The "Dangers" of Charismatic Worship!

I've still been thinking and lurking-reading the continuing "Strange Fire" and John Macarthur controversy.  I do look forward to reading the book when it becomes available in this country at some point.  But the issue Macarthur has with "charismatic" worship does deserve careful thought.  Do the songs we sing and love potentially deceive and lead us astray?  Or in fact do they bring us close to the Throne of Grace and a living encounter with the Risen Son of God?

There are two scenarios I can think of in my church experience.  The more reformed/functional cessationist settings were my home church in Dunstable when Stanley Jebb had taken it out of the charismatic movement and essentially banned all choruses.  We sang hymns and raising of hands was not approved (and tongues were most certainly forbidden!).  The other reformed/functional cessationist situation was when I lived in Bristol and attended the SGM church for 2 years - and most of their SGM songs were "cross-centered".

The other scenario of course has been the charismatic churches I have attended, and the glorious conferences that seek to teach the whole gospel - Cross through to ascension and glorification and outpoured Holy Spirit.  Now cessationists would shudder I am sure at the examples I present - but if you can ignore the raised arms and upturned faces to heaven - hear the words!



I love particularly;

"You have overcome the grave, Your glory fills the highest place - what can seperate me now?  You tore the veil, You made a way when You said that it is done!!".



And this amazing one; "Worthy is the Lamb! Seated on the Throne!  I crown You now with many crowns - You reign victorious!  High and lifted up - Jesus Son of God! The Darling of Heaven crucified - worthy is the Lamb".

How much more Gospel-filled can you get?!  Because the fact is - the Son of God isn't hanging on a cross broken and dying.  So what is the point of "kneeling at the old rugged cross"?  Of course we will be forever grateful for His sacrifice, but like Pilgrim in John Bunyan's classic - that is where our burdens roll away!  We are then free to stand and march on towards the Celestial City knowing that one day we will see Him face to face!

I would just add a final video which I think strikes powerfully at the heart of this "charismatic/cessationist" controversy.  It is by Noel Tredinnick - the Music Director at All Souls Church Langham Place (neither person nor church could be called charismatic in any way!).  But Tredinnick was speaking about worship in particular - the wonderful "Prom Praise" concerts held yearly at the Royal Albert Hall in London.  And he said this (the video is below);

"Now worship is two-way.  Our hearts are being lifted through the music to Christ.  We are adoring Him - we are singing our praise to the living Saviour.  That is one way - the arrow is going up.  But at the same time there is that moment, where God comes down if you like.  The veil of His robe fills the temple - His Presence.  There is a sense of His holiness where God is coming down into our midst - and that is a very exciting moment to behold".


I would suggest that is the issue.  Cessationists want to (as it seems) put God in heaven and leave Him there.  And to suggest that He is not only willing but eager to come down and reside among His people seems to shock and horrify them.  That's nothing new - it was apparent throughout revivals through the centuries.  There have ALWAYS been the rigid prayer meetings continuing to meet weekly to pray for revival, even though outside and around them God is saving souls by the thousands.  It is that eagerness to see God come - I think - which perhaps leads some charismatics to embrace experience that is of the flesh.

But that is no excuse to change one's theology and limit God to what He can and cannot do - as Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones said quite rightly - the greatest sin of the evangelical church and all that is wrong with "Strange Fire".  As this post was touching on worship - it seems appropriate to end with another version of "The Power of the Cross" sung by Chris Bowater at the (also charismatic) Bible Week - "Grapevine".

Re-Writing History - or Säuberung!!

Wikipedia writes;

"On 6 April 1933, the Main Office for Press and Propaganda of the German Student Association (de:Deutsche Studentenschaft) proclaimed a nationwide "Action against the Un-German Spirit", which was to climax in a literary purge or "cleansing" ("Säuberung") by fire".

The scenes are now well known in history volumes. Scenes of Nazis marching around heaps of books on fire. Around 25, 000 volumes were apparently burned.

There are very few things that enrage me to the point of fury - but injustice is one of them. In my meagre 34 years of life (just turned 34 yesterday!) I have seen two attempts made in the church to erase or alter history to the liking of it's leaders. And I cannot fathom why or how this is acceptable or in line with the Word of God.

1. The first incidence was at my home church in Dunstable. The elders under the leadership of Stanley Jebb (a man - incidentally I hold still in the highest esteem) made the decision to ERASE the ministry teaching audio tapes of the last 10 years of the church. These ministry tapes including visiting preachers such as Dr Ern Baxter, Charles Simpson, Terry Virgo and of course Jebb himself. The limited explanation I was given from the elders when I questioned this decision was that it was a "sincere" decision in line with the church's move from a reformed/Charismatic position to a functionally cessationist position. Fortunately I was able to rescue most of Ern Baxter's ministry tapes or a massive portion of my hero's ministry would have been lost.

2. The second incidence was more recent yet has been widely documented. It is well known that Covenant Life Church was founded and established along with People of Destiny International by Larry Tomczak AND C J Mahaney. However until this month - the history of Covenant Life Church and now-SGM firmly made NO mention of Larry's involvement or part to play in the history of this group of churches.

The history of CLC USED to read;

"In the 1970s, a weekly meeting known as “Take and Give” (TAG) drew thousands to the D.C. area for passionate Bible teaching. C.J. Mahaney, a young preacher converted in the wake of the Jesus Movement, was one of the leaders of TAG’s successful ministry. He longed for something more than an assembly of loosely connected Christians. C.J. and other leaders wanted to build a local church like those they saw modeled in the New Testament".

But thanks to the integrity and honesty of Joshua Harris and the other pastors, it is has now been corrected to read;

"Over a four-year period in the 1970s, a meeting known as “Take and Give” (TAG) began drawing as many as 2000 per week to Washington, D.C., for passionate Bible teaching and worship. C.J. Mahaney and Larry Tomczak, both young preachers converted in the wake of the Jesus Movement, were the leaders of TAG’s successful ministry. But they longed for something more than an assembly of loosely connected Christians and wanted to build a local church like those they saw modeled in the New Testament".

What I see in the Bible is the honouring and the preservation of history. For example in the Old Testament - the children of Israel were told to build a pile of stones to remember the Lord's working and involvement with His people in the past. The best church leaders are those who sincerely realise they have made mistakes and are happy to learn from them - such as Josh Harris seems to be doing. I hope the Bride of Christ will stop this really worrying practice - because what the internet is doing is preventing more and more the altering and erasing of history. And even if history can be altered and re-written - people do not forget their experiences of God.

I have written some blog posts on this blog that I blush to read - usually my angry vitrioles against SGM! But I have deliberately left them - because it is important to remember the effect that anger, mistrust and bitterness can have. I am so blessed that I can now sit happily in the same room as the SGM UK pastors and even hear them preach with no problems. The wonder of forgiveness and reconciliation!

Dead Formalism

One of the greatest tragedies of my formative years (I believe) was the elders of my home church in Dunstable relentlessly banning life and dragging us from charismatic experience - all because of fear of excess. They had seen things like the Kansas City Prophets and the Toronto Blessing and felt it was fake and excess and were determined (even to the point of erasing years of awesome ministry tapes) to ensure we were "safe".

I wish they had paid heed to this excellent quote by C H Spurgeon;

"I would rather risk the dangers of a tornado of religious excitement than see the air grow stagnant with a dead formality".

Quoted in: Terry Virgo - "The Spirit-Filled Church" - Monarch Books, Oxford (2011) - p69.

John MacArthur asks "Have we forgotten the Holy Spirit?"

I was very challenged by a recent tweet of John Macarthur - where he asked; "Have we forgotten the Holy Spirit"? He went on to make the point that a decade or more ago all we ever heard about was talk of the Holy Spirit - even though much was debate and discussion. And now? Now he suggested that once again the Holy Spirit has sadly become the "forgotten member of the Trinity".

I was profoundly challenged by this. As we grew up in Dunstable and observed the church steadily making it's way from it's reformed/charismatic balance to staunchly cessationist - John Macarthur and his book; "Charismatic Chaos" was a book often quoted (and one I profoundly resented). It's only recently I have come to appreciate MacArthur's wider ministry! But my impression growing up was that Macarthur was most definitely not a man "pro" the Holy Spirit in action! So for him to say this - what's going on? I think he is right in many ways:

1. Baptism in the Holy Spirit: The traditional charismatic debates such as the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit have all but quietened. Many reformed/charismatics have striven to "not speak about this" for the sake of unity. Interestingly enough even men who strongly defend the Biblical position of the baptism of the Spirit as a distinct, definite experience such as Terry Virgo are not permitted back into the "evangelical camp"! Movements such as Newfrontiers that traditionally accept this position seem to rarely teach on it (apart from the occasional seminar at a conference) because it is seen perhaps as an established truth. I would guess that Alpha courses would be the place where this is still taught.

2. Charismatic Gifts: Most evangelicals tend to hold the "open but cautious" position that they accept the gifts of the Holy Spirit have not ceased - as cessationists such as Macarthur strongly teach. But such evangelicals would not actively seek and pursue such gifts for use and enjoyment in the church setting. For example I recently attended Grace Church in Bristol - part of the SGM group of churches. Their leader C J Mahaney has progressively taken a similar route to my former pastor Stanley Jebb - quietening on teaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing indwelling sin and the Cross more than the Presence of the Holy Spirit and most recently the removal of the term "apostolic". I was a member of Grace Church in Bristol for 2 years and rarely saw use of the charismatic gifts (occasionally prophecy and never tongues or the word of knowledge). However I was really encouraged to hear the senior pastor preach strongly and encourage seeing these gifts still!

Again what seems to me as an observer is that both positions have polarized somewhat. The cessationists are consistent and never see what they don't believe or expect. The "continuationists" (or the "open but cautious") group would teach now and then that the gifts are expected but without active hope and faith may not see regular manifestations of the Spirit (other than the occasional "spontaneous" Scripture reading!). And the charismatic groups may not teach regularly because it has become the "norm".

3. Revival: - when people such as Mark Heath and I were growing up in Dunstable, it was regular practice to pray passionately for revival. My greatest teacher in prayer was our pastor Dr Stanley Jebb - he was an awesome example of intercession. I will never forget him exhorting us to pray "as though oxygen was limited". Even though the Charismatic Movement was perhaps declining in freshness - there was enough expectation of the Presence of the Spirit to go on longing for more. Then when the Toronto Blessing arrived in the 1990's, Brownsville and later Lakeland and now the Bay of the Holy Spirit Revival - all these "times of refreshing" have led to a refreshing of hope for a greater outpouring of the Spirit.

Or have they? Terry Virgo spoke often of how prayer and expectation for revival was key in his growing up. Has hope declined somewhat? Are we not so sure that God is preparing to move? Hence our prayer and intercession has also waned?

So what are we to make of John Macarthur's challenge? Good it may be that debates/disagreements have quietened down. Good it may be that men such as Rob Rufus, John Piper and Mark Driscoll are bringing discussion of the gospel back to the fore - but surely any true gospel should automatically see an increased manifest Presence of the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit really is "forgotten" as Macarthur suggests - then that gospel surely is missing a vital Person.

Stanley Jebb was speaking at the "Life in the Spirit" conference in 1987 on "Reformed Doctrine and Charismatic Experience". It was an outstanding talk and in my opinion a template that could have saved many churches from charismatic excess and error and, if applied, could have saved other more cautious churches from throwing out charismatic life. But in particular he said this;

"It is my conviction that sound biblical doctrine plus the life and power of the Holy Spirit could be well nigh unstoppable. In a sense reformed doctrine is the fuel - and the Holy Spirit is the fire and we need to have the doctrine and see it set on fire by the power of the Holy Spirit".

We need so much more. I always think the Word of God lays down the standard of Spirit-life we should be seeing in churches. For example; can any church claim they see this?

An unbeliever entering a church and hearing all prophesying - is convicted and repents, worshipping God? - (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).

A prophet interrupting another prophet because he has a word to bring, the first sitting down and deferring to him? - (1 Corinthians 14:30).

At the end of a church prayer meeting, the whole place was shaken (physically) and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit? - (Acts 4:31).

Passing of a Prophet

I was saddened to find out today that Alex Buchanan was taken to glory at the end of last year. Alex Buchanan (for those who don't know him) was a fantastic man of God and a prophet who lived through the Charismatic Movement and had an incredible influence and encouragement on key men such as Terry Virgo and R T Kendall.

More personally Alex was an assistant pastor in Dunstable for a time while I was a child at New Covenant Church. He actually dedicated me and my parents told me that when he did - he prophesied over me. Alas they can't remember the detail of the prophecy but it's an inheritance that I hold dear - knowing that such a servant of God spoke words of life over me as a baby. Sadly for us as a church he left and moved on - but this was a good thing for the country as he became (as Terry called him); "A pastor of pastors".

Mum and Dad always remembered his preaching and ministry in Dunstable fondly - the sermon that they would talk about the most is one on the Song of Solomon. Alex saw this precious book biblically as key in representing the relationship between Christ and His Church. It's exciting to find out that ministry has been preserved on his website - "Musings on the Song of Solomon". One key truth about the book, he said;

"I suspect that many people avoid preaching from it because they do not have a sufficient grasp of the overwhelming and intimate love of God for His people, there¬fore they find that they cannot get to grips with it. Or some, especially men, are afraid of appearing sentimental or super spiritual if they speak too extravagantly about God".

I think this fear is behind the "sex manual" interpretation that Mark Driscoll and C J Mahaney hold on the Song of Solomon.

There will be a memorial service for him at Westminster Chapel on the 18th June at 2pm - with worship led by Graham Kendrick - which I shall be making every effort to attend. I think it will be a glorious time of remembering his ministry!

Dancing in Church!!

I remember a church members meeting in Dunstable when stakes were being firmly driving into the charismatic coffin - Stanley Jebb and some of the elders were discussing some elements of charismatic life that they didn't like - and this included dancing. Apparently David Fortune (then elder and now a prison worker in London) had done some research to disprove the practice of dancing as not having biblical precedent.

I've always greatly enjoyed dancing - particularly at the Stoneleigh Bible Weeks or the Brighton conferences. It truly is a marvellous way of expressing joy and celebration in God. And I remember once wondering and pondering whether the more that the church snuffs out dancing as a biblical way of church life, the more Christians will seek out dancing in night clubs to continue to express that emotion.

So I'm absolutely thrilled that Lex Loizides has written a recent blog looking at the history of dancing. Here it is - in fullness;

Dancing in Church!

The Origins of Dancing in Church!

It may be unrealistic to try and specify a moment when dancing in church meetings became popular.

The specific reason for such exuberant joy is obvious to all who know the power of the gospel.

This was highlighted with characteristic insight by CH Spurgeon who noted that Isaiah 35:6 states that the mute man doesn’t merely talk but ‘shouts’ and the lame man doesn’t merely walk but ‘leaps’, when the power of the gospel works in his life!

In the truest sense, then, the origins of dancing in church are in the normative human responses of those who are freed by the power of the revelation of the love of God in Jesus Christ. This ‘gospel revelation’ is communicated to them by the Holy Spirit. This may well be why so many charismatics quote the verse ‘Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty!’ (2 Cor 3:17)

‘This is the Holy Ghost, Glory!’

And now we return to the early Methodists, who at the close of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th Century, began to dance!

This, let it be known, was considered dangerous and divisive, but from this distance of time, the descriptions are humourous:

‘At the spring sacrament at Turtle Creek in 1804, Brother Thompson had been constrained just at the close of the meeting to go to dancing, and for an hour or more to dance in a regular manner round the stand, all the while repeating in a low tone of voice: “This is the Holy Ghost, Glory!”

‘But it was not till the ensuing fall or beginning of the winter that [they] began to encourage one another to praise God in the dance, and unite in that exercise, justly believing that it was their privilege to rejoice before the Lord, and go forth in the dances of them that make merry.’

The Methodists used popular tunes, from the ‘drinking-saloons and playhouses’ and added new Christian lyrics.

Shaking Hands during Worship

Winthrop S. Hudson, in his article, ‘Shouting Methodists’ relates how it was common to shake hands during the close of a service, whilst still singing:

‘Shaking Hands while singing was a means, though simple in itself, to further the work. The ministers used frequently, at the close of worship, to sing a spiritual song suited to the occasion and go through the congregation and shake hands with the people while singing.

‘And several, when relating their experience at the time of their admission into the church fellowship, declared that this was the first means of their conviction.

‘The act seemed so friendly, the ministers appeared so loving, that the party with whom the minister shook hands would often be melted in tears.’

Other ‘Physical Manifestations’

At the risk of casting doubt over the credibility of the main body of these American Methodists, yet unable to resist an hilarious final paragraph, I quote Hudson once more concerning some physical phenomena that was reported amongst some of them.

An eye witness reported that sometimes, before being impelled to dance, a person’s head would ‘fly backward and forward, and from side to side, with a quick jolt.’ This phenomena was given a name: ‘the jerks’!

‘Sometimes…the whole body would be affected. The more a person labored to suppress the jerks, the more he staggered and the more rapidly the twitches increased.’

Although this was observable, it was not considered proper to merely imitate this behaviour in order to appear more spiritual! So that’s sorted that out!

In the mean time, don’t be afraid to truly rejoice in the magnificent salvation that you have received in Christ!

(Quotes from ‘Shouting Methodists’ by Winthrop S. Hudson, Encounter Magazine 1968)

© 2010 Lex Loizides

Grace-Based Purity in the Church

I am really pleased that Matt Hosier from Poole wrote this article in the most recent Newfrontiers magazine - because it addresses an issue I've been worrying about and thinking about for some time. My church background (Dunstable and Sovereign Grace Ministries) has been pretty much obsessed with sin. Particularly in SGM, sin was talked about regularly and discussions on how to mortify it usually in "accountability groups". But what concerned me was that although these churches were admirably passionate about defeating sin if they could - both were harsh when it came to dealing with sinners who confessed. I witnessed people being disciplined publicly in Dunstable and of course was excommunicated myself from SGM (although the pastors have explained why this was done - an instruction from above).

My question was always - how on earth do the church expect Christian sinners to confess particularly what they see as "big" or "bad" sins such as sexual promiscuity when they are treated as such? It is perfectly okay to confess to sins such as "pride" or "lying" (sins, Jerry Bridges calls; "Respectable" and sins God hates by the way!) - but if you confess you struggle with pornography or homosexuality for example, then you are treated with mistrust and at times panic on how to deal with you.

So I am glad that Matt has addressed the issue (even though I don't think he goes far enough with his understanding of the gift of righteousness we are given in Christ Jesus). He says;

"The apostles were radically serious about sin, yet at the same time radically gracious towards sinners. This is a difficult line for us to tread. Typically we tend to fall into one of two traps. Either there is a seriousness about sin that leads to intolerance, or there is a compassion towards sinners that leads to complacency about sin. Both of these traps create serious problems in the life of a local church".

And this is so true. Churches either seem to reflect my Dunstable church or SGM - or do indeed act as though they are complacent about sin. The very serious problem of harshness towards sinners that I have experienced brings problems for non-believers - Matt says;

"If our church culture is one of intolerance, then sinners will walk in and feel they cannot possibly find a place among us – ‘Everyone here seems to have their life sorted, no problems. How could I possibly fit?’ In this kind of church no one ever confesses their sin because they fear that if they do so they will be treated like lepers and ostracised by everyone else. Inevitably this leads to hypocrisy, as all kinds of things are kept hidden which should be brought to the light. This kind of church becomes like a whitewashed tomb – outwardly respectable but inwardly full of worms".

And this was very much the case in my Dunstable church and in SGM. We heard of divorces and of child abuse at times in Dunstable - and I have friends in SGM in the USA who also have reported of shocking child abuse, affairs, addiction to pornography - all while these individuals are going to their "accountability groups". As Matt says; "outwardly respectable but inwardly full of worms".

I love the way that he uses the churches in Corinth and Galatia to highlight the point;

"It is helpful for us to consider the very different contexts of the churches in Galatia and Corinth. In the Galatian churches the problem was one of heavy-handed legalism, while in Corinth it was one of shocking immorality. Yet the solution Paul offers to both settings is the same: Grace!".

And the answer to the problem?

"For the Galatians this meant a fresh revelation of the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice, a sacrifice that brings us into freedom. In their desire to live in moral purity, the Galatians were taking their eyes off the grace that was theirs in Christ and relying on strictures of the law – and by so doing were failing to act in love towards one another.

By contrast, the Corinthians were letting pretty much anything go and had lost sight of the fact that a true response to Christ’s sacrifice results in holy living – and as a consequence they too were failing to display love towards one another. In both cases, the solution Paul offers is a deeper understanding of the work of Christ and a deeper response to his grace".

He says quite rightly that it is fear of sin that can lead to many of the problems faced here in so many churches;

"Often what can drive us to look more like Corinth or Galatia than like a people of grace is fear. Fear of immorality and the corrupting nature of the society around us can lead us into legalism and the errors of Galatia. But fear of legalism and a desire to be relevant to the society around us can lead us into immorality and the errors of Corinth. We are forever in danger of crashing into the twin rocks of legalism or license. The only safe course is not to keep veering between the two, but to sail in the clear deep waters of the grace of God. It is grace that frees us from fear and it is grace that keeps us secure".

My problem of course with this article is that rather than going into what the "deep waters of the grace of God" are - he doesn't. But as I said, I am really glad the issue of how sin is dealt with in church has been brought to the table. I hope it at least causes some church leaders to honestly assess how safe it is for their church members to feel able to be honest and loved for being human.

Revival of Worship

I'm still reading through my old "New Covenant Songs" book - the worship songbook that my home church used to use before it inherited the "Praise!" hymnbook that I detested from FIEC. Why did I detest it? Mainly because of the poor mutilation of words in classic hymns in an attempt to make it more "contemporary". But that's an aside and one I won't embark on.

I found this comment written in the foreword of

the "New Covenant Songs" book that I can't believe I haven't noticed before. It said;

"Times of renewal bring new hymns and spiritual songs to birth and such a time as the present season of refreshing is no exception".

The charismatic movement was unique for birthing worship leaders such as Stuart Townend, Nathan and Lou Fellingham, Kate Simmonds and of course who can forget Graham Kendrick and many many more from different streams. Ironically their songs are sung by churches and denominations that would baulk at charismatic theology!

Our church in Dunstable was no exception to birthing new songs - we had some very beautiful songs mainly written by women such as Joy Hammond and Joan Barr. I used to love this one;

"The Lord our God is a great God, lift up your voice and praise His Name,

The Lord our God is a mighty King, lift holy hands and bless His Name.

Royal priesthood come bow before His throne, bring a sacrifice of praise,

Holy Nation exalt before Your God; He is worthy of our praise".

Although this one wasn't written by someone from our church, it was a real favourite during our growing up years and I loved it;

"O Lord our God how majestic is Your Name, the world is filled with Your glory,

O Lord our God, You are robed in majesty, You've set Your glory above the heavens,

We will magnify, we will magnify the Lord enthroned in Zion!

We will magnify, we will magnify the Lord enthroned in Zion!

O Lord our God, You have established a throne, You reign in righteousness and splendour,

O Lord our God the skies are ringing with Your praise, soon those on earth will come to worship;

O Lord our God, the worlds are made at Your command, in You all things will hold together,

Unto Him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and glory and power forever!".

Interestingly the pattern we saw at Dunstable was that when backs were turned on the Charismatic Movement, we began abandoning the new spiritual songs I'm reading through and reverted to the older Wesley/Whitfield-esque hymns. There's so much that comes from times of refreshing - the church is revived, new songs of worship are written and inspired by fresh encounters with God and most importantly of course the lost are saved.

Do it again Lord - and please don't miss out the United Kingdom!

Wonderful Grace of Jesus!

I've been using today and the trapped nerve in my neck to slow down considerably and sort through and read some of my collections of books, journals and magazines. I found an old "New Covenant Songs" book that we used to use at our church in Dunstable and was reading some of the great old songs.

I love this one;

"Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin,

How shall my tongue describe it? Where shall it's praise begin?

Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free,

For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!

Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,

Deeper than the mighty rolling sea,

Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,

All sufficient grace for even me!

Broader than the scope of my transgressions,

Greater far than all my sin and shame,

O magnify the precious, Name of Jesus - praise His Name!

Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching to all the lost,

By it I have been pardoned, saved to the uttermost,

Chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty,

For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!

Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching the most defiled,

By it's transforming power, making me God's own child,

Purchasing peace and heaven, for all eternity,

All the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!".

Those who remember this one will remember the bouncy, triumphant tune it was sung to. You couldn't help but smile when you sang it!

Joyless Christians - A Sin?

Dave Bish wrote an excellent blog post that really got me thinking today - called; "How come new Christians are so full of joy and then that fades?". He said;

"Confusingly and foolishly and bewilderingly the Galatians swap faith in the gospel word and hence life in the Spirit for works of law and flesh. For religion and do-it-yourself living. What happens? Joy disappears. Life fades, and you get the kind of phenomenon that we observe happening as a Christian apparently "matures" and we pat them on the back for getting over their early enthusiasm and getting on with joy-so-deep-you-can't-see-it".

That really reminded me of my past. I remember when I was baptised in the Holy Spirit up here in Birmingham while I was at university and I went back home to my church in Dunstable bubbling over with the wonder of new life in the Spirit. I couldn't WAIT to tell my friends about what I had experienced and awesome I found God. Many of my peer friends were fascinated but I'll never forget attending a pre-service prayer meeting and I heard Stanley Jebb - my senior pastor and hero - pray quite angrily like this;

"Lord we pray against the excesses of youthful exuberance".

I am sure he meant it in the best sense but I took it very personally to heart and felt it was a personal attack on me just because I had an experience he was busy telling my church did not exist. Crushed I went to see one of the elders who were responsible for my care - and shared with him what had happened. He smiled at me benignly and said; "Ah yes it's great to be enthusiastic but you will grow up and mature". The implication - as Dave said - that I would essentially become miserable and dull and boring.

I love the way Dave ends the blog post and echo it whole-heartedly;

"Paul's word to us would be let's start with the gospel and grow up with the gospel, please don't poison new Christians, or older Christians, with the filth of religion and effort - what good is that? - let the gospel change lives, let the Spirit change lives, help one another with that by walking one another back to the gospel, loving and bearing with one another rather than rushing people to something that has an appearance of godliness but nothing more than a veneer. Win hearts to Jesus rather than to a miserable lifestyle".

It isn't particularly mature or God-glorifying to be miserable for the sake of it. In fact I rather think the Bible says it's a sin. Of course we should not be ridiculously and falsely happy all the time. Life brings pain and hurt. But abounding joy? Surely that is a characteristic of life in the Spirit. And that and that alone will glorify God by grabbing the attention of the world.

I Love History!!

I am so excited and grateful to my dear friend Nick Cameron for posting these forgotten photos of the Bible Weeks that we as a church used to enjoy - and in particular our visits from Ern Baxter. Brings back so many memories - I wish at times I had been born earlier!

This photo is of Ern Baxter standing with the New Covenant church elders when he visited in 1991.

This was Stanley Jebb introducing Ern Baxter at the Anglia Bible Week in 1984 - Ern was speaking on the "Priestly Garments". The transcript of the messages is available here.

Three Classic Videos - Downs Bible Week!!

Another feature of me keeping this blog going is the issue of "never forgetting". I was chilled when a decision was taken at my home church in Dunstable to erase all audio ministry tapes that were 10 years or older - essentially all audio tapes that were recorded during the charismatic life of the church. It was hoped that by erasing the tapes that that portion of history would be forgotten (I assume). I took a decision back than to preserve and protect and keep stating the wonderful truths and revelations that God did in the past because they become amazing motivators for us as Christians to go on and believe for more.

I am tremendously grateful in particular to Newfrontiers and Terry Virgo who are so appreciative of the past and the way God has moved. They honour the past and appreciate it - but do not let it hinder their pressing forward into the future. So I was thrilled to find these three videos that have been posted - rare footage of the Downs Bible Week that was run in the 1980's.

Here they are;





If you want to see the way that Terry Virgo, Dave Fellingham, Dave Holden, Henry Tyler and the other apostles of the 80's used to dance - scroll to 6:31!

Defying Gravity!!

When I was growing up in Dunstable at my home church - New Covenant Church - there was a book circulating round the All-Age Bible School. It was called; "Living Above the Level of Mediocrity" by Charles Swindoll. I must confess I never read the book - I wasn't old enough and still haven't to this day. But the title of it always stuck with me. Christians - in the main - tend to excel at living a life of mediocrity.

Words like; "Safe", "Maturity", "decently and in order" are all very much words in the Christian vocabulary. Whereas other just as valid words in the Word of God like; "Martyr" and "hero" and "die for the faith" aren't spoken about as much! If you talk about martyrdom or going to the nations to spread the gospel - many Christians look at you oddly. Helen Keller once said;

"The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision.”

I fear that many Christians don't have much vision. Sure we may believe we are hear to "bear witness" - but do we really believe that the Gospel of God is THE power - and the only power that He has given to transform this world? Sure we may believe that God has the sovereign right and power to heal and intervene in time and space - but do we believe that He has given that authority to us here and now by His Holy Spirit to do the job ourselves?

I was listening to a song from the musical; "Wicked" while I was at the gym the other day. It really excited me because I think it actually sums up the call to Christians to live "above the level of mediocrity".



"Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes: and leap!

It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!

Unlimited
Together we're unlimited
Together we'll be the greatest team
There's ever been
There's no fight we cannot win
Just you and I
Defying gravity
With you and I
Defying gravity

So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free

To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high

Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody ...
Is ever gonna bring me down!".

I hate the fact that it's been a couple of years since I last did something that could be classed as "defying gravity". One of the reasons why flying to Hong Kong for the "Glory and Grace Conference" was so shocking to me was because I felt God call me to go just a month before the event. It was scary and terrifying flying off around the world on my own to a city I'd never visited before in a conference with Christians I had never met. But it was the most amazing time of my life!

I want this year to be the same. I want to "defy gravity"! And I want to send a message to those "who would ground" me. Sadly those who would ground us tend to be Christians and often Christians who think they know us. So this year I have certain goals and aims!

1. I have a meeting planned with an SGM leader here in the United Kingdom next month. I am dreading it. I'm scared. But I want to go through with it to finally bring closure on that nasty chapter on my life. I am full of faith that it can get sorted and that I hope my relationship with my family will get sorted.

2. There is another "Glory and Grace Conference" in October and I do hope to go - even if I have to go on my own! I am full of hope and faith it will be a catalyst moment that will propel me to greater levels.

And there are just two - but I am looking for more! You see the thing I dread the most is getting to the end of my life and having regrets that I lived a "normal" life - going to work, paying taxes, getting married. That's all valid. But if we don't change the world that we live in for the glory of God - then what's it all about?

Time to fly!

Prophecy-Inspired Facebook?!

Or Facebook-inspiring prophecy?!

Whichever - I decided to walk home from work tonight to clear the cobwebs after one of "those" days. However unfortunately I didn't have my IPOD with me and I get bored easily during an hour walk so decided to read my Facebook status updates on my mobile phone and my attention was grabbed by a wonderful C H Spurgeon quote that my firebrand friend Janelle Phillips posted;

"So, when you feel any inclination to put the crown of glory on your head, just fancy that you hear God saying to you 'Wait til I am dead before you put on my crown.' As that will never be, you had better leave the crown alone and let Him to whom it rightfully belongs wear it." - Charles Spurgeon, "The Soul Winner"

Anyone who knows me well know that I love C H Spurgeon and so was reading the quote with interest when I felt the Holy Spirit speaking and saying something to the effect of;

"And you will find that when you cast that crown before Me in worshipful surrender then I will give you a crown and a royal robe as an expression of My abundant love for you and the crown I give far exceeds the one you would keep".

Crowns! That thought/prophecy/whatever came from the wonderful verse in 1 Peter 2:9; "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation". We are royalty! Crowns are part of our inheritance that God and God alone will bestow (not for any other reason that His lavish grace) like He crowned His beloved Son in Hebrews 2:7.

I remembered a childhood awesome hymn that we used to thunder out in my home church in Dunstable - "Love Divine, all love's excelling". As a child I was always amazed that when the hymn reached the climax - "Changed from glory into glory ...", all the elders on the platform and most of the adults would lift their hands in worship. That never left me seeing that. It was a tragedy that progressively the worship in our church became more and more formal and outwardly more and more miserable.

Here's the lyrics for those who don't know them;

"Love Divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down,
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
All thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love thou art;
Visit us with thy salvation,
Enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver,
Let us all thy grace receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve thee as thy hosts above,
Pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation,
Perfectly restored in thee,
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!"

I remember being in Hong Kong at the "Glory and Grace Conference" and actually having a vision of something as to what it would be like to cast our crowns before Him. Crowns of tears shed in loneliness but resolute faith. Crowns of simple belief in the New Covenant that God is good and His love for us is real!

Restoration Magazine - 1975 to 1992

I have been very excited to have received a CD through the post with the ENTIRE collection of Restoration Magazines in PDF format from the Revival Library! It has been a continued source of frustration to me trying to hunt down and find these key foundational magazines to much of my charismatic heritage.

I've got a massive collection of New Wine and Restoration Magazines from my home church in Dunstable when much of the charismatic past was being erased. However there were large gaps in both magazines. David Moore has written possibly the most academic review of the Shepherding Movement in particular and said;

"...essential for an accurate history of the Shepherding movement is a complete collection of New Wine. The magazine published from 1969 through to 1986 was the principal publishing voice of the five teachers and the movement."

It is commonly understood in academic study in general that journals are an essential part of any research - even more useful than many books. Books are written and are often out of date as soon as they are published whereas the journal can tend to keep up to date with the rapidly changing scene of life. I think the same is true for church life and was definately so in the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement.

The spiritual scene was changing so rapidly as God poured out His Spirit on the church that in our experience it was the New Wine Magazine (Ern Baxter, Charles Simpson, Bob Mumford, Don Basham and Derek Prince) and of course Restoration Magazine that was key. For those who don't know - Restoration Magazine was started by Bryn Jones and Harvestime Publications but was unique in that for some years it united other apostles and prophets in the United Kingdom such as Bryn, Keri Jones, Terry Virgo, Tony Morton, Arthur Wallis and my senior pastor Dr Stanley Jebb.

There are 106 magazines on the CD that will keep me busy reading for a while. I have already printed off some articles that caught my attention already - here's a few;

1. Report from the Lakes Bible Week 1975 - from Restoration Magazine - September/October 1975.

2. Report from the Dales Bible Week 1977 - from Restoration Magazine - September/October 1977.

3. "Taking the Nations" by Ern Baxter - from Restoration Magazine - November/December 1977.

4. "How to Interpret the Scriptures" by Stanley Jebb - from Restoration Magazine - November/December 1979.

5. "Growing Churches - Clarendon Church Hove" (now Church of Christ the King in Brighton) - from Restoration Magazine - July/August 1981.

6. "The Best is Yet to Come" by Arthur Wallis - from Restoration Magazine - March/April 1983.

And there are just a few! I am sure there will many Pentecostal/Charismatic quotes (I have already posted one amazing quote from Larry Tomczak) to come from these amazing articles. But already I am finding they are feeding my ache for a new flood of renewal and revival from God. The 1970's and 80's were indeed a unique and amazing time and an extrordinary blessing and demonstration of the grace of God. Do I wish that I had been born a little earlier? Sometimes. I'd have loved to have followed Ern Baxter's ministry in person.

But I do believe without a shadow of doubt that the best is yet to come!

Dr Lloyd-Jones on the Baptism of the Spirit and Tongues

A quick quote from Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I'm reading his chapter on the gift of tongues and he has a rather persuasive argument (everything Dr Lloyd-Jones says is rather persuasive) that I'm not used to in my charismatic experience. He is arguing that Christians cannot speak in tongues at will. At first when I read it I didn't agree but I'm increasingly beginning to see the logic. Hopefully will post some more quotes and thoughts soon.

For now - here's his opening statement in the sermon;

"Let me say again that one of my main objects in this whole series of sermons is to safeguard the doctrine of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. There is a tendency on the part of some, because they dislike the gifts and the manifestations and the excesses to throw out the doctrine of the baptism of the Spirit with it. Let me underline this important fact - you must differentiate between the two. It is possible for a man to be baptized with the Holy Spirit without ever speaking in tongues".

I wish this critically important statement could have been taken to heart in my church history. It would have saved a lot of pain and heartache and upset. For this is definately my observation - that doctrine has been changed BECAUSE of dislike of excess and manifestations. And I just cannot fathom why that should happen. Paul the apostle never once commanded the Corinthians to STOP using the gifts of the Spirit and they were most guilty of excess. He commanded right use - and that surely should be our practice too.

Prophecy is NOT an Optional Extra!!

I am still very much thinking through the activity of the Holy Spirit - His baptism, His gifts and His awesome manifest Presence in our day to day lives. This of course was prompted by Stanley Jebb's recent two posts promoting the cessationist position. It is very easy to take an "anti" stance and criticise and miss teaching and discussing the genuine and the right. When I was growing up in New Covenant Church in Dunstable, one of the things I despised and hated the most as the church progressively became cessationist was the extremely negative pastor/teachers who were talked about - as they were also anti-charismatic. John MacArthur, Peter Masters and Alan Morrison (three teachers who are agressively anti-charismatic) were the main offenders. I have learned with time that not everything is bad about those men - and have actually enjoyed some email contact with Alan Morrison.

However I do not want to become the "charismatic" version of MacArthur, Masters or Morrison and angrily attack any cessationist who questions whether the Person and gifts of the Holy Spirit should be expected and enjoyed in church today! So over the last 24 hours I have been thinking about Stanley Jebb's statement;

"... expecting prophecy and elevating it above the Word of God and calling silly remarks 'prophecy'".

I couldn't agree more that there is an abundance of "silly" prophecies. I agree that some Christians and churches have been guilty of taking the prophetic more seriously than the Word of God. I have heard a multitude of examples of this in my charismatic experience. But does the existance of the counterfeit mean that the Holy Spirit is not giving genuine prophecies to the church via His prophets? Because of all these thoughts I am spending a lot of time reading Dr Martyn Ll0yd-Jones. Of course I have a multitude of charismatic teachers and books that I could draw on (such as Terry Virgo, Ern Baxter and so on) - but Dr Ll0yd-Jones could never be accused of being anything but "orthodox" and excessively careful in his teaching.

In his monumental series on Romans - Dr Ll0yd-Jones came to Romans 12:6 ("if prophecy let us prophesy") and spent some considerable time actually preaching on the gift of prophecy. His teaching is probably the most useful and sound teaching I have read on the charismatic gifts - so here are some sections.

Dr Ll0yd-Jones was concerned that the charismatic gifts NEVER became seperated from the baptism of the Holy Spirit (something that the Third Wave teaching - particularly Jeff Purswell and John Wimber - have done wrongly I feel). So the Doctor commenced his series on prophecy by saying;

"I am one of those who believes that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is something distinct and seperate from regeneration, and I am deeply concerned lest that great doctrine should get into disrepute because of muddled, unscriptural teaching with regard to speaking in tongues ... I say again that my position is that I believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a seperate, distinct unique experience. It may be accompanied by remarkable gifts; it may simply manifest the "regular" gifts in a heightened degree. It is NOT for us to say that none of these things can happen. Anything is possible in the sovereignity of the Spirit".

I think Dr Ll0yd-Jones concern was right and prophetic. From what I have seen of those former charismatics who have turned to functional cessationism - they have done so because of their distaste for excess and fanaticism not because of a doctrinal conviction. So Lloyd-Jones begins with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then goes on to address the gifts themselves with a note to cessationists;

"I find it is almost laughable that people should say they do not see any evidence of the gifts today ... One of the greatest danagers it always seems to me is to interpret the Scriptures in the light of our experience instead of testing our experience by the teaching of Scripture".

Our argument cannot be the bad or the counterfeit! Any even basic knowledge of church history will show that the counterfeit will always appear around the genuine! It doesn't mean the genuine isn't around or wrong. It just means the devil is trying to muddy the waters and confuse and put off Christians from the genuine! So then Dr Ll0yd-Jones moved on to define prophecy;

"What is this gift of prophecy? ... Well I would define it as a direct inspiration from the Holy Spirit. What for? It's purpose is to give a word from God or the word of God to the church ... prophecy is the inspired delivery of warning, exhortation, instruction, judging and making manifest the secrets of the heart".

One tactic that cessationists sometimes adopt is to call prophecy "preaching". I suspect they do this because any honest cessationist struggles to find Scriptures that clearly show that the gifts of the Spirit have stopped. Therefore to call prophecy "preaching" somewhat solves the issue - it is however dishonest to the Word of God. Dr Ll0yd-Jones comments on this distinction;

"What is the difference between prophecy on the one hand and preaching and teaching on the other? Because there is a difference. I would say the difference can be put into one word - immediacy. This means that a word is given to people and comes to them".

Immediacy! Anyone who has experienced the Holy Spirit impart a prophecy knows that it comes "suddenly from heaven". You can be sitting in church and not even particularly feeling "spiritual" or "close to God". But then SUDDENLY a word begins burning in your heart. Some experienced and wise prophets in the church today such as Terry Virgo or Greg Haslam or John Groves will say that they do not even know the entire word when they step up to give it - the Holy Spirit imparts it as they in faith open their mouths.

Whereas of course preaching and teaching are not and should not be immediate. Dr Lloyd-Jones says;

"A preacher and a teacher is a man who takes time to study; he takes time to think, to prepare, he arranges his material and gives it order and system. A preacher and a teacher should not enter into a pulpit without any preparation, and trust to the inspiration of the moment. That is not preaching and teaching, but that is prophecy".

I know some of my preacher/teacher friends such as Pete Day have said that sometimes they have felt led to give "immediate" and inspired sermons with little or no preparation - does Dr Ll0yd-Jones allow for and see this?

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

So it is this word "immediacy" that is key to the whole element of the gift of prophecy. This is (I think) what "cautious" reformed evangelicals don't like about the whole matter. Immediacy means that there may be mistakes. Immediacy means that there cannot be any preparation or proof-reading - whereas sermons can be prepared, proof-read and checked. Immediacy means an element of risk! But if the Holy Spirit is truly in control of His church then what actually IS the risk?!

I love Dr Ll0yd-Jones conclusion. He sees a New Testament church as it should be;

"So I would sum it up like this. The picture we have of the early church is of a body of people who believed the gospel, who were filled with the Holy Spirit and who received the gifts. They were an active body and they actively manifested the gifts. There was order certainly and control, but the great thing was the life that was in all the parts. It had to be controlled because of excesses but the control did not mean that the members were silent, and that only one man or a number of men were doing things. No, no it was a pneumatic church, a pneumatic body with the life of the Spirit showing itself in varying ways in each member so that everyone took part in the life of the church".

My early memories of life in my home church was certainly of having godly leadership - but life was there. You never knew who of the members may speak up and contribute and take part. My later memories before I left the church was of a silent church with only the elders speaking at all during the Sunday service. Control there may have been - but life? I'm not so sure.

As my title of this blog states - prophecy is NOT an optional extra! I have yet to see the promise of 1 Corinthians 14 fulfilled - that unbelievers will come into the gathered congregation and hear "prophesying" and will fall down and confess Christ as Lord. I have now taken two of my then non-Christian friends to the "Together on a Mission" Newfrontiers conference in Brighton deliberately to test this Scripture out. There both heard prophesying, tongues and manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Far from being "freaked out" they were both intrigued and one now is a Christian himself. This is the birthright of the lost! To hear the life of the Spirit in the church!

Don't Forget the Past!!

One of the most impacting sermons I've ever heard (and there are a few!) was by David Holden at Stoneleigh Bible Week 2000. He preached on the past, present and future and showed how each must be held responsibly in tension. He warned against living sentimentally in the past but not forgetting it. This sermon was even more impacting because a large group of us had come to Stoneleigh for the first time fresh from the dramatic changes at our home church in Dunstable. The eldership was relentlessly taking the church where they wanted it to go - into conservative reformed evangelicalism with no room for the Holy Spirit.

One of the most upsetting and concerning things to me was a decision the eldership made to erase the entire audio ministry of the church prior to 1991. Essentially everything that had a hint of the charismatic movement about it. I suggested to them (perhaps not very sensitively) that this reminded me of Nazi Germany and moves made to erase the past there. It didn't go down well! But it didn't change the decision. I decided then and there that I would devote my life to refusing to allow the past to be forgotten.

Much of my flat (and my extended library in my friend Pete Day's office) reflects this - books, magazines, audio tapes and now CD's - that speak of the great things that God has done in the past. Heeding Dave Holden's warning I don't want this to be a sentimental memory but an impetus to expect even greater things for the future. I don't want to go "back" to the charismatic days of Dunstable and the Anglia and Dales Bible Weeks (awesome though they were). I want so much more - I want everything the Bible promises! Promises of the nations flowing to Zion! Promises of Zion being a light to the world! Promises of the latter house being FAR greater than the former!

One of the framed pictures in my home is posted below - it reminds me not to forget how God can use great men and women to great purpose;

What IS the Church's Problem with Failure and Excess?

I want to ask a question - and it's been on my mind for years. Yesterday's blog post has simply sparked it off - for those who haven't read it, I responded to a post that stated a whole church was taken out of the charismatic movement because of moral failure. In my 30 years of church life I have watched aghast as church pastors have publicly destroyed people's lives with little or no obvious compassion - simply because of failure. Why is this? Surely it may be a bit simplistic - but shouldn't the church be the "safest place on earth"? Or to put it another way; "The happiest place on earth"?

But this isn't an unusal situation. This of course happened in the New Testament. John 8:3 follows the well-known account when the teachers of the Law dragged a woman caught in prostitution to Him. They quoted the Law to Him to see His reaction. But what caught my attention was the verse after this;

"They began to go out one by one beginning with the older ones".

What does this mean? Does it mean that the older ones were convicted first that they were not without sin and so left first? Or does it mean that the older ones left first because they were outraged and frustrated that Jesus would not apply the letter of the Law to this hideous, sinful and disgusting woman? I wonder ... The commentaries I checked said this;

"The older ones either had more sins for which they were answerable or else had more sense than to make an impossible profession of righteousness".

Would anything change in the church today? I can honestly say that I have seen churches metaphorically "drag people before Jesus and demand they be stoned". Do we not all know that we sin? So surely why is it that Rob Rufus has to say of the church;

"If you are bleeding - don't swim with the sharks".

Tragically this isn't just theory. Why else do so many Christians persist in struggling secretly with sin terrified that they may be found out? Have we ever considered that very few people jump straight to the "big" sins? Few Christians will fall into moral failure - adultery or homosexual practice. It all begins with thoughts and temptations and how sad - if the church was really that safe then maybe this could be dealt with. But it isn't.

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones had a great deal to say about the "fear of excess". Moral failure was the first thing mentioned that dragged my home church into functional cessationism. Fear of excess was the other. The Toronto Blessing was something that was made to be terrifying to us. We were shown video after video of people howling and cackling with laughter and it genuinely scared us. "This" is what may happen if you stay charismatic - we were told.

Here is what Dr Martyn Ll0yd-Jones had to say;

"Certain people by nature are afraid of the supernatural, of the unusual, of disorder, so concerned about discipline and decorum and control, that you become guilty of what the Scripture calls "quenching the Spirit"; and there is no question in my mind that there has been a great deal of this"

I have little hesitation in saying that many "anti-charismatics" seem to fall into this category. I don't know whether they mean to. But the fear of excess seems to drive this. And again I wonder why. What's so scary about going over the top? The world does it all the time through drugs, alcohol and so on. You pay good money to do that. Why is the church so scared of it?

"People are so afraid of what they call enthusiasm and some are so afraid of fanaticism that in order to avoid those they go right over to the other side without facing what is offered in the New Testament".

Dr Martyn Ll0yd-Jones sums the problem up exactly. How I long, wish, agonise and regret that my home church couldn't have simply sat back and said; "Well there is some excess here and there - but we don't have to go that way. We have the Word of God, yet we see that we can have the life without going crazy!". Sadly Dr Ern Baxter pleaded exactly this in his last visit to Dunstable in a sermon called; "The Spirit and the Word". Dr Lloyd-Jones goes on (and here is my favourite quote that I often cite);

"Look at the New Testament Christian, look at the New Testament church and you see it vibrant with spiritual life, and of course it is always life that tends to lead to excesses. There is no problem of discipline in a graveyard; there is no problem very much in a formal church. The problems arise when there is life".

Vibrant with spiritual life! So if we are to take Dr Lloyd-Jones counsel to heart then we could almost say that if you can't remember when there was a loving discipline of a church member for doing something crazy, then your church may be pretty formal. But if you cannot remember the last time something untoward happened in a church service - you must ask, does my church resemble something of a graveyard where you know exactly what will happen?

"Problems are created by life and by vigour and the problems of the early church were spiritual problems, problems arising because of the danger of going to excess in the spiritual realms".

Oh that we would have these problems again! Of course I don't mean we should hunger for excess and failure. But I DO mean that I think formality, deadness and legalism is a more deadly problem at present that excess. These quotes of Dr Ll0yd-Jones were from my favourite book; "Joy Unspeakable" and Terry Virgo wrote a commendation on this edition. He said;

"This is no age to advocate restraint; the church today does not need to be restrained but to be aroused, to be awakened and to be filled with the Spirit of glory".

Do it again Lord. Bring life back to Your church!

It's All in a Name ...

We've all got names. Names are significant. They are so significant that God actually changed people's names when He did something in their lives.

I was driving back from work this morning and sitting in a traffic jam by the "Administrative Offices of the Church of God of Prophecy" in Birmingham. I pass it every day but I think I particularly took notice because I was listening to Terry Virgo on CD speaking at "Together for the Future" in Switzerland in 2003 and he gave the following quote;

"We didn't fight for the gifts of the Spirit to then ignore the gifts of the Spirit! That is despising prophecy, that is quenching prophecy".

I wondered whether the prophetic is something that strongly characterises and marks the "Church of God of Prophecy". I'm ignorant - never having been to that church denomination. But it started a flow of thought within me about "church names". And "movement names".

Something remarkable happened when Pete Day and I were meeting together last week - I happened to comment that when I first encountered his church and visited it when I used to be friends with Peter Cockrell (Pete Day's predecessor), it was known as "Lansdowne Evangelical FREE Church". I guess for brevity's sake it is more commonly known as "Lansdowne Evangelical Church". But God began to impress on us the importance of the word "FREE"!

But I will never forget when I was at the Brighton Leadership Conference in 2003 and Terry Virgo was praying. He made one of his comments during his prayer (and it often happens with him) that I just seized upon. Terry prayed;

"Let our doctrines adorn our name".

And I've never forgotten that! What a challenge. What he was essentially laying before the gathered thousands was this - we call ourselves "Newfrontiers". But what "new frontiers" are we breaking? What new challenges are we meeting? What new untrodden paths are we moving along?

And the same questions face all other names. Is the prophetic a key part of the "Church of God of Prophecy"? Do they fight the fight of faith by the prophecies given? Or is the prophetic quenched and ignored and has become in essence liturgy? What about Lansdowne Evangelical Free Church? Are they really free and living out that freedom of the wonder of God's lavish grace? I know I can testify with integrity that Pete Day is a pastor who most certainly is striving in that direction and those dear folk in London are fortunate to have such a man of God with a vision to see the people of God set free from condemnation and guilt and loosed into New Covenant life.

What about some of my other favourite churches?

"City Church International" - no surprise I love this name and get a tingle from it. But the challenge is immense. Not only is this church set itself a goal of being a blessing and a gift to the city of Hong Kong but they have also set the world as their parish. "World evangelisation" is the goal and nothing less will do! Those who follow the ministry of City Church International will know that is true. The sheer fact that a church less than 5 years old managed to attract over 20 nations to the "Glory and Grace" conference!

"Church of Christ the King" - again this awesome church has set it's standard through it's name as exalting and glorifying the risen and reigning Christ Jesus. I've expressed my dissatisfaction before with a persistance in calling Jesus Christ; "The Saviour". Indeed He is our Saviour but that was a part of His earthly ministry that is now complete. He is our glorious risen and reigning King - and sits enthroned TODAY! That's why any emphasis or focus should remind us of a throne or an empty tomb - not a cross. And again I can testify that visiting CCK certainly makes you aware of the risen Christ.

"Jubilee Church - Sydney" - well I haven't actually visited this church but I know it's very dear to the heart of my friend Ursula. But I love the name "Jubilee". I think there's a few churches in the UK with that name. What does "jubilee" mean and suggest? This is the best definition;

"Jubilee (Christian), the year of Jubilee is a special year for the remission of sins and universal pardon where debts are forgiven, slaves and prisoners freed, and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest. In the Old Testament book of Leviticus, a Jubilee year is to occur every fifty years".

So the challenge to a "jubilee" church is this - do they make their people aware that this is the year of God's favour? Or are the people actually unaware that God is even delighted with us!?

I would be remiss if I didn't mention my former home church in Dunstable. It went through an interesting but telling change of name. We used to be known as "New Covenant Church" which is clear enough in it's statement. We are and were a people of the New Covenant! But then the name was changed along with the doctrinal position of the church to it's present name; "West Street Baptist Church". To my mind, there is little challenge in that name. It's simply a geographical statement that the church meets in West Street in Dunstable and they are "baptist" - whatever that means.

But I think possibly the greatest challenging name that a church can adopt is to call themselves; "Grace Church". It is such a basic word but is only one I am learning about in these last few years. "God's redemption at Christ's expense" is one often-used but oversimplified definition. The scope of grace is as glorious as the stars that God flung into space. No matter how often we stare at it, we still haven't quite covered it or even begun to see all aspects of it!

But surely to call yourself "Grace Church" is making a statement to the watching world that the whole place is saturated in the grace of God. That there is no condemnation or guilt or legalism. Indeed legalism (being the exact opposite to grace) should be so far removed that even the concept of legalism in a "Grace Church" is laughable. Every member would hate and despise what legalism and law does to the Christian!

In fact because they are a "Grace Church" - if the grace of God is known in dynamic reality then the Presence of God in a manifest fashion should be daily/weekly present and known. Signs, wonders and miracles should be commonplace for the people know that it is nothing to do with their efforts but in fact the divine boundless energy and love and passion of a loving God!

I wonder what part "by-laws" have to play in a "grace" church ...

I saved the best till last. In 2007 Rob Rufus prophesied that we would begin to see 100% first generation grace churches being born into the earth. That were not just "grace" by name and legalism by doctrine. And personally I have always loved the name "New Covenant" and loved the name "Grace". Partly because the last two churches I was a member at were called that (although they didn't live up to the name by any standard) - but also because I just love, love, love the names. So Julie and Aaron Morris have combined the two!

"New Covenant Grace Church". What a challenge facing them! But I don't know of a couple better placed to lead this precious group of people and ultimately change Canada and the nations. Because I am fortunate enough to see the heart-ache, worry, pain and agony that this couple suffer - but the determination to not allow legalism to flourish anywhere near them.

A rather random blog post I know. But just a meandering-inspired by the rush hour this morning! Do our doctrines really adorn our names? Are we free? Are we really a "grace" church? Is the world our parish, the nations our mission field? Are we breaking new frontiers where possible? Or is our name actually a historical nostalgic something dreamt up by a pastor when he was at college? Because our names are what the world sees first - and don't tend to be impressed if what they see is the opposite of what is claimed.