shoes and sean

I'm always looking for the thing that will start an unexpected conversation and wait to see where God will take that conversation.  Today (as often happens when I wear them) it was my shoes.  I know; they're a little unconventional and yes; I do have another pair just like them.

I had escaped from the conference I'm at in Orlando, to a coffee shop for a hour and was just just getting a refill when Sean (who worked there) noticed my shoes and found them (again, as often happens) rather amusing.  We got chatting about my accent and the Jubilee ("Me? yes; of course I know the Queen!") and Sean's longing to visit the UK. When I asked him if he was from Orlando, the conversation started to take its course.

Sean was brought up in Brooklyn, back when you didn't want to be brought up in Brooklyn and then moved to what sounded like an equally interesting part of San Francisco. He drifted through teenage life and into the inevitable path of drinking and drugs and the lifestyle that that often leads to.

Then he described (in a way that brought the parable of the Prodigal Son to my mind) how one day, when things couldn't get much worse he "came to his senses".  Coincidentally (!!); that was the day he happened to meet a community worker from a local church who told him about Jesus.  We sometimes use the word "saved" in a purely spiritual sense, but Sean articulated how Jesus saved him from the path that he was on in this life as well as the next.

He didn't know why.

Helping folk figure out the purposes that God has for them is something I'm always keen to get involved with.  The verse that came to mind was from Matthew 5:

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Sean is a lovely, smiling, helpful guy.  His light was shining in a way that he didn't even recognise.  It certainly couldn't be hidden in that little coffee shop in Orlando.  We talked about how his light had already had an impact on me this afternoon and undoubtedly on others.  We couldn't talk for long, but starting to explore how people might "give glory to your Father who is in heaven" as a result of seeing Sean's good works was exciting for both of us.

How about you?  How's your light doing?  Who's getting the glory?

If you're the praying sort, do pray for Sean.  Thanks.

the delayed gratification of youth work

 It's often said that youth work is a thankless task.  I don't agree.   It just seems like it some days.   And then there are other days when you get a Facebook message like this and all the "why do I bother" questions fall into place:

Hi Paul.
Hope you and your family are well!
Do you still reside in the UK or are you now jet setting around the globe?
If you are still here in Birmingham, would you be free at some point for a catch up/chat?
I have had quite a few problems recently (mostly sorted now) that seem to have subsided since i started thinking about faith and what you taught me all those years ago.
Sorry to contact you out of the blue!
Again, i hope you and yours are well.

Thanks, Bob

I'm going to try and get together with Bob (no; of course that's not his real name!) before Christmas.

3 gatherings

The first part of this term has been rather monopolised (certainly in brain power) by 3 gatherings around the world. Previously, this would have involved a lot of aeroplanes, but in this new era of life and ministry that Lesley and I are in, I only showed up to one of these three. 

 The first (and the one I actually went to) was a gathering of all the leadership development and human resources leaders from each of our 13 areas (groups of countries) around the world to plan together and train in some of our key strategies that will move us forward as a global organisation, seeing "spiritual movements everywhere so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus". I count it as such a privilege to help lead and learn alongside these leaders.  If you are into prayer, please do pick one of these folk and pray for them: Leeboy, Ben, Angela, Jose, Joyce, Edouard, Austin, Barb, Doug, Ruth, Dave, Steve, Marc.  (If you email me, I can probably let you know where they are serving as well!)  The ministry of developing leaders and caring for staff is always a tricky one and has such wildly different challenges: physical hardship in Africa, persecution in Asia, legal complexities in the west - the challenges are different, but the unity in commitment to God and the gospel is wonderfully similar. 

The second gathering was round 2 of the "Centre of Excellence" training that was first held in Singapore last year.  I rather view this as "my baby", so it was the hardest thing not to be there with my team this year.  However; the philosophy behind the "C of E" was always to leverage the strengths of a national Human Resources department (Singapore, in this case) in order for them (rather than me and my team) to share their experience with the world.  It was over-subscribed again, but the Singapore team did a fantastic job in helping to equip leaders, mainly from the Asian patch, with a few Europeans and others thrown in for good measure.  The feedback from the participants was really encouraging: 

• “You did a great job! You all put a lot of heart and passion into this training. Thank you!”
• “I enjoyed the exposure to many great resources and wisdom from Singapore and around the world.”
• “Very inspiring”
• “This was the most excellent program that I have been involved in.” 

My thanks not just to my team but to Chee Yee, Wilson, Martha, Tjoh Dju, and the rest of the Singapore team that made it happen. 

The third and final gathering was arranged by Eduard (one of the 13 above), the Area leader for Francophone Africa.  It was the first training in staff care and development that the area had ever had and Edouard had just appointed leaders in each of their larger countries to carry the work forward.  They were new and eager to learn.  I worked with Edouard and John (on my team in the USA) to plan out the training and then John and a good (French speaking) friend of mine, Maggie, went and delivered the training.  This training has only just finished, so I’m still waiting to hear all the stories, but our prayer for them and for French-speaking Africa, as well as the rest of the world, though the other 2 gatherings is the same:  That more people will hear about Jesus for themselves, as a result of better trained and well cared for staff in their countries.

Kalevi

The first European director of Agape died earlier in the summer.  In our first years with Agapé (and for Lesley, even before), Kalevi Lehtinen taught us more about God's grace than anyone before or since.  He was a legend in his home country of Finland, but his impact for God's kingdom was global.  He often described his job description as an "Authorised Distributor of Joy"; a role he excelled in.

If you want to find out more, spend 4 minutes watching how he described his place on planet earth, ahead of the eternity he has now reached.  The clip is on youtube.

Lesley had the privilege of speaking at his memorial service in Finland.  As it was televised, you can see the service on TV7's site and in case you don't want to wade through it all, skip to 1:04 into it.

commissioned

August 20th saw the official commissioning of Agapé UK's 4th National Director.  Pictured here (in order from right to left) are John Arkell, David Wilson, Andy Atkins and now the latest addition to this rather awesome (and sightly intimidating) line-up is Lesley who has just officially been appointed to lead the UK ministry.

Lesley was commissioned at a celebration event themed "Reckless Love for a Reckless Nation".  It was the mission and vision for Agapé in this next stage of ministry, but taking place only days after the UK had experienced a wave of riots, the theme took on a new sense of urgency.

Lesley spoke about God's desire to heal our nation and bring people back to him and the of the role Agapé has to play in this.

As part of the celebration, our whole family were prayed for by our leaders and other folk that are very dear to us (and yes; Joel will grow into that shirt!)

As well as having so many good friends form around the UK, we were privileged to be joined by friends and collegues from around the world that have been part of this journey and encouraged Lesley greatly as she took on this role.  Pictured here (left to right) are Andrea (Paul's boss and Vice President for Leadership Development and HR), Judy (our Global President's wife) and Deb, Lesley's good friend and mentor.

It was a great event.  thanks so much to al those that showed up, sent greetings and were praying for us on the day and since then.  We feel very honoured to be surrounded by such love and concern.  Thanks.

The Roller-Coaster

OK; This is a bit of a cheat. I've just read this update from a friend of mine whose wife died about 8 months ago. As someone who experiences the emotional spectrum myself, it struck me in such a way that I just needed to tell someone, and you came straight to mind. Take from it what you will, but I'm hoping it might be helpful.

I know you may not be a follower of Jesus yourself, but have a read and a ponder anyway. You never know...

"I rode the "Manta" roller coaster at Seaworld recently. It went up, down, around, twisting us upside down and backwards multiple times. Emotionally that's how life has been the past 2 weeks (I've pretty well experienced the whole gamut of emotions while feeling I was being turned upside down and all around). This morning has been down, but earlier in the week I was up.

It occurred to me that how I feel and reality do not always correspond exactly. My emotions reflect aspects of my reality but don't necessarily reflect all of it. It's important for me to identify what I'm feeling, locate it's source and own it. They are after all my feelings. Nobody gave me a happy pill or a sad pill (I know that doctors can do that but let's not go there).

Ephesians 4:17 talks about how the unbelievers walk in the futility of their minds. That word futile jumped out at me and I looked it up: "Futile: incapable of producing any useful result." That really caught my attention because I started thinking about the downward, negative spiral my thinking and emotions sometimes goes on. How do you get off that roller coaster? I'm learning that self-pity, self-focus, self-indulgence are not the path to the exit! Rather my mind needs major renovation. Open up the windows of my mind and let in the light. Let Jesus shine in the darkness, gaze at Him and what he has done and what He says is true (Philippians 4:8-9) and right perspective returns. I think that is what Ephesians 4:20-24 is saying. Put off the twisting, upside down thinking and put on a new way of thinking by anchoring your line of sight on the one who created you and redeemed you. Thinking on these things, reflecting on what Jesus is saying through Paul here has already begun lifting me to higher ground. Lord, thank you for your presence, comfort, light and guiding hand.

I love riding roller coasters at theme parks, but I need to recognise the place to get off the emotional roller coasters of life and walk entrusting today to Him who loves and leads me faithfully forward. I wonder if you've been on any roller coasters in life lately? How did you get off?"

Unlike my friend, I have nothing to be self-pitying about, but still I choose to go there sometimes and allow myself to hang around in that futility. I'm praying that if this applies to you right now, you'll begin (or continue) to have your mind renewed and that you'll find a way through.

Tron's Legacy

I know it has quite a niche audience (so you may want to give up reading now) but my brother and I have been waiting for the sequel to "Tron" for quite a while (i know, we're both geeks). Tron is the 1980's movie of a computer programmer who finds himself inside his own computer game and having to fight for his way out. The "30-years-later" sequel is the tale of his son. I watched it (again) yesterday and ended up chatting about it to a guy called Mike, waiting in a never-ending security line at Orlando airport this morning.

Mike had seen the original and, after doing our comparisons, Mike mentioned the "spiritual" agenda in the movie. He'd dabbled with meditation and was interested to see the "Buddhist influence" in the movie. I'd not really noticed it until we started chatting, but I replied I was intrigued by the Christian analogy. The essence of the sequel is about the Creator's son entering into the created (virtual) world and becoming like one of the inhabitants - the programmes. Despite being known as the creator's son, he was mis-treated, hated and plans were made to kill him. All this because the ruler of that world had aspirations and wanted to be like the creator. Sounding familiar? It has a bit of a twist at the end (warning: spoiler coming if you haven't seen the movie and might want to!!) as the father sacrifices himself to save both his son and, in a way, his creation.

It wasn't quite as clear and complete as that when I was chatting to Mike and disappointingly just as I was getting to the "so where are you on this spiritual journey?" question, the good security folks got a surge of energy and we parted company. I miss my days in youth and schools work when it was part of my job description to spot this stuff and weave it into conversations in youth clubs but I do love it when the opportunity pops up anyway.

I have no idea where Mike is at or where he is heading but do pray he gets to his destination.

Forgive

I often talk to folk about my faith: what and why I believe, but I realised this week, it can often be in quite a detached way. I'm in my comfort zone when the territory is philosophical discussion or wrestling with theology, but how often does my faith-sharing get person? REALLY personal? I'm not just talking about telling my own story of faith, but being in a conversation that costs me something more than a just bit of my time? I was listening to Tom, our Philippines director tell some of his story this week and it challenged me more than I've felt in a while.

Tom's family in the Philippines had been caught in an increasingly violent battle with another family. It escalated to the point where the other family had hired someone to kill Tom's brother. Tragically, he succeeded. The "hired gun" managed to escape and it was thought he may not be caught until he was eventually arrested on unrelated charges and the truth was discovered. To me; that's where it feels like the story should end: murderer caught and arrested. Justice accomplished. But Tom didn't see it that way. He went to visit the man in jail. Here's where the story takes a twist. A twist that if I didn't know Tom or other people that can vouch for it, I don' think I'd believe.

Tom doesn't go to gloat or get angry. He doesn't even go as the "victim" to make the man see what he has done. He goes anonymously to talk to the man about sin and a Saviour. The guards (who all know who he is) let him in and (I imagine) stand back to watch the encounter. But Tom (with what I can only imagine are about as mixed-up emotions as you can get) goes and speaks gently to the man, asking him about why he is jail and what he has done. The man is utterly remorseful and repentant for all he has done, as he tells Tom about the man he murdered. Tom responds by telling him of a Man who can help with that and there in the jail introduces him to his best friend, Jesus.

I wish I could tell you exactly how the story ends, but I was so overwhelmed by this point that I wasn't listening too well. I know the guards told the man who Tom was in the end and not only did Tom have an opportunity to 'forgive on earth what was forgiven in heaven', but it paved the way for the families to be restored to one another also.

That is what it looks like for faith to be costly. To really love like Jesus did. To lay down rights for the sake of God's priorities. I've talked to people about all these things in the past and even liked to think I'd experienced them, but my perspective on reality just shifted. When I was doing Schools' work we often used to do assemblies with some rather pushy or trite analogy that finished off with "that's a bit like Jesus...". With Tom, you just have to say: "that's a LOT like Jesus".

Alex

I've mentioned Alex before. He was the reason (well; sort of) for my obituary I wrote a few months back. I also talked about him in our newsletter if you get that (You should; it's great when we get round to writing one). I have been coaching Alex on a course organised by Agapé's Workplace Initiative, looking at the "Habits of the Heart" - our deepest connections and convictions. It's a great course, but I'm not always a great coach.

My role was to walk Alex through some areas of growth and development that we'd identified, but all this dabbling around in the inner self tends to lead to talking about the spiritual dimension. This is the reason Alex and I ended up in Starbucks talking about prayer for three hours instead of our 'official' coaching appointment (writing a life map for one hour).

I really like Alex. He's a deep thinker and I was happily pummeled with questions I've never even considered asking before. I'd be delighted to tell you the tales of that conversation next time we see each other. We did, however, leave on the note that Alex was really interested in becoming a Christian....he just didn't quite believe in God, which, you have to admit is a bit of a hurdle in the whole "being a Christian" thing.

We chatted and texted a few times over the next few weeks, but didn't manage to actually arrange to see each other until we were due at the next 'Habits of the Heart' group session. The session was the final one of the course and each participant had to give a 5 minute presentation on a personal issue related to the course. It was because I had our last conversation in my mind that it completely blew my socks off to find out that Alex's chosen topic for his presentation was titled "My recent conversion to Christianity".

We met up a couple of days ago to talk through this spiritual leap he'd taken, which in his mind was no leap at all, but just a quiet recognition of what God had been doing in his life. Over quite a while, as it happens. It started when he was 11 yrs old with a friend's father chatting to him in McDonalds about who was in the 'driving seat' of his life and ended (or started for real?) with a drive down the M6 when it 'all seemed to come together'.

There are many things that bring joy in life, but seeing someone take this step into a full-on relationship with God is just the best thing in the world.

A Tale of Two Weekends

The last 2 weekends have been a reminiscing rollercoaster. One we’d been looking forward to for months, one you wish you never have to face.

The first was a reunion of our youth group we led in Whitley Bay 20 years ago. It was fantastic with most of our core crew showing up.

The afternoon was filled with tales of children and parents, houses and moves, successes and sadnesses and re-telling the tales of days gone by when we were slimmer and had more hair (to be fair, that was mainly me, actually). It was also that scary mix of tales that I’d happily forgotten over the years, coming back to haunt with photographic evidence (and in one notorious case of me starring in the production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat, video evidence!)

This place was where Lesley and I ‘cut our teeth’ in ministry and youth work. We made our best mistakes with that group and (in the days before health and safety really kicked in) had some of our most reckless fun. For many that had allowed grown-up-hood to creep up on them it was a very warm reminder of the way life was and should be.

Spiritually, the end of our time in Whitley Bay had been a sadness that has lived with me for years, as we saw many of that group strong in faith, gradually drift away or dramatically run from God after we left. But 15 years sometimes makes a lot of difference in eternity, and hearing the tales of those that had found their way back again, warmed the heart more than anything else. There’s still more to go. Do pray for the prodigals.

The second weekend was the memorial service of a friend of ours, a peer from Lesley’s Church youth group, who was killed in a car crash last month. After many years of loosing touch, we had just reconnected with Stephen at his brother’s wedding in the summer, only to be tragically disconnected from him last month until we meet him again one day.

Although the circumstances and primary emotions were completely opposite, the experience was remarkably similar. Familiar, but older faces, stories and recollections being shared for the first time in years. It was a gathering of the scattered Clan coming back together to mourn and celebrate. It was highly significant to hold it on Remembrance Day. Stephen was a passionate history teacher with a special fondness for the war years, so coming together to remember him on this Remembrance Day was very special.

I am very thankful to God for these people he has put in our lives. Looking back on who we have become over the years has reminded me again how much God has used these people to shape that journey and shape me. I find myself unusually overwhelmed by God’s grace in the quality of people he has surrounded me with over the years. It’s a funny thing to forget how much you miss someone until you see them.

3 Books

This summer was an active one, even for me: 5 weeks, 3 continents, 9 beds, 11 aeroplanes. I do a lot of reading when I’m flying, but its actually other people’s reading that has impacted me over the summer (admittedly, a while ago now!). I thought I'd tell you about 3 of the books being read by folk I met in planes.

The first book I came across was as I was loitering at the back of a Boeing 777, hoping to grab a coffee (nice, drinkable coffee was clearly beyond my expectations, but something warm and brown). The book was "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren and was being waved fairly animatedly by one cabin crewmember at another. Seeing as they were clearly not about to get up and get me a coffee, I thought I'd gatecrash the conversation. Crewmember A was telling crewmember B how the book had transformed her life, which is not the kind of superlatives you normally hear from a Brit when describing a book. I'd read the book a few years back and remembered a few chunks of it that I liked (a couple of which I even managed to find!). I never did get my coffee, but about 15 minutes later crewmember A had secured a promise from B to take the book and read it.


The second book to grab my attention was being read by a seat 7b occupant (see June 19th) and was titled “Buddhism: plain and simple”. I got chatting to the woman who turned out to live a few miles from me in Birmingham. We meandered our way onto talking about faith and she told me she was Catholic. I remarked that her book intrigued me and she started to explain how she was thinking that Buddhism might be a great way for her to find peace. I asked how that fitted with her Catholicism and whether Jesus, the prince of Peace, might be another route here. She was truly surprised, as she’d never considered her Christian faith to be capable of such things (or that their might be inconsistencies in bolting-on Buddhism to it). Although I’m no Buddhism expert, we had a great chat about the peace I have found.



My third book was being read by a 6ft 10 pro-basketball player en-route from Texas to Germany (do they play basketball in Germany??). It was “the Shack” (if you’ve not read it, you’re a rarity and a dying breed). I risked the question “who bought it for you?” (statistically 8 out of 10 copies of ‘the shack’ have been bought, often in bulk, to give to someone else or to strategically leave in coffee shops). His surprised look revealed I’d hit the mark. He’d been given it by a mentor who had been a friend of the family since childhood. This man had taken him to church when he was a child but he had since drifted away, never really having come to faith. Without spoiling the book, we talked about his perceptions of God and Jesus, his disappointments in life and how God meets us in these circumstances. Although he wasn’t ready to throw his all in with God there and then, he was on the journey. I prayed for him there and then and would love it if you joined in the fun, for all three of my new friends. Thanks.

The Big Five

It was certainly unexpected, but we ended up in Namibia and South Africa as a family this summer. In one of those bizarre Agape-lifestyle situations, we couldn’t afford a proper holiday, so we go to Africa instead! (the joy of collecting air-miles!)

Many folk go to South Africa and Namibia to see “the big 5” – a (seemingly variable) group of animals that used to be sought out for hunting, but now most of the shooting is done through long-lensed cameras. We, however, were there for a different “big 5” reasons.

1) Agape UK sent out some staff to live in Namibia last year, and Lesley had the privilege of paying them a visit 8 months in, to see how they were getting along. Geoff and Caroline are good friends of ours and although it was a ‘work’ visit it was such a joy to base ourselves from their home for the 3 weeks we were there, and share a bit of their lives. They’re having a great time and a great ministry and we loved being with them.

2) We timed the visit to coincide with a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Namibian ministry. As Agape UK staff members (a couple now back on Lesley’s team) established the work in Namibia it was very special to be representing the UK at the celebration week.

3) Paul needed to visit the South African ministry (South Africa is next door to Namibia if you’re still trying to place it!) to help them evaluate and asses some of their work. The ministry have had a tough time over the past few years and as is often is the case, Paul’s role ended up being more of a listening ear than anything else. If you’re the praying type, do ask God to heal and restore and cause the ministry to thrive amidst a turbulent social and political situation.

4) Our regional office for Southern and Eastern Africa is also in Pretoria and as there is a transition of leadership in Human Resources, Paul wanted to meet up with the out-going leader to de-brief and plan some of the transition. Like many places in the world, leaders are hard to come by for this vital role and it will be a while before we find a permanent solution.

5) the last of our ‘big 5’ reasons was for Paul to meet with the HR leader in Namibia to give a bit of training. This didn’t happen. Niina and her husband had been considering adopting a child for a while, but hadn’t taken any decisive steps forward in it. However, the Friday before Paul and Niina were to meet up, she ‘bumped into’ someone she knew form the adoption agency who asked her to fill in the adoption papers and bring them into the office on Monday as they had a baby she just knew would be perfect for them. They took them in Monday morning and by midday, the baby was in their arms and on her way home with them, amidst the chaos of getting everything you need for a new baby. (I’d love to tell you the complete story when I see you next!). This has to rank as my favourite reason ever for cancelling a training day!

We did get to do the sights (and some of the other big 5) for a few days whilst we were there, which was so much fun (If you’re friends with Charis on Facebook, I’m sure you’ve seen the photos!) A few years ago, we never would have dreamed of some of the situations we would find ourselves in but are so grateful for these surprising things we find ourselves doing!

seat 7b

Paul: People often ask me how they can pray for me. I always need wisdom and feel like lack it most of the time, so that's always near the top of the list. Safety for the family as I travel also ranks pretty high, but when it comes to opportunities to bless other people, I always get folk to pray for whoever is sitting in seat 7b on flight CO26/27 to and from Birmingham when I'm making my usual trip to the US.

I always (to a point that borders on obsession) sit in seat 7a (good legroom, window, quick exit), so whoever is in 7b will be stuck with me for at least 7 hours, so i always pray I'll have an opportunity to bless them in some way as we travel together. I thought I'd tell you about the 7b-ers on my flights last week.

On my way out, I was sat next to Derek, who writes course materials for university distance learning. I really wish I'd listened more closely when he told me his subject as my lack of attention (and knowledge of high-tech / engineering type things) meant I was lost in the conversation for the next hour. I don't think Derek noticed. We moved from talking about his work to mine and (inevitably) onto faith. Derek was a very cynical atheist. I never cease to be surprised that conversations like this start off in the scientific realm, but often the cynicism and emotion come from the more relational issues about "christians" they have met. It was no Damascus road experience (blinding flashes are rarely welcomed at 37,000 feet, I suppose) but by the time we landed in Newark, Derek had changed just a little. Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 5 always ring loud in my head during conversations like this. If we are ambassadors in the "ministry of reconciliation" that we've been called to, then our words, actions and interactions have the power to either bring a person closer or further away to that reconciliation. Please pray for Derek, that he bumps into more people that will take him further on his journey of reconciliation.

On my way home, Maria was sitting in 7b. When I told her who I worked for, she said "oh, I've supported them before". That was a first. As we got talking I found out that she went to church but wasn't "one of those born again Christians". However, her nephew was and had been involved with our organisation at a US university and had gone on a project to Russia with us a couple of years ago and Marie had sponsored him. I asked her what the difference was between her and her nephew's faith. She explained it was all a matter of priority. I think she had it pretty spot-on. We chatted quite a bit about priorities and what was important in life: relationships rather than things, home rather than work and little of the eternal rather than the temporary. She concluded her nephews priorities might be worth another look at.

Quo Vadis?

Dear Friends

I have just returned from a great week in Rome where I was helping to lead the training & development of emerging European leaders.  (You may remember that last September I was with these people in Ethiopia.)  

I was struck afresh by the wonderful quality of people on this course not the least shown by the love they have for Jesus, one another and the people of Europe who don't yet know Jesus and their commitment to taking Jesus to these people whatever it takes. It was humbling to be in the city of Rome where countless Christians in history have devoted their lives, both in life & death, to making Jesus known.  

Our time together was finished in a very old little chapel just outside the city walls where allegedly St Peter, who was fleeing the city for his life, met Jesus going the other way.  Peter asked Jesus 'Domine, Quo Vadis?' - 'Lord, Where are you going?' and Jesus replied that he was going to Rome because Peter was leaving.  Peter responded by immediately returning to Rome where he was to eventually give his life as a martyr.  

As we sat in the chapel and considered Peter's alleged encounter with Jesus we were profoundly struck by this question for ourselves.  Quo Vadis?  Where are we going?  Will we go back to the cities of Europe we have come from with the commitment to making Jesus known even though it is hard and fruit is often scarce? We each responded, many through tears.  

So, now I find myself back in Birmingham & I ask myself 'How will I make Jesus known today?'

With love & appreciation for you all

Lesley

P.S. Forgive my Latin grammar if it's not accurate!

The Old Man of Youth Work

25 Years. I just worked it out, so I thought I'd tell you. I sort of started youth work when I was 16 running a Friday night "coffee bar" (with no coffee, but netting on the ceiling, scary coloured lighting and music that was "too loud" apparently) so that makes it 25 years I've been involved in youth work. It seems weird now that I was only a full-time youth worker for 6 or 7 of those years, as it still feels so much who I am.

The thing is, I still love it. I keep wondering if I'm just too old for this now. Shouldn't I be kicking around with grown-ups a bit more? The truth is (and my apologies to anyone reading who considers them self a grown up) most grown ups are just too........ 'grown up', I suppose. I like most of them in moderation, but teenagers are just fun. They're rude about my lack of hair, they eat all my biscuits, they won't go home when I tell them, they ask difficult or just plain inappropriate questions (and all those things just this past week) but I love it.

I've never really been one for the wacky games and stuff (The youth team at Olton know I hate organising the games nights!) but the chance to sit and chat and work through issues and see folk grow in their spiritual understanding and walk with God is just the best fun I have.

Last week i was sorting through some pre-historic paperwork in our study and, in the process, spent far too long looking at old newsletters we'd written. It was so good to look back, remember names and faces of teenagers from the past; folk who'd wandered into our lives for a little while then wandered onto adulthood. It's such a joy and privilege to have been involved in so many lives in this way. A number of them are kind enough to get in touch along the way and reflect back fondly on "those days". Some even articulate the ways that we helped in walking that part of the journey with them (often quite unbeknown to us). A couple of weeks back I had a stack of folk that we worked with when we were in schools work track us down on Facebook. It was so good to hear what they've been up to, what and who they've become and in a few cases where they are at on the spiritual journey we spent hours talking about all those years ago. Youthwork is often a thankless and bitter-sweet experience, but it gets addictive!

For those of you that pray, please do pray for the current batch we are involved with. "Youth @ Olton Baptist" (YOBs) meet on a Sunday eve and "xlr8" is a smaller group of them that meet at ours on a Thursday eve to get into the nitty gritty of their faith. Thanks folks.

Obituary

Paul: One of the teams we have in the UK works alongside members of the business community in Birmingham to help them develop personally and grow in their understanding of their spiritual journey. I've been involved (when I'm in the country) for a few years now and am currently involved in a course called "Habits of the Heart". It is designed for those of faith or not "to help you rediscover a sense of balance, purpose, integrity and spiritual energy in the midst of a busy working life" and it's great fun!. I'm coaching a guy named Alex who owns and runs a Chinese restaurant. Alex isn't a Christian, but is very open to talking about issues of faith and the things that draw him towards God and those that push him away.

One of the exercises we both undertook last week was to write our obituaries. It's a really helpful exercise in getting you to reflect on how you want your life to be remembered and therefore how this should be reflected in your priorities right now. Having rather unwisely put my 'Facebook' status as "Paul is finalising his obituary" last week, (and got appropriate "what??!!!!" responses back) I agreed to post my obituary here for you to read. It still feels a little unfinished, but I'm not planning on using it for a while! All comments or thoughts gratefully received! You may want to have a go yourself......

Here goes:

"Although as a boy he never showed much aspiration, through his late teenage years, Paul had a growing passion and desire to make an impact on the world he lived in. Birthed in the frustrations of his time in the insurance world and growing during his years as a youth worker, this passion found an unexpected home for a while in the world of Human Resources.

Paul’s impact was multifaceted. It was professional, striving towards excellence in all that was done particularly in staff care and development in the charity sector. It was personal, being convinced that care and development happens one life at a time, person to person; and it was spiritual, knowing that true and full transformation can only happen with God’s power.

His recurring prayer ‘to be a blessing to those he came into contact with’ expressed itself in his smile, his (often inappropriately timed) laugh, his inquisitiveness about the lives of friends and strangers and his desire to see all of them continue on their spiritual journey and come to know God in ever-deeper ways.

After God, Paul’s delight and priority were Lesley, Charis and Joel whom he loved more than life. He was their coach, their advocate and friend and his greatest pleasure was seeing them grow into the people God called them to be. The ‘bride of his youth delighted him all his days’ as increasingly day by day he realised exactly the amazing woman she was and the blessing she was to him.

The pains and struggles that are common to man may have knocked him along the way, but never knocked him from the arms of his Saviour and Friend."

Thanks for reading!

Agapé School of Movement Building

Paul: you may have picked up along the way that Lesley has been working towards the launch of the Agapé School of Movement Building for quite a while now. Well, the launch was a couple of weeks back and the write-up just appeared in "Agapé News" so I thought I'd steal it and copy it into here. Here's what it said:


In January a handful of staff got together for the launch of the all new Agapé School of Movement Building. This is a training program which lasts two and a half years. It aims to develop a generation of Agapé staff who are fully equipped to build spiritual movements at the University.

"The question we asked ourselves was; how do we make sure we have effective movement building teams?" says Lesley, who has helped to develop the school. The answer has been to build up strong leaders. "I looked around the room and thought 'these are such quality guys!' And they're stepping up to the task of leadership, which is such a huge need."

The course is taught through a combination of personal coaching, assignments and field experience. New leaders will learn how to pioneer movements in new places, how to raise up leaders among students, how to think creatively about sharing the gospel in relevant ways, how to build strong spiritual communities, and finally, how to enthuse their movements with God's heart for global mission.

The two day launch has been a great success with inspiring teaching and a strong sense of community spirit. The sessions focussed on the heart of leadership: the servant, the shepherd and the steward. There were also guests - staff from New Zealand who had come to share how God is working with students there. And the whole thing ended up with good discussion in a local pub! One of the staff said: "It's so exciting to be part of a people who are all on the same journey of becoming leaders. The teaching was all good, and I've already changed the way I do things as a result."

This class will be graduating in 2011 but from the start, expectation of what God is doing has been high. Lesley added, "there's a sober realisation of the responsibility that's being entrusted, and each person wanted to honour God in the way the lead."


So; there you have it. If you want to catch more of the same, do see the news pages of the Agapé website: www.agape.org.uk/news.html

On a more general note, we're having an interesting life. In consecutive weeks since Christmas Lesley has:

• Had her laptop stolen (but we did get the stolen car back, if you hadn't heard!)
  
• Had someone drive into the side of her car (not a good year for cars)
  
• Spent a morning in A&E after nearly removing 2 fingers putting up a trampoline (they're on the mend now)
  

All good fun, but it's getting a bit silly now. Lesley put her facebook status as "Life is officially ridiculous" after the finger-incident. Kinda sums it up really.

Fireseeds

Paul: Did you have a good New Year? Ours seemed rather brief as we were getting ready to head out to a long weekend with Agape staff and others involved in our movement from around Europe. We didn't make it to the end of the time. I'd planned to come back on Sunday with the kids - trying to explain to them that going to school is a legal requirement was a tricky thing - and Lesley ended up coming back too, having spent the previous day and a half in bed with the flu (that everyone seems to have had). Not fun at the best of times but really rough while at a conference! But even from my brief time, I wanted to let you in on a couple of my experiences.

We had some great people come and join us to give input. Probably my fave was Krish Kandiah (Exec. Dir. "Churches in Mission" for the EA) who was speaking about dominoes. He was talking about the TV show "Record Breakers" and in particular the domino challenges where some poor soul spent weeks lining up 30 zillion dominoes top see if he could beat the record for the most dominoes to topple in succession. The thing that always happened was somewhere along the line, one domino wouldn't fall and as a result, thousands of others didn't topple over. I was really challenged by the perspective that I came to faith as a result of this unbroken chain of people through the generations who have passed on their faith to others and to successive generations. The challenge of this comes down to me: Am I going to be that domino that doesn't topple over - that doesn't share what I know and believe with others? Getting a generational perspective on this has unsettled me. It's a good thing.

The other thing that impacted me was some of the folk who showed up. I was praying with this guy on Saturday eve, who was just desperate to re-ignite the passion he used to have for both God and the stuff God wanted him to be doing, but somewhere in the midst of university life, it has gently dissipated. Straight after that I was walking back to our halls with another couple of students, both about to finish their courses in a few months time. It was so refreshing to chat to these two. It wasn't the normal "dunno what I wanna do" type chat: They were highly focused in their decision making: "How can I make my life count most significantly for God's purposes?" It was a real privilege to have this passing contact with all three of their lives.

It's funny going to these kind of conferences as "staff". I was expecting God's role to be to speak to delegates.

Christmas Thank-Yous

It's Christmas and I'm feeling unusually reflective. We sent an email round a couple of weeks ago telling folk our car had been stolen, but one of the things we'd been thinking about is all the stuff we were thankful for in the midst of it all. Well, we continue to choose thankfulness in the middle of the "down" moments in life, but actually, as we approach Christmas there's so much to be thankful for IN the circumstances (and not just in spite of them)!

Our car showed up a few days ago. It wasn't burned out, crashed in a ditch or had "i love my mum" spray-painted down the side. It looked pretty good actually. From what we can tell, he must have even parked it nicely as it took our fine constabulary a couple of weeks to realise it was a stolen vehicle. Even more amazingly, apart from a few empty CD cases (our thief seemed to be a bit "intelligence challenged", if you know what I mean) there wasn't really a lot taken from inside either. It looks like he just fancied saving the bus-fare home. Our keys have a "reward tag" on them, provided by our insurance company, promising a £10 reward for anyone handing them it at the Halifax. Our entrepreneurial car thief decided to maximise on the opportunity and try to claim his £10 reward for 'finding' our keys. he wasn't too happy when he found out you had to leave your name and address and asked for the keys back. The woman at the Halifax pointed out that they'd already established they weren't actually his keys and he decided it was time for a hasty exit.

So; we have our car, we have most of our stuff and we even have the key back (which saved us quite a fsmall ortune!). As a family, we've spent a good chunk of time over the past few days being thankful to God for all the ways he provides for us, but on this Christmas eve, we are drawn further into thankfulness as we consider a creator God who chose to leave the splendours of eternity and arrive into this world via a stable.

East Meets West

Paul: I've been traveling again. This time to Northampton. Nice not to have to get on a plane to go somewhere! It was a gathering of all our HR leaders from around Europe. Normally, organisationally, we split Western and Eastern Europe up, but for the first time (to my knowledge) we had 3 HR leaders from Eastern Europe come and join us. Yuri from Moldova and Sasha from the Ukraine joined John, based in Hungary. It was a fantastic time: sharing stories of the stuff that's worked and the times we've crashed and burned, getting emotionally involved in case studies and examining resources that will hopefully move us forward.

It dawned on me (as it has a habit of doing during times like this) that the role of caring for and developing missionaries is quite an isolated, misunderstood, under-equipped and under-resourced role in many of our countries around the world, and actually, Western Europe is doing pretty well when compared with so many other places around the world.

A few people have quizzed me & Lesley recently about whether there is really all this need for galavanting about so much. It's a good question and one that we wrestle with regularly, but this conference (and a number of emails I got while I was there) reinforced again the need to equip people to serve the servants of God. I do hope and pray that one day we'll have built up the competency and confidence within our ministry around the globe that my hands-on resourcing won't be needed as much (we're certainly working on some models that I hope will get us there). Until then, we'll carry on wrestling with stewarding God's resources in the best way we can, in order to see His plans accomplished.

Thanks for being part of this too.