Relay Update

So I have been a Relay worker now for just other two months, though it feels like two years if I am honest. Freshers week has been and gone, houseparty is a distant blur (it was only last weekend) and now it seems like Christmas is fast approaching.

But I must say that relay has been brilliant thus far. I have enjoyed meeting new and old students alike, going along to CU, encouraging students, students encouraging me, strong man competitions, PS3, rugby, bible studies, evangelism. They all seem to go hand in hand. One of the best and worst aspects of the job is not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Well that might be an exageration, I know whats coming but each week seems to bring different surprises and I rarely have two weeks the same.

So bring on tomorrow, whatever it might hold.

Wales and the gospel

Did anyone see ‘week in, week out’ on BBC1 Wales on Tuesday evening?

I can’t say I’ve ever watched it before, but this weeks show was entitled ‘born again Wales’ and looked out why evangelical churches are growing whilst Church in Wales congregations are dwindling.

As with any programme specifically about Christianity, I watched with hesitancy and fear. But, I thought it was pretty fair and generally positive, despite the cringe-worthy dancing. Two things especially struck me, one encouraging and one not so…

there’s only one Billy Piper

We’re used to hearing wisdom from Pastor John Piper, but here’s a nugget from his late father, Bill…

“I have seen many Christians who are seperated, but far from consecrated. They boast pharisaically of what they do not do but fail to see that they do almost nothing for God! Consecrated Christians are Christians who are so busy serving the Lord that they have neither the time nor the taste for the things of the world. They have found their joy and their complete satisfaction in Christ.”

I’ve been thinking recently about how a life of discipline and a gospel of grace go together. Often I find the knowledge of grace and complete acceptance before God makes me lazy and ill-disciplined. Then I came across this from Piper senior. Oh to be a consecrated Christian, who is so delighted in Christ and grace that I have neither the time nor the taste for the things of the world.

Relay Excited (get it, how I replaced really with Relay? O forget it!)

As soon as I started typing the rain started to pour down in wet Swansea making me jump. It helps to set the scene. Despite the wet weather that I have come to love in Swansea I am very happy and even there I say excited for the next 10 months or so. Relay has been encouraging, even during the hard and challenging parts of the job, and there is so much going on. I would love the ramble on about it, but instead  I will just give you the choice to read my prayer letter for October. If you would like me to email it to you send me an email to my work address of ammanfordyouthworker@gmail.com and I will put you on the list. I can even mail you the prayer letter if you give me your address. Cannot say fairer than that.

Or you can read it here oct prayer1

C. H. Spurgeon

“Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”

I have been reading up on mission lately, and it is refreshing yet convicting to reaffirm how loving the living God is. I have been looking at the Old Testament and how even in the begining God was a missional God. Man was created to be in reationship with God. When man fe, God had to deal with Sin as He is holy, but he still cared and provided the needs of Adam and Eve.

Through Abraham all the the peoples of the world would be blessed (Gen 22:18).

The Great Commission in Matthew then backs up this bibical theme”Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Need I say more?

Why do sportsmen cheat?

A footballer admits to overstating injury.

A rugby player chews a blood capsule to feign injury.

A Formula 1 driver is told to crash into a wall.

Bosnia?

If I say Eastern Europe, the first thing that comes to my mind is Borat and I then impersonate his accent for every country in the East. I just don’t seem to be able to help myself.

Maybe if I asked you to tell me what you know about Bosnia you would tell me they suffered a civil war sometime in the nineties and I wouldn’t think about going on holiday there. Well, if I am honest I don’t know much more about the country. I do know they have a very small Christian population, one figure I heard was around 600. I know that their student Christian population is also pretty small, you could count them on two hands!

But let us no concentrate too much on numbers, but instead on how God is working. I had the privilage of meeting to Bosnian pastors back in February, Sasa and Slavko, and they showed me that God loves Bosnia and he is working there.

Slavko and Sasa

In Slavko’s church they recently did some evangelistic events on the street of Sarajevo, during Ramadan. Bosnia has a large Islamic population, but the Lord provided and there were no problems at all. In fact many hundreds were reached with the gospel. I find that amazing.

Bosnia is a country that I have taken a personal interest in and I hope you will join me in remembering the Christians in this country in your prayers.

Please also pray for me. I am thinking about spending two years in Bosnia after relay to do relay homestart. I am finding the language difficult but not impossible. Pray that God would show me what he wants me to do.

Peace Out.

Give us a song Frank

The song title, ‘I did it my way,’ by Frank Sinatra is a famous tune and one chosen to be played at half time during the Ipswich Newcastle match today, and it was done in memory of the great Sir Boby Robson. Every football fan has a soft spot for the football legend and icon, but I wonder what the song is meant to do? [...]

Are we there yet?

So often I can feel that as Christians in the UK we have done it. We have reasonable sized churches, we have pretty large CU’s, and if we compare this with most of Europe we are doing ok. But then I think twice and realise that we are no where near ok. We have tiny CU’s when compared with the total student population, and we have midget churches when we realise that our population is around 60 million. Take today, walking through the park. Nightclubs handing out free stuff with bags labelled, ‘I heart vodka.’ So many people on campus do not know who God is, and they don’t appear to care. I approached one guy and he had never thought about it before and didn’t want to.

We are far from complete in this country, we have barely started. To really see how lost this world is surely should encourage us in our evangelism and our own walk with Christ. To know this living God, to know his character should lead to a burden for the lost. Above that we should be jealous that God is not being worshipped and he is not being honoured like he should be.

Please pray for the Christian Union in Swansea as they reach out to students. Some have been reached but so many more haven’t. Though encouragement can be found from the bible. In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd left everything else to find the one lost sheep. Like that shepherd we should view every soul as important, every individual is precious. Every student who is contacted should be an occasion of rejoicing.

Relay

Here is a video to show you what Relay is all about. I hope you enjoy

more about "Relay", posted with vodpod

Go Relay, Go Relay Go.

some relay workers

You may, or may not, be aware that I am now a relay worker. This is very exciting for me as I have known I was going to be doing this for months but now it is finally here I can’t wait to get cracking. The last two weeks were spent on conferences, Relay 1 (the first of three conferences for relay workers) and Forum (for the leaders of Christian Unions across the UK). [...]

Prayer Info…

Check out my latest Relay prayer letter.

Prayer is the battle time walkie talkie, so lets fight.

Some Relay Workers

Run fat boy

So tomorrow is the big day. My bags are packed, the reading is pretty much almost complete and the tickets have been purchased. Tomorrow is the start of Relay 1, the conference for all Relay workers, our first taste of what this next year will entail. No Jonathan Thomas around so its going to be time to party, when the cats are away the youth worker will play. Anyhow, this video reminds me very loosely of relay. Enjoy…

Summer Time and the Weather is Fine

As I enter this blog post I am finally enjoying some good weather, sitting on my mother’s patio over looking my mother’s garden enjoying the array of interesting plants and flowers, all the different colours and the lush green allure of it all, something we must all be thankful for the wet weather we have been having.

But this entry is not about my garden or plants or anything like that, but I mention it merely for the pleasure it has given me, reading outside with a nice cup of coffee and taking my holidays easy. I say easy, but the stack of summer reading is larger than my degree reading ever was. This summer I am reading Out of the Salt Shaker, Cross Examined and Disciplines of Grace. These are the books I need to read before Relay 1. I am also reading Driscoll’s Radical Reformission and Life in Christ by Ed Donnelly. [...]

Room 101 – “I’m not crying, it’s just been raining on my face”

This is a classic Flight of the Conchords song, possibly one of their greatest, with truly epic lyrics such as ‘for your information there’s and inflammation in my tear gland.’ But what has this got to do with anything I hear you ask? Well…today is our 101st post on the blog and its a sad one. Myself and fellow blogger, friend and ex flatmate, ex course mate, ex team mate are going to be living apart. I know, I know. This is heartbreaking news. Jon is moving to Bangor to be a Relay worker, while I get to stay in Swansea. It doesn’t seem fair I know, who would want to go to North  Wales!?

I want to use this opportunity to share some memories of our time living together through the medium of photography.

Hear All About It!

This afternoon I made myself a coffee, made myself comfortable and began to read today’s paper. In an attempt to create an intellectual persona towards ones self I have become mildly interested in current affairs and as a result found myself participating in the broadsheet culture of fellow graduates. What a pompous lot we are.

Count as Loss

We havn’t had a video up for a while so enjoy this. I was made aware of this video a month or so ago in church thanks to Gruffy. It’s based on John Pied-Piper.

A Grand Day Out

a taste of the shire

This past week I have been enjoying the beauty of the English countryside, returning to the shire to visit friends and family as well as recharging my batteries before starting Relay. I have to say that my ma’s cooking is worth being home for.

A helpful reminder

I have to say its more than helpful its essential. Today I have been trying to catch up on reading, and do some Relay prep. Part of my prep is to study Colossians and while trying to understand the themes of the book and the context I realised something that I have always known since being a Christian. Its all about Jesus. Everything is all all about Jesus. [...]

Carry on Camping

The Team

So this last week I have been on an EMW (Evangelical Movement of Wales) camp for kids ages 10 to 12. I didn’t know what to expect from it but it exceeded my expectations. My friend, boss and pastor Jonathan Thomas was the chaplain for the week and he had some very clear talks over the week, showing us how we are justified by faith in Gods grace as well as what it means to be obedient as a Christian. We looked at total deprivation as well as imputed righteousness. What was great was that it was done in a way that even I could understand it as well as the kids. [...]