Author: missionspaul

James and Joanna

I met this couple in my office yesterday.
They are young.
They are full of energy, positive on life, expecting God to use them.
They get married in July.
They become yet another of our fantastic missionaries.
They go to Rwanda in September with the gospel in their hearts.
I know God will use them for great things.

I believe it is possible for us in this time that we live to see a large number of young people to begin to say NO to what is normally expected of them: a house, a car, 2.4 children, a career, wealth etc. There isn’t anything wrong with those things and actually we need people to be the supporters of what I am anticipating.
However, I believe it is possible to see a large number of ‘James and Joannas’ say YES to global mission! To GO with a passion for Jesus and a love for others and to step into new cultures, find God is already there and then live for Him as shining lights in dark places.
This can happen. I am anticipating more of this.

1 Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

The young can be an example to those older than them, in their language, behaviour and belief.
The young will always have people try and rule over them. They need to be loosed not restricted.
The young don’t serve their elders they serve God.
The young can do a lot to stop the despising by their living.

Come on the young! Get out onto the mission field!

Oh and by the way James and Joanna need your cash!

How it ends that matters.

When I joined Elim as a Pastor there were 2 national names, one had an amazing children’s ministry, the other was a sought after Pastor.
Yesterday I was talking to a couple who had attended the funeral sadly of the sought after Pastor. It wasn’t really a Christian funeral, in fact one of the eulogies came from a work colleague who said “when he started at work he told us he was a Pentecostal Pastor but then he became one of us” he then quoted something that he was well known for which wasn’t fitting for any Christian.
At the same funeral my friends met the amazing children’s minister that was. He was not the man that he once was. He was no longer national, nor a minister nor working with children.

What makes man and woman move from such places in God to become shadows of who they were?
What do they think about when they’ve walked away?
Do they still pray?
Do they rubbish their experience of God?
Did they have anything to walk away from?

2 Timothy 4:10 Demas deserted his place and Paul writes about it.
I may want to desert but I choose not to.
I choose to be careful with disappointment so that I am not dis-appointed.
I don’t want people to write about me as a warning but as a wonder.

Keep focused.

Rumour

Yesterday Andy, one of our missionaries, told me a wonderful story that emerged from within the Nepal earthquake.
The earthquake hit on a Saturday and many were off from work and a large crowd were in the zoo. The officials of the zoo tried in vain to get the people out of the zoo once the earthquake struck, However, they wouldn’t leave. The zoo had cost them so many rupees and they were not for moving, they wanted to see the animals!
So the zoo officials told the crowd that the tiger compound had been wrecked and that 2 Tigers had escaped. They hadn’t. But the crowd believed them and soon exited the zoo!
And that’s how the rumour started!

We exist with rumours.
But some rumours are damaging.

Juicy information sharing.
Passing it on for prayer.
Sharing in confidence.
Bringing a reputation into question.
Unconfirmed reports.

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ”. Ephesians 4:15

Let’s do all we can to keep stories in the light.

10 random notes from a meeting I went to yesterday where the speaker was Bill Johnson.

Disciples belonged before they believed.

Honour is to celebrate who a person is without stumbling over who they are not.

If we are salt of the earth then we should add flavour where we go.

God is interested in groups not just individuals.

Whatever touches us changes us into the nature of what touches us.

We have a bad habit of answering questions that no one is asking.

When Jesus said he had All authority it showed that man had lost it but A MAN had to get it back.

Who made David a man of war? = God did. What was God saying? I don’t build with war-like, blood-shed ministries. There are a lot of angry Christians but He doesn’t build with that.

The devil is empowered by agreement, when you believe a lie you empower the liar.

Grab one of these today and dwell on it.

Can you imagine not able to go shopping without being recognised?

Yesterday I was privileged to spend time with some of the leaders of the Church of Pentecost from Ghana and the UK. In Ghana they number 2.1 million people. One in twelve people are a member of the Church of Pentecost. The question above was one of the difficulties the leaders faced within such growth!
Whenever this leader goes through the town he is meeting members!
72% of the Ghanaian population is Christian.
The challenge that they face is discipleship and the fact that possibly only 55-60% attend church. In the UK the figures are around the 10% mark so we are lagging behind even on their challenging figures!
How do we get people to connect into Church?
Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church in 2007 realised that discipleship was low. He wrote:
“Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back, it wasn’t helping people that much”.
What we think is important sometimes isn’t.
When getting people into Church is not focused on the Church (an indicator of its success) and becomes focused on the person attending then maybe they will come.
When Church leaves its 4 walls and establishes Church where people are then maybe they will
When Church focuses on loving people then maybe they will come.
When Church addresses the reality of life and becomes relevant then maybe they will come.
But most of all when the Church has a bigger world-view, even of its own town and city, then maybe they will come. See what kind of work Paul appointed his elders to in this verse: Titus 1:5 “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you”. Leaders of the city know their city and are known by their city. May we all be recognised in the shops today!!

Can you imagine not able to go shopping without being recognised?

Yesterday I was privileged to spend time with some of the leaders of the Church of Pentecost from Ghana and the UK. In Ghana they number 2.1 million people. One in twelve people are a member of the Church of Pentecost. The question above was one of the difficulties the leaders faced within such growth!
Whenever this leader goes through the town he is meeting members!
72% of the Ghanaian population is Christian.
The challenge that they face is discipleship and the fact that possibly only 55-60% attend church. In the UK the figures are around the 10% mark so we are lagging behind even on their challenging figures!
How do we get people to connect into Church?
Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church in 2007 realised that discipleship was low. He wrote:
“Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back, it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for”.
What we think is important sometimes isn’t.
When getting people into Church is not focused on the Church (an indicator of its success) and becomes focused on the person attending then maybe they will come.
When Church leaves its 4 walls and establishes Church where people are then maybe they will come.
When Church focuses on loving God then maybe they will come.
When Church focuses on loving people then maybe they will come.
When Church addresses the reality of life and becomes relevant then maybe they will come.
But most of all when the Church has a bigger world-view, even of its own town and city, then maybe they will come. See what kind of work Paul appointed his elders to in this verse: Titus 1:5 “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you”. Leaders of the city know their city and are known by their city. May we all be recognised in the shops today!!

A letter to friends …

Only the kind know the disappointment of harshness.
Only the gracious are shocked at the response of selfishness.
Only the hospitable get taken for granted.
Only the givers stand out amongst the takers.
Only the generous see the greedy.
Only the Christlike are like Christ.
Sometimes it hurts.
But the alternative was not an option.
To do nothing was to turn out your light.
To ignore was to ignore who you are.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ”.
Colossians 3;23-24.

Help me

Last night I was visiting a friend in hospital and in the bed next to him was a poor old man consistently shouting “Help!”

He wanted help to sit up, help to find someone and help for his tablets.
I of course felt completely helpless.
But I called the nurse and she met his every request.

If you need help today, make sure you are asking the right person.

1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Psalm 86

God is our helper !

People focus

I was moved yesterday on reading of the 92 year-old who committed suicide this week. She was the UK’s greatest fundraiser for the British Legion selling poppies every year for the majority of her life. But after believing the Post Office had lost a cheque gift sent in the post and on top of that then being bombarded by charity begging letters she committed suicide. Her daughter said “she just lost faith in people”.

How sad!

But it will happen.
What will we do when people disappoint?
When they hurt us?
When they take and not give?
Do we write off humanity?

Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” (‭1 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭18‬ NIV)
Elijah you are not the only one left. I have 7000 in the city. Have faith in people.

God would say don’t focus on those who bring you down.
There are so many more who build you up.
Spend time with those.
Don’t categorise everyone in the same way.
There are still great people around your life.

The missionary

This week I had the pleasure of once again meeting a few of Elim’s missionaries. It was Elim UK’s Centenary conference and although it would have been wonderful to have had all of them I was thankful to see the ones that could make it.
They are incredible people and I am again thankful for the privilege of being their leader.
I was moved especially by what I observed:-
1. Their Friendship
Though they come from different backgrounds and work in different continents they came together for a lunch meeting and had pictures taken. Obvious friendship was there built through Skype contact but now being experienced face to face.

2. Surrender
I commented how one of them had lost lots of weight, They told me they had fasted for 40 days and were now seeing incredible answers to prayer, miracles and salvations were taking place. They were in a new day. Look what happens from a surrendered heart!

3. Determination
Though only recently being diagnosed with a severe disease here in the UK this person was desperate to return to the ‘field’. They were determined not to allow their circumstances dictate their commitment. They said to me they were determined to go back and so they are doing!

May we all carry these 3 things today whether serving as a missionary or not and may the following verse be our prayer.
For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield. Psalm 5:12