REVIVAL IN LEICESTER ( 8 ) - CONTINUING

The revival in Leicester continues.

This is a bit of a catch-up blog as I have been out in South Africa for a month or so. And on arriving back, the revival is still here!

It was noticeable at the recent revival prayer evening that three or four people (including me) had oil on their hands. Oil is often a picture of the Holy Spirit. It can mean that the person with oil on their hands has an anointing to heal. I didn’t see it used in that way during the evening – but it certainly is a sign that God is with us!

The other thing I noticed on my return was the number of new faces. I counted twenty or so people I didn’t recognise at that same meeting and then observed most were also at church on Sunday. I understand the new faces are a good mix of those not yet saved, those recently saved and of Christians visiting.

We are seeing a steady stream of people finding a new faith in Jesus Christ. It’s rare that someone doesn’t pray a salvation prayer in a meeting. It’s not a flood, but there is a steady stream of new believers.

I work with an evangelism team. It would not be unusual for over 100 people on the streets to pray a salvation prayer in a five-day mission. But the problem is them then attending a local church. The percentage that do that is often as low as 2%. So the difference in what we are seeing at Chroma is that new believers are sticking. They are saved in a church environment and stay in that environment.

Among those not yet finding a faith, we are seeing a number of visitors of other faiths and those who would call themselves spiritual people on a journey. I pray they keep coming and find the answer to their searching.

At our recent baptisms we celebrated with people originally of a Buddhist and of Hindu faiths, now declaring Jesus.

People continue to be healed as well. One man had a severely painful leg for the last eight years. In one of the meetings, his leg went ‘floppy’ (his term for it!) At the end of the meeting, as strength returned to the leg, all pain had gone.

So yes, revival continues.

Provocateur. Prophet. Pioneer. 5 lessons from the life of Gerald Coates

My thanks to Premier Christianity Magazine for the invitation to write this article. Below is the shorter version - you can find the full article here.

Provocateur. Prophet. Pioneer. Gerald Coates has gone home.

It’s hard to be neutral when it comes to Gerald. Unafraid and unapologetic, there is no doubt he could cause one listener to become apoplectic over his apparent criticisms, whilst another would be on their feet applauding.

As Gerald’s biographer I learned to appreciate a man who gave everything to the cause of Christ, uncompromising and generous hearted in equal measure.

What can we learn from his life? Here are five lessons from the life of Gerald Coates.

 

1.       IT’S ALL ABOUT KINGDOM

Gerald was spoilt for anything else. As a young man, leading what was one of the first of the modern-day house churches, he met with many fellow travellers. Their influence on his theology was considerable. There was a bride for a bridegroom. The Church was not to cower in the corner, waiting for some kind of secret rapture. They were called to be a radical people, influencing every area of society. To be God’s people, speaking and prophesying into a broken world.

It was this clear understanding of reaching every area of society that caused him unashamedly to pursue friendships with the rich and famous. He was criticised for this, but lives were changed because of his persistence. That same ‘never say no’ attitude brought him to worldwide influence, particularly with the March for Jesus.

He was extremely prophetic both as regarded national events and individual lives. He had an expectation that God would speak.

For Gerald, it was all about the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God had come with Christ’s death and resurrection. The Church was called to be Christ’s body, filled with the Holy Spirit and uncompromising in their message of salvation.

 

2.       AVOID RELIGION

If the Church was to be the Church, it had to clean up its act. There is a difference between Christianity and religion and Gerald was hot on this. Spotting religious pretence at a hundred paces, he dealt with it ruthlessly.

Noel Richards, his worship leader and travelling companion for many years, recalls a meeting in New Zealand. The Saturday night had been glorious. The Holy Spirit moved, lives were changed. But come Sunday morning and things got very religious. Smart dress, whispered greetings and a Lord’s Table ornate in its arrangement.

Part way through his preach, continuing as if nothing untoward was happening, Gerald threw off the white sheet from the bread and wine, and began to eat the bread as he spoke. People were offended of course. But that was the point. Traditionalists hated it. A whole new generation of young Christians loved it.

 

3.       IT’S ONLY NOISE

How did Gerald deal with the inevitable criticism? He pretty much ignored it! In all my interviews for the book, I never came across a single time when he expresses a dislike for someone. A dislike for their religious practices, sure, but Gerald’s spirit was always pure as regarded the person themselves.

Remembering that criticism is only noise is a great way to deal with it. A great way to keep the main thing the main thing. To avoid hurt and bitterness. To maintain a clean heart.

There is a bit of a downside though – and maybe another learning here. Gerald was largely unaware as to how upset others were with his seeming criticism of their traditions and practices. But this certainly affected others around him. Friends and fellow leaders were left to deal with denominational executives accusing them of error or exaggeration.

 

4.       TELL THE STORIES

Gerald was a storyteller. Never a theologian, though widely read, it’s important to record that his seemingly off-the-cuff preaches were laboured over, well prepared and prayed through. There is no doubt though, that he is at his best telling stories and applying them to the Word. Often hilarious and many times at his own expense, he captured the listener. Too late for the hearer, they would inevitably realise that the story spoke to their own lives, their own attitudes, their own sins.

Later in life, Gerald would forget in conversation, the stories he had previously told. And if you dared to interrupt, he’d start again!

 

5.       LOVE WELL

Gerald leaves behind the love of his life, Anona, along with three sons and their families. He loved well. In an age when leaders fall, Gerald stayed faithful.

He loved his friends well too. The door was always open. The bottle of red wine was always available. Until his final illness, he would always reply to emails, always answer the phone: ‘Gerald here.’

Not everything Gerald did should be copied. That canary yellow suit. Really?

But we would do well to remember it is God’s Kingdom, and as His children we have the authority to bring change to the world we live in. Gerald did just that.

Gerald Coates, Pioneer, 1944 - 2022

‘Good evening ladies and gentlemen.’

Well, that was different.

Gerald Coates was the guest speaker at this particular Bible week. A provocateur, a prophet, a pioneer, even his opening line causes a reaction.

Not a ‘brothers and sisters’ in sight!

And that was Gerald of course. A strong dislike for anything religious, he was not afraid to provoke a response. Eating the bread from an overly ornate Lord’s table whilst preaching comes to mind.

Born in Cobham, Gerald finds a faith in Christ at a Christian boys camp at the age of 12. As the youngest display manager in the country, working for a department store, he meets and later marries the love of his life, Anona.

Receiving the right boot of fellowship form their local church, the young Gerald and Anona find themselves leading a church in their front room, populated by the youth group they have been leading. One of the first – if not the first house church in the country – Gerald and Anona are at the start of an extraordinary journey.

They are encouraged by others on that same journey, most notably John and Christine Noble who eventually join them in Cobham as the church grows. (Christine also stepped over the finish line the same weekend that Gerald died).

A church becomes a movement. The Pioneer group of churches is born. Hundreds – thousands – leave their denominational churches to join. Along with other pioneers, this new church movement changes the face of evangelical Christianity through the 1970s and 1980s.

The main stage of Christianity across the nations becomes one Gerald stands on. Most noteably, the March for Jesus - hundreds of thousands around the world marching through the streets of towns and cities in a worldwide declaration of faith.

Gerald pioneered a movement, and along the way became a mentor to many who in later years would find their own national ministries. Men such as Stuart Bell, Pete Grieg, Billy Kennedy and Steve Clifford come to mind. He also had close friendships with many notable Christians in society such as Cliff Richard and Queen Anne of Romania.

His sharp prophetic voice was heard on many occasions, accurately identifying what God was doing and was about to do. His prophetic words spoken personally over individuals were equally life changing. In later life, he would see a photo of someone and immediately have a word for them, always accurate, often life changing, including on one occasion reaching out to a young man on Facebook with a word that halted a suicide attempt.

In the last year or so of his life, Gerald withdrew to his family and close friends as he and Anona struggled with health issues. A husband, father to three boys, a pastor, friend and mentor. A provocateur, a prophet, a pioneer. We can be grateful that a 12-year-old boy on a boy’s camp responded to a call to follow Jesus Christ.

Gerald’s final word in the Endpiece to my biography of him talks of listening to the music of heaven. As Gerald says ‘keep listening and keep dancing.’

Today he’s part of the music and the dance.