REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (24) - WAVES OF LIQUID LOVE

We’d been away for a couple of weeks. But walking in to the 9.30 service on Sunday told us that God was continuing to work in just the same way.

When we arrived at Chroma Church five years ago, the first service was maybe a bit sleepy. No longer! The presence of God is tangible. From the first chord in worship, it’s hard not to kneel, just to acknowledge the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit.

The title for this post is ‘waves of liquid love’. It’s a well-known phrase from church history. When Charles Finney was baptised in the Holy Spirit at the start of his remarkable revival ministry, back in October 1821, he described it in this way:

‘Without ever having the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me, without any memory of ever hearing the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed, it seemed to come in waves of liquid love, for I could not express it in any other way.’

Leicester is an exciting place to be. At the start of a new educational year, I’m expectant for much more. There are so many prophecies over our city, from people around the world who have never even been to Leicester, but felt in the Spirit that God was about something special.

We live in the good of those prophecies. Pretty much every meeting – the three services on Sunday, Student Church, Kids and Youth, Revival Nights and more – are soaked in the Holy Spirit. God’s presence is tangible. Waves of liquid love.

Windrush at 75

Well, this is a rare event. My passion for justice has just coincided with my passion for stamp collecting. Not often you can put that together in one sentence!

Well done to the Royal Mail for their commemorative stamps celebrating 75 years since the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush. (You can read about the Windrush story on my blog, here). The Royal Mint are also issuing a coin.

It’s great to celebrate the diversity of our nation and the richness brought to our shores by such events. But the Windrush arrivals were treated terribly, and we have to acknowledge that we still have a long way to go before we can truly say that the British Isles is free from racism.

The Black Lives Matter initiative in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, has helped (see my blog on this, here). But there is so much more to do.

In the meantime, we can truly celebrate the wonderful people from every nation that call Britain their home.

The King and the King

On Saturday we saw a rare event - the coronation of a British king. Full of pomp and circumstance, we do ceremony so well.

At the heart of the ceremony is a commitment to God. A commitment of service to a people and to God Himself. Having said that, some of the words were a bit over the top - we can’t really declare Charles III should live forever. Nor can we claim him to be the ‘Lord’s Anointed’!

There is a vulnerability to some of the ceremony, not least the disrobing from royal robes to a plain shirt in order to receive (behind a screen) the anointing of oil – what is termed the Act of Consecration.

And so we have a king.

But we already have one.

His name is Jesus.

This is what the Archbishop of Canterbury said in his coronation address:

‘His throne was a cross, His crown was made of thorns, His regalia were the wounds that pierced His body.’

One day Charles III reign will end. But Jesus’ reign which began at the moment he broke the chains of death and rose from the dead, will be a reign that never ends.

We are invited to reign with him. Commoners, poor people of no consequence, we are invited to ask Jesus to forgive us and to change our lives. In doing so, He comes to live in us and through us. Him in us, us in Him, reigning with Him.  

If you choose to reign with Jesus, here’s a prayer you can pray:

Lord Jesus

I know you are alive and are still changing lives today. Please change mine.

Forgive me Lord for my life lived without you.

I invite you in right now as my Lord and Saviour. Please come and change me.

Amen.

Farewell

 

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (12) - REVIVAL SONG

It has always been God’s intention to have a worshipping people. Psalm 117 says ‘Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.’ It’s something God wants. And it’s something that brings blessing to the worshipper. It’s John Piper who says ‘God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him’. And how better to be satisfied than through worship – communion with the One who made us.

It's no surprise that with the premium God puts on worship, worship itself is both a catalyst and a result of revival. The Welsh Revival of 1904 spread through song. The hymn ‘Here is love, vast as the ocean’ was particularly used by the Holy Spirit to spread revival fires.

In the earlier revivals of John Wesley and George Whitefield, song was again a key. In the mid-1700s not so many could read, so one way to remember scripture and key theology was to sing it, and that is exactly what happened. John Wesley’s brother Charles became the voice of the revival song, writing many classic hymns during this time such as ‘And can it be that I should gain?’, ‘Hark the herald angels sing’, ‘Love divine all loves excelling’, and ‘O for a thousand tongues to sing’.

We are enjoying revival at Chroma Church Leicester right now, so again, it is no surprise that worship is at its centre. We have a band, Chroma Music, that are passionate to worship. And it has been recognised. They have just returned from Rotterdam, leading worship in a conference of 20,000 and seeing many lives changed.

If you have yet to hear their music, look them up on YouTube. Enjoy the revival songs.

Cancel Culture, Woke and Christian Nationalism

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.

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.

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (7) - ARE YOU READY?

Are you ready?

The picture is captured from a promo by Chroma Church for my preach on Sunday. The text says it all. Are you ready?

We are in the early days of revival. What we are experiencing in Leicester can be caught. It should be caught – we don’t want to keep it to ourselves!

So, are you ready? Are you willing to put yourself out for revival? If you are within reach of Leicester, are you willing to travel, to catch the fire, to take it with you, back to your church, back to your town or city?

It’s been great to welcome visitors to our Sunday meetings and our Tuesday revival prayer nights. It’s been a privilege to have numbers of church leaders with us. But the prayer is for more - that as many as possible come and take what God is doing in Leicester back to where they are.

That requires a willingness not just to travel, but faith and expectiation to believe. Revival history is littered with well meaning folk who question what God is doing and therefore miss out. Don’t be one of them.

Are you ready?

(If you prefer listening to reading, here’s a link to Sunday’s talk. It takes you through what has happened so far and deals especially with the work God has been doing in Leicester, along with some of the prophetic words over the city. The talk is at the 1 hour 2 minutes mark)

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (6) - THE JEAN DARNALL PROPHECY

The revival in Leicester continues.

Meetings where the presence of the Holy Spirit is so present it’s hard to stand. Laughter, people drunk in the Spirit, many on the floor as God ministers to them. Pastors and leaders visiting and taking the blessing with them. One pastor tells the story of having to stop on the way home because the Holy Spirit was still at work. As he said, better to pull over for the Holy Spirit to do His work than be pulled over for erratic driving!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned two prophecies that are particularly relevant for our nation. One was from Smith Wigglesworth, and you can read about it here. The other is from Jean Darnall. Jean was a preacher with a healing ministry. She and her husband lived in the UK for around 25 years and had a significant influence in the early days of the Charismatic movement in the 1970s and 80s. Jean was particularly prophetic, no more so than when she received a vision from the Lord on three separate occasions in 1967. Here’s what she said (this is a precis- the whole vision is told here):

During those weeks a vision came to me. It appeared three different times, during prayer, and it was the same vision each time.

What I saw was the British Isles, as in a bird's eye view. A kind of haze was over the whole, like a green fog. And then little pinpricks of light began to appear from the top of Scotland to Land's End. Then the Lord seemed to draw me closer to these lights, and I saw that they were fires that were burning. They were multiplying from the top of Scotland to Land's End. Then I saw lightening come and strike those fires, the brightest spots particularly, and there was a kind of explosion, and rivers of fire flowed down. Some of those rivers … went right across the Channel and didn't stop there.

The Lord spoke to me, I don't mean that it was an audible voice. But it was a knowing. That strong knowing, like reading at the end of a book and knowing exactly what was going to happen. And you can't change it: it is written. And so it was written upon my heart, the meaning of this vision:

Phase One: The Glowing Fires

The Lord impressed that those fires I saw were groups of people whom He would make intensely hungry for New Testament Christianity. They would start reading their Bibles and saying, for instance, as they read the book of Acts, 'Well, where is this happy church? Where are these people so full of the power of the Holy Spirit? Where are these miracles? Where is this growth, this vitality, this courage, this boldness that these people had? Is that for today – can we have it today? Should the church be this way?'

And as these questions were being planted in their hearts, the Lord Jesus said He would make them very hungry for the Holy Spirit; He would fill them with the Holy Spirit, and out of those gifts would flow ministries that would enrich the Body of Christ. The whole concept of the Body of Christ would come alive, and barriers between denominations and different types of Christians would break down as people met each other. ….He would show them the meaning of the power of the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus, the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Phase Two: The Coming of the Lightning

Then I asked the Lord, 'What does the lightning stand for?' And he said…the lightning represents a second part of the vision, in which I will bring a spiritual awakening to the nation that will be a witness to the unsaved, to the un-churched, to the non-Christian.

Through these believers I will bring a witness to this land. They will be an army of witnesses. …there will be apostolic signs following and accompanying their testimonies. …..Thousands and thousands of people are going to come into my kingdom through this army of witnesses …. My people rising up, led by My spirit and beginning to move forward with a new faith for evangelism, a new zeal to share Jesus with others. … I will release their ministries of healing and miracles, and there will be signs and wonders accompanying their ministries. So many people will be saved, in the villages as well as in the cities, in the schools, in the government, in media, in industry. It will affect the destiny of this nation; it will determine the course of the times.

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (5) - BLESSING THE PASTORS

Last night at the revival meeting we had the privilege of praying for two pastors. One of them was planting a brand-new church in Leicester, having been called with others from the Southwest of England. This is so exciting! The more life-giving churches in Leicester, the higher the water level for all the churches.

It was good to see both pastors were well blessed as we prayed for them, and we trust they will carry what they caught.

It’s a funny thing but maybe 20 or 30 years ago, churches would not even speak to each other, let alone bless other leaders. It’s a sign of the work of the Holy Spirit. In the Azusa Street revival in 1906, the white pastor of the Baptist Church, Joseph Smale, willingly worked with the black pastor of Azusa Street, William Seymour. Two different styles and backgrounds would be harder to find, but when God moves….

Here at Chroma Leicester, the revival continues. The sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit is very real. We see many ‘floored’ by the Spirit, many breaking out in exuberant worship and dance, much laughter. At the youth group last week, there was a moment where teenagers knelt at the feet of Jesus, and as soon they did, God moved powerfully. Teenagers began to weep and fall more deeply in love with Jesus, many encountering Him for the first time.

In another meeting, someone tells of experiencing the power of God for the first time, saying they felt electricity go through them. Another young man describes going into an encounter that lasted almost a day. He had to be carried home and put to bed. God was touching him so powerfully, he was shaking all through the night.

May God continue to work in revival.

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (4) - THE SMITH WIGGLESWORTH PROPHECY

We are continuing to see revival in Leicester. A continued sense of the weight of the Holy Spirit in our meetings. A lot of outworking in different ways, from holy silence to holy laughter. Someone coming in off the street into the revival meetings and giving their life to Christ. A couple travelling hundreds of miles to be in the meetings, powerfully met by the Holy Spirit. Someone who didn’t believe the revival should be called a ‘revival’ retracting their comments after visiting.

What is happening in Leicester will happen throughout the UK. I want to look at a couple of broader prophecies over our nation. One is given by Jean Darnall (a later blog), and one purportedly by the amazing healing evangelist Smith Wigglesworth.

It’s not entirely clear that the Smith Wigglesworth prophecy from 1947, just before he died, is entirely his own – so as a Church historian I have to say that. But it is very similar to other prophetic words spoken by him and accurately recorded. Despite the lack of full historic proof, I think there is enough of a record to accept it as genuine.

Here is the prophetic word:

 “During the next few decades there will be two distinct moves of the Holy Spirit across the Church in Great Britain. The first move will affect every church that is open to receive it and will be characterised by a restoration of the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The second move of the Holy Spirit will result in people leaving historic churches and planting new churches.

In the duration of each of these moves, the people who are involved will say, ‘This is the great revival.’ But the Lord says, ‘No, neither is this the great revival, but both are steps towards it.’

When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidenced in the churches something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the Word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit. When the Word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed, the world, has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and the Welsh revivals of former years. The outpouring of God’s Spirit will flow over from the United Kingdom to the mainland of Europe, and from there, will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.”

I believe we are in the days Wigglesworth speaks of. The two earlier moves in the UK can be clearly linked to the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches and the New Churches (originally House Church) movement. A restoration of the teaching on the baptism of the Spirit reflected in Pentecostalism from the early 1900s onwards and then powerfully in the 1960s/70s Charismatic movement. And a move out of historic churches into something new as seen in many new streams and church movements such as Pioneer and Newfrontiers, from the 1970s onwards.

That new church move is on the wane. Some of the pioneers are now in glory, others have passed on the movement to the next generation.

And what we are seeing now is the Word and Spirit coming together. Churches across cities are working together in ways unheard of in generations past. The reason they can do so is an emphasis on the Word and Spirit together. Churches with an emphasis on the Word and a distrust of the things said to be of the Spirit have opened up to the Holy Spirit’s work. Churches that have maybe over-emphasised the work of the Spirit in years past have found a new love for the Word and have brought it to its proper place within their meetings.

The Bible teaches end-times with persecution and with revival. Both seem to come together. In the UK, Christianity and the teaching of the Bible is under attack. But at the same time, people are far more open than ever before to the gospel. As we come out of a worldwide pandemic, many are questioning their reason for being – why they do what they do. There is a cry on their lips: ‘there must be more to life!’

As Christians we have the answer.

And as the Word and Spirit work together, we have revival in our land.

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (3)

Full meetings, lots of visitors. Many healed, including verified by doctors. Many finding faith in Christ. Young people coming forward to offer their lives to Jesus, willing to go anywhere for Him. The monthly prayer and worship meeting moved weekly (come and join us on a Tuesday evening). People reporting a Holy Spirit presence that can be felt from the car park. And chaos in the car park with so many cars. A sense of God’s presence in the meetings you can almost touch. Leaders visiting and taking back the blessing – then reporting back that what they experienced appears to have become contagious.

Here's a quote from a much earlier revival – the UK revivals of John Wesley and George Whitfield. The quote is from an attendee at a Wesley meeting in the late 1730s:

“If there be such a thing as heavenly music upon earth, I heard it there: if there be such an enjoyment, such an attainment, as heaven upon earth, numbers in that society seem to possess it. As for my own part, I do not remember my heart to have been so elevated in divine love and praise as it was there and then for many years past, if ever; and an affecting sense and savour thereof abode in my mind many weeks later.”

The description of that John Wesley meeting could well be applied to what I am experiencing at Chroma Church right now.  

The revival in Leicester continues.

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (2)

Revival has come to Leicester. Saturday afternoon, 8^th January 2022.

The details are on my last blog. In this one, I want to record some of the reasons as to ‘why Leicester’. There will be many more revivals in many more cities, but Leicester has been on God’s agenda for a long time.

Here are some of the key happenings in history and some of the main prophecies over the city of Leicester:

•           John Wesley preached from the castle grounds in 1770 and there is a plaque on the wall to this day. The local businesses were upset so they sent a man to sell fish and cry at the top of his voice. But as Wesley records in his journal, ‘he might as well have spared the pains for none took the least notice of him.’
•           A hundred or so years later, F B Meyer arrived in the city. Aside from building the magnificent Melbourne Hall, he is remembered for rescuing the poor. He stood outside the prison as prisoners were released, determined to stop them leaving with the gang members and the prostitutes. Meyer would buy them breakfast, offer them a bed for the night and find them a job. This was so successful that Leicester became known as a city of Christian businesses where former inmates worked for a decent wage and offered better products than other businesses.
•           Evan Roberts is best known for the Welsh Revival of 1904, with over 100,000 saved through his ministry. What is less known is his move to Leicester after the revival years where he walked the streets praying for God to move in the city.
•           A  1978 Fountain Trust conference in Aberystwyth was interrupted by an American prophet. He explained that many in the States had been praying for a city called Leicester and that they felt God was saying revival was on the way. They had seen a city on fire in a vision. When they checked the geography, it was Leicester.
•          Phil Bennett lived in Concord, North Carolina. In 1997 it was a surprise to hear God call him to pray for Leicester, England. But he was obedient and as a result the Watchman Prayer Wall was established. This was a simple concept – that Christians would each take one hour slots in prayer, thus ensuring the city was prayed for 24/7. The concept later took off around the world, but it started with Phil seeing Leicester in a vision and responding. Many in that first prayer wall for Leicester were from the United States and other countries around the world- all praying for a city they found hard to even pronounce!
•          In the mid-2000s, the prophet Martin Scott spoke at a Leicester meeting. He saw a picture of a twisted spine over the city and felt it needed to be straightened. He had no idea of the history of Leicester. In August 2012, the remains of King Richard III were found in a Leicester car park- the king with the crooked spine. He was given a formal burial and his remains are now enclosed in a tomb in Leicester Cathedral. The dishonour of his death was rectified – the spine was straightened.
•          On Saturday 22^nd November 2014, the prayer warrior Suzette Hattingh finished her National  Prayer School conference in Leicester. The fact that it was in Leicester was a direct intervention from God as Suzette had prayed about it. She had planned – and booked – Birmingham for the conference but felt God wanted it moved to Leicester. At the end of that final day Suzette, who had worked as the chief prayer intercessor for evangelist Reinhard Bonkke, called the pastors forward. My wife Roh and I stepped forward that evening and received a commission alongside other pastors in the city to pray in unity. The result was the Gatekeepers Pastors Prayer Group. Since that day pastors from across the city have prayed regularly for Leicester every Friday, building a unity that had not previously existed.
•           Steve and Juliet Barber arrived in the city in 2007 to start what has become Chroma Church. The church grew so rapidly, just one year later they approached Leicester City Football Club to meet in one of their function rooms. The club said it would be too expensive. Steve continued to push and promised the football club success were they to bless the church. They did, offering a much reduced rate. In May 2016, Leicester City won the English premiership at odds of 5000 to 1. It has been called a football miracle.
•          In the summer of 2019, the American Bishop, Tony Miller was coming to the end of his talk at the national Bible Week, the One Event, held at Lincoln. As he finished, he halted for a moment. “Is there anybody in the room from the city of Leicester? I don’t even know where Leicester is. I just keep hearing it in my spirit. I hear the Lord saying ‘Leicester is about to have a major visitation…. There’s an awakening coming to the city of Leicester.’”
•           In 2020, Caryn Tadeusz, a student with Mission24, had a picture:  “Last night I saw a picture I felt was from the Lord - fish, many fish, followed by a map of the UK with no name places but a red dot in the middle of England. I asked the Lord for a place name but nothing. I guessed Birmingham or Manchester- my geography is terrible, sorry. But no confirmation. So I looked on a map this morning and Leicester looks like the place. When I saw it my spirit stirred and excitement rose up. “

These are just some of the prophetic words over Leicester. Revival has come. Prophecy is being fulfilled.

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER

On Saturday, revival came to Leicester.

I’m a bit of a Christian History geek and have studied revival most of my Christian life. And I’ve been fortunate enough to experience revival out in Argentina. So what I saw and experienced on Saturday at Chroma Church Leicester was, I think, the real deal.

The event was a leaders gathering of around 300 leaders from around the UK, starting the year off with a time to worship, prayer and of encouraging each other. Led by Steve & Juliet Barber and Paul & Sue Manwaring, the two days together were precious. More than that. On Saturday afternoon God came.

I know the theological arguments that God never leaves, but there was a time on Saturday afternoon, 8^th January 2022, when His presence was so thick in the atmosphere, it was hard to stand. It was impossible to stop worshipping. We were in His presence. There were angels in the room. Time became unimportant.

The weekend was not particularly a time for healing, but God healed anyway. 25 confirmed bodily healings and probably many more, some just happening as we worshipped.

Saturday afternoon saw a number of young women spontaneously take the stage and pray and prophesy over the leaders. Generations together meeting Him, receiving His mandate for the year ahead.

Revival is always accompanied by prayer, so it is no surprise that as preparation for this event, the church at Chroma had spent three days in prayer and fasting, with over 100 people turning up to pray each evening right at the start of the year.

Historically, revival comes at moments of crisis. None more so that now, at the end of a worldwide pandemic – something no one living has seen before.

Why Leicester? There are many revival prophecies over this city (there’s a need for a separate blog on that). It’s a city that has embraced a multicultural society in a way few other cities have, so it seems an appropriate place for a new Pentecost. In Jerusalem on that first Pentecost outpouring, there were people from ‘every nation under heaven’ (Acts 2:5). And so for Leicester. The BBC calls it the ‘most ethnically diverse’ city in the region, with well over 50% non-white residents.  Pretty much in the centre of the country geographically, Leicester has become a hot spot for the work of the Holy Spirit.

Revival has come to Leicester.

The Step Back

I’m not particularly pro-royalty. But I’m not a republican either.

Some of the Royals get on my nerves. Others seem a little assuming of their position. But the Queen and her consort have shown how it’s done. For 73 years of marriage and 69 years of reigning.

It was in 1952 that he voluntarily took a step back. The Duke of Edinburgh could have had a glittering career. He could have turned his hand to anything. A survivor himself of war and exile, he had steel, that’s for sure.

He chose to hone that steel into a shield of protection.

With the Queen’s accession to the throne, he took a permanent step back. Always the companion, always the consort. Always there in the background. But always ready to step forward and deflect criticism, helping with the weight of serving a nation.

And to do that for the rest of his life.

At their Golden Wedding, the Queen commented:

"He is someone who doesn't take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know."

As a nation mourns today, we can be grateful for a man who showed how to serve, how to prefer others.

A life of service indeed.

The God of the Rocks on Mars

Take a look at the picture for a moment. Pick a rock and look more closely. Observe its shape, how it fits to the ground.

Now consider that as someone who lives in the 21^st century, you are looking at something no one from centuries past has been able to see. The estimated 108 billion people that lived before you never got to see that rock.

What you’re looking at, of course, is the amazing view from the latest NASA Perseverance Rover which landed on Mars earlier this month.

Those rocks on Mars have always been there since creation, waiting to be discovered. Waiting for you to look at them through the window of a space probe.

When the Bible talks of God making the heavens, it’s almost a throwaway line in Genesis. As the passage describes Him making the sun and moon, it says ‘He also made the stars’.

And not just the stars. The planets, the solar system, the fringes of space. And that rock you have chosen to look at.

God is a creative God. Just as he made the stars – and the rocks on Mars – so He made you and me. Not only that, he made a way for us to know Him. Despite our best efforts to ignore Him and do our own thing, He made us to love Him and showed His love in sending His Son, Jesus.

God, who is from eternity, was born in Palestine, lived and died a man, and created a way for us to know Him, through death on a cross. The tragic moment was also a creative moment. As Jesus rose from the dead, His enemies were defeated and even today, even in the fast tempo, know-everything 21^st century, the invitation is the same.

The God who made the rock you are looking at made you. Made you to know Him as a Father, made you to be loved and cared for as a child. He shaped you, formed you, made you. Loved you.

And still loves you.

At the same time as that rock is being viewed for the first time, each of us have faced a year when all around us became seemingly less solid than that rock. A time of contagion, of economic breakdown, of separation and loneliness.

But there is One, steadier than a rock, who still cries out: ‘Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord?  And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none besides me.’ (Isaiah 45: 21)

During this time of lockdown, with a realisation that there must be more to life, thousands have prayed a prayer for the first time, asking for forgiveness and for a new life. You can pray it too:

Lord Jesus, I know you are alive and are still changing lives today. Please change mine. Forgive me Lord for my life lived without you. I invite you in right now as my Lord and Saviour. Please come and change me. Amen.

May the God who formed you and who made the rocks on Mars be your Father too. May the God who sent His own son Jesus be your Lord. May the God who loves you be known by you.

And if you prayed that prayer, do message me and let me know.

End-Time Theology, Trump and the Church

It is a new theology of the end-times in the 1800s that is at fault. This may seem a long time ago, but in history terms, it is ‘yesterday’. The theology proposed a literal meaning to much of the final book of the Bible, Revelation, and linked it to various Old Testament prophecy to come up with a time line – different ‘dispensations’ from which we could grasp a clearer understanding of when Jesus will return for the last time.

This theology is not one that was ever seriously considered by the Early Church Fathers. And there’s a reason for that – it is riddled with assumptions, exaggerations and misunderstandings. Yet because it took off big time in the 1970s and 1980s it is still largely viewed as undeniable truth by many in the Church, especially in America- which is where it took off.

The book ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’ by Hal Lindsay has a lot to do with the recent rise of this theology, supported by a tranche of tele-evangelists, past and present, and by a set of fiction books by Tim LaHaye called the ‘Left Behind Series.’

Too many have based their Christian views of the end-times on this material with little thought to its lack of foundational truth.

I say all this, in order to make sense of the crazy politics and conspiracy theories (a topic for deeper study on another day) in America at this time.

If you believe that there is a timeline, a secret rapture and that Jesus is coming back at any minute, it negates a belief in a triumphant gospel preaching Church. It pretty much ignores all the scriptures about the Church being Christ’s body and being prepared as the bride of Christ. Instead it looks to a geographical Israel and to current world events - and then translates them into end- time dodgy ‘doctrine’.

That’s why we have Christians believing in QAnon conspiracies such as Hilary Clinton killing babies in a ritual underneath a pizza restaurant (yes really!) and there being a secret evil cult running the planet.

That’s why many Christians have made a cult hero of Donald Trump. They have forgotten that the Church is in the world but not of it. They have forgotten that Jesus came to bring a different kind of Kingdom and they have placed all their faith in a tragi-comedy President who has said the right things and done the opposite. It’s why to this day – to this hour – there continues to be multiple conspiracy theories about the election being rigged. It didn’t help that we had a load of false prophecies for the more gullible to swallow wholesale, predicting a Trump victory.

But the victory is the victory of the Church; the body of Christ. It declares the gospel; the real truth - and the Holy Spirit does the rest. Hence, it’s not to do with present day political leaders (though we are called to pray for peace and I would always encourage Christians to vote) but it is to do with the Church at work in the world.

One of the fastest growing churches in the world today is in Iran- where the church is practically banned. The most vibrant churches are often in the hardest political environments.

I’m grateful for peace and democracy, for good presidents and prime ministers, but I hold to a more orthodox view of the end times. There will be wars and rumours of wars. There will be good and bad rulers. But there will also be a triumphant Church that will herald the return of Christ, with a new heaven and earth.

And until then, let’s pray for our rulers, avoid the conspiracies and preach the gospel.

Guest Blog: There is a Time for Change

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'm concerned that in this current race crisis, many are missing the point. I've tried to write myself, but came across this from my friend Malcolm Magee. It says it better, so this time around, I'm 'blogging a blog'.

Please read and pray. To My Fellow White Folk Please Hear Me!

There is a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. Today is the day to turn the money changers tables over. 

Black Lives Matter: Four Stories

It’s June 1948. His name is Walter. 

Along with around 500 others he disembarks the SS Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks in London. There is a spring in his step. It’s been a long voyage, but a new and exciting life awaits.

As the ‘Mother Country’ we called out to Walter and his friends in the West Indies to fight in the war. He came. Then we invited them back to help rebuild the Mother Country. Walter responded again, and here he is on this cold London morning.

He’s been told where it is best to go in order to find a boarding house and still with a spring in his step, he approaches the street he’s been directed to.

As he turns the corner, all the excitement evaporates. In front of him are two boarding houses, next to each other. Both have the same sign in the window.

No Blacks. No Irish. No Dogs.

With slumped shoulders and the beginnings of what would become his familiar slouching walk, Walter carries on down the street.

The story you have just read is a composite of a number of stories told at that time.

Now let’s move to 2020. I want to introduce you to three friends.

Judith has just finished her degree. She has the world at her feet. Or she should have. It’s not quite that simple. Of Nigerian parentage, growing up Judith didn’t really see herself as ‘black’ until she got to reception class at school and people started to call her ‘Judith Pooith’.  She didn’t really understand the nickname at first until she realised that they were making fun of her skin colour. And then at twelve years old she was first told she was a  ni**er. It shocked her.

Judith faces discrimination daily. She says:

‘Did you or your parents ever have to worry about their jobs because of their skin colour? Did you or your parents have to think about what they are going to call their children because they don’t want them to be discriminated against because their name sounds “black”? Did your parents ever have to tell you that you need to work twice as hard because you will always have to prove yourself to others because of the colour of your skin? Did you never think before going into a room that "I’m going to be the only black person here"? I normally don’t talk about these things because I’m scared as to what others may say. But enough is enough. I can’t stay silent.’

Susan is a little older than Judith and already successful as a writer and business woman. She has parents of West Indian origin. Susan says:

‘Sometimes I’m accused of using the’ race card’. But what does that mean? Should I just ignore what happens to me? What about the time I had dog’s excrement thrown at me as a child while being told to go back to where I came from? I remember when I was eight years old, after many hurtful comments, asking my parents why I was born with black skin "as no one seems to like us this way". One time I bit the insides of my cheeks in order to prevent tears as others laughed because someone has printed a picture of an ape and put my name above it. More recently, having married my wonderful white Danish husband, I was asked why I didn’t date black men.

'The news has unearthed feelings I had buried. The video of George Floyd dying with knees on his back and his neck is both literal and metaphorical for what many put up with because of race.’

Angela is a young woman of Indian origin and has had her fair share of racism too. She is a bright girl from a highly educated family, but despite this has regularly been called a ‘dumb black girl’ and ‘stupid Paki’. For Angela her concern is the response to the current crisis:

‘Too many who usually have a lot to say on politics on social media are saying nothing on the injustices that are happening. They are part of the problem! Silence is betrayal. Too many don't see injustice and just see inconvenience and a challenge to their own comfort.

'We all know racists. I see their looks, I feel their prejudice. Racism is a state of heart. In the end only God can change that heart. But we can pray, set the standard of respect and love and speak out against racial injustice.’

Three People. Nigerian. West Indian. Indian. 

Four stories. One problem.

Pray. Speak out. #blacklivesmatter.