In just over 2 weeks time I will be there again, with a fantastic team of Lydia Palmer, James and Hannah Sloan, and Elikem Tamaklo. What a quality team. It will be my 4th visit in 5 years and it doesn’t get any easier to face the journey, the physical hardships, and the suffering of the people. With 5-6 days out of 14 taken up with travel, it’s clearly not the easiest place in the world to get to. And yet the joy of being able to bless the folk in Butmebo is reward enough.

It is one of those experiences that puts the rest of life into perspective. It is humbling to see the joy of young children with absolutely nothing playing together, to see the emotional bonds between women who have experienced so much hardship, to see the men who against all the odds are still managing to provide for their families, to see a church that thinks nothing of worshiping for hours on end, thanking God for His faithfulness and goodness.

This year in addition to working with Pastor Alexandre’s local church (which Frontline church is helping to build), we will also be ministering to 80-100 church leaders in two days of seminars. As before we will spend some time with our partner charity, PSM, encouraging them in their work with child soldiers and rape victims (a documentary last year labelled Eastern Congo as the most dangerous place in the world for a woman).

We will be working with the leader of YWAM for the first time and hoping to link Pastor Alexandre with a microfinance organisation that may be able to help some church members set up in business. Partnerships with Liverpool schools and possible future medical projects are also on the agenda. We may also be spending some time with Pastor Paddy in Uganda on our way home. So all in all it will be a busy and demanding time.

Please pray for our safety and protection. Pray that we will understand the real needs of the people and minister effectively in every situation. We are away from 8th-22nd March. Thanks so much

PS if anyone would like to donate cash for the needs we aim to meet, or a relatively light-weight, good quality second hand laptop for the pastor, please let me know

After 4 visits to Bogota is was impossible not to be impressed by the arenas and stadiums full of people passionately worshipping God and eagerly going out to bring others to Christ. It seemed unstoppable. The model seemed very attractive, in fact the model was not the heart of it; the heart of it was the heart of it. It was much more about a vision for intentionally raising each man, woman and young person up to be a dedicated follower of Christ, and in so doing equip them to be passionate about reaching the lost. This heart that pervaded everything they did was very convicting to us as we considered our sloppy, consumerist and casual approach to being disciples. It still is.

But it was the model that grabbed our attention. It was visible. It worked. There were ways of running cell meetings, ways of integrating new believers, ways of training believers to be leaders etc. And it was reproducible – or so we thought.

In the end after 7 years of working the vision and the model, it proved to be too much for our cultural context. Despite the fact that many had come to Christ and the church had grown from 350 to 1000, it was too demanding on people with hectic jobs and / or young families. It was leading to burn-out for the more responsible ones. It worked best with younger single folk for whom their cells were their friendship group, for whom church was their leisure activity, and for whom life still held considerable disposable time. The principles were still good, but the model was not viable long-term for everyone.

However it made me realise that a working model is massively important in leadership. If we can see a model of what we want working somewhere, that is a huge help in persuading others to buy into the vision. We just need to make sure that the conditions that enable the model to work in the other situation also apply in our own.

I wonder if Jesus took his model of raising 12 disciples, from the leadership of the nation of Israel through 12 tribes and tribal leaders. The early house churches of the 1st century took their model from the pre-existing ‘oikos’ or household structure of extended families. These would have included a main household with wider family, servants, employees and immediate neighbours leading to functional social units of up to 30 people. A ready-made model for starting churches wherever the apostolic teams went preaching the gospel.

The cell system of church popularised in between the 1970’s and 1990’s drew not only on this model, but also the model of John Wesley’s class system in which converts reported weekly to their mid-week small group to give an account for their progress in following Christ. We are creatures who need to ‘see before we believe’. ‘Does it work?’ is the question of our more pragmatic less principled age.

Modelling is of course also the basis of our discipleship. We learn to follow Christ, but we do that in a very real way by copying what we see modelled by others. In fact this aspect was positively encouraged through G12, and is a soundly biblical model itself. The apostle Paul on one occasion said ‘imitate Christ’, but on another said ‘imitate me as I imitate Christ’. When the disciples first followed Jesus from the shoreline and villages of Galilee, they were observing the model of Jesus life. They learnt to heal the sick and cast out demons by copying what Jesus did.

So models are powerful. Lets make full use of them, whether they be models for church structures, running businesses, building neighbourhoods, or making disciples. But beware the pitfalls too.

Today’s Frontline Bible reading includes
Isaiah 53:4-5 ‘Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, 
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.’

Does this mean that Jesus death would not only cover our need for forgiveness from sin, but also our need for healing from sickness. Well Jesus quoted this scripture when he healed the sick, in Matt 8:17, proving its application to sickness. So how do we apply it today?

We know that our body will wear out eventually (unless Jesus comes back before that happens) and that we will die of something. But that doesn’t satisfy me. It doesn’t leave me content to just accept the ravages of advancing years. I want to believe for full health and function till the day I die. I want to serve him effectively till he takes me home. I want to find the truth of Isaiah 53 today, not just in my resurrection body. I want to learn how to receive what he has promised for me through his work on the cross. I want more than I am currently experiencing.

I do believe, but help me in my unbelief Lord.

In the mean time I continue to focus on the goodness of God and his great love for me. His provision in every area of my life.

Rom 8:32 ‘Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else’

Thanks Lord

The feelings of frustration and sometimes panic when we are lost is familiar to most of us I am sure. We just need someone to show us where we are and how to get to our destination. As leaders the pressure is even more acute as we know there are others looking to us to provide that sense of direction and give the confidence that allows them to follow.

I remember just how uncomfortable it was when Jenny and I knew we were to move on from Bristol but didn’t yet know where to. It was like being in a dark room and not knowing where the light switch was, or even if there was one. It was not a reassuring place to be. It lasted a year and it seemed like an eternity.

Is there an equivalent of GPS for the Christian leader? I think there is. It is the combination of years of truth that we have imbibed from the Bible, the deep-seated convictions we have developed about life from our experience of God’s leadings and dealings, and the specific promises that we are holding on to. On this occasion I knew I was called to lead church. I knew God was faithful. And I had one specific promise from the book of Habakkuk ‘the vision is still for the appointed time; it hastens towards the goal; it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it. It will certainly come, it will not delay.’ Hab 2:3

This was my GPS during that time. It was a deep-seated instinct, intuition, and conviction about the future. It didn’t give me dates, times, places or details of our destination, but it did give me the direction, and that was sufficient to keep going. Sometimes keeping going is all you can do, and that’s enough.

Then one day God turns the lights back on, and all becomes clear again. God will allow all of us periods of darkness in our leadership. It is a testing time. A time of learning to trust at a new level. A time when we realise that this whole leadership thing is all about Him, not about us. A time when we learn to hold His hand tighter than ever before.

Eventually the lights did come back on for us and the city of Liverpool came clearly into focus. God had prepared us for the next leg of the journey and was willing to trust us. We were on our way. The fantastic team of 10 other adults that moved with us must have had more faith in us than we had in ourselves, as they for some strange reason were also willing to trust us and follow.

The darkness does not invalidate our leadership, it just tests and strengthens it.

However our female lodgers weren’t quite so enamoured with sharing their bedrooms with our little furry friends. They have in fact steadfastly refused to sleep in them till they were eradicated. Thus began the campaign.

Somewhat surprisingly we found that the only foodstuff that had been eaten was a Galaxy Ripple bar. In fact Mildred the mouse had probably eaten her own body weight in chocolate, not a pleasant thought.

Our alpha male ‘die hard’ lodger Darren was charged with heading up the campaign. This he did with much puffing of the chest and sense of importance. The wellbeing of the Harding household was at stake.

So after much discussion, traps were laid, the battle lines were drawn, man vs mouse. We had two old-fashioned mouse traps which were lethal to load. It was almost impossible to set them with out getting my fingers broken by premature release of the trap. Of course I pretended it didn’t hurt, but I certainly would not want to be a mouse caught in one. Two other humane, or should I say mouse-ane traps were also laid where the mice would be caught alive and then released back in the wild; no doubt only to find their way back to those nice Hardings who fed then and then let them go!

All was set. I was out of the house at this point. Jenny and Darren and Ros (think Zena the warrior princess), were in the hall chatting. Out of the corner of his eye Darren saw this kamikaze move by a small rodent. Mildred jumped (or perhaps fell) from the second landing down between the stairs onto the floor of the hall, just near where they were all standing. Imagine the scene. Jenny squealing with fear and excitement; Ros taking a defensive stance with legs firmly planted and ready for action; Darren quickly slipping into the nearest phone booth to don his superman costume. Game on!

The poor creature probably stunned by her 20 ft drop darted around the hall, eventually hiding behind a pile of books. Darren purposefully stalked the prey and prepared himself for action. Suddenly the mouse made a dash for it, but sadly not fast enough. Before it could call the RPS (rodents protection society), the great size 11 boot of our alpha male was planted firmly on poor Mildred the mouse. Game over!

Of course Mildred may have a family now pining her loss, or possibly potting their revenge. Watch this space.

And he was. He was in prison for violent offences. It was said that when the police went to arrest him it took 15 – 20 officers to pin him down, and before they managed it several of them had been dispatched through the window. Rumour had it that when enraged, he displayed superhuman strength and could turn over a car single-handed.

The day came when Miles asked for help. He had given his life to Christ but knew he had ‘issues’. His anger and rages had calmed massively since becoming a Christian, but he was still aware of the volcano inside him that could potentially erupt at any moment.

Paul and I were in our 20’s. We had never prayed for someone’s deliverance before, but figured this could be our first opportunity. We were both pretty nervous. We knew it was in the bible, we knew of others who had experienced massive changes in their lives when prayed for, we were up for it. That is until we started praying.

After a few minutes of praying for him in the most authoritative way we knew how (a mixture of blagging, and using the name of Jesus at frequent intervals), something quite unnerving started to happen. It was just like the incredible hulk. It was as though his whole body started to swell, we even wondered if his shirt would pop open under the pressure! His fists clenched and his face twisted in a rage-like contortion. He seemed to get more and more agitated and we literally feared for our lives.

Suddenly it was as though a balloon had been pricked. All the stuffing went out of him and his body relaxed, his fists unclenched and a kind of peace settled over him. In a few moments he was able to talk again and explain that whatever had been tormenting him, he was now sure had gone. Thank you Jesus!

Miles continued to do well but eventually moved away from Bristol and we lost contact. We didn’t hear from him for a couple of years until one night the phone went and I heard Miles calling from a pay phone. He sounded terrified. He said ‘Nic, Nic, I’m in serious trouble and I need your help, I’m in Brighton, can you help’. Before he could say much more he gave me the number of the phone, the pips went and the call ended mid sentence. I rapidly tried to call back only to discover that the phone box didn’t receive incoming calls. I tried the operator to see if there was any way of locating the phone box; they couldn’t help. Aggggggh!

I was sure he would realise that I had been unable to call back and try again, or even reverse the charges. The minutes went by, hours went by, and eventually days and weeks went by. He never called back and I never saw or heard from him again.

What did he think – that I never bothered to call back, that I didn’t care? How did he feel – that no one cared or could help him? What happened to him – I may never know?

All I do know is that I did what I could.

In leadership not everything works out as you hope it will.

That was the easy bit. The next 6 months were the hard part, writing, re-writing and crafting a text that I felt happy with. Eventually I had a draft of the book and was able to put it out to a few friends to scrutinise and comment on. Some gave big picture comments while others argued over commas subtle nuances.

Having planned to publish it privately and primarily for in-house use, I was surprised to discover that a publisher was interested in taking it on professionally and getting it out to a wider audience. Thus began a whole new process of editing and formatting. Working with an editor who I didn’t know, and had never met was a bit weird. I had no idea of their background, age, sex, or churchmanship. It was a bit like trying to ballroom dance with someone blindfold. Anyway it was finally all done and dusted and 500 copies duly arrived for me to sell locally. It was a very satisfying moment taking delivery, seeing it in its finished state. It was also a scary moment wondering if anyone would buy it, and more so if anyone would like it. So I wait with baited breath for the response!

What’s it about? About being, building and becoming the most amazing church imaginable. Imagine the church of your dreams and then think bigger. God says he is able to do far more than you can ask or imagine, Ephesians 3:20. Imagine the church of Jesus dreams. The church he died to gain, the bride he hopes to be united with at his return. Imagine how you could play your part in this most amazing, beautiful, and majestic of all communities on earth; rooted in the reality of daily life in every place on the planet. Imagine how your contribution could help shape such an incredible miracle. What would such a church look like? Read and be inspired.

If anyone wants a copy, they are going to be sold in the bookshops at £7.99, and it is available on kindle for £7.20. For another instant download order the kindle version at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manifesto-Blueprint-Missional-Church-ebook/dp/B0072KYSNG
The bargain price from Frontline (while stocks last) is a mere £5!

I’m now planning the next book. Watch this space.

I guess no-one thinks when they are young that they want to end up in prison, no-one thinks ‘hey the path I’m on is clearly going to end with me being detained at her majesty’s pleasure’. But the sad truth is that for so many the outcome could have been predicted before they had started school, they were and are victims of the world they were born into.

Geoff was like that. He was a genial sort of guy, probably wouldn’t harm a flee; but he was someone who looked like he was easily led astray by villains. Geoff had been the unfortunate getaway driver for a gang of bank-robbers. Needless to say the hapless band has not been successful, and Geoff had ended up behind bars.

Having made a commitment to Christ inside, he made contact with us when released. He was to all intents and purposes homeless, and Jenny and I took him in. At the time we lived in a small terraced house that had been extended into the roof to create a couple more small bedrooms. However all 4 bedrooms were full. Jenny and I, our two daughters, and 3 young lodgers took all the space. So Geoff was installed on the floor of the front room.

He smelt. Years in prison had done nothing for his personal hygiene habits, and Jenny would put cotton wool balls soaked in perfume behind the storage heaters to mask the odour!

He looked for work without success, and then one day just disappeared. He went off with my expensive camera. We weren’t sure what to do, so just waited. A few days later he returned extremely apologetic and repentant, he even brought the camera back. We could see he really wanted to make things right so we gave him another chance. We could see the gold inside and were determined to mine it for all it was worth. To put it simply we believed in him, and in that environment he blossomed as a person. He started to believe in himself and grew in confidence.

A few weeks later he disappeared again, this time with Jenny’s handbag. A similar pattern followed with his repentant return a few days later. Nevertheless we continued to believe in him and love him. After a while he moved into a friends house where he experienced the same love and acceptance. Others were also seeing the gold.

Eventually Geoff moved away to London and we lost contact with him and heard no more.

10 years later on the day we were moving to Liverpool, with the removal van packed out side, there came a knock on the door. It was Geoff. And so we heard his story. After moving to London he had met a lovely Christian lady and they had married. After emigrating to Canada he had got a job with a YMCA as an odd job man, and they had remained happily married and attended church till his wife sadly died of cancer. Eventually he had returned to Bristol and had found work with the YMCA there. He had maintained his faith despite real sadness and loss, and he had just decided to let us know he was back in town and was doing well.

It was a very emotional moment – to reconnect with Geoff after all those years, to see him so well, to hear of his faith intact, and to know how much he had valued our input to his life all those years ago.

How wonderful of God to give us that encouragement on the day we were to leave Bristol to head into the wilds of the north and plant a church in Liverpool. How encouraging to know that whilst much the outcome of our sowing into lives remains hidden to us, God is always at work and will honour our investments in others. How wonderful to know that the gold we had mined for was still shining.

Leaders see the gold in others

I think London underground should employ clowns, comics and comedians to put a smile on the commuters’ faces. I’m sure it would increase productivity at work and reduce morbidity and our health care bill. It could even help people talk to each other. A little human interaction goes a long way towards creating a civilised society.

How easy it is to be alone in the crowd, even in a lively and friendly church people can feel isolated and lonely. We so need to get over ourselves and be friendly to others who may not be like us. We may even find some new unexpected friends. We need builders of authentic community. We need families who will give hospitality and maybe even accommodation to others. We need groups of singles to be inclusive of those on the margins. We all need to play our part in building the kind of church we want to be a part of.

As I have visited many communities I often ask what kind of church they want to belong to. ‘Friendly and with strong community’ nearly always comes up in the descriptions that people offer. I usually then say ‘well you can have the church of your dreams – start to build it today.’

Be the church of your dreams!