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.
The second picture is the view from our kitchen. Most days I
start by sitting and looking at the beauty of God’s creation with this view in
front of me.
Starting right is important. A time of reflection at the
beginning of the day. Thinking through the day before us, looking to the day ahead.
For me as a Christian, it involves a short study from the
Bible and some prayer. But whether you have a faith or not, a time of
reflection is a good start to any day. I appreciate it’s easier for me nowadays
with the kids away from home, but even five minutes reflection will help with
the day ahead and bring context to the daily pressures of life.
Diary writing, or an occasional piece in a journal, helps in
the same way as a morning reflection – it gives time to consider the day, to
record thoughts, thanks, anxieties, prayers, hopes and dreams. It takes us away
from a cycle of work, sleep, TV and smartphones to an age-old tradition of crafted
words, sentences that reach out beyond the daily rhythm of life.
And that leads to this blog. Just another way of recording
and reflection – this one a bit more public. I started the blog when Elspeth,
our oldest daughter, got married. It seemed a bit of a watershed moment. And it
practically coincided with my 50th birthday. Hence the 50 in the
blog address. Seventeen years later – I’m still giving it a go.
So why not give it a go too? Reflect on the day. If you’re a
Christian, pray and thank God for the day ahead and the day ended. If you don’t
have a faith, why not try praying anyway? Or perhaps start that journal you
always thought you should write.
My blog calls it climbing the mountains of life. The writer
Eugene Peterson calls it a ‘long obedience in the same direction’. Our walk of
life can mean so much more when we take time to reflect, to adjust course, to
record, to say ‘thank you’ to the God who created the view, the day…. the years.
The second image, below, is from one of the best magnifying glasses. It
shows crystals of the adrenaline hormone. Infinitesimally small. The smallest
units of life are quarks. How to describe their size? It would take one-hundred
million atoms lined up together to make one inch in length. Now imagine Wembley
Stadium in London as representing the size of one atom. Now go to the centre
circle of the football pitch and pick up one grain of soil. That’s the nucleus
of an atom. Then divide that nucleus into 1,000 tiny specks and one of these
specks is the size of a quark.
I find it hard to understand how anyone cannot have a faith
in God when we look at creation. As C S Lewis said, ‘nature gave the word “glory”
a meaning for me’.
Big and small. What a creator God we have.
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.
I’ve been quite outspoken with regard to Black Lives Matter. I believe we are all racist to a degree – a reflection of our upbringing in the UK. But I struggle with cancel culture. Our history is our history. Warts and all.
So when a statue of a philanthropist who was also a slave
owner is pulled down, we are trying to change our history. We can celebrate the
philanthropist whilst denouncing the slave owner, without the need to ditch the
statue.
We have a couple of strong narratives in our society at present. One is ‘woke’ culture. And the other is Christian Nationalism.
The BBC are the very biased promoters of wokeism. ‘Woke’ is the
past participle form of ‘wake’, or ‘to awaken’. It suggests a need to wake up and
see things differently. And there has been much we need to wake up to. But in
recent times, it has become synonymous with a cancel culture. If a point of
view doesn’t fit well with woke views, it should be cancelled, it should not be
debated. Back to that statue again.
It can be seen in the appalling treatment of J K Rowling.
She pointed out that a man in a dress shouldn’t be using the women’s loos. And for
that she was cancelled from her own show. It can be seen in the prevalence for
minority actors being given the lion’s share of roles. Actor Christopher
Ecclestone comments that ‘white, straight, middle-aged men are [the] ‘new
pariahs’’. It can be seen at the BBC with over 11% of staff relating to ‘other
than heterosexual’ when the percentage in the UK as a whole is less than 2%.
And in case I’m accused of becoming right wing and reactionary
(I vote Labour usually), there’s a similar problem with the Christian Nationalists.
This is seen more in the US than over here, and is highlighted with the worship
of Trump, so to speak. He was seen as the Christian messiah for US politics,
despite his less than pure character and his tendency to belittle his enemies
with the cruellest of taunts.
That Christians in the US still believe that the US election
was stolen reflects on how far Christian Nationalism has had a hold. Christian Nationalism
looks to see Christian principles in government at every level. What’s wrong
with that? Nothing were they to be reflective of the Bible. But they’re not. They
are reflective of an often-extreme right-wing view of politics, as shown with
the storming of the Capitol building. People died for that warped view.
Woke and Christian Nationalism. Two narrative cultures of
the current age. I’d like to suggest that neither is right. Both are extreme
and lead to extremes. Against this is a 2000-year Christian view. It may not be
popular with the cancel culture brigade, but it hasn’t changed. The narrative
of the Bible has been expounded through the last 2000 years by people such as
Tertullian, Athanasius, Martin Luther, right through to Billy Graham and Mother
Teresa. Neither Woke nor Nationalist, it speaks up for the poor and
downtrodden. It declares the values of marriage and community. It shouts from
the rooftops that there is a God, that He came into our world through Jesus
Christ, and that He still changes lives today.
It's a 2000-year narrative. And it can’t be cancelled.
There’s a great song doing the rounds at the moment. One of the lines declares ‘hell has lost another one.’
Well, this week, hell lost another 343. That’s the conservative estimate as to how many people in Leicester prayed a prayer asking Jesus to come into their lives. That’s the result of seven churches working together with evangelistic teams from Mission24.
Leicester is in early revival and the number of lives changed points to that. Although Mission24 always sees good numbers of people responding to Christ in their UK missions, the figures in Leicester are higher.
Leicester has a history of church break-up and division. As a result, the number of church-goers linked to life giving churches is around 3%. A figure of maybe 5% would be more usual for other towns and cities. So there’s some catching up to do as God brings a unity to the churches and the Holy Spirit touches lives on the streets and in church meetings.How come Mission24 were there at all? Again, this is God moving in revival.
It was back in May 2020. I had just put my head down to go to sleep one night when the room suddenly filled with the Presence of God and The Holy Spirit fell on me in an intense way…I found myself doubled over, groaning, praying in tongues, weeping and crying out to God for Leicester.
It was quite out of the blue,
not pre
-meditated at all. God spoke of a demonstration of his greatness, of his
power over the works of darkness, of the idols and gods of the nations falling.
God said there will be unity, that He would reveal His glory. God spoke of
Leicester becoming a sending city, from where teams will go around the UK and
overseas bringing salvation and healing.
I said the Lord ‘Leicester?! Why Leicester? I don’t even like the place!’ Well, today I love Leicester …. The Holy Spirit has changed my heart! At the point God met me I had no knowledge of any prophetic words over Leicester. I had never heard anything from anyone about any promises from God for the city - it was all brand new to me.
There is more to come. As a faith response, Mission24 have embarked on a five-year plan of serving the churches, the city and the county.
A revival harvest is on the way.
*** Our good friend Leroy died this last week of a seizure.
He was only in his early twenties. A central figure at Chroma Church, it’s a
shock and he will be greatly missed. But, to change that song slightly, we can
declare heaven has gained another one.***
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.
‘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.
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.
It was the newscaster Martyn Lewis who suggested our news diet was too grim and too filled with fear. That was back in 1993. Nothing has changed. In fact if anything, it’s much worse.
More recently, Martyn Lewis said this:
“How ironic… that a
profession so committed to fairness and accuracy in the stories it [covers],
does not fully extend those qualities to the news agenda - the choice of
television news stories.
Good stories are there
….. But too frequently they are given low priority. News editors across the
world stress the need for young reporters to hunt for conflict and criticism.
If they don't find it, fewer of their stories are used. So another generation
of journalists is infected with old standards and judgements.” (USA speech,
2011)
Our headlines are fear related. Pretty much each day and
every day. The television news starts with the latest riots, the government
failures, the lack of food, the lack of transport, the lack of petrol, the lack
of toys for Christmas…. You can fill in the blanks I’m sure. Much of this is
fear-mongering. The promotion of stories to provoke fear… to provoke an
audience.
Many have fallen prey to fear as a result. I heard a
business woman recently charging the Church to live without fear, because there
was a wave of fear affected people in need of prayer, coming their way as a
result of Covid.
The Bible tells us that ‘God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and
self-control.’ (2 Timothy 1:7).
There it is. That’s how we live as Christians. We appreciate
the need for care. We keep to the rules. But we don’t live in fear.
No more so than with our response to Covid. It’s serious but
there need be no fear. There is a significant difference between a measured and
careful response to the virus when compared to one borne of fear that leaves
the Church paralysed just at the point when it is needed most.
It’s time for the Church to be opening its doors wide,
welcoming all, praying for those affected by Covid and seeking God and His
purposes, which are way beyond the fears propagated in the press. It’s time for
Christians to be back worshipping together. Online services can only take you
so far. There is a need to meet, to pray, to encourage in a way that is forever
limited on a TV screen.
I’m not sure the BBC or the Daily Mail are about to move
away from their fearmongering. But the Church can. Let’s step into all that God
has planned for us. We are the body of Christ, we are a voice for the lost, a
healing hand for the hurting. And a declaration of faith in the future for
those chained in fear.
I love the BBC. It’s all I was allowed to watch as a child- ITV had adverts and that was frowned upon in our house!
But the BBC today is a shadow of its former glory. Partly this
is to do with competition but partly it’s to do with an extreme liberal agenda.
I need to qualify my blog at this point…. Those that know me
will know that I am generally left wing, regularly vote Labour and have never
voted Tory.
There. That’s got that out of the way. Important to say
though as I may be judged to be a right wing Trump supporter in what I’m about
to say.
The Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer commissioned a survey carried out by pollsters Savanta ComRes. This identified that 49% of the younger generation are praying regularly.
The BBC reported on this and then interviewed Muslims and
Hindus. Despite the fact that in covering a representative slice of the
population, the report mainly interviewed those leaning towards a Christian faith or no-faith.
But no mention of Christianity from the BBC. None at all. [The
link to the article is here- the on camera report was worse still!] No
interviews with church goers. Just Muslims and Hindus. The Muslim population in
the UK is around 6%. The Hindu population is around 2%. So, BBC, where are the
other 92%? Why did you ignore them?
The answer is not hard to find. The BBC is no longer the
unbiased bastion of broadcasting it once was. Did they invent ‘Woke’? Probably.
I love some of their left wing slant. I love their
inclusiveness. But to deliberately exclude Christianity on a poll that was
commissioned by Christians and shows that church going and prayer (in person and online) is
growing is appalling.
I laughed at their super inclusive Doctor Who stories at
first. Until it became so invasive, the plots no longer mattered.
But this is far more serious. This does matter. A good news
story about Christians has been buried. And the BBC appears to have done it
deliberately.
Maybe that licence fee I have defended for so long should no
longer be defended. Shame on you BBC.
It was a year today. One year since two young girls had the
courage to film his death. Kaylynn Gilbert, aged 17 and Alyssa Funari, aged 18
saw what was happening. Despite the threat of mace spray from the murderer,
they kept filming as George Floyd died in front of their phone camera.
Their bravery meant that the world is changing. Black lives
matter. They always have. But that day showed that they didn’t seem to matter
that much and that something needed to be done.
The response around the world was immediate. We’ve seen black men dying before at the
hands of the police, but usually it’s a far-off grainy image. The fact that
this was a few feet away changed everything. This couldn’t be hidden. In 21st
century America, racial prejudice was rife. And lest we pat ourselves on the
back, it’s rife around the rest of the world too.
In the UK, the Government’s recent report was a bit of a
white wash. Literally. A chair that was sensitive to the Government’s rosy blushes
on white cheeks presented something that meant they didn’t have to do much.
Shame.
There is so much more to be done. I applaud the efforts of
the Black Lives Matter movement. It needs to continue. It still needs to be
heard still.
Some responded in a disappointing way when George Floyd
died. Some used the platitude ‘all lives matter.’ A thin veneer of
respectability over a statement that was blatantly racist. Others pointed to
the Black Lives Matter movement and some aspects of it that they didn’t like.
Sure, there will always be points of disagreement with any movement. But just
as we vote for a political party that is as close to our views as possible, whilst
accepting there will be points of disagreement, so with Black Lives Matter. Points
of disagreement on other matters don’t neutralise the central message.
The anger and grief I witnessed from my black brothers and
sisters was and is real. The racial prejudice remains just as real. One year
on, let’s keep raising the fist in defiance of hatred. And as Christian’s, let’s
keep praying.
My Lectio365 bible study this morning captures it well:
‘This season calls out for clenched fists raised in peaceful
protest. But the solutions call out for raised hands clasped in persistent
prayer.’
#BlackLivesMatter
Where does the concept of a book trilogy come from? And in particular, the vast market for fantasy trilogies?
The idea of a trilogy goes as far back as Greek literature
but it found its recent popularity through serendipity.
When JRR Tolkien finished his book The Lord of the Rings, his publisher
had a problem. One look at the vastness of the book Tolkien had written caused Allen
& Unwin to look at a different route to market.
The year was 1954. War rationing was still a thing. And
there was a real problem with publishers being able to source quality paper for
printing. In addition there was a concern with a potential financial loss due
to the high cost of type-setting and the publisher’s calculation of the modest
sales resulting from such an unusual book.
Tolkien actually tried another publisher but in the end
accepted that whatever Allen & Unwin said was better than no book at all.
The publisher suggested splitting the book into three. For
this they had to agree to new titles - something Tolkien was reluctant to do, not least because he saw the book being formed from seven smaller parts.
But Allen & Unwin got their way and the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring went to press in October 1954. The Two Towers followed in 1955 and the
final book, The Return of the King in
1956.
And so was born the modern concept of the fantasy trilogy.
Many have been the acolytes to Tolkien’s work, though in my view none have come
close.
It all happened because of a cautious publisher. And boy did
they get their projections wrong with the modest estimate on sales. To date the
trilogy has sold over 150 million copies, making it one of the top five best-selling
books of all time.
The fantasy trilogy - all because a publisher was reluctant
to fund the costs for one book. Serendipity indeed.
It’s a couple of weeks after Joe Biden became President. And
the conspiracy theories are still flying. Trump was cheated. Biden is a
paedophile. And a favourite Christian one – the vaccine for Covid is the Mark
of the Beast.
All these conspiracies are the result of rabbit holes. By that I mean, when we have a certain point of view, we tend to go down a hole and surround ourselves with like-minded people. That’s all well and good if we were also to be surrounded with other views, including the actual news from trusted sources. But rabbit holes don’t allow for that.
The sadness of recent times is that many who have a strong
view have turned to conspiracy theories to support their view. These theories give
a perception of control by providing a channel for anger or fear.
The result is an even stronger view with those same people
then removing themselves entirely from any contrary views. If, for example, I
were to post onto a Facebook thread of someone saying that Trump won the
election and highlighted a neutral news article that showed otherwise, it’s
likely that I would be asked not to post at all on that thread.
Hence there can be no argument, only one point of view.
This has become worse still with many taking themselves off
the broader reach social media such as Facebook and Twitter and joining lesser
known services such as Telegram, Gab and Parler (the latter now closed), that
tend to specialise in conspiracy theories. Deeper rabbit holes in other words. It
means that people are being misled and lied to. They are surrounding themselves
with those lies and - of course - no one else can possibly be correct.
We have a social media problem. Already Facebook sends us
posts it thinks we might like, along with adverts we may respond to. So there
is an immediate filter supporting our views and limiting access to contrary
views. The new social media families are taking this a stage further.
As a consequence, people genuinely believe some of the QAnon
theories in the States. Crazy stuff. No, Hilary Clinton does not sacrifice
babies.
I love the post from my friend Anna (shown here). Yes,
believe in the mainstream media. Make sure you get your news from a variety of
sources. And allow those with different views to interact with you.
No more rabbit holes!
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.....
A couple of years ago I ghost-wrote an autobiography for a leading black church leader in the UK. (For reasons not related, it has yet to see the light of day, so I can't say who it is). As I wrote it I became more and more aware of the racism in our country - not just 'then' but 'now'. I was appalled at my own blindness. As a caring Christian, I should have done better.
I first got hold of a Julie Felix album in 1973. Those of us
at Walsall Technical College were well aware of the fact that the manager of
the Record Department at Boots the Chemist didn’t know his Abba’s from his
Zappa’s and would often sell stuff off at ridiculously low prices. The first
Parchment album on Pye (a collector’s piece today) for 10p with a small scratch
on the first track. A first issue single of Free’s ‘All Right Now’ for 5p.
My favourite album is the 1972 ‘Clotho’s Web’ which includes
the single ‘Fire, Water, Earth and Air’. It’s worth a listen.
God is with us. 
