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Today we used two videos in our meeting and I thought I would share them here as well:
God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 14.03.10. As we continue our journey through Paul's first preserved letter to the Corinthians we have come across all sorts of interesting stuff. One example of this came up on Sunday as we started chapter 15. At the beginning of this chapter Paul is reminding the Corinthians of the gospel that he preached and that they believed in. As he recounts these things they know very well scholars believe Paul draws on a summary of the faith that Paul adopts rather than creates. It is believed the following sentence comes from the earliest of Christians and became a confession or creed that was passed on to those new in the faith: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”. I love the simplicity of such a statement and the reminder of sin being our central problem and Jesus' physical death and resurrection being the solution. Where is the sophistication? Where is the waffle and artifice? Where is the means to elevate oneself or exclude others? Exactly! God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 12.03.10. Being a Pentecostal I tend to quite familiar with different perspectives on Acts 2. However I question now whether I am as well read as I thought I was as I recently discovered an approach that was news to me. Not just news but helpful news! Anyone can come up with a novel reading of Scripture but it takes something special to properly contribute to thoughts in a particularly theological field. Coming from a “New Exodus Theology” approach it has been mentioned that the gift of tongues that fell on the day of Pentecost was actually a completion of God’s work on Sinai where he spoke to one man for one nation. At Pentecost God’s wonders were described to all nations through his people. There is a lovely and poetic continuity there don’t you think (though I certainly am not suggesting this is the sum total of the significance of the event)? Secondly a question is raised as to why 3,000 were recorded as being saved. Now I was always just happy to admit that someone counted them and this was the number. However if you have ever read Revelation you will know that numbers often mean more than just a head count. For instance seven is not just a prime number but one that represents completeness. It has been suggested by this theological approach that the 3,000 recall the 3,000 that the Levites slaughtered in Exodus 32:28. For 3,000 that were killed for their idolatry and wild living. Pentecost is an announcement that a new time has come and that a reversal is occurring. The old has gone and the new has come. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 04.03.10. On the 23rd March we continue our series called "food for the body and food for the soul":  God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 03.03.10.
The missionary we support in Sudan has recently published her latest report. You can read it on this website if you go to the page titled “Beyond Bewbush”. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 02.03.10. In the sixth century Gregory the Great recorded the following intriguing account of a miracle: “On a certain day, as venerable Bennet was, in his cell, the foresaid young Placidus, the holy man's monk, went out to take up water at the lake, and putting down his pail carelessly, fell in himself after it, whom the water forthwith carried away from the land so far as one may shoot an arrow. The man of God, being in his cell, by and by knew this, and called in haste for Maurus, saying: "Brother Maurus, run as fast as you can, for Placidus that went to the lake to fetch water is fallen in, and is carried a good way off." A strange thing, and since the time of Peter the Apostle never heard of! Maurus, craving his father's blessing, and departing in all haste at his commandment, ran to that place upon the water, to which the young lad was carried by force thereof, thinking that he had all that while gone upon the land: and taking fast hold of him by the hair of his head, in all haste he returned back again: and so soon as he was at land, coming to himself he looked behind him, and then knew very well that he had before run upon the water: and that which before he durst not have presumed, being now done and past, he both marvelled, and was afraid at that which he had done.” Though the translation may be dated you can hopefully discern a wonderful account of Maurus walking on water as he saved the life of Placidus. The specific names lend a wonderful authenticity to the account. It seems belief in, and acceptance of, the miraculous has endured amongst Jesus’ disciples continually through Christianity’s history! God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 25.02.10. Take half an hour out to listen to the extraordinary story of SallyLivingstone.mp3. The mp3 is 28 minutes long and has Elim's leader John Glass conducting the interview. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 19.02.10. I sometimes wonder if some Biblical accounts are more like documentaries rather than real-time reality shows. By this I mean they condense events into subjective time frames that can lead to confusion. For instance while the book of Acts can easily be read in a single sitting it is generally regarded as actually chronicling around 30 years of church history. Such an observation should cause us to look at our own stories differently. Instead of being constantly disappointed at the lack of barrage of miracles in our lives we should cherish those we have seen more deeply and also be reassured that apparent lack of answers to prayer are not a reflection of God’s distance. With this perspective in mind I thought I would raise the case of a miracle on Christmas Day, 1972 in The Lord’s Ranch was founded by Father Rick Thomas who was moved on Christmas Day of 1972 to bring food to the poor people of The priest reported that he and a couple dozen others brought enough food for about 160 people, but in the end they served more than 300 people where they frequently scavenged out a living - at the local dump - with ample for take-home bags and still more for children at two orphanages. The priest's ongoing commitment started with food and clothing distribution and grew from there. Eventually the dump was moved and a mission sprung up at the site. The ranch serves as a residence for a few community members, a summer camp for poor children from "Father (Thomas) never takes an offering up at his Masses and he never does fund-raising. They have never gotten a loan and never been in debt," noted It may have occurred some time ago but it is still a story to excite worship and expectation. We may not get to witness such a demonstration of power ourselves but that is not because God’s teeth has been pulled out or that he is M.I.A! God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 18.02.10. Take a look at the “Beyond Bewbush” page to find the latest report from the missionaries we support in India. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 12.02.10.
On 5th October I posted some lyrics from the singer and songwriter Frank Turner because he had obviously felt something of the truth conveyed by two Bible stories. Today (perhaps betraying my musical bias) I discovered the following chorus to a song recently produced by the Kings of Convenience (two guys from Only someone Who's morally And honestly deserve To rule my world Here we have a wonderfully unintentional rationale for the Lordship of Jesus. Only the perfect man should be given complete allegiance and authority in our lives. All other philosophies, arguments and causes are the construct of the fallible. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 08.12.09. The missionary who we help support in God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 03.12.09. I love the words and discussions that emerge as people try to grapple with the idea and reality of God. Particularly I enjoy the writings of C.S. Lewis as his great articulation repeatedly comes up with excellent arguments and observations that deserve to be quoted for a long time to come. Just read this excerpt from his retelling of a famous myth in "Till We Have Faces". The words are uttered by the frustrated Orual whose prettier sister has apparently married an evasive god: “I say the gods deal very unrightly with us. For they will neither (which would be best of all) go away and leave us to live our own short days to ourselves, nor will they show themselves openly and tell us what they would have us do. For that too would be endurable. But to hint and hover, to draw near us in dreams and oracles, or in a waking vision that vanishes as soon as seen, to be dead silent when we question them and then glide back and whisper (words we cannot understand) in our ears when we most wish to be free of them, and to show one what they hide from another; what is all this but cat-and-mouse play, blindman's buff, and mere jugglery? Why must holy places be dark places?” God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 26.11.09.
Today a person from the church was given room to talk about his life's story. We heard him talk about some really dreadful life experiences and the grief and despair these inspired. However we also heard how he met Jesus and how he is beginning to know God's healing touch in his life. Click on "Ron's Story" in the "Talks" page to hear it for yourself. On Sunday I spoke about the Trinity and their perichoretic relationship with each other (see entry for 28/05/09). This "dance" the Father, Son and Spirit have seems to be the inspiration for God's acts of creation and the guidance he has given for humanity to live. I showed the following two videos as examples of the choices we make to participate in creation. Either we are self-absorbed or we become immersed in selfless community.....
Just had a really good holiday in the “Why is (the elder brother in Jesus' parable in Luke 15.11-32) so angry with the father? He feels he has the right to tell the father how the robes, rings, and livestock of the family should be deployed. In the same way, religious people commonly live very moral lives, but their goal is to get leverage over God, to control him, to put him in a position where they think he owes them. Therefore, despite all their ethical fastidiousness and piety, they are actually rebelling against his authority. If, like the elder brother, you believe that God ought to bless you and help you because you have worked so hard to obey him and be a good person, then Jesus may be your helper, your example, even your inspiration, but he is not your Savior. You are serving as your own Savior.” God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 02.11.09. Today we watched the following Youtube clip at the end of the sermon. It was recommended by none other than Elim's John Glass:
Ever since I discovered my first Christian band Eden Burning I have loved a bit of folk. Once the Levellers were added to the mix I have enjoyed the more punk side of the same scene. Recently I bought an album called “Poetry of the deed” by Frank Turner (not obviously a believer). The following is an excerpt from the song “Journey of the Magi”: Moses was old, a chill in his bones. Falling apart, he knew in his heart that his time had come. As he lay in his tent in the hot desert sands, he smiled at how he would never see his promised land. He sang "I could have lived and died an Egyptian prince, I could have played safe, but in the end the journey's brought joys that outweigh the pain." …….. Balthazar rode for seven long years, eastwards and far, he followed his star, and it brought him here. To a stable in ruins in some backwater town, to a virgin defiled, no king but a child, too small for a crown. He sang "I could have lived with my Gods as a Persian prince, I could've played safe, but in the end the journey's brought joys that outweigh the pain." Paupers and kings, princes and thieves, singers of songs, righters of wrongs, be what you believe. So saddle your horse and shoulder your load, burst at the seams, be what you dream, and take to the road. While the truth of the tales may be debated (Turner also sings about the mythical Odysseus) I love to see the Bible resonate with the popular culture of our time. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 05.10.09. If you have listened to the talks I have been giving over the last year you will know our church has been going through Paul’s first preserved letter to the Corinthians. During this time I have been reading some pretty thorough commentaries and have had to deal with a much nuanced range of views on almost everything contained in the letter. This has been especially true for the beginning of chapter 11 which seems to have huge scope for differences. Part of the problem is that Paul is referring to some cultural aspect of Greco-Roman life that is not specifically detailed. Secondly Paul employs the term “head” in a number of different ways so that commentators draw divergent conclusions from the same data. A particularly important aspect is how the man is “head” of the woman and how the covering of a woman’s head reflects this. There are basically three views I have seen. The first is that it is an issue of “authority” with headship detailing the submission of one to the other. The second approach is one of “source” when one is the source of the other. The final view is that headship relates to “representation” with one being the synecdoche of the other (a bit like counting the head of cattle to find out how many cows there are). Listen to next Sunday’s talk to hear further reflections on these difficulties and what we are to do with them…. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 30.09.09. I am coming to the end of Philip Jenkins’ “The Lost History of Christianity” in which he explores the rise and fall of Christianity in For instance in North Africa Christianity was predominately found in the cities in the middle of the first millennium. Meanwhile in This observation of the importance of grass roots religions makes it imperative that proper recognition and support is provided for Christianity away from densely populated areas. While metropolitan areas can suffer from the fast pace of intellectual influence and the antagonistic policies of the power brokers the countryside can maintain a faith with much less fear of intrusion. I propose that while it is good to see the faith flourish in urban areas policies and strategies must not be adopted that neglect or marginalise the smaller and less resourced body of Christ away from the lime light. I look forward to reading church growth literature for example that bears such a principle in mind….. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 24.09.09. Recently I have been able to take a This reflection and summary of my journey certainly adds to the sense of achievement and helps put it into perspective. I see that I burnt around 280 calories so I can neither over estimate or deride the contribution my efforts have made to my fitness and fatness. It seems it would be a great thing to have a similar system to record our spiritual journey with Jesus. To have our lives, up till now, mapped out so we can see how far we’ve come, the heights and depths we have plumbed etc. would seem to promise us a better understanding of our current standing. We would be less prone to discouragement as we see the vast distances covered but also kept humble as we comprehend the limits of this journey as well. This is why times of prayer, reflection and fasting are such great things for a Christian to practice. I know I find it far easier to pass time doing rather than resting but this God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 22.09.09. Verena, our incredibly efficient missionary in God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 09.09.09. The church workers Elim Church Bewbush support regularly in Macedonia have recently set up a website. Take a look: http://www.crkvaoaza.com.mk/. On Monday, 31st August, I got interviewed by Talk Sport Radio who wanted to hear all about the Bewbush Eskimo-Indian Olympics. The recording of the interview is here: BEIO_on_Talk_Sport_Radio.mp3 I am currently working through some lectures on the history of the Puritans by Dr J. I. Packer. As with all church history it is compelling to discover where particular features of modern Christian practice and theology come from. For instance the Puritans seem to have emphasised private devotions, particularly Bible reading. They were passionate about holiness within the church and family life and sought to submit much to this end (though Packer is quick to point out that this passion did not extinguish their ability to find pleasure in the world). While they agreed with separation from Within this period there was considerable reflection and working out of Calvin’s theology as detailed in his “Institutes of Christian Religion”. A Frenchman called Theodore Beza reordered Calvin’s work with the aim of clarifying divine logical steps. Within this he suggested that God decreed that humanity will be divided into the saved and reprobate for his glory. Thus the Fall and salvation are means to this end. This view is called Supralapsarianism and was taught by early Puritans such as William Perkins (who Packer says compares favourably with C. S. Lewis through his popularising of theology) An alternative emerged and gained popularity which said that Creation and the Fall were perceived by God and that the salvation of some was in response to this. This reorder of things is known as Infralapsarianism. The first position struggles with illustrating God’s love as this does not seem to be worked out in his initial decrees. The latter position, while retaining God’s love, struggles with God’s sovereignty as the Fall seems to cause God to react. Rather than having already taken sides I thought I would describes these thoughts. For these are serious attempts to grasp God’s method and order and are remedies to many of the vague platitudes championed by “spiritual” leaders of our own time. While weaknesses appear I love the fact that men took God so seriously that they would press in and try and discern from Scripture and logic God’s very nature and strategy. Long may such intense theological discussion continue! God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 25.08.09. Due to River Camp there will be no church meeting on Sunday, 30th August, and no prayer meeting on Tuesday, 1st September. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 23.08.09. In today's Crawley we made page 2! God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 19.08.09. Yesterday we held the first Eskimo-Indian Olympics ever held outside Alaska (as far as we know anyway). We had around 60 people watch and participate in the strange games inspired by survival skills needed in the Alaskan frontier. This website's gallery has a few photos of the type of thing that went on. People were quite suspicious at the beginning but when they got used to the community essence of the games most people had a go at something. The One-Foot High Kick was particularly popular, the ladies taking it over at one point with much laughter and hysterics. Though no-one got near the world record of over 9 feet we all had a good try. Some of the local lads were even reaching heights over the heads. All pretty impressive stuff. Watch out for us in Crawley's local press from Wednesday, 19th August 2009. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 17.08.09 As you may know Elim Church Bewbush regularly support some Christians overseas. More details of our giving can be seen in the "Beyond Bewbush" page. We give so that the good news of Jesus can be spread to communities that might not otherwise hear. One of our recipients is a lady called Verena who is currently teaching theology in Sudan. Verena's report for August has just been added to the website page mentioned earlier. Have a look at what she writes and be confronted with a world beyond yours. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 07.08.09. The news of our event has now reached the Alaskan press.... http://www.alaskadispatch.com/component/content/article/60-august-5/1381- God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 06.08.09 The event has had some free publicity through the local papers. Have a look at the various articles: http://www.crawleyobserver.co.uk/news/Crawley-to-host-first-EskimoIndian.5524290.jp I have yet to get a copy but I believe we are the sole occupiers of page three of the Crawley News. Bring on the Bewbush Eskimo-Indian Olympics! God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 05.08.09. It seems our B.E.I.O. has caught other people's imagination as well. For a start Chris Oxlade (our County Councillor and Radio Mercury DJ) has promised to come along and give out medals to the event winners. While yesterday saw a load of people head down to the new park in Bewbush to be interviewed and photographed by the Crawley News and Crawley Observer. Despite all the locals crowding in to everything as wannabe stars it all went well and I think some good shots were taken to promote our upcoming event. Both papers said they'll also be sending photographers on the day of the event to cover it as well. I will have have bitten off more than I can chew if the publicity works.... God's Peace, Kevin Taylor, 30.07.09 Just got an email from: Perry R. Ahsogeak (great name huh?) The director of WEIO himself seems to support our new event. He is sending us the official rule book as we speak. How cool is that? I hope their husky based postal system will get us the rules in time.... God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 25.07.09. Here is a proto-type flyer for our upcoming event:
God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 21.07.09. On 16th August we plan to have a bbq and a sporting event with a difference. Take a look at the following video and imagine the setting being Bewbush rather than Anchorage: Interesting huh? God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 14.07.09. Since August last year I have been preaching through Paul's first preserved letter to the Corinthians. In a few weeks time we will arrive at the bit where, in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul compares the Christian faith to a professional sport. Particularly Paul has in mind long distance running. However as a keen cyclist I would update Paul's thoughts for the 21st Century. The Tour De France, which is on at the moment, is the biggest annual sporting event and has a couple Englishmen doing well (Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish). I came across the following passage in today's Guardian and thought it had interesting parallels with how I feel about the Christian faith sometimes (though prehaps substituting "Jesus" for "wife"). Even at this stage, however, he was able to come up with a perfect summary of the Tour de France rider's experience. "Every day in the Tour is super-stressful," the Briton (Bradley Wiggins) said. "You think you're the only one who's hurting, the only one who's suffering and wants to go home and see his wife, but at some point you realise that everyone is feeling the same and that it's just a mental game to see who can suffer the longest." God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 13.07.09. Today we enjoyed the wonderful privelege of baptising two of our number in the English Channel at Climping Beach. Despite the doomsayers the weather was scorching and the tide was in so the sea was great to swim in. The two baptisands gave their testimonies at our church meeting and were prayer for there. Then we headed to the beach where a combination of the leaders and the waves ensured they were fully immersed! I think perhaps this is the new way forward as it was wonderful to make a whole day of the celebration. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 12.07.09. Christianity places a lot of emphasis on the texts which have been collected together and commonly termed "Bible". This emphasis has meant that a lot of debate has centered around that which has been preserved through the ages. The issues of poor copying, corruption and intentional correction and redaction have meant that early manuscripts are regarded with particular importance. Today (6th July) a long term project to scan the world's oldest (over 1,600 years old to be more precise) copy of the "full" Bible has culminated in the results being made available on the internet at http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/. While the text is Greek and so of limited use to the amateur theologian it does seem to me an excellent acheivement and one that promotes many of the 66 books that are in modern Bibles. In fact the Codex's New Testament contains the same 27 books that are found in today's New Testaments. This codex (book) also is an accessible link to a single Christian catholicism which I believe it is good to value. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 06.07.09. Last year the guys from Elim Bewbush headed over to the Big Smoke to listen to a guy that has been accused of starting a "new monasticism". I have been enchanted by this man's view of God's Kingdom and always feel challenged when I hear him speak or read his books. This is a short clip of Shane Claiborne reading from his book "The Irresistible Revolution": God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 26.06.09. If you have been paying attention to the ambitions of Elim Church Bewbush you will know we have been hoping to raise funds to get a bore hole drilled in Malawi. However each time we reached a target we discovered that prices had substantially increased. This meant that the whole project lost its impetus and people felt that it had become a pipedream. I spoke to Elim's HQ and they said that they had stopped recommending the core hole project now for this very reason. With our funds still short of what was required it was suggested that we reallocate our money to a better known quantity. Namely the digging of a well in Nepal under the supervision of Steve Kempton (see the image below for Steve [on the right], his family and Elim's head of missions [in the middle]) who is an Elim missionary in Nepal. When we looked at this alternative we discovered we immediately had enough for two wells to be dug and that recently a newly dug well had faciliated a new church plant. Therefore yesterday, with a little sadness for Malawi and excitement for Nepal, I sent a cheque to Elim missions to fund the digging of two wells in the Himalayas. I will update you on developments as they are relayed to me.
God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 23.06.09. My folks recently wanted to get me a present to celebrate my ordination earlier this month and so asked me what would be good. I thought I fancied a posh Bible but the question always arises as to which one? You see the Bible is composed of 66 books which were originally written in Hebrew, Greek and a little bit of Aramaic. Therefore these languages have to be translated into English for the average person. Now translation may seem a fairly straightforward process however there are essentially two components that must be kept in mind. Firstly the author's meaning must be preserved (thought for thought) and secondly the actual words should be maintained (word for word). These priorities often lead to conflict when the words used do not helpfully imply the obvious meaning in another language. For instance Paul uses the Greek word for flesh (sarx) many times. However the meaning of sarx is dependent on the context. Sometimes it is pejorative, sometimes it is neutral and sometimes it is positive. Therefore the decision is sometimes taken by the translators to help the meaning along and sacrifice the desire for word-for-word tranlsation. If you are in the market for a Bible I found Zondervan's Bible "Translation Continuum" quite helpful:
In the end I chose the good ol' NIV. It seems to have struck a good balance between these two principles, and while it is by no means perfect it has possibly the most to commend it (just see how it hogs that middle ground in that continuum) This is the same translation that my folks gave me on my 8th birthday! My parent church also gave me the ESV study Bible which I'm slowly getting to grips with as well. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 22.06.09.
Verena, a lady whose missionary work in Sudan Elim Bewbush helps support, has published her latest newsletter. Go to the "Beyond Bewbush" page for a link to the pdf file. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 18.06.09. Chris Moyles, someone who I never thought to mention with any sort of enthusiasm, just recorded a rather nice reflection on a Pentecostal meeting. John Glass, the head of Elim sent a link out to this no less so I thought I would share it with you all: How about them eggs then? God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 16.06.09.
As I slowly savour the writing of Philip Jenkin's in his "The Lost History of Chrsiatinity" I repeatedly come across comments that seem to give penetrating observations about the current religious climate and its origins. For instance Jenkins says that modern Islamic religous practice bears a striking resemblance to the Chrsitinity in the East that it conquered and replaced. He notes that mosques architecturally are very similarly to Orthodox churches and that modes of worship and ritual are also derivative. Here is an email reply made by Philip Jenkins to the question whether Christianity and Islam have a history that is more than just conflict: "Christians survive perfectly well for centuries under Muslim regimes, and the relations between the two are often excellent. In fact, Islam borrows massively from those ancient Christian churches. They borrow a lot of the architectural styles of mosques, the worship practices, and customs like Lent, which becomes the Muslim Ramadan. In fact, if a sixth or seventh century Eastern Christian came back today, that person would probably feel more at home in a mosque than a typical Western church service. That comfort level might change once they explored the doctrines being taught, but the general atmosphere would be very similar. The more you look at these Eastern Christianities, the easier it is to understand that Islam and Christianity emerged as sister faiths." Seen in this light Islam seems a lot less of a foreboding presence than many fear-mongers would project. Jenkins even says that the Quran owes a lot to various Eastern Christian texts. Perhaps those that follow Jesus should adopt a lot less adversarial approach to Muslims and tease out the similarities that could lead someone to see that Christ was more than just a prophet? God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 15.06.09. While at Elim's Bible Week in North Wales I picked up Jenkin's "The Lost History of Christianity" and Foxe's "Book of Martyrs". The accounts of Christians in Foxe's work by are a profound challenge to me as I wonder if there could be a point where I would neglect my faith in Jesus? Just read this description of the last moments of a believer called Romanus: "Romanus, a native of Palestine, was deacon of the church of Caesarea at the time of the commencement of Diocletian's persecution. Being condemned for his faith at Antioch, he was scourged, put to the rack, his body torn with hooks, his flesh cut with knives, his face scarified, his teeth beaten from their sockets, and his hair plucked up by the roots. Soon after he was ordered to be strangled, November 17, A.D. 303." Puts some things in perspective and makes you think doesn't it? God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 09.06.09. Off to Elim's Bible Week tomorrow so it will all be a little quiet on the website. I'll leave you with my favourite joke of the moment: "A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from his God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 29.05.09. I have just come across the term “perichoresis” to describe the dynamics of the Trinity. Apparently it was first used by Gregory of Nazianzus and “it refers to the mutual inter-penetration and indwelling” of the Father Son and Spirit. John of Damascus developed this thinking and wrote the following in “Exposition of the Orthodox Faith”: The subsistences [the three Persons] dwell and are established firmly in one another. For they are inseparable and cannot part from one another, but keep to their separate courses within one another, without coalescing or mingling, but cleaving to each other. For the Son is in the Father and the Spirit: and the Spirit in the Father and the Son: and the Father in the Son and the Spirit, but there is no coalescence or commingling or confusion. And there is one and the same motion: for there is one impulse and one motion of the three subsistences, which is not to be observed in any created nature. What emerges from these considerations seems to be a more detailed description of the mystery of Trinity. When the three persons are described as “cleaving” to each other without “confusion” we see a God who is three-in-one whereby the persons exist in a constant state of love towards each other. If this is true then it comes as no surprise that Jesus could say: “the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father”. Is this not an enchanting description of one who seems to have made the world in a manner that is far from the austere creation stories of other world views? God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 28.05.09. Due to Elim (that is the group of churches we belong to) holding a week of meetings in North Wales from 30th May to 5th June there will be no Sunday meeting on 31st May. Sorry. We'll be back as normal on 7th June! God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 24.05.09. It is Elim Church Bewbush's 4th birthday this Sunday (24th May 2009). Loads of stuff will be happening from 10:30am onwards at Bewbush Community Primary School. There will be a BBQ, bouncy castle, drama, singing, photo slideshow, chatting, and most importantly God's Spirit. Come along and celebrate with us.... God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 22.05.09. On Friday various guys from the church headed to one particular house in Bewbush. The house in question had a back garden that required a little bit of hard work. It previously had some crazy paving in and this had then been demolished. However the results had never been taken away and so the garden had fallen into disrepair. The menfolk took the day off work and strived hard to clear the garden of all the rubble and bring it back into use. This redemption of barren land was very impressive and I love how wonderfully practical spirituality can be. Take a look at the Gallery for a couple of photos. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 17.05.09. I am ploughing my way through "History of Christianity II" by Dr. Frank A James III on Itunes U. I came across these reflections of Martin Luther on marriage composed by others: "Martin Luther said he married for several reasons: to make his father happy, to rile the pope, make the angels laugh and the devil weep." This may not sound particularly romantic and there is certainly evidence that Martin Luther saw it more as a duty initially. However his wife Katherina seems to have had quite an impact. Read these direct quotes from Luther: "There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship communion or company than a good marriage."
"In domestic affairs, I defer to Katie. Otherwise I am led by the Holy Ghost." There was another one about Martin Luther prefering his wife to the empire of France but I couldn't find it on the net. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 09.05.09.
Here is an introduction to the work we support in Macedonia: God's peace, Kev Taylor, 08.05.09. In a rather provocative response to those that object to the perceived imperialism of Western Christianity the scholar Lamin Sanneh says this on behalf of an African perspective: “Africans embraced Christianity because it resonated so well with the values of the old religions. . . People sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred or their clamor for an invincible Savior, so they beat their sacred drums for him until the stars skipped and danced in the skies. After that dance the stars weren’t little anymore. Christianity helped Africans to become renewed Africans, not remade Europeans.” See “Whose Religion is Christianity? The Gospel Beyond the West” by Lamin Sanneh for more on this subject. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 07.05.09 It was pay day last week so I bought myself a new book to celebrate. Having seen the Coen brother's film "No Country for Old Men" and listened to James Glass recommending the paperback I went and got Cormac McCarthy's book of the same title. The piece is a kind of lament for morality of days gone past as it describes some brutal crime capers. The episodes of adventure are interrupted with observations by an old sheriff. This one is on page 196 and 197 of the version I've got: "Here a year or two back me and Loretta went to a conference in Corpus Christi and I got set next to this woman, she was the wife of somebody or other. And she kept talkin about the right wing this and the right wing that. I aint even sure what she meant by it. The people I know are mostly just common people. Common as dirt, as the sayin goes. I told her that and she looked at me funny. She thought I was sayin something bad about em, but of course that's a high compliment in my part of the world. She kept on, kept on. Finally told me, said: I don't like the way this country is headed. I want my granddaughter to be able to have an abortion. And I said well mam I dont think you got any worries about the way the country is headed. The way I see it goin I don't have much doubt but what she'll be able to have an abortion. I'm goin to say that not only will she be able to have an abortion, she'll be able to have you put to sleep. Which pretty much ended the conversation." God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 04.05.09. Elim Church Bewbush tries to not limit itself to just impacting Bewbush. A part of the way we attempt to help bring God's kingdom elsewhere is through supporting the work of others. If you visit the "Beyond Bewbush" page you will see that we financially contribute to work in Macedonia, Malawi and also Sudan. In Sudan we provide funds and prayer for a lady called Verena. In the harsh political and religous climate of this war-torn nation Verena shines the light of Jesus. The bottom of the "Beyond Bewbush" page has now been updated with Verena's latest report. Have a look.... God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 01.05.09. Over the weekend my wife and I spent time in a retreat centre called As well as fraternising with each other we were wisely addressed and counselled by a number of senior ministers in Elim: David Campbell, Geoff and Jane Blease, David and Maureen Redbond. We particularly enjoyed the considered words of Geoff and Jane who run a church in Princes Risborough which sounds like it has many of the difficulties of Bewbush in its demographic. From these two we heard how ministers should “guard” their hearts and be cautious with what they “feed” on. They made an excellent case against two equally poor approaches: receiving input indiscriminately and cultivating hard-heartedness. Their words were really rammed home by the Spirit and I have since spent some time ruminating on their significance for me. By the way a big thank you to all those who chipped in while we were away and welcomed our senior pastor James Glass from our parent church and made yesterday go so well. The podcast is already up in the talks section…. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 20.04.09. Today started off worryingly as the heavens opened and the ground received torrential rain. I thought this would really dampen all the proceedings. However the rain did not last long and the day went particularly well. The only exception to the great day I had was the morning's footie. Though everyone else played well I seemed to never find a rhythm or the back of the net (apart from two own goals and a howler that would make David James wince). However, after footie we took the burger van into Dorsten Square. We hardly had to give out any vouchers as the people came flocking to us in a kind of feeding frenzy. It was beautiful. We also had some food parcels for families that are struggling in these economically hard times. Gail let me give out a couple to some friends and I was even able to pray fro healing for one guy. God and food, a real winning combination that I think Jesus approves of. He started it all off after all with feeding the five thousand didn't he? God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 04.04.09. Last night Jo at the Bewbush Youth Centre welcomed the Youth for Christ Nomad team. Sarah, Ross, Hannah, Tim and Stewart decended on Bewbush with the infamous "cage" to introduce us all to the wonders of two-on-two football in a confined space. It was an instant success as the kids gathered round the iron pen, intrigued by the concept on show. The Nomad team have obviously done this before and quickly everyone wanted a go. It was really impressive how the "cage" was no respector of male nor female as both the boys and girls got stuck in. On my first go I scored a hatrick and then "nutmeg'd" someone and won the game. This was obviously an excellent demonstration of my skills and proved how much of an expert I was! However Jo and I teamed up later and first she was "nutmeg'd" and then I was so we lost two games in as many minutes. This was clearly because the Nomads could see my silky smoothness and felt threatened by my ability. Unfortunately I did not leave graciously and continued to argue my case to the end. It seems I am not a good loser at anything... Thanks Jo and Nomad for a great evening. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 27.03.09. As I lap up the church history on iTunes U I thought I'd quote a legend of James' martyrdown which is recorded by Esubius who quotes the lost writings of Hegesippus in around 170AD: “The aforesaid scribes and Pharisees accordingly set James on the summit of the temple, and cried aloud to him, and said: "O just one, whom we are all bound to obey, forasmuch as the people is in error, and follows Jesus the crucified, do thou tell us what is the door of Jesus, the crucified." And he answered with a loud voice: "Why ask ye me concerning Jesus the Son of man? He Himself sitteth in heaven, at the right hand of the Great Power, and shall come on the clouds of heaven." And, when many were fully convinced by these words, and offered praise for the testimony of James, and said, "Hosanna to the son of David," then again the said Pharisees and scribes said to one another, "We have not done well in procuring this testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, that they may be afraid, and not believe him." And they cried aloud, and said: "Oh! oh! the just man himself is in error." Thus they fulfilled the Scripture written in Isaiah: "Let us away with the just man, because he is troublesome to us: therefore shall they eat the fruit of their doings." So they went up and threw down the just man, and said to one another: "Let us stone James the Just." And they began to stone him: for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned, and kneeled down, and said: "I beseech Thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And, while they were thus stoning him to death, one of the priests, the sons of Rechab, the son of Rechabim, to whom testimony is borne by Jeremiah the prophet, began to cry aloud, saying: "Cease, what do ye? The just man is praying for us." But one among them, one of the fullers, took the staff with which he was accustomed to wring out the garments he dyed, and hurled it at the head of the just man. And so he suffered martyrdom; and they buried him on the spot, and the pillar erected to his memory still remains, close by the temple. This man was a true witness to both Jews and Greeks that Jesus is the Christ.” God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 25.03.09. Well I have now completed the first and second lectures on the "History of Christianity I" by Dr. Frank A. James III (I think the British should have more juniors and the thirds as endings to their names) from iTunes U. It has been quite liberating to hear of an initial competing approach to church leadership amongst first and second century churches. Apparently some had just elders and deacons while others added a pre-eminent bishop among the elders. According to the lecturer the three-tier appraoch eventually prevailed. For me this goes some way to explaining the New Testament which mentiones deacons and elders distinctly but then adds bishop to these without a rigid consistency. Particularly as I hope to be ordained this year it is good to hear about the journey that concluded with some members of the congregation being recognised as specially marked out by God for church service. Go on, listen to some of the lectures and be educated... God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 24.03.09. I am a ravenous devourer of podcasts, especially anything related to theology and church history. I have just discovered RTS on iTunes U which is essentially an online resource for university level teaching. Having just polished off the first and second lessons of the Systematic Theology I series I can recommend it as an easy gateway into some serious learning. It seems they also have a section on the Early Church Fathers........ God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 23.03.09. Verena, the missionary we support in Sudan, has just completed her report for March 2009. Go to the "Beyond Bewbush" page on this website and click on the appropriate link. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 18.03.09. Steve Cattell, a criminal who met Jesus, has put his latest talk on YouTube: God's Peace, Kevin Taylor, 13.03.09. Just got back from a rather different men's house group. Rather than the normal singing and listening to a Christian audio book we fiercely discussed some pretty foundational theology. Inspired by James Glass' blog entry for 6th March we looked at the issues raised by the central tenants of Calvinism. While the intricies of the minds of the writers of the Bible may not raise your pulse I love the cut and thrust of grand thoughts trying to pierce the reasoning behind Paul's letter to the Ephesians for instance. To whet your appetite here is the five points of Calvinism presented in the acronym of "tulip": Total depravity - every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin. Unconditional election - salvation unconditionally grounded in God's mercy alone. Limited atonement - the atonement is limited in the sense that it is designed for some and not all Irresistible grace - the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save Perserverance of the saints - those whom God has called into communion with himself will continue in faith until the end See if you can come up with some objections or supporting thoughts for these points? God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 11.03.09. Last night the men folk of Bewbush embarked on a new audio journey having polished off “Screwtape proposes a toast” last week. We listened to the introduction from Ravi Zacharias’ latest book called “The Grand Weaver”. Here is Ravi’s Wiki entry: “Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias (born 1946) is an Indian-born, Canadian-American evangelical Christian apologist, and evangelist. Zacharias is the author of numerous Christian books, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner “Can Man Live Without God?” and bestsellers “Light in the Shadow of Jihad” and “The Grand Weaver”. He is also president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, host of the radio programs “Let My People Think” and “Just Thinking” (heard weekly and daily, respectively, on Christian stations across the U.S.), and visiting professor at Wycliffe Hall of Oxford, where he teaches apologetics and evangelism. Previously, Zacharias studied as a visiting scholar at Cambridge University and held the chair in Evangelism and Contemporary Thought at Alliance Theological Seminary from 1981 to 1984.” The entry on the back of the book details the following: “How differently would we live if we believed that every dimension of our lives—from the happy to the tragic to the mundane—were part of a beautiful and purposeful design in which no thread were wrongly woven? That’s what best-selling author and internationally-known apologist, Ravi Zacharias, explores in The Grand Weaver. As Christians, we believe that great events such as a death or a birth are guided by the hand of God. Yet we drift into feeling that our daily lives are the product of our own efforts. This book brims with penetrating stories and insights that show us otherwise. From a chance encounter in a ticket line to a beloved father’s final word before dying, from a random phone call to a line in a Scripture reading, every detail of life is woven into its perfect place. In The Grand Weaver, Dr. Zacharias examines our backgrounds, our disappointments, our triumphs, and our beliefs, and explains how they are all part of the intentional and perfect work of the Grand Weaver.” The introduction basically set the scene for the book’s title and hinted at what was to come. Zacharias ended with a flourish by describing a boy helping his father weave a beautiful sari. In this scene the boy had to trust that his efforts would be guided by the master weaver even though he couldn’t see the emerging results. This was a wonderful way of illustrating God’s own efforts in our everyday lives…. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 05.03.09. If you turn to the “Beyond Bewbush” tab you will see the enterprises Elim Bewbush is involved in that are outside our borough of Today “The Times” reported that various aid agencies (including Oxfam) have been asked to pull out of certain regions of “ Please continue to remember this nation in your prayers. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 04.03.09. Elim Church Bewbush is part of a denomination known as "Elim." Being part of a wider movement has many advantages. One advantage is that we have our own national publication called "Direction". In the March 2009 edition it did an article on our monthly free burger enterprise..
God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 28.02.09 Below is an email I have just received from the missionary we help support in Sudan: "Dear friends, this is just to let you know that ABO finished well and I’ve been in Torit, Sudan, for a week now. I completely forgot how hot it gets here in dry season – our thermometer showed 40C in shade the other day!!! So I am getting used to sweating again :-). Language preparation is going well – I am amazed at how much I still remember, although I haven’t done any Arabic for a year – however, prayer for this is well needed as my final aim will be to preach and teach in Arabic and I am certainly far away from that right now. Catrin and I are heading off for our home stays tomorrow – I will stay with a Sudanese family for a week for language and culture immersion. Please pray for this time specifically as I’m sure it will be both challenging and blessed. Thank you for all your encouraging emails and postal mail (which is always very exciting to get). By the way, my mobile phone seems to work in Torit now, so my phone number here is xxxxxxxxx; the satphone is not in use at present (and is much more expensive anyway). I will only be able to access the internet once a week, so I ask you to be a bit patient with me. Also, please do not send any large pictures, files and forwarded emails – anything above 200kb will take a long time to download here. Blessings, Verena, 20th February 2009" Last night Steve Cattell finally made it to Bewbush (see a video clip in entry for 29/12/08). He captivated around 60 of us with his tale of crime, violence and addiction which was transformed by Jesus. Even though I had already read the book I was really touched by his story of how God gradually transformed him before he even committed himself to faith in Jesus. There was a wonderful anecdote of how he first felt profound love when his daughter lost sight of him at the local pub and grew terrified and how Steve grabbed her and how she clung to him. Apparently it was the second time he had ever cried in his life since a teenager. Never did the evidence of a transforming, loving God seem so clear. We had a great turn out and I know the free Chinese food made the event even more attractive. There was even food left over which we were able to give out to some visitors afterwards. Some old friends even turned up and bought a load of extra cream cakes. I am looking forward to Alpha next week ( God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 18.02.09.
Well it looks like tomorrow (17th February 2009) is full steam ahead. Steve Cattell (an ex-con who spent 20 odd years in prison) is coming to Bewbush to talk about how he came to know Jesus amidst much pain, anger and hatred. More details can be found in various entries below. Did I mention we will be feasting on Chinese takeaway from 7pm as well at Bewbush Children's Centre? See you there if you can make it.... God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 16.02.09. Just enjoyed this playful joke in Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw's "Jesus for President": "It was a busy day in heaven as folks waited in line at the pearly gates. Peter stood as gatekeeper checking each newcomer’s name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. But there was some confusion, as the numbers were not adding up. Heaven was a little overcrowded, and a bunch of folks were unaccounted for. So some of the angels were sent on a mission to investigate things. And it was not long before two of them returned, “We found the problem,” they said. “Jesus is out back, lifting people up over the gate.” God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 13.02.09. Below are some provocatives thoughts from Diane Butler Bess on the blog "God's Politics". Diane has been inspired by the Amish response to the killing of five school girls in Pennsylvania, US on 2nd October 2006: "...the stories of the Amish practice of forgiveness eventually captivated me. Their practice of forgiveness unfolded in four public acts over the course of a week. First, some elders visited Marie Roberts, the wife of the murderer, to offer forgiveness. Then, the families of the slain girls invited the widow to their own children’s funerals. Next, they requested that all relief monies intended for Amish families be shared with Roberts and her children. And, finally, in an astonishing act of reconciliation, more than 30 members of the Amish community attended the funeral of the killer…..an odd thought occurred to me: What if the Amish were in charge of the war on terror? What if, on the evening of God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 11.02.09
Well, I've just got back from our burger van mission for February. It is hard to believe but we've now been giving out 100 (well 96 actually) burgers each month, every month for a year. That is 1152 burgers and buns since February 2008. Again we had a great time time giving away food for free in our neighbourhood (which seems to get little else for free) and struck up some great conversations. For instance I have learnt more about Lab-Staff cross puppies today than you could possibly imagine. Again we got some huge support from the locals and you could tell by peoples' carrier bags that some had specifically came to the shops just to get burgers for themselves and their loved ones (or are they just getting more burgers to eat themselves?). All good... See you in the square on the first Saturday of March.... God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 07.02.09. Due to Steve Cattell being unable to get to Crawley tonight (03.02.09) and Bewbush Children's Centre being closed we have had to cancel today's event. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. This decision was not taken lightly but we have no other option. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 03.02.09. I always get the impression from periodicals, articles and documentaries that Science (the noun rather than the verb) has explained virtually all the mysteries of the universe. That its worldview has basically joined up all the dots and is only minutes away from coming up with a complete theory of everything that is all-encompassing and persuasive. However Michael Brooks commented in The Guardian today (02.02.09) on some issues that remain a mystery to this exalted body of thinking: "1. The missing universe Everything in the universe is either mass or energy, but there's not enough of either. Scientists think 96% of the cosmos is missing. They have come up with names for the missing stuff - "dark energy" and "dark matter" - but that doesn't really tell us anything about them. And it's not as if they're not important: dark energy is continually creating new swaths of space and time, while dark matter appears to be holding all the galaxies together. No wonder cosmologists are searching for clues to their whereabouts. 2. Life I know you think you're more than a sack of molecules, but why? Next time you see a tree, ask yourself why that is alive when your wooden dining table is not. The phenomenon we call life is something that biologists have almost given up trying to define - instead they're investigating ways to make different combinations of molecules come alive. Bizarrely, the best hope is similar in chemical terms to laundry detergent. 3. Death Here's the flip side: in biology, things eventually die, but there's no good explanation for it. There are hints that switching genes on and off controls ageing, but if our theory is right, those switches shouldn't have survived natural selection. Then there's the argument that an accumulation of faults does us in. However, there are plenty of whales and turtles who seem to age ridiculously slowly - if at all. Of course, if we can work out why, that could be great news for future humans (if not for the planet)." Suddenly the assurance of Science to combat all other disciplines of thought seems less daunting. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 02.02.09. C.S. Lewis coined the phrase "chronological snobbery" which describes the “the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate common to our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that account discredited.”. Being in the 21st Century we have a misguided belief that somehow we have the best perspective on what has gone before. As a kind of reaction to all those that would explain what being a Christian REALLY means I offer the words of a former slave Hermas who wrote this in around 140 AD (his words were even regarded a canonical by some early Church fathers): “You who are God’s servants are living in a foreign country, for your own city-state is far away from this city-state. Knowing which is yours, why do you acquire fields, costly furnishings, buildings, and frail dwellings here? Anyone who acquires things for himself in this city cannot expect to find the way home to his own City. Do you not realize that all these things here do not belong to you, that they are under a power alien to your nature? The ruler will say you do no obey my laws, either observe my laws or get out of my country. Take care lest it prove fatal to you to repudiate your own laws. Acquire no more here than what is absolutely necessary. Instead of fields, buy for yourselves people in distress in accordance with your means.” Kind of stands in opposition to many of today’s successful preachers doesn’t it? God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 29.01.09. There is a preacher based in the “The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfil the great commandment and the great commission as missionaries to the world for God's glory and their joy.” Not exactly radical or cutting edge is it? But then I think Jesus’ followers today try so hard at being relevant that they forget truths that Christians have enjoyed for millennia! Though it may have made the passage unwieldy it seems to me Driscoll has missed a trick about believers practicing the gifts of the Spirit together. God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 27.01.09. Today we finished our meeting by watching this video of the short message by S.M. Lockridge.... God's Peace, Kevin Taylor, 25.01.09. Before we started C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters” in the men’s house group we listened to a few talks by the Catholic Apologist Peter Kreeft. Our guys found him particularly though-provoking and so I thought I would share two great quotes from the lecturer himself: “Let's get very, very basic and very, very practical about prayer. The single most important piece of advice I know about prayer is also the simplest: Just do it! The major obstacle in most of our lives to just saying "yes" to prayer, the most popular and powerful excuse we give for not praying, or not praying more, or not praying regularly, is that we have no time. The only effective answer to that excuse, I find, is a kind of murder. You have to kill something; you have to say no to something else, in order to make time to pray.” “Saints are not freaks or exceptions they are the standard operating model for human beings. Because, as Charles Peguy put it, “life holds only one tragedy, ultimately: not to have been a saint.” In fact, in the biblical sense of the word, all believers are saints. Saints are not the opposite of sinners. There are no opposites of sinners in this world. There are only saved sinners and unsaved sinners. Thus holy does not mean “sinless” but “set-apart:” called out of the world to the destiny of eternal ecstasy with God.” God’s Peace, Kev Taylor, 19.01.09. Here is some reflections by the scholar Anthony Thiselton on the problem of reading the words of Paul in Western Europe: “Western tradition turns Paul into an introspective, guilt-ridden, individual-centered, experience-centered man, misinterpreting the “I” of Romans 7:13-23 as an individual ego in conflict with itself rather than as representative of an objective human condition in relation to divine law and divine grace. The upshot is that whereas Paul stressed justification, the Western tradition stresses forgiveness; where Paul stressed call, this tradition stresses conversion; where Paul ascribed a role in weakness, this historical legacy is obsessed with sin.” God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 16.01.09. Got a tonne of books for Christmas (care of my wife and the in-laws). One of them was by the new monastic guy Shane Claiborne (who we saw speak in London last year). He has started a kind of Christian commune in Philadelphia in the US and has a great take on living more genrously. He particualrly champions the cause of the oppressed and underprivileged. I started reading his "Jesus for President" this morning and came across this great quote which gives a great flavour of what he has to say: "The great paradox and humor of God's audacious power: a stuttering prophet will be the voice of God, a barren old lady will become the mother of a nation, a shepherd boy will become their king, and a homeless baby will lead them home." Sometimes I am so preoccupied with perceived success that I forget who God seems to pay most attention to... God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 14.01.09. Finished reading Clive Lewis' essay called "Man or Rabbit" this morning and have extracted the following inspiring quote:
“Mere morality is not the end of life. You were made for something quite different from that. J. S. Mill and Confucius (Socrates was much nearer the reality) simply didn’t know what life is about. The people, who keep on asking if they can’t lead a decent life without Christ, don’t know what life is about; if they did they would know that “a decent life” is mere machinery compared with the thing we men are really made for. Morality is indispensable: but the Divine Life, which gives itself to us and which calls us to be gods, intends for us something in which morality will be swallowed up. We are to be re-made. All the rabbit in us is to disappear—the worried, conscientious, ethical rabbit as well as the cowardly and sensual rabbit. We shall bleed and squeal as the handfuls of fur come out; and then, surprisingly, we shall find underneath it all a thing we have never yet imagined: a real Man, an ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy…….Morality is a mountain which we cannot climb by our own efforts; and if we could we should only perish in the ice and unbreathable air of the summit, lacking those wings with which the rest of the journey has to be accomplished. For it is from there that the real ascent begins. The ropes and axes are “done away” and the rest is a matter of flying.” The following is kind of like a popular folk tale. I have used it in talks before and I thought you may enjoy it again here: The American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow-fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican fisherman replied, “Only a little while.” The American then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” The Mexican said, “Because I have enough to support my family’s immediate needs.” The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?” The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life, senor.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. Then, with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to The Mexican fisherman asked, “But senor, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied, “15-20 years.” “But what then, senor?” The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.” “Millions, senor? Then what?” The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.” God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 07.01.09.
Mustapha Mond, a character in Huxley's "Brave New World" reads out the following quote to "The Savage": "A man grows old; he feels in himself that radical sense of weakness, of listlessness, of discomfort, which accompanies the advance of age; and, feeling thus, imagines himself merely sick, lulling his fears with the notion that this distressing condition is due to some particular cause, from which, as from an illness, he hopes to recover. Vain imaginings! That sickness is old age; and a horrible disease it is. They say that it is the fear of death and of what comes after death that makes men turn to religion as they advance in years. But my own experience had given me the conviction that, quite apart from any such terrors or imaginings, the religious sentiment tends to develop as we grow older; to develop because, as the passions grow calm, as the fancy and sensibilities are less excited and less excitable, our reason becomes less troubled in its working, less obscured by the images, desires and distractions, in which it used to be absorbed; whereupon God emerges as from behind a cloud; our soul feels, sees, turns towards the source of all light; turns naturally and inevitably; for now that all that gave to the world of sensations its life and charm has begun to leak away from us, now that phenomenal existence is no more bolstered up by impressions from within or from without, we feel the need to lean on something that abides, something that will never play us false -- a reality, an absolute and everlasting truth. Yes, we inevitably turn to God; for this religious sentiment is of its nature so pure, so delightful to the soul that experiences it, that it makes up to us for all our other losses." oh, and Happy New Year. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 03.01.09. Here is the story of a guy that is coming to Bewbush on 3rd February 2009: God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 29.12.08. This week I tried my hand at a multi-media sermon. I involved the kids, asked the church questions and showed a Powerpoint presentation. The sermon is over on the talks page. Click here for the accompanying pictures that illustrate my points. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 21.12.08. Just finished our great Elim Bewbush Christmas Feast. Thanks to everyone who made it such a success. Particular thanks go out to Ruth Norcross and Kathy Baker who worked so hard getting all the details right. There were just over 60 people who turned up to eat at 7pm tonight (after I rounded up so more in the local pub) and we had a thoroughly good time eating and talking together (we even made some money to help drill a bore hole in Malawi for some orphans). We had hot punch, hot starters, a full turkey roast with all the trimmings and a fabulous array of pudding. Diets may have to arrive sooner than expected after that lot! My conversations ranged from the problem of middle-class football in California to child care in Bewbush, from Immigration at Gatwick to Somali pirates and the Chinese response! A very interesting bunch were there tonight I can assure you. Look at the Gallery for some pictures.... God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 19.12.08. You are being watched. I have just strated using Google's analytics on the site and I got the following information about you (yes, even as you are reading this your details are being taken and put into a soul-less database where your freedom will be extinguished) between 14th November and 15th December 2008:
Welcome to our readers from Bulgeria, Morocco and New Zealand! God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 18.12.08. Yesterday I spoke with a guy called Steve Cattell who agreed to come and visit Bewbush on 3rd February 2009.
He has a really distressing story of how his life began and spiralled out of control. Here is the beginning of his story on www.transformed.org.uk: I started my life in child care, I'm not going to go into details because they're too horrendous what happened to my Mum at fifteen but I was a product of something that happened to her and I was placed in care and I went through the care system from birth. I was a bit of a dysfunctional child and got into behavioral problems and at ten I spent three years in isolation, in a cell, some of you might know Stanford House closed unit? It was a proper cell, concrete bed, concrete mattress - the whole thing - so kids can't hurt themselves and burn their cell down.
However Steve's story dramatically changes as he encounters God and his plan for his life. Read the website, watch the Google video and come along to Bewbush Children's Centre on 03.02.09 to discover more. God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 17.12.08. Apparently the following is a recent prayer by Billy Graham aired on an American Radio station. It is certainly though-provoking: “Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!” God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 16.12.08. I came across this great story in Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamzov". It does a great job of illustrating the grace of God even when we are manifestly undeserving of his favour: “Once upon a time there was a peasant woman and a very wicked woman she was. And she died and did not leave a single good deed behind. The devils caught her and plunged her into the lake of fire. So her guardian angel stood and wondered what good deed of hers he could remember to tell to God; 'She once pulled up an onion in her garden,' said he, 'and gave it to a beggar woman.' And God answered: 'You take that onion then, hold it out to her in the lake, and let her take hold and be pulled out. And if you can pull her out of the lake, let her come to
God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 15.12.08. My first attempt at conveying some thoughts through my phone's video: However in doing this I seem to have deleted three years worth of blogging! God's Peace, Kev Taylor, 11.12.08. |
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