2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

My penultimate post of the day, I promised I would dedicate to a friend of mine, for the sake of anonymity I shall call him ‘Ojneb’.

The hardest part about living as a Christian isn’t the self control, it isn’t the sacrifices, it isn’t the stereotypes, it isn’t even the religion. The hardest part about living as a Christian is knowing people that don’t.

When somebody changes your life around as drastically as God did with mine you want to tell the whole world. Like falling in love you long to shout it from the roof tops, proclaim it from the highest mountains,spreading his word and love. Unfortunately it soon divulges that not everyone is as super enthusiastic about your new found salvation as yourself and your high spirits are quickly dampened. Dont get me wrong, most people are wonderfully accepting and respectful if not a little scathing, but suddenly you realise that unless they know this love for themselves they will never truly understand. Your heart breaks.You may have your own name safely stored in heaven, but the people around you, the people you love and care about, know little or nothing of what that means.

Evangelism is a tricky character, we rarely hit the mark, being either too intimidating or too nonchalant. We fumble over badly memorised Bible passages and then end up saying something we never intended, offending everyone in close proximity (this could just be me). With ‘Ojneb’ the situation is slightly different, he knows the whole salvation spiel already. I met ‘Ojneb’ briefly when he attended the first Christian Union meeting last year, he never came back. As I have said in previous posts, it troubles me that students don’t come back to the CU, so one night after probably a few pints too many, I end up near interrogating poor ‘Ojneb’ as to why he doesn’t bother. Expecting the usual responses of “too busy”or “not my scene”, my jaw hit the floor when he told me he’d become an atheist.

I can just about handle trying to evangelise to be people who have never known God, but to someone who has known God and totally turned their back on him, I did not have a clue where to start. In all honesty I still don’t, but having opened this can of worms I won’t walk away until he finds God again. Yes Ojneb, you will find him again.

With the impending release of the new film in the Narnia series; Prince Caspian, Christian band Switchfoot have been asked to appear on the features sound track. Frontman John Foreman said of the track.

“I wanted to capture the longing that is embedded in much of Lewis’ writing- so I tried to think back to what these stories meant to me when I was six years old and write from that perspective. The song that came out is called “This is Home.” It’s been quite a journey: a San Diego song with strings cut at Abbey Road in London complete with a video shot in Hollywood.”

This is not the first time Switchfoot have featured on the soundtrack for a blockbuster film. In 2004 they released their track Meant To Live on the Spiderman 2 movie.

Perhaps I was a bit heavy handed with saying that there are no successful Christian artists, Switchfoot seem to have made a fairly reputable name for themselves, and their music actually isn’t all that bad. Perhaps the key is that they are not ridiculously over evangalistic. I take my hat off to them anyway!

]]> http://mymoralhighground.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/prince-caspian-promotes-christian-band/feed/ wellsy86 http://mymoralhighground.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/date-with-a-monk/ http://mymoralhighground.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/date-with-a-monk/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 10:31:59 +0000 wellsy86 http://mymoralhighground.wordpress.com/?p=25

On 14th of February this year, I was surprisingly not inundated with cards and flowers (for a change), there was no candlelit dinner, no romantic serenade, this Valentines day I instead found I had a date with a monk (or at least the Christian union did).

I was, at the least, surprised on arrival. I had been expecting some cringey but light hearted talk about Gods love on Valentines day not the fully robed and bearded character who could well have stepped straight out of Robin hood that stood before me . Needless to say I was utterly relieved that I was being spared the cheesy talk, but I was also intrigued as to what this monk would have to say.

It turned out he was a Franciscan Monk who had been converted after years of drug induced turmoil. To be honest I don’t remember a great deal about the rest of his testimony, but I was immensely challenged buy his commitment. On initiation to his specific order of monks he had to make 3 vows.

• Poverty: to physically own nothing.
• Chastity: to remain chaste
• Obedience: to obey the guidelines of their ‘manual’ based on biblical teachings

These were no new years resolutions, these were real lifelong vows, sworn in front of God, and these monks weren’t locked away in their monastery, they were making an active difference in the roughest areas of America and the UK. That is some commitment, I won’t even deny myself a sixth packet of pom bear, let alone all personal belongings. Stunned by this amazing way of life, I asked whether his decision to sacrifice all those things for life, made things more simple. He replied “I have never been so free”.

Imagine not worrying about all the crap we surround ourselves with, living off only what was donated to us, no media distractions, no manipulative advertising to worry about, no money to stress over, and out of choice not necessity. Though I don’t think the monks life is the one for me, I couldn’t help but fall in love with this kind, loving man’s values and was deeply challenged as to how I could free my life a little form worldly distractions. Perhaps stopping on the 5th bag of pom bear would do it.

Tomorrow marks the end of my scholastic year, but before I head out to join the throng of inebriated students for the celebrations I still have a little more work to do. Finishing well, is a hard task to master, when the end of the road is within site its just so easy to sit back and let them finish wash over you. A previous placed I worked in had a high annual turn over of staff and I saw many employees come and go during even my short time there. One of the most important observations I made there was the importance of finishing well. Time after time I saw people leaving the place tired and uninspired because in their head they had left the building the day they handed in their resignation. The following months were merely an irritating interim period, where they half heartedly carried out their work, lacking motivation and enthusiasm for a job that would soon no longer be their responsibility.

It’s such a shame to see people who once loved their work, so despondent. At this time of year I find myself feeling much the same, the end is near , the goal is insight but there is still that short distance to go. This time round though, I’m taking some inspiration from some good fashioned Christian Worship music. I kid you not, my iTunes actually boasts a brand new playlist titled ‘Motivational’ in which I am only collecting Christian music. As I near my 5 o’clock deadline tomorrow, we’ll see if I’m feeling quite as motivated!

I deliberated for some time as to whether to post this article. The controversy that surrounds Christianities view on homosexuality is something I generally try to steer well clear of. I have some really good Gay friends and while I would be able to explain to them what the Bible says about homosexuality, my theological background is somewhat lacking when it comes to how to approach any of the issues in depth. In short I would hate for them to think I was passing judgment on them, which admittedly many Christians do, and so generally refrain from discussing what I don’t fully understand.

Yesterday however proved to be a big day for Christians battling for freedom of speech, and I felt it would be crude to ignore what could have had disastrous consequences. Many Christians believe that the practice of homosexuality was not the best that God intended for us, on Tuesday their right to express such views verbally was nearly taken away, as the government deleted a free speech protection from its proposed homophobic hatred law, with violations resulting in up to seven years imprisonment (yes more than rape). Thankfully for both Christians and anyone in favour of protecting freedom of speech, the protection was reinserted yesterday stating that…

“for the avoidance of doubt, the discussion or criticism of sexual conduct or practices or the urging of persons to refrain from or modify such conduct or practices shall not be taken of itself to be threatening or intended to stir up hatred.”

The protection underlines the fact that criticising homosexual practice or urging people to refrain from such conduct will not, in itself, be a crime. Words or behaviour which are threatening and intended to stir up hatred will understandably be caught by the offence, which carries a maximum seven year prison sentence.

I am not in any way condoning people who wants to go around shouting condemnation on homosexuals, this is neither helpful nor biblical, But I’ll happily admit my relief that the government hasn’t begun to enforce laws that deny a difference of opinion…yet.

For a full length account of the story visit The Christian Institute.

Skiing, Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Gorge Walking, Mountain Biking, Coasteering, Christianity?

If there is one thing Christians seem to be good at, its the outdoors. I’m not sure whether their affinity with nature comes from knowing it’s creator, but when you see them in their element they seem notice every precious detail, drinking in the beauty of creation and that inspire people.( I use the term ‘they’ rather than us, because having spent 2 years and every holiday since working for a Abernethy, a Christian outdoor centre, any of their staff would tell you I am probably one of least ‘outdoorsy’ Christians they know.)

Over the past few years I have come across many outdoor pursuits companies who maintain a Christian ethos, and am proud to have been a part of that network. Many of these companies are non profit making charities partly relying on volunteers and donations, and so essentially provide a brilliant service to the public, only charging enough to cover their costs of running. These companies aren’t aimed specifically at Christians either, though they hold Christian values, most will provide a program individually tailored to your needs, with optional Christian input on request.

On a personal note it was at one of these centres that I became a Christian, and so I could probably be accused with being a tad biased towards them, but next time your thinking about booking a holiday or heading off in to the great outdoors, check out some of these Christian providers.

You never know, it might just change your life.

• Abernethy
• Compass Christian Centre
• Oak Hall
• Richmond Holidays
• Rezurgence
• Teen ranch
• Urban Saints

In one of my previous posts Were ART Thou? I was fairly dismissive of Christian Artists as a whole. What I failed to mention was the brilliant job Christian worship leaders/writers are doing all over the world. Though their music is not necessarily reaching the masses, what they offer to Christians struggling with how to praise God is invaluable. While I would rarely listen to this type of music for recreational purposes, when it comes to worship I could sing emotional ballads for the rest of my days, there is something about the sincerity in the words that totally excuses the mush. This of course is probably not the case for most non-Christians, and they can of course be excused for cringing our sentimentality.

Last year I was recommended the Worship Central podcast presented by popular worship leaders Tim Hughes & Al Gordon, instead of your usual sickeningly Christian tripe, I found amusing banter from two down to earth guys with natural rapport. It was such a refreshing change to hear something that while it was openly Christian didn’t succumb to emotional tactics to engage the audience.

Worship Central is a new school of worship to train and equip worship leaders, musicians and worshippers. Led by Tim Hughes, worshipcentral is based at Holy Trinity Brompton and run in partnership with Soul Survivor.They run worship conferences, worship pastor retreats with a vision to see people encounter God, be equipped as worshippers and see churches empowered to worship in spirit and truth.

To compliment their witty monthly podcast the site offers blogs from both Tim and Al recording various events and projects they’re running. The site is a genuinely good resource for aspiring worshipers and worship leaders, with free guitar chords and acoustic demo’s of new songs. If you haven’t listened to a Christian Podcast before, let this be the first, trust me there is far worse out there.

Subscribe to the Worship Central podcast today.

What do you hope in? For many of us its the usual things, happiness, health and peace in this life. But what about those less fortunate? the hungry? the homeless? what hope do they have when those simple pleasures can seem so unobtainable?

Hope 2008 is an initiative of the churches of Britain and Ireland which is helping to demonstrate Christian faith in action and to explain the meaning of that faith in villages, towns and cities throughout the UK. On their site they suggest five different ways in which to offer people hope.

• Hungry

Hard to imagine that in wealthy countries like the UK and Ireland that there could be people going hungry. But there are. The reasons are complex. But does it matter how they ended up hungry? Let’s just “be the hope” to them! Oasis is doing just that. Why not join them?

• Stranger

A stranger is a friend we haven’t met yet! One way to “be the hope” is to befriend someone that others don’t care about. For example, The Marylebone Project gives homeless women a shared community and sense of belonging and helps them into independent living.

• Naked

Vulnerable people are often exploited by deceitful and violent people. Stop The Traffik is a global movement working to combat the fastest growing global crime, people trafficking. Visit their website to find out about the issues, and how you can “be the hope” to those affected.

• Sick

We may not be nurses or doctors but we can still help people who are sick. Only 2% of people have basic life saving skills; if more people did then more lives could be saved. St John Ambulance helped with this film and need volunteers. Click HERE to find out more.

• Prison

Hope in prison? How can we can “be the hope” for people in prison? One way may be Restorative Justice - click HERE to find out more or read about it on the Prison Fellowship website (PF helped in the making of the film).

If you want more information on how to give hope to others, why not send off for your free copy of recipes for hope.

Being a Christian in todays society is just too hard, isn’t it? Why bother with something that might actually take a little effort from you, even if the reward is greater than you could ever imagine. If you can’t have it right here right now, is it really worth the sacrifice?

In this video Jude Simpson presents a satirical poem about the cost of following Jesus