of the Silent Night Carols programme are available from
silentnightcarols.org; local groups can sign up on this website
with details of their event, download a preview of the programme,
print sheet music and chord charts for the carol, use two speciallywritten drama sketches and find out how Silent Night Carols
events can support families today.
“Let’s get this carol into the hands of every choir and church music
group - print it out and pass it on, then use Silent Night Carols to
talk about the peace and hope Jesus gives to people,” says Roy.
Silent Night Carols –
an invitation to hope
The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote an introduction to the
Silent Night Carols programme. The Most Rev Justin Welby
said:
“On Christmas Day 1914 the guns fell silent on the Western
Front as German and British soldiers laid down their
weapons, to exchange greetings, play football and sing
carols. But they then returned to their hostilities.
GATECRASHING: THE
STORY OF 24-7 PRAYER
IN IBIZA
by Brian Heasley
(IVP)
This is the story of Brian and Tracey
Heasley, called to pray for an island
with more pubs, clubs and bars per
square mile than anywhere else in
Europe: Ibiza. For seven years, the
couple ministered to thousands of young people
caught up in the shocking scenes of excess and violence. The team
soon became known as the fourth emergency service. “Some
knelt, some put their hands together, some shared deep worries
and concern.” This book may inform and challenge, but is sure to
inspire. Gatecrashing shows how no person is beyond God’s reach.
Reviewed by Amaris Cole
THE RISE OF THE NONES
by James Emery White
(Baker Books)
The fastest-growing religious group in
the US are those without any religious
affiliation at all, dubbed ‘the nones’. In
this fascinating look at the changing
face of belief in the States, James
Emery White explores the reasons
for this shift. But what’s great about
this book is that it’s not just written
by an objective academic looking from the
outside in, but from a pastor. As senior pastor of Mecklenburg
Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, Emery White does
really practise what he preaches, with the majority of the church’s
activities based on new convert growth rather than transfer
growth. This book should serve as a wake-up call to church leaders
to move away from preaching to the converted.
Reviewed by Chine Mbubaegbu
ROW FOR FREEDOM:
CROSSING AN OCEAN
IN SEARCH OF HOPE
“This Christmas 2014 we are invited to leave our defended
positions and meet those we might consider to be our
enemies, exchange greetings, make peace and sing carols.
“We do this not because of the actions of those soldiers
100 years ago. But because of the actions of God over
2,000 years ago; as he came to us, at great cost, to bring
reconciliation and peace, joy and hope, life and light. And
he came to us not just to bring change for one day, but for
the whole of our lives.
“As you sing today, raise your voice and imagine what it
might mean if what you were singing were true, not just
for you but for those you most need to be reconciled with.
Pray for peace for you and your community, and peace for
the troubled areas of this world. And then leave, and live
differently.”
hopetogether.org.uk/greaterlove
by Julia Immonen
(Thomas Nelson)
This story of triumph begins with the
tragedy of a childhood marred by
domestic violence and poverty. Born
in Finland, Julia starts the book with
the cold memories of her childhood,
before the family moved to England when
she was aged six. With her four teammates, she broke two
World Records and rowed 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands
to Barbados. Julia has been competitive since she was a girl, but
in this autobiography she explains it was her passion to end the
plight of the 27 million victims of modern day slavery that kept her
going during the gruelling challenge.
Reviewed by Amaris Cole
IDEA MAGAZINE / 25
IDEA MAGAZINE / 26
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THEOLOGY
Politics and power:
the biblical perspective
by Steve Holmes
There is an inscription in the ancient city of Prierne which reads in
part:
“The most divine [one] … we should consider equal to the
Beginning of all things … for when everything was falling … he
restored it once more … [He is] the common good fortune of all
… the beginning of life and vitality … all the cities unanimously
adopt [his birthday] as the new beginning of the year … the
Providence which has regulated our whole existence … has
brought our life to the climax of perfection in giving to us [him],
whom it filled with virtue for our welfare, and who, being sent to
us and our descendants as a saviour, has put an end to war and has
set all things in order … having become manifest, [he] has fulfilled
all the hopes of earlier times … his birthday has been for the
whole world the beginning of the gospel concerning him.”
This was written just before Jesus was born, in 9BC, about the
Roman Emperor, Augustus Caesar; in the Eastern half of the
empire, there was a long tradition of worshipping political rulers
as deities. When Matthew and Luke wrote their narratives of the
birth of Jesus, they self-consciously used political language, taking
imperial titles and re-applying them to Jesus. Paul does the same
thing, most obviously in his core confession of faith, ‘Jesus is Lord’;
of course it is a claim to deity, but Paul knew very well that the
basic Roman confession of loyalty was ‘Caesar is Lord’. To be a
Christian was necessarily to dethrone Caesar, or so Paul thought.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 28
There is a collision between faith in Jesus and obedience to earthly
power: how do we negotiate the relationship of faithfulness to
King Jesus and obedience to Queen Elizabeth? The biblical answer,
it seems to me, is ‘nimbly’. There are guiding principles which we
need, to discover how to enact faithfully and creatively in different
situations.
God is sovereign, of course, and God is sovereign over good and
bad and downright appalling regimes. God’s purposes are never
thwarted by ballot box, or indeed by revolution. Jesus is King, and
King Jesus, unlike Queen Elizabeth, is no respecter of parliamentary
majorities. That said, in the good purposes of King Jesus, we have earthly
governments. He permits and demands their best efforts in
governing justly and well. As Paul has it in Romans 13: “…there is
no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have
been instituted by God.” We have to be realistic about the repeated
failures of all earthly governments: we know, after all, that they and
we are fallen people working in a fallen world, and so perfection in
government or in any other area is very far from attainable.
But earthly government does good. In Romans 13 the focus is on
the maintenance of peace. Under God, governments are called to
rein in violence, to preserve the order of the society. And, of course,
the order they preserve is in many ways unjust, but the witness of
Steve Holmes is senior lecturer in theology
at the University of St Andrews. He is also
chair of the Alliance’s Theology Advisory
Group (TAG) and on the Alliance board.
LEADERS’ QUESTIONS
What’s your
favourite
film?
My favourite film is Fever Pitch, based on
the Nick Hornby book. The film explores
the life and loves of a football-mad
Arsenal supporter. It’s the opening scene
that always gets me as it takes me back to my childhood
where I was taken by my grandfather to cheer on Bradford
City (not quite Arsenal). I cry every time I watch the film.
Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance
Picking one film is tough as I watch all
kinds of films, from trashy romantic
comedies to high-octane action films and
the occasional art nouveau. I do, however,
love Dangerous Liaisons with Glenn Close
and John Malkovic. Why? Because it is full
of the realities of complex human lives
and really gives a sense of both the deep poverty, but also the
high goodness of the human spirit.
Jody Stowell, vicar of St Michael and All Angels’ Harrow
scripture seems to be that almost any order is better than no
order, and history does not disagree.
There is, then, a biblical mandate for earthly politics; what is
the place of the church in this? We might phrase it as ‘critical
friendship’, or as ‘speaking the truth to power’. Since the
government is ordained by God, the church is, as far as it can,
to be a friend to government. But being a friend is never being
an uncritical cheerleader. Where the government errs, and as
we have seen, government by fallen people in a fallen world
will always err, our primary loyalty calls us to stand against it.
In scripture we see examples of godly people close to power,
dancing the nimble dance of offering criticism and correction
alongside proper honour and obedience: Esther, Ezra and
Daniel all did it in different ways, and there is much to learn
from Ezra’s prayers, Daniel’s wise judgments of where he
could bend and where he had to refuse any compromise, and
Esther’s courageous and clever planning to make the king
hear truth. These stories offer an orientation – an attitude –
that will work out differently in different situations, and that
we are called, depending always on the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, to find ways to exemplify. We have to be wise and
imaginative in finding the right ways to speak truth to power,
moment by moment.
A tough call! Would it be The Holiday for
the idyllic image of England, or Just Go
With It for the music and cameos? No, it
has to be Lord of the Rings: good triumphs
over evil, small things are as important as
mighty deeds and greed and grasping is
defeated by self-sacrifice and serving. And
at its core is a David and Jonathan friendship with the true
hero named Samwise.
Daniel Singleton, national executive director, Faith Action
I love films, so it’s pretty difficult to pin
down just one. I’m a big fan of musicals so
The Sound of Music and Grease are among
those I pretty much know all the words
to. But I also love a good thriller – one
that makes you think or has a big twist
that you couldn’t have seen coming; so
Memento and State of Play are up there too. I’m also a sucker
for a tear-jerker; so West Side Story is my number one - a
perfect blend of beautiful music, stunning cinematography
and a heart-wrenching story. It gets me every time.
Chine Mbubaegbu, head of media and communications
for the Alliance
IDEA MAGAZINE / 29
F
TURE
Celebrating the
Churches across the country are
fulfilling Jesus’ call to love their
neighbours and Jesus House in Brent
Cross, London, is no exception. The
church is part of the Redeemed
Christian Church of God denomination
(RCCG), which has grown since 1988 to
700 churches in the UK.
Week in, week out, elderly residents in care homes across Barnet
and Brent are visited during the weekend by a group of committed
volunteers from Jesus House who share God’s love and bring a smile
to their faces. The ministry, called Abigail’s Court, was founded with a
strong vision to reach out to the older and often forgotten members
of the community. At its height, Abigail’s Court visited 52 homes, but
this has reduced to 42 due to cuts in the two boroughs. More than 30
people are currently serving on the team, led by Stella Jackson-Obot.
On their visits to homes they open in prayer, sing familiar songs
and hymns with the residents and keep them awake by clapping
energetically. “We ask them questions and love to see their faces
IDEA MAGAZINE / 30
brighten up,” Stella explained. “After singing we pray the Lord’s Prayer
with them, bless them and pray for the sick. Then we finish with a
lively song they all recognise, such as It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.”
“When we begin visiting homes they often ask us why we are using
our time to meet with the elderly residents. We tell them it is because
of the love of God and that we are there to serve,” Stella explained.
Her experience of working in a care home for many years means she
has an understanding of the residents’ needs and compassion for
them. “You need passion to love them and treat them as if they are
your own family,” she said.
We don’t have to ask if this is what
God wants us to do – this is what he
expects, as we read in Matthew 25
As well as the weekly visits, the Abigail’s Court team plan an
annual banquet called Celebrating Life to honour senior citizens in
the two boroughs and beyond. Their 10th anniversary is coming up
next year.
IN THE THICK OF IT
elderly
by Lucy Olofinjana
This year the ninth Celebrating Life event took place on Saturday, 2
August, with 530 guests welcomed to the Jesus House auditorium
for a three-course meal and Christian entertainment. Each guest
was given a rose on their arrival and a gift before they left. Those
who have a birthday in the month of the event are presented with
a card and a shared cake, and given an extra special treat if it’s their
birthday that weekend.
“I’ve never had such hospitality like this in all my life, and I appreciate
it most sincerely,” said one guest at the 2008 event, recorded in the
video on the Jesus House website.
“We receive cards from the guests who have attended saying how
much they enjoyed it, and phone calls at the start of the year from
homes asking when the next event will take place!” Stella explained.
The local MPs and mayors of both Brent and Barnet councils attend,
as well as local councillors and elderly church members.
Some 45 trained volunteers from Jesus House make the event
possible and no expense is spared. Stella explained that they do
not limit the number of guests because they are so keen to bless
the residents of their local care homes, and also their carers. To raise
funds for the food, entertainment and transport costs, the team
regularly sell cakes after their church services.
Stella’s passion for reaching out to her elderly neighbours shines
through: “We don’t have to ask if this is what God wants us to do –
this is what he expects, as we read in Matthew 25.” Stella is keen to
share their resources and expertise with other churches, and another
RCCG church is already planning to set up a similar ministry in their
community. “People are free to contact us to find out more,” she said.
Abigail’s Court is part of the Church Social Responsibility department
in Jesus House, which also runs a local food bank and youth scheme,
encourages members to sponsor children and co-ordinates more
than 8,000 shoeboxes filled with gifts for children to send overseas at
Christmas time.
The Alliance’s recent research Are we good neighbours? is designed
to inspire churches and individuals about how they can be better
neighbours in their community. Visit eauk.org/surveys to find out
more.
Contact Stella Jackson-Obot at Abigail’s Court at
abigailscourt@jesushouse.org.uk.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 31
IDEA-LIST
Chine Mbubaegbu
10 evangelical women you should know
by Chine Mbubaegbu
Phoebe Palmer
Born in 1807, Palmer is
considered one of the
founders of the Holiness
movement in the US,
which later influenced
the Methodist Church
worldwide. She wrote
several books, including The Way of Holiness
and penned the melody to Fanny Crosby’s
Blessed Assurance. She led the Methodist Ladies’
Home Missionary Society in founding the Five
Points Mission in 1850 in a slum area of New
York.
Elizabeth Fry
Take a look at a £5
note and you’ll see a
depiction of Elizabeth
Fry – an English prison
reformer and Christian
philanthropist who
became known as the
“angel of prisons”. Her heart and passion for
the humane treatment of prisoners made her
the driving force behind new legislation and
saw her start the British Ladies’ Society for
Promoting the Reformation of Female Prisoners
– believed to be the first nationwide women’s
organisation in the UK.
Catherine Booth
Known as the ‘mother
of the Salvation Army’,
Catherine founded
the movement with
her husband William.
She had attended
Wesleyan Methodist
classes from a young age and was a supporter
of the temperance movement. A gifted
communicator and preacher, she would speak
to wealthy people to gain support for the
Booths’ ministry, while William preached to the
poor. Catherine also organised Food for the
Million shops where poor people could buy
affordable meals. An avid reader, she wrote a
number of books related to Christian living.
Jackie Pullinger
When Jackie Pullinger
left the UK to be a
missionary, she was
only 22, with a degree
in music. She had been
turned down by several
mission agencies as
unqualified, but still she felt compelled to
‘go’. Now Pullinger is well-known as a fearless
missionary who has ministered in Hong Kong
and seen more than 500 drug addicts saved
IDEA MAGAZINE / 32
from their addiction. She is also the founder of
the St Stephen’s Society. Following the success
of her book Chasing the Dragon, she has spoken
to thousands around the world.
Mary Jones
Having learned to read
in schools organised by
preacher Thomas Charles
from nearby Bala, Mary
Jones had a burning
desire to own her own
Bible. This desire led
her at age 15 to walk 25 miles in 1800, having
saved for six years, in the hope that she could
buy a copy of the scriptures. Mary wept when
she discovered Charles had sold out. But her
passion for the Bible moved Charles to form
the British and Foreign Bible Society in London
in 1804. In October, the Bible Society opened
Mary Jones World – a museum telling the
young girl’s story and the story of the Bible – in
Bala.
Mary Slessor
Born in 1848, Mary
Slessor was a Scottish
missionary to Nigeria.
Having heard that
David Livingstone had
died, she decided at
age 27 that she wanted
to follow in his footsteps and spread the
gospel overseas. She applied to the United
Presbyterian Church’s Foreign Mission Board
and after training in Edinburgh arrived in
Calabar, Nigeria, among the Efik people.
Slessor made herself at home with the natives,
learning to speak the language and eat
traditional Nigerian food. She died from fever
in Nigeria 35 years after she had first arrived.
Selina Hastings,
Countess of
Huntingdon
Selina Hastings played
a key part in the
evangelical revival of
18th century Britain,
counting George
Whitefield and John Wesley among her
friends. They held large dinner parties at which
she would ask Whitefield to preach to the
dignitaries after they had eaten. She founded
the Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion – a
Calvinistic movement within the Methodist
Church – and was responsible for founding 64
chapels, and funding many others. John Henry
Newman said of her: “She devoted herself, her
means, her time, her thoughts, to the cause of
Christ.”
Sojourner Truth
A campaigner for human
rights and the freedom
of all people, Sojourner
Truth is most famous
for her ‘Ain’t I A Woman’
speech at the Women’s
Rights Convention
in Ohio in 1851. The most famous AfricanAmerican woman of the 19th century, Truth
– an illiterate ex-slave – became an advocate
for the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage,
temperance and prison reform.
Aimee Semple
McPherson
Aimee Semple
McPherson was the
most famous Christian
evangelist of the 1920s
and 30s. Founder of the
Foursquare Church, she
was one of the most photographed women of
her time, often featured in the media giving
quotes on a whole variety of subjects. She was
one of the key figures behind the evangelical
revival in the 20th century. After marrying her
husband James in 1908 and starting a family,
she felt dissatisfied with her role as homemaker
and felt she was denying her call to be an
evangelist, until James invited her to come and
preach with him in 1915.
Elaine Storkey
Elaine Storkey is one
of the most renowned
evangelical leaders in
the world today. She
succeeded John Stott
as executive director
at the London Institute
of Contemporary Christianity in 1991, and is
also a former chair of Tearfund. She has been a
regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Thought for
the Day for more than 20 years, and has written
for countless newspapers and magazines. Her
books include What’s Right with Feminism and
The Origins of Difference. She has served on a
number of boards and councils, including the
Evangelical Alliance Council – on which she
currently sits, and the Crown Nominations
Commission. She is currently president of
Church of England think-tank Fulcrum.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 33
CULTURE
Sophie Lister
is a writer with Damaris.
Soul Story
You’ve probably heard of him. They called
him “Mr. Dynamite,” “The Godfather of
Soul,” “The Hardest Working Man in Show
Business.” James Brown was a legend in his
own lifetime, and continues to inform and
inspire our most popular musical artists
today. But who was the man behind those
signature moves?
In the new film Get On Up, we zip back and
forth through the contrasting chapters
of the singer’s extraordinary story. Born
dirt-poor in South Carolina in the middle
of the Great Depression in 1933, young
James (Chadwick Boseman) survives a life of
abandonment, abuse, reform school and jail.
His mother (Viola Davis) leaves the family,
and only his Aunt Honey (Octavia Spencer)
really believes in him. Nobody ever taught
him the rules - so he is destined from the
start to break them.
Along the way, he channels life’s hard knocks
into a unique and thrilling musical sound. A
chance meeting with gospel singer Bobby
Byrd (Nelsan Ellis) leads to a friendship and
collaboration that will last a lifetime. Get On
Up chronicles James Brown’s meteoric rise
from playing with his first band, The Famous
Flames, to eventually becoming one of the
most influential performers to ever hit the
stage of popular music.
Extraordinary destiny
How do you tell the story of a life? This
must have been the challenge facing the
filmmakers as they set about bringing
James Brown’s tale to the screen, sifting
through the facts to find something that
captured the essence of the man. It’s also
the challenge faced by the character of
James himself, as portrayed in the film. His
story appears to be hopeless as a child,
characterised by horrible neglect and
deprivation; it’s only by turning this on its
head, spinning a different tale about who he
is and what he’s worth, that James manages
to overcome his circumstances.
The film emphasises the showman’s capacity
for reinvention, giving us scenes where
James directly addresses the camera,
boldly constructing his own legend for the
audience. Where does this boldness come
from? In part, it’s instilled in him by his Aunt
Honey, who takes care of the young James
and believes that he has an extraordinary
destiny. “You’re special,” she tells him. “One
day, everybody’s gonna know your name.”
The power that her words wield is startling,
IDEA MAGAZINE / 34
“One day,
everybody’s gonna
know your name.”
we’re reminded how even the smallest
encouragements can create freedom and
release for people, opening up a more
hopeful future.
It also seems that defiance and resilience are
simply part of James’s make-up: he knows
deep down that he doesn’t have to dance
to the world’s tune. Get On Up is a dynamic
portrait of the freedom we gain when we
refuse to be defined by where we come
from, or by what the world says about our
potential.
Solo act
But there are dangers for James as he
takes ownership of his story in this way.
The film shows how frequently he falls
from the tightrope between reclaiming his
dignity and destructively self-aggrandising.
Sometimes, the story he chooses to tell
about himself is one in which he’s the only
person who matters. “I look after James
Brown,” he says, in one scene. “No-one else
help me. No-one else.” He dismisses and
hurts the people who love him, and who’ve
helped him find success – including his wife,
and his enduringly patient best friend Bobby
Byrd.
James Brown could probably claim to be a
self-made man with more legitimacy than
most people. But living his life as a one-man
show threatens to destroy him on the inside.
Our successes may not be as soaring as his,
nor our failures as dramatic, but we’re all
prone to making ourselves the centre of our
universe. If the tale of our lives is only ever
told by us, about us, we may find that we’ve
gone wildly off-course.
Can a solo act ever have real soul? Perhaps
this powerful film might cause us all to think
about our need for a new story: one which
restores our worth not by setting us apart
from everybody else, but by putting us back
into right relationships.
Get On Up is released in cinemas on 21
November. For free community resources
based on the film, see damaris.org/
getonup
Sophie Lister is a writer
with Damaris which
provides free resources
for Damaris Film Clubs as well as the Damaris
Film Blog. See damaris.org/filmclubs and
damaris.org/filmblog.
CHARTS
IDEA MAGAZINE / 35
GOOD QUESTION
What is wrong with
polygamy?
Until recently the answer to this question seemed
universally obvious despite perhaps a few complicating
cultural missional contexts. However, as Don Horrocks,
the Alliance’s head of public affairs, explains, today the
answer for many may well be – ‘not a lot’!
Until recently, most people knew
instinctively that marriage is the union of
one man and one woman. In legal terms this
is no longer the case in much of the West.
Many, including Christians, are uncertain
about what marriage is and why it matters.
Before we can even consider polygamy, we
first have to define what marriage is. This is
no longer straightforward. In fact, during a
recent parliamentary debate on same-sex
marriage, one government minister said that
“marriage is what you want it to be”.
If parliament can suddenly decide after
thousands of years of human history that
marriage is no longer between a man and a
woman, then where is the logic in insisting
that it must remain between two people?
For evangelical Christians the pattern
for marriage is authoritatively laid down
in scripture. Although the Bible never
commands, encourages or condones
polygamy, it may be a surprise to discover
that neither does it explicitly forbid it.
Lamech was the first of many polygamists
in the Old Testament, including patriarchs
and kings who enjoyed divine favour (see
Genesis 4:19; 29:21-30; 1 Samuel 27:3,
for example). But the absence of explicit
biblical prohibition should never be equated
with divine approval. The Bible often uses
stories as warnings to convey the mind
IDEA MAGAZINE / 36
and purposes of God. In Lamech’s case, his
practice of polygamy is understood to be
typical of the wicked, whose willful pride
and lust for power seeks to be satisfied
by the multiplication of wives or other
symbols of status and self-indulgence. Plural
marriage has never been biblical marriage
and when polygamy occurred it usually had
disastrous outcomes for families, including
David (2 Samuel 11-13). Blessed with
wisdom and divine favour, Solomon had
700 wives and 300 concubines. However,
consistent with divine warnings about the
dangers of polygamy in Deuteronomy 17:17,
scripture is clear that “they turned his heart
away from the Lord … to follow other gods
… Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s
sight.” (1 Kings 11:3-6).
We may not fully understand why
scripture doesn’t record God denouncing
the behaviour of Abraham, Jacob and
David when they flouted God’s pattern
for marriage. It may involve similar
considerations to the question of divorce
addressed by Jesus in Matthew 19:8, when
he stated: “Moses permitted you to divorce
your wives because of the hardness of your
hearts. But it was not like that from the
beginning.” There is no condemnation of
polygamy in the Bible like the condemnation
of divorce in Malachi 2:10-16 and Matthew
19:9. However, the Old Testament does
circumscribe polygamy by regulations,
which acknowledge that multiple wives
pose a potential threat to social stability
and may often involve family complications
(Deuteronomy 21:15-17). Today, it’s observed
that societies that admit polygamy often
involve abuse of power and oppression of
women. Most Old Testament references to
polygamy assume that a man’s first wife
could not have children or that having plural
wives was a means of developing strategic
relationships and alliances. The practice of
polygamy seemed to be associated with
ensuring that no woman remained childless
and no man need look outside his family for
sexual relationship. It was therefore a practical
solution to experienced need. But it was
always understood to be the exception rather
than the rule.
The inaugural account of male and female
relationship of Adam and Eve in Genesis
1-2 is undoubtedly meant to represent
the programmatic biblical pattern for
human relationships. In Genesis 2:24 God
set out his clear intention for marriage,
which is unambiguously heterosexual
and monogamous. The emphasis on
their becoming “one flesh” presupposes a
monogamous relationship, and this creation
ordinance is strongly reinforced by Jesus
and the whole New Testament in reference
to husbands and wives. Indeed, being the
husband of one wife is a prerequisite for
leadership in the Church and is a requirement
often found highlighted, for example, in
African churches today (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus
1:6).
Christians usually define marriage in terms
of the biological complementarity of one
man and one woman in conjugal relationship
as father and mother to any children their
union produces. If by redefining marriage
its uniqueness and normativity in terms of
gender complementarity disappears, then
children are decoupled from marriage and
adultery and consummation are marginalized.
So then what remains of marriage is little
more than an adult-centred, committed,
intense emotional relationship. On the basis
of such logic, why should exclusivity in
marriage be insisted on? Why should recent
demands by polygamy and open marriage
activists for full civil rights be resisted?
Indeed, there may be a feeling of déjà vu in
the recent remarkable number of attempts
to demonstrate that polygamy is actually
biblically acceptable today and that the idea
of multiple sexual partners is by no means
prohibited by scripture.
But for Bible-believing Christians the
injunction of Paul against polygamy remains
unambiguous: “Each man should have sexual
relations with his own wife, and each woman
with her own husband” (1 Corinthians 7:2).
LETTERS: HAVE YOUR SAY
In your
words
We love hearing from you, so have your say on any of
the issues raised in idea or make any comments about
the Evangelical Alliance by emailing idea@eauk.org
THANK YOU
OLD DEARS AND LOUD WORSHIP
I recently started a women’s group at our
small church and orphan centre here in
Kenya. I really had no idea what I was doing,
because it was all new to me.
I found your comments about the volume
of worship music in the context of an all
age church frustrating. Worship music is
there to lead and support a congregation in
worship. The loudest rock music is designed
to dominate and overwhelm. People
who object to loud worship music don’t
necessarily want to be “peaceful”, but to be
able to hear themselves and others. How
can people bring a word from the floor if
the music is so loud they can’t be heard?
Sometimes, paradoxically, volume means
people can’t pick out the melody line
because all they can hear is a generalised
metallic clanging. For some, it can be
physically painful. A rock audience are
there to be acted on; a church congregation
is there to act; to make declarations, to
respond to the ebb and flow as the worship
unfolds, and at times to initiate. Sometimes
forceful volume can help, but it is
“sometimes” not “always”. But I feel so strongly that when women
get together in the name of the Lord,
great things can happen. I happened to
stumble across your website as I looked for
devotional material. It’s a great support to
vulnerable children and orphans who are
compassionately saved through the blood
of Christ.
What a help it has been!
Thank you!
Mary Kerubo, Kenya
WHAT IF
It was very challenging to read the Last
Word about A Better Way (Sep/Oct 2014)
from Steve Clifford in the recent copy of
idea. The question “what if” can apply in
many other situations. One of these “what
if” questions that I often note is that Israel
is geographically in the centre of much
trouble. Looking it up in Operation World I
see that under geography it says the area of
Israel is 20,700sqkm. A further 7,540 sqkm of
the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights
have been controlled by Israel since 1967. I
then see in The Times of 2 September 2014
that Israel has now annexed nearly a further
1,000 acres of the Occupied Bank. When all
of this land annexed by Israel is breaking
international law, it seems hardly surprising
that there is discontent and fighting in the
area. What a pity that so many Christians,
especially in America, are so supportive. We
are indignant about Russia and Ukraine so
why not the same response regarding Israel?
“What if” the rule of law was supported?
Surely it would be a better way.
I play in a worship band myself and love
it - but there is a debate about which bits
of rock culture translate into the church
and which bits don’t. Stereotyping people
who try to begin this debate as old fogies
echoes the marketing techniques of the
rock industry - if you don’t like X group you
must be old, middle-class, Establishment
or whatever - hence neatly avoiding the
question of whether they are any good.
Linked to it is the idea that the young are by
definition “radical” and the old want comfort
and routine. This sets up an unbridgeable
chasm, because anything older people
say is seen in that context and smilingly
dismissed. Once reducing volume is seen
as a concession to the “old dears” the real
debate can’t take place.
P Matthews, Kent
heard in tweets
Carl Beech @carlfbeech Great to catch up
with people @EAUKnews council meeting.
It’s a fascinating time to be navigating the
challenges of faith together.
UK Prayer Mission @ukprayermission
Thank you to @stevemclifford from
@EAUKnews for encouraging us to take
partnership in the Gospel seriously.
Martyn Travers @mptravers @EAUKnews
Such a helpful and resourcing emphasis on
the Missing generation in the @idea_mag
.Those who have ears let them hear.
Sarah Jane Shore @sarahjaneshore The
Sept/Oct @idea_mag is a truly brilliant 20s
and 30s takeover. A very special ‘special
edition’.
Follow the Alliance on Twitter:
@EAUKnews @idea_mag
Editor
Amaris Cole – idea@eauk.org
Consulting editors
Steve Morris, Krish Kandiah
Contributing writers
Catherine Butcher, Lucy Olofinjana, Gethin
Russell-Jones, David Smyth, Kieran Turner,
Nicky Waters
Advertising manager
Candy O’Donovan
c.odonovan@eauk.org
Design & Print
Cliffe Enterprise
Head of media & communications
Chine Mbubaegbu
idea is published bi-monthly and sent free of
charge to members of the Evangelical Alliance.
Formed in 1846, the Alliance’s mission is to unite
evangelicals to present Christ credibly as good
news for spiritual and social transformation. There
are around two million evangelical Christians in
the UK, according to a 2007 Tearfund survey.
idea is published in accordance with the Alliance’s
Basis of Faith, although it is impossible in every
article to articulate each detail and nuance of
belief held by Alliance members. Articles in idea
may therefore express views on which there is a
divergence of opinion or understanding among
evangelicals.
Letters and story ideas from members are
welcome, and will be considered by the editorial
board, which reserves the right to edit letters and
stories for length and style. We regret that we are
unable to engage in personal correspondence.
Unsolicited material will only be returned if
accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed
envelope.
idea accepts advertisements and inserts to offset
printing costs. Advertising in idea does not imply
editorial endorsement. The Alliance reserves the
right to accept or refuse advertisements at its
discretion. Articles may be reproduced only with
permission from the editor.
Brian Hogbin, Oswestry
IDEA MAGAZINE / 37
LAST WORD
Steve Clifford the general
director, writes…
This is the Church at work
When I’m asked what I
enjoy most about my role
at the Evangelical Alliance,
I invariably answer that
I get to work with some
amazing people and hear
about and experience
first-hand some of the
incredible work the
Church is doing all over
the country, and indeed
in different parts of the
world.
One of my visits this summer took me to
Sidcup in south east London. As I parked
my car it was obvious that this was far from
the average church kids’ club. It seemed
as if the whole park, right in the middle
of the town, had been taken over. There
were numerous marquees, both large and
small, an open-air stage, cafes and so much
activity with hundreds of people of all ages
and backgrounds milling around. I had just
arrived at Lark in the Park, brought together
by Sidcup churches and hosted by New
Generation Church.
As I chatted to Paul Weston, the church’s
leader, he gave me the background. Lark in
the Park started 18 years ago with a small
DIY tent. It lasted for only a weekend. Over
the years, it has grown to become a focal
point for the community in and around
Sidcup.
As I walked around the sights and looked at
the programme, it was obvious there was
something for everyone – whatever your age
or interests. I walked past a tea dance and
into a craft tent before being interviewed on
an outside stage. I then visited a whole host
of children’s and youth activities.
For 16 days Lark in the Park had become
a gathering place, a ‘free gift’ to the
community. What I loved about what I saw
was not only the sheer scale (on average
1,500 visitors a day) and the amazing
number of volunteers (over 500), but the
fact that, unapologetically, it was the church
at the heart of it. The church was offering
IDEA MAGAZINE / 38
to pray for those in need, inviting people
to Alpha courses and telling real-life stories
about how faith had changed people’s lives.
In other words, preaching the gospel and
doing church every night right in the centre
of the park, while clearly and genuinely
serving the community that surrounds them.
days over the summer. The work continues
right through the year: food banks, park
pastors, debt counselling, provision for
young people, Bexley’s first free school,
Alpha courses and parenting courses; you
name it, the Church is doing it. The Church is
being church both in words and action.
As I drove away late that afternoon I wanted
to open the window of my car and shout
at the top of my voice: “This is the Church
at work”. I was so proud of what I’d seen;
the way the churches of Sidcup were so
generously and sacrificially serving the
people of their community.
As we read our newspapers and watch TV
it’s easy to come away with the impression
that the Church is dead. It’s true, nominal
Christianity – the turn-up-on-a-Sundaybecause-you-think-you-should Christianity
– is finished in the UK. But I want you to
know, as I travel the country, I am finding a
Church that’s wonderfully alive. Passionate,
committed, Christ-centred Christianity is
continuing to impact lives; the good news of
the gospel is still working today.
I know we as the church don’t always get
things right. We make mistakes and we
don’t always represent Jesus as well as we
should, but sometimes, you know, I just
want to celebrate all of the amazing things
the church across the UK is contributing to
society.
What the churches in Sidcup have
demonstrated is a long-term commitment
to their community, and that’s not just for 16
Lark in the Park website:
larkinthepark.com
Hope Community School:
hopecommunityschool.org
IDEA MAGAZINE / 39

Billy Graham: 60 years on

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