TELEVISION
Rink outsiders
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T’S cold. It’s dark. It’s January. Time to book a spot on the sofa and watch presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield introduce the latest bunch of celebrities to go hopping, skipping and bumping their way round an ice rink. The new series of ITV’s Dancing on Ice begins tomorrow (Sunday 5 January). As in previous years, a host of inexperienced celebrities have been partnered with professional ice skaters and each week will learn a new routine, which they will then perform in front of a panel of judges. This year, stars gliding (or wobbling) into the spotlight include Coronation Street star Lisa George and former Republic of Ireland footballer Kevin Kilbane, who admits that taking part in the series will be ‘a massive challenge’. Critiquing their efforts are four judges: Olympic ice dancing champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, choreographer Ashley Banjo and – making his debut on the panel – actor and singer John Barrowman. ‘I hope to bring a fresh, fun and fabulous angle to the judging panel,’ he said, when the news was announced. ‘Unlike most, I have been through the rigorous task of skating live in the first series.’ In 2006, John and his professional
New celebrities need to get their skates on, writes Claire Brine skating partner Olga Sharutenko were the fourth couple to be eliminated from the competition – which means that John knows what the contestants are going through. He has been in their shoes (or skates). He knows how exhausting it is to learn a new routine
John’s stint on the ice is bound to affect his view as a judge each week. He understands how nerve-racking it can be to perform live in front of millions of TV viewers. He has experienced the disappointment of losing when he wanted to win. John’s stint on the ice is bound to affect his view as a judge. It may even have an effect on the contestants’ view of him. Perhaps they will consider his words all the more valuable because they come from someone who has been through the same experience. When we are facing life’s hard knocks, it can be a huge comfort to know that we are understood. It helps us to feel less alone.
That’s why millions of people turn to Jesus. In him they find reassurance for whatever they are facing. They know that Jesus suffered the loss of loved ones. That he was rejected for being himself. That he was tempted to do wrong. That he endured physical pain when he died on a cross. Because Jesus knows how difficult life can be, his promise of everlasting love can give us the strength we need to make it through the toughest times. When we feel unsteady, get things wrong or when our world comes crashing down around us, he is willing to be by our side, helping us take the next step. In the Bible, Jesus warns his followers that they will have to face many knocks, setbacks and challenges as they make their way through a harsh world. But he adds that he can help them overcome the biggest problems. ‘In me you may have peace,’ he says. ‘I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33 New International Version). However tough life may become, we don’t have to go through it alone. Jesus can be relied upon to help us through every twist and turn.
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CHRISTOPHER SCHACHT tells Emily Bright about how globetrotting helped him find God
G Chris in Venezuela
Goldmining with locals in Venezuela 6 • WAR CRY • 4 January 2020
RIPPING the rigging during a fierce storm in the East China Sea, Christopher Schacht watched the mast almost tip into the water as his boat keeled over by more than 45 degrees. Waves splashed over the vessel, soaking him in freezing water. Howling winds chilled him to the bone as he waited in the pitch-black of the night for the storm to pass. He remembers: ‘That was definitely a moment when I thought: “Will I get out of here?”’ During four years of travelling the world, Chris experienced plenty of nerve-racking and exhilarating moments. In that time, he covered more than 65,000 miles and visited 45 countries. His experiences inspired him to write a memoir, Around the World on 50 Bucks. Chris was 19 years old when, in 2013, he decided to leave his home in Germany and hitchhike across the world, with only 50 euros in his pocket. To fund his expedition, he worked as a ship’s mate for free passage, mined for gold in Guyana, sold fruit salad on Rio de Janeiro’s beaches and took part in a clinical trial for a growth hormone in Korea. He tells me: ‘I wanted to be free. For once, I didn’t want to know what was ahead, but to live day by day. At 19 years of age, you probably have the least responsibility in your life. So I thought: “This is the time!” I figured that it was better to take risks than feel I’ve missed out on life.’ Chris certainly kept his vow to live life to the full. During his travels, he was sometimes awestruck and terrified by the power of nature. He recalls one particular example. ‘I was camping on a football field in the Andes, and a thunderstorm, more powerful than anything I was used to, went right over me. I was thinking: “If lightning hits my tent, it would be immediately fried and go up in flames.” So I was pretty scared.’ But there were also moments when he could bask in the beauty of nature. ‘When I was sailing, there were very dark nights, and behind the boat there was a stream of blue
D A Y 2 S 1 5 , 1 happen after he died. While travelling, he came across seemingly insurmountable problems, and he turned to God for help. ‘I started praying, and virtually every time I prayed, somehow, even though it was out of my own capability and strength, God found a
I wanted to be free. I didn’t want to know what was ahead way out. I then thought: “Okay, there must be someone looking out for me, and I want to find out who that is.”’ He read through the Old Testament once and
the New Testament twice. He was struck by God’s character. ‘What I found everywhere in the Bible was God’s grace, and how he gives us his strength and love. I thought: “Why didn’t anybody tell me these things earlier?”’ But it was through seeing for himself the transformative impact of faith that he was convinced to become a Christian. He says: ‘I met a captain on one of the Amazon riverboats who used to be a club owner, dealing with drugs and prostitution. He had straightened out his life after finding happiness and fulfilment in Jesus. ‘He took me to a church, where a pastor spoke on 2 Corinthians 5:17, which says:
Turn to page 8
➥ Photos courtesy of Christopher Schacht
sparks, a bioluminescence created by bacteria. It was remarkable.’ He travelled through the tropical forests of Bolivia, watched the lights of cargo ships glittering on the water of the Caribbean Sea, and enjoyed the idyllic sandy beaches of the San Blas Islands, situated between Colombia and Panama. He also saw remote areas and their indigenous peoples. When he travelled in Venezuela, he stumbled across the Warao, and their pastor offered Chris the chance to travel with him down the Orinoco River. ‘We kayaked down the river’s arms, with macaws flying over our heads. It was beautiful,’ Chris recalls. ‘Suddenly, the pastor indicated that we should be quiet. ‘We silently and slowly rowed to the shore and he got out of the kayak, took his bow and arrow, went straight into the forest, and then a minute later he called his son to join him. I waited for two or three minutes before they came back with a small tapir with an arrow through its neck. How on earth did he know the tapir was there?’ During his time with the Warao, Chris swam regularly in the river. But one day, as he was exiting the river, he saw mysterious shadows lurking in the muddy water. ‘I saw two black lines, which were three to five metres long. I asked someone what they were and he told me: “They are electric eels. If they shock you, they paralyse you.” I could have drowned and no one would have found me. That was the last time I swam there.’ Chris’s brushes with danger led him to start questioning his agnostic world view, and wonder what would
INTERVIEW
4 January 2020 • WAR CRY • 7
INTERVIEW
Photos courtesy of Christopher Schac ht
Hitchhiking towards Barcelona and in Japan
From page 7 “Whoever is in Christ is a new creature: the old has gone, the new is here.” So that was crazy for me, that I could be a new person, and that I was offered a new life. With the captain – this example of faith – sitting next to me, I thought, “I want this!”’ Chris began worshipping God, and says: ‘I felt this outpouring of joyfulness, energy and truth inside of me, like I was exploding!’
Repairing the mast in the middle of the Indian Ocean 8 • WAR CRY • 4 January 2020
This would be a sort of education that no school or university could ever give me As time wore on, he contemplated whether he should continue his adventure, and decided that he still had much more to gain from globetrotting. ‘I had learnt so much during that first year that if I were to continue travelling, even if it was for two or three years, this would be a sort of education that no school or university could ever give me.’
So what did he learn from his global university? ‘There’s a saying that Westerners may have the clock, but Africans have the time,’ Chris says. ‘When I travelled to the equator, I realised people there have so much time. In some cultures, you can stay as long as you like, and then leave again. ‘I also learnt to appreciate my family a lot more. In Latin America, families play a much bigger role. You care a lot more for your parents and for the whole well-being of the family. Relationships are the centre of gravity and not how much effort, time, money or energy they would cost you. ‘The best thing about travelling is the people you meet on the way, and the countless relationships you make.’ But there’s one relationship in particular that has offered Chris lasting fulfilment. He cites what one early Christian writes in the Bible about Jesus. ‘Paul says: “If I have Christ, I don’t need anything else. Christ is my life and dying is my gain.” I can identify with that. God gives me his strength, grace and love, and my relationship with him is what makes me truly rich.’
l Around the World on 50 Bucks is published by Thomas Nelson
EXPLORE Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Rosie, a young child who has been unwell, and for her parents. The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their circumstances. Send your requests to Prayerlink, War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. Mark your envelope ‘Confidential’.
Becoming a Christian There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong. Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free. Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit. Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International
Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book in the Scriptures
Romans HE apostle Paul’s letter to the church T in Rome is all about salvation. He has bad news and good news.
The bad news is that, because it disobeys divine law, all humankind is subject to God’s wrath (1:18–32). The letter outlines the principles of divine judgment. Not even the Jews, who felt called to be God’s ‘chosen people’, were living up to his standards of righteousness (2:17 to 3:8). In short, ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (3:23). Paul runs through some potential solutions that don’t work. He tells his readers that following religious observances, such as the Jewish practice of circumcision, wouldn’t win God’s approval (2:25–29). Trying harder to live a good life will fail (3:20). Simply put, nothing people do can earn God’s forgiveness for sin. All are condemned. But Paul gives the readers of his letter good news. God’s Son, Jesus, died so that we could be forgiven. He was God’s ‘sacrifice of atonement’ (3:25). In effect, God accepts
the death of Jesus as the penalty for our lawbreaking. God does this not because humankind deserves it, but precisely because it doesn’t. It is an act of grace. Paul writes: ‘All are
God accepts the death of Jesus as the penalty for our law-breaking
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus’ (3:24). He goes on to explain that God ‘justifies those who have faith in Jesus’ (3:26). He expands the need for personal faith in the risen Jesus in chapters 4 and 5. Being saved does not mean having a carefree life. There is an ongoing internal battle between sin and righteousness (chapters 6 and 7). God, though, provides spiritual resources to empower those who trust him (chapter 8). Being a Christian is not only about belief; it is also about behaviour. In chapters 12 to 14, Paul offers guidance about how Christians should behave it e us gospel, beca towards God, the state, fel‘I am not ashamed of the to n tio t brings salva tha d Go low believers and those who of r we po the is have yet to discover God’s s’ (Romans 1:16 New ve lie be o wh e on ery ev offer of salvation. ) International Version
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