Thought for the Week - 12th February 2023

Dear Friends, 

Last week I spent a few days away at the annual London Baptists Ministers’ Conference at the High Leigh Christian Conference Centre in Hertfordshire. It was as ever good to catch up with friends and make new ones, be led in worship, prayer and communion, and also indulge in far too much food which was nevertheless very yummy indeed. The main speaker for the conference this year was the Anglican Bishop Graham Tomlin who was formerly the Bishop of Kensington and is now the Director of the Centre for Cultural Witness based at Lambeth Palace. To capture a few hours’ worth of teaching in just a few lines is impossible, but one thing that resonated and caught my attention was Bishop Graham’s assertion that the church grows in times of crisis, giving the example of the 1940s after World War II. Basing his talks around 1 Peter 2:9, ‘But you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light’, he asked the question, ‘What would it take for there to be a revival in Britain today? He reminded us that there has been and always will be in times of crisis those who are gifted in speaking prophetically and engaging with the masses presenting the power of the gospel message. He referenced the author and Oxford academic C.S. Lewis who in the 1940s gave a series of radio talks focusing on the core beliefs of the Christian faith arguing for the existence of God and that God sent Jesus Christ to redeem the world. The talks were eventually published under the title Mere Christianity one of Lewis’ most popular religious books. Tomlin reminded us in our conference that it is when God equips those who are gifted in communication – be it in art, literature, music, film as well and theological education – and who communicate the saving message of the good news of Jesus Christ in simple but profound ways, that the wind of the Spirit brings lasting change to the lives of people hungry for answers to the burning questions of the day. 

Grace and peace,

Neil

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