THE MAGAZINE OF THE
MESS AGE | 17 ISSUE 23 WINTER 20
ALSO INSIDE Teaching
from SAM WARD and ANDY HAWTHORNE
Exclusive extract
from Eden’s latest release UNFINISHED
And more...
Finding
Family Joe’s amazing story of transformation
ANDY’S RANT
‘A hope that changes everything’ Dear friends, Each morning at The Message, we gather for prayer and worship, to set our hearts on God and seek his blessing. A few Fridays ago was a particularly poignant day for me as one of our team asked for prayer for a young girl who she had led to Christ a few weeks previously. This girl had been in hospital three times in the last twelve months after suicide attempts and her arms and legs were horrifically scarred through her own self-harm. However, since committing her life to Christ, this girl’s demeanour had changed. She has connected into a local church and is starting to discover how beautiful she is to God. There were lots of other prayer requests for schools mission and a new prison initiative happening that very night but this one story summed up why we do what we do and why this rescue mission – called The Message Trust – is so important. Thanks for all your prayers, volunteering and financial support that allow us to go day in, day out to dozens of communities and hundreds of schools and prisons with the hope of Jesus that really can still change even the darkest situation. God bless,
Founder & CEO The Message Trust PS. I really do not want any of our friends and partners to miss out on our first Message Conference ‘Rivers in the Desert’. It really is shaping up to be a landmark occasion. Please book in today and bring your friends! Head to message.org.uk/conference
The Message Trust is a registered data user and only uses personal data in connection with its charitable purposes. Registered Office: Lancaster House, Lancaster Campus, Harper Road, Sharston, Manchester, M22 4RG. The Message Trust is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales No. 3961183 Registered Charity No. 1081467 VAT Registration No. GB 727 177616
IN THIS ISSUE
12 Joe’s story
We meet Joe, Message Enterprise Centre Team Member and Oaks graduate
04 Grenfell Tower
Editor Simon Baker
Strengthening community in the midst of tragedy
Associate Editor Ian Rowbottom Design & Illustration Simon Baker Hannah Beatrice Owens Bethan Wilson Matthew Varah Wilson
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Picture Editor Hannah Beatrice Owens Additional Photography Nadav Kander Rachael Silvester Contributors Carl Beech Andy Hawthorne Sam Ward
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Subscription & Supporter Enquiries E: info@message.org.uk T: 0161 946 2300
Giving E: giving@message.org.uk T: Tom Kinsey 0161 946 2328 Contact E: flow@message.org.uk T: 0161 946 2300 Flow Magazine The Message Trust Lancaster House Harper Road Sharston Manchester M22 4RG www.message.org.uk/flow
OUR COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT The paper used for Flow is manufactured using pulp sourced from sustainable sources from within Europe. It is 100% TCF (Totally Chlorine Free) and is manufactured to ISO14001 standards.
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06 Higher and higher Taking the youth mission across the UK
09 New releases
Gospel-focused music for young people
20 Blessed poverty
Sam Ward explores what it means to say ‘blessed are the poor’
24 Unfinished
An exclusive extract from our latest Eden release
30 A note from Carl Our UK Director has the final word 3
BIG PICTURE
Filled with prayer: Part of the extensive prayer wall covering the sides of Latymer Community Church in the aftermath of the fire at Grenfell Tower, on the Lancaster West estate, home to Eden Ladbroke Grove. The church and Eden team have been instrumental in providing support and a space to grieve for the affected community. Photo: Nadav Kander
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NEWS
Getting ready for Higher in Manchester, the Midlands, South Wales and Yorkshire By this time next year, Higher will have toured both Manchester and the Midlands, and will be heading for South Wales. After months of planning, we’re gearing up for months of coordinated schools work across the UK through Higher. We’re returning this month (October 2017) to Manchester, with weeks of intensive schools work and an explosive evangelistic gig featuring Danielle Strickland as part of the Message Conference on 17 November 2017 at Victoria Warehouse. Then, it’s off to South Wales to launch Higher – Luis Palau, Andy Hawthorne and Gary Smith will be sharing the vision for the nation of Wales on 24 November at St David’s Hall in Cardiff.
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It’s an amazing vision to see a cultureshifting number of new disciples of Jesus ‘We can’t wait for Higher to impact schools across our nation,’ says Gary Smith, Director of Message Wales. ‘We’re inviting the whole church to the launch event – it’s not just for church leaders, it’s for everyone. It’s a vision we can all get behind as we seek to extend God’s kingdom and see many lives transformed by the power of Jesus.’ There’s hardly a breath before Higher moves to the Midlands. After our launch events in May 2017, we’ll be hitting the
NEWS
schools in February 2018 and building towards a weekend of gospel-focused events on 16–17 March 2018. We’re excited to be partnering with churches from across the area and engaging with schools new to The Message.
SOUTH WALES LAUNCH Join us for vision, prayer and worship as we build towards Higher South Wales 2018. With Luis Palau, Andy Hawthorne and Gary Smith and performances from Amongst Wolves, SoulBox and Vital Signs.
24 NOVEMBER 2017, 7.30PM ST DAVID’S HALL, CARDIFF T I C K E T S : £ 6 (£7.50 ON THE DOOR)
HIGHERTOUR.COM/SOUTH-WALES
‘Higher Midlands 2018 will be our first coordinated mission outside Manchester and a chance for our bands to impact a whole new city with the message of Jesus,’ says Tom Butler, Head of UK Mission. ‘Please pray for us and, if you’re in the Midlands, get in touch today to find out how you could play your part in helping us achieve our amazing vision to see a culture-shifting number of new disciples of Jesus.’
STAY UP TO DATE WITH HIGHER Visit highertour.com
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NEWS
Long-awaited Eden team launches in Birkenhead North At the end of May we launched a new Eden team in the North End of Birkenhead. A number of local churches and organisations came together to support and pray for this new team based at St James Church, Birkenhead.
area was the sheer need. I think that so often we expect God to give us this big glamorous call and yet, more often that not, the need is the call itself. We follow a God who has a special place for those most in need and those most forgotten and neglected.’
It was a night that had been much anticipated and longed for as, almost five years ago, three separate members of St James Church all heard about Eden within the space of a week and all felt a strong sense that Eden was what their community and church needed.
Already, Eden Birkenhead North are working in local primary schools, running youth activities at the local community centre, mentoring and discipling youth and mums in the community and engaging in detached youth work.
It has been a long but fruitful journey after Eden team leader Holly Warren joined St James church a year ago to begin preparing for the launch of Eden and form a team. Holly says: ‘What drew me to this
PASSIONATE ABOUT MISSION? COME AND SPEND A YEAR ON THE CUTTING EDGE. FIND OUT MORE ACADEMY.MESSAGE.ORG.UK
The team is continuing to grow with three members at the time of going to print, but there is still a need for more of the family of God to move into this community. Please pray for God to send more team members to join this exciting venture.
NEWS
From the Message Academy to war-torn Sierra Leone James Koroma, Academy 2013–14 graduate, grew up in Sierra Leone, a country still reeling from civil war and where 80% of the population live in extreme poverty. The Message is now supporting him as he returns to share the gospel. ‘Six months into my Academy year we went on a mission trip to South Africa. Seeing the impact of the work out there, especially in prisons among young men in gangs sparked something in me. It made me believe I can see something like this working among the gang culture in Sierra Leone,’ says James. ‘Since I completed the course I’ve been doing everything I can provide an alternative to street kids in my home country, particularly those caught up in gangs.’
On a recent trip, James worked with a former child soldier who had lived on the streets for over 12 years. ‘It was very challenging hearing his story and I just had this love toward him as a brother. ‘We’ve been able to seed-fund a hairdressing shop for him. The vision is for it to run itself after the first year. Seeing his journey toward a relationship with Jesus is amazing, and I believe if we keep praying we can see lives like his turned around. ‘It’s all about reaching the unreachable, going and seeking the lost and seeing their lives transformed.’
THE MESSAGE ACADEMY: RECRUITING NOW FOR 2018
academy.message.org.uk
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NEWS
Carl Beech releases ‘The Way: Living the Beatitudes today’ Carl’s most recent book explores living the beatitudes in Matthew 5. ‘If you want to get to the heart of what it means to follow Jesus, the Beatitudes are a good place to start,’ says Carl. ‘It’s a simple little book and features some great stories from around The Message.’
GET YOUR COPY FOR JUST £7.99 message.org.uk/shop All proceeds support the work of The Message.
New music videos for Message missions teams Over the past few months our creative mission bands have released a number of inspiring new music videos. Galactus Jack’s ‘I Got You’ is featured on the recent EP Younger Days, Part I. Both Part I and Part II of Younger Days are now available as a digital download and on all streaming sites. Amongst Wolves’ cover of Justin Bieber’s ‘Let Me Love You’ introduces their sound: punk-rock that will especially engage young people on the fringe. And BrightLine’s upbeat song ‘Dream Again’ features Sola Ayodeji, formerly of Square1 and now part of our Academy team, pulling shapes in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. 10
‘These videos are fun, but what’s more important is that they’re engaging young people and cutting through a music industry that so often is full of damaging and hurtful ideas,’ says Tom Butler, Head of UK Mission. ‘We’re excited to see these songs connecting with young people online as well as face-to-face in schools.’
SEE THE LATEST VIDEOS
youtube.com/MessageTrust
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Our current reoffending rate at the Message Enterprise Centre, one year after release (national average: 44.1%).
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The number of businesses currently offering employment to the unemployable at the Message Enterprise Centre. Come and visit on Thursday 7 December: to find out more email events@message.org.uk
NEWS
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new Academy students started their year with us in September. Pray for many lives to be impacted as they grow in confidence sharing the gospel.
Get our latest teaching for free Are you subscribed to The Message Podcast? Subscribe today for weekly teaching from Message speakers including Andy Hawthorne, Carl Beech and Sam Ward, plus teaching from guest speakers including Gavin Calver, Sophia Barrett, Danielle Strickland and many more!
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Mates on a mission Celebrating the remarkable people with us on the journey Steve Uppal, Senior Leader at All Nations Christian Centre, Wolverhampton, shared with us on Prayer Day in June. All Nations are one of our key partners for Higher Midlands 2018. Listen at message.org.uk/podcast There’s a new role for Mat Walls who for the last seven years has led the Message Academy. He’s going to be running Evangelism Bootcamps across the UK for you and your church to grow in sharing the gospel. Interested? Visit message.org.uk/bootcamp
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Message Open Day Thursday 7 December 2017, 12–3pm Come and visit The Message’s HQ and the Message Enterprise Centre Come for an exclusive tour of our state-of-the-art facilities in south Manchester. You’ll have an opportunity to meet our staff team and hear stories of transformed lives from our enterprise team members. To find out more and to sign up today, email events@message.org.uk
The brand-new book exploring all we’ve learnt over the last 25 years with contributions from Andy Hawthorne, Carl Beech, Collette Dallas, Sam Ward, Meg Latham, Ben Jack, Ian Rowbottom and Gary Smith AVAILABLE NOW TO PRE-ORDER
£7.99 from message.org.uk/shop Not final cover
Join us to launch the book and celebrate 25 years of ministry at the Message Conference on 17–18 November 2017 • message.org.uk/conference
STORY
Finding Family fter years trapped in a cycle of drugs and crime, Joe had lost everything, even his family. But after finding Christ in prison, he is now completely free from addiction and has been restored to his family. He tells his story‌
Growing up, both my parents were alcoholics and I had five older brothers who all took drugs. My dad had me when he was 50 and my mum was in her early forties. I used to come home from school and have to carry my dad up to his bed because he was drunk. I was always trying to cover the shame. My oldest brother was about 22 when I was born. I looked up to him as a 13
STORY
father figure, because my dad was an old alcoholic while my brother was cool. I went through life wishing my brother was my dad. By the time I was 12 I’d started smoking cannabis with him. Four years later I’d moved on to heroin. By the time I was 18 I was injecting heroin and taking methadone. Over the years I was in and out of prison countless times for shoplifting, breaking into homes and once for an assault with a knife. I weighed just six and a half stone because of the damage the drugs had done. One night when I was 24 my brother went out to get his heroin and he didn’t come back. He had been arrested. Four weeks later when he came home from prison, he went straight to our bathroom. I had a feeling there was something wrong. When he came out he was chalk white with sweat dripping off him and then he started convulsing. By the time the ambulance arrived he was already dead.
My life sunk to its lowest point four years later when I walked into my mum’s house to find her extremely unwell. I called an ambulance. While I waited for them to arrive, they told me to grip her hands, but only one of them was gripping. Earlier I’d stolen money out of my mum’s purse to pay for drugs. When they asked me if I wanted to go in the ambulance with my mum, I knew there was only one decision I was making that day and that was to go and get drugs instead. I didn’t know that as I was gripping my mum’s hands it would be last time I was going to see her alive. I knew the decisions I’d made were wrong, but it was something I’d always have to live with. I was definitely broken. None of my family wanted to speak to me. Nobody wanted to know me. I had no friends. I had nothing. Everything began to change when I met Maurice Craig who was part of an outreach taking place with Teen
Where I come from, people only want to know you if you make money and can get certain drugs, but there was something different about this guy. The more he spoke to me, the more it softened me up.
STORY
Challenge. He tried to get to know me and asked me questions about my life.
Eventually I decided to get some help and went to a Teen Challenge rehabilitation centre called Whitchester House. For the first 12 weeks, I couldn’t sleep at all at night as I was coming off the methadone. If I hadn’t been 26 miles away from the nearest town I would have left. Through those long nights all I would think about was how I might get away. On one day in particular, I was more desperate than ever to leave. That day, I received two letters. One included the words from Psalm 62: ‘I stand patiently before God. My victory comes from him. He alone is my rock.’ The other included Philippians 1:6: ‘He who began a work in you will finish it until the day of completion.’ Somehow, even though I didn’t know God at the time, those verses helped me to stay where I was.
‘None of my family wanted to speak to me. Nobody wanted to know me. I had no friends. I had nothing’ I remember thinking at the time, ‘If God exists, why had I gone through all this?’ I was only there to get off drugs and if anybody spoke to me about Christianity I didn’t want to listen. But the one person able to reach me was a young guy called Stuart. He had a stutter and, because of my time in prison where you learn not to bully certain people, 15
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FEATURING TWO UNFORGETTABLE EVENINGS HIGHER MANCHESTER 2017 DAN IELLE STRICKL A ND B RIG HT LIN E • TWELVE24 VITAL SIG NS • SOULBOX AMON G ST WOLVES
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TIM HUGHES
Luis Palau and his ministry have shared the good news of Jesus Christ with tens of millions of people through evangelistic events and media over the past 50 years. He has spoken in 75 countries with more than a million registered decisions for Jesus Christ. He has counseled business leaders, political leaders, and heads of state around the world.
Tim heads up Worship Central – an international worship training and resource centre – and leads St Luke’s Church, Gas Street in Birmingham. His songs include ‘Here I Am To Worship’, ‘Happy Day’ and ‘Jesus Saves’.
DANIELLE STRICKLAND Danielle serves in The Salvation Army as an officer in Los Angeles, California. She carries many of The Message’s values as she seeks to cultivate authentic Christian community in deprived neighborhoods on the way to loving the last, the lost and the least into God’s kingdom. She is a published author and a gifted speaker.
MATT REDMAN Matt is a Grammy-award-winning songwriter, author and worship leader. His songs include ‘The Heart of Worship’, ‘Blessed Be Your Name’ and ‘10,000 Reasons’. He is passionate about worship that goes hand-in-hand with justice and has played a significant role in The Message’s journey over the last 25 years.
RIVERS & ROBOTS Manchester-based band Rivers & Robots aim to make Jesus known through creative worship. They’ve led worship throughout the UK, in Europe, Asia and in the US.
ANDY HAWTHORNE Andy is Founder and CEO of The Message and an in-demand international evangelist and communicator. He was awarded an OBE in 2011.
CARL BEECH Carl joined The Message in January 2016, with a brief to accelerate Message ministries across the UK. A seasoned church planter and leader, Carl is also President of Christian Vision for Men.
...AND MANY MORE!
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STORY
I couldn’t tell him to shut up. I didn’t have the heart to. He was asking me if I read my Bible and I said it didn’t make any sense, so he explained it to me. I used to look forward to doing work duties with him because I could listen to him. There was something about his voice. Every word he said gripped me. Then one day he invited me up to the classroom to say a prayer of salvation and I did it. I don’t think I really understood what I was saying, but I know I meant it. There was a gradual change in me. In chapel services at rehab, instead of listening to who was preaching I was listening to a voice behind the voice. I believe God was speaking to me and it was getting louder. I think people could see a difference in me because, as I progressed through the programme, they very quickly put me in charge of the kitchen. At the centre, there was a prayer board. I really wanted to write a prayer request for me to be restored to my family, but I just didn’t have the boldness to do it. I didn’t want to be disappointed, because it just didn’t seem possible. But after my outreach worker asked me why I never spoke about my family I decided to post my request. About two months later I was back in contact with my nieces and my brother, who was also in rehab. After I completed the 18-month programme at Whitchester House I got a job. But there was still something missing for me and before I knew it I’d relapsed. Then someone from The Message contacted my outreach worker because they knew each other and told him about The Oaks, their residential centre which supports people in situations like mine.
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‘I had five brothers in my real family and at The Oaks I gained five new brothers’
I had five brothers in my real family and at The Oaks I gained five new brothers. It’s such a tight community and you become close with people and you do everything together. Even though I’ve moved out and live in my own place now, I’m still there every night for my dinner. I live just a few doors away. They all check up on me to see how I am. They really showed me how to do family and do it well. While I was staying at The Oaks I volunteered at the Message Enterprise Centre in the Mess Café kitchen. One of the best days of my life was when I recently became a permanent team member. It means a lot to me because I’ve never managed to stick at any jobs before. So
just the fact I’m holding down a full-time job is amazing. I’ve only had three jobs in my life, thrown out of college, flung out of school. But here I’ve not missed a day. It’s so rewarding, particularly at the end of an event we’ve hosted when somebody comes up to you and says it was brilliant. I just love working with such a great team. My hope for the future is to be fully qualified as a professional chef. One of my brothers is now a Christian, but my dream is that the rest of them will all be saved as well. Since moving into The Oaks and working at the Message Enterprise Centre, I’ve grown in confidence and really grown in my faith. Every day, I’m inspired by working alongside people who are so passionate about reaching others with the good news about Jesus – the same good news that changed my life.
STORY
I applied and three months later I moved in. When I first came to The Oaks, I didn’t really expect it to help: I didn’t think simply moving in with a family would make any difference. But I was wrong. They just showed me so much love.
BLESSED
ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT
SAM WARD
explores what it means to come to terms with our own poverty
TEACHING
‘Few people are less in need of God than a “self-made man”’
don’t know if you’ve ever been in a situation where you suddenly remember you’re a Christian. From time to time, I have moments where I realise with a bang how far away from God’s standard I’ve strayed. It’s like being in sinking sand: the best thing to do is to stop flailing and stay still, but before I know it I’m making a mess, getting covered and going down. It’s usually on the days when we forget even to pray. It’s when we’re acting alone and acting without God. In Matthew 3, Jesus says: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ In another translation: ‘Blessed are those who recognise their need for God.’ Blessed are those who recognise they cannot function without him. Fortunate are those who feel incomplete and realise only God can make them whole. There is real blessing when we come to terms with our own poverty and the fact that our lives are a wreck and a ruin. Today, do you know how much you need God? Or are you working in your own strength?
The world tells us, ‘Blessed are the rich in spirit. Blessed are the self-sufficient. Blessed are those who realise they can survive with no-one else.’ Few people are less in need of God than a ‘self-made man’. But the kingdom of heaven belongs to the insufficient, the vulnerable and the needy. It’s not for the fixed, the sorted or the ready, it’s for the lacking. Heaven is for those dependent on God. We are blessed because we have nothing but him. In Hebrews 12, we read, ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.’ The race we run is often punctuated by seasons of difficulty. It’s full of days when it looks easier to carry on in our own strength, to fail to recognise our need for God. The writer to the Hebrews offers us three keys to staying on track. 21
Join community. Join purpose. Join Eden. Eden sends urban missionaries to live sacrificially, share the gospel and build authentic community. Passionate about community transformation? Join Eden today.
joineden.org
TEACHING
‘Sin is heavy. Blessed are those who throw it off’
Throw off everything that hinders We need to get rid of all the stuff that weighs us down. The British cycling team, Team Sky, are often referred to as ‘the marginal gains team’. Everything that increases drag gets removed from their bikes, the sprockets are specially manufactured, the fabric is the lightest possible. They know how to throw off everything that hinders. Doing the same in the kingdom of God is called holiness. We make those marginal gains through righteousness. Sin is heavy. Blessed are those who throw it off. Fix your eyes Jesus is the perfecter of our faith: he finishes what he’s started. When we look at him we realise the race is worth it: he ran the race, and for the joy set before him he endured the cross. The passage doesn’t read like this: ‘For the joy set before him, he sat down in his shame.’ ‘For the joy set before him, he quit.’ He didn’t sit down and watch a box set and eat chocolate. He unrelentingly followed the path. He endured the cross and scorned its shame.
You can’t hold Jesus back. Blessed are those who focus on the one who completed the race, the only one who’s ever done it, the only one who can help us. Consider him Here, consider means to check that things add up. Consider Jesus so that you don’t lose heart. Did he act out? Did he get it wrong? Consider the man of suffering, the one despised and held in low esteem. Consider the one who was punished, stricken, oppressed and afflicted. Consider the one who did not open his mouth and who was led like a lamb. Consider his love. Consider how much he wants you to succeed. Consider how much he wants to help you reach the end. Blessed are those who consider Christ. Blessed are those who recognise he is all they need.
FOLLOW SAM ON TWITTER @samward01
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INTENTIONALLY INCARNATIONAL In this special extract from Eden’s Unfinished, John Craig shares his story. John and his wife Debs bought a house in Parkhead in the East End of Glasgow so they could live in the heart of the community and work and minister to those on their doorstep. Not long after, they joined with Eden to lead a new team there. Here, John reflects on their journey so far…
FEATURE
hen we first moved into Parkhead and I started working alongside the church, I met a guy called Stevie. He had struggled with addiction from a young age and had been in and out of prison. He would hang around at a lot of the activities we put on, but professed to have no real interest in what he called ‘the God stuff.’ As we got to know him better through Eden, we cultivated a real friendship. We noticed not only that he started to be around more at church events, but also that the way he spoke and acted was changing. It was clear that he was getting closer and closer to knowing God. Three years on, he made the decision to follow Jesus and now is a great friend to those in the team as well as someone who is an active part of church life and ministry. Not everything in his life is sorted and together but God is at work in Stevie and we love having the opportunity to journey with him. That’s what Eden is all about. For as long as I can remember it’s been in my heart to live in a community of need. It’s for people like Stevie that we are here in Parkhead. Right now we have the privilege and opportunity to work with many others like Stevie, who are struggling – whether through addiction, unemployment, ill-health or something else. We have also started to do more and more work with young people in the area, believing that God has so much more for them than what they see around them or currently aspire to.
For Eden Parkhead, it’s all been rooted from the start in a key passage from the book of Jeremiah. This has inspired the team in different ways to picture the area becoming more peaceful, fruitful and stable because of our presence in the community, as we actively pray for it and seek ways to bring the promise into being:
‘NOT EVERYTHING IS SORTED AND TOGETHER BUT GOD IS AT WORK’ ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’ (Jeremiah 29:4-7). Even before the Eden team came along, the church was very active in the area, but we have found that the act of moving into the neighbourhood added an intentional and incarnational purpose to the church community. It was always there, but has become rooted in the team living in the community and is making an impact.
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FEATURE
Our work is helped by the simple fact that the street that our church building is on is the epicentre of a lot of what happens in Parkhead for those struggling with addictions, so we rub shoulders with them on a daily basis. We try to be open from 9 till 5 every day, running programmes or simply welcoming them into the space, allowing people to be among a healthy network of others. We run activities that allow people to get involved and do something positive during the day, and we have a number of discipleship groups running alongside the programmes helping us to disciple adults along the way. We now run a ROC (Redeeming Our Communities) CafĂŠ youth club which young people love and this allows us to partner with other agencies to add another strand to their youth work. We have other connection points with young people in the local community that 26
have helped us build up relationships, particularly through football and a lot of detached work on the streets. The East End of Glasgow is not the kind of place that many Christians think of living in when they come to the city, but we started out with us and two other couples; two of my best friends and their wives. They all moved to live in the community and, together with some people in our church who already lived and breathed Parkhead, we ended up with a team of 10. Joining the Eden Network for us has been great as it gives us moments throughout the year to walk alongside others who are doing exactly the same thing as us, experiencing the same joys and struggles. Collectively we learn loads and are encouraged by chatting to others involved with incarnational mission and sharing some of the heartache and challenges.
We’re often told what we are doing is counter-cultural, and that’s true. People in community development and local positions of authority look at what we’re doing and they admire it because they can see the impact it has on lives, but it doesn’t always make a lot of sense to them. But with a ‘kingdom’ perspective it makes perfect sense. It’s one that Jesus modeled. He was called the ‘friend of sinners’ by others and that’s who we want to be, too. We see our community not as clients or service users, but guests and friends.
Read John’s story and many more in Unfinished, celebrating twenty years of changed lives and communities through Eden
ORDER NOW £ 1 0 (RRP £12) message.org.uk/shop
FEATURE
‘THE ACT OF MOVING INTO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD HAS ADDED NEW PURPOSE TO OUR CHURCH COMMUNITY’
Most importantly we get to pray for each other – in fact the heart of all we do is prayer. We have learned that programmes and plans and strategies are fine, but ‘unless the LORD builds the house, the labourers build in vain’ (Psalm 127:1).
ALIVE IN CHRIST Andy Hawthorne explores how we can live lives empowered by the Holy Spirit
love the old story of JC Ryle, who was bishop of Liverpool in the late nineteenth century. He was travelling on a steam train and a young, zealous, fired-up Salvation Army officer was sitting near him. Seeing his dog collar and thinking he was part of the religious old guard, she thought, ‘He can’t be saved!’ So she asked him: ‘Are you saved?’
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I’ve often said I want to be in the boat, rowing hard towards the shore. But perhaps that’s not the picture that God wants us to have. Perhaps God wants us to hoist the sail. I’ve come to realise that it’s not about working hard on the oars, desperately trying to make progress in our own strength. What God wants is for us to hoist the sail and let the wind of the Spirit carry us to shore. It’s not about what we can do but about what Jesus did. In Galatians 3, an exasperated Paul writes to a church caught up in trying to achieve their salvation in their own strength. ‘Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?’ he asks (Galatians 3:2).
‘Paul sums up the entire gospel message: “we preach Christ crucified”’ Paul’s words absolutely remind us to rely on the wind of the Spirit in our sails, not our own effort. Before we get to the glorious shore, we need to let go and let the Spirit carry us home. But he also reminds us just how important it is that, as we are on our way to that shore, that we preach the gospel using our words. It’s what the Galatians heard that meant they received the Spirit.
TEACHING
JC Ryle replied: ‘Well it depends what you mean by “saved”! You could say I’m drowning in a lake and when someone throws me a lifebelt, then I’m saved. You could say I’ve been pulled into the rescue boat and I’m on my way to shore – then I’m saved. Or, you could say I’m on the shore, on dry ground, thoroughly safe – and I’m saved. Sister, I think I’m in the boat.’
Elsewhere, Paul sums up the entire gospel message in just four words: ‘we preach Christ crucified’ (1 Corinthians 1:23). Cross-centred, Jesus-focused resurrection preaching is our message. It’s all about the message of the cross. He goes on to remind the church at Corinth that it wasn’t his eloquence or persuasion that convinced them of the truth of the gospel, it was a ‘demonstration of the Spirit’s power’ (1 Corinthians 2:4).
‘It’s not about what we can do but about what Jesus did’ There is genuine, Holy Spirit power that comes when we share the gospel. At The Message, we spend most of our time telling people about Jesus – but I’m convinced the reason we see so many people come to follow him isn’t because we’re particularly clever or persuasive. It’s all about his power at work. I wonder if you’re still trying to achieve your salvation through works. Maybe you’re asking, ‘If I could just give a bit more money away or serve more at church, maybe that might bring the favour of God on my life.’ The truth is this: you already have the favour of God on your life! He would still have sent Jesus to die if you were the only person he’d ever made. You’re his child. I also wonder if you’re holding back from sharing the gospel with those around you because you don’t know if you’ll do a good job. Be encouraged: it’s the Holy Spirit who lives in you who does the work. Hoist the sails and let him take control.
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CARL’S NOTE
A note from Carl I’ve got a history of jumping into challenging fundraising events… It was seven years ago – there I was, chatting to a bunch of guys at church and the subject of running in our town’s half marathon came up. Chesterfield had launched its inaugural marathon with a range of options – a fun two-mile run, a half marathon and a full marathon. With a whole load of people from church heading for the half marathon, I went for it! Next up, I put myself through the pain and torture of running the full Snowdonia Marathon. When I got home, I quietly and without fanfare announced my retirement (to the dog) from running full marathons, but it wasn’t long before I’d announced I’d be doing the full 26.2-mile undulating Chesterfield Marathon. There’s nothing heroic in all this. It’s a character flaw issue. When someone suggested I should try cycling, I wasn’t content with pooling around the area. Oh no. I signed up to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats in nine days. Then, not content with that I went from Calais to Nice via the Alps (1,000 miles and 92,000 feet of climbing in nine days). Then, I cycled from Nice to Naples. Again in nine days. It was then that I announced my retirement to the cat. And then, just before I joined The Message, Andy mentioned cycling across South Africa (so I did, and we raised more than £200,000 for our mission!) and now, after all that, we’ve hatched an idea to cycle from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. So this month, we’re off. I’m dragging this ageing and ever so slightly out-of-shape body across the desert to the mountains to raise as much money as we can for our work. I think it’s simple: we want to reach millions with the message of Jesus and we need millions of pounds to do so. All for Jesus!
UK Director The Message Trust 30
SPONSOR CARL, ANDY AND THE REST OF THE TEAM message.org.uk/cycle
Leaving a legacy of faith One of the most significant ways you could support our work in the future is by leaving a gift to The Message in your will. Message supporters Stewart and Jackie recently decided to leave us a legacy. ‘We have been involved in youth work since the early 70s, in fact that is how we met! We started taking groups of young people from our church in Tytherington to the World Wide Message Tribe gigs at the Manchester Apollo. ‘We took loads of young people in an old minibus owned by the church. We have kept in touch ever since. Because of our continued interest in outreach to young people we still run a group for 15-18 year olds even though we are retired. ‘I am 71 and Stewart will be 70 soon and we both feel privileged to be able to do this work for the Lord. I don’t think Christians ever retire! When we made our will we decided to leave a gift to The Message Trust because we believe in the transformational work you do.’
Your legacy gift could directly change the lives of young people across the UK and beyond for years to come
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