I'm Glad You Found Me....

 I'm so glad you came by. But I have moved to two new sites.

My main blog can now be found at ralphturnerwriter.com

And anything to do with the revival in Leicester can be found at revivalinleicester.com

I do hope you will join me on our continuing journey together.

Farewell

 

Remembering

The Power of Song

Songs can be powerful. And none more so than when on national television at unexpected moments. Stormzy taking Glastonbury ‘to church’ with his song ‘Blinded by Your Grace’. Even Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent. Her rendition of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ from Les Misérables was all the more powerful because it was so unexpected.

I remember as a kid watching the Beatles sing ‘Hey Jude’ on Top of the Pops. It was like nothing I’d heard before. And the audacity to keep on singing at the end well beyond the usual three-minute pop song time limit.

I was taken aback again this week, watching (belatedly) The Voice on ITV. Part way through, the audience cajole Tom Jones, one of the judges, into singing. At 82 years old, he’s not lost his ability to sing. But it was his choice of song that got me.

He lost his wife to cancer a few years ago. It was a turbulent marriage on occasions, but one that lasted. A friendship that started as 12-year-olds, they were married for nearly 60 years. As he began to sing, the emotion in his voice was unusual. About someone being there for another, but not crumbling if they fall. He explained at the end that it was about being there for his wife, Linda, and promising her he would carry on after she had gone. These were his words:

“My wife, you know, she was dying of lung cancer, so I said, you know, I was always able to fix stuff, to do things if she needed me, I was always there. She said, 'Don't crumble with me, don't fall now, you've done everything you can, you must carry on and do what you do.’”

It’s hard to be there for someone close to you but see that for once you can’t ‘fix stuff’. His response in song was poignant.

At the end, another of the judges, Anne-Marie, said it was one of the best moments in her life. And it wasn’t TV hyperbole for a change.

When Worlds Collide

It’s rare that three worlds collide at once. But that’s what happened this weekend, and it was glorious.

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In 1970 as a brand new Christian, I found myself walking home when a girl called Linda shouted out to me ‘Hey are you a Christian?!’ The big ‘Jesus Loves You’ sticker on my bag was the giveaway – these were the days of the Jesus Revolution, Larry Norman, Arthur Blessitt and …. Jesus stickers.

I admitted I was and as a result, Linda introduced me to the Streetly Evangelical Church Youth Group. It was there that I was befriended by Alan, later my Best Man, and by Godfrey and Sue.

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On Wednesday 5^th September 2012, I met a guy called Jonathan Conrathe for coffee (I keep a daily diary). I’d been asked to ‘sus him out’ as he and his wife Elaine were joining the church I was part of at the time. Nearly ten years later and I have the privilege of serving him as Team Pastor for Mission24. I guess I must have sussed him out then….

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On Sunday 27^th May 2018 (yes, that diary again!) Roh and I walked in to Chroma Church Leicester for the first time and instantly felt at home. Having had to leave our last church we were a little bit fragile. Juliet spoke with us. She had a prophetic word for us that we’d got our answer. Not knowing our story, she was so accurate. Our answer was Chroma.

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This weekend all three worlds collided. Mission24 held its annual conference at Chroma. And on Sunday, we welcomed Chroma Birmingham over as they start their journey – and among those attending from Birmingham…. Godfrey and Sue from around 50 years ago.

Three worlds colliding in the most amazing of ways and all on one weekend.

When worlds collide, creation results.

To be working with friends old and new. To see the synergies; to see the friendships forming, to see God glorified is just wonderful.

And all I can do, with a grateful heart, is to worship the One who created the collision.

Why, Who, What - A Lockdown Narrative

I hope it’s here now. The end of a year of lockdowns, viruses and fears. As we step out of our doors, it’s a good time to assess what we want from our future freedoms. Is it just more of the same, or have things changed?

A technique I use with potential clients for autobiographies/biographies is to ask them three questions.

When someone wants help in writing a book, I ask WHY, WHO and WHAT. In that order.

WHY do you want to write a book? WHO is it aimed at? And WHAT is the content. Too many go straight for the story - the WHAT. But the other two questions are more important.

WHY write at all? What’s your reason? The
same can be asked as we come out of lockdown. Are you just going to go back to what you did before? The same old job? The same old patterns? The same old activities? That may be fine, but lockdown has given us an opportunity to ask WHY, to take a look at reasons and motives. To check that WHAT we were doing before is still worth doing today. (I recommend Simon Sinek on this – his book Start With Why is worth your time).

WHO are you writing for? Or to turn it around to a lockdown discussion, when you do what you do, WHO is it for? Just for you? For family and friends? Why not look wider? Maybe consider activities that help society? There will be a massive need for more Foodbanks in the UK coming out of lockdown. Around the world, with rich countries using lockdown as a reason not to give, there are immense needs in developing countries. And if you have a Christian faith, there are ways to support those working in the hardest of conditions around the world.

WHAT is the easy bit. The stories we tell in book terms. Too many start here. But as lockdown ends, before we do what we do, before we return to doing what we always did, ask WHY and WHO first.

As lives open up again, as hugs become possible again, as this time of lockdown becomes history, determine to make history.

“Such is of the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.” JRR Tolkien

Fifty Years a Christian - Part 2

 I'm very grateful to Pam Rhodes for inviting me onto her show Sunday Night Live. I share here my story of 50 years ago. It seems like yesterday.....

Furlough

Suddenly a word is in the news that has had little usage in recent years.

Furlough.

It is traditionally used to describe a time away from the front line for soldiers. I first came across it in a church context. As a young Christian I went to a Brethren church and was told that a lady missionary was coming to visit on furlough. I thought it must be some kind of vehicle!

Actually it is a vehicle of sorts. It’s one that allows you to take time out. To rest.

For many in the UK the word is not welcome. Its newer definition is being laid off from work with 80% of pay due to the effects of the Corona Virus on our economy.

But maybe in this lockdown, we can all experience some furlough in its original sense? The root of the word is ‘verlof’. This is Dutch and means ‘permission’.

We have permission to take time out right now. Permission to dream, to plan, to think. To do something different. Not to waste the time but to use it as time away from the front line.

So what will we do? Read a book we have always intended to read? Pick up the watercolours again? Study a language? For those of us with a Christian faith, to go deeper into a book of the Bible?

I appreciate that some reading this will be experiencing furlough with kids running around their feet and the sense that they have less time than at work! Yes, but it’s still a different time. There will still be moments that can be used in a different way.

I don’t expect that most of us reading these words will ever get another furlough. Let’s appreciate the blessing along with the challenge.

From Purple Flares to Old Pulteney

I remember the details of the day. A warm September  morning, 1976. I was early, so walked around St James’s Square, London, a couple of times before plucking up the courage to go in. The Clerical, Medical & General Life Assurance Society. My first job.

I wore a three piece purple suit with ridiculous flared trousers. Despite that, they let me in. I worked as a Pensions Documentation Clerk and quickly found that pensions wasn’t as boring as the name suggested to a twenty-one year old.

I realised that pretty much everything in pensions revolved around the age of 65 – the normal retirement age for men (It’s changed a bit nowadays). So I did my own calculation on that very first day – when would I reach that milestone? It was with some relief that by my calculation, the day would never arrive. It was so far in the future.

10^th April 2020.

Well here we are. The flares are long gone (though I still like purple). In this strange season of lockdown, my plans to celebrate with a tour of the Scottish whisky distilleries went by the way, though Roh set out a tour of the garden to find my own bottles of whisky! And my main present was a bottle of 12 year old Old Pulteney single malt, from the northernmost distillery in the British Isles. I like to think that my tastes have improved a little since the purple flares.

Where did the time go? How did I get here?

The answer is by the grace of God.

I’m grateful for every step of the journey. Thankful for God’s goodness, a beautiful wife, four amazing children, three incredible sons/daughter in laws and two awesome granddaughters. And a pretty decent career in pensions.

The day did arrive. It wasn’t such a long time. May I encourage you, as the Bible says, to ‘count your days and seek a heart of wisdom.’ (Psalm 90)

My Old Testament hero is Caleb. He was still conquering mountains at the age of 85 (that’s where the idea for this blog came from 15 years ago), so I trust I still have plenty of time to count my days and seek wisdom. And still plenty of time to continue to conquer the mountains of life for the One who conquered all for me.

REPOST: Soon I Will See the Lines on His face

I recalled the words from this book today. A re-post from April 2008

I've been reading a really interesting book by Donald Miller called 'Blue Like Jazz'. It's his own journey towards faith. Here's a great quote:

'I am early in my story, but I believe I will stretch out into eternity, and in heaven I will reflect upon these early days, these days when it seemed God was down a dirt road, walking towards me. Years ago He was a swinging speck in the distance; now He is close enough I can hear His singing. Soon I will see the lines on His face.'

How wonderful. May I always hear Him singing. And one day, too, I will be so close as to see the lines on His face.

Singing in the Rain - Living in Revival

As a church historian, it’s hard to see the age we live in, in any other way than as an age of revival. These things don’t reach our secular news programmes, but large parts of the globe are celebrating a revival in the truth of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Saviour of the world.

There are pockets of revival right now in churches, towns and villages in nearly every nation. In parts of South America and central and southern Africa, the revival is more clearly seen on a nationwide scale.  In nations where Christianity is restricted, there too, God is on the move. In places where it is hard to preach the gospel of Christ, there are many stories of people having dreams and Jesus meeting them. There was a recent report from Iran, not the easiest of countries to hold to a Christian faith, where in the last 40 years, there has been a numerical growth in Christian numbers from around 500 to over one million. Despite persecution in Islamic nations and in countries such as China and India, the church continues to grow - much of it underground and out of plain sight.

In our nation, the UK, best described as post-modern and sceptical of religion, faith in Christ is on the rise. People are open to the supernatural, so when the Holy Spirit moves through miracles and healing, lives are changed. One report from friends in Derby last week speaks of over 150 people asking Jesus Christ to change their lives - most of them out on the streets rather than in organised meetings.

In church meetings there is an increased awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit. In my own church in Leicester, you can almost touch the sense of God’s presence as we worship.

The church observers at Operation World note that in nearly every nation of the world, the Evangelical/Charismatic/Pentecostal wing of the church is growing at a more rapid rate than the birth rate. Many leading pastors and theologians are beginning to write of coming revival.

Today, there are estimated to be around 2.3 billion Christians in the world. It’s by far the biggest faith group, and it continues to grow.

A good friend of mine put it this way:

“We are truly in a now season! No longer are we standing in the desert longing for the rain; the first drops have begun to fall and the season has shifted. It’s time to pray for rain in the time of rain…. it’s time to start singing in the rain!”

If the 1500s were a time of renewal in the revelation of faith through God’s Word; if the 1700s were a time of renewal in the revelation of Christ as Saviour through evangelism, and if the 1800s were a time of renewal in the lost art of compassion and care, then the century we live in is best described as a time of Holy Spirit revival. From the small church to the changed nation, the words of Jesus Christ are sounding out. He is the way, the life and the truth. And millions are finding that to be true every day.

The Moment

That’s the picture. That’s the moment. I’m walking my younger daughter down the aisle in the idyllic setting of a Stellenbosch vineyard. And suddenly it’s very real.

Lois is trying to hold back the tears. We can see Dewaal awaiting her arrival. The biggest grin.

The picture shows me more stooped shouldered than I would like. Maybe that’s the price of bringing up four children. And is that grey hair behind my ears? I had no idea. Well, I don’t look there do I?

But mostly it’s a moment of intense happiness. All the tension of the days before the wedding dissipates. Friends smile and cheer. Roh and I say a resounding ‘We do!’ as Greg, the Pastor, asks who gives the bride away.

But even that’s not strictly true. We don’t lose. We gain.

On the way in to the country, I explained to the South African immigration officer that I was here for the wedding of my daughter.

‘Congratulations on your new son’ she said.

I didn’t understand.

‘Pardon?’

‘Congratulations. You’re not losing a daughter. You’re gaining a son!’

Such wisdom from unexpected places.

We have a son. And a wider family. We have smiles and memories. And we have that picture. That moment.

Listening to the Silence

Officially it’s called the Bryniau Glo Walk. I call it the Hidden Valley Walk.

You climb up a long way on a well-defined trail, through a forest, over the hills and into a hidden valley. It’s protected on three sides by higher hills, with a view out to the rest of Snowdonia.

I guess it’s because of that protection that it’s so silent.

I stopped in the valley and listened. Nothing. No bird song. No wind. Just silence. The most perfect silence.

For a moment in time, I was part of that silence. Transfixed by it. Such a perfect moment. Listening and hearing nothing. Looking out onto such stillness and beauty. Worshipping.

Silence is not always welcomed. One of my favourite songs is The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel (check out the version by Disturbed – amazing!) But the lyrics are slightly depressive: ‘Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping.’

Too often we shut out silence. We surround ourselves with noise and activity. The TV drones in the background even if we are not watching it. Music plays through our headphones as we travel. The car radio is on. The mobile has its own playlist.

But what if for a moment we stopped and listened? Listened to the silence. Relaxed for a moment, with our breathing as the only sound. And maybe pray a prayer - thanking God for a moment of complete silence; for a moment of complete peace in a noisy world.

Blinded By Your Grace

In musical terms, I’m a child of the 70s. I grew up on the heavyish rock of Argent, Led Zeppelin, Free and Deep Purple. And when I’m feeling nostalgic, that’s still where I return.

So you won’t be surprised to learn that I never really got into Rap, didn’t particularly get along with Punk and as for Garage, Grunge and Grime… it passed me by.

That was, until four months back, when the artist Stormzy appeared as a guest on X Factor on TV, and sang Blinded by Your Grace. I’m told he’s a Grime and Hip Hop artist. What I heard was pure Gospel. In fact, for me, one of the best Gospel songs I’ve heard in many years.

If you’ve not heard it yet, here’s a link:

As I watched, I found myself worshipping:

Lord, I've been broken
Although I'm not worthy
You fixed me, I'm blinded
By your grace
You came and saved me...

You saved this kid and I'm not your first
It's not by blood and it's not by birth
But oh my God what a God I serve…..

Now I'm in a better place
No longer afraid
Blinded by your grace
You came and saved me

It’s been a particularly tough time, especially with regard to local church. I’m a part-time church historian, so I know that even in the most successful revivals in history, there’s often an undercurrent of unrest and disagreement. Even my heroes George Whitefield and John Wesley fell out for a while!

There’s a verse in Proverbs that says:

There are friends who pretend to be friends
But there is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother.

It’s important to focus on line 2, not line 1, and that is what I choose to do.

As I write this, I look out of the window, I see all His creation, I think of all He’s done and I’m blinded by His grace. Amazed at a God who would love me, who saved this kid- and I’m not His first. What a God we serve…

Nominal Christianity or the Real Thing?

There’s an interesting article in today’s Times (Can’t link to it as you have to pay to see it- that’s a whole other set of thoughts!) The article by Daniel Finkelstein notes the recent survey that indicated for the first time that over 50% of the nation ‘has no religion’.

He points out (correctly in my view) that this may be a reflection of someone automatically saying in the past that they were ‘C of E’ (ie they went to the local church for funerals, weddings and Christmas) and now felt freer to say they had no firm belief.

Finkelstein goes on to point out the high level of faith still attributed to political power- for example, of our last four Prime Ministers, two were kids of clergymen and one a Christian socialist who read his Bible every night. (Thus, Cameron was the exception, in case you were wondering...). And, again in the article, they key role church and Christian charities take in our nation’s welfare.

I’m not as pessimistic about the Christian faith in the UK as the statistics suggest. I think it’s simply a weeding out (Biblical pun!) of the C of E brigade. I see an increase in spiritual interest in the population. I see many more willing to talk about faith and spiritual issues than was the case, say, 20 years ago. I see real change happening through Alpha courses (many at C of E churches). I see resurgence in Christianity among the denominations. I see continued growth in the non-denominational churches. I see more in the UK coming to a real faith in Christ than I have seen in my lifetime - this is reflected in the numbers of responses to the work of Mission24, for example.

The decline in nominalism is a breakthrough for the real thing.

Explaining British Politics to an American Friend

American Friend: ‘Hey Ralph, what’s happening with you guys? Crazy politics!’

Ralph: ‘Yep. Not our most glorious moment as a British people.’

AF: ‘So what exactly has happened? Explain it to me.’

R: ‘I’ll have a go. But just to get things into perspective, you guys have got Donald Trump!’

AF: ‘Fair enough!’

So here is my attempt at an answer to my American friend:

BACKSTORY

There’s quite a backstory to this. A lot of it involves the press and their ability to spin a story. Our press are not neutral. We boast a free press, but with it comes a lot of baggage. Especially press intrusion, wild headlines and frankly, lies.

We have the BBC of course. Supposedly neutral. But probably not. It tends towards the left wing of British politics and is not averse to trying to get a scoop, seemingly at the cost of the truth. (Cliff Richard, our British pop icon, has been dragged through the mud on his private life- started by the BBC filming a raid on his home. Turns out none of it is true. Hope he sues).

All of this is to say, people believe the cheap headlines.

FROM BLAIR AND BROWN

New Labour had its day and lost the election. Not helped by a lacklustre Gordon Brown who probably should never have been Prime Minister.

The election results were a surprise though. It needed a Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition to reach consensus on a new Government. They did a pretty good job. The LibDems stopped the more extreme right wing agenda of the Conservatives and the fallout from the 2008 world economic crisis was managed well.

THE LAST ELECTION

The last election changed that. The LibDems were punished by their supporters for the alliance with the Conservatives and the first past the post electoral system meant they paid a higher price in number of MPs that the actual vote for them suggested.

Prime Minister Cameron had freedom to introduce a right wing agenda, and he did.

But on Europe, he was caught by his own manoeuvrings. At a point of weakness and with pressure from the extreme right wing, he had earlier caved in to offering a referendum on Europe- should we stay in the European Union or not? That’s the referendum we’ve just been through.

LABOUR FAILURE

British politics needs a robust and effective opposition. There hasn’t been one since the demise of Blair and Brown.

The unions pushed through a vote on a new leader of the Labour party that favoured younger brother Ed Miliband over older brother David. That was the catalyst for Labours demise. Ed was not a leader and duly lost the election, spectacularly giving Cameron an unfettered government.

Before he left, Ed also ensured Labour would remain unelectable by letting in the £3 voters. These are people that can vote in a Labour leadership election by paying just £3. Sounds ridiculous? It was. The extreme left in the Labour party used the changes to their advantage and the unelectable labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn is the result.

IMPLOSION

And now the country has imploded. Based on a set of untruths, the vote out brigade won the referendum. Economic misery is the likely result.  All three major parties are in trouble: the LibDems don’t have the MPs. The Conservatives have Cameron’s resignation to deal with and infighting still on Europe. And Labour has to deal with an unelectable leader who at the time of writing is refusing to go, despite 80% of his own MPs asking him to do so.

Some on the extreme right wing have taken the vote as an excuse for racial violence. And just when we need a steady hand and a clear mind, no one is stepping up.

NEXT?

Not sure. Could be violence on the streets. Could be economic ruin. I hope not. There’s a gap in politics once again, for a middle ground / left of centre party. If that’s not Labour, maybe someone will be brave enough to start a new party.

Maybe the Conservatives will sort themselves out in time. And maybe the EU will drop the rhetoric and give Britain a good deal outside of their borders. Maybe.

But it could be worse. At least Donald Trump is the other side of the Atlantic.

Remain

It’s been a strange campaign.

The Remain guys seem to have focussed on fear and not so much on the obvious benefits of remaining. But that’s been surpassed by the poverty of the Leave campaign.

I was on the Syrian border two weeks ago, helping the refugees. To then see them used on a Leave poster as propaganda was definitely the lowest point of the campaign.

I’m not sure there should ever have been a vote on this, but as Cameron has decided otherwise, I’ll be voting tomorrow. I don’t believe in divorce. I’m voting for belonging, for inclusion, for welcoming others and working with them.

Times Paces

When I was a babe and wept and slept,
Time crept;

When I was a boy and laughed and talked,
Time walked.

Then when the years saw me a man,
Time ran.

But as I older grew,
Time flew.

Soon, as I journey on,
I'll find time gone.

May Christ have saved my soul, by then,
Amen.

'Times Paces' by Henry Twells, adapted by Guy Pentreath

The Birth of Something New

It’s not every day you get to take part in launching a new church. But that’s what we did on Sunday.

After a year of preparation, team forming, moving house, LifeGroups and Café Church, the real thing arrived at City of Leicester College on Sunday. 317 people walked through the door. Admittedly, that included over 150 from our sister churches in Peterborough and Cambridge, but it’s a great start.

KingsGate Church Leicester is for those that don’t like church or used to go to church. If that’s you and you are within reach of us, see you on Sunday at 4.30 in the afternoon.

Leicester has a rich history of Christian enterprise and mission. It’s a privilege to be joining those that have gone before us and those already engaged in seeing the 10^th biggest city in England transformed by the power of God’s love.

Bring on week two!

Sunday Sunshine in Leicestershire

A few musings from my daily diary today.....

'It's a beautifully sunny Sunday morning and I'm sitting in the back garden, looking over the rolling fields. The sheep are on the far side today and I can see the cattle in the distance.

The bird feeder is doing good business. A flock of sparrows come and go. They do great damage to the two containers with normal seed, spilling the contents onto the floor in a flurry of wings. Having seemingly spilled a lot and eaten little, they contentedly sit as a flock in the nearby rosebush, observing their destructive handiwork.

There's two starlings in attendance too. They don't balance too well as they try and eat the fat cubes. One seems to be the baby of the other and even in this extended summer, it's still calling for attention.

A robin stands contentedly on the floor below the feeders, picking up a King's breakfast from what the sparrows drop.

A blue tit flits in and out from the peanuts, startled by the noise from the starlings. There's a great tit in attendance too.

The swallows are still here, occasionally landing on our roof, and because of the Velux windows, we get a close view of their beauty.

A cock crows in the distance and I pray a prayer of thanksgiving to the God of all creation.'