Encircling Prayer

HI Everyone,

Continuing to improve today - and managed a few more words, with my voice getting stronger. This morning, I listened through the wall of our house to the service taking place in the chapel next door and stood and wept at 11am for all those who were remembering their loved ones and those affected by conflict. I always find Remembrance Sunday a moving and emotional day and I am sure it is at least in part because I come from a country torn by conflict. I think it is also because I have two brothers who have, or do, serve in the armed forces - and I love them both very much.

Spent the rest of the morning practising Caim Prayer for you all - also know as 'encircling prayer'. It's a celtic form of prayer in which you make the shape of a circle as you pray for either yourself or others - here is the one I used for each of you:

A Caim Prayer

May the Mighty Three your protection be - encircling you, guarding you, holding you and nurturing you. Thank You, Lord that You are around each life, each home - encircling each one. O Sacred Three, Mighty Three, hold Your people in the hollow of Your hand. Surround their going out and their coming in. Whsiper Your name to them in the breeze of the morning and remind them of Your love in the light of dusk. As the day falls away, let the light of Your grace and strength flood their hearts. May they rest in the arms of Your Spirit, knowing the assurance of Your protection and the power of Your word spoken over them and living in them. As Your people step into another week, may they be reminded of You in the small things they encounter. The smile of a child, the rustling of a tree of the chatter of friends. Thank You that our lives are lived out before You in their completeness. As Your people step into the main parts of their week, may they be reminded of Your unending promise to hold them, guard them and guide them. Fill their hearts with hope, their minds with possibilities and their wills with a new and strong resolve to put You first in all things. Encircle Your people with Your power, encircle Your people with Your grace and encircle them with the confidence that You have never left them.

Amen

May whatever you are facing today become a 'thin place' - and may you like Jacob, be given the opportunity to meet with God in a new way but in a familiar place. May you be able to say, like him, 'Surely the Lord was in this place and I did not know it' - and may your limp remind you of His grace - now and always

Practising Prayer - An opportunity to bless others

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the continued prayers, support, emails and messages. I continue to know the grace and strength of God - although the throat continues to feel very sore. That being said, I definitely feel better today than I did yesterday. Debbie and I went out for a little while today, which was great - and very amusing as I was communicating with her via a little notebook and pen. I'm sure the people watching us in the couple of shops we went to thought we were a bit unusual! Still taking strong painkillers and being very careful - but I am improving daily.

As promised, I took time today to pray for all those who are part of the Chapel and Warham. Couldn't sleep so well, so I woke at around 4am and prayed silently for many of you, and have had the chance to make sure that I prayed for each of you by now. What a blessing - to be able to ask God to strengthen and help and support you as you walk with him. I've really enjoyed it, and today has felt like a long, relaxed and intimate conversation with a very, very dear friend. I've sensed a real feeling of intimacy with God today - being able to relax and listen to Him in a different way.

I woke up this morning thinking of the verse 'Cast all your cares upon the Lord because He cares for you' and have been able to cast not only my cares for myself and my family, but also my cares for all of you as your pastor. I feel such an amazing sense of being able to lift each of you before the Lord, and a real release in praise for you. It is strange you know - at the time of greatest external quiet in my life, I feel like I could explore with praise and thanks to God for all that he is and all that He has done for us a His people. I may not be able to sing or speak physically, but in my heart there are a thousand melodies playing at once - and streams of words and thoughts and thanks flowing to God for each of you. Today I have been remembering some of the great times that God has given us together - moments when I have felt that I could almost reach out and touch Him as we have listened to His word together or sung our worship to Him as communities. I have a real conviction that He has many more blessings and times of intimacy to give us as we seek His face and put Him at the heart of all that we do and all that we are.

I've decided that tomorrow I am going to pray for marriages - for husbands and wives. So if you have a partner who has not yet come to faith, or your marriage is struggling, or there are real challenges you are facing as a couple, be assured of my prayers for you tomorrow. May you know a strengthening of your marriage and your relationship.

Whatever you may be facing, be assured of my prayers for you and my love for you. May the God of peace guard and keep you with His peace now and every day.

What an amazing privielge to be given this time by the Lord to be able to pray for you all, and to stand in the gap for you.

Standing in the gap.

A friend asked me yesterday what 'standing in the gap' actually means. Well, I guess it means standing in a place that others cannot stand, on their behalf. From Aaron and Hur standing in the gap for Moses, to the people of Jerusalem standing in the gap when Nehemiah was overseeing the building of the city wall of Jersualem, 'standing in the gap' involves lifting up the hands of those who are weary from all their own effort and work, and helping them to press on with all that God has for them. When Moses was exhausted, Aaron and Hur held his arms up. They helped him, they supported him and they stood by him. They enabled Moses to do what only he could do - by doing what they could do. The same is true of the people who guarded the 'low places' in the wall in Jerusalem. I guess the conceptis very similar to that of an intercessor in the New Testament - standing before God on behalf of others, that they might be all that God wants them to be.

Of course the greatest example of that is Jesus - who literally stands in the gap for us now. He prays for us, he holds us before His father. And on the cross he occupied the space between the seen and the unseen, between heaven and earth. Jesus life and ministry also show that 'standing in the gap' is both a practical and a spiritual thing. He held the two together in perfect balance. Serving and meeting the needs of those around him, but also praying and bringing people before God.

In many ways, the meals you have provided for us, the cards and the calls are just as much 'standing in the gap;' for us as our prayers are now for you. We need each other in this journey of faith and there are times when one is stronger than the other, then there are other times when the roles are reversed. Being part of a church family means that you have to learn not only to stand in the gap for others but also let them stand in the gap for you.

So thank you to all who have stood for us and with us - we also stand with you. And together, we progress toward that which God is making us become - more and more like Christ.

In the silence of these moments, heaven is being stormed for you. Cries of petition are rising that you might catch a fresh glimpse of the shimmering wonder of the God who intimately knows you, gently rebukes you a dn lovingly remakes you. May you feel the rustle of a carpenters robe in the early morning, and hear the footsteps of a friend as he walks beside you. As you face each day, may you have a sense that you do now face it alone, but instead may you know, just for a moment, that someone has gone before you, to make the way, to smooth the mountains and to raise the valleys. When you hit a storm, may you feel the strong hand of God on the tiller, steadying your vessel. When you feel alone, may a bird singing or a gentle breeze remind you that God has not left. When you stare into the darkness, may you catch the glimmer of a light that reminds you that nothing will ever extingusih the love of God or the grace of God in your life. As you lift your questions, heartbreaks and yearnings to the Lord, may you realise afresh that you are being held in the hands of the answer - and that this is the safest place for you to be.

Speak to you all tomorrow. 

BNP- Freedom of Speech Abuse of Responsibility?

So tonight, Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP will appear on prime time British TV in a debate with other politicians. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? On the one hand, we seem to be hearing some people (including the Beeb) say that his appearance is legitimate and should be accepted as part of a liberal democracy. They claim his views will demonstrate the position of he BNP. Diane Abbot has said that his appearance will éxpose the BNP for what they are - a racist and offensive party. On the other hand, we have peoplesaying that he should be stopped from appearing and there will no doubt be a number of people blockading and parading outside the BBC in television centre this evenig making just that point. So who is right - and is there a definitive 'Christian' position on this?

Personally, I think that Griffin should be allowed to appear. Whether we like it or not (and I personally find the BNP obnoxious and very, very wrong in their view of those whose skin is a different colour) the reality is that he was democratically elected as an M.E.P. and his party has a small, but not insignificant base of support. We cannot simply ban him from appearances on T.V. or pretend that he doesn't exist. I may find his views offensive, but in a liberal democracy I don;t have the right to shut him up. Hopefully, he will make a fool of himself and  demonstrate that his party has shallow thinking, aggressive and anti-social policies and a core identity which is dangerous, aggressive and a threat to civil society. The fact that their constitution has already been suspended by the judiciary and we now await the outcome of their own deliberations and debates onhow to wangle their way round the law is interesting. Just what would the BNP do if a large number of decided to join in order to deliberately sabotage its racist stance? My hunch is, though, that he will present himself as the voice of a reasoned Britain, and will play the politics of fear -  challenging listeners and viewers to think about protecting their communities, defening the rights of British people and he will stir up xenophobic sentiment in a quiet but therefore even more distrubing way. He'll press buttons that resonate with many Brits - fear of Europe, concern about identity and values and the quiet anxiety felt by many that 'our way of life is beinf eroded'. I hope the other panellists get under his skin, that the audience manage to uncoverthe dark underbelly of the BNP and that the real poison and malevolence of the BNP shows itself in the unplanned moments and reactions. But what if it doesn't? What if the BNP present as the party of reasonable choices tonight? What if everything is masked in respectability and dressed in traditional language? What do we do then?

That's the thing you see - I may not agree with Griffin, but I defend his right to be allowed to speak. I value and prize the freedom of speech we have in this country - but the very fact that I value it and repect it in others means it needs to be respected in me. Would the Beeb celebrate and welcome the input of someone like me? A social commentator from a strong Christian tradition with clear views on issues such as right to life, sexuality and the role and importance of the Church? Why is it that our 'public' broadcasters can welcome someone like Griffin in the name of freedom of speech yet so often guard and exlcude those of us with a strong religious or faith-fuelled voice. One of the reasons I think Griffin should be allowed to speak is because I believe I have the right to speak - you do, anyone within the UK with a clear view and a place in the public suqare.

Griffin represents a few thousand voters - maybe a hundred or two hundred thousand at the most. As a follower of Christ and the leader of a Christian charity, I am part of around 11,000,000 voices in the UK. My views on community development, foreign policy, immigration, housing, unemployment, thebanking crisis and political life in the UK can be quickly and shame-facedly disregarded by the BBC and others because they are afraid of my description of myself as a Christian. How come Griffin can be welcomed yet people like me marginalised? This is the paradox and the problem with the way we view freedom of speech.

The Beeb has established once again the precedent that it exists as a public broadcaster. So when will that public broadcaster recognise that the voices of millions of people of faith are squashed and marginaled in the name of protectionof human rights? If Griffin can appear, why not me, or a muslim, or a hindu? My view is we should be welcomed and what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. I look forward to another invitation to join the Question time panel!

One word of caution to those of us who, as Christians, think we have the right to be heard but don't thinkGriffin does? We need to be careful not to cut off the very freedom we seek in our quest to silence those with whom we disagree. The British people aren't stupid - Griffin will eventually show himself for what he (and his party) is. We must be careful to stand for freedom - even when we disagree with the voices who take advantage of it. We deny their freedom, then we give them the right to deny ours.

What do you think?

Operation Silence!

Hi everyone,

Been a while since I used this blog - but hopefully it is now up and running again properly! Anyway, the first blog for a while and it is about me!! I have to have an operation on the 4th November to remove some growths that have been found on my vocal chords. Not great news when you are a preacher - but there you go. I actually have a real peace about it all, but would certainly appreciate your prayers and thoughts for the next eight weeks or so. Unusually for me - there will be lots of quietness during the day and the chance to catch up on lots of things that need to get done.

I have decided to use the time to pray for the folk in my church every day, to crack on with some writing I want to do and to listen closely to God for His instruction about the next stage of my own life and ministry for Him.

So if you had a forced silence - what would you do with it? Any recommendations for me? Fancy a silent conversation via the blog? Let me know

Malcolm

Young people: opportunities and challenges

Yesterday a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research claimed that British teenagers are the worst behaved in Europe, being more likely to fight, drink and have under-age sex than their counterparts across the EU. We also heard the sad news that another teenager was murdered in London, the fifteenth young person to die as a result of stabbing or shooting in Britain this year.

At the same time the government announced more details of its plans to take money that is lying in dormant bank accounts, and use it to establish a network of youth centres across the country, aiming for a youth centre in every town.

I don't believe we can just stand by and watch all this happen. These announcements present huge opportunities - and challenges - to both local churches and government, to engage with disaffected and disengaged young people. The church already has a huge network across the country, with bases in every town and village. Our potential to reach these young people is enormous.

The government has indicated a bold step in using the money left in dormant accounts to fund some of this work, but we should also remember that Christians already give hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours, our premises, our passions and our time to serve young people. The church is the biggest provider of youth services beyond statutory agencies in the UK.

With this new initiative, the church needs to raise its game but the government also needs to partner with us and avoid an attitude of 'patronage'. The signs so far are really encouraging. Government is willing, but are we bold enough? Why can't churches be right at the heart of every new youth centre that was talked about yesterday? We have the premises, the people and the passion.

I want to encourage government to think more closely about working with churches and voluntary organisations, but also to encourage churches to be brave enough to rediscover their role at the heart of their local communities. Many are already doing this. For example, churches in Stroud in Gloucestershire are working together to run a youth centre called The Door for their local young people, which also offers education and training, run in partnership with the local authorities.

The possibilities are endless. But for more churches to do this will demand more partnership working. This will mean working with other churches, with whom we might disagree on certain points of theology, or with non-faith-based agencies, to whom we will need to be clear about our faith motivation while being committed to professional and inclusive engagement. It could even involve working with those of other faiths.

Do you think we can do this? And do you think that we should? Can we put our differences to one side to work towards the common good? What issues would we face along the way? I'd love to hear what you think.