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The King's Speech

Went to see this film recently & was impressed with the realism of the settings & the honest portrayal of the human struggles of the man. So many movies are as shallow as a puddle presenting us with cardboard cutout figures that we are meant to believe represent real life. What's even more disturbing is that some actually buy into this facade & then get depressed when their own lives don't match up to the fairytale. In this life we will have troubles Jesus said, but the first step to overcoming our difficulties is honesty about who we are. Three cheers for honesty where ever we find it!

The New Patricks

As the Irish nation struggles with the Economic, Banking, Spiritual & Political mountains that are set before us for the future, perhaps we could learn a thing or two from our past. Patrick our national saint was almost certainly a Bible believing born again Christian who faced the huge mountains of paganism, suspicion, political corruption, famine & a fairly lawless society. Yet by the power of God he overcame them & saw Ireland transformed from darkness into light & a huge change in Irish culture & outlook. Maybe God is calling you from overseas or from within Ireland to be a new Patrick so that we would also see such a transformation in our lifetime.

Future Irish Catholic Church

A leaked report from the overseas Catholic "Apostolic Visitation" group that has visited & travelled throughout Ireland has apparently come to the conclusion that the Irish Catholic church has probably only 5 years or at most 10 years left in it's current state. After that it retreats into a small minority leaving Ireland a fully secular nation. All Pentecostal leaders & missionaries should take note of this important "in house" conclusion. The context in which we seek to spread the Gospel in Ireland is changing fast. Like the men of Issachar we must "understand the times & know what Israel (Ireland) should do" I Chronicles 12:22.

Berry Berry

 

Now that I live in the country rather the city I like to do a long prayer walk once a week.  I find that I enjoy prayer more when I'm outdoors & I can pray out loud as I walk along with nobody around.  Last Friday I walked out a very quiet back road near where I live.  As I was walking & praying I saw a big juicy blackberry growing on the hedge by the side of the road.  I really like all types of berries so I picked it and it was so sweet to taste.  When another few feet along I saw two more I said to myself "sure two more won't do any harm".  Then it seemed like every bramble was overflowing with blackberries & I started picking & eating.  Before I knew it my mouth was full of beautiful sweet tasting blackberries bursting with flavour.  

 

Suddenly an elderly couple walked up to me as I was leaning over the brambles & picking.  This startled me as it's a very quiet road and I've never met anyone else walking on it until now.  They asked for directions & after answering them I told them that there were lots of blackberries to pick along the hedgerows & eat along the way.  To this the old lady replied "Well I think we'll try to avoid a purple stained face today".  I hadn't realised that my face was covered in stains from the blackberries.  Embarrassed or what?  And I had forgotten all about my time of prayer.  Still...the berries were great!

Deserted Village

I walked by a ruined deserted village in rural Ireland recently. I asked an old local man about a mile down the road what happened. He said the people either starved or left at the time of the great potato famine 150 years ago & nothing has happened there since. There were about 14 or 15 homes in all. How tragic.

The deserted village reminded me of the modern day spiritual situation in Turkey where the 7 churches of Revelation were situated and how there haven't been any Christian churches there for generations. It can take a lifetime to build up an authentic Christian church, but that does not mean it will continue. How vital it is to have the next generation carry the passion for Jesus to move in Ireland. All the signs right now are very positive thank God, with so many young people coming to faith from non Christian backgrounds as well as our own second generation rising up alongside them. Ireland needs Jesus in this generation AND the next. So no more deserted villages, or churches.

I will yeah!

The only place in the English speaking world where "I will yeah" actually means "No" is.....yes you guessed it, Cork Ireland. It's said in a certain tone of voice so that the hearer automatically knows it means no. That's if you're from Cork or have lived here long enough to figure it out. It shows how our culture here is not word based but inference or non verbal based. You take the other person's intentions and attitude from their body language and how they say the words rather than what words they use. Plain English it is not, but it does make for a very interesting social life, especially in a multi cultural church and city. Even at the Tower of Babel they didn't have to deal with this kind of thing. Anyone from plain speaking Belfast willing to come down and sort us out?

What kind of a word is that?

Autochthony! I kid you not. This is the title of a group within the Catholic church. It means "from the ground up" or local grass roots, and refers to a movement that is trying to see Catholicism move away the Vatican hierarchy and into local self governing church communities, somewhat like how our own church at Grace Cork is organised. But...how many "local"everyday people will want to get involved with a movement named like that. Maybe those kind of words impress some people, though I doubt it. I'm all for the Plain English campaign, with clear communication, so we all know exactly what's what. Don't think I'll be using words like Autochthony anytime soon in my sermons. Safe for a while yet lads.

The Truth Bubble

Most of the people I talk to on a daily basis are Christians. This is because I work full time for a Christian Church & both my wife and adult children are also Christians. So my family, friends & workmates are all believers. Therefore, obviously, the truth is how we communicate to each other & this of course continues into life at the church. Perhaps not all conversations are 100% truthful all of the time, I can't "read" everyone's motives all the time...but if there are occasional lies spoken to me they would be very much the exception and not the rule.

At the moment I'm also dealing with builders & some others getting some construction work done for us at home. And I'm going through a time of culture shock...the truth seems to have no place in their day to day lives. Lie after lie is the order of the day pouring out their lips. What's most strange to me is that even when there is no advantage at all for them to lie...they still won't be truthful. It's like they have forgotten how to tell the truth. And so we muddle through trying to second guess what they really mean rather than what they say. I wish the truth bubble extended to this part of my life.

Within the Christian world we can often complain about various aspects of the difficulties we face living as Christians. But how blessed are we to have a community where truth and not lies is the normative. Despite all our faults I praise God for those who tell the truth. One day we will be surrounded only by the truthful, as all liars will be outside the walls of the New Jerusalem. The father of lies is the great enemy of our souls...it's his native language. Let's make sure it never becomes ours!

Survey

We conducted a survey among a cross section of church members at Grace. We gave people ten categories of church life & asked them to vote on what was the most important factor of church life for them, with number one being the most important to number ten being the least important. The results confirmed what we had already thought, as well as reaffirming the areas we need to put our time into. For any who were not able to make the AGM or other meetings where the survey took place here are the results. A fairly balanced bunch of people I would think.

1. Preaching & Teaching

2. Worship (singing & music)

3. Community/Friendship

4. Children's/Youth Work

5. Charismatic/Pentecostal Gifts

6. Authentic Culture

7. Warm Welcome

8. Non-Denominational

9. Informal Atmosphere

10. Volunteer Opportunities