 District Evangelism Bulletins
District Evangelism Bulletins are distributed once a week (except during holidays) and contain news, information, challenges and stories from around the district | Evangelism Bulletin 138 : Photo Marathon
Published on : Tue, 1 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100
As part of Hope08, Churches Together in West Bridgford, Nottingham, have organised an event called the West Bridgford Photo Marathon. The idea came from my visit to Vienna last autumn when I took part, along with over 1,000 other photographers, in an all-day event where we had to take 24 photos on a set of themes handed to us on the day. | | Evangelism Bulletin 137 : Un-learning
Published on : Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100
Some of you will no doubt be lapping up the tennis at Wimbledon over the next couple of weeks. If you’ve ever played tennis, you can only watch and marvel at Federer, Nadal and all the ‘ovic people from Serbia. Their technique and agility is in a class of its own. But how did they learn to do that? | | Evangelism Bulletin 136 : Revival and Healing
Published on : Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100
From time to time we hear of places where revival and associated healing miracles break out in profusion. A few years ago we had the Toronto Blessing, a manifestation which surrounded the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship. Church leaders debated long and hard about its authenticity and reflected upon the division caused within the Vineyard movement as a result of this. Peculiar stories emerged about how people were given gold fillings, experienced unusually bodily actions (shaking, laughter, quaking and so forth) and this naturally put some Christians on their guard about the whole thing. However, Toronto Blessing hotspots broke out in this country too. | | Evangelism Bulletin 135 : iMatter
Published on : Mon, 2 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100
iMatter is a beautifully filmed DVD designed to explore issues of hopes, dreams and aspirations. Several real-life stories are weaved together from the perspectives of those with faith and those who are still search¬ing. A short animated film featuring 'Jack' working on a production line raises questions on the value and purpose of our lives while an interview with artist Charlie Mackesy gives a stunning conclusion to the production. Each of the stories is also provided separately. | | Evangelism Bulletin 133 : Ordinary Day at the Office
Published on : Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100
I sometimes wonder if I am guilty of over-glamourising the Bible when I read it. When I read accounts from the Gospels, I wonder whether I see them as so detached from my everyday experience that I miss the significance of them for my own life. When Jesus called his first disciples, was there a magic ingredient in the air which compelled them to ‘down-tools’ and follow or was it more mundane and gradual than that? | | Evangelism Bulletin 132 : Being Yourself
Published on : Thu, 8 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100
I really enjoy a good game of squash, even though I’m not particularly good at the game. A few years ago, I bought a video featuring the former world number 1 player, Jhanghir Khan. He glides around the court with such poise and control and, with a flick of the wrist, projects the ball to exacltly the place he wants it to go. With feline nimbleness he is able to reach into every corner of the court and still return to the centre, ready for the next shot. | | Evangelism Bulletin 130 : In God we Trust
Published on : Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100
If, like us, you go overseas for a holiday, then you get a chance to see the news through a different set of eyes than BBC1. We had the pleasure of CNN and the BBC World Service. I was particularly taken by the coverage of the Presidential Elections in the USA which is now a battle between the Republican, John McCain and the two Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama. | | Evangelism Bulletin 129 : Nothing happened?
Published on : Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000
If you ever go to Lee Abbey, the retreat centre in Devon, you may see this sign in an adjacent field. I’ve no idea who put the sign there and no idea what they were expecting should happen – but whatever it was, it didn’t! | | Evangelism Bulletin 128 : Weighing the Evidence
Published on : Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000
Today is Palm Sunday and the first instalment of the new BBC TV drama “The Passion” has been shown on prime-time TV. Millions of people across the nation will have seen this episode. Two thousand years ago, crowds of people watched as Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. Different people in the crowd would have had different views as to what they made of Jesus as He made his dramatic entry into the town of his crucifixion. No doubt the same mixed feelings would have been expressed by today’s TV audiences. | | Evangelism Bulletin 126 : And the winner is …
Published on : Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000
No doubt you have watched one of those TV programmes like 'Strictly Come Dancing' where, after the contestants have performed their act, the winners are announced. It has become the norm for the presenter to say those immortal words, “And the winner is …”. This is followed by a seemingly eternal silence, just as long as the shaking during last night’s earthquake, after which they announce the name of the winner. If you’re anything like me you’re saying to yourself during the silence, “Oh, get on with it”. | | Evangelism Bulletin 125 : All I once held dear
Published on : Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000
God said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). When the first disciples were called by Jesus to be His followers, they had to leave behind their fishing boats and nets in order to become ‘fishers of men’ (Matthew 4:19). It seems to me that Christians in the UK are being called to let go of things they once held dear in order to become effective followers of Jesus. Here are just some of the notions we, as church people need to let go of:- | | Evangelism Bulletin 122 : Did Jesus have a diary?
Published on : Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000
When we started back to work in the new year, no doubt many of us were grateful to Santa for having brought us a crisp, new diary with absolutely nothing written on any page. How wonderful it would be to keep it that way but sadly most of us will have bombarded the pages with many entries already. | | Evangelism Bulletin 118 : The Overhead Projector
Published on : Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000
I was leading a service many years ago in a Methodist chapel not far from here and I was preaching on how we percieve God in the Old Testament. I had with me a group of people who were helping with the service and they had brought an Overhead Projector (OHP) – the sort of thing we used before Powerpoint took over the world. | | Evangelism Bulletin 113 : Getting out more
Published on : Sat, 6 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Have you ever been in the situation where you’re sharing with a friend about how stale life has become and how the enjoyment has gone out of your life? Usually the advice we receive in situations like this is, “Well, you ought to get out more!” For some people, the same applies to their church life. They find themselves in a rut and their Christian life and Sunday worship have lost their sparkle. | | Evangelism Bulletin 112 : Measure your Effectiveness
Published on : Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0100
A few weeks ago I was asked to attend the Missions Committee of a church in the district to help them move forward in their ministry. In order to help people focus on the subject, I asked them to discuss in pairs the question, ‘How do you measure the effectiveness of a church?’ This led to a vibrant discussion and made people reflect upon what is most important about their life and witness. | | Evangelism Bulletin 111 : The Heartbeat of the Spirit
Published on : Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0100
I didn’t take kindly to be awoken at 5:45 am by my PDA’s alarm but it was necessary for the journey I was about to make. So after swiftly getting dressed, I climbed into my car and drove to a prayer meeting at Melbourne Methodist Church which takes place each Wednesday morning at 6:30am. It’s only a small gathering but it has been meeting faithfully for some years to pray about church and circuit, people and events. My reason for going was to add to the prayers for the November 3rd Fresh Expressions Vision Day which they are hosting. | | Evangelism Bulletin 110 : Nothing to prove?
Published on : Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0100
We have just returned from a brief holiday in Vienna visiting our son, Andrew who lives and works there. This visit, however was different because Andrew had entered me into the Vienna Fotomarathon along with himself and nearly 1,000 other budding and not so budding photographers. In the morning they give you a list of 24 themes and you have to go around Vienna taking one photo per theme in the order they appear on the list. After 12 hours you must submit your photos and the judges will decide the winners. As we walked into the Rathaus (Town Hall) courtyard at the start of the day, I was somewhat overawed whereas Andrew walked in with an air of confidence and the sense that he had nothing to prove. | | Evangelism Bulletin 109 : Dealing with Doubt
Published on : Sat, 8 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Scarcely a month goes by without a story of a high-profile Christian figure hitting the media headlines for what might seem to be the wrong reasons. I remember the excitement over Glen Hoddle, the former England Football Manager who professed to being a Christian and then a little while afterwards he was sacked because he expressed views which reflected his belief in reincarnation, offending people with disabilities and alienating himself from the Christian community in the process. After that we had the story of Jonathan Edwards, the world triple jump champion and former presenter of Songs of Praise who has now moved away from the church. As if all this isn’t bad enough, we now have a book being published which features life-long faith struggles of the late Mother Teresa (<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2321124.ece" target=new>click here</a>). | | Evangelism Bulletin 108 : Hebridean Revival
Published on : Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Well, we are back from our short break on the Outer Hebrides, somewhat tanned, somewhat tired after the 2,000 mile drive but deeply impressed by the sheer beauty, remoteness and tranquillity of the islands of Skye, Lewis and Harris. One thing which stood out for me was the way in which church life is so dominant in these parts of Scotland. I am reliably informed by my Scottish colleagues that church attendance in Scotland generally is much higher than in England. | | Evangelism Bulletin 106 : Close up or heads up
Published on : Mon, 6 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Having worked for a number of American companies in the past, I tend to get irritated by the way in which ‘americanisms’ creep into our every day vocabulary. Not only did I find that many senior people who travelled regularly over to the USA would develop a ‘mid-Atlantic’ twang (half English and half American) but that they would bring back with them a host of words or phrases which have now supplemented our own language. However, one such phrase which I actually like is the term ‘heads up’. | | Evangelism Bulletin 101 : Great Expectations
Published on : Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Friends of ours had a new born baby the other day. I went up to them and said, “in five years time I expect this baby to be fully mature with GCSEs and A levels under his belt plus a degree and be ready to start his first job”. Well, this is of course untrue, but if it had been true, my friends would rightly have referred me to the psychiatric ward. | | Evangelism Bulletin 100 : Jesus and the Mobile Pulpit
Published on : Tue, 12 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0100
When we read the Gospels, we can be excused for supposing that when Jesus toured around his home region of Galilee and then to Jerusalem, that he carried with him a mobile pulpit. In other words, when he addressed the large crowds he would take out His mobile pulpit, climb its steps, and start to preach, just like we do in church today, to the crowds which followed Him around. | | Evangelism Bulletin 99 : Theological Dyslexia
Published on : Wed, 30 May 2007 00:00:00 +0100
I was listening this morning to the BBC news and was grabbed by the article on dyslexia. Some people have suggested that there is no such thing, but this was strongly refuted by one of the interviewees. His defence was that when a person struggles with dyslexia, before they discover they have it, they doubt their own ability and think that they are stupid when, in reality, they are quite bright. Once they discover that the problem is dyslexia, a great weight is lifted from them. Today we know how to deal with this condition. | | Evangelism Bulletin 97 : Church of the Headless Chicken
Published on : Fri, 18 May 2007 00:00:00 +0100
Matthew’s Gospel concludes with what we have come to know as ‘The Great Commission’. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20). | | Evangelism Bulletin 89 : Needless Alley
Published on : Mon, 5 Mar 2007 00:00:00 +0000
I crossed over the road from Birmingham Cathedral where we had just met for a gathering of Midland Missioners – a most inspiring and fruitful time. On the other side of the road was an alley way leading off towards New Street station. Its name was "Needless Alley". | | Evangelism Bulletin 48 : Café (Style) Church
Published on : Thu, 9 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0000
Many Christians today are really taken with the idea of Café Church. The thought of this relaxed approach to worship seems to be drawing people into a new experience. But there is a difference between Café Church and Café-Style Church. | | Evangelism Bulletin 44 : Revenons à nos moutons
Published on : Fri, 10 Feb 2006 00:00:00 +0000
Imagine for a moment that one of the junior staff working at Marks and Spencer went to the board of directors and said, “I want to start a new initiative by opening a Marks and Spencer stall on Sneinton market. It’s where the ordinary people do their shopping and we don’t attract these people into our big, expensive stores.” Can you imagine the reaction of the directors? “But it won’t be M&S as we know it”, “It will cheapen our brand name”, “How will it make a profit?” and of course, “Where will people try things on?” | |
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