The Best and Worst of ourselves

I don't mean to brag but i have just had the holiday of a lifetime. No it wasn't at a doctor who convention, although that would be amazing. After always thinking it was out of my league, a dream became reality and my family and I were stood in front of the Disney palace in Florida looking in awe. Ok I will stop bragging now.
The slight blip on the whole experience was our journey home. Just as we were a few hours away from landing, someone unfortunately took ill, so we turned round and landed at a little airport in a town in Canada called Gander. Unsurprisingly people were a bit frustrated and with most people having a lack of sleep tensions were higher than normal. I don't know what you are like when you are tired, but i struggle to cope with normality. I think there were around 550 others on that plane who had the same issue with tiredness. All this meant the atmosphere in the airport, getting off the plane meant there was a lot of pushing and shoving with people just in it for themselves, as long as they were ok, it didn't matter about how other people were feeling or what was the right thing to do. I managed to just sit back and watch rather than getting agitated and was amazed at how people swung from being nice human beings to everyman for themselves. Even after a couple of hours sleep at a hotel while waiting for food you saw some people pushing themselves to the front.
Then as we were sat in the airport the tide started to turn, there was a sense of community, a sense of everyone in it together, Not that i was there but it was what my grandparents used to talk about when they talked about the war. Community, you know what when people come together to serve each other rather than fight each other, when we put others first rather than ourselves first, there is something beautiful, some would even say you can sense the love of God.
I am sure when the stories of the early disciples in Acts get together they didn't always feel like it and the reality was probably they struggled in community as a lot of people do. Yet we look at what the power of community can bring: acceptance, love, joy and security. Is it no wonder that God loves it.

Richard Dawson

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.