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

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

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

Warning: The Gospel changes lives

Since becoming a Christian I have been engaged with a transforming God and constantly developing myself. This has taken shape in many ways from dramatic changes like stopping self-harming to subtle ones like being patient. I have now finished the 2nd year of a 3 year degree studying for youth ministry I have loved the process. I was totally unprepared for the radical transformation I was setting myself up for. Before starting many people prophesied that peter pan must grow up. I knew exactly what this meant and so signed up for the course. I joined the course knowing that I have to open myself up totally to the transformation of the gospel and the learning I was about to endure.
Reflecting on my change I know that if it wasn’t for the course I would not have opened myself up so fully to the experience. What does this show me about how open I am to God and how much I expect the young people to open up to the transformation of the gospel?

A few months back I would have secretly been ok with people half-heartedly opening up to go, in part holding something back till “the time is right”. Even though God’s timing for enabling me to deal with something is perfect, it does not stop my openness toward God regarding what needs changing so I can share the gospel more fully.

“1 Corinthians 10:13
New International Version (NIV)
13 No temptation[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

I have found that God has given me the greatest recourse ever (well 2 resources including the Holy Spirit), people. If I am tuly honest and actively make myself vulnerable to people I see that lots of people have been transformed in a similar way or experienced similar things.
Trust God to transform you to be more like Jesus Christ because there is no other that understands better, God never gives us too much to deal with and has given us great recourses to be able to make our way through.

Ant Stevens

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

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

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

Where are we taking them?

I have a passion. Not just for Doctor Who, not just for Nottingham Forest but for seeing young people impacted by the love of an amazing God. The question that i keep asking myself is 'What does that look like?'

Being a dad of a couple of amazing children, i often look at them and wonder what they are going to look like when they are older. Not just in looks, but in what job they may do, the kind of people they will hang out with, what their hobbies and interests they may have and what kind of families they may have (well Joel that is, obviously Amy is not even allowed a boyfriend until she is 30). Obviously I have no idea of what is going to happen to them, and in someways I am glad, as i am sure i would want to control it more than I should. What I do know is the world will be a different place. I know that because it is different now than it was when i was growing up. I remember having a ZX81 computer system and that was top range with its 16k ram pack you could add onto the back.

I also know that the way faith looks like nois different to when i was growing up. It is now more about how you live your life everyday rather than just turning up to Church every Sunday morning. That is hard to get my head round, that actually what faith looks like to me is different to what it looks like to those lovely older ladies who were in Church every Sunday making me feel welcome and loving me. Neither of us are wrong, it is just different, and will continue to change.

Vincent Donovan in his book, Christianity Rediscovered, says this:

"...do not take people back to where they were or do not try to call them back to where you are, as beautiful as that place may seem. You must have the courage to take them to a place neither you or them have been."

Faith can be and is an amazing thing. Are we willing to walk with others to somewhere we haven't been? Am i willing to take young people on a journey where I am trusting God for a new fresh destination? Or am i the one in control wanting to feel secure and 100% certain that the way God works in my life is the way He works in others?

Richard Dawson

the term that was...

This past term has been a real learning curve for me. With there being so many changes in team and trustees there has been many times where i have felt out of control and perhaps out of my depth, but as we have realised this term that is when God takes over and lets rip. So here are a few times where we have seen God work in this past term. I make no apologies for the list style we have put them in, or to be honest the lack of capital letters here and there, what i want us to see is how amazing God has been in the last term. I hope you are as encouraged at this glimpse as i am.

new opportunities to speak with one of the deputy head teachers

the opportunities with all the year 7 young people at Hadden Park school

being able to speak into young peoples lives at a place to be me +

having someone from the Church in Bilborough on as a trustee and a volunteer

the trust most staff have in anything to do with YfC

seeing God in my uni work

welcomed into a church family

within meeting someone twice they opened up about someone mis-treating them

The new work that has come about in Arnold starting January

The 'feel good' factor of NYfC amongst Churches

seeing God work through a new team, and the quality of the new team

The growth of 'big questions' at Chilwell school

Finance coming in for work up until easter at A Place to be Me

16 year old unchurched young people discussing baptism, faith and spirituality

the desire of the team to bring their faith into youthwork

the success of cafe faith

eq:mission to Bath with the girls from Trent Vineyard, God used and worked in us all

3 new trustees and 4 new financial supporters

seeing a young persons face when we told him we believe he could achieve something

eq:uip low on numbers but the young people there were awesome and encouraged us all

girls allowed- when talking about beauty God was there showing every girl that they are beautiful

When the question 'Do you believe in God?' he is there to help me answer it

When one girl in one of our sessions talks openly about what she believes and her journey with God.

A conversation we had with a 14 year old about why he goes to church and what he believes

At a place to be me we ran a singing and dancing competition, God was there encouraging them

When talking to a teacher about his experiance of youth work, God was there

Young people who don't feel valued elsewhere are shown love to by NYfC

teaching an 11 year old to play pool

young people who reject God with their mouths but keep coming along to sessions and talking about Him and building relationships with Christian youth workers

A team put together by God, someone changed placement, someone who changed uni, someone who got placed, someone who was at the right church at the right time and someone who thought they could never work for YfC.

At The Base, remembering a young person and her work ment so much to her as she was told thet we wouldn't think about her and what she did.

A group of young people actively chatting about Jesus in a very raw but real way.

Please do comment and put where you have seen God in the last few months.

Richard

How many people do you think know .....

Tell Me Something I Don’t Know Already

How about the Christmas story?
The real meaning of Christmas becoming buried under mountains of wrapping paper is no longer a big shock. And the TV specials being the focus of our attention rather than a dirty manger in a pile of straw is hardly breaking news either. But we know it’s there.
Even if we love God we can get a bit distracted in the Christmas hype, focusing on the mandatory Tesco shop instead of the nativity service. Finding the biggest turkey can make us forget the tins for the homeless dinner and the search for the new Nintendo can seem more urgent than re-reading Matthew 2. But what if you didn’t even know the Christmas story to forget it?
This week, chatting to some young people about Christmas, they were asked,
“So what happened at Christmas?”
“Erm, didn’t Jesus die?”
I honestly thought they were having a laugh. How could the BIRTH OF GOD pass them by? But it has. We could pass the blame book about, pointing the finger at politically correct school productions featuring reindeer instead of camels. We could turn to our churches and ask what’s gone wrong. And not forgetting the best scapegoat of all, we could blame the media for commercialising the whole affair. But the blame game never has a winner.
My Grandad was doing his Christmas shopping last year in the town centre. Even though he’s been married to my Grandma for forty odd years, buying her gifts remains a yearly struggle. Needing a rest, he stopped off at Marks and Spencer for a coffee and had to sit next to an old dear, there being no other seats available. They got chatting and he said,
“All this shopping and spending. People have forgotten the real meaning of Christmas.”
“And do you know the real meaning of Christmas dear?”
“Yes. Yes I do.”
“Well praise the Lord!”
Turns out this lady knew the real meaning of Christmas. But what if she hadn’t? What if she’d had said, “What is the real meaning that everyone’s forgotten?” What would you say? Well it all started 2000 years ago in a place called Bethlehem?
This December the world will be worshipping a whole host of gods, but the humble, loving carpenter from Nazareth will remain a stranger to many.

Becci Raine

*note the picture used was the only picture of the Christmas story on the first 5 pages of google images. hmm

does anything really change?

'Taking good news relevantly to every young person in Nottingham' is an interesting statement, particularly the relevant bit. Working with young people this could mean that you develop different styles every moment.

So what does being relevant mean? For anyone who knows me they know that i can be the king of tenuous links. Sometimes this works, sometimes it is just ridiculous. I don't think writing pantomimes helps lol, as they are just ridiculous although they are supposed to be.

I still sometimes get a bit embarrassed by some Christians as they attempt to be ultra relevant. Whether that is the clothes they wear (mutton dressed as lamb is one relevant phrase), or the music they sing a long to or listen to (just cause it has swearing in doesn't mean you have to listen to it to be relevant). I think sometimes we try and over do the relevance as Christians. Being in the world, but not of the world is a tricky concept but really helpful to get your head round. YfC used to have the mission statement geared to the times, anchored to the rock. Awesome.

The encouraging thing is that this isn't a new thing. I am currently doing some preparatory reading for a course i am about to start and one of the books i am to read is Christian Theology: an introduction by Alistair McGrath. Here he talks about the relation between Christian theology and secular society. Mentioning how Christian poetry and song was often put to secular music even in those days. See it has always embarrassing lol, but the desire for the Christian faith to be relevant has always been there. Which shows that there has always been people who have wanted to connect people with Jesus. That is encouraging.

Balance that with the fact their has always been slight tension between those who want to do that and the established Church and then you really see nothing has changed over 2000 years.

As we strive to be relevant let us be secure in the knowledge that people have been there before us, and that the reason the Church has lasted this long is because there are people and fellowships that continue to strive to bring Jesus to their communities in a relevant way.

But let's try and get it right by providing the true Jesus and not cheesy Jesus.

Rhythm

I have always been told that i have no rhythm. I once tried to learn to play the guitar, i got about 4 chords (isn't that all you need to be a Christian guitar player?) The one thing i couldn't get hold of was the strumming. I really tried but just couldn't get it, so i thought you know what i will play the bass, you don't need to strum the strings, you pluck (very technical terms i know), not realising that actually you need a lot of rhythm to play the bass guitar also, so it sits in my loft.

People tell me that once you get the whole strumming thing, it becomes natural, it is so simple i am told.

How ironic then when i was at a retreat earlier this year and someone said they had been praying and the word rhythm came to them for me. Was this a prophetic word that i may become the next big worship leader, average worship leader? No...

... No, unfortunately not, although i do still harbor thoughts of becoming like Graham Kendrick. Yet i think it will be more about age than talent and musical gifting.

No i have been challenged and provoked over the past few months on the rhythm of my life. Not just how we live it but the way we live it. I often visit a marist centre on retreat, just spending time with God and some great people. The nuns there and other communities esp. those that live a monastic life live their lives in rhythm, it keeps them focused, and although to some of us it may seem dull, it actually brings discipline (another word we don't like), and a way to live a life so close to God.

Not being a planner this whole idea fills me with dread, but what i do know is that to build a life with God in it's DNA, i need a rhythm that works for me to get the best out of life.

With summer season here (you may have noticed a lack of blogs this month), and the Christian festival scene in full flow, you realise it is to develop a rhythm while away on camp, but what does it look like when you get back?

Well for me i will start with what works... Lucas on life first thing, time with my kids, and praying with my wife in the evening. Not much but we all have to start somewhere.

How do you manage change?

I am a big believer in being relevant. I am also a big believer if something stays the same for too long without looking at whether it is working, it can become stale. I like adapting, i like moving things around, i like looking at things from a different perspective - when it's on my terms. Funny that isn't it? When we are in control we can cope with things so much easier. This summer is a really interesting time with Nottingham Youth for Christ, as for the first time in about 6 years, our whole team changes- apart from me. This would normally excite me, empower me and enthuse me, because normally there would be an element of it being my decision and my choice. But this time it is totally out of my hands, and i still have no idea what my team will look like from September.
If someone came up to me and said do you put your trust in God, I will normally say ' oh yes, of course, his life is in my hands.' This would probably be an answer at a point in my life when everything is going well, and things are going as i want them too. We say somethings so easily, and probably believe them until the words we say are challenged by circumstances.
Apart from the issue of us running some great events and regular programmes for young people and us needing to staff those (check out www.nottinghamyfc.co.uk/support thanks for the cheeky plug), but we have also had a great team this year that have impacted young peoples lives with the very real love of God. I want to be annoyed that we have no continuity, i want to be cross at God for circumstances that are no ones fault, but I can't because i have to believe that actually things will work so much better when i let God lead the way instead of me thinking i know the best. Although i do wish He would tell me a bit sooner.
So i have decided that change is good, but not just for the sake of change, but because actually something much better is around the corner.
What's the best way to manage change? Let the one who created you take charge.

Why do people like football?

OK so i am biased. As are most football fans. But this morning was hard. After having convinced myself that i wasn't bothered if Forest didn't win last night and get through to the play off final, sitting at half time in the city ground, i was absorbed in the knowledge we were going to do it. But pretty much like always we didn't. Don't get me wrong, finishing 3rd in the league i would have taken at the start of the season, but in the moment, you start to hope and dream of what could be.

Screaming your teams name, jumping up every time they go forward and have a shot, it is easy to get carried away with the occasion and the emotion of the event. I think one of our problems in life is that we live for the experience, the highs of life. This can be great, especially as we learn and experience hoe much God loves us, but it can also become a crutch. When we live for the experience it can be like a drug, and although that time you are on a high nothing feels better, each time you come down from that high, it is easy to feel low, and keep feeling low till our next high. I know after last nights match what a downer felt like, and it was more so because there were times where we were in the lead.

How do we lead our lives? are we looking for the experience or are we content with what we have? Our lives would be so much richer if we look for God in the everyday, see His creation around us, rather than dismissing it and believing He is only around when we feel warm and fuzzy. If we live like the latter we deny God His creativity and His desire to be in every bit of our lives.

If we see what God truly has to offer our lives will be so much richer. Then when we do experience His love and mercy, it won't then lead to a downer but to a richer and fuller life.

Will i listen to my own words? Of course, but i will still be misguided enough to believe Forest will get promoted next season. Duh...

How easy is it to listen?

I don't know if you think your life is full or not? I have come to realise that i like noise, and i like to have stuff happening. I wouldn't say I don't like silence, but i find it hard. Whether i am in the car and have to have the radio on, or in the house and there has to be music or the TV on. Maybe even in the office where i have to have the Internet on or on the phone. What do we put in our lives that helps us avoid silence?

I think silence is very powerful. Whether it is the end of the last Dr who episode where there is just silence, or whether it is the disciples in the boat and He calms the storm, which would have totally freaked me out, the impact of silence is deafening.

I have just been to a convent down in Gloucstershire for a retreat and although it wasn't a silent retreat, it was difficult to get into. No internet access, one small square inch of mobile phone coverage and all of a sudden you feel like there is nowhere to turn, but once I got through the first hour or so you realised how powerful and impacting the silence could be. By cutting out all the noise you start to realise that God doesn't just want to hear from you but He wants to talk to you. I know a lot of people, Christians and not who would say well you can't hear God, or He doesn't speak to me. I think i have realised that actually God does want to and does actually speak to me, the question i have to ask myself though is ' is there too much noise in my life to hear God's still small voice?'

Does anything get in the way of you hearing from Him?

major bloopers

i don't know whether you ever stay until the end of a film in the cinema or watch the credits on a DVD to see if there are any out-takes showing huge gaffs and people messing up. I don't think any of them could have come up with what we saw or heard today. On a huge campaign trail and trying to retain their government from 3rd place (although people keep showing me that that is more than possible), what a huge opportunity Gordon Brown had to meet some real people, in a campaign where he still has the responsibility of running our country. You know he is probably fuming at himself today as he was overheard, under pressure, muttering that a woman he had met was a 'bigot'. Definitely not a wise statement in a close fought election battle.
A couple of thoughts on this whole situation. First, we all make mistakes, but there is no smoke without fire. I made a pact with myself when i was 16. i wasn't a christian, but had got into the habit of swearing quite a lot and i didn't like it, it made me feel horrible about myself, so i decided to stop swearing then. Now if something bad happened to me, or if i hurt myself, i wouldn't slip into swearing because it is not in my head to do so. if i swore occasionally, then i would probably do so if i hit my thumb with a hammer, because the words are in my head. It is what is said and thought when no one else sees or hears that will come out at some point.
Second, we all make mistakes and i think that the mistake that Gordon made today will probably come to haunt him on May 6th, because however many times he apologises he will now be tarnished. We are so good at holding things against people. The Church, as a whole, the place where grace, mercy, forgiveness and restoration are the manifesto of their leader Jesus, are up there with the best. How forgiving as a Christian am I? or do i hold things against people. What do we stand for?
I am not a political beast, and for me the elections are not about personalities but about who, as a team, can lead this country. Yet i have been challenged by how i judge people and what I, as a candidate representing Jesus, can offer others. Richard

can everything be man-made?

Do you find you have to try and control everything? I think there are certain things i cannot cope with if i am not in charge. For example it was Joel's 4th birthday last week, and for his party he had decided to have it at a soft play area. In itself that seems fine, but this was the first party either of my children had had that wasn't a good old fashioned kids party. No musical chairs, no pass the parcel, no mad games, just soft play. So, my most successful part as a dad so far, had suddenly stopped. I had nothing to run.
As you are aware there has been this most surprising effect of a volcano over our flight paths over the past week or so. This is something that no one had seen coming, and has created the most havoc that we have seen in the air the UK has ever seen. Now for a lot of people it has effected their lives, some have just had extended holidays, others it has cost them a lot of money. What i do find interesting is that, having a conversation with someone the other day, is that there is the feeling that this should have been sorted before, and that someone didn't do their job properly.
You know what, i get the feeling that we think, sometimes, everything has to be controlled, and when it can't we just can't cope. It also seems to me that when we get to that situation whether that is through extreme weather or through a natural occurrence, that we still need someone to blame, someone has to be at fault.
Let's face it we are like that as a Christian as well, we need to be in control, and it is so hard to let God be in control. The problem we have is that He knows us better than we know ourselves, and that it is always best to let him lead, even if it is hard. If we try and run things in our own strength, we know there is a chance it will fail, but letting Him lead? only leads to success. So are our lives going to be man made or God made?