Re-Visiting Terry Virgo at 2011 Brighton Conference!

I have just returned from a wonderful holiday break in my "spiritual" home in Brighton on the south coast of the UK.  What a fab city - no better way to end a day than walking along the coast watching the sun set.  One of the greatest things I have missed is the oft-annual conference organised by Newfrontiers.  It's easy to take these things for granted until they are gone!

It was a good encouragement to re-visit Terry's final session last year closing the conference "on a high";

Early Meeting of SGM's/CJ's Church Plant

Looks like the move into "unchurched" territory has begun already - here's a video of an "early" meeting (also called - spot the Christian "celebrity):


september.sixteenth.twothousandandtwelve from Brittany Kauflin on Vimeo.

Recent Personal Publications

I always knew when growing up that getting published was a privilege and never a right.  The Christian book market was rapidly saturated with some good books and some not so.  My ambition was to become a reader and collector of books that interested me - and I was partially successful in this while at university.

Post-qualification, my nursing practice began to centre around critical care nursing for paediatric patients both in intensive care and in accident and emergency departments.  That grew to include Emergency Planning and Resilience looking at how governments could handle a health crisis such as the spread of a pandemic virus that could threaten the well-being of a nation.  I am and remain a firm believer in the importance of vaccines playing a role in this.  So it is of little surprise that my first publication was concerning this.

1.  "Achieving high level HCW immunisation levels without a mandatory campaign".

I am extremely fortunate and forever grateful that my Chief Nursing Officer Michelle Mcloughlin and my Lead Public Health Consultant (who works at our strategic health authority) Dr Helen Carter agreed to help me as expert co-authors.

2.  "Aiming for Flu Immunity in All".

The most recent article has just been published as the result of an interview I held with the editor of the Nursing Times (UK's most famous nursing publication) this year about conducting flu vaccine campaigns.  The interview covers some of what have and will always be the high points of my career - such as meeting and being able to immunise the Chief Executive Officer of the NHS - Sir David Nicholson.  And also being supported and encouraged by the incredibly talented CEO of my home hospital - Sarah-Jane Marsh - an incredible woman and role model.

What's next?  I have no idea - but I remain an avid reader and learner, and am keen that whatever I achieve in life - it is dedicated to improving and benefiting the well-being of patients.

Sovereign Grace Ministries, C J Mahaney and Where Are We Now?

I thought it time to post an update on my current thinking on SGM, their problems and the leadership issues that continue to beset them.  Brent Detwiler - exiled former apostle/leader - continues to faithfully (and one must admire his dogged determination to hold them to the facts of history) call SGM to account.  C J Mahaney and his elite close band seem to do all they can to evade honest response and engage in dubious behaviour such as rapidly transferring church membership (breaking previous teaching that church membership was a life-long commitment) and suddenly a Louisville church plant is planned.

I admit first and foremost I have lost a great deal of interest in the back and forth of the politics.  The SGM critics (and they are many) are keeping up their commentary and criticism.  The C J Mahaney stronghold are doing their admirable best to ignore the critique, rebuff it and move forward relentlessly and presumably "hope it blows over".  And for my own sanity - I realised I had to let SGM go to a degree.  By the grace of God I sorted out my personal excommunication with the local leaders and was hugely encouraged by personal promises from the local UK leaders that they did not and would not engage in the authoritarian practices seen in the USA under the Mahaney regime.  My family seem safe - and that is all that matters to me.

But decisions seem to be forcing their way forward and SGM are being forced/moved into outlining their polity.  A number of years back (2005) I predicted/prophesied that C J Mahaney's schmoozing of Reformed Big Dogs he admired/worshipped (such as John MacArthur) would result in a downgrade of the Holy Spirit in SGM.  This has happened.  I am reliably informed that while they claim to be "continuationist" (i.e. pay lip service to believing the Holy Spirit may move and distribute gifts) that there is very little manifestation of His power and presence in many churches.  I AM encouraged however to hear of key SGM churches that are actively seeking to restore this - such as Covenant Life Church and Grace Church, Bristol.

Brent himself seemed to confirm my suspicions from years back with a post concerning the downgrade of the Holy Spirit and their view on apostles.  Now apostles is an interesting subject.  It's not liked or believed in among conservative reformed circles.  They ceased allegedly with the closing of the canon of Scripture (a view I do not believe in).  However this presents a problem for C J Mahaney and SGM.  If they believe and toe this line - then C J Mahaney is nothing more than a leader of a para-church organisation with no authority over the churches belonging to SGM.

So Brent argues rightly - that SGM and Mahaney MUST teach a polity of apostolic authority to maintain that hold over their local churches - and continue to exercise a process of what I hear is called; "Shanking".  Or in UK terms; "Greasley-ing".  Scary.  So we shall see.  And continue to observe from a safe, interested and caring perspective.

Mis-Quoting the Doctor (Again)

I came across this blog (HT: Tim Challies) written by one of the pastors at John Macarthur's church.  Rather unsurprisingly he quotes from some of Dr Lloyd-Jones writing seeking to rebuff the continuationist/charismatic view that Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones believed in the charismatic gifts - especially that of prophecy.

Busenitz uses the sermons of Dr Lloyd-Jones from "Christian Unity".  And on first reading, the quote does seem to be definitive;

"A prophet was a person to whom truth was imparted by the Holy Spirit. . . . A revelation or message or some insight into truth came to them, and, filled with the Spirit, they were able to make utterances which were of benefit and profit to the Church. Surely it is clear that this again was temporary, and for this good reason, that in those early days of the Church there were no New Testament Scriptures, the Truth had not yet been expounded in written words".

And this is true - Dr Lloyd-Jones did indeed argue in several places that he felt the office (or gift) of the prophet (according to Ephesians 4) was a temporary gift that had ceased.  He also argued that the apostle had ceased as per the evangelist (I wonder how Macarthur and his pastors would deal with that fact).

But this writer is either ignorant or is deliberately ignoring Dr Lloyd-Jones other teaching on the gift of prophecy.  I refer to his magnum opus - the series on Romans and in particularly chapter 12; "according to prophecy let us prophesy".  Consider these quotes by Dr Lloyd-Jones;

"What then is the gift of prophecy?  Well I would define it as a direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  What for?  It's purpose is to give a word from God or the word of God to the church ... What is the difference between prophecy on the one hand and preaching and teaching on the other?  Because there is a difference.  And I would say that the difference can be put in one word - immediacy".

That is all well and good, the cessationists may say.  But that still doesn't make Dr Lloyd-Jones a continuationist.  No - and I'm not claiming he was.  My issue is with a cessationist writer claiming the Doctor was cessationist.  Later in the message, in fact, Dr Lloyd-Jones said he actually prophesied;

"A preacher and teacher may also be a prophet.  I have no doubt at all about this.  I say it again to the glory of God, I think I know a little about this.  I think I know something of what it is to be preaching or teaching and suddenly to find myself prophesying".

Now it is important to add he went on to add caveats of safety - for example, he firmly taught he did not believe a Christian could prophesy at will and he absolutely did not believe prophecy should include the "for-telling of events".  His passion was that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was key in the life of the believer and spiritual gifts flowed from that encounter with God.

"I say again, that my position is that I believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a separate, distinct, unique experience.  It may be accompanied by remarkable gifts; it may simply manifest the "regular" gifts to a heightened degree.  It is not for us to say that none of these things can happen.  Anything is possible in the sovereignty of the Spirit".

And that is the point.  Dr Lloyd-Jones was not a "classic charismatic" and I am not claiming as such.  But I am objecting to cessationists such as this man posting a blog and ignoring/being ignorant of the wider and broader scope of Dr Lloyd-Jones teaching.  I think it demonstrates the danger of the "celebrity pastor" question - one man being elevated to a position so that groups have to fight over which position he actually defends. It is a good reminder to honestly approach Scripture and see what it teaches while thanking God for the servants of the Ephesians 4 ministries that He gives.              

Brent Detwiler and Reality in Church

Dear oh dear.

I don't really know what to think anymore with Brent vs C J Mahaney/SGM.  But one of my concerns with the huge fees paid out to Ambassadors of Reconciliation (for what really is quite a shoddy report) and now this - where is the glory to God?  And what does the watching world think I wonder as SGM ups ship and moves to Kentucky?

Here's Brent's latest blog post;

My Appeal to the SGM Pastors for a Church Court in Order to Avoid a Civil Court.

The sum total is that this incredibly focused and driven man is mustering his forces and seems intent on taking C J Mahaney and SGM before a civil magistrate for "damages".  How grieving must this be to God?  I am sure SGM-supporters would place the blame solely at Brent's door - but let us not forget that the closest C J got to an apology was retracted angrily at the SGM Pastors conference.

On another note I was deeply saddened to read about the suicide/allegations of the Voice of the Martyrs CEO.  Having experienced sexual abuse myself in our church private school, I do know how desperation can lead to suicide.  Nothing upsets me more than hearing people claim; "Suicide is the most selfish thing someone can do". The occasional times I have contemplated suicide, it is when desperation and the sickening ache of fear makes it seem as if there is no other way out.  And true - at times, the only thing that does keep me from popping those pills is the guilt of what it would do to my family and loved ones.  So my heart aches for all those involved.

My point is this - I think God is allowing His church to go through a time of transparency when it is impossible to hide the truth from the watching world.  It concerns me when people like a Mahaney or Harvey try and pretend "all's well" - when it isn't.  Let's admit it - we are human and no better than anyone.  But it is the message of the gospel that makes the difference and leads us on.

Unchanging Truth in a Time of Change

I think one of the reasons why the SGM drama/crisis affected me among so many others is that it has shaken our faith mainly in church leadership but also has caused us to evaluate what we really believe.  My church history background has been based in based in reformed/charismatic evangelicalism that emphasized most of our problems were sin-related.  We were also taught to respect and honour our leaders.  In both situations - my faith in our leadership was shaken.

In Dunstable, Stanley - our senior pastor - made a major shift in his theology on the Holy Spirit and such a change unfortunately coincided with my baptism in the Holy Spirit.  However God worked this together for good - and I had to dig deep into the Word of God and such teachers as Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Terry Virgo who led me to see the glorious truth.

In SGM, my history and subsequent observation of C J Mahaney and Dave Harvey's behaviour as revealed by Brent Detwiler shook my faith again.  But I am believing that God is working this together for good and is leading me step by step away from this sin-focused obsession and step by step into His glorious grace.

I was running on the treadmill at the gym today and by chance (I run my iPhone on shuffle) a wonderful old chorus of Dave Fellingham's came on (squashed in between Steps and Lady Gaga);

"At Your feet we fall, mighty risen Lord, 
As we come before Your throne to worship You. 
By Your Spirit's power You now draw our hearts, 
And we hear Your voice in triumph ringing clear.


I am He that liveth, that liveth and was dead, 
Behold I am alive forever more. 


There we see You stand, mighty risen Lord, 
Clothed in garments pure and holy, shining bright. 
Eyes of flashing fire, feet like burnished bronze, 
And the sound of many waters is Your voice. 


Like the shining sun in its noonday strength, 
We now see the glory of Your wondrous face. 
Once that face was marred, but now You're glorified, 
And Your words like a two-edged sword have mighty power".

An amazing song!  But it was a tremendous reminder of the unchanging nature of the living God.  I've been spending time tonight re-visiting the past promises, dreams and visions that God has been so favourable to grant me (nothing compared to a man like Rob Rufus - but still - I am BLESSED!).  For example, I was amazed to have completely forgotten these few dreams;

"Terry Virgo and Angels Snipers!!" - a dream I had back in 2009.

"Dreams, dreams, dreams!!" - documenting some of the key dreams I have had in my life - one back in 2001 about a call to "ministry", one involving a tidal wave of glory speeding towards Brighton in 2006 (that I shared with Terry Virgo) and another about walking in a field of corn with my dear friend Pete Day.

A reminder - a glorious one at that - of the power of children prophesying - "your daughters shall prophesy!".

"The tide is turning" - a prophetic promise from Terry Virgo back at the glorious Brighton conference in 2007 - is still true I think.  But tides ... who can predict when they reach fullness?  I found this quote from Jim Goll;

"When God seems silent, there are several things you can do. 1. Stick with what you already know.What was the last thing the Lord said to you or told you to do? Have you done it? Why should He tell you something new until you have completed what He has already revealed?".

"The Neglected Resurrection" by Matthew Barrett

This is a really good post and needs to be heard now more than ever:

"Too often in our churches the resurrection of Christ is a doctrine of secondary importance. It is neglected and forgotten until Easter comes around each year. The same disregard for the resurrection is seen in how we share the gospel. Christians tend to share the gospel as if Jesus died on the cross and that is the end of the story. We make a zip line from the crucifixion to "repent and believe," contrary to the example Peter sets for us in Acts 2:22-24 and 4:26. The cross is central to our salvation, but what God accomplished there is incomplete unless the tomb is empty on Sunday morning. Therefore, the resurrection of Christ is vital "for us and our salvation" (to borrow from the Nicene Creed). But how exactly?

Our Regeneration Is Grounded in the Resurrection of Christ 

Have you ever read the resurrection narratives and said, "Praise God! Because Christ has risen I am born again!" I know I haven't. But if we truly understand the implications of Christ's resurrection for our salvation, the new birth would be the first place to turn. Scripture teaches that our new birth---God's supernatural, monergistic act whereby the Spirit makes us a new creature in Christ, replacing our heart of stone with a heart of flesh---is only possible because Jesus is risen. Consider two passages. According to Peter, God has "caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pet 1:3). The same God who raised Christ from the grave has also raised us from spiritual death to spiritual life. And the apostle Paul says that while we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God, being rich in mercy, "made us alive together with Christ" and "raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:5-6; cf. Col 3:1). Because God has raised Christ from the dead, he can make us alive together with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ's resurrection life is the very basis and means by which we are born again.

Our Justification Is Grounded in the Resurrection of Christ 

Those who believe in the God who raised Christ from the dead are counted righteous. As Paul says in Romans 4:23-25, like Abraham we are counted righteous, for we believe in him "who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." By raising Jesus from the dead, God approved the work of Christ on the cross for our sins. God declared his Son's work complete! The penalty for our sin has been paid, and no guilt remains. As Wayne Grudem explains: When the Father in essence said to Christ, "All the penalty for sins has been paid and I find you not guilty but righteous in my sight," he was thereby making the declaration that would also apply to us once we trusted in Christ for salvation. In this way Christ's resurrection also gave final proof that he had earned our justification (Systematic Theology). Jonathan Edwards also states the matter precisely: For if Christ were not risen, it would be evidence that God was not yet satisfied for [our] sins. Now the resurrection is God declaring his satisfaction; he thereby declared that it was enough; Christ was thereby released from his work; Christ, as he was Mediator, is thereby justified (Miscellanies, Vol. 13, 227). In other words, if God did not raise Christ from the dead, he would essentially be saying, "I am not satisfied with your atoning work on behalf of sinners." If this were the case, we would still be dead in our sins, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:17. And if we are still dead in our sins then we stand guilty before a holy God, unjustified and condemned. It is hard to improve upon the words of Martyn Lloyd-Jones: If it is not a fact that Christ literally rose from the grave, then you are still guilty before God. Your punishment has not been borne, yours sins have not been dealt with, you are yet in your sins. It matters that much: without the Resurrection you have no standing at all (The Assurance of Our Salvation, 492).

Our Sanctification Is Grounded in the Resurrection of Christ

In Romans 6, Paul explains that we can "walk in newness of life" because Christ was raised from the dead. We are not to continue in sin, for how, as Paul asked, "can we who died to sin still live in it?" We have been baptized into the death of Christ so that "just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:3-4). But Paul is not finished. He has much more to say about the resurrection and our sanctification. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom 6:5-12). Paul's last two sentences are especially powerful. As Christians, we are united to Christ. Christ died to sin, and so also must we consider ourselves dead to sin. But Christ also came back to life. The life he lives he lives to God. Therefore, as those who are in Christ, we are alive to God. No longer are we to walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Our old, unbelieving, sinful, condemned self has been crucified with Christ. And now that we are new creatures, we are no longer enslaved to sin, but by the power of the Spirit are able to walk in this newness of life. None of this, however, is possible if Christ remains in the tomb. His resurrection is our victory over the reign of sin. Only because he has risen do we have the assurance, the confidence, and the ability to now walk in godliness. In this light, therefore, Paul's admonition is all the more convicting: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Col 3:1-4).

The Climax of Redemptive History

Richard Gaffin once wrote that not only is the resurrection of Christ the pivotal factor in Paul's soteriology, the "climax of the redemptive history of Christ," but it is also that "from which the individual believer's experience of redemption derives in its specific and distinguishing character and in all aspects of its inexhaustible fullness" (Resurrection and Redemption, 135). I couldn't agree more. If we miss the importance of Christ's resurrection for our salvation, then we have, as Sinclair Ferguson observes, misunderstood the gospel, severing our salvation from the lordship of Christ (Resurrection and Redemption, 6). How unthinkable this must be for the Christian who, as Calvin explains, believes that "our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ" (Institutes II.16.19). 

Matthew Barrett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. Barrett has contributed book reviews and articles to various academic journals. He is married to Elizabeth and they have two daughters, Cassandra and Georgia. He is a member of Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky.

This is No Thaw - This is Spring I tell you!

I am enjoying the first day off of my "new attitude" and have been re-visiting the glorious resources that are out there on the internet for free.  Who would have thought that we can listen to sermons preached on the other side of the world so quickly!?

I have been looking around the old websites I used to visit so regularly - starting off by looking at "the state of the nation" - what Christian conferences are still around and boy, are there a few!  I feel ashamed I have not been more aware.  More of that later.  But I was re-encouraged by a quote of Terry Virgo's in his final Firstline at last years final "Together on a Mission";

"From the original formation of Newfrontiers we have believed that God still pours out His Spirit and that the New Testament model of Spirit-filled churches, established on apostolic foundations and committed to world mission, remains plan A. We have never been content with a cessationist perspective that expects the church to try advancing without God’s manifest presence".


This is ALL about His manifest Presence.  Without Him - we are nothing.

And I have been listening to Rob Rufus speak to his leaders in Hong Kong on; "Charisma and Leadership";


Part 1: The Power of Influence - How to Develop Charisma. Rob Rufus from City Church on Vimeo.