Are we happy to be told we are wrong?

A few months ago I was working in a school and supporting a R.E. teacher as she taught a group of year 9 young people. The class a few weeks before were asked to prepare small 10 minute presentations about a range of ethical and relevant topics from ‘abortion’ to ‘bullying’ and ‘the ivory trade’, and then argue their opinions on their individual topic. These presentations were then rated out of 30. In this lesson the young people were asked one-by-one to present their presentations to the rest of the class. It got to this boys turn who as he started his presentation suddenly got quite upset and said that he couldn’t do it. As a result I and another girl in his class were asked to assess the boy in the next room. As we did this and he started his presentation, the reason for why it was so upsetting for him become clear – he was talking about how a member of his family died as a result of the topic he was studying. When he finished myself and the girl in his class started to discuss what his mark should be. I without knowing too well the marking scheme (about it being out of 30 and not 20) said “why don’t we mark him 15?”.

What happened next I would never have predicted. The normally shy, well behaved, perfectly polite, quiet and content girl suddenly looked at me with disgust and said “Mike that is wrong! He has just shared a personal and difficult story, he deserves a higher grade than that!”….and she was right. Even though I was a member of staff, I had authority, I could have told this girl off and got her in trouble… she didn’t care because she was standing up for what was right.

It can be easy sometimes to feel that young people don’t really care about the things that we talk about as they can appear to just look bored and emotionless, but young people have a real deep sense of what is just and what isn’t, and they are massively prepared to fight for it. The girl in the story didn’t care that i was a member of staff who could have got her in trouble, she was fearless for justice; and we as Youth Workers just need to have faith in young people and to give them the opportunities to use these abilities to fight the injustices in the world.

Mike Harrison is key worker in Nuthall and Kimberley
He also works for NYfC in Radford and Bulwell

2012 verses of the year : Matthew 25:14 - 30

Each year we pray into what God is saying to us for the next 12 months. If you have followed us over the past few years you will know that last year we had Paul's vision of the Macedonian man running through our ministry. Paul wanted to go one way and doors kept closing but God drew him to Europe and that way was free. In the past 12 months we have seen huge growth in our ministry and we are thankful to God for that as it has been down to Him that we have been on the move. An early picture that one of our trustees had in our first year back in Nottingham was that of Nottingham being lit up in 5 or 6 different areas by the influence and the work of Nottingham YfC, with the ministry being light in the darkness. Let me just say this wasn't to suggest no one else or no other organization was providing light, this was just a picture of what God possibly wanted NYfC to look like.

Ten and a half years on and we see God's light shining through NYfC in 6 different areas of the city and influencing many more. Arnold, Beeston, Bilborough, Inham Nook, Radcliffe and South Notts are our key areas where the light is shining but our influence through support, mentoring and empowering the local church to impact a generation is growing more and more.

Often we see growth as a numerical thing and that is not always wrong. Gavin Calver, our national director has a vision to see a million young people reached each month through YfC, that is exciting and we would love to see that. In fact if you looked at the amount of young people we come into contact across Nottingham then we have the potential to see over 6,000 young people each month, that is amazing and i can't help but be humbled by what God has given us.

This year our passage for Nottingham YfC is Matthew 25: 14 -30 the parable of the talents.

God has given us an amazing opportunity but sometimes we don't take that opportunity or even take it for granted. Do we take what God has given us and protect and defend it because we are scared of losing it or do we take what He has brought into our lives and grow it. Our work with young people is very relational and i love the fact that we see the same young people week in week out bringing Hope and potential in their lives. Sometimes though in relational youth work it becomes more about turning up, getting through the evening making sure they behave. What we aim to do through the work and what I hope and pray will be a key word in Nottingham YfC is TRANSFORMATION. We want to take what God has given us, the young people he has brought our way and transform their lives with the love of God. If we can do that then 2012 onwards is going to be a great time to be part of the Kingdom of God and in particular Nottingham Youth for Christ. Please pray for us as this is what will really bring these words to fruition.

Who is teaching who?

A few weeks ago now I went with a group of young people on the eq:mission. Since returning I've had a bit more time to reflect on the things that happened and ways we sought to work with the churches and Burton YfC to serve the community there.

So often images portrayed of young people are negative - they are the ones that drop litter or are disrespectful. The young people that came on the 30 hr mission challenged this stereotype in Burton. They collected litter, all with giggles and smiles, and they gave away drinks and held doors open. Generosity was shown in face painting and in sellotaping a bit of loose change up for those who might need it at the bus stop or the pay and display machine. The light of God working in and through them was evident and no less bright when the face paint had been taken off. We went to Burton to serve and learnt so much ourselves - coming back to Nottingham challenged to live out the small actions that we did in Burton in our home city.

My lasting memory of the weekend will be looking for a young person who had disappeared - I eventually found her in the kitchen washing up!

The young people that I spent the weekend, and the many others that I see and work with in Nottingham humble me in so many ways and is a reminder to me of how I often feel like they teach more more than I ever will do them.

Sara Reynolds

Our God is a big God


I was sat amongst some friends this week and we listened to song called 'You are' by Bradford Church . We spent a few minutes thinking about the song and we were asked what the one thing was that stuck out to us . When listening to this song the words that stuck out to me was ‘You are’. In the song it talks about all the things that God is...

“You are the strength for the those in need , You are the defender of the weak Your everything we need, You are our God”

It can be so easy in our everyday lives to forget how big God is ! , We can forget that God is interested in the small things in our lives as well as the big. God is all the things above and so much more . I was challenged to try to include God in all parts of my life not just the big things.

Do we truly understand where God is or do we put Him in a box and see Him where we want Him to be. It is easy to see that God is there when we worship or when we sometimes pray, but do we see God when people are hurting or struggling? Let us show others that actually we see God in the smallest things like a baby smile or a hug to someone in need. Where will you acknowledge God this week and where are you going to take Him over the next few days?

Emily Swinburne / Richard Dawson

Changing endings

One of the things that marks the start of the Christmas season for me is the vast array of high quality and big production adverts that are released by large companies, all trying to compete for the biggest chunk of the 16 billion pounds people in the UK will spend on Christmas presents this year. The Coca Cola advert is probably the most famous, and this year the John Lewis advert has impacted lots of people with a great message of how giving is better than receiving.

I know there are many more adverts to come, but there is one that has struck such a chord with me and has reminded me why I do what I do, and why the work of Youth for Christ in the city of Nottingham and beyond is so important. It is an advert for Barnardos:

In youth work, you hear lots of stories. Some stories are funny, inspiring and happy and others are just heartbreaking. The young people that we work with are all on a journey and they all have a different story. Some of the beginnings to their stories have not been good ones. Some people in the lives of those young people think they know what the ending to their story will be. Some people in the lives of those young people have even told them what their ending will be. Some of those endings are not good.

For us at Nottingham Youth for Christ, we believe in a God who specializes in changing the endings to people’s stories. Jesus set people free, healed and restored, turned the world upside down and changed the lives of thousands even millions of people and he is still doing it today.

By listening, loving, caring, creating, laughing, hoping and praying with young people we are here to empower them to change the ending to the story they are living. Sometimes this takes years, sometimes we may never know the ending would have been different without our involvement and sometimes it doesn’t work and the ending is just as heartbreaking as the beginning. But we know we make a difference, we know God is at work in the lives of young people in our city and we are privileged to be a part of it.

Jo Dolby

eq:mission to Burton

So we have just got back from our latest eq:mission where we ended up in Burton-upon-Trent. Here is a completed set of video diaries from the weekend so you get a glimpse of what we got up to. A full review will be up soon.

You can find out more about our 30 hour missions @ www.nottinghamyfc.co.uk/eq and download a booking form for our next one.

so you want to volunteer with Nottingham YfC?

Nathaniel has come onto the NYfC team for a few weeks. here are some of his initial thoughts.

The short of why I came to volunteer for Nottingham YFC was to fill some time before I went to university in America. The long of it is I felt a need to use the gifts that God gave me for His work, so when I heard of Nottingham YFC from friends and family, I jumped at the opportunity. At the same time as applying for a volunteer slot, however, I was also searching around for a part-time job. So when offered the choice of full-time volunteering or only doing a couple days a week, I struggled to make a decision. On one hand, I knew I needed the money for university and for general living before I left. On the other I knew God was calling me to do this. Ashamed to say, I reluctantly said I’d do full-time volunteering for NYFC. However, I knew I serve an amazing God who can provide and will provide if you place your hope and life into His hands. So in a sense, I chose the more exciting path.

I’ve only had 1 day so far with NYFC and I’m so glad I chose full-time. This team is so engulfed in the grace and love of God and have such a passion for sharing that with the youth all across Nottingham. They are all such strong prayer warriors and have fine-tuned their hearts and minds to the Word and Will of our Heavenly Father. I am so excited to see what God is able to do through us as a team and through me as an individual. I can only pray to develop such a strong and acute sense of God’s Word and leadership in my life as I have seen in the team already.

We have lots of different types of opportunities for volunteers within the NYfC team. If you would like to volunteer a couple of hour a week then please get in touch with our office.

More change?

Well, after 3 - 4 weeks i still don't think i have got over the trip to India, which was amazing. Pretty much it was back into the swing of things here at NYfC. The great news is that we have grown as a staff team, which is really exciting and you will hear more about the new team in the coming weeks on here and in our newsletter which is due out in next few weeks. I am never surprised by what God has in store for us at NYfC, each year i know there will be change in the team as we have year outs join us (although this year that isn't the case), and we do also have on team Centre of youth ministry placements and so every so often they move on. Although i am not surprised it is still important we listen to God and not just go through the motions. To know where God wants us is of vital importance, as it is His mission, not ours, we are the co-pilots not the other way round. With this in mind it is really exciting that we are starting in 2 new areas across Nottingham. After getting Arnold up and running last Christmas we have now started working in Radcliffe-on-Trent and also alongside churches based in villages around the south Notts area surrounding Harry Carlton school.

After ten years of working across Nottingham, I can honestly say no 2 years have been the same and that is exciting although hard work. Chatting to a church leader recently we were talking about a particular denomination starting off as a movement and as it grew older it became more established and set in it's ways. We can all be like that if there is no movement or change in our lives or churches, because when there is nothing in the mix, to shake things up it does nothing but stay still.

I am really glad God is not letting us stay still but creates movement in the life of NYfC. Only then we will stay a movement and continue to see amazing things happen in the lives of young people across Nottingham, i hope you will join us on the journey.

Richard Dawson

Thoughts of a work experience student (4)

The whole point of work experience is to develop your skills in listening and acting on what you’re told by your employer. You’re then expected to use your initiative to expand and develop your position to form fresh skills for the future.
But how many people have sat down to look at the impact your employer is making? Before you put in to join them? I’m not talking about economic development because frankly money is universally known as the root of all evil.

So what would I be asking for if I asked how much of an impact would your employer be making towards the lives of the individuals surrounding us? Why are they making the effort to try and confront the children who as a stereotype are irresponsible ragamuffins?
The answer… Because they believe God has told them to advance his kingdom to all people not just those who will sit and take it without so much as muttering a word of abuse.
I believed when I chose to work with NYfC it was because I wanted to be part of that mindset that’s says yeah I’m gonna work with these children because I want them to receive the love they deserve. Gods love is never ending however It is our decision to make sure it reaches all the people and anything I get back is just a blessing!!!

Matthew 18:3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”.
Matthew 19 vs 14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Nathan Taylor

Thoughts of a work experience student (3)

I knew that most people in my year would be doing their work experience in a shop or in a school. So I wanted to do some thing different. I’ve been here for two days I have REALLY enjoyed it. What I love is that so many different people, from different backgrounds and different churches can come together, and help young people come to Christ. Also I like the way things are run, because NYFC have so many different people doing different thing for the young people in the Nottingham area. On the Monday when I went to help out at ‘ The Big Question’ it was really interesting, because only one lad there was a Christian and all the others didn’t believe in Christ. They would talk about Christ and the Bible, I found it amazing to see what YFC was doing in school to help young people come to Christ or inform them about him. I also helped with ‘ The Base’ which was cool. All the young people there were very nice and they wanted to know about what we believe in etc.
We went to Birmingham on Tuesday. This was because YFC had a focus day. This was were all the YFCs from the Midlands came for a big meeting about the changes and what YFC was doing to help young people round the country. I found this interesting and I really learnt from it. Also I came not just to get the experience, I came to see what YFC was doing for the young people in the Nottingham area. This has shown me what I can do for the young people in my area and how I can lead them to Christ. I enjoyed working here so far so I hope that I enjoy the rest of the week.

Revelation 3:5
He who overcomes will, like them, will be dressed in white. I will never blot out he name from the book of life, but I will acknowledge his name before my father and his angels. (NIV version).

Jessica Pugh

Thoughts of a work experience student (2)

Reality Check

I came to do my year 10 work experience at Nottingham YfC because I wanted something different from the norm. I wanted to get something else out of my week, asides from an extended knowledge of how to make coffee and use a photocopier…
And do you know what? I totally got it.
I’ve done almost three days now and I think the thing that has struck me the most is how so many churches and believers can work together, despite their different ways of doing things. I mean, we’re all a family, right? God’s family. And if that means meeting up in a café to talk about our lives, or making breakfast at a community centre, or playing table tennis with a group of teenagers, it’s all for God and through God and with God.
A couple of years ago my parents felt called to move to a new church and we visited a number of churches in Nottingham when making the decision. Recently I have also started going to a youth group at different church from my own. Through this, I have seen how easy it is to get caught up on all those little differences or ‘alternative interpretations’, which churches and youth groups have. I know I can definitely get absorbed in comparing and over-analysing. I spend time wondering where I really belong and which way is the ‘correct’ way of doing things, but this week has been such a reality check for me. It’s not about what youth group I go to or how we do worship at church or what refreshments are served after the service! The fact is: as long as we’ve got the foundations sorted, the little things are simply what make us who we are.
I have loved seeing how different people can just work together because they have one common interest, God. All of us can draw from each other and bless each other, whilst we worship and show his love in tons of different ways, that are as diverse as we all are from eachother. And I shouldn’t be wondering where I belong, because I am one of God’s children and that makes me a member of his family. That is where I belong, in the unity that is God’s family, full of wonderful people who love him just as much as I do!

Ephesians 4:4-6
You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all.

Ephesians 4:15
We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other.

Helena Gloeckner

Sold out for the Gospel or Selling it?

When you become a Christian, you’ve been forgiven for all the things you’ve done wrong, you enter into a relationship with the living God, you’re loved and accepted, you’re destined for heaven. Amazing isn’t it? And I love sharing these truths with young people. I love giving them these gems of hope – telling them they’re loved when they feel like no-one cares about them. Telling them they’re accepted when they feel like they don’t fit in anywhere. Telling them they’re forgiven when they’re possessed by shame for the mistakes they’ve made. But that’s like showing someone half a photograph.

Do we tell them that when you become a Christian, you’re called to take up your cross and follow Jesus? To die to yourself. You’re called to serve others instead of yourself. You’re called to love the people who hate you. To forgive people who hurt you. My fear is we don’t. In making Christianity relevant to consumer culture, have we turned passion, love and community it into a cheap product?

And I find myself the head of this marketing committee. When asked how I changed when I met Jesus, my initial response was to say I became much more confident and happy in myself. I was no longer brought down by what girls said to me at school because I’d found love and acceptance in Jesus. But then I thought, when I met Jesus, I learnt to love the girls that bullied me at school, to try to think of others before myself, to be thankful for the good things in life – why weren’t these my first thoughts?

I fear that we’ve commercialised the gospel. That we’ve taken the radical out of history’s biggest movement. That we’ve religified an event that cut history in two. That instead of being sold out for the gospel, we’re trying to sell the gospel.

So what does it look like for you and me to take up our cross?

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
Matthew 16: 24-25

Becci Raine

How do you spend your time?

I am currently sat on my net book listening to a football match which is making me extremely nervous. Play-off semi final between forest and Swansea. I don't know whether i am enjoying it or not, one comment i am sure a lot of Forest fans would appreciate in a play-off competition. Despite this feeling, i wouldn't rather be doing anything else. Why put yourself through it? i know plenty of people would say including my father in law who is a fair weather supporter. Thing is somethings are important and other things aren't. For me supporting Forest is an important part of my life, as is my faith and my family. I do know though that there are often times where i end up spending lots of time doing things that aren't important. In a world where technology can, and often does in my life, take over. My downfall is my phone, whether it is the internet on it or whether it is texting someone or playing some pointless game that i have completed 700 times. Whether it is something similar or television that really isn't that interesting, we can often try and fill our lives, but why? Are we scared of boredom, are we just trying hard to fill any space that doesn't seem to be filled. One of the things that i also love is my garden. There is a place that yes i want to do things in but also gives me time to think and pray. Unsurprisingly enough i find this use of time so much more refreshing that my eyes being glued to my phone. What i want to do is learn. Learn that somethings are healthy for me to spend my free time doing and that somethings aren't. To maybe learn somethings that you do can refresh and inspire you and other things drain you. It will be different for different people but i know that if a spent more time in prayer and in my bible then i wouldn't feel so lethargic so often.
Anyway it's half time, and it's still not a relaxing evening, but you know what, it is certainly passionate.

Richard

What stories do you follow?

So what stories do you like?
Many moons ago when all my friends went off to university to study proper subjects, I started my HND in community performance and theatre in education. My first module, while my Friends looked at business management, history and economics was storytelling. Wow, what a way to spend the now defunct student grants (maybe not the greatest arguments for bringing tuition fees back). Ever since then, probably before as well, I have loved stories. The best communicators engage people in storytelling, whether they are preachers or stand up comics. Whenever I talk about the work of Nottingham YfC, stories are the one thing that continues to engage people and help them understand the work we do.
What i do find interesting is that the culture we live in now, it is said that people have rejected the story of God. It is said they reject any idea of an overall story that draws everyone and everything together. How can this be when we are obsessed with stories? Whether that be the latest installment of a soap opera or a serial drama or the latest celebrity gossip, we are all fascinated and intrigued. Even the most popular computer games now follow a theme or story.
Are people really rejecting the idea of a narrative that brings together a God who wants to connect with His creation or is it just not communicated well enough to engage?
We seem to be getting there: Programmes like Alpha, Emmaus or Christianity Explored are taking people on a journey, and continue to connect people in a very real way. There is a great opportunity to see how using a similar format but use the story of God rather than a set of rules and regulations. Jesus was the ultimate story telling, constantly using this way to connect and challenge people in the way they lived their lives and connected with their Father in Heaven.
When was the last story you told? What is the story of your life? Maybe you could tell a story of when yours and God's has become one - you never know maybe it will engage.

Richard

Curry - A rite of passage?

So what events and what things that have happened create the person that you have become? Being a dad i am often considering the things my kids do and places they go to in terms of what type of person i want them to become. That might be experiences that i had and enjoyed or things that i think will be good for them.
At the start of the month it was my birthday (not a significant one, i can wait for another one of them) and Laura had been asking for a while what i would like to do for it. Last year we had friends round for a murder mystery, which are always funny especially with the dodgy accents. This year though i thought, as i had a choice of anything i wanted to do, how many times do us men get a window of time to do that, i thought we would go and give our kids their first experience of a curry house. They did ok, had a little bit of the meat and bit of balti and a bit of korma and lots of nan bread. What they did love though was the experience, they keep talking about it and how they would like to go again. For me it was good that they enjoyed their experience, as it means we can go again, and as their dad that really please me, as curry is important to me.
Isn't that what a rite of passage is as a Christian? being part of something that please God and moves you on in your journey?
As well as curry another passion of mine is mission. Engaging people, especially young people in being part of God's mission here on earth. What upsets me is the lack of passion and drive in a number of Churches in being part of His mission. As a youth Alpha advisor i will also get a number of course leaders saying to me "we didn't have enough time to run all the session so we missed out the 'why and how should i share my faith?" It just isn't seen as an integral part of discipleship. If you keep an eye out on what is happening in the world of Nottingham YfC you will know about our 30 hour missions (eq:missuion) in which we take a group of young people to a random part of the UK and be part of the mission of a YfC centre and local Church. Doing both word and deed in a community neediing to see and hear the love of Jesus. Each one of the last group that came on it really engaged and found it an experience that will shape their life and as a leader they will remember it as mission being part of being a Christian. God loves mission and it also develops our faith. Ok so curry might be a rite of passage as a child of mine but mission is and should be a rite of passage as a child of God.

Richard

Thoughts of a work experience student

Who do people see me as?

As I became a 15-year-old lad I started to notice a change in peoples behaviour towards me. Those younger than me at school started to purposefully walk a longer route to avoid me. I even had a woman press her two children up against a wall to keep them as far away from me as possible while I passed them on the street. I suppose it’s only natural to fear boys my age though, what with all the media attention to crimes performed by us, from vandalism to stabbings because that’s news. Whereas just hanging out with mates and being with your family isn’t. So when people see us, all they see are those who represent so much evil in the world.

During my time on work experience with Nottingham Youth for Christ, though I’ve noticed a total reversal of attitudes towards me. I am no longer prejudged as a “trouble-making” 15-year-old lad. No. For that tag has been taken from me to be replaced with the word “Christian.” As part of my experience with Nottingham Youth for Christ, I helped out at a after-school youth club at Inham Nook Methodist Church and kids who in the past had feared the 15-year-old me were now getting to know the Christian me and really giving him some respect. The next day, I went to do some one to one mentoring with Ant and I met a boy who, amongst his friends was a real trouble maker, but when amongst Christians was really respectful and displayed a wisdom never before apparent to his teachers.

I went to school the next day, a large cross displayed prominently on my chest. The year sevens gained the confidence to speak to me about God and I found myself being able to tell them about Jesus’ greatness, whereas before, I would never even have been able to say “Hi” without them being intimidated. So now ask yourself this, reader, when people look at you who do they see you as? And who do you want them to see you as? What you do now can change peoples perceptions of you. See what God has done for me. And decide who you are.

1 Samuel 16:7-“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance for his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Robert Trusson-work experience 07/04/2011

eq:mission March 2011

Our eq:missions continue to impact communities across the UK as well as young people from Nottingham in their faith. Our latest adventure took a team of young people to Orford in Warrington. Working with Warrington YfC and Bethel Free Church in Orford the team stepped out of their comfort zones throughout the weekend.

Once again the young people turned up at the NYfC office not knowing where they were going to end up. This time it was slightly longer mission as we started on the Friday night rather than the Saturday morning. The reason for that? the team were involved in speaking at UNITE Warrington YfC's youth worship event. This was a great time of worship and then the young people all shared what it meant to them to 'step out of the boat.' We then went to our accommodation where we were going to spend the weekend. Bethel Church were especially generous with the overnight heating. For the Saturday we were joined by a team from Sheffield as we went out door knocking asking people to help with a questionnaire that was put together by Bethel Church and inviting them to the fun day in the afternoon.

The fun day consisted of a football cage, face painting, free bbq, table tennis, volleyball and karaoke. Over 150 people turned up for the fun day where the young people helped lead the various activities. The Church were really please as there were 4 or 5 new families that they hadn't come into contact with before. We had some really good conversations, with one woman saying she had used to go to church but had only gone 2 or 3 times but after this day she was going to start going again.

The team then went and had a good feed at Pizza Hut before planning for the next mornings service. The young people led worship, ran a drama, shared what they had done the day before and what it meant to them to be ambassadors in their schools and colleges. Each of the young people saw God use them in an amazing way throughout the weekend from: 'I was really worried about whether people would like me, but God has shown me that i am to be more confident.' to 'it was really good to see that God used us to make a difference in peoples lives and make them feel good about the Church.'

The fact that the Church wouldn't have done the whole event if we hadn't turned up meant that we really had made a difference in that community. Keep checking out facebook and twitter for information of our November eq:mission later in the year.

Is there any point in being defensive?

I love hearing about Church history. Whether that be the early church in the book of Acts or the start of denominations like Methodism and the Salvation Army. Listening to Question Time at the minute and hearing them talking about the amount of people trying to create a revolution in the middle east over the past few months, i remember stories about the abolition of the slave trade or the day of Pentecost and i love the face that the Church has been part of so many revolutions. So what i would like to know is when is the next one? Some would say it if you look at the Church it is a long way off, although some would say we have this sleeping giant just ready to awake. So why isn't it happening? One of the reasons is that we have become defensive about our faith, and defensive about what we believe. In a world that is becoming more secular, and in a country like ours that has become less Christian, instead of using this culture shift as a challenge and a chance to become part of a new revolution, we have become more restrained, by trying to keep our own traditions and our own ways safe. We can see some elements of this still when we see cultures within a lot of churches not being able to connect with the culture outside the doors. Being part of a revolution is not about doing what everyone else does, or even changing because everyone else does. What being part of a revolution means is to stand for what you believe that goes against what is going on around. What it also means is that you don't go into your shell, batten down the hatches and sit it out, but move out and show what you have is of the greater good. Could this be the Church? or shall we just wait until it is all over, but if we continue on the back foot, there maybe none of us left to come out from behind the door.

Richard

Love is in the air...

As Valentine’s Day has just passed, it got me thinking about love. At this time of year, you seemed to be surrounded by love hearts, roses and cheesy poetry… and it gets a bit sickening. Well, that could just be me being bitter, but I think love should be celebrated all year round, rather than a day being set aside as an excuse to tell someone how you feel about them. At home, Valentine’s Day is a pretty big deal. My mum goes to ‘Marks and Spencer’s’ (which only happens on special occasions) and checks out the Valentine’s day deals; my step dad writes cards for me and my sisters from “our secret admirer” even though at eighteen, you would have thought I had worked it out by now; and my younger sisters come home from school with stacks of cards from various boys. I guess it is quite exciting to know that someone thinks you’re special, but why not be made to feel like that all the time? There are so many verses in the Bible telling us how much God loves us…
“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands” – Deuteronomy 7: 9.
How awesome is that!? God promises us his love to a thousand generations and all he expects in return is to “keep his commands”. And even if we do mess up, he is still going to love us anyway! Proverbs 10: 12 says “love covers all wrongs” and I think this is so powerful, to know that no matter what we have done, God is going to love us just as much, and he will do all he can to get us back on the right path. He also teaches us to love each other, as the second commandment found in Matthew 22: 39 is “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’.” It doesn’t specify as particular day on which we have to show each other that we love one another, we should do it all the time!
So today, and every day, think about the people that surround you. Think about how special they are to you, and tell them! God loves us and gave up everything he loves so that we could live and love each other.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3: 16.

Charli Wood

Parlez Vous Christian?

“Eh up me duck, that cob looks peng!”
Even though I only moved to Nottingham from two hours up the motorway, I still had trouble at first working out what on earth people were saying sometimes. But that’s how language works isn’t it? Every town, every generation, every culture have their own words and phrases.

I love it that Nottingham has it’s own identity and part of that identity is it’s language (although I still reckon it’s weird to call someone ‘duck’…). The young people have their own dialect too which I’m starting to pick up and occasionally I’m even deemed cool enough to use it. But whether we use the ‘latest’ words or not, the fact remains that young people are speaking a different language, so what does that mean for sharing the gospel with them?

Youth for Christ’s mission statement is ‘taking the good news relevantly to every young person’ so to be relevant, we need to talk the same language. And we do, but it’s more than just replacing ‘not’ with ‘ain’t’ and taggingin ‘init’ on the end of everything we say. You can’t say to a young person “If you confess your sins to God, you’ll be saved by grace through the sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ”. They don’t get it – even Shakespeare makes more sense to them. So ditch the jargon and speak the gospel in English. Simply yes?

I’d say nothing ever is. Eugene H. Peterson, author of The Message says, “The original books of the Bible were not written in formal language” and so “every generation needs to keep the language of the gospel message current, fresh, and understandable—the way it was for its very first readers”. And I agree entirely. But even in The Message ‘grace’, ‘salvation’ and ‘sacrifice’ are regular guests, so are we right to omit them entirely from our conversation or talks?

What happens when young people start reading the Bible and come across all our Christian jargon? I fear the Bible will feel irrelevant and the gospel message they thought they’d understood once again becomes a stranger. So, as the James wisely advises us, we need to watch our words!

Becci Raine