Gratitude.

Thanks, from my heart, be to you,

who has seen my sin and accepted me anyway.

Thanks, from my heart, be to you,

who has chosen my past and has chosen to overcast it.

Thanks, from my heart, be to you,

who has chosen me, as I have chosen you.

Thanks, from my heart, be to you,

who has stepped downs from the clouds to breathe hope.

Thanks, from my heart, be to you,

who kindles motivation where things are dry and stokes a fire.

Thanks, from my heart, be to you,

who sees before I do; who sees not as I do.

Thanks, from my heart, be to you,

who loves people; unconditional; unconditional; unconditional.

Thanks, from my heart, be to you,

who is rich in mercy for, both, the killer and the thief.

Thanks, from my heart, be to you, O God.

who forgives, who saves, who redeems.

O God, thanks, from my heart, be to you,

 
-------------

Sean Older, Brighton, UK. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/seanolder email: seanolderbe@gmail.com Skype: Seanyboy_is_saved

Unintentional Update (two weeks old but still relevant)

OK, so I just batted out this email in response to a group of friends who have been asking and thought you might also be interested.


So... to my life...

I have been a youth worker for my home church for just over two years now. My home church is not big, not small. The Church does a copious amount of work in the community considering how big it is. We have not had a Pastor for the last 10 months or so which has brought many opinions and suggestions and seen a few fragments, cracks & breakages to the family here. It has been difficult, but I think necessary. I have been quite resolute to focus on Jesus & his ways (not always easy!) and to try to exhort others to do the same, and most importantly to live them out in the little & large! I love our Church, it is beautiful! Broken... but beautiful!

This year, just gone, saw me travelling to Kenya with a charity called IT Skills 4 Rural Kenya to start up an IT Centre in Kibugat (a Rural village outside Litein). The trip had many ups (fixing computers, filming a climate change documentary & running an IT benefits conference) & many downs (a mysterious virus - the Professor back here in Brighton was perplexed! a lack of food, water and electricity & the nominated leader leaving the country part way through!) but the trip was a success and shall serve as a foundation for future trips.
It also saw me heading to South Korea & to China on a REAL holiday!!! BOO-YAH! It is the first holiday I have had for a few years, since 2005 I think. I spent 11 days in South Korea visiting very good friends of mine, eating some of the best food I have ever had and rediscovering our friendships again. I, then, spent 10 days in China visiting a friend of mine; an English teacher trying to live out the ways of Jesus and introduce his ways to others around her and enjoying hanging out over films, street-food & bubble tea!

This time was extremely precious to me and I miss those days greatly. But life can not be one big holiday can it!

A few things that God is growing in my heart at the moment:

• A hunger for deep friendships/relationships filled with fun, joy, peace, love & ultimately GOD! Friendships that go beyond the superficial greeting & stereotypical 'how is...?' questions that we so often stumble across on a Sunday. Friendships that build us together & towards God. Friendships that are fun & sober in the same breath.     :)
• A Church that recognises that 'Church' is bigger than their congregation and that there is a significant need & benefit for worshipping, praying, learning, ministering & spending time together (which should often include food!) Churches that covenant to love each other in a real & practical way; find out more of Jesus together & share Jesus with others together.

• A pair of eyes to see hope and speak it out boldly & righteously

The next year...

Well, I have a heart to live my life in community with other youth leaders in the more impoverished area (not too impoverished in the scheme of poverty in the UK, let alone the world, but it is noticeably less wealthy) of Woodingdean, Brighton. I would love to have a house that invites others to come rest, play, enjoy & discover together. A house that invests in people in a holistic & fun way because the people in that house have a deep & active love for Jesus. A willingness to be walked over & used because we are astounded by God's love for those who do not believe & for those that do. An understanding that God wants to redeem little parts of my life & other people's lives and yet he accepts our shortcomings also. A house that is just as happy to love an attention-needing/seeking little child as it is a lonely elderly lady. A group of people that will serve their neighbours in very practical ways with humility (and with copious amounts of tea & coffee shared together).
If you have heard of The Eden Project it is that kind of thing I am talking about here. If not, hopefully my words are good enough.
(Not sure how all this will come about yet, but if you have an idea just let me know.)

I love writing... I should do it more.

Feel free to question or comment on what I have written if you like.

Thanks to Jen Conlan for starting this little thread of beauty!


Sean Older, Brighton, UK. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/seanolder email: seanolderbe@gmail.com Skype: Seanyboy_is_saved

'Home'.

Well, I am home now, not sure I feel it though.
My house-mates, Ryan & Phil (+ Manny), were absolute legends last night. Phil came and picked me up from Brighton Coach Station (even though he was tired!) and they left me out a pack of bacon from the freezer with a note saying 'Bacon nom-noms for intrepid traveller types! Ryan & Phil'. It meant so much to me that they did that! It was a thing of beauty to sit down and enjoy that bacon sanger and cuppa' this morning!

You'll be pleased to know that I smugly got a taxi at the first shot when I left Dalian, China on Monday morning (They are notoriously hard to get on a Monday morning rush hour, especially to the airport!) However, I was then humbled when my flight from Dalian was delayed by three hours due to a 'dense fog' over Incheon airport (South Korea). Hanging around in a 'small airport' for a delayed flight is not as much fun as hanging out in a 'HUGE' airport. The flight went smoothly though, once we were on board a plane though.

The final night with Joanne & Suang Il was really cool. We went and had sushi at Matsoi Sushi (an all-you-can-eat authentic Japanese sushi house!) and then went to the N tower (the highest building and most beautiful view of Seoul by night!). The chef at Matsoi Sushi was so happy to see a foreigner in his restaurant that he made a special dish - Grilled Salmon fat sushi! It tasted so good and they were also impressed with my chopstick skills (although had not seen my boo-boo a few days before - let's just say that it is a good thing my hoodie was already soy sauce coloured! Good times, good times.
Joanne & I, then, said our goodbye's to Suang Il and I "escorted" her home, which she found sweet (although, to be honest, I just wanted more time with her and a visual of where she lives, as I have a visual memory). The next morning we had breakfast together at Starbucks, a SWEET cheese scone & a sausage croissant (weird!) and a cup of 'Tea latte' (double weird!) & a Coffee We then went to the airport together. We chatted a bit more about things regarding my letter to her and also about her strong preferences regarding Facebook 'tagging' our photographs. And then she left. The flight was difficult. It was cool, but difficult. I felt like I was, both, heading 'home' & leaving home at the same time. 

When I woke up this morning I stubbornly refused to unpack my bag. Having done so much travelling over the last few years unpacking my bag has become a way of ending journeys & establishing a 'rooted' home again. This is something I was reluctant to do after such a cool time with TirZah in China & Joanne in Korea - although I have, albeit with gritted teeth, unpacked now. I do still feel a little lost though.

So this is a message to let you know that I am 'home' and it is also the beginning of processing my trip. Feel free to comment & question where you would like, sometimes it helps to have other people tweak & trigger thoughts.
Thank you for your prayers, your questions & your advice. They have all helped me to be objective & understand myself a little more at this time. You are treasured friends indeedily.

- Written on Wednesday, the 22nd of December 2010.

Sean Older, Brighton, UK.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/seanolder
Email: seanolderbe@gmail.com
Skype: Seanyboy_is_saved

My thoughts on the difference.

I have had trouble uploading this video onto my blog. It may just be too big!
Click the link below to see the video.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=440901842799&comments&po=1¬if_t=video_comment

These are just a few of my thoughts on the difference between our host families. Each of the families that hosted us were amazing and very generous. They were generous with what they had though & that differed... a lot!

My Plans for September

Greetings peeps,

I hope that this letter finds you well (I would genuinely like to know how you're doing too. This is not just a “let's-break-the-ice” greeting!)

The other day I was travelling to Lewes having had a quality time at a BBQ with some good youth worker friends of mine. We were casually chatting about our desires, our crazy ideas and our jobs when my friend perked up and said 'You know, I've been thinking... I reckon you should talk to the church about your plans to go to Kenya in September Sean. It would be good for them to know what you're getting up to.' He's right, and it is because of the conversation following that statement that I am writing to you.

You may, or may not, be aware that I have recently been volunteering with a local charity called IT Skills 4 Rural Kenya. ITS4RK are actively seeking to address the 'digital divide' in Kenya, one of the biggest challenges that the Kenyan government faces today (a confession of the Kenyan government itself!). “What does this look like?” ITS4RK seek to bring tangible and practical IT (Information Technology) skills to young people in Brighton & Hove. Skills such as; Recycling & refurbishing computers, Software training, Web design, Film production & Effective communications. These young people will then pass on what they have learnt to the local Kenyans when they spend September there. (Would you believe that I am one of these 'young people'!?).

The ITS4RK team heading out to Kenya in September (this year, a total of seventeen people) are all ranging in age, skills and ethnicity. ITS4RK volunteers have been working very hard to fund-raise for the trip by hosting all kinds of events/exhibitions in and around the city of Brighton & Hove. They have also created an art installation called 'Keys to Kenya' (Designed by Kenneth Okafor – See next page for the design.) where you can purchase a computer key and put it onto the map of Africa. This will then be displayed online in a very cool & innovative way!

One of the projects that the ITS4RK team have been asked to undertake while in Kenya is to make a documentary on the issue of Climate Change, and to do so in partnership with the local young people. Another aspiration ITS4RK are seeking to make a reality is holding a two-day conference for all those interested in setting up new IT Centres in Kenya and/or for those who wish to receive some training in ICT – a first for rural Kenya! This will hopefully take place this September, if we can get the letters detailing the conference back from the Kenyan government.

I would highly value your support (in whichever way you feel appropriate), both while preparing and also while in Kenya. There is a financial need and if you could help then please do contact me (you can also visit www.justgiving.com/itskills4ruralkenya). But even more so, I would super-value your prayers, wisdom & advice from all of your diverse life experiences.

If you are interested in knowing more about the trip or the charity then do not hesitate to get in contact with either myself or IT Skills 4 Rural Kenya.

I hope to hear from each of you (even if it is for a catch up!).

Sean,

Address: 49 The Ridgway, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 6PD
Phone no: 07752327564
Email: seanolderbe@gmail.com

ITS4RK - 'Transforming rural areas in Kenya into centres for economic empowerment and development.'

Relevance.

I found this in one of my dusty old note books today. I would like to share it with you.

"Sometimes I wonder will the church of the 'tomorrow-generation' still look like this? Does this 'same-old-same' church show a lack of rolling in the required relevancy of today? There are many things that we, as the church, seem to be a bit slow on the uptake on; pod-casting, streaming, decent looking websites, addressing cultural problems, engaging with the latest laws, using the latest innovations within trade and even just being up to date with the current news around us. Will the church that I once knew as irrelevant be even more irrelevant in the future? Do we stare a gloomy future in the face? Surely being in relationship with God, and a God of eternity at that, we can but be relevant? If only we stay 'in tune' with our God?"

Just some thoughts that captured my attention again.

"Tell what you have been Taught."

A good friend of mine gave me a bible passage today. She felt that God had illuminated it to her for me. She was not sure why? She had no idea of what I have been going through lately. But man, I am thankful she shared it. having just spent 30 seconds reading it, it speaks and confirms much. I thank God for the Christian friends around me that speak into my life like this. It feeds me with much curiosity, peace and joy.

Here is the bible bit:

"So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but can not kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

Matthew 10:26-28

(I wanted to omit verse 28 [not highlighted] but it is still truth and needs to be heard, as well s considered.)


The scripture she gave me, having just re-read it, confirms two things I feel God is doing in me. Both of which are spurring me on to be more like 'the me' He has created, and less like 'the me' others want me to be. God is calling me to proclaim from the rooftops His goodness and all that He is teaching. Last night I was spending sometime reading Exodus, a book in the bible. I noticed that god taught Moses miracles and taught him the words He wanted to pass on to the nation of Israel. It was Moses' responsibility to convey what God had taught him, in order to encourage the nation towards God and God's plan. Moses, however, was not confident enough to do this. Therefore God gave Moses a mate, called Aaron, a priest, to lead alongside him and speak for him. Moses then shared with Aaron all that God had taught him and it was Aaron who replicated it before the nation of Israel. Moses was not able to tell a tonne of people, so he 'told of what God had taught' someone close to him. It was this phrase, 'We tell what He has taught' that resounds in my head, more and more. Just typing that brings so much peace to my insides. It is something of hunger and truth, something that stirs faith in Jesus. It lifts our eyes to Him for more. I want more. :)
I was singing today, as I walked my friend's dog down Falmer Road. This is something that I do not do too often. But Falmer Road is a busy road, full of noise pollution, so I sang to God. Then a lyric was just repeating in what I was singing. It was something like 'Come rest in me, come & shine your light, shine your light on my darkness.' I need Him to reveal stuff that I do not see. That is for sure. Sometimes you just need a friend that sees the wasp on your back and chooses to brush it off.

It seems like my hunger for intimacy with people and with God has been quashed recently and I have been crying out for Him to come & rule, in experience and in others. This quash that I felt, was not intentionally done, but went against all that God had been doing in me. It forced me to look at all I was doing and how I was doing it. It taught me some valuable lessons like patience. However, it is time to burn with zeal for Jesus again. To hunger for more, while taking into account where others are at, so not to freak them out or lead them where they are not yet ready for.

I need two things to tell of what I am being taught, that seem at opposite ends of the spectrum at times... Empathy and Exhortation.

And in order to bring the two together, I need wisdom.

I am drawn to search the Proverbs (another book in the bible packed with wise words) in order to finish this blog that started with a message of mutual passion for 'fellowship' within testimony.

Here we go...

Proverbs 8:12

"I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion."


Yeah.

Inspiring witness of Jesus.

I met a Christian friend of a friend the other day. One of my old YWAM (Youth With A Mission) friends told me a friend of hers was coming down to Brighton for a holiday & a bit of a pray. She asked if I would mind meeting up with her for a milkshake and a chat.
So we did...
I met her by the pier, didn't even know her name when we first met. I took her to a place in the North Laines called 'Lick' - a frozen yoghurt place! (Stinkin' good!)
She shared her testimony with me. She was in a Psychiatric hospital after a lot of time on drugs and into dodgy stuff. She told me that a Rev. came into the hospital to offer communion to believers and her and a friend she had made took communion with him. Then a guy that was Schizophrenic would come and share Jesus with her at her bed side. He was the only person within the whole of Guildford that cared for her, the only person who loved her, prayed for her and cared for her.
I was so challenged on how God can use any follower of His Son if they are willing to serve His Son. He used a Schizophrenic lover of Jesus to share His Son in a Psychiatric hospital!

My God is Awesome!
He accepts people where they are and offers them a leg up to a better life!

God - The Football Fan.

Some times God speaks to people in dreams. Many of my friends tell me of dreams that they have had and how God had been using those dreams to speak to them about something coming up in the future or about a certain situation that they were facing at that moment. I rarely get dreams, although admittedly I have had a couple recently. That doesn't mean that I always remember what happened in them though!
However, God speaks to me in a different way when I sleep. Every now and then I wake up in the middle of the night or early morning with a single word in my head. This single word is usually a word that I do not know the meaning of, either because it is in a foreign language or it is a 'upper-class' or 'academic' word. I then write that word down and crawl back into my beautifully warm and cosy bed. When night mysteriously transforms into day I will go on a quest to find out the meaning of that word (not always as easy as it sounds!) It proves for quite an exciting start to the day. Of course occasionally I do not get to look up the word in the morning and spend the whole day with the literal 'Word of the Lord' resounding like a gong in my head, like someone had pressed the 'pronunciation button' on a dictionary.
The last time I had this was about two days ago. I woke up with the term 'Bofana! Bofana!' in my head and a compounding excitement in my heart. All of the English linguistic scholars reading this will know that this is not English. In fact it is not even a European language. Where does it come from then!? South Africa!
If you have ever been to a South Africa world cup football match you may have heard the phrase 'Bofana! Bofana!' shouted by an over excited lunatic of a football fan... No? I haven't been to a South African football match either. 'Bofana! Bofana!' means 'Go Boys! Go Boys!' Xhosa (pronounced kosa [The K has to make a clicking noise like when you hit a ping pong ball with the paddle!]). It can also be in the singular too, 'Go boy! Go boy!'.
This exciting cry of 'Bofana! Bofana!' came at a time of drowning in a sea of summer madness with the need to be swimming quick & easy laps, facing various struggles & pressures in my personal walk with Jesus and with wanting to have more intimacy in the lives of those around me and with the Father.
The cry of 'Bofana! Bofana!' was and is an exhortation, a plea for determination, persistence, consistency and a drawing near to the guy that walked all over the stormy sea of Galilee.

Feel the endearing cry of the Father as He shouts from the sideline with excitement and longing 'Bofana! Bofana!'.

"Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them round your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favour and good success in the sight of God and man." - Proverbs 3:3,4

Rooted in the 'Now' leaning towards the 'Next'.

Well for me...
I have a big heart for justice, just not sure what to do with it.
I certainly have a heart for the nations; to travel, to experience culture, language & food, experience, to equip, to teach, to disciple and to connect with people! To share Jesus with all that I do. This is my heart.
I know that until November 2010, my job, my service, my call are here in Brighton, serving the church. My heart also needs to be here and not else where, until then. But as my contract draws towards an end, I will begin to seek what God has next for me.

Sometimes all of this prescribed and organised vision gets clouded and I get ahead of myself. I start thinking about my future wife, family and season. However, if I am living for the 'now' the 'next' will naturally become the 'now'. There is always a natural transition from the 'now' into the 'next' that is how it happens. God made it like that.
As people after God we should be people that are looking for his heart to be established where we are... in the present. The future will be orchestrated by Him as we consistently abide in Him.

Misty Edwards - Finally I Surrender
If you have not listened to it, you should. It's good.

Rooted in the 'NOW' and leaning towards the 'NEXT'.

Victory to Jesus.

I wonder how the early church looked at 'conversion'? Would they have seen person's coming to know the Lord as another tally mark on the chalkboard, a personal or corporate achievement or 'victory'?
When I think back to Peter's confession of Christ in the bible (Matthew 16) it seems that Jesus is absolutely delighted with Peter's declaration and revelation from the Father in heaven.
Could it be that this 'victory' is actually found within the context of a relationship with God and that a relationship with God is found in the victory of Christ's expiation or atonement of our muck ups?
The fact of the matter is this. We wold not be in a relationship with the Father/Spirit if it were not for Jesus' sacrifice. Yet we know that this is not a stagnant victory in our lives, but one of action and change. Dare I say, one of victory? The truth is we all look at our lives and see how we miss the ideal/best. But there is good news! Within relationship with the Spirit we can become more like the person we want to be. Personally, I have found that more often than not the person I want to be looks a heck of a lot like Jesus.
You know, maybe Jesus does rejoice at the liberation and victory in our lives. However, I believe that this rejoicing & pleasure is completely rooted in His delight in the Father's best. He knows that every time we, even slightly, incline our hearts towards the ways of God, we are becoming more like what we were originally created to be, not out of any egotistical self-achievement.
This slant on what may be called 'victory for God' can only be viewed from within an organic, living & submissive relationship with the Spirit of God (that is literal, God's Spirit!). Then, what was once seen as a revival of death to eternal life becomes the beginning of change and transformation, something that no man or woman is able to boast in. When we submit our lives to God we are essentially saying "God, I need help to be better, will you make me better. Make me more like you" Even this transition into a more 'godly', 'kingdom' or moral way of living is the outworking of His gracious Spirit in our lives in conjunction with our free will to choose Him. It is His work in our lives. In fact, one hip-hop artist, Precise, calls it 'His Story, my shoes.'
The truth is the gospel stands on it's own two feet & we, being changed and given betterness (holiness) by Jesus, respond with our lives. We essentially change our ways out of adoration and thanks for the crucified Christ. Man, has no place to take credit for any part in bringing others to know 'the man who saves the world' i.e. Jesus, because without Jesus we would not have a message to share.
We of course play some role, placing our free will into the cause of sharing Jesus and becoming more like Him. However my motive is not to highlight myself, but to exaggerate the powerful message of salvation & transformation through Jesus.
Just as our response to the message of redemption and eternal love was WORSHIP (submission, adoration & devotion) in our initial commitment to the Lord, so should it be in our constant transformation and when we have the privilege of partnering in another person's salvation.

Our response in this time of victory should be one of WORSHIP, ADORATION, RE-COMMITTING, PRAISE, LOVE, HOPE AND HUMILITY.

A Touch From Within.

Well... me.
I am doing pretty good to be honest.
I am wanting more intimacy with the Father, more and more, which is awesome because I have been praying for a genuine desire for Him (Thank you Holy Spirit for you working in me). However, I need more persistence in order to actually press in and hear the voice of the Father and then courage to heed His voice. Just want to feel His decisive & intimate direction on things really.
All this communication with others is amazing (friends from YWAM around the world & friends here too) But there is nothing like a friend that meets your needs from within. I want to cultivate this prayerful atmosphere somehow. First I need to live it, in order to draw others into it.
Sacrifice...

Perhaps this it?

Justly treating the unjust oppressor.

You know that there is a really cool thing about God's anger at injustice and that is that it comes out of His heart for the one hurt. Only when we get a glimpse of God's heart for injustice/justice we quite often try to FIGHT on behalf of the afflicted, setting out to afflict the oppressor (whether intentionally or unintentionally). In doing so, we become partial & biased. We are hypocrites eh? It is a good thing that God is impartial. You and I have a similar journey to walk at the moment. I am trying to suss out what God has lined up for me, when my heart is fascinated and angered by injustice. However, in order to act in a righteous manner I need God's loving & compassionate heart for Justice.
Help us Spirit of Jesus... Please.

Slumdog Missionary

A man becomes a missionary to the "Slumdog's".

Faith compels us to live.

This is the Archbishop of Canterbury's Easter Sermon 2009, preached at Canterbury Cathedral on 12 April, and reproduced here with grateful acknowledgement.

Do you know that God exists? the interviewers ask; or, How do you know Christian faith is true? There are two tempting ways of responding, both wrong. There is the apologetic shuffle of saying, 'Of course, I don't really know; this is just the truth as it appears to me and I may be wrong'. And there is the confident offer to prove it all to the hearer's satisfaction; here are the philosophical arguments, here is the historical evidence, now what's the problem?

Two kinds of mistake: the first because it reduces faith to opinion and shrinks the scale of what you're trying to talk about to the dimensions of your own mind and preferences; the second because it keeps you at arms' length from the whole business by making it impersonal: here are the proofs and it doesn't much matter what I or anyone may be doing about it. It's just true in much the same way as it's true that Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. You may say, 'Well, there you go' but are unlikely to fall to your knees.

St Paul in today's epistle makes it clear that to speak of Jesus' resurrection is also to say something crucial about who and where we are, not just to make a claim about the past.. Now we should not doubt for a moment that Paul means what he says and that he takes for granted that the resurrection of Jesus is not a piece of fantasy or wishful thinking but the actual emptying of a grave. However, the point of Paul's entire teaching on the resurrection is to take us much further than that. This event, the emptying of the grave, has done something and has brought the Christians of Colossae – like all Christians – into a new universe. They are living in a new climate, with new 'thoughts' – a climate in which the various ways in which we've put up barriers between ourselves and God have been shattered and our old selves are dead. We may still go on trying to put those barriers back up again, but something has happened that opens up a new kind of future. Our selfish and destructive acts and reactions can be dealt with, overwhelmed again and again by the love shown in the cross of Jesus. Because of Jesus' death and rising from the dead, our resurrection has started, and our citizenship in heaven has begun. There is a hidden seed of glory within us, gradually coming to its fullness.

Resurrection has started. How do we know? Not by working it out and adopting it as well-founded opinion, not by deciding that this idea suits us, not by getting all the arguments straight, but because we are dimly aware of something having changed around us. For Paul's converts in Colossae, Corinth, or wherever, it's about the impact on them of his early visits: here was someone who although he wasn't a good speaker or a charismatic teacher (so he himself tells us) was so intensely aware that the world had changed that he changed the world for those around him. They trusted him; they were prepared to risk all the mockery and harassment and worse that Christians had to put up with because they were able to say, 'It's so real for him that we can sense the sort of imperative urgency in what he says and what he sees; whatever he believes, this is life at a new level'.

That's why the two sorts of defence of faith I mentioned earlier aren't good enough. It's not that this is an attractive theory that I've decided to try out – but I may be wrong. Nor is it that I now have a knock-down argument that will convince everyone. There is something compelling here. I can't help being drawn to this promise of life and freedom, it isn't about my opinions only; yet I know that I can't put this into neat words that will make everyone say, 'Oh yes, it's obvious really'.

Easter's true roots!

Question: "What are the origins of Easter?"

Answer: The origins of Easter are rooted in European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre (or Eostre) who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. A festival called Eastre was held during the spring equinox by these people to honor her. The goddess Eastre’s earthly symbol was the rabbit, which was also known as a symbol of fertility. Originally, there were some very pagan (and sometimes utterly evil) practices that went along with the celebration. Today, Easter is almost a completely commercialized holiday, with all the focus on Easter eggs and the Easter bunny being remnants of the goddess worship.

In the Christian faith, Easter has come to mean the celebration of the resurrection of Christ three days after His crucifixion. It is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year because of the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the events upon which Christianity is based. Easter Sunday is preceded by the season of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and repentance culminating in Holy Week and followed by a 50-day Easter season that stretches from Easter to Pentecost.

Because of the commercialization and pagan origins of Easter, many churches prefer to refer to it as “Resurrection Sunday.” The rationale is the more we focus on Christ and the less we focus on the pagan holiday, the better. As previously mentioned, the resurrection of Christ is the central theme of Christianity. Paul says that without this, our faith is futile (1 Corinthians 15:17). What more wonderful reason could we have to celebrate! What is important is the true reason behind our celebration, which is that Christ was resurrected from the dead, making it possible for us to have eternal life (Romans 6:4)!

Should we celebrate Easter or allow our children to go on Easter eggs hunts? This is a question both parents and church leaders struggle with. There is nothing essentially evil about painting and hiding eggs and having children search for them. What is important is our focus. If our focus is on Christ and not the eggs, our children will understand that the eggs are just a game. Children can participate in an Easter egg hunt as long as the true meaning of the day is explained and emphasized, but ultimately this must be left up to the discretion of parents.

Taken from www.gotquestions.org

Love Prevails.

Feel privileged, I am just going to type an excerpt out of my journal with God - a rarety.
Some of this stuff may shock you mate - BE WARNED! :)

"As I come before God in prayer about my past relationship with a girl (she was and is Wiccan and I was and am a Christian) I was wondering why it is my times with her are the deepest love that I have felt or experienced? Perhaps the deepest instance of love that I can recall. As I pause, I am struck by the response lodging in my spirit. It's like God is saying to me "It was a mutual acceptance and ignorance, due to sexual desire". As I think on this more I remember the amount of times that I said to her "Just become a Christian & everything will be fine" to which she would reply "just become a wiccan". Stalemate. At that time, my committment was deeply rooted enough that I would not leave this God of mine, this Jesus who bled for my atonement. However, when it cam to me being a moral witness of Jesus, I compromised.
We both had chosen to be ignorant orr tolerant of the other persons religious beliefs (although it was in the forefront of my mind) in order to be in harmony on the common ground we had... sexual desire for one another and a desire to be physically and intimately close. The desire for physical intimacy with the one I was committed to was so strong that I had deluded my self, in thinking it was love. Part of this was due to my now Christian mindset of having to be in a loving marriage to have experiences of a sexual nature. I was making excuses and compromising my beliefs, making it OK. I had mistakenly chosen sexual gratification over true love (with a partner and with God). I had turned a godly mindset inside out. Love had become a bi-product (or secondary addition) to sexual activity because I had focused on sexual closeness and genuinely believed that it was loving intimacy. But really it was a selfish flesh gratifying relationship, but it was all we knew.
But... the godly model is that love, Chrst-like, God-centred, self-sacrifcing love should be the primary focus of an intimate relationship and both marriage and sex are a bi-product or secondary addition to it.
Love Prevails!"

Ok, so I have adapted a bit as it would not have made sense.
Maybe I should just process on my blog from now on, as it is easier to delete mistakes and re-word for my true meaning.

Even, as I wrote this up, I was struck with the last few lines of it, but on the side of marriage this time and not sex.As Christians, especially when young in the faith, it is easy to get pressured (usually inadvertently) into a desire for marriage because it is the vehicle for sex. However, marriage should not be even in the headlights until love is deeply rooted. Love should prevail over all.

Some scripture comes to mind too....

1 Corinthians 13:13 "So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Ephesians 3:14-19 "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. "

an evangelical change of heart on sexuality.

In the long battle against slavery in the 19th century, it was the voices of evangelical Christians such as William Wilberforce, John Wesley and Bishop of London Beilby Porteus who played an important role in swinging the domestic political debate in favour of abolition, alongside Quakers and others - religious and non-religious.

They did so because they realised that although there were verses in the Bible (for them the determining authority in life and conduct) that could readily be pressed into the defence of slavery, there was something much larger at stake in the Gospel message which led inexorably to the conclusion that the captives should be set free – as Jesus said in one of his defining sermons, as recorded by Luke.

On that basis they re-interpreted pro-slavery verses by understanding them as overwritten by the new order of grace brought about by Christ, as warnings about the partiality of human insight into the mystery of God's love, and as stage posts in a process of unfolding, deepening revelation.

Similar arguments are being heard today from a number of evangelical Christians over the question of recognising the civil, ecclesial and relationship status of lesbian and gay people. These evangelicals are still a minority, but they are a growing one. They bring to the challenge of changing the hearts and minds of their fellow believers the same moral and theological seriousness that motivated their forebears in the anti-slavery movement.

This week, four evangelical organisations joined together to remind their fellow "Bible people" that opposing hate speech and hate crimes against homosexual people – in this case the antics of the bizarre Westboro Baptist sect – means too little if you are simultaneously defending forms of prejudice and discrimination within your own communities.

The prime mover in this, Accepting Evangelicals, is a network of Christians who take the Bible with great seriousness, but who argue that what the handful of verses deployed by anti-gay campaigners address is not modern same-sex relationships built on mutual commitment and self-giving love, but practices of pederasty, cultic prostitution and abuse in very different cultural and religious contexts.

They are supported in this view by considerable biblical scholarship and by Christians of other stripes who share the conviction that being followers of Jesus in the modern world involves responsible freedom not backward-looking fear.

The recent statement was also signed by the Network of Baptists Affirming Lesbian and Gay Christians, the Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians, Ekklesia (which has many evangelicals on board), and by Courage UK – an organisation that started out as an "ex-gay" ministry but which has now shifted towards acceptance and inclusion as a Gospel imperative.

Courage UK, founded in 1998, was pushed to resign from the Evangelical Alliance in 2002 as a result of its changed stance. Those who head up major evangelical organisations know that there are dissenters in their own ranks, but they fear the debate that would result if this was acknowledged more openly. The hardliners in their midst also find succour in being seen as part of a righteous war against a supposed "liberal" enemy intent on diluting the Gospel message. Similar arguments were used to try to rebut the abolitionists.

It is strange indeed that opposition to same-sex relationships has become a litmus test for a certain kind of orthodoxy in some evangelical circles, despite the fact that Christ said nothing about it. On the contrary, he deliberately breached religious taboos against groups ostracised by the establishment, and he upheld actions like forgiveness and economic sharing as signs of authentic discipleship – not culture-based religious restrictions.

Change is on the way, nonetheless. The refusal of a mature debate on sexuality is being questioned and jettisoned in many parts of the evangelical world: among young people involved in fresh "emerging" forms of church life, in discussions at festivals like Greenbelt, and even in the counsels of the heartlands.

Last November the highly respected Richard Cizik resigned as vice president for governmental affairs with the 50 million-strong National Association of Evangelicals in the USA, following uproar over his comments that he is shifting his views on same-sex unions.

Many privately expressed agreement with Cizik. Influential evangelical leaders Tony and Peggy Campolo have publicly debated the homosexuality issue, with Peggy moving to an openly affirming position.

In Britain, pro-gay evangelicals have also been "coming out". A few years ago veteran Methodist preacher George Hopper published an online book that sums up the difficulty of the shift, but also its hopefulness. It is called Reluctant Journey – A pilgrimage of faith from homophobia to Christian love.

The struggle against anti-gay prejudice is not just a church one. In pubs, in tabloid newspapers, in homes and workplaces, rejection lurks behind thin facades of liberalism.

Evangelical Christians are deeply immersed in the problem. But if they learn from their history and re-read the biblical message in the light of its living centre, Christ, they can be part of a historic change.

REFERENCES

* Abolitionism and the Bible - http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-145473606.html

* Affirming Evangelical statement on gay people - http://ekklesia.co.uk/node/8749

* Information on Westboro Baptist Church – http://www.adl.org/special_reports/wbc/default.asp

* Accepting Evangelicals - http://www.acceptingevangelicals.org/

* Courage UK - http://www.courage.org.uk/

* Reluctant Journey (online book) - http://freespace.virgin.net/gseh.rj/contents.htm

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(c) Simon Barrow is co-director of Ekklesia. He blogs at http://faithinsociety.blogspot.com and his website is at http://www.simonbarrow.net. The latest book he has edited, Fear or Freedom? Why a warring church must change is published by Shoving Leopard. His forthcoming book, Threatened With Resurrection: The difficult peace of Christ, will be published soon.

This article is adapted from one that has also appeared on Guardian Comment-is-Free, with acknowledgments.

Simon Barrow has written at greater length on sexuality and biblical faith in Fear or Freedom?. See chapter 9.


Taken from Ekklesia.co.uk

Tutu urges Obama to apologise.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has urged new US President Barack Obama to signal a real change of heart on Middle East policy by apologizing for the Iraq war.

Archbishop Tutu, aged 77, who is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, said late last week that Mr Obama risked squandering goodwill from around the world if he failed to acknowledge mistakes and annunciate policies for "moving forward".

The archbishop, who is part of a network called "the elders" who are seeking to bring influence to bear on situations needing reconciliation and conflict transformation, also encouraged President Obama to support the International Criminal Court and to “come down hard” on African dictators.

The anti-apartheid figurehead warned in an article for the BBC’s website that the high hopes surrounding Mr Obama’s presidency could turn sour.

The president, he said, “could easily squander the good will that his election generated if he disappoints.”

Archbishop Tutu wrote: “It would be wonderful if, on behalf of the nation, Obama apologizes to the world, and especially the Iraqis, for an invasion that I believe has turned out to be an unmitigated disaster.”

Article taken from Ekklesia think-tank 23/02/09

The Bible, Violence & Sex - a conference of real issues.

Christian students want a more open and positive discussion about gender and sexuality within the churches, faith communities and college groups to which they belong.

The call came at an event entitled ‘Liberating Gender’, which formed the annual conference of Britain's Student Christian Movement (SCM), meeting near Kidderminster.

Speakers included the well-known Catholic feminist theologian Tina Beattie, who challenged Christians to find more truthful and liberating ways of reading biblical texts such as the creation narratives.

She suggested that when considering sin, churches needed to shift their focus from what could be a rather obsessive concern with sex to the challenge of violence, not least religious violence.

The second keynote speaker was Sarah Jones, the first transgender person to be ordained in the Church of England. She spoke of her experience of God's guidance as she grappled with difficult personal and ethical issues and dealt with reactions to her decisions.

Talking to Ekklesia, SCM's Rosie Venner insisted that gender issues should be important to Christians. “Understanding and exploring gender helps us to explore our relationships with God and with the communities we find ourselves in” she said.

She added that the event had considered “things that people often don't have the opportunity to talk about, to do so in a place that is affirming but where people are taken beyond the questions they came with, to find ways of taking that home and acting on gender injustice”.

A range of views and perceptions were heard at the event, which included regular prayer and worship alongside workshops and discussions on masculinity, sex trafficking, queer theology and the links between sexuality and violence.

The event brought together students from across Britain and beyond, of varied age, background and views. There were roughly equal numbers of male and female participants.

“It's the first time that some of these issues have gone into my head” said Matt Sanderson, aged 19, as he prepared to return to York University yesterday.

He expressed his hope that students would speak up on these issues at a time when Christian leaders are keen to retain the involvement of young people. “We've got a good opportunity for the Church to listen to us” he said.

“I feel really positive,” added Allie Tait, aged 21, who had not attended an SCM event before, “There's been a really good vibe and a few things that opened my eyes”.

SCM is Britain's oldest national organisation for Christian students and will hold its 120th anniversary service at Manchester Cathedral on 28 March 2009. It seeks to promote “Christianity that is inclusive, aware, radical and challenging.”

Article from Ekklesia think-tank - 23/02/09

Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu 'Christians are regarded as mad'

Churchgoers are now "counter-cultural" because their values are so opposed to prevailing behaviour, claimed Dr Sentamu.

But he insisted that faith cannot be separated from the world of work, and that staff should not be expected to give up their religious convictions when they walk into the office.

Dr Sentamu, the second most senior cleric in the Church of England and its first black Archbishop, also said the recession should lead to a rediscovery of what is truly important in life, just as Britons rebuilt the country after the devastation of the Blitz.

His comments come amid growing concern about the marginalisation of Christianity in public life.

Labour MPs want to sever the historic link between Church and state, which would end the right of bishops to sit in the House of Lords and remove the right of all residents to be married, baptised or buried by a parish priest.

Meanwhile public sector workers now risk being sacked if they talk about religion in the workplace, under "equality and diversity" rules.

New NHS guidelines state that doctors and nurses face harassment charges if they are accused of "preaching" to colleagues or patients, while a draft code of practice for teachers could be used by schools to discipline those who discuss their beliefs with pupils.

Caroline Petrie, a community nurse who is a devout Baptist, was suspended without pay for two months after she offered to pray for an elderly patient. Jennie Cain remains off work from her job as a primary school receptionist for sending a private email asking for spiritual support from her friends, after her five-year-old daughter was scolded for talking about Hell to another girl.

Latest figures show that courts dealt with 600 cases of workplace discrimination on religious grounds in the year to April 2008, up from 486 two years before.

A Christian registrar lost her job for refusing to take part in civil partnership ceremonies while a relationship counsellor was sacked after he refused to give therapy to homosexual couples. Both have been unsuccessful in their claims for unfair dismissal.

In a speech delivered yesterday to Holy Trinity Brompton church in west London, the birthplace of the Alpha Course, Dr Sentamu said: "Many Christians are living out their lives as the church dispersed in the world of business and commerce every day.

"They are involved daily in building the Kingdom and have the daily challenge of living by a set of values that the world thinks are mad.

"Their counter-cultural work and calling needs to be recognised, affirmed and supported.

"We bring to the table a particular perspective – the vision of justice and righteousness that comes from a creative and generous God. It is not as if we are the only ethically minded people on the block – far from it. But what we are called to in Christ often asks of us more, and beckons us to a bigger vision."

He added: "All of life is religious and there is a desperate need to reconnect the sacred and the secular. There is no more urgent time than now to break down the compartmentalised thinking that separates trust in God from the world of work.

"There needn't be a separation between what goes on in church and in our prayers – and what goes on in the office or in the boardroom or on the shop floor."

Over the past six months Dr Sentamu has criticised repeatedly the greed and recklessness in the banking sector that has led to the current financial crisis.

In his latest attack, he said: "In our imagination, addiction to growth, fuelled by over-borrowing (debt), stopped being a bad thing. Instead, it became a means to an end, a route to growth.

"The unfettered pursuit of profit was never going to deliver. It is this idolatrous love of money, pursuing profit without regard for ethic, risk or consequence, which led us to our current situation."

He conceded that "banking is an honourable objective" but went on: "Not the gambling casino in the basement of banking".

"History is littered with the moral bankruptcy of people who were Christian in name but not in behaviour, who were silent or indifferent in the face of dehumanising and destructive power of governments," he said.

The Archbishop said he was sure that London could get through the current recession since it had survived the Blitz.

He added: "Just as after the war they had to live through a time of pre-fabs and rationing, I believe we urgently need to rediscover what it is to rebuild the city in our day, and now, in this time of transition, we need to learn how to build it.

"It is all the more important in these crucial days that Christians take their faith with them to the workplace and put it to work in the business of the Kingdom of God."

Where I'm at.

Well... I am busy. But really enjoying it. I am being taught how to pray a bit betterer (not that He judges) or more effectively, more in tandem with Him. I am listening to Him speak into my life, asking Him to shape my character and asking for a revelation of His ways. The revelation of His ways can seem so out there at times though. Not all that tangible. It's a bit like asking for an invisible gift, with no mass volume or weight you don't know if you have it, until it is shown to you or until you use it, without knowing it was there, and again it is shown to you.I want it to become clearer but the haze helps me look for Him, even if it is with squinting eyes and a confused mind that I seek Him, every now and then He reveals something that He has been working in me, that I have not noticed. Usually because I have been to focused on one detail.
I need a bigger picture.
Break our humanistic rooves off of our fallen-short-comfortable houses God. We need to know you, your ways, your perspective, your love and the way you view people more!
Help us to hear you, see you and love you.

Hosanna in the Highest!

Another Excerpt from Mr. Blair's speech.

I remember my first spiritual awakening. I was ten years old. That day my father – at the young age of 40 – had suffered a serious stroke. His life hung in the balance. My mother, to keep some sense of normality in the crisis, sent me to school. My teacher knelt and prayed with me. Now my father was a militant atheist. Before we prayed, I thought I should confess this. “I’m afraid my father doesn’t believe in God”. I said. “That doesn’t matter” my teacher replied “God believes in him. He loves him without demanding or needing love in return.”

That is what inspires: the unconditional nature of God’s love. A promise perpetually kept. A covenant never broken.

WOW!

An Excerpt from Tony Blair's speech at Obama's National Prayer Breakfast.

"Today, religion is under attack from without and from within. From within, it is corroded by extremists who use their faith as a means of excluding the other. I am what I am in opposition to you. If you do not believe as I believe, you are a lesser human being.

From without, religious faith is assailed by an increasingly aggressive secularism, which derides faith as contrary to reason and defines faith by conflict. Thus do the extreme believers and the aggressive non-believers come together in unholy alliance.

And yet, faith will not be so easily cast. For billions of people, faith motivates, galvanises, compels and inspires, not to exclude but to embrace; not to provoke conflict but to try to do good. This is faith in action. You can see it in countless local communities where those from churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, tend the sick, care for the afflicted, work long hours in bad conditions to bring hope to the despairing and salvation to the lost. You can see it in the arousing of the world’s conscience to the plight of Africa."

Can be found at www.ekklesia.co.uk

Very interesting and true. I believe in the toleration of people's faith in alternate 'gods', after all everyone is to make their own decision on faith. But I do not believe in the other gods. I do not believe that they have the power to bring you into purity, relationship or purity with the Creator, nor do I believe that they are the Creator.

battle of the buses.

In a move which will surprise few and may end up interesting fewer, three Christian organisations are putting thousands of pounds into advertising campaigns to counter the 'atheist buses' backed by Richard Dawkins, the British Humanist Association and others.

The Christian Party, the Trinitarian Bible Society and the Russian Orthodox Church will now run 'pro-God' campaigns on 175 buses for a fortnight from 9 February 2009.

The Rev George Hargreaves of the Christian Party, who is famous for having written the none-too-pious hit single 'So Macho', has created a bus advert which proclaims: "There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life." It will feature on 50 bendy buses in central London, east London and the West End.

The Russian Orthodox Church, meanwhile, has reportedly booked 25 supersize bus ads, backed by a sponsorship deal with Russian Hour TV, using the slogan "There IS a God, BELIEVE. Don't worry and enjoy your life."

The Trinitarian Bible Society will opt for a text from Psalm 53.1 that says: "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." This will feature on 100 buses.

Some scholars, such as Jose Portifa Miranda, point out that a better translation from the Hebrew might be "the rich person" rather than "the fool", and that the challenge was originally to powerful manipulators of faith rather than ordinary people buffeted by competing beliefs.

"This is all sadly predictable," commented Simon Barrow from the religion and society thinktank Ekklesia.

He added: "It is part of a societal trend to package and 'sell' beliefs of all kinds, as if they were commodities. Many people will feel this has little to do with anything Christianly or humanly edifying. One has to wonder whether the purveyors of pro- and anti-God slogans really think they will persuade people? It feels more like a war of position between groups who cannot resist 'having a go back'.

"But imagine if these tens of thousands of pound could be spent meeting human need and promoting understanding rather than sloganising. That might be both more persuasive and more useful."

Article can be found at www.ekklesia.co.uk