<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:admin="http://webns.net/mvcb/" xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"> <channel> <title>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/rss</link> <description>King's Church London : blog feed</description> <dc:language>en-en</dc:language> <dc:creator>hello@kingschurchlondon.org</dc:creator> <dc:rights>Copyright 2021</dc:rights> <admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://hyadcms.net/" /> <item> <title>Giving Review Update</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/411</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/411</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/411/tile-Giving-Review-Update-Nov21.jpg" />As our Giving Review Month draws to a close, I thought I would give you a short update on how it&rsquo;s going. <br /><br /><strong>As you may remember, we were asking all of you who call King&rsquo;s home to review your monthly giving as well as to consider making an additional gift towards Vision 2030.</strong> After a slow start during the first two months of the King&rsquo;s financial year, we had set a target of between &pound;200,000 and &pound;220,000 in total offerings for November. <br /><br /><iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/644737013?h=686534fddf" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>I am delighted to report that a significant proportion of the church have participated in the Giving Review so far. <strong>This reflects high commitment across the church, which is very encouraging.</strong> Our best indication is that we seem likely to finish the month at just over &pound;205,000 which, though slightly below our faith target, would still be amazing. Massive thanks to all of you who have taken part!<br /><br />Of course, it&rsquo;s not too late to contribute, so if you have yet to play your part, please prayerfully respond over the next few days as we approach the end of the month.<br /><br /><strong>Diversity Listening Survey</strong><br />You may remember that in my <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/78/item/14/">Vision Sunday message in October</a> I told you that we planned to conduct a listening exercise in the church, specifically on the subjects of race, diversity and justice, as part of our commitment to building a diverse church. <strong>The <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/survey" target="_blank">online survey</a> is now live, and we would love to hear feedback from members of King&rsquo;s about your experiences in these areas.</strong> It is anonymous and is focused on King&rsquo;s in particular. It will take about ten minutes to complete. <br /><br /><strong>Christmas</strong><br />Finally, can I remind you that <strong>our first weekend of carol services is just a couple of weeks away, so now is the time to start inviting your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues</strong>. To help us manage numbers at our in-person services you will need to book free tickets for everyone in your party, which you can now do <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">here</a>. An online version of the service will be also available, and you will find plenty of ideas of how to invite your friends and family, no matter where they live, <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/invite">here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20211125-1051UKFRXFUK9S3S.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="658" /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-11-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Christmas Hope</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/410</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/410</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/410/tile-hope-2021-blue-celebrate.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.&rsquo; &ndash; Hebrews 6:19<br /></em><br />Christmas is approaching fast. Our first weekend of Carol Services at King&rsquo;s is now only three weeks away and band rehearsals are already underway. <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">Christmas at King&rsquo;s</a> is always a highlight, and I am particularly excited that this year we will be meeting in-person once again.<br /> <br /><strong>We are centring this year&rsquo;s Christmas services around the theme of Hope.</strong> Hope is a powerful human emotion. It sustains us through difficult seasons, offering the prospect of better times to come. We can place our hope in many things &ndash; a political party, a relationship or a new job. But often these things can disappoint and fail to meet our expectations: the political party does not keep all its promises; we discover the person we love is as imperfect as we are; and the job we had always dreamed of fails to bring the satisfaction we long for.<br /> <br /><strong>The heart of the Christmas story is one of hope fulfilled.</strong> It tells us of a God who loves us so much He was prepared to come to us in human form and be born in humble surroundings &ndash; a God so committed to us that He suffered and died for us and took our sin upon His shoulders that we might be set free from its power. It&rsquo;s a story about the One who would conquer death and offer us eternal life with Him. <strong>It is a hope that is &lsquo;firm and secure&rsquo; and that is why we celebrate and sing.</strong><br /> <br />This year we&rsquo;ll have in-person <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">Carol Services</a> at our Catford, Lee, Downham and Beckenham sites, along with an online service &ndash; so you&rsquo;re able to invite not only those who live locally, but also friends and family from further afield. We&rsquo;re also running in-person <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/#FCS">Family Christmas Services</a> at each of our sites. You will need to book tickets for the Carol Services if you intend to come along so that we can manage numbers, and you will be able to do so from <strong>Sunday 21st November</strong>.<br /> <br />So I want to encourage you to start inviting your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues to come along to a service. <strong>This really is one of the easiest invites of the year!</strong>&nbsp;<br /> <br /><strong>Let&rsquo;s share our hope this Christmas</strong>.<br /><br /><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas">kingschurchlondon.org/christmas<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20211118-1620AK8BKGTGQ261.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="658" /><br /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-11-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Grateful Givers</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/409</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/409</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <em>&lsquo;On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.&rsquo; &ndash;&nbsp;1 Corinthians 16:2</em><br /><br />The New Testament teaching on giving builds on the Old Testament principle of tithing (Malachi 3:10-12) and bringing our first fruits (Proverbs 3:9). <strong>Because of Jesus, our giving is no longer rooted in law, but in our response to the immeasurable grace we have received in Christ.</strong><br /><br />I believe Christians are givers by very nature. We are called by God to build His Kingdom; <strong>we answer by offering our time, our talents and for most of us, our money</strong>. We should always give out of what we have, not out of what we do not have. We should give as part of our worship to God and not with a mixed motivation of giving so that God gives us more &ndash; though in my experience if you steward your money well, He may well do so.<br /><br />This coming Sunday is the second of this term&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/">Vision 2030</a>&nbsp;offerings. We got off to a pretty good start last Sunday, but I am hopeful for an even better week this week. Please take a look at the video below for a few more words from me about this week&rsquo;s offering.<br /><br /><iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/644737013?h=686534fddf" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>We are extremely grateful for the generosity of King&rsquo;s. The first two months of this new financial year were a little off the target we set, but I am confident that a strong offering throughout November will get us back on track. <strong>If we all participate and bring a gift which reflects our income, I am sure God will provide all our needs.<br /></strong><em><br /><br /></em><em><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/giving-review">Read more about our November Vision 2030 Gift Days &amp; Giving Review</a><br /><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/give">Giving at King&rsquo;s</a><strong><br /></strong></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-11-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Friends Reunited</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/408</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/408</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/408/2021-11-Learning-Community-alt-web1.jpg" />Deb and I are feeling refreshed and ready for the busy run-up to Christmas, having just got back from a two-week holiday in Malta. We have not been able to get away for a full fortnight since before the pandemic, so this was a real treat.<br /> <br />After flying in on Monday evening, I was off to Peterborough the next day to join the rest of the King&rsquo;s senior leadership team at the <a href="https://www.growingtothenextlevel.online/">&lsquo;Growing to the Next Level&rsquo; Learning Community</a>, hosted superbly by Dave Smith of KingsGate Community Church. Along with brilliant input from Rachel Gardner, Louis Giglio and Mike Pilavachi, it was also fantastic to meet up with pastors from across the nation and encourage each other to keep running the race. It was a joy to see David Stroud, a long-time friend who I have known since we were both youth pastors in Bedford, as well as Owen Hylton, Sean Green, Andy Cottingham, Jim Partridge and Ben Welchman, to mention just a few. A meal out in the evening with the King&rsquo;s team and Geoff and Sherry Surrat from the USA rounded off a full and fruitful day.<br /><br />Today Deb and I are representing King&rsquo;s and Newfrontiers at the Richmond Group, an annual gathering of UK church leaders hosted by Nicky Gumbel from HTB and Pastor Agu from Jesus House. This is yet another opportunity to gather with brothers and sisters from across the wider body of Christ to learn, pray and worship together. We&rsquo;ve thoroughly enjoyed visiting Lambeth Palace and hearing from Archbishop Justin Welby.<br /> <br />So this really has been a week of reconnecting with friends from the wider church, many of whom I haven&rsquo;t seen face-to-face since before the pandemic. It has been a busy week and I am looking forward to being back at King&rsquo;s on Sunday. Don&rsquo;t forget this week is the first of two giving Sundays, so please come prepared for the special offering towards Vision 2030. Let&rsquo;s rebuild and rejoice!<br /><br /><br /><em><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/giving-review">Read more about our November Vision 2030 Gift Days &amp; Giving Review<br /></a><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/give">Give online<br /><br /></a></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-11-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Global 2021</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/407</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/407</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/407/web-Global-21-Slide-Title-no-dates.jpg" />We have just come to the end of an excellent couple of days meeting with the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers</a> apostolic fellowship for our annual Global conference. This event would normally be held in Cyprus, somewhere that is relatively easy for people from all parts of the world to get to. Unfortunately, ongoing travel restrictions meant we were unable to do this, so like last year, the conference was held online. Despite the limitations of Zoom, it was wonderful to spend time with these true friends and partners in the Gospel.<br /> <br />As the conference began on Wednesday, it was great to see people from Europe, Asia, Africa and America popping up on the screen &ndash; different nations, different languages, united in purpose to serve Jesus. Scott Marques from Zimbabwe kicked us off with a message on &lsquo;The Lamb of God&rsquo;, challenging us to focus our attention on Jesus and allow Him to increase and ourselves to decrease &ndash; such a helpful reminder as we started our time together.<br /><br />At our Global events we like to take the opportunity to learn from different parts of the church world, and Simon Holley served us brilliantly by giving us an overview of Disciple Making Movements. Andrew Wilson then brought a very helpful message about some of the undercurrents and issues facing the gathered church as we emerge from the pandemic. It&rsquo;s good to be challenged and provoked, and both sessions led to some constructive group discussions.<br /><br />Across our two afternoons we also made space to pray for one another and allow the Holy Spirit to move, and it was fascinating to see common themes in the prophetic words that were brought.<br /> <br />I am so encouraged by the last two days. Despite the challenges of the last 18 months, we remain strong in faith and confident of God's provision for the next season. It is a privilege to be part of a global church family such as Newfrontiers and we look forward to gathering in person next year.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20211014-1420VQ828DGWEEL4.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-10-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Vision Sunday â€“ Nehemiah 2</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/406</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/406</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <p>Last Sunday was <strong>Vision Sunday</strong>, an important day in our church calendar. This is something we do every year at the beginning of the autumn term. <strong>It is an opportunity for us to re-engage with all that we believe God is calling us to</strong>. It is a moment to look back, giving thanks for God&rsquo;s faithfulness and provision over the last year and putting our present situation in context. It is also a time to look ahead, setting out the next step in our faith journey.<br /><br />For this year&rsquo;s Vision Sunday I spoke out of Nehemiah 2, addressing the unique challenges we have faced over the last 18 months and drawing on the narrative of Nehemiah&rsquo;s return to Jerusalem. <strong>Nehemiah was embarking on the rebuilding of the city, and we are on a journey of regathering and rebuilding the church</strong>. If you missed last Sunday&rsquo;s message, or would like to watch it again, you can do so here:</p> <p><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/620587471?h=8691f9418b" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />I encourage each of you, whether you have been part of King&rsquo;s for some time or have joined us more recently, to <strong>step in and play your part in regathering and rebuilding God&rsquo;s church</strong>. As we do so, let's remember Nehemiah's words at the end of chapter 2: &lsquo;The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding&hellip;&rsquo; (Neh 2:20). <strong>As we start this new church year, let&rsquo;s commit our time, our treasure and our talents to serve God first</strong>.</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-10-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Rebuild &amp; Rejoice â€“ An Invitation to Vision Sunday</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/404</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/404</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/618845315?h=c40cf45d32&amp;title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>I want to extend a special invite to all of you at King&rsquo;s to join us this weekend for <strong>Vision Sunday</strong>, when I&rsquo;ll be speaking out of Nehemiah 2. This is always an important date in the church calendar, and as we begin to<strong> rebuild and regather the church</strong> after the challenges of the last eighteen months,<strong> I want to encourage you to be there <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">in person</a> if you can</strong>.<br /><br /> I am particularly excited that from this Sunday, <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sites-and-meetings/">all four of our sites</a> will be open, with the relaunch of <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/beckenham/">Beckenham</a>! I&rsquo;m also glad to tell you that kids&rsquo; ministry is now available at all our venues. Please note that there is no need to book in for any of our services, and from this week mask wearing will be optional. For those of you who are not yet comfortable with gathering in-person, the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online service</a>&nbsp;will be available as usual, but for everyone else &ndash; I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-09-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Crisis Response</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/403</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/403</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/403/2209crisis-response_web.jpg" />In August 2019, Deb and I had the privilege of visiting <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/apostolic-leaders/">Edward and Fridah Buria in Kenya</a>. As well as leading Kimbakia Christian Centre in Meru, Edward has planted many other churches in Kenya and the surrounding regions, and has apostolic oversight for churches in that area. During our visit, we saw first-hand how the local church is at the forefront of responding to the needs of their communities, with numerous projects such as food provision, employment and business initiatives, and healthcare. <strong>Everywhere we went we saw churches bringing about community transformation &ndash; the kingdom of God at work.</strong><br /><br />As a nation, Kenya has faced many crises, including widespread droughts and famine. When Covid hit last year, Edward, Fridah and their churches met the challenge with characteristic faith, compassion and commitment. <strong>For the last 18 months they have been working with some of the poorest communities and helping hundreds of families, providing essential food supplies for both adults and children as well as vital PPE equipment.</strong><br /> <br />As a church, King&rsquo;s is committed to supporting friends in the wider <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers family</a>, particularly through the current Covid crisis. As well as helping those in our own local community through <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/">JRP</a>, we have sent &pound;5k to Kenya to go towards the work Edward and his team are doing there.<br /> <br />Please pray for Edward, Fridah and the churches in Kenya as they continue to do God&rsquo;s work in that nation. On top of the economic challenges brought about by Covid, many parts of the country are experiencing severe drought once again, making an already difficult situation even worse.<br /> <br /><strong>In fact, there will be opportunity to pray tonight at our one church online prayer meeting, starting at 8pm</strong> (link available through the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/">website</a> just beforehand). As well as praying for our friends in Kenya and other nations, we will be worshipping and coming before God with all that lies ahead at King&rsquo;s this term. It should be a great evening and I look forward to seeing many of you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-09-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>New Births and New Beginnings</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/402</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/402</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/402/1609new-birth-new-beginnings_web.jpg" />I came home from church on Sunday buzzing with excitement. Everywhere I&rsquo;d been, whether it was Catford, Downham or Lee, I had bumped into people returning for the first time since the pandemic began. I&rsquo;d also chatted to a number of visitors who have been enjoying our online services and are now coming along in person. It was great to see our venues filling up again as we continue to rebuild and regather. We also had the joy of celebrating <strong>new births</strong> as thirteen families dedicated themselves to raising their children to love and follow Jesus.<br /> <br /><strong>This Sunday we&rsquo;ll be celebrating more &lsquo;new births&rsquo; with baptisms at each site.</strong> Seeing brand new believers take the important step of publicly declaring their faith in Jesus is always an encouraging moment.<br /> <br />Our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">next Alpha course</a> starts in a few weeks, with an introductory evening on Thursday 30 September at 8pm. In the video below you can hear Chris&rsquo; story of how he put his faith in Jesus after starting to attend King&rsquo;s and joining the Alpha course.&nbsp;<strong>Now is a great time to start thinking about who to invite among your friends and family &ndash; perhaps this could be the year when they too find new life in Jesus.<br /><br /><iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/291955611?h=121babda70" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /></strong>This feels like<strong> a season of new beginnings</strong>, and I am excited for the term ahead. Remember if you are planning to be at King&rsquo;s on Sunday you no longer need to book a place in advance. For the time being we are asking you to wear a mask as you arrive and when you sing, although you are welcome to remove it when sitting down and listening to the preach. <strong>Don&rsquo;t forget also that this Sunday the Lee site goes back to one morning meeting at 10.30am.<br /><br /></strong>Finally, a reminder that next Wednesday, 22 September at 8pm, you can join us for an evening of worship and prayer at our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">one church online prayer meeting</a>. It should be a great evening, and I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-09-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Three Key Dates</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/401</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/401</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/401/0909-three-key-dates_web.jpg" />Friends, a new church year is upon us, and I am excited that we are now able to start regathering the church in a more intentional way. We will of course continue to keep an eye on how the pandemic progresses and adjust accordingly. (Please see my <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/400">latest video update</a>, posted last week, for more details about our next steps in opening up the church.)<br /><br />As the new term starts, I would like to draw your attention to three key &lsquo;building blocks&rsquo; happening in the coming weeks:<br /><br />Firstly, on <strong>Wednesday</strong>&nbsp;<strong>22nd&nbsp;September at 8pm</strong>, there will be a <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/2734/one-church-prayer-meeting"><strong>one-church online prayer meeting</strong></a>, to which everyone is warmly invited. This will be a great opportunity to pray for the year ahead at King&rsquo;s.<br /><br />Then the following <strong>Wednesday, 29th September</strong>, you are invited to an evening called <strong><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/2737/time-to-rebuild">&lsquo;Time to Rebuild&rsquo;</a></strong>. The evening is open to all, and <strong>I will be sharing more details about how we intend to rebuild and regather the church, our plans for Sundays, and key updates about staffing and finance</strong>. This will be an <strong>in-person meeting, starting at 8pm on the Catford site</strong>. <br /><br />Finally, <strong>Sunday 3rd October</strong> is <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/2798/vision-sunday"><strong>Vision Sunday</strong></a>. This is an important Sunday of the year when I will be sharing our hopes and plans for King&rsquo;s in the coming year.<br /><br />As we begin taking these exciting steps towards coming back together, I would encourage you to put these dates in your diary. I look forward to seeing you at all three key occasions. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-09-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Regathering the Church</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/400</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/400</guid> <description><![CDATA[ Can I encourage you to have a quick look at this video update explaining the next steps we are taking towards regathering as a church? <br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/596642220?h=c40cf45d32&amp;title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><strong>To summarise, from this Sunday we are stopping the booking in system, so please just come along.</strong> However, we will continue to follow the guideline of having no more than 50% occupancy in our venues. We will still ask you to wear masks as you arrive and as we sing, but you are free to take them off during the sermon. <br /><br /><strong>We are also delighted to confirm that from 3rd October the Beckenham site are relaunching Sunday meetings back at Harris Academy.</strong> We are extremely grateful for the flexibility the church has shown over the past months to accommodate people from other sites, especially on the Lee site. We believe we have enough capacity now to return to one meeting at Lee from 19th September. We hope to provide kids&rsquo; work at all our meetings, but this depends on the availability of volunteers and will vary from site to site.<br /><br />This has undoubtedly been a challenging 18 months, unlike anything we have been through before. I want to take this opportunity once again to commend all of you at King&rsquo;s for your willingness to adapt and accommodate the many changes that have taken place since March 2020. <strong>I am excited to be making these further steps towards regathering and although we will continue to provide an online option, we believe now is the right time to encourage you to attend in person if you are able to</strong>. <br /><br />This Sunday will be particularly poignant as <strong>Phil Varley will be preaching his last message to us before he and Sarah move to Rotterdam to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/398/">plant a church</a></strong>. During our services we will take the opportunity to thank and honour Phil and Sarah for their ministry amongst us. Phil is preaching live at the Catford 9.30am meeting and the Lee 11.30am meeting if you would like to come and hear him in person. I hope to see you there! ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-09-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Sharing Hope</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/399</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/399</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/399/1208-sharing-hope_web.jpg" />At last year&rsquo;s Vision Sunday I announced our plans to partner with <a href="https://www.htb.org/">HTB church</a> and their <a href="https://www.loveyourneighbour.uk/">Love Your Neighbour</a> initiative as part of our response to the Covid crisis. The combination of our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/hope/">Hope Fund</a> and match funding via Love your Neighbour has meant that we have been able to provide much needed help to some of the most vulnerable in our community during this difficult time. Over the last year we have been able to provide 4,500 boxes of food to local families and individuals. We have also helped 150 people with money and debt advice, and 70 people with employment support.<br /> <br />Alongside Love Your Neighbour, the normal work of our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/">Jericho Road Project </a>has continued. <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a>, our weekly meal and outreach service, switched to a delivery system during Covid, and has delivered over 20,000 hot meals to people in need since the start of the pandemic. As the crisis has eased we have been able to pause this, and The Feast will reopen its in-person service at our Catford venue on 8th September.<br /> <br />Although the funding from Love Your Neighbour has now come to an end, we are excited to announce that from October, King&rsquo;s will continue to provide a more focussed <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/big-red-box/">Big Red Box</a> food parcel service. I will be sharing more details about this on Vision Sunday (3rd October). I am also glad to tell you that JRP will continue to offer debt and money advice through the CAP Money Course, with courses continuing through 2021 and 2022. The next course is due to start on Wednesday 22nd September and more details can be found <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/cap-money-course" target="_blank">here</a>. We will also be opening an over the phone befriending service so that we can continue supporting those struggling with loneliness and isolation. If you are interested in being involved in this or any other volunteer opportunities available at JRP, please <a href="mailto:alice.tibbert@kingschurchlondon.org" target="_blank">contact Alice Tibbert</a>.<br /><br />The JRP team have recently produced this short video highlighting one of the residents and her success in fashion design, despite periods of homelessness. The video is a great opportunity to meet the team and find out more about the breadth of work they do.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/581157759?h=53e0b4030c&amp;title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the fantastic staff team on JRP, who have worked tirelessly through this very demanding year. I would also like to thank the many volunteers who are involved in Love Your Neighbour and JRP &ndash; you are an essential and highly valued part of what we do. And I would like to thank all of you at King&rsquo;s for your ongoing support and prayers for JRP and its fantastic work. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-08-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Church Plant in Rotterdam</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/398</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/398</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/398/0508-churchplantinrotterdam_web.jpg" /><strong>Last Sunday Phil and Sarah Varley shared the exciting news that God has called them to plant a church in Rotterdam in the Netherlands with New Ground, part of the Newfrontiers family of churches.</strong> If you missed their video, here is a slightly longer version, which includes some of the remarkable prophetic leading they have received. <br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/583050333" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />Let&rsquo;s continue to pray for the Varleys as they prepare to move across the Channel this summer. We have asked Phil to preach on Sunday 5th September when we will officially send them out. On Vision Sunday (3rd October) I will give more detail about how we plan to support this pioneering move to establish a church. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-08-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Sunday Service Reminder</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/397</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/397</guid> <description><![CDATA[ In light of all the recent changes to the government&rsquo;s Covid regulations, here&rsquo;s a reminder of how services will be operating at King&rsquo;s from Sunday 25th July:<br /><br /><iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/575329994" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br />To summarise:<br /><br />&bull; We will continue with <strong>two</strong> meetings at each of our Catford, Downham and Lee venues. Each site will offer some level of kids&rsquo; provision depending on volunteers, space, etc.<br /> <br />&bull; You will still need to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">pre-book</a> for all our Sunday services and register on arrival. We will limit our auditorium capacity to 50% at each venue and will still have some spacing between chairs. Services will be just over an hour in length.<br /><br />&bull; We will ask you to continue to wear face masks. <strong>We are going to encourage singing in worship, but with masks on.</strong> While seated during the updates and sermon, you can take your mask off. <br /><br /><br />I&rsquo;m really looking forward to being able to sing and worship together once again, albeit with masks on. There is nothing quite like joining with God&rsquo;s people to praise and worship Him! <strong>This Sunday also sees the start of our summer sermon series, <em>God of All Things</em>.</strong> It will be based out of Andrew Wilson&rsquo;s latest book, which I highly recommend and which you can order from <a href="https://www.godofallthingsbook.com/about">here</a>. Each week we will look at a different part of creation &ndash; earthquakes, rain, sun, rainbows - and discover what each reveals about the character of God.<br /> <br />Don&rsquo;t forget to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">book your place</a> if you intend to come to an in-person service this Sunday. I hope to see you there.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20210722-1929PV5VNR1CG1ZK.jpg" alt="" width="3840" height="2160" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-07-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Update on Sunday Services</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/396</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/396</guid> <description><![CDATA[ Following the government&rsquo;s announcement on Monday about the latest Covid guidelines and restrictions, I am really looking forward to things opening up a bit more. I&rsquo;m particularly delighted that singing will once again be permitted in churches after 19th July! <br /><br />Here is a video update from me explaining what will be happening on Sundays at King&rsquo;s from 25th July. You will also find a written summary of the key points below.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/575329994?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br />We believe it is important that we gather together as the people of God, but we want to do this in a measured and safe way, especially as not everyone has been vaccinated yet and Covid cases are rising.<br /><br />Here are some of the revised guidelines we will be following in our services from Sunday 25th July and throughout August. We will review these at the end of August: <br /><br />&bull; We will continue with two meetings at each of our Catford, Downham and Lee venues. Each site will offer some level of kids&rsquo; provision depending on volunteers, space, etc. <br /><br />&bull; You will still need to pre-book for all our Sunday services and register on arrival. We will limit our auditorium capacity to 50% at each venue and will still have some spacing between chairs. Services will be just over an hour in length.<br /><br />&bull; We will ask you to continue to wear face masks. We are going to encourage singing in worship, but with masks on. While seated during the notices and sermon, you can take your mask off. <br /><br />I have really missed singing at our in-person services and look forward to doing that together again from 26th July. <br /><br />On a different note, I want to take this chance to say thank you again to all of you at King&rsquo;s for continuing to be such a generous church. We want to model the stewardship of our resources in an open and transparent manner, and we will report in more detail to the church about our finances at our Vision Night. I have decided to postpone the Vision Night until the Autumn, which will hopefully enable more people to attend. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-07-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Important News</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/395</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/395</guid> <description><![CDATA[ Last Sunday we announced that Phil and Sarah Varley believe God is calling them to move on from King&rsquo;s. Phil and Sarah are dear friends, and our partnership in the Gospel has borne much fruit over the last 25 years. If you missed the video interview with them that we showed last week, I do encourage you to have a look below. Please pray for them as they seek God for their future.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/567113469?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />Don&rsquo;t forget that we have now resumed regular adult services on our Catford, Downham and Lee sites. If you are intending to come along, remember you still need to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">book a place</a> for each person attending. Please check the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">website</a> for more details.<br /><br />I am taking some holiday now and will be back in a couple of weeks. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-07-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Recommended Reading</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/394</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/394</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/394/2406-recommended-reading_web.jpg" />While speaking with Terry Virgo during the first lockdown last year, he told me he was taking the opportunity to write a book based out of the life of Moses. He clearly used the time well, and <em>God&rsquo;s Treasured Possession: Walk in the Footsteps of Moses</em> has recently been published. I am so enjoying reading it, and I would love to recommend it to you all. <strong>It&rsquo;s classic Terry, rooted to the Biblical narrative, confident in the sovereignty of God, with an appeal to respond to God with faith.</strong> With short, accessible chapters, it&rsquo;s a great book for your personal devotions.&nbsp;<br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-06-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Moving Times</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/393</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/393</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/393/1706-moving-times_web.jpg" />I am extremely grateful that King&rsquo;s invests in its pastoral team by offering a twelve week sabbatical every seven years. It&rsquo;s probably one of the main reasons I&rsquo;m still serving as a pastor in the local church. During my three decades of pastoral ministry, I have taken several sabbaticals and have found them invaluable for restoring my spiritual and emotional health.<strong> However, the first couple of days back in the office following the break often leave me with a headache, as I absorb three months&rsquo; worth of pastoral news in one go &ndash; that&rsquo;s twelve weeks of news, both good and bad. It&rsquo;s a lot to take in at once.</strong> <br /><br />Across the summer, we hope to emerge from any form of lockdown and increasingly move from being a church that meets online, to being the gathered people of God meeting in person. <strong>But I suspect one of the greatest challenges as we come back together, will be hearing 15 months of pastoral news in a very short period of time</strong>. To differing degrees, it is likely that we will all experience what I have felt on returning from a sabbatical. <br /><br />The lasting impact of Covid on church life will take a while to fully understand, but as the church begins to regather in the coming months, we are bound to discover that some of our friends have moved on. At the same time, many new people who have joined us online are now beginning to attend our in-person services. Last Sunday alone, I spoke to ten visitors who have been enjoying our online services and are now coming along to one of our venues. <br /><br />It&rsquo;s worth being aware that pre-pandemic, we estimated that in any given year around 200 people would join King&rsquo;s and around 100 would move on. <strong>This constant movement of people, saying goodbye to old friends and welcoming new ones, is part of the natural ebb and flow of life in a growing church.</strong> As we come back together, we will begin to notice 15 months&rsquo; worth of movement in one go. That&rsquo;s a lot to take in at once. My counsel to you is not to worry too much if you get a headache - I promise it will pass quickly. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-06-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Elders and Trustees</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/392</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/392</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/392/1005-eldersandtrustees_web.jpg" />As a teenager, I once asked my mum what the pastor of our church did all week, because as far as I could see, he only worked on Sundays. I think I imagined he spent Monday to Saturday playing golf! I have now been in pastoral ministry for 31 years, and while Sunday is certainly the high point of the week, I now know that <strong>most pastoral work takes place outside this and is largely unseen</strong>. <br /><br />At King&rsquo;s we are fortunate to have a wonderfully gifted and committed staff team, who I obviously meet with frequently. However, <strong>two key leadership meetings I attend each month are with our elder and trustee teams</strong>. Our monthly elders&rsquo; meeting took place online this week. Our subject matters included an <strong>ongoing discussion about the issue of race and justice</strong>, and we looked again at a draft questionnaire which will facilitate a listening exercise within King&rsquo;s during the autumn term. Another agenda item was around <strong>staff culture and the care of our staff as we emerge from lockdown</strong>. The other important monthly meeting is our trustees&rsquo; meeting, which I attend but is chaired by Simon Linley, who is not on staff. This is a more formal meeting, with reports on expenditure and giving, debt management, HR and safeguarding and buildings. <strong>The work of the trustees is a part of church governance which is rarely seen but is critical to the health and care of our family.</strong><br /><br />We are privileged at King&rsquo;s to be served by such excellent staff, <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/leadership/">elder and trustee</a> teams, and we value your ongoing prayers. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-06-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Rebuild and Regather</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/391</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/391</guid> <description><![CDATA[ This week, a short video update about our plans to <strong>rebuild and regather the church</strong> over the next few months. <br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/558447204?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><strong>The church is the primary agent of God&rsquo;s kingdom. We believe in the importance of the gathered church, God&rsquo;s people.</strong> As restrictions are lifted, vaccinations are rolled out and the number of Covid cases remains relatively low, we will continue the journey back to our normal church experience. I appreciate there are lot of changes happening at the moment, so here&rsquo;s a quick summary of our plan for <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">in-person services</a> for the next few months:<br /><br />Sunday 6 June &ndash; Kid&rsquo;s family services, 9.30 and 11.30, Catford, Downham, Lee (<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">book tickets here</a>)<br /><br />Sunday 13 June &ndash; Regular adult services, 9.30 and 11.30, Catford, Downham, Lee (<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">book tickets here</a>)<br /><br />Sunday 20 June &ndash; Kid&rsquo;s family services, Catford, Downham, Lee (tickets available from Sunday 6 June)<br /><br /><strong>From</strong> Sunday 27 June &ndash; Regular adult services <strong>each week</strong> at all venues, with kids&rsquo; ministry available (tickets available from Sunday 13 June)<br /><br /><br />Of course, <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online services</a> will continue for those of you who are not able to attend one of our venues just yet, but I want to encourage all of you who feel comfortable to start returning to our in-person services. I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-06-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Leadership Lessons</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/390</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/390</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/390/2705-leadership_web.jpg" />I was talking with Scott Marques on the phone this week and we began by hearing about what we had each been doing over the weekend. I told him that on Saturday I had been in Milton Keynes delivering a day&rsquo;s teaching on leadership for the Catalyst training course. When he quizzed me about the content I confessed that I really only have one talk on leadership, most of which he has probably heard many times before. Whenever I speak on the subject, I emphasise <strong>the importance of knowing yourself</strong> and use material <strong>aimed at increasing people&rsquo;s self-awareness.</strong><br /><br />During the day, I introduced<strong> five key themes from five voices that have shaped my understanding of leadership</strong>. These are:<br /><br />1. Tim Keller&rsquo;s excellent paper on <a href="https://seniorpastorcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Tim-Keller-Size-Dynamics.pdf">Leadership and Church Size Dynamics</a>&nbsp;<br />2. I have always found <a href="https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles">Belbin&rsquo;s test on team contributions </a>extremely helpful.<br />3. The personality types found in&nbsp;Florence Littauer's book, <em>Personality Plus</em><br />4. Gordon McDonald&rsquo;s teaching on the underlying questions in each decade of life, found in his excellent book, <em>A Resilient Life</em>.<br />5. Jack Hayford&rsquo;s teaching on Seasons of Ministry, from <em>Christianity Today</em>, 1996<br /><br />Teaching this material again made me realise afresh that <strong>multiple voices have shaped my leadership philosophy</strong>. It&rsquo;s worth asking yourself what voices are shaping you? What are you reading on leadership? Who are you learning from? <br /><br /><strong>THE KING AND HIS KINGDOM</strong><br />I am looking forward to attending an <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">in-person service</a> at King&rsquo;s again this week &ndash; remember to book a place in advance if you intend to come along. Our current teaching series on <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/media/series/">The King and His Kingdom</a> continues, and Charles Kimbangi will be speaking. We also have the privilege of watching an interview with Alice Bell, a long-time member of King&rsquo;s and inspirational servant in God&rsquo;s kingdom. For those of you who don&rsquo;t want to wait until Sunday, here&rsquo;s the full interview below.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/555755330?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-05-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Family</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/389</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/389</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/389/2005-family-tiles_web.jpg" />As the latest phase in the lifting of restrictions has gone ahead this week, albeit with a note of caution attached, I have been reminded once again of how much I value family, whether that&rsquo;s my own personal family or my church family. The physical separation from each other has been one of the most challenging aspects of the last 15 months, and it has been great to be able to welcome people into our homes again in the last few days.<br /><br />On Sunday, I enjoyed being with the King&rsquo;s family at an <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person">in-person service</a> again. Being able to share communion and participate in corporate worship, even if we are not permitted to sing just yet, was powerful &ndash; many thanks to the band, who led so well and to Andrew, who brought an outstanding message. It is encouraging to see that more and more people are coming along each week, and I hope you will feel able to make the journey back soon, if you have not already done so.<br /><br />Then on Friday, Deb and I will be travelling to Bedford to visit our parents for the first time since August last year. We are very much looking forward to seeing them again after so many months apart, and to spending the evening with my brother Martin and his wife Dawn, who we also haven&rsquo;t seen since last summer.<br /><br />From Bedford we travel to Milton Keynes, where I will be delivering a day&rsquo;s training to a group of leaders from Catalyst, who are part of the Newfrontiers family of churches. This will be the first time I have done any face-to-face teaching since March last year! I'm looking forward to being able to interact with a group of leaders without having to worry about whether I&rsquo;ve left the mute button on or the wi-fi&rsquo;s about to disappear.<br /><br />So this is a week for seeing family again &ndash; my King&rsquo;s family, my biological family, and my wider Newfrontiers family. I am grateful to God for them all. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-05-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Trust in God</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/387</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/387</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/387/2105-white-tailed-eagle.jpg" />Deb and I have just returned from a week&rsquo;s break on the north Norfolk coast. This was our first chance in a long time to have a holiday away, and it was great to be in the countryside and enjoy long walks and pub lunches, even if it was rather cold. Some of you may know I&rsquo;m a keen birdwatcher, and I&rsquo;m happy to report a new record of 102 different birds seen in the space of a week! For any fellow twitchers out there, one of the highlights was watching a white-tailed eagle soaring above the Norfolk marshes. Amazing.<br /><br />I have been extremely encouraged by the church&rsquo;s response to our in-person services. We estimate between a quarter and a third of the church is already gathering in-person. With the continued success of the vaccine roll out and the steady reduction in Covid cases, it does appear to be increasingly safe to mix again. It is certainly good to see a gradual adjustment back to normality &ndash; I&rsquo;m particularly looking forward to being able to welcome people inside our home again from next Monday. <br /><br /><strong>I therefore want to keep encouraging you to come to an <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">in-person service</a>&nbsp;&ndash; to leave your armchair and come and sit in a King&rsquo;s blue chair for the Sunday meeting.</strong> We will probably run a similar pattern of in-person services up until 21st June, and we will let you know the next phase of our plans after half term. <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">Online services</a>&nbsp;will continue to run for those who, for whatever reason, are unable to make the journey back to gathering in-person just yet.<br /><br />I am increasingly hopeful that we are starting to emerge from this dark season. Last week, as I watched the white-tailed eagle, I thought of those wonderful verses in Isaiah, reminding us that&nbsp;<em>&lsquo;&hellip;those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.&rsquo;</em>&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>King&rsquo;s, let&rsquo;s keep trusting God as we move forward together.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-05-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Changing Times, High Level Objectives</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/386</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/386</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/386/2021-04-29-changing-times-high-level-objectives-web.jpg" />This is the time of year when I write what we call at King&rsquo;s our <strong>High Level Objectives paper</strong>. The idea for this came from Rich Nathan, founding father of the Vineyard Church in Columbus, Ohio, during a very helpful visit to us in 2013. Rich had suggested we needed <strong>a paper which would aid us in our planning process and ensure that the different departments or ministries of the church were kept on the same page</strong>.<br /> <br />I had been writing a High Level Objectives paper each April for the last six or seven years until last year, when the pandemic hit. It was very difficult to set mid-term goals for us as a church or staff team when the year ahead was so unclear. Instead, like most churches, our focus was on quickly adapting to a fast-changing situation and on pastoring a church through a very challenging season. However, as the Covid situation begins to improve in this nation and we are starting to open things up again, I felt it was appropriate to write a High Level Objectives paper again. Historically, I have sent this to the team before we all go away to France for a few days to discuss it. This has always been an annual highlight for us a team, with a great mixture of prayerful discussion, shared meals and lots of fun together. <strong>This year, we may not be in France but we have had the exciting experience of meeting in our offices for the first time in over a year!</strong><br /> <br />As we sat in our (widely-spaced) circle on Tuesday, I presented a very different Higher Level Objectives paper to those I have presented in the past &ndash; more key themes than specific goals, given that the season we are in is still full of uncertainties. <strong>I have called the paper <em>Changing Times</em>, and one of the main emphases is on how we regather as a community in the coming year.</strong> Our discussions over the last few days have been fruitful. <strong>After a difficult year it is great to be taking these small steps back to normality.</strong><br /> <br />I encourage you to join us again this Sunday, either <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">in-person</a> or <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online</a>, as Andrew Wilson opens up our new teaching series, <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><em>The King and His Kingdom</em></a>, which takes us through the first half of the book of Luke. Deb and I are taking a short holiday next week, but I hope to see you at a service in a couple of weeks' time. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-04-29</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Services at King&apos;s</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/385</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/385</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/385/web-meeting-online-and-in-person.jpg" />This weekend we are expanding our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">in-person</a> services to six meetings, i.e. 9.30 and 11.30 at our Catford, Downham and Lee venues. As I write, we are nearly full at Catford, but have space at the Lee venue for both services. We will continue with our provision of family and adult services on alternate weeks, and this Sunday, 25th April, is a family service. Our usual <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online services</a>&nbsp;will continue to be available every week.<br /><br />You will need to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">book a place in advance</a> if you would like to attend an in-person service and remember, if you normally attend the Catford site but live on the Corbett Estate or closer to the Lee building, we are encouraging you to come to the Lee venue 11.30 meeting.<br /><br />I hope you have enjoyed the&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/3/">guest speakers</a> we have had over the last couple of weeks. This Sunday we have our dear friend and partner in the Gospel, <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/partnership-in-zimbabwe/">Scott Marques</a>, speaking online. Services available hourly from 9.30am as usual. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-04-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>More Services </title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/384</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/384</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/384/web-meeting-online-and-in-person.jpg" />Deb and I are looking forward to attending an in-person service at King&rsquo;s again this Sunday, 18th April. Like me, I imagine many of you have been enjoying these small steps back to something like normality.<br /> <br />This is just a reminder that from 25th April we will be opening up more services, with a 9.30am and an 11.30am service at each of our Catford, Downham and Lee sites. We will continue the pattern of holding family and adult services on alternate weeks &ndash; this Sunday, 18th April, is an adult service so on 25th it will be family services. I know it can be hard to keep track of what is happening, so here&rsquo;s another opportunity to see the update video I recorded a couple of weeks ago giving more details of the plan for services over the next couple of weeks.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/531684930?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="352" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>It was great to hear from <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/media/">Ben Lindsay last Sunday</a> &ndash; thank you Ben for bringing such a helpful word of encouragement for these times. This week our short series of guest speakers continues, and we have the privilege of hearing from Matt Chandler, lead pastor of The Village Church, Texas and the President of the Acts 29 Network. Please <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">join us online</a> or <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">book your place</a> if you would like to attend an <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">in-person</a> service. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-04-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>We Remember</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/383</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/383</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <strong>Last week, in the lead up to Easter, we held two online services to remember loved ones we have lost in the last year.</strong> Since March last year, more than fifty families from King&rsquo;s have gone through the pain of seeing family members or friends pass away, mostly as a result of Covid. As part of the services, we showed a couple of videos remembering and honouring all those connected to King&rsquo;s who have passed away. <strong>It was deeply moving to stand together and grieve the losses of the last twelve months, and I thought I&rsquo;d take the opportunity to show them again here:</strong><em><br /><br />Catford &amp; Beckenham</em><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/531683544?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><em>Downham &amp; Lee</em><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/531683558?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />We continue to pray that the love of Jesus and the comfort of the Holy Spirit would surround all those suffering loss at this time.<br /> <br />Over the next three Sundays, we have the privilege of welcoming some excellent guest preachers to King&rsquo;s. <strong>This Sunday, we have Ben Lindsay, CEO and founder of the charity 'Power the Fight' and author of <em>We Need to Talk About Race</em>.</strong> As well as our usual <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online services</a>, we also have in-person family services at Catford, Downham and Lee. These are booking up fast, so if you have primary aged children and would like to attend, please <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">reserve your place</a> as soon as possible.<br /> <br /><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20210406-0931FKPKAV3RVPSC.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="658" /><br /><br /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-04-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Let&apos;s Regather</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/382</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/382</guid> <description><![CDATA[ I love this time of year, with signs of new life everywhere. Spring this year has been particularly welcome, after so many months of winter lockdown. Like many of you I am enjoying being able to meet up with a few friends and family outside again, and the warm weather of the last few days has made it even better.<br /> <br /><strong>As the Covid situation continues to look more positive in the UK, we are moving ahead with our plans to start opening up services again at King&rsquo;s.</strong> I shared some important details about these plans in a video at last week&rsquo;s service, but as things are moving fast, I thought it would be helpful to show it again here.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/531684930?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="352" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>This Easter weekend, we will be hosting two services at our Catford, Downham and Lee sites on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We would love you to join us, but places are booking up fast, so please <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">reserve yours now</a> if you would like to come along. We will of course be&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">meeting online</a> as well on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20210401-1700CK9VAHR8LBH3.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="658" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-04-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Vaccine Hope</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/381</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/381</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <strong>At the beginning of last year, I had the yellow fever vaccine.</strong> Our first trip to Zambia required us to have this before we travelled there, and we needed a vaccine certificate to be allowed through immigration. I don&rsquo;t know much about yellow fever, and to be honest I didn&rsquo;t do a lot of research into the vaccine, but I trusted the scientists and medical professionals who had made it possible. Also, I wanted to go to Zambia and didn&rsquo;t want to catch yellow fever!<br /><br />Last Sunday we showed an interview with two of our medical professionals about the new Covid vaccines, and I thought it would be good to give you another opportunity to watch it. We know some people have had concerns about the vaccine, and we thought it would be helpful for you to hear from a couple of medical professionals in the King&rsquo;s community who have a lot more knowledge and expertise in this area than I have!<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/525660599?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="352" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>It has been amazing to see the phenomenal pace at which vaccines are being rolled out here &ndash; as I write, some 30 million doses have now been administered in the UK. <strong>I am glad to say that Deb and I have had our first jabs, and my parents had their second this week.</strong> We are very grateful for the scientists and medical professionals who have made this possible &ndash; <strong>after such a difficult year, it is good to have some positive news and with it, the hope of better times on the way.</strong><br /><br /><strong>WE REMEMBER<br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20210325-16583CJ5WL6DYJSU.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="658" /><br /></strong><br />We have now passed the one-year anniversary of lockdown in the UK, and there is no doubt that it has been a challenging time for us all. However, many in our King&rsquo;s family have been affected by Covid in the most tragic way. Sadly, over 50 families have lost a family member to this terrible illness. <strong>Next week we are holding two remembrance services &ndash; on Tuesday for Downham and Lee, and Wednesday for Catford and Beckenham.</strong> The services are open to all, and details can be found <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">on our Events page</a>. These services on Zoom will have worship, prayer, words of encouragement and a video tribute to those we have lost. We will share stories of hope in the midst of tragedy. <strong>This is a great opportunity for us to stand together as a community as we remember the losses of the last year.<br /><br /></strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-03-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Gift of Rain</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/380</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/380</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/380/the-gift-of-rain-web.jpg" />Over Christmas, I was invited by my friend <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/apostolic-leaders/#nfapostolicleaders">Scott Marques</a> in Zimbabwe to join a group praying for a church-planting, kingdom-building project in Nampula, Mozambique. The group included people from UK, Holland, USA, Zimbabwe, as well as Mozambique itself. We committed to praying regularly for three months, asking God for breakthrough in areas where the work has been facing significant pressure. One of these was the need for rain. The rainy season in Mozambique had begun, but very little had fallen by the end of December and water levels were becoming worryingly low. <strong>We prayed that God would send the rain.</strong> By the end of February, the situation had become more severe &ndash; still no rain. With only four to five weeks&rsquo; supply left in reservoirs and the end of the rainy season approaching, the region was facing the prospect of a severe drought. <strong>Without the precious provision of rain, the local community and the kingdom-business would be in crisis.</strong><br /> <br />One morning early in March, I read a chapter about rain in Andrew Wilson&rsquo;s excellent new book, <a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/a_theology_of_things"><em>God of All Things</em>.</a> In it, Andrew likens rain to the grace of God: we do nothing to deserve it, nothing to earn it; it falls on both the just and unjust; God sends life-giving, thirst-quenching rain because HE is generous and kind, not because we are. (<em>God of All Things</em> is out now, and I highly recommend getting hold of a copy.) As I finished the chapter I was stirred to pray for Mozambique again. A couple of days later, I heard&nbsp; that <strong>it had rained more in Nampula in the previous two days than it had in all of January and February put together</strong>. It was a great encouragement to our friends on the front line of kingdom extension in Mozambique, and to me &ndash; <strong>God hears our prayers!</strong><br /> <br />I am glad to report that rain has continued to fall over the last few weeks, and the reservoirs are now almost full, praise God. I thought you might like to see this video sent by Scott just this week, showing the full-flowing waters in one of the local reservoirs in Nampula. I encourage you to watch it right to the end for a glimpse of some of the local wildlife!<br /> <br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/525550101?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="352" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><strong>Please do pray for our brothers and sisters in Mozambique, who still face significant challenges. Let&rsquo;s pray for the project to be firmly and securely established and for the Gospel to be fruitful in that region.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-03-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>One Year Later...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/379</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/379</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/379/meeting-in-person-starting-14mar21-web.jpg" />I cannot believe that it is almost exactly a year since I last went to an in-person service at King&rsquo;s. (Although we were able to briefly open up services last autumn, I was unable to be there.) <strong>So you will understand that I am very excited at the prospect of attending my first in-person service in 52 weeks this Sunday!</strong> What is more, we have Shirley Toppin preaching, a much loved and respected member of King&rsquo;s, who has served the church for many more years than I have! I am looking forward to celebrating Mother&rsquo;s Day and hearing her speak. We will of course have all the usual Covid precautions in place (no singing, limited numbers, face masks, etc.) but it will be great to be in a room with some of the King&rsquo;s family.<br /> <br />There will be just one service at our Catford, Lee and Downham sites this week, and if you wish to attend, please book a place in advance - all the details you need can be found <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">here</a>. We hope to increase the number of services over the coming weeks and months, subject to the Covid situation continuing to improve. I look forward to seeing some of you this Sunday, but for everyone else, please join us <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online</a> as usual. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-03-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>From Armchairs to Blue Chairs!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/378</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/378</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/378/chairology-web.jpg" />Here is a video update from me about our hopes and plans to reopen in-person services over the coming months. <strong>We will begin with one service on our Catford, Downham and Lee sites from 14th March. We will then gradually offer more services as the months progress and as restrictions are eased, increasingly encouraging people to move from their armchairs, back to the King&rsquo;s blue chairs!</strong> All being well, if the vaccination programme continues to be rolled out so successfully, virus levels remain low, and the government is able to follow through on their proposed plan to slowly lift restrictions, we will return to a normal church experience, including corporate singing, kids&rsquo; work, etc. by the summer. <br /><br /> <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/519612920?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>This has been a challenging year for us all, but it finally feels as if there is light at the end of the tunnel. Let&rsquo;s keep praying that this terrible virus will be pushed back, not just in this nation but throughout the world, and that life will soon return to normal. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-03-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>More Together</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/377</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/377</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/377/newfrontiers-MT-ST-blog2.jpg" /><strong>It&rsquo;s hard to believe, but this time last year Deb and I were seven days into a three-week trip to southern Africa, visiting churches in Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.</strong> We had left the UK aware that Covid was starting to spread around the world but not imagining how much it would shortly change life for us all. On arrival in Zambia and Zimbabwe we had our temperatures checked and were asked if we had any symptoms, but none of the measures which we have now become used to were yet in place. We therefore enjoyed visiting churches, meeting with groups of leaders and sharing meals together, with little idea that such freedom would be impossible very soon. Who knows when we will be able to visit again?<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20210225-17348QCK9HV2HCVA.jpg" alt="" width="4032" height="2268" /><br /><em>With Joseph and Lily Mwila and the church in Kitwe, Zambia.<br /></em><br />Deb and I had entered 2020 with a number of overseas trips planned, starting with the trip to southern Africa. Sadly, the global pandemic meant we had to cancel visits to Newfrontiers churches in Armenia, India and Russia. We were also due to travel to Cyprus last October for the Newfrontiers Global leadership conference, when the transition of the leadership of Newfrontiers from David Devenish to me would be marked. Of course, an in-person conference gathering people from all around the world became impossible, and so we decided to host it online. <strong>I am very proud of our King&rsquo;s Comms Team, who pulled off a remarkable <a href="http://newfrontierstogether.org/global2020/" target="_blank">three-day online event</a> last October, with over 70 nations joining us for the transition moment.</strong> <br /><br /><strong>Taking on the leadership of Newfrontiers has obviously been a significant increase in responsibility for me, and I had never imagined I&rsquo;d be doing so in the middle of a global pandemic!</strong> However, I am grateful for the technology which has enabled us to stay connected with people around the world. Just recently, Deb and I, together with David and Scilla Devenish, were able to &lsquo;Zoom in&rsquo; and bring greetings to a gathering of Russian church leaders. I was also able to record a message for them on &lsquo;grace-filled families&rsquo;, which they&rsquo;d watched just before we appeared live on screen. Hopefully, we&rsquo;ll be able to be there in person for their next conference. <br /><br />Following the success of the online Global conference, things were relatively quiet on the Newfrontiers front for the rest of 2020, partly because I was recovering from an operation. However, they are now picking up pace, and I can see we will soon need to decide whether to host this year&rsquo;s Global conference in Cyprus or online.<strong> Whatever happens, I remain certain that God&rsquo;s church continues to be active around the globe.</strong> Please do pray for our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, many of whom are facing significant challenges brought about by the pandemic and other factors. You can find all the latest news from the different spheres within our fellowship on the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers</a> website. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-02-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Diversity Update</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/376</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/376</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/376/image001-1.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the lamb.&rsquo;&nbsp;</em><em>Rev 7:9<br /></em><br />King&rsquo;s Church London has always been a diverse community &ndash; in age, class, and in cultural and racial heritage. This reflects our local community, and if you live in this part of south east London you will see the same diversity just about everywhere you go. Heaven will be like this, made up of <em>&lsquo;every nation, tribe, people and language&rsquo;</em>. <strong>If you look at our mission field and consider our eternal destination, then the local church should connect the present to the future.</strong> <br /><br />Building a truly diverse church, one in which every person feels they belong, is not without challenge. In June last year <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/all/speaker/steve-tibbert/439/">I outlined our response</a> to the awful murder of George Floyd, calling us to continue our journey of becoming an &lsquo;Ephesians 2&rsquo; church (<em>&lsquo;For he himself is our peace, who has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility&hellip;&rsquo;</em>&nbsp;). <strong>These themes of missional relevance and heavenly perspective, rooted in biblical revelation and local church experience, are not new to us</strong>. Most recently, our 2017 <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/invited/">INVITED series</a>&nbsp;encouraged us to take intentional steps towards being a diverse church and to keep building relationships with those who are different to us. But the shocking events of last June served to highlight a truth which we already knew &ndash; that racial prejudice and its resulting injustice continues to be seen in our society, and that all too often, it remains unrecognised and unchallenged by those with the power to change things. The events of last June challenged us as a leadership to consider what more we need to do as King&rsquo;s continues to address the important issues of race and justice. Here is a brief summary of some the recent steps we have taken so far:<br /><br />&bull; We addressed the subject directly on two occasions in our autumn preaching programme. I highly recommend listening again to the messages brought by our Teaching Pastor,&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/all/speaker/andrew-wilson/474/">Andrew Wilson</a>, and by our friend <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/all/speaker/tope-koleoso/464/">Tope Koleoso</a>, pastor of Jubilee Church, Enfield. <br /><br />&bull; We have profiled Ben Lindsay&rsquo;s book,&nbsp;<em><a href="https://benlindsay.co.uk/#book" target="_blank">We Need to Talk About Race</a>,</em> and encouraged people to read it. This is an insightful and challenging book about the black experience in white majority churches. Last term, many of our staff took part in a weekly group to read and discuss the book together.<br /><br />&bull; We appointed Kwaku Osafo and Roberta Walker as new <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/leadership/">trustees</a> at King&rsquo;s. <br /><br />&bull; All our staff are attending unconscious bias training.<br /><br />&bull; We have held three separate consultation groups with members of King&rsquo;s.<br /><br />&bull; Our elders have discussed the issues raised at length, including reflecting on such things as worship style, language, representation at all leadership levels, to name a few. These discussions are ongoing.<br /><br />&bull; We are planning another longer teaching series focussing on the issue of diversity and challenging us again to be an Ephesians 2 church.<br /><br />&bull; I would also value your prayers as I, together with some key staff members from King&rsquo;s, advise, coach and talk with other UK churches as they grapple with this important area of ministry.<br /><br />We are taking steps, but we know we have a long way to go. As we continue on this journey, I encourage us all to keep playing our part in building an Ephesians 2 church.<br /><br /><br /><em>Please note there will be no blog next week as I will be taking a week's holiday.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-02-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Giving Update</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/375</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/375</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/375/it-all-belongs-to-him-web.jpg" />As a part of King's&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/all/speaker/steve-tibbert/468/">Vision Sunday</a> last October, we set a target of &pound;2 million for this financial year (Sept 2020 to August 2021). <br /><br />It is not always easy to talk about money in our culture as it tends to be seen as something that is intensely private. <strong>Yet it is an area of our lives which God cares about deeply &ndash; how we steward our money is an important part of discipleship.</strong> Nearly 25% of Jesus&rsquo; words in the New Testament deal with biblical stewardship; one out of ten verses in the Gospels deals with money. In his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul offers some advice about giving:<br /><br /><em>On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. </em><br /><em>1 Corinthians 16:2<br /></em><br />In these verses, Paul is setting out three important principles regarding giving:<br /><br />1. Our giving should be regular (&lsquo;On the first day of every week&rsquo;)<br />2. Giving involves us all (&lsquo;each one&rsquo;)<br />3. How much we give should be in accordance with what we earn (&lsquo;a sum of money in keeping with your income&rsquo;)<br /><br />Over the last 25 years I have had the privilege of leading a very generous church, and I have taught regularly on the subject of giving.<strong> I believe a good starting point is to give 10%, save 10%, live off 80%.</strong> Or, as John Wesley famously said, <em>&lsquo;Earn all you can, give all you can, save all you can.&rsquo;&nbsp;</em>If you would like to understand more about King&rsquo;s philosophy of giving, please have a look at this interview I did with Charles, our Beckenham Site Leader, a few years ago.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/298367400?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>So far this year, we are making good progress towards meeting our target of &pound;2 million. <strong>Five months into the church financial year we have given &pound;828,000.</strong> This is an encouraging start, particularly in the current economic climate, although we are a little behind where we would like to be at this time of year. <br /><br />Lastly, a reminder that through our Love Your Neighbour initiative, we are working alongside local Christians Against Poverty (CAP) services to offer money and debt advice. They run <a href="/cap-money-course">an excellent four-week course</a> which covers subjects such as <em>managing and getting out of debt</em> and <em>setting a budget</em>. Take a look at the short video below or go to our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/love-your-neighbour/">Love Your Neighbour</a> page if you&rsquo;d like to know more.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/505628661?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-02-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Love Your Neighbour</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/374</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/374</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/374/love-your-neighbour-web.jpg" />In my <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/41/">Vision Sunday</a> talk last October, I shared the exciting news that we had secured some match funding from the government as a part of Holy Trinity Brompton&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.loveyourneighbour.uk/">Love Your Neighbour</a> (LYN) initiative, set up to support people who are struggling because of the Covid crisis. This week, I thought I&rsquo;d take the opportunity to update you on how it&rsquo;s going.<br /><br /><strong>Well, I am happy to tell you that our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/love-your-neighbour/">Love Your Neighbour</a> partnership is up and running and going well!</strong> The extra funding we have received, together with the ongoing generosity of the King&rsquo;s family, means we have been able to greatly expand our food provision through <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a> and <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/big-red-box/">Big Red Box</a>. As well as this, we are now also offering employment support and debt advice as part of LYN. <br /><br /><strong>FOOD PROVISION</strong><br /><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a> has been running at King&rsquo;s for over twenty years and is part of our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/">Jericho Road Project</a>. Until the Covid crisis hit last year, it offered a hot sit-down meal, friendship and support to around 100 of the most vulnerable in our community, every Wednesday evening. When lockdown was imposed, this was no longer possible and so The Feast transformed to a delivery service. At its height, the amazing team were preparing and delivering over 400 hot meals every week, mainly to those who were unable to cook for themselves or did not have the facilities to do so. It was great to hear from Simon Allen, who leads the Jericho Road Project, that we have been able to reduce that number in the last few months, as people find they are no longer in need of the help or are better served with a weekly delivery of groceries through our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/big-red-box/">Big Red Box</a> project. <strong>Currently, they are sending out hot meals each Wednesday and Sunday, totalling about 260 meals per week.</strong> <br /><br />On Sunday afternoon, Deb and I took the opportunity to visit <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a>, which operates out of our Catford building. After meeting the team serving that day and seeing some of what they do, we went out as part of the delivery service and dropped off a hot meal and other essential items to three of our contacts. <strong>We were so impressed with the whole operation and all the volunteers involved &ndash; the cooks, washer uppers, packers, delivery drivers, and behind the scenes, some excellent administrators; it&rsquo;s quite a project to get all the different elements coordinated and running so smoothly.</strong> <br /><br />Through LYN we have also expanded our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/big-red-box/">Big Red Box</a> food hamper project, which we have been running each Christmas for many years, so that it now runs every week. <strong>We are currently sending out over 100 boxes a week to families and individuals referred to us directly, or through schools, Social Services and local charities. </strong><br /><br /><strong>DEBT ADVICE</strong><br />I&rsquo;m also very glad to tell you that we are working alongside local <a href="https://capuk.org/">Christians Against Poverty</a> (CAP) services to offer money and debt advice. This is such an important subject, and one many of us shy away from, but <strong>this is an excellent course which has proved extremely helpful to those who have done it</strong>. The first (four-week) CAP Money Course started this week and is already full, but <a href="/cap-money-course">we have a new course</a> starting on Wednesday 24th February, and there will be other courses running through the year. Please take a look at the short video below to find out more:<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/505628661?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><strong>EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT<br /></strong>The Covid Crisis is having a dramatic impact on our economy, and sadly many people are finding themselves without a job. <strong>When faced with unemployment, it is often difficult to know where to turn, which is why I am thrilled that we are now running an Employment Plus service in partnership with the Salvation Army in Catford.</strong><br /><br /><strong>REFERRALS &amp; VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES<br /></strong>You can make a referral for yourself or someone you know to any part of our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/love-your-neighbour/">LYN</a> project &ndash; food provision, money and debt advice, or employment support &ndash; using <a href="https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=u3zKenvldE-aHUHKCi62wu0V7u6Ce9lCtwJiaJGp8PlUMFdGVUgyUjBVSVdHWE5GTDY1UjdUNzM3SSQlQCN0PWcu">this referral form</a>, and someone will be in contact with you.<br /><br /><strong>Lastly, none of this could happen without the support of our fantastic volunteers, but we are always looking for more.</strong> (In fact, Deb and I have just joined a Big Red Box packing team, something we really enjoy doing.) The LYN team are in particular need of delivery drivers on various days, and Employment Plus volunteers who can help on Friday mornings. If you are interested in helping in either of these or in any other area, please email <a href="mailto:volunteer@kingschurchlondon.org">volunteer@kingschurchlondon.org</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-01-28</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>God&apos;s Plan for Your Wellbeing</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/373</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/373</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/373/GPFYW-ST-blog-web.jpg" />As I write, I cannot remember if we are in our second or third lockdown. Are we in tier 3 or tier 4? To be honest, as the weeks and months pass, it all seems to blur. We have become used to having church online and meetings on Zoom, to chatting to friends and family on FaceTime and leaving the house as seldom as possible. Many of you are juggling working from home with teaching your kids; others are unable to choose to stay at home, but are serving us all in our schools, hospitals, supermarkets and other essential services. There are encouraging signs that the daily number of new Covid cases is starting to fall, and they seem to be making good progress with the vaccination programme, but the reality is that we still don&rsquo;t know when this current lockdown will be eased, or when life will start to return to anything like normality. <br /><br />On Sunday we launch our new teaching series, <em><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/wellbeing/">God&rsquo;s Plan for your Wellbeing</a></em>. Each week, we will look to God&rsquo;s Word to develop <strong>a faith-filled mindset towards issues around physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, financial and vocational wellbeing</strong>. <em>God&rsquo;s Plan for your Wellbeing</em> is based on the book of the same name, written by Dave Smith, who leads KingsGate Church in Peterborough. It is an excellent resource for addressing the particular challenges of our times, and we encourage you to read the book alongside the series. Details of how to buy a discounted copy can be found <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/wellbeing/">here</a>.<br /><br />I am excited about this series, and I encourage you to make the most of it by watching the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online Sunday service</a>, joining a <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/groups/index.php#groupselect">group</a> and reading the book. We will also be holding a number of seminars, which will look at some of the key issues raised in more depth. All details about the series can be found <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/wellbeing/">here</a>.<br /><br /><strong><em>God&rsquo;s Plan for your Wellbeing</em> is a practical, personal and pastoral series, which we believe will assist us as we continue to adjust to life in some form of lockdown and restriction.</strong> God has always had a plan for the flourishing of His people. He cares about our wellbeing. As we journey together through this seven-week series, I pray that we will each come to a deeper awareness of God working in every area of our lives. <strong>Ultimately, it&rsquo;s in Him that we find peace and joy.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-01-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Week of Prayer</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/372</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/372</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/372/cs-WOP-Jan21.jpg" />I&rsquo;m back this week after a few weeks off over Christmas &ndash; perhaps not the break Deb and I had originally hoped for, but a restful and enjoyable time for us nonetheless.<br /><br />We enter 2021 with our nation facing another sharp rise in Covid cases. <strong>This is why we have taken the decision not to hold in-person services for the time being (I say more about this in the video below).</strong> In our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online service</a> this week, we will be hearing from a member of King&rsquo;s who works in the NHS about the challenges they and their colleagues are facing. Let&rsquo;s keep praying for all those we know who are serving us in healthcare and other frontline services.<br /><br /><strong>I want to encourage all of you to join us for our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/week-of-prayer/">Week of Prayer</a>, which starts on Sunday 17th January at 7pm.</strong> This is certainly a difficult season for our nation, but what better time to come together, to stand in the gap and call out to God. We may be gathering on Zoom, rather than in our buildings, but God still hears us! <br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/500431562?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>All the details you need will be available on the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/week-of-prayer">website</a>. So let&rsquo;s gather from Sunday, each day, to worship and pray. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-01-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>King&apos;s Update</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/371</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/371</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/371/tile-meeting-in-person-we-will-review.jpg" />Happy New Year!<br /> <br />I hope and trust that you all had a good Christmas and New Year celebration &ndash; even though it was very different to what we would normally enjoy.<br /> <br />While we were unable to gather in-person at our Carol and Watchnight services, thousands joined us online, rejoicing at the birth of Jesus, the light of the world, and praying God&rsquo;s blessing into 2021.<br /> <br />Over the weekend, I spoke with the King&rsquo;s elders. We have agreed together that in light of the increased Covid-19 cases in London, that during January we will only gather online. So sadly this means no in-person services on 10th January and our week of prayer will now just be online gatherings, but let&rsquo;s still join together and pray for 2021.<br /> <br />King&rsquo;s you are a remarkable church. Better days are ahead for everyone. Keep going and stay safe. ]]></description> <pubDate>2021-01-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Thank You, King&apos;s</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/370</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/370</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/370/web-thank-you.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.&rsquo; &ndash; Philippians 4: 6-7</em><br /><br /><strong>As 2020 draws to a close, I felt prompted by God to write to all of you who call King&rsquo;s home and express my gratitude for everything you have contributed to this church family over the last twelve months.</strong><br /><br />It has undoubtedly been a difficult and challenging year, yet it began with one of the most remarkable seasons of prayer I have ever seen at King&rsquo;s. I want to thank you again for your positive response to the call to pray in January. Through the month, night after night, we gathered in our hundreds to bring our prayers and worship to God. <strong>As we cried out to Him, He met us powerfully, filling us afresh with faith for all that God has called us to.</strong> We had little idea at the time of how much we would draw on this in the months ahead, as the challenge of the Covid pandemic swept around the globe during February and March.<br /><br />Deb and I flew back in from a three-week trip to southern Africa on 13th March, and two days later we had our last &lsquo;normal&rsquo; King&rsquo;s Sunday services for the year. As Covid numbers rose and a national lockdown was imposed, our fantastic Comms and Worship teams worked round the clock to put our services online. On Sunday 22nd March, <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">King&rsquo;s Online</a> was launched. <strong>I want to thank all the staff and volunteers who have contributed to our online service provision &ndash; I never fail to be impressed by the quality and creativity of the content.</strong> (Particular thanks should go to our Comms team, who have worked tirelessly and given hours of creative energy to producing Kings Online.) And I want to thank all of you who have gathered week after week on your phones, tablets and laptops, in your living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms, to worship God and listen to His word online. The numbers joining us each week have been encouragingly and consistently high. People have watched our services from all over the UK and from many different nations. <strong>God finds opportunity in every circumstance, and moving services online has undoubtedly opened them up to many who might never have walked through our doors.</strong><br /><br />As March and April progressed, and Covid took its dreadful toll on the health of this nation, King&rsquo;s was affected by illness and loss more than most UK churches I know. Tragically, some in our congregation lost family members to this awful disease, and many more were ill themselves. It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Mavis Stewart, a long-time member of King&rsquo;s, who contributed so much over many decades to our church family and to the wider community. Then last week Iris Feasey, another long-time member, also passed away. Iris had been a faithful, prayerful part of King&rsquo;s throughout most of her life. She was much loved by those of us who had the privilege of knowing her, and she will be sadly missed. <strong>Through these difficult months, I have been deeply moved by the way the church has responded to the pastoral challenge brought about by Covid.</strong> Thank you to all of you who have picked up the phone, given practical and emotional support, reached out to neighbours and served others in countless small acts. <strong>This year has proved that the church continues to be active even when in-person services are not possible &ndash; God&rsquo;s church in action goes way beyond Sundays.</strong><br /><br />When lockdown started, the fantastic staff and volunteers at our<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/"> Jericho Road Project</a> transformed <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a> from a weekly sit-down meal for about 100 people to a hot meal delivery service three times a week. <strong>Between March and November, they have distributed an amazing 14,300 freshly made meals to people in need.</strong> I am also thrilled that King&rsquo;s is now partnering with <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/love-your-neighbour/">Love Your Neighbour</a> to provide regular food hampers to people who need them, as well as debt advice and employment support.<br /><br />Thank you also to all of you who have stepped forward to lead a group or have been part of one during this year. We have seen the launch of many more groups at King&rsquo;s since March, and more people than ever have joined one. <strong>As our usual means of being together were stopped, we have learnt to embrace new technology and find innovative ways to support each other, pray, worship and grow together.</strong><br /><br />The end of May brought another tragedy, with the awful murder of George Floyd in the USA. The shocking event sparked renewed calls for racial justice, and protests about the unfair treatment of black and brown people took place in many nations, including the UK. The issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement were &ndash; and still are &ndash; felt deeply at King&rsquo;s. I want to thank all of you at King&rsquo;s for the way you have responded with such grace during this time. <strong>As a church, we continue to intentionally take steps to raise awareness, to speak up, to provide teaching and training opportunities, and to build an &lsquo;Ephesians 2&rsquo; church.</strong><br /><br /><strong>I also want to thank you for your remarkable financial generosity in these uncertain times.</strong> I know that some of you have been furloughed, and sadly some have even lost their jobs because of the Covid crisis. Yet throughout this year, the church has continued to give faithfully and generously, enabling us to continue pressing forward with all that we believe God has called us to. <br /><br />As the year progressed and Covid numbers began to decrease in the UK, there was a loosening of lockdown restrictions. For a few weeks, we all enjoyed the freedom of having small groups of friends in our gardens or meeting up in parks, and for a short while, even small gatherings in homes were permitted. Finally, we were able to begin in-person services again. Yet no sooner had we started than a second wave of Covid cases took hold in the UK. Lockdown was imposed again and we had to close our buildings once more. Though Covid numbers remain worryingly high in London, we are now able to start them again (within strict guidelines). However, the majority of us at King&rsquo;s will still be worshipping online for the foreseeable future.<br /><br /><strong>I could not finish this blog without thanking the fantastic team of staff at King&rsquo;s.</strong> Throughout this year, they have responded to every change and challenge with commitment and faith. I am very proud of them all.<br /><br /><strong>King&rsquo;s you are a remarkable church.</strong> Whatever your Christmas looks like this year, whether you are with a few family and friends or on your own, I pray that you will know &lsquo;the peace of God that transcends all understanding&rsquo;. <strong>As 2020 ends, we look forward to all that 2021 will bring, knowing that Christ will sustain us and keep us whatever the future holds.</strong> Love and blessings to you all. <br /><br /><br /><em>Steve will be taking a short break over Christmas and New Year and will be back in January.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-12-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Come to Jesus and Worship Him</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/369</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/369</guid> <description><![CDATA[ It&rsquo;s that time of year where Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ. Here is a short exhortation from me, encouraging us all to find time amid the busyness of this season to focus on the significance of Christmas.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/488878167?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>King&rsquo;s, let&rsquo;s ensure we make time this Christmas to come to Jesus and worship Him. Let&rsquo;s pause and reflect on the wonderful truth that a Saviour has come to us, that light has broken into darkness. <br /><br />Details of everything that&rsquo;s happening at <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">King&rsquo;s this Christmas</a>, as well as all you need to know about our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">in-person</a> and <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online</a> services, can be found on the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/">King&rsquo;s website</a>.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/487321722?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-12-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Who Will You Invite?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/368</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/368</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/368/main-LOTW-online-carol-services-dates.jpg" />I have always enjoyed inviting people to our Christmas carol services. It is one of the easiest invitations to make, and this year I have already begun making a mental list of those I can invite to join us online &ndash; some local, but others further afield. <br /><br /><strong>The Christmas story represents light coming into darkness.</strong> This year, many of the areas in which we normally put our comfort, security and confidence, have been shaken; more than ever, the eternal truths of the Gospel are needed. <br /><br /><strong>Our online carol services will be going out over the weekend of 19 and 20 December.</strong> Having the services online has brought an unexpected opportunity as this year, geography is no barrier to inviting people along! Many of the elements of our usual King&rsquo;s carol services will be in the online event, and the Worship and Comms Teams are already busy preparing and recording some outstanding content. Our Teaching Pastor, Andrew Wilson, will be giving a short talk, and there will be a mix of worship, carols, testimonies and performance songs. <br /><br /><strong>As you make your preparations for Christmas, I want to encourage you to start thinking about who you&rsquo;re going to invite to a carol service this year.</strong> You will find everything you need to know about Christmas at King&rsquo;s, what&rsquo;s happening when and how to invite people, on our&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas">Christmas page</a>. <br /><br />Finally, as London comes out of strict lockdown and enters Tier 2 restrictions, I am glad to be able to tell you that <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">in-person services</a> will be resuming on our Catford, Downham and Lee sites from 13 December. As previously, we will still need to follow government guidelines to make the meetings as Covid-safe as possible, and you will need to book a place in advance if you wish to attend. All details will be available on the website from Monday 7th. Meanwhile, the majority of us can continue to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">join King&rsquo;s online</a>. <br /><br />More details of what is happening at King&rsquo;s over the Christmas and New Year period will be coming soon, so keep an eye out for updates. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-12-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Do Babies Go to Heaven?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/367</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/367</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/367/do-babies-go-to-heaven-web.jpg" /><em>This is the last week where Andrew Wilson, our Teaching Pastor, will be posting the last in a series of guest posts on this page while Steve takes a short break from blogging.</em><br /><br />Do babies go to heaven? It&rsquo;s hard to think of a theological question I am asked more often. Despite the fact that infant mortality in the West is as low as it has ever been, the eternal destiny of babies remains a huge question for people in church, online, at conferences, and pretty much everywhere. It is easy to ask, difficult to answer, and for many, it has significant implications for the way we think about God, let alone our children.<br /><br />The emotional urgency of the question demands a response. Few pastors or friends want to say simply, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo; As a result, we can be drawn into prooftexting in a way which is hasty, even glib. Yes: Jesus let the little children come to him (Luke 18:15-16). No: all humans are sinners in Adam until they believe in Christ (Romans 5:12-21). Yes: David, a believer, knew that he would see his son again in the afterlife (2 Samuel 12:15-23). No, unless they have been baptised: you must be born of water and of the Spirit (John 3:5). Yes, if their parents are believers: Christian parents sanctify a child (1 Corinthians 7:14). And so on. Even if none of these passages, when read in context, actually tell us whether babies go to heaven, our desire for a solid answer forces us to find one.<br /><br />A number of theologians have tried to answer the question in a broader way. The Westminster Confession affirms that some infants are elect, but does not say that all are, and gives no way of telling which ones are or are not. The Catholic Catechism allows for hope that infants may be saved without baptism but stops short of affirming that all will be (although Pope John Paul II clearly implied that unborn children would be in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae). A surprising number of leading Calvinist evangelicals, including Al Mohler and John Piper, believe that all infants will be saved, on the basis that they cannot mentally understand the nature of God, and as such are not &ldquo;without excuse&rdquo; like the rest of humanity. Meanwhile, most Eastern Orthodox theologians have shaken their heads in disbelief, muttering that if it wasn&rsquo;t for Augustine&rsquo;s wrong turn on original sin &ndash; the Eastern church have generally rejected Augustine&rsquo;s view that Adam&rsquo;s sin is imputed to all humans, babies included - we wouldn&rsquo;t even be asking the question.<br /><br />The puzzle for me, for many years, was why the Bible did not address the question. Theologically, I found the &ldquo;yes&rdquo; argument about mental ability and accountability very persuasive (and I still do). Personally, I never worried that, if my children died suddenly, they would go to hell (and I still don&rsquo;t). Pastorally, I was happy to reassure people in my church that their infants were with Jesus (and I still am). Yet it still bothered me that, on a question with such widespread relevance and pastoral implications, Scripture was silent. I have two children with special needs, who may never reach the point where they can understand the gospel. So if the Bible is given to make us wise concerning salvation, I kept wondering, why is it so open-ended on this?<br /><br />Then, a few years ago, I was on a conference panel with two friends, fielding questions from teenagers. Someone asked this question, as they usually do, and my friend took the microphone and suggested a thought-experiment. Imagine, he said, that there was a passage in Scripture that made it clear. Let&rsquo;s say there was a text that affirmed, without any doubt, that all infants who died before the age of (say) five years old would be eternally saved. If that were the case, you just know that at some point, given our desperation for answers and the track record of the church, some sick cult would have emerged that practised the killing of children before they reached five. Cults have been founded on much less.<br /><br />Suddenly I saw it. There are some subjects on which, for our good, Scripture is not clear. Some questions are better answered with tentativeness than certainty. Clarity can bring security, but it can also breed presumption; some guarantees can lead to joy, but in the wrong hands, they could also lead to genocide. So I&rsquo;ve come to believe that it is enough to know and, when asked about such matters, to say: We can trust the character of God &ndash; the one who loves us so much that he came and gave himself for us &ndash; and be confident that his judgments are always right, his nature is always good, his mercy is always wide, and his desire for people to be saved is greater still than ours.<br /><br /><br /><em>If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this blog and would like to talk or pray with someone, please email <a href="mailto:pastoralcare@kingschurchlondon.org">pastoralcare@kingschurchlondon.org</a>.</em><br /><br /><em>Andrew Wilson is the Teaching Pastor at King's and is responsible for much of the preaching and teaching. Andrew has a PhD in theology, has written numerous books and regularly blogs at <a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk">thinktheology.co.uk</a>.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert is taking a short break from blogging and will be back in a a couple of weeks.</em><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-11-26</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>It is Finished</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/366</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/366</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/366/it-is-finished-web.jpg" /><em>Over the next couple of weeks, Andrew Wilson, our Teaching Pastor, will be posting a series of guest posts on this page while Steve takes a short break from blogging.</em><br /><br />One of the most famous lines in Scripture is also one of the most puzzling. We all know that Jesus, as he was dying, uttered the triumphant words, &ldquo;It is finished.&rdquo; We quote it all the time. We celebrate it in our songs and our sermons. Some of us have the original Greek word, tetelestai, tattooed on our bodies. Yet if someone was to ask us exactly what it means&mdash;what exactly is the &ldquo;it&rdquo; which is &ldquo;finished&rdquo;?&mdash;we might have to stop and think for a while. Is Jesus saying that his life and mission is over? The power of sin is broken? The reign of death is ended? All of the above?<br /><br />Theologically speaking, we could defend all of those interpretations. But it is interesting that John, the only evangelist who records the phrase, does not mention any of them. Instead, he connects it to several other themes by using a flurry of similar terms in one paragraph. In just three verses, he uses five words which mean either &ldquo;fulfil&rdquo; or &ldquo;full,&rdquo; of which Jesus&rsquo;s dying cry is the climactic one. If we overtranslated it, we would get something like this: &ldquo;After this, Jesus, knowing that all was fulfilled, said in order to fulfil the Scripture: &lsquo;I&rsquo;m thirsty.&rsquo; A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, &lsquo;It is fulfilled,&rsquo; and bowed his head and gave up his spirit&rdquo; (John 19:28-30). John, it seems, wants us to see the death of Christ not merely as a conclusion, but as a culmination.<br /><br />Each of these five words is worth reflecting on, to make the same connections John does. The first one refers back to the previous paragraph: &ldquo;After this, Jesus, knowing that all was fulfilled &hellip;&rdquo; (28). Clauses like that should always make us ask: after what? In this case, the answer is: after ensuring that his mother was taken into the home of his friend (26-27). This is probably not where I would have focused my attention as Jesus was dying! For John, however, it is a critical moment. There are five people at the foot of the cross, and they include the mother of Christ (Mary), the first witness of the resurrection (Mary Magdalene), and the writer of this Gospel (John). Jesus&rsquo;s death joins them together, uniting people from different families into one household. In some ways, this text marks the start of the church, in all her Gospel-writing, resurrection-witnessing splendour. With that achieved, it is mission accomplished.<br /><br />The next word comes immediately afterwards: &ldquo;Jesus said, in order to fulfil the Scripture: &lsquo;I&rsquo;m thirsty.&rsquo;&rdquo; (The passage referred to here is probably Psalm 69:21: &ldquo;For my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.&rdquo;) Read in this light, Jesus&rsquo;s cry of triumph does not just mean that the debt of sin is cancelled: &ldquo;It is paid!&rdquo; It means that the story of Scripture has reached its climax in the cross, just as God always said it would: &ldquo;It is fulfilled!&rdquo; All the promises that God made to the prophets have come to pass and become Yes and Amen in Christ.<br /><br />The next two examples look more obscure, because they relate to a sponge. &ldquo;A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch&rdquo; (29). What possible connection is there between a jar or a sponge &ldquo;full&rdquo; of wine, and the &ldquo;fulfilment&rdquo; of the Lord&rsquo;s death? It sounds odd, until we remember that the story of the cross began with Jesus&rsquo;s insistence that he would &ldquo;drink the cup that the Father has given me&rdquo; (18:11). John has set us up: he has framed the entire cross story as one in which Jesus drains the winecup of God&rsquo;s judgment to the dregs, like Dumbledore in the Horcrux cave, and now he ends with Jesus drinking a full jar of wine via a full sponge. The sacramental overtones of the wine, and the hyssop branch (Exodus 12:22), make it even more emphatic.<br /><br />So when we finally hear that famous word tetelestai, we make at least three connections. Jesus has &ldquo;completed&rdquo; the foundation of the church. He has &ldquo;fulfilled&rdquo; the promises of Scripture. He has &ldquo;finished&rdquo; the winecup of God&rsquo;s judgment against sin. Now there is nothing left for him to do except bow his head and, in a final twist, &ldquo;hand over the Spirit&rdquo; whom he has been promising throughout John&rsquo;s Gospel (19:30).<br /><br />Last words are famous for a reason. The Buddha&rsquo;s dying words, for example, summed up his teaching: &ldquo;Work hard to gain your own salvation.&rdquo; In Christ&rsquo;s dying words, we have the exact opposite: the claim that the salvation of the world is achieved not by our work, but by his. God&rsquo;s church is founded. God&rsquo;s promises are fulfilled. God&rsquo;s judgment is finished. God&rsquo;s people are free.<br /><br /> <div><em>Andrew Wilson is the Teaching Pastor at King's and is responsible for much of the preaching and teaching. Andrew has a PhD in theology, has written numerous books and regularly blogs at <a href="thinktheology.co.uk">thinktheology.co.uk</a>.<br /><br />Steve Tibbert is taking a short break from blogging and will be back in a couple of weeks.<br /><br /></em></div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-11-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Old Testament Twins We&apos;ve Forgotten</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/365</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/365</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <em>Over the next few weeks, Andrew Wilson, our Teaching Pastor, will be posting a series of guest posts on this page while Steve takes a short break from blogging.<br /><br /></em><br />There are two pairs of twins in Genesis, but most of us only notice one of them. Jacob and Esau get the headlines: the smooth wheeler-dealer who becomes the father of the Israelites, and his hairy oafish twin who gets tricked out of his birthright for a bowl of soup. Perez and Zerah, by contrast, fly under the radar. They don&rsquo;t appear in kids Bibles, or even sermons. Yet in many ways they summarise the biblical story more crisply than any other siblings in Scripture.<br /><br />The twins are born to Judah and Tamar, the product of an incestuous relationship between a father and his daughter-in-law, whom he thinks is a prostitute. (This is another story that gets omitted from kids Bibles, although for different reasons.) Judah will become the tribe of kings, so it matters a great deal which twin will get the inheritance. During childbirth, one brother&rsquo;s hand emerges first, and he has a scarlet thread tied round his wrist to confirm that he is the heir. But then he withdraws his hand, and his brother barges past him and is born first. The queue-jumper is named Perez, which means &ldquo;breach&rdquo; or &ldquo;breakthrough.&rdquo; The one with the scarlet cord is called Zerah, which means &ldquo;dawn&rdquo; or &ldquo;rising.&rdquo; In those two names is found the heart of the gospel.<br /><br />The world looks for a Zerah. We want a king who will rise up and shine like the dawn. We want the firstborn, with a mark of royalty on his fist. But God chooses a Perez, the boy of the breach, the child of breakthrough. He wants a king whom we would never choose &ndash; a younger, weaker boy without the obvious signs of kingship &ndash; but who triumphs anyway as God breaks through on his behalf.<br /><br />This is the plotline of Genesis. Again and again, the &ldquo;rising&rdquo; which looks impressive loses out to the &ldquo;breakthrough&rdquo; which doesn&rsquo;t. Human power rises up like the tower of Babel, and comes to nothing; meanwhile God makes a breach using an elderly couple in a tent. Older brothers (Cain, Ishmael, Esau, Reuben) come unstuck; younger brothers (Seth, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph) receive an inheritance. Natural fertility, based on the &ldquo;rising&rdquo; of human flesh, leads nowhere in particular. The promises come through the women who wait for a breakthrough: Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Tamar herself.<br /><br />The life of David, likewise, is a Perez versus Zerah story. There are Zerahs everywhere: the seven older sons of Jesse who look impressive; King Saul, who rises head and shoulders above everyone else; Goliath, who rises to nine feet tall and grasps the obvious symbol of victory in his fist. (Interestingly, the largest army that ever fights against Israel is led by an Ethiopian named Zerah.) But they are each overcome by the last-born, harp-playing, stone-throwing shepherd boy, as he trusts the God of Perez to break through for him. It is a lesson David remembers when he ascends to the throne. He defeats the Philistines and names the place Baal-Perazim: &ldquo;the LORD has burst through my enemies like a bursting flood&rdquo; (2 Sam 5:20). Soon afterwards he finds himself on the other side of the God of breakthrough, as one of his men touches the ark of the covenant and is immediately struck dead. The fear of God falls on David, and the place is named Perez-Uzzah: &ldquo;the breaking out against Uzzah&rdquo; (2 Sam 6:5-10).<br /><br />All of this helps to explain why, when Matthew opens his Gospel with a genealogy of Jesus, he only names one person who is not an ancestor of Jesus, and that person is Zerah. It would seem like a strange move if it were not, by now, such a common pattern. There is no Ishmael in the genealogy, no Esau, no Reuben or Levi or Ephraim. Family trees do not usually include people from whom you are not descended. But Matthew feels compelled to tell us that Judah was &ldquo;the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar&rdquo; (1:3). Jesus is a Perez as opposed to a Zerah. He does not have the obvious sign of royalty on his fist. He does not rise to a foot taller than everyone else. He wasn&rsquo;t even conceived through the ordinary rising of human flesh. As Mary and Joseph knew very well, his conception was entirely down to Baal-Perazim, the Lord who bursts forth, the God of breakthrough.<br /><br />Ultimately, in one of those beautiful ironies that only a sovereign God could orchestrate, Jesus is worshipped around the world for his rising, and the dawn of the new world that it began. His fist now holds the symbols of royalty. But even his zerah is a perez. His rising is a breakthrough, a breach in the walls of death and hell, a bursting forth of the LORD against his enemies. Praise be to the boy of the breach.<br /><br /> <div><em>Andrew Wilson is the Teaching Pastor at King's and is responsible for much of the preaching and teaching. Andrew has a PhD in theology, has written numerous books and regularly blogs at <a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk">thinktheology.co.uk</a>.</em></div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-11-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Look Up, Look Out, Look Ahead</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/364</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/364</guid> <description><![CDATA[ Events move quickly these days, don't they? Just last week I was telling you all on this blog about our plan to open up for in-person services again. Sadly, before we&rsquo;d even had our first meeting last Sunday, the government announced that we would be going into another national lockdown. So, even though the in-person services last week went well, and were enjoyed by all who attended, we will not be able to open up on Sundays for now. But of course, our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online services</a>&nbsp;will be continuing, and I encourage you to keep on joining us each week.&nbsp;<br /><br />Though it is frustrating to be in lockdown again, I believe it is the right decision. Here is a brief video message from me as we go into our second lockdown of the year.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/475807493" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>As we enter this second lockdown, I want to encourage you to keep<strong> looking up</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; keep looking to God and drawing near to Him. Let&rsquo;s keep <strong>looking out</strong> for one another &ndash; making phonecalls, sending texts and emails, particularly to those who are alone. And let&rsquo;s also <strong>look ahead</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; to Christmas and the hope of better times as spring approaches. Even though Christmas may look a little different this year, the truths we celebrate during this season remain the same. Plans for our online carol services are already taking shape, and I look forward to telling you more about these in the weeks to come. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-11-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>In&#45;Person Services</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/363</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/363</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/363/cs-meeting-in-person-alt.jpg" />From this Sunday, 1st November, King&rsquo;s will be holding <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">in-person Sunday services</a> for the first time since March. <br /><br />While we are naturally excited about meeting face-to-face again, it is worth noting that the majority of the church will still be meeting <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online</a> each week. Covid restrictions mean that there is a limit on how many people can be accommodated in our buildings (you will need to book a place in advance in order to attend) and we are also aware that gathering in person is not suitable for everyone. In fact, if you have underlying health conditions or are over the age of 70, we encourage you to stay at home and continue to join us <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online</a>. <br /><br />Please take a look at the video below, where Joe Macnamara will talk you through everything you need to know about starting to meet in our buildings again. You can also find more information on the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/in-person/">King's website</a>.&nbsp;<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/471061653" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>This is an exciting step, but let&rsquo;s remember that wherever we are this Sunday, whether we are in one of our buildings or worshipping at home, God is with us, for us and working to fulfil His purposes. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-10-29</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Global 2020 â€“ More Together</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/362</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/362</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/362/Global-2020-MT-web.jpg" />It was a huge privilege for me and Deb to host the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/global2020/#programme">Global 2020</a> online conference last week. The original plan had been to host the conference in Cyprus and gather the apostolic leaders and their teams, some 400 to 500 people. The Coronavirus pandemic meant that Global 2020 became an online conference, meaning that many thousands of us were able to join in from all around the world. This was the first time we had been able to gather the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers</a> family on such a scale since the Brighton conference in 2011, and I am delighted that around 70 different nations joined us online last week! What a great example of God finding opportunity within the crisis. <br /><br />Over the course of three afternoons, we heard some outstanding messages from our guest speaker, Mark Sayers, and from David Devenish. If you missed them, or you would like to listen again, you can catch up with them via the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/global2020/en.php">Newfrontiers website</a>. I also highly recommend David Devenish&rsquo;s new book, <em>Succession or Multiplication</em>, which was launched last week and tells the Newfrontiers story from 2011, when our founding father, Terry Virgo, stepped down and handed over leadership to his spiritual sons. <br /><br />On Wednesday afternoon, Dave and Liz Holden hosted a Zoom webinar for the apostolic leaders and their teams, where we took the opportunity to honour and thank David and Scilla Devenish, as David retires from leading the Newfrontiers Together Team. This is a role he has fulfilled with great wisdom and insight, and it was good to be able to express our gratitude. We also took the chance to thank John and Linda Lanferman, as John also takes a well-earned retirement from serving on the Newfrontiers Together Team. It was a huge privilege to then be prayed for myself as I pick up the baton from David Devenish and start leading the Newfrontiers Together Team. <br /><br />Other highlights of Global 2020 were the videos showing just some of the many mercy ministries and church planting initiatives that are happening in churches right around the globe. From North America to South America, from Africa, to Asia and right across Europe, our churches are working to express God&rsquo;s heart for his people and see Kingdom impact. It was deeply moving to see how far and wide the reach of Newfrontiers has gone, and we pray that in the years to come God will take us even further. <br /><br />I cannot finish this blog without taking the time to thank Brett Melville and the rest of the outstanding technical team behind Global 2020. We are extremely grateful to them for pulling off such a remarkable multi-platform, multi-lingual online event without a hitch. Well done guys - and thank you! ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-10-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An Invitation to Global 2020</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/361</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/361</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/361/web-Global-2020-Speakers.jpg" />I&rsquo;d like to invite you to join me at the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers</a> Global 2020 conference next week. This promises to be an excellent few days, and moving the conference online means that more friends from around the world will be able to participate than ever before.&nbsp;I will be hosting, together with my wife Deb, and our very own King&rsquo;s band will be involved in the worship. We are thrilled to have Mark Sayers from Melbourne, Australia, as our guest speaker. Mark is a pastor and a well-known author and commentator on issues around culture and Christianity. We also have the joy of hearing David Devenish close the conference on the last day.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/465698594" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><strong>Global 2020</strong> takes place next week over three afternoons &ndash; &nbsp;<strong>13th, 14th and 15th October</strong> &ndash; starting next Tuesday at <strong>2pm (UK time)</strong>. It is free to attend and can be accessed via the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/global2020/">Newfrontiers website</a>. The daily sessions will be just an hour long, so why not take a late lunch hour next Tuesday and join us? I hope to see you there! ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-10-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An invitation to Vision Sunday</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/360</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/360</guid> <description><![CDATA[ This Sunday, October 4th, is Vision Sunday, an important date in the King's calendar. I am looking forward to speaking and telling you more about some exciting new initiatives starting soon, as well as some details regarding the planned reopening of our buildings.<br /><br />King's, the Kingdom of God is expanding! Please <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">join us online</a>&nbsp;on Sunday &ndash; this is a week not to be missed. In fact, why not invite a friend or family member to join you?<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/463853841?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-10-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Thankful</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/359</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/359</guid> <description><![CDATA[ I am delighted to let you all know that I have made a good recovery after my recent, short period of illness. I am grateful to God for His grace in sustaining me through this season and also for the prayers of many, both here at King&rsquo;s and throughout the Newfrontiers family. Prayer is powerful!<br /><br />It&rsquo;s good to be back and I hope you enjoy listening to my latest video update.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/461290801?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-09-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Embracing the New Normal</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/358</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/358</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/358/embracing-the-new-normal-web.jpg" /><em>Over the Summer we have had a few guest blog posts from some of our pastors from across the sites. This is our final guest post from Hilary Dalziel who helps lead the Catford site.<br /></em><br />Summer is the time for weddings, and this year we have had four weddings at King's despite the coronavirus restrictions. Yes, they have been very different: simple services with only thirty guests, chairs spaced out, and of course hand sanitiser at the ready. I even bought a pretty mask to match my outfit! But it has been so great to be in the building, to be part of the church community witnessing vows made in the presence of God, to hear the reading of scripture and to pray together for couples starting a life-long adventure. Those couples are just as married as any other couples who had tens of guests, a perfectly planned reception and all the other elaborate elements that usually make a wedding day.<br /><br /><strong>All of us have also had to change our expectations about what the new &lsquo;normal&rsquo; is for family celebrations, work and life during this summer!</strong> Our expectations around church have also had to change and will change again as we go into a new term. <strong>We do plan to have <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">groups</a> meeting in the buildings, but many will still be online.</strong> We can&rsquo;t sing in church or hug yet, but we are still just as much the church as the days we sang with all our hearts and put our arms round each other and prayed together. <br /><br /><strong>This September we will find a new normal as hundreds of us join groups, gathering around the word, encouraging each other and praying together.</strong> God will be there with us on zoom or in a room! We&rsquo;re not just individual believers, we are his people, we are still being &lsquo;built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.&rsquo; God still intends to display his &lsquo;manifold wisdom&rsquo; through us, his church, whatever the circumstances &ndash; that has always been his eternal purpose. (Ephesians 2:21-22, 3:10-11)<br /><br />Like the couples this summer who decided getting on with building their marriage was more important than waiting for the perfect wedding day, <strong>let&rsquo;s step in and be the church - embracing the new normal, confident God is still at work building his church at Kings.</strong><br /><br /><em>Hilary Dalziel assists in leading the Catford site and is the main driving force behind Groups at King's. She is part of the Pastoral Care Team, oversees marriage mentoring and organises much of the training of pastoral care staff and volunteers. Hilary is married to William and they have three grown-up children.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-09-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Update on Steve</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/357</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/357</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <em>Here is a copy of the update that went out to King&rsquo;s yesterday regarding Steve&rsquo;s health. </em><br /><br /><em>Steve will now be taking a few weeks off to rest and recuperate and will not be posting any blogs during that time. However, there will be a final guest blog in the current series posted next week, so do watch out for that. <br /></em><br /><br />Dear friends <br /><br />I am delighted to inform you that Steve is now home after five days in hospital. The pancreatitis is under control and he now needs time to rest and recharge. He is in good spirits and is very grateful for the skilful care of the NHS staff and for the prayers and love expressed by many at King's and the wider Newfrontiers family. Prayer is powerful! Can we ask you to continue to pray for a full and complete recovery for him?<br /><br />We have agreed with Steve and Deb that, health permitting, he will return to work in mid-September, but we will continue to review and monitor this. Steve will probably need to undergo further tests in due course, but for now we are thankful for fantastic progress and that he is out of hospital.<br /><br />Thank you so much for all your love and concern towards the Tibbert family. <a href="https://mailchi.mp/kingschurchlondon/please-pray-23aug20">As we mentioned on Sunday</a>, please do continue to pray, but also please be aware that we will need to give Steve and Deb some space during this next season. Can we ask you not to visit or phone them at this time? If you would like to send a message to Steve and Deb, you can <a href="mailto:info@kingschurchlondon.org">email the church office</a> and we will pass on your message to them.<br /><br />I will continue to lead the church while Steve is recovering and will update you on any further news.<br /><br />With much love,<br /><br />Phil Varley<br />Senior Associate Pastor ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-08-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Race &amp; Justice â€“ Our ongoing response</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/356</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/356</guid> <description><![CDATA[ An important update on how we&rsquo;re responding to the issues of race and justice.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/449740957?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>If you missed my message <em>Racism, the Gospel and the Church</em>, it&rsquo;s <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/item/439/">available here</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-08-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Magnificent Monotony</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/355</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/355</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/355/magnificent-monotony-original.jpg" /><em>During August, I have invited some guests to contribute to the blog page. This week, we hear from Andy Floyd, who leads our Lee site.</em><br /><br />&lsquo;Do it again&rsquo; has become a familiar refrain in the Floyd household over the last few months. With four young children battling for our attention, Sarah and I have become experts at spinning, dancing, building, puzzle-making and storytelling, on repeat ad infinitum! Don&rsquo;t get me wrong, there have been some delightful and precious moments among the craziness, but the overriding feeling has often been one of exhaustion. Repetition has that effect on the adult mind, but for young children there seems to be genuine zest for &lsquo;doing it again&rsquo;. <br /><br /><strong>In these days of restriction we can very quickly see monotony as the enemy of a full life.</strong> We become weary of the same old routines and the same four walls. This new normal doesn&rsquo;t seem like a very exciting normal. But there seems to be something in God that rejoices in the normal, repetitious, dare we say, mundane moments of life. <br /><br />The well-known Christian thinker, G.K. Chesterton, put it like this: <br /><br />'<em>A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.&rsquo;<br /><br /></em><strong>It&rsquo;s wonderful to think that our glorious, beautiful, loving Father delights in the repetition of what He has made.</strong> This is in no small part what Psalm 19:1-2 says:<br /><br /><em>'The heavens declare the glory of God,</em><br /><em>and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.</em><br /><em>Day to day pours out speech,</em><br /><em>and night to night reveals knowledge.'</em><br /><br />In the day-to-day experience of everyday life, boredom / weariness / exhaustion / loneliness (delete as appropriate) need not be inevitable.<strong> Every day we can choose thankfulness and childlike wonder and a faith-filled outlook, as we live our lives exulting in monotony rather than wishing this season would come to an end.</strong> <br /><br />Let&rsquo;s delight in God today and find such fullness of life in Him that, like my kids, we find ourselves declaring, &ldquo;Do it again!&rdquo;<br /><br /><br /><em>Andy Floyd is a pastor at King's and leads the Lee site.&nbsp; He is married to Sarah and they have four young children.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-08-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>What Are Your Stones?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/354</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/354</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/354/what-are-your-stones-web.jpg" /><em>During August, I have invited some guests to contribute to the blog page. This week, we hear from Joe Macnamara, who leads our Downham site.<br /></em><br />Sitting on a shelf by the TV in our front room, is a rather bizarre ceramic ornament of a horse. It is broken, and to be perfectly honest is not something that Sylvia or I would necessarily choose for decoration. However, it tells a story. One morning, when we were on our honeymoon in Mexico, a taxi took us out to this Mexican market. We wanted to get some mementos and gifts so were having a look around. It was all going so well until Sylvia knocked this ceramic horse off a shelf. They refused to let us leave this market without paying, and it all got a bit animated. We managed to haggle the price down, but we still had to part with a few quid. Well, seeing as we paid for it, we decided we might as well bring it home and put it on show.&nbsp; Whenever people ask about the horse, it provides us with a funny story to tell (although there wasn&rsquo;t much laughter at the time). <br /><br />Well this actually reminds me of a story at the beginning of Joshua. In chapter 4, just after the people of Israel have finished crossing the Jordan (a miracle in itself, given that the river was so wide and fast), God gives this instruction through Joshua for the people to collect some stones.<br /><br /><em>&ldquo;Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.&rdquo; Joshua 4:3<br /></em><br />He goes on to explain later in the chapter the significance of these stones:<br /><br /><em>&ldquo;When your children ask their fathers in times to come, &lsquo;What do these stones mean?&rsquo; then you shall let your children know, &lsquo;Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.&rsquo; For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.&rdquo; Joshua 4:22-24<br /></em><br />So a question I have for you is, what are your stones? The horse is a silly example, but we all have things, moments, people and testimonies that are reminders of the goodness and the faithfulness of God. During difficult seasons, it&rsquo;s these &lsquo;stones&rsquo; that can really get us through. It reminds me of the psalmist&rsquo;s words in Psalm 77:11 &ndash;&nbsp;<em>&lsquo;I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.&rsquo;</em> <br /><br />Why don&rsquo;t you take some time today to write down some of the stones in your life? Whenever I do that, it feeds and encourages my soul and reminds me that <em>&lsquo;the hand of the LORD is mighty&rsquo;.<br /><br /><br />Joe Macnamara is a pastor at King's and leads our Downham site. He is married to Sylvia and they have a daughter.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-08-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Keep A Close Watch on Yourself</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/353</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/353</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/353/blog-growing-web.jpg" /><em>During August, we will be having some guest posts on the blog page. This week, we hear from Charles Kimbangi, who leads our Beckenham site.<br /><br />&ldquo;Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.&rdquo; (1 Tim 4:16, ESV)<br /></em><br />During the past few months, I have been &lsquo;keeping a close watch&rsquo; on... my garden! I am by no means a &lsquo;gardener&rsquo;. Gardening to me extends to having a perfectly mowed lawn and having a few plants growing in pots. But each morning, I have found myself looking over the garden and &lsquo;keeping a close watch&rsquo; on how the lawn is doing and how our rhododendron is growing, giving it a bit of care and attention when needed!<br /><br />Reflecting on Paul&rsquo;s words to Timothy and my keen interest in my garden, I&rsquo;ve developed a better understanding of what Paul was getting at. During this pandemic, I&rsquo;ve had to &lsquo;keep a close watch&rsquo; on myself. This has meant spending time with God in prayer, Bible study and meditation, asking him to convict me of my sin, create in me a pure heart and give me a renewed spirit which helps me to live for Him (Psalm 51:1-10). This has also meant setting time aside to reflect on what God is teaching me during this season. Here are eight brief things that I have learnt: <br /><br />1. Don&rsquo;t lose sight of mission <br /><strong>The mission of the church has never changed. We are called to &lsquo;go and make disciples of all nations&rsquo; (Matt 28:19) and be witnesses throughout the whole earth (Acts 1:8).</strong> Our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha courses</a> during this season have been a huge success, with over 150 people exploring faith through the course. We are running a new course, which started on the 6th August, which you can still sign up for or invite friends to, and another course will be starting in September. We should never neglect our ongoing personal witness to our family, friends, neighbours and work colleagues. <br /><br />2. Don&rsquo;t lose sight of what it means to be a disciple <br />Being a disciple means being a follower of the way of Jesus in every area of our lives. This is far reaching, and includes &ndash; but is not limited to &ndash; the way we spend our time, money and other resources, how we think about social justice, our attitudes towards the poor and vulnerable, how we treat others and how we think about sex and relationships. <strong>The call to discipleship is a call to put to death selfish desires, to consider everyone else as more important than yourself, and to live a life of humble service.</strong> <br /><br />3. We need each other <br /><strong>Human beings flourish when in loving community.</strong> During this season we have missed the physical presence of others and this has revealed again the importance of humans living in community. Let&rsquo;s not neglect the calls to &lsquo;build up&rsquo;, &lsquo;bear with&rsquo;, &lsquo;speak truth&rsquo;, &lsquo;comfort&rsquo; and &lsquo;stir up&rsquo; one another that are seen throughout the New Testament letters. If you aren&rsquo;t in a group, take a step and sign up to a <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">group</a>.<br /><br />4. A quiet life is okay &ndash; it's even encouraged in Scripture! <br />1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 is not quoted very much but is worthy of reflection, particularly in our fast-paced, noisy, entertainment culture. Paul&rsquo;s exhortation is to &lsquo;make it your ambition to lead a quiet life&rsquo;. This is not an invitation to be lazy and just care about yourself &ndash; as he makes clear in the context. However, he seems to be teaching that <strong>a faithful life of working hard, providing for your family, and caring for the body of Christ is a life well lived.&nbsp;</strong>I heard someone say recently, &ldquo;sometimes quiet faithfulness is the most revolutionary thing we can do&rdquo;. Now that&rsquo;s worthy of reflection. <br /><br />5. Excessive technology use is detrimental to human relationships and connection<br />Sherry Turkle, in her excellent book, <em>Alone Together</em>,&nbsp;explores this in more detail and explains how<strong> humans have ended up expecting more from technology and less from each other</strong>. Research has shown that excessive technology use means we are less able to show empathy, less able to listen to one another, and less able to care for other human beings.&nbsp;After reading her book, I decided to turn off my phone for 24 hours each week! It&rsquo;s been challenging but actually very rewarding. <br /> <br />6. Regular exercise helps my mental, spiritual, and emotional health<br />A few weeks into lockdown, I was really struggling. I felt down, anxious, and frustrated. I realised that I had got out of my usual routine of taking regular exercise and this was having a detrimental impact on my wellbeing. This bit of learning has been critical to my wellbeing over the last few months. I have started a regular routine of running and cycling which has enabled me to feel better, but it has also been a worshipful experience. <strong>As I have got out into God&rsquo;s creation, I have been able to experience and worship Him in new ways which have been good for my soul.</strong> <br /><br />7. We need to talk about race <br />We have needed to talk about race for centuries. However, the recent murders of George Floyd and others have exposed the need again to talk about race. This needs to be an ongoing conversation if we are to be the united and diverse church that God has called us to be. We need to be &lsquo;quick to listen, slow to speak&rsquo; and show lots of grace to one another. But<strong> ongoing dialogue will help to bring to light the sin that exists in every human heart, and with God&rsquo;s help we can bring about the change that will glorify God</strong>. <br /><br />8. The work of God is to believe in the One He sent<br />It can be easy to feel inadequate and unproductive, particularly during this unprecedented pandemic. However,<strong> I praise God that the Gospel is one of grace and not works.</strong> When a crowd ask Jesus in John 6:28, &ldquo;What must we do to do the works God requires?&rdquo; Jesus answered, &ldquo;The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent&rdquo;. Fundamentally, God calls us to a life of faith. Don&rsquo;t find your identity in good works, but <strong>find your identity in being a loved child of God.</strong><br /><br />We tend to &lsquo;keep a close watch&rsquo; on many other things (including gardens), but let&rsquo;s not neglect to &lsquo;keep a close watch&rsquo; over ourselves.<br /><br /><br /><em>Charles Kimbangi is a pastor at King's and leads the Beckenham site. He is married to Amy.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-08-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Leadership at King&apos;s</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/352</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/352</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/352/web-leadership-pencils.jpg" />Please take a look at the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/leadership/">Leadership page</a> on the King&rsquo;s website, which we have recently updated. It summarises the three key leadership teams of King&rsquo;s: Elders, Trustees and the Senior Leadership Team. These three teams work closely together to bring oversight, governance and direction to the church.<br /><br /><strong>Our team of Elders</strong>, which I lead, meet monthly. We usually concentrate on just two or three major directional, doctrinal issues in the course of a year. Our last two meetings have been predominantly given over to our response as a church to the issue of race and justice. <br /><br /><strong>Our team of Trustees</strong> is led by Simon Linley, and also meets monthly. The Trustees are responsible for all financial, legal and employment issues, and they set the parameters for delegated authority to our staff team. I attend this meeting and give a monthly report on key areas of church life. <br /><br /><strong>Our Senior Leadership Team</strong>, which I also lead, meets once a week on a Tuesday morning. The focus of this team is to serve the church in implementing our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/">vision</a> and mission.&nbsp;We work closely with our superb, hardworking pastoral and operational staff members.<br /><br />Finally, we have outside accountability and oversight in place. From our wider <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers</a> family, David Devenish provides an objective voice and apostolic oversight into our community. We also have other people speaking regularly into the life of King's. For example, Steve and Cindy Nicolson from Evanston Vineyard in Chicago, are trusted friends who have visited King&rsquo;s many times and have served us over many years.<br /><br />We highly value your prayers for all those in leadership at King's as we seek to serve God &ndash; for His glory and for the advancement of His Kingdom. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-07-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Gather, Prepare, Pray</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/351</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/351</guid> <description><![CDATA[ It&rsquo;s great to have Deb back with me for this week&rsquo;s video blog. Today, we talk a little more about our summer theme of <em>Gather, Prepare, Pray</em>.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/441021501?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>Let&rsquo;s take advantage of the relaxation of some of the lockdown restrictions and arrange to meet up with people from our group or ministry team, or with another household. And although we are not meeting in our buildings for the time being, we are using this time to prepare for when we do, so please help us in that by responding to the survey we&rsquo;ll be sending out in September. And let&rsquo;s continue to pray, in our personal prayer times, with our groups, and at the site prayer meetings coming soon.<br /><br /><em>&lsquo;And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord&rsquo;s people.&rsquo; &ndash; Ephesians 6:18<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20200723-1755K5RV1MFUWRVU.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-07-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Resources on Diversity</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/350</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/350</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/350/events-INVITED.jpg" /><em>In my recent message on <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/item/439/" target="_blank">Racism, the Gospel and the Church</a>, I encouraged all of us to keep educating ourselves on this vitally important issue. I have therefore asked our Teaching Pastor, Andrew Wilson, to update his list of recommended resources on the subject, which he <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/251/">first posted</a> a couple of years ago. There is a great deal of excellent material available, and it can be difficult to know where to start, so thank you Andrew for this helpful list:</em><br /><br />1. Christian Smith and Michael Emerson, <em>Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America</em>. This is the first book I read when I was trying to learn about this subject, and although set firmly in an American context I found it enormously helpful.<br /><br />2. Duke Kwon&rsquo;s message at LDR on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejNaO_ec_Uk" target="_blank"><em>Speaking the Truth in Love</em></a>. One of the best messages on anything I have ever heard, from a hugely thoughtful Korean-American who has written and spoken a good deal on issues of race.<br /><br />3. David Anderson&rsquo;s books <em>Gracism</em> and <em>Letters Across the Divide</em>. David was the inspiration for our <em>Gracism</em> series a few years ago, and he has written some really good books on the subject, as well as being a great help to us as a church.<br /><br />4. George Yancey&rsquo;s message on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMTBhSAd6iw&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank"><em>Moving Beyond Racial Gridlock</em></a>. Particularly significant in the current moment, Professor Yancey&rsquo;s seminar provides an excellent analysis of both the problem, and the solutions the Gospel provides.<br /><br />5. Ben Lindsay, <em>We Need To Talk About Race</em>. Ben is a friend of ours, having been a member at King&rsquo;s a few years back, and he has lived his whole life in southeast London. Here he writes about the black experience in white majority churches, and his insights will instruct and resonate with many of us.<br /><br />6. Martin Meredith, <em>The Fortunes of Africa</em>. A rather different sort of book, which gives a pacy and readable history of Africa, and puts the continent in context for us. This is probably the longest book on the list, but it&rsquo;s an absolutely excellent read.<br /><br />7. Thabiti Anyabwile&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabiti-anyabwile/thabitis-top-ten-tips-for-talking-about/" target="_blank"><em>Top Ten Tips for Talking About Race</em></a>.&nbsp;Thabiti is a pastor in Anacostia, Washington DC, and he may be the spokesperson from whom I&rsquo;ve learned the most on race over the last few years, through his writings and speaking ministry. Here he gives a brief summary aimed primarily at white people.<br /><br />8. The messages from <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/conference/mlk50/" target="_blank">the MLK50 conference</a>, in April 2018, are free to watch online and outstanding, especially those by Jackie Hill Perry and Charlie Dates.<br /><br />9. Shai Linne, <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/george-floyd-and-me/" target="_blank"><em>George Floyd and Me</em></a>. Of the many articles written since the tragic murder of George Floyd, this is the best I have seen: raw, honest and yet hopeful.<br /><br />10. For those who find it easier to engage through movies and documentaries, there are lots of excellent ones available (often for free) on the major streaming services at the moment, including Ava DuVernay&rsquo;s <em>13th</em>, David Olusoga&rsquo;s <em>Black and British</em>, Ezra Edelman&rsquo;s <em>OJ: Made in America</em>, Stella Corradi&rsquo;s <em>Sitting in Limbo</em> and James Baldwin&rsquo;s <em>I Am Not Your Negro</em>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-07-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Summer at King&apos;s &#45; Let&apos;s Gather, Prepare and Pray</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/349</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/349</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/349/web-Summer-At-Kings.jpg" />It&rsquo;s been fifteen weeks since lockdown started in this nation, and it was great to see some of the restrictions lifted on Saturday. While many of us have been enjoying the freedom to see more family and friends, the new guidelines also have implications for us as a church. I thought it would be helpful for all of you at King&rsquo;s to hear how we plan to operate over the summer. <br /><br />Having looked at the new <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july">government guidelines for churches</a>, <strong>we have decided not to open our buildings for meetings over the summer, other than for weddings or funerals</strong> (and The Feast delivery service). The new guidance means that any gathering held in our buildings would feel very different to what we have been used to. For example, singing is not permitted, social distancing must be strictly adhered to, start times would need to be staggered and a register of everyone attending would need to be taken. In short, it would not be King&rsquo;s as we know it. <br /><br /><strong>Let&rsquo;s Gather</strong><br />However, the lifting of some restrictions on 4 July means that <strong>we can now begin to see more people face-to-face</strong>. Therefore, over the summer we want to encourage all of you at King&rsquo;s to continue to gather <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online on Sundays</a>, <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">online in groups</a>, <strong>and also now to meet up with others, in groups of up to six people from different households (or two households of any size &ndash; see government guidelines).&nbsp;</strong><br /> <br />This summer at King's:<br />&bull; We will continue to gather&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">online on Sundays</a>, with <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/kids-at-home/">kids</a> and <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/youth/">youth</a> resources available<br />&bull; <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">Groups</a> will be encouraged to meet online once a month during July and August<br />&bull; <strong>We will encourage groups and ministry teams to meet outside in parks, with no more than 6 people at a time, in line with the new guidelines</strong><br />&bull; We will hold online site prayer meetings in July and August<br />&bull; Youth ministry online will restart in August<br />&bull; We will launch new online <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a> and <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/new-life/">New Life</a> courses in August<br /><br /><strong>Let&rsquo;s Prepare</strong><br />Many of our staff have been on furlough during June. To prepare for this next season at King&rsquo;s, we will draw staff back over the next few months, though many of them will be working part-time for now.&nbsp;We will also be getting things in place so that when it does become possible to open our buildings, we&rsquo;ll be ready.<br /><br /><strong>Let&rsquo;s Pray</strong><br />It was fantastic to see so many of you joining us online for our day of prayer and fasting last month. The Coronavirus crisis is no obstacle to God&rsquo;s people praying! King&rsquo;s, let&rsquo;s keep praying &ndash; online in our Sunday services, in site prayer meetings and groups, and in our personal devotions. <br /><br />This summer at King&rsquo;s, let&rsquo;s gather, prepare and pray. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-07-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A brief update</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/348</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/348</guid> <description><![CDATA[ A brief update from me following the latest government announcement on lifting some of the lockdown restrictions.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/432432829?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>Also, if you missed the important message I preached last Sunday on <em>Racism, the Gospel and the Church</em>, I'd encouarge you to watch or <a href="/sermons/item/439/">listen to it</a>.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/431007097?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-06-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An invitation to an important Sunday</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/347</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/347</guid> <description><![CDATA[ I'd like to invite you to join us online this Sunday, as I speak on 'Racism, the Gospel and the Church'.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/430345376?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>Please invite family and friends to hear this important message of our vision for an 'Ephesians 2' church.<br /><br /><a href="/online">kingschurchlondon.org/online</a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-06-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Two recent appointments</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/346</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/346</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/346/200616_staff_updates_JR_LT_web.jpg" />As King&rsquo;s continues to grow, one of our aims for the 2019-2020 church year has been to strengthen our Operations and Finance teams. <br /><br />I am therefore delighted to inform you that in February this year I approached Janett Reid and invited her to join the Senior Leadership Team of King's as Head of Operations. For the last four years Janett has been working in our Jericho Road Project team, and following a handover period, she has now fully transitioned to her new role. Janett brings a vast amount of experience and energy to the role, following over 30 years&rsquo; experience in the Probation Service.<br /><br />I also wanted to announce that Lucine Turner joined our staff team on 1st June as our new Finance Manager. Lucine has over 20 years of accounting experience and we are excited to have her on the team.<br /><br />Both Janett and Lucine are committed members of King's. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-06-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Interview with Ben Lindsay</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/345</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/345</guid> <description><![CDATA[ It was great to have an opportunity to interview Ben Lindsay earlier this week. Ben was saved at King&rsquo;s and was involved in planting a church in Greenwich out of King&rsquo;s Church London. He now leads the charity &lsquo;<a href="http://powerthefight.org.uk" target="_blank">Power the Fight</a>&rsquo;, speaks widely and advises on issues of race, justice and the local church. He published his first book <a href="http://benlindsay.co.uk/#book" target="_blank"><em>We Need To Talk About Race</em></a> in 2019, which I would strongly recommend you read.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/427713537?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><a href="http://benlindsay.co.uk/#book"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20200611-0809T6ZWMQSGEFMM.png" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-06-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Day of Prayer and Fasting</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/344</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/344</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/344/tile-day-of-prayer-jun20-ST-quotation.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.&rsquo;</em> &ndash; Acts 1:8<br /><br />Welcome to our day of Prayer and Fasting.<br /><br /><strong>We gather to fast and pray for justice and Gospel breakthrough, and for the equivalent of our &lsquo;Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and&hellip;the ends of the earth&rsquo;.</strong><br /><br />On the <a href="/day-of-prayer/">Day of Prayer webpage</a> there are <strong>two videos that we would encourage you to watch</strong>: a short interview with Terry Virgo, founding father of <a href="http://newfrontierstogether.org">Newfrontiers</a>, the worldwide family of churches of which King&rsquo;s is a part; the second a conversation about Race, Power &amp; Justice with some of our staff team, in light of the terrible murder or George Floyd and racism in society.<br /><br />Along with these you will find <strong>prayer topics</strong> to guide your prayers.<br /><br />Finally, please <strong>join us tonight for one of our online prayer meetings at 7pm or 8.15pm</strong>. We&rsquo;ll post the Zoom links on the page from early evening.<br /><br /><a href="/day-of-prayer"><strong>kingschurchlondon.org/day-of-prayer</strong></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-06-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An important pastoral update and a call to pray</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/343</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/343</guid> <description><![CDATA[ I wanted to share some thoughts in light of the recent tragic death of George Floyd and to call the church to pray this Thursday.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/424721883?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>We'll be posting details about Thursday's Day of Prayer and Fasting at&nbsp;<a href="/day-of-prayer">kingschurchlondon.org/day-of-prayer</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-06-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Day of Prayer and Fasting</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/342</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/342</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <strong>I am inviting all of you at King&rsquo;s to a day of prayer and fasting on Thursday 4th June</strong>, finishing with two one-hour prayer meetings on Zoom, from 7-8pm and 8.15-9.15pm. We would love you to join us for one, and if you would like to, you are welcome to come to both. <br /><br />Just five months ago during our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, we gathered in our hundreds night after night to encounter God and ask Him to move in this nation. We may not have known then what lay ahead of us, but we can be certain that God did. Now, I am calling the church to pray again:<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/421186718?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><strong>I am delighted that Terry Virgo, the founding father of <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org">Newfrontiers</a>, will be taking part in the day.</strong> An online interview with him will be available to view throughout the day, and I have also invited him to pray for us as a church. <br /><br />More details will follow soon, but for now, please put 4 June in your diaries and be ready to come before God in prayer, with faith and expectation. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-05-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An Update from Steve and Deb</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/341</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/341</guid> <description><![CDATA[ It&rsquo;s almost eight weeks now since the UK went into lockdown. In our blog this week, Deb and I talk about the latest changes to the restrictions that were announced on Sunday and what the implications may be for King&rsquo;s going forward. We also discuss the current preaching series and what we are thinking of teaching on next. <br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/417973618?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>King&rsquo;s, we miss seeing you all, and we look forward to the time when we are able to meet again. As we walk through this season, let&rsquo;s continue to place our confidence and trust in God, who never fails us and is always working to bring about His purposes. <br /><br /><em>'The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.' Psalm 29:11</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-05-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The People of God</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/340</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/340</guid> <description><![CDATA[ Well King&rsquo;s, we approach the end of another week, our seventh week in lockdown. Like me, I am sure many of you are hoping for an easing of some of the restrictions after the weekend. There is no doubt that the last weeks have been hard at times, particularly for those affected directly by Covid-19, and we continue to pray for all those who have lost loved ones to this terrible illness. The loss of face-to-face connection with family and friends has also been costly. I know Deb and I are missing our grandson Isaac (and his parents of course!) and the moment rules are relaxed we will be knocking on their door. <br /><br />While we are hopeful of some small changes soon, we know that it is likely to be some time before churches are permitted to gather in buildings again.<strong> But as I said last week, though our buildings may be empty right now, the church is very much alive &ndash; we have simply moved location!</strong> This was brought home in a powerful way last Sunday by the video the comms team had put together. Wasn&rsquo;t it great to see so many faces from King&rsquo;s and hear how people are doing? I enjoyed it so much, I thought I&rsquo;d include it here for you to watch again.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/415067549?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><strong>Church has never been about buildings; church is the people.</strong> This video reminds us that even though we may not be able to see one another in person on Sundays, <strong>we as a church are present, active and continuing to love and serve God through the challenges of this time.</strong><br /><br />I hope you will tune in for our <a href="/online">service again this Sunday</a>, when I will be preaching on Psalm 23. <br /><br /><strong>Stay connected. Stay safe. Stay prayerful.</strong> <br /><br /><em>&lsquo;Be still and know that I am God.&rsquo; Psalm 46: 10</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-05-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Latest Update from Deb and Steve</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/339</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/339</guid> <description><![CDATA[ Well, it&rsquo;s hard to believe but we are nearing the end of our sixth week of lockdown! We hope you are keeping well. This week, Deb and I thought we&rsquo;d bring you a quick update on how we&rsquo;re both doing, as well as latest news of what&rsquo;s happening at King&rsquo;s. <br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/413915858?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>We are missing our King&rsquo;s family and are praying for you all. But we are trusting God that His Kingdom continues to advance during this season. Our church buildings may be empty for the moment, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean the church is not present &ndash; we have simply moved location! As you have heard, there is a lot going on, so take a look at the <a href="/">website</a>, and follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/KingsChurchLDN">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kingschurchlondon/">Instagram</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kingschurchlondon/">Facebook</a>. Let&rsquo;s stay connected, stay safe and stay prayerful. <br /><br />We look forward to worshipping with you <a href="/online">online again this Sunday</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-05-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Feast Delivery Service</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/338</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/338</guid> <description><![CDATA[ On my blog this week, I have Simon Allen, leader of our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/">Jericho Road Project</a>, and one of my heroes.<br /><br />JRP started in 2001 and aims to support those who live on the streets or are in vulnerable situations. Part of JRP is <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a>, a weekly meeting offering a hot meal, friendship and support to more than 100 local people. When the Coronavirus crisis hit, it was no longer possible to host The Feast at our Catford building, and so the amazing team quickly switched to a delivery service. Here is Simon to tell you more about this exciting development.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/411421737?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>I am thrilled that The Feast Delivery Service means we can continue to offer help, hope and community to some of our most vulnerable neighbours through this challenging season.<br /><br />The Coronavirus crisis is undoubtedly a difficult time for many in our church and wider community. In addition to the ongoing work of JRP, we have recently launched <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/hope/">The Hope Initiative</a> as a response to some of the needs arising during this season. Please <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/hope/">take a look at the webpage</a> to find out more.<br /><br />Finally, I invite you to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/online/">join us online</a> again this Sunday, when Andrew Wilson will be speaking as our Psalms series continues. Andrew got the series off to an excellent start last Sunday, preaching out of Psalm 139 &ndash; if you haven&rsquo;t had a chance to listen to it yet, I highly recommend it. You can find it on our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/54/">media pages</a> or via the free <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/app">King's app</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-04-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Hope Initiative</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/336</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/336</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/336/web-hope-slide.jpg" />On my blog this week, I have invited our Senior Associate Pastor, Phil Varley, to tell us more about our new Hope Initiative, which has been set up to meet some of the practical needs arising from the current Coronavirus crisis. Please watch and listen to find out more.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/408774857?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>I am very excited about this new project. If you are in need of help, or can offer help, please get in touch via <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/hope"><strong>kingschurchlondon.org/hope</strong></a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-04-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Be Generous</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/335</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/335</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/405106118?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>Today I address the issue of how to give in a time of crisis. <br /><br />We are already aware of some in our community who have lost jobs because of the current situation or are worried about losing their job in the future. However, others of us are finding we have more money at the end of the month because our outgoings have reduced; not spending money on travel costs, eating out or going on holiday mean that our monthly expenditure has gone down. What an opportunity to apply the principle of Acts 2!<br /><br /><em>&lsquo;And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.&rsquo; Acts 2 44-45<br /></em><br />For those of us fortunate enough to find ourselves with more money than usual, I want to suggest we do three things:<br /><br />1. Save some &ndash; for your family<br />2. Give some &ndash; to the King&rsquo;s family<br />3. Give some more &ndash; to help a household in need<br /><br />Deb and I have reviewed our financial position and have decided to do all these things. We will <strong>SAVE</strong> some of the money we had planned to spend on a holiday this Easter. We have <strong>INCREASED our giving to King&rsquo;s</strong> to help cover the shortfall caused by others needing to reduce their giving. And we will also <strong>GIVE SOME MORE</strong> to the <strong>King&rsquo;s Hope Initiative</strong> being launched this week, which will include a fund to provide food for people in our King&rsquo;s family and in the local community. This is an excellent initiative which I look forward to telling you more about soon.<br /><br />King&rsquo;s, let's apply the principle of Acts 2. Let's respond with generosity where we can and together, care for those who have less. <br /><br />This weekend is of course Easter weekend, and I hope you will join me online for our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Good Friday service</a> which will be shown at 9.30, 10.30, 11.30, 12.30 (BSL-interpreted) and 7.30. On <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Easter Sunday</a> we will be celebrating the resurrection of the risen Lord Jesus Christ and I will be preaching &ndash; please join us at 9.30, 10.30, 11.30, 12.30 (BSL-interpreted), 1.30, 5.30 or 7.30.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20200409-1645HCVNPG8X36JQ.jpg" alt="" width="4000" height="4000" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-04-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Message from Steve and Deb</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/334</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/334</guid> <description><![CDATA[ On the blog this week, a brief message from Deb and me with news of what&rsquo;s going on at King&rsquo;s in response to the current situation.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/403702121?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />We are missing our King&rsquo;s family, and keeping you in our prayers. We remember especially those of you who are grieving the loss of family members or coping with illness. We think also of all of you working in the NHS and other essential services &ndash; thank you for all you are doing. May God strengthen you and protect you as you work. <br /><br />We look forward to joining with you on Sunday.<br /><br />Stay connected. Stay safe. Stay prayerful.<br /><br /><em>&lsquo;My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.&rsquo; Psalm 62:1-2</em><br /><br /><br />Join us online on Sunday via <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/online">kingschurchlondon.org/online</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-04-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An update from Steve</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/333</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/333</guid> <description><![CDATA[ It&rsquo;s been another week of massive change in this nation and around the world. We are all having to adjust quickly to changes to our daily lives that would have been unimaginable even a few weeks ago. Please watch this new message from me with latest news of what's happening at King's in response to the Coronavirus crisis.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/401093841?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />We are privileged to have an amazing staff and volunteer team at King's. They have been working round the clock to secure <a href="/online">our online Sunday services</a>, get groups going through Zoom chats, and serve our church family pastorally. We are particularly grateful to our worship team who, before we went into 'lock-down', were able to record all the songs we'll be using for the coming weeks for our services. A huge thank you to all of you involved.<br /><br />King's, we are walking through difficult days. But let's reach out to one another, follow <a href="https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus" target="_blank">the Government advice</a>, and remember that we follow a powerful God who walks with us through the storm.<br /><br />I look forward to joining with you on Sunday.<br /><br />Stay connected. Stay safe. Stay prayerful.<br /><br /><em>'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.' Psalm 46:1<br /><br /><br />Join us online on Sunday via <a href="/online">kingschurchlondon.org/online</a>.<br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-03-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Stay Connected, Stay Safe, Stay Prayerful</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/332</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/332</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/332/web-join-us-online-on-sundays-v11.jpg" /><em>The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.</em> &ndash;&nbsp;Philippians 4:6-7<br /><br />King's, as we walk through this challenging season together, I am asking you to do <strong>three things</strong>:<br /><br /><strong>1. STAY CONNECTED</strong><br />We have numerous means of communication available to us. Whether it&rsquo;s phone, email, WhatsApp or Zoom, let&rsquo;s use them and <strong>speak to people every day</strong>. We will be providing resources to serve you, and the pastoral team and your group or ministry leader will be in contact soon. <strong>You can also help us:&nbsp;</strong>please&nbsp;take the initiative and contact us (call 020 8690 4646 or email <a href="mailto:info@kingschurchlondon.org">info@kingschurchlondon.org</a>) to make sure we have <strong>your correct contact details</strong> or to <strong>make us aware of any needs you may have</strong>. This is also a time for us to <strong>reach out to our neighbours</strong> and offer help and support where we can.<br /><br /><strong>2. STAY SAFE</strong><br />If you are over 70 or have any underlying health issues, please follow government advice and self-isolate now. This also applies to any of us who develop a cough or temperature, as well as to other members of that household. <strong>We have a responsibility to our wider community to protect them from possible exposure to the virus.</strong> Please stay up-to-date with the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response">latest government advice</a>, as the situation is changing rapidly.<br /><br /><strong>3. STAY PRAYERFUL</strong><br />We are moving into a time when <strong>our church family will <a href="/online" target="_blank">gather online</a></strong>, so please join us each week for our online Sunday services which will be live streamed each week at 9.30, 10.30, 11.30 and 1.30, starting this Sunday.&nbsp;We may discover we have time to spare as we stay in our homes to see out the crisis. Let's make good use of the extra time! Consider arranging an online prayer group or setting up a Zoom group. We will be providing additional resources to assist in these things soon.<br /><br /><strong>King&rsquo;s, let&rsquo;s stand firm, trust God and keep washing our hands!</strong><br /><br /><br /><em>I encourage all of you who are part of King&rsquo;s to watch <a href="https://vimeo.com/398266558" target="_blank">this video message</a> recorded earlier this week about how we are adjusting to the latest government advice regarding Covid-19 (Coronavirus) .<br /><br />For the latest information on how King&rsquo;s is responding to the Coronavirus crisis, go to our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/covid-19guidance/" target="_blank">Coronavirus Update</a> page.<br /><br />Join us online on Sunday via <a href="/online" target="_blank">kingschurchlondon.org/online</a>.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-03-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Leading in Crisis</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/331</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/331</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/331/shutterstock_652781989_16_9_web.jpg" />Deb and I landed back in London on Friday morning after our recent three-and-a-half-week trip to southern Africa. It had felt increasingly strange being away from home as the Coronavirus crisis accelerated round the world, and we were glad to be back. I am sure you won&rsquo;t be surprised to hear that it has been full on since our plane touched down.<br /><br />We find ourselves in unprecedented times, the like of which has not been seen in this nation for several generations. Churches face particular challenges that could not have been imagined a few months ago. Here are a few thoughts I&rsquo;ve had on how to lead in crisis:<br /><br /><strong>1. Overcommunicate.</strong> Since we landed on Friday (and during the days before we left) I have been in constant contact with people through phone calls, WhatsApp and Zoom groups. The technology available to us these days is a massive blessing &ndash; let&rsquo;s take advantage of it and <strong>maximise connection</strong>. Like many churches, our Sunday services will be online from now on, and we will be contacting everyone at King's with final details about this by the end of the week.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>2. Keep it Simple.</strong> This is a situation which is developing rapidly. Focus on what the <strong>next step</strong> should be. <br /><br /><strong>3. Make a Plan.</strong> Once the next step has been secured, stand back and consider the <strong>medium term</strong>. As we flew through the night last Thursday, I wrote a short paper for our elders, trustees and senior staff about the next six months at King&rsquo;s, including the key principles we are going to adopt during this crisis season. <br /><br /><strong>4. Rework the Financial Narrative.</strong> One area which needs immediate focus is the potential <strong>financial impact</strong> on the church. We are running a number of models. It&rsquo;s important to keep an eye on cash flow.<br /><br /><strong>5. Keep Calm and Trust God.</strong> I am expecting some demanding days ahead. Already at King&rsquo;s, three of our pastors have had temperatures. A few days ago, I was told the 81-year-old grandfather of one of our core members had died from the virus. Behind every statistic on the news is a real person and a family coping with loss. We live in a rapidly changing world, <strong>but Jesus remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow</strong>. Though our circumstances may change, He is Lord and He reigns on high.<strong> We place our trust in One who is sovereign and who sees all things. Our confidence is in His provision.<br /><br /></strong>You will find the latest information on how we are responding to the Coronavirus crisis at King's&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/covid-19guidance/">here</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-03-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An important update for everyone at King&apos;s</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/330</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/330</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/398266558?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>My friends, we are living through unprecedented days. The challenge of Coronavirus Covid-19 is going to affect every area of our lives for the next weeks and months, including how we do church.<br /><br />Please watch this very important video message from me to find out about important changes that take place from today and this weekend. You can <a href="/covid-19guidance/">read a summary here</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-03-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Petrol and Power</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/329</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/329</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/329/B6E9866A-A7D2-4C40-B2EE-DCCF72232D04.jpeg" />Life is busy in London, and I always leave it to the last minute to fill up my car with fuel. When I can no longer put off a trip to the petrol station, I try to get it done as quickly (and cheaply) as possible, so that I can get on with my day. Yesterday our household bill for gas and electricity came through and I saw that we are using even more than last year &ndash; time for a family conference, I think!<br /><br />Deb and I are twelve days into a three-week trip to southern Africa. Our time in Zambia, and now Zimbabwe, has reminded me how fortunate we are to live in London. <strong>To switch on a light and have power, turn on a tap for clean water, and fill our cars with petrol whenever needed, are things most of us in the UK take for granted.</strong> In Zambia, power was intermittent. When our friend Joseph Mwila was speaking at his church on Sunday, he barely skipped a beat when the power went off and his microphone died. He simply raised his voice and carried on speaking. Within a couple of minutes, the lawn mower growl of the church generator started up, and power was restored. In Harare, the petrol stations had had no fuel for ten days. When planning our two-day trip to Bulawayo last week, it took careful forward planning and hours of queueing at the pumps to secure enough fuel for two cars. Water is also scarce, and many households must rely on having tanks of it delivered to their homes.<br /><br /><strong>Life here is a challenge. But despite the numerous frustrations of day-to-day living, the church is thriving and God&rsquo;s Kingdom is advancing!</strong> On Friday night, we spent an evening with the River of Life elders and wives and reflected on the amazing growth they have seen since going multi-site in 2015. River of Life is one of the fastest growing churches I know in the wider Newfrontiers family and it was a joy to preach there on Sunday.<br /><br />While in Bulawayo, we visited Ebenezer agricultural college where we met with Ren&eacute;e&nbsp; Cunningham and her brother and sister-in-law, Pete and Di. <strong>Their vision to equip people with business and farming skills, whilst also discipling them in their walk with Jesus, is inspirational.</strong> It was brilliant to see the huge progress they have made at Ebenezer since we were last there in 2018. The &pound;60,000 King&rsquo;s has invested in Ebenezer is being used to build much needed staff accommodation, among other things, and is making a very real difference to the excellent work they are doing. We also paid a visit to one of their outgrowers &ndash; an Ebenezer graduate we had met last time &ndash; who, in addition to her three chicken houses, is now building a new house for her family. Her life has been turned around by the support and training of Ebenezer and the market outlets provided by Pete and Di Cunningham&rsquo;s business. <strong>This is God&rsquo;s Kingdom in action &ndash; making disciples, lifting families out of poverty, and transforming communities!<br /></strong><br />Deb and I end this trip with some time in Cape Town, where we will be spending some time with leaders from Jubilee Church and Common Ground. <strong>We love being in southern Africa and are always encouraged by the resilient, joy-filled faith of the believers we know here.</strong> But we will return home next week with a renewed sense of gratitude that we live in a country where petrol is easily available and power is in constant supply. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-03-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/328</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/328</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/328/zambia-zimbabwe-andâ€“south-africa-web.jpg" />Having enjoyed being at home in London for the last few months, Deb and I are now preparing for a season of overseas travel. By the time this blog goes out we should be well on our way to Zambia for the start of a three-week trip to southern Africa. <br /><br /><strong>Our first five days will be spent visiting <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/team-member/joseph-mwila/">Joseph and Lily Mwile </a>in the Copperbelt region of Zambia, not far from the border with the DRC.</strong> Joseph heads up Dayspring Ministries, which is part of ChristCentral family of churches. This is not a nation we have been to before, and we are looking forward to seeing a number of their projects, including an amazing school, as well as visiting churches and spending time with leaders. On Saturday we will be joined by Scott Marques from Zimbabwe and together we will be speaking on leadership. On Sunday I have the privilege of preaching in their church and in the afternoon Deb and I will be leading a session on Marriage and Ministry.<br /><br />We then move on to Zimbabwe where we will be spending time with dear friends in Harare and Bulawayo. This is a nation we hold close to our hearts and I believe this will be our eighth visit. <strong>We are looking forward to seeing friends, speaking to leaders and visiting the Ebenezer farming project, which King&rsquo;s is involved with.</strong> On Sunday I will be sharing God&rsquo;s word at River of Life Church in Harare.<br /><br /><strong>The final leg of our trip will be in Cape Town, South Africa.</strong> While we are there, we will be catching up with old friends in Jubilee Church and also meeting up with leaders from Common Ground Church. We will then enjoy a few days holiday before returning to the UK. <br /><br /><strong>We would highly value your prayers as we travel.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-02-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Art of Prioritisation</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/327</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/327</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/327/the-art-of-prioritisation-web.jpg" /><strong>Over the last few days, I have been thinking about the importance of learning to prioritise.</strong> Last Thursday, I was asked if I could read and comment on a book before it goes to print in a few weeks&rsquo; time. Although I am busy preparing for a 22-day trip to Africa and my diary is full, I instinctively knew that this was something I should make time for &ndash; even if it meant I had to get up extra early or drop something else in order to do it. <br /><br />This morning, one of our young leaders asked if he could defer a report he had been asked to deliver tomorrow, since he had a full day of meetings ahead and several other things to do. I persuaded him that it would be better to postpone other tasks than to miss this particular deadline. <br /><br /><strong>Knowing what to prioritise is a constant leadership challenge.</strong> It is something I often address with our younger leaders. Only last week I spoke to our staff about the importance of knowing when to say no, whilst also being aware that sometimes working extra hours is totally appropriate. <br /><br />When everything on your to-do list is screaming for your attention it can be difficult to distinguish between what must be done now and what can be left. You need to consider both the nature of the task and who has asked you to do it. I have written before about how I assign tasks an <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/233/">&lsquo;A, B or C&rsquo; priority</a>. But learning what to prioritise involves more than this &ndash; it also requires the ability to be flexible and adjust quickly. <strong>Good leaders are able to make changes to their diaries when a greater need arises; they know when to push one thing back and bring another forward. </strong><br /><br />With a little bit of work, I have been able to adjust my diary and make space to read my friend's book. And I am pleased to say that the young leader I talked to this morning was able to defer other tasks in order to deliver the report on time. The art of prioritisation may involve some difficult decisions. But it is an essential skill to develop if we are to be effective and fruitful in our areas of responsibility. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-02-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Character or Emotion Driven</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/326</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/326</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/326/character-or-emotion-driven-original.jpg" />A slightly shorter blog than usual this week, as Deb, who helps me write these, is on Grandma duty! Our first grandson, Isaac James Tibbert, was born last week, much to everyone&rsquo;s joy and excitement. Deb and I are, of course, loving being grandparents. <br /><br />It never ceases to amaze me how great an impact such a tiny baby can have on the lives those around him/her! Our son Ben and daughter-in-law Alice are doing brilliantly, as they adapt to the responsibility of caring for a newborn and get used to surviving on minimal sleep! We are very proud of them. <br /><br />I thought this week I'd simply leave you with an important leadership principle I came across many years ago in John Maxwell&rsquo;s classic book, <em>Developing the Leader Within You</em>. He describes the difference between <strong>&lsquo;emotion driven&rsquo;</strong> and <strong>&lsquo;character driven&rsquo;</strong> people. This is how he summarises it: <br /><br /><strong>Character Driven People</strong><br />Do right, then feel good<br />Are commitment driven<br />Make principle-based decisions<br />Action controls attitude<br />Believe it, then see it<br />Create momentum<br />Ask: &ldquo;What are my responsibilities?&rdquo;<br /><br /><strong>Emotion Driven People</strong><br />Feel good, then do right<br />Are convenience driven<br />Make popular-based decisions<br />Attitude controls action<br />See it, then believe it<br />Wait for momentum<br />Ask: &ldquo;What are my rights?&rdquo;<br /> <br />Which of these lists best describes you? If you&rsquo;re unsure, ask yourself how you react when dealing with challenges in either your work or personal life. <strong>There is no doubt in my mind that character driven leadership wins every time.</strong> I may not always succeed, but I hope over the years I have become better at being that kind of person. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-02-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Home and Away</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/325</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/325</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/325/partnering-for-the-gospel-web.jpg" /><p>After several trips away in the months before Christmas, I have enjoyed being back at King&rsquo;s for the last seven weeks. It has been great to have time to focus on the local church over the Christmas and New Year season, culminating in a truly remarkable 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. As I said before, this has been the first time I&rsquo;ve seen such a positive response to corporate prayer at King's. I believe we have begun to lay a foundation in the area of prayer which will bear fruit in the coming year. We ended our 21 days on Sunday evening with a wonderful time of worship and celebration, praying again for God to move in power in our community, our city and across this nation.<br /><br />I now enter a season which is more focussed on my <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers</a> responsibilities, both in the UK and further afield. This week I have had the privilege of joining with a group of national church leaders hosted by Terry Virgo. It has been very encouraging to hear of all that God is doing across Newfrontiers and in other groups of churches in the UK. Then next week, Deb and I are looking forward to travelling up to Manchester to see good friends Jeremy and Anne Simpkins from the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/team-member/jeremy-simpkins/">ChristCentral</a> family of churches.<br /><br />We are also starting to turn our thoughts to our three-week trip to southern Africa, which is now less than three weeks away. On 19th February we fly to Zambia, where we will be spending time with <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/team-member/joseph-mwila/">Joseph Mwila</a> and his wife Lilly, who are based in Kitwe, near Ndola. We then travel down to Zimbabwe to be with <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/team-member/scott-marques/">Scott and Claire Marques</a>, visiting Harare and Bulawayo, before ending our trip in Cape Town, South Africa, where we will meet up with some of the leaders from Jubilee Church. We finish our trip with a couple of days holiday in South Africa before returning to London.<br /><br />Until we leave for Africa, I will enjoy being at home to catch the first few weeks of our new <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/1591/the-king-and-his-cross-series/">Luke</a> teaching series, which starts this Sunday at King's. Andrew Wilson will be speaking, and I look forward to seeing many of you there.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20200129-18272SXLQJLS9SWD.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-01-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Ten Leadership Lessons from 21 Days of Prayer</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/324</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/324</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/324/ten-leadership-lessons-from-21-days-of-prayer-web.jpg" />Just under three weeks ago, we set out on <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/1470/21-days-of-prayer/">21 days of Prayer and Fasting</a> here at King&rsquo;s. I copied the idea of starting the year in this way from my friend Tope Koleso from Jubilee Church, Enfield, among others. As I have said before, corporate prayer at King&rsquo;s has not historically been one of our strengths, but these last few weeks have been very encouraging.<br /><br />As we draw to the end of our 21 Days, I have been reflecting on what we are learning. In no particular order, here are the things I feel have worked well:<br /><br /><strong>1.</strong> <strong>Teaching about prayer on Sundays alongside the 21 Days has been helpful.</strong> I opened the series by speaking from<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/52/item/2/"> Acts 4 on the Believers&rsquo; Prayer</a>, and each week we have focussed on a different Biblical model for prayer. <br /><br /><strong>2.</strong> <strong>Holding an hour&rsquo;s prayer meeting from 7 to 8pm works.</strong> People can come straight from work, and finishing by 8 means you still have your evening. An hour&rsquo;s prayer seems more attainable for those of us learning to pray.<br /><br /><strong>3.</strong> <strong>The daily regularity of the 21 days has built momentum.</strong> Offering prayer meetings every night has made them accessible to more of the church, whatever people&rsquo;s work or life rhythms. In the past, we have tended to hold our corporate prayer meetings on Wednesday nights, which does not work for everyone.<br /><br /><strong>4. We found keeping to a similar pattern each evening worked well.</strong> We started and finished on time; we worshipped for 15 minutes, prayed for 30 to 35 minutes and finished with another time of worship; we combined praying in small groups with other moments of encouraging everyone to raise their voices to God.<br /><br /><strong>5. Having a theme for each evening gave focus to our prayers.</strong> We introduced topics (e.g. <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/">Vision 2030</a>, youth and children, healing, Sunday meetings, sites) and provided prayer points to guide people in their prayers.<br /><br /><strong>6. We are a multisite church but came together as one church for six evenings, reserving Fridays to meet at each of our four sites.</strong> The experience has been tremendously positive for both one-church unity and site community.<br /><br /><strong>7. I believe it has helped that Deb and I have attended every night.</strong><br /><br /><strong>8. Suggesting alternative models of fasting has made this important spiritual discipline more attainable.</strong> Many people have followed our example of a partial fast each day. Deb and I have eaten breakfast, and then an evening meal after the prayer meeting. Others have undertaken social media fasts, meat fasts, or fasted on certain days.<br /><br /><strong>9. Attendance has been consistently high every night, with hundreds of people gathering each evening to seek God.</strong> Even storm Brendan didn&rsquo;t stop people turning out! Many have joined me and Deb in committing to all 21 days, while others have come as often as they can. Many have brought their children along. Some who live too far away or were unable to come out at night, committed to praying in their own homes each evening. <br /><br /><strong>10. The spiritual health of the church is at an all-time high.</strong> As we have moved through the last few weeks, I have observed an increasing hunger for God and freedom of expression in worship and prayer. We have had many evenings where people have encountered God in a powerful way. <br /><br />This has been one of the most significant seasons I can remember in my 24 years of leading King&rsquo;s. <strong>It has ignited a fresh passion in us to seek God and see Him move that is wonderful to see.</strong> We still have much to learn about corporate prayer, but this has been an important step forward for us as a local church. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-01-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Desire, Discipline, Delight</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/323</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/323</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/323/desire-desciple-delight-web.jpg" />Shortly after our Vision Sunday last October, where I called the church to a <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/1470/21-days-of-prayer/">21-day period of prayer and fasting</a> in January, I attended an excellent session about prayer at the <a href="https://www.growingtothenextlevel.online/">Learning Community</a> at Kingsgate, Peterborough. One of the speakers, Larry Stockstill, shared a very helpful framework for thinking about how our prayer lives can grow and mature, which he called <strong>the 3 Ds of Prayer: Desire, Discipline, Delight</strong>.<br /><br />Most of us have a <strong>desire</strong> to pray more. I certainly resonate with that sentiment &ndash; I often feel the pull of the Holy Spirit to draw aside and pray. <strong>Yet too often, other things seem to take priority, and before we know it, the opportunity has gone.</strong> <br /><br />Larry challenged us with the statement that the gateway to prayer is <strong>discipline</strong>. No fancy method, no silver bullet! In the end we have to <strong>make time in our daily schedules</strong> &ndash; to sit in a chair, go for a walk or use the daily commute, whatever works for us. Pete Greig, in his excellent book <em>How to Pray</em>, encourages us when praying to&nbsp;<em>&lsquo;keep it simple, keep it real and keep it up&rsquo;</em>! <strong>If we want to pray, we must start by disciplining ourselves to do it!</strong><br /><br />The fruit of allowing the desire to lead to discipline is <strong>delight</strong>. Once we begin to set aside regular time to pray on our own or gather with others, joy follows. This is becoming my testimony. I look forward to my prayer times; I feel the lack if I miss them. <br /><br /><strong>Desire, Discipline, Delight.</strong> As a church we had a desire to pray together more. That desire prompted us to discipline ourselves to commit three weeks in January to daily corporate prayer meetings. <strong>And delight is our testimony!</strong> We are at Day 11 of our 21 Days, and it has been a remarkable ten days so far. The church has turned out each evening consistently, in numbers, with an enthusiasm and hunger to pray. <strong>And as we have gathered, God has come. </strong><br /><br />So let&rsquo;s keep following the prompting of the Holy Spirit to gather together as a church as we move through week two of our <strong>21 Days of Prayer and Fasting</strong>. We go again<strong> tonight, 7-8pm</strong>, on the<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/catford/"><strong> Catford</strong></a> site. I hope to see you there!<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/385122807?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /> <script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script> ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-01-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Call to Pray</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/322</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/322</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/322/a-call-to-pray-web.jpg" /><strong>At the beginning of 2019, I had two conversations in the space of a few days which left me feeling challenged, encouraged and provoked.</strong> In early February I chatted with my friend Tope Koleoso, leader of the excellent Jubilee Church in north London, about the <strong>21 days of prayer</strong> they had just completed. They had started the new year by calling the whole church to pray and fast for 21 days, gathering each night to seek God and call upon him. <strong>People had responded in large numbers to the call to pray together night after night, and they had seen a rise in faith and hunger for God.</strong> This was soon followed by another discussion with Greg Surratt, who leads Seacoast Church in South Carolina. <strong>They too had begun their year with 21 days of prayer and had witnessed God break out in power, with some remarkable healings during that time. </strong><br /><br />I can be slow to hear God, but on this occasion <strong>I felt him say clearly that he was calling King&rsquo;s to go deeper in prayer.</strong> Over the last few months we have been planning and preparing for a church-wide focus on prayer during January. We began on Sunday when <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/52/">I preached out of Acts 4</a> about corporate prayer and shared what God has put on my heart. <strong>Our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/1470/21-days-of-prayer/">21 Days of Prayer</a> started on Monday, and I was overwhelmed by the response from the church.</strong> People streamed into the meeting, many coming straight from work, and we quickly found we had underestimated how many chairs we would need! It was a lively, joyful, faith-filled time of calling out to God. <strong>I have been so encouraged by the start of our 21 days and I cannot wait to see what God will do over the next three weeks.</strong> If you have not yet been able to join the adventure, we meet again at <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/1470/21-days-of-prayer/">7.00pm tonight, Catford site</a>.<br /><br />Lastly, Pete Greig&rsquo;s book, <em>How to Pray</em>, will still be available to buy on Sunday, although I understand copies are selling fast. This is an accessible and helpful book on prayer, and a great one to read alongside these 21 days. ]]></description> <pubDate>2020-01-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Christmas, Watchnight and 21 Days of Prayer</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/321</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/321</guid> <description><![CDATA[ After the busyness of the last two weekends of Carol Services and Family Christmas Services, it&rsquo;s good to take a moment to pause and look forward to Christmas Day itself and New Year. Here&rsquo;s a quick reminder of <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">what&rsquo;s happening at King&rsquo;s</a> over the rest of the Christmas period:&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>CHRISTMAS DAY</strong><br />There will be <strong><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">one morning service</a> at 10.30am at Catford, Downham and Lee</strong>. This will be an hour-long family service and is always a great way to celebrate Christmas Day.<br /><br /><strong>SUNDAY 29 DECEMBER</strong><br />Join us on the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">last Sunday of the year</a> but note there will only be <strong>one meeting at each site, including Beckenham, at 10.30am.</strong><br /><br /><strong>WATCHNIGHT</strong><br />Our New Year&rsquo;s Eve <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">Watchnight </a>service has become a highlight for me. I love seeing in the New Year praying and worshipping with God&rsquo;s people! <strong>This year we will be holding three services - at Catford, Downham and Lee - from 10.30pm to 12.30am.</strong>&nbsp;Because there is a limit to the number we can accommodate at each site, we are ticketing the event once more. Tickets are free but they are going fast, so if you plan to be there, please book in&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">here</a>.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>21 DAYS OF PRAYER</strong><br />Whilst I am looking forward to some time off over the Christmas and New Year period, I am also very excited about what&rsquo;s coming up in January. At our Vision Sunday in October, <strong>I shared our conviction that God wants King&rsquo;s to have a renewed focus on prayer</strong>. We are therefore starting off the new decade by calling the church to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/1470/21-days-of-prayer/">21 Days of Prayer</a>. <strong>From Monday 6 January until Sunday 26 January, we will gather for an hour at 7.00pm every day, for 21 consecutive days.</strong> We will meet at the Catford site every evening except Fridays, when we will meet at each site. I am planning to be at them all and I keep hearing of more people who intend to do the same! I realise this is not possible for all of you, but I hope that you will join us as often as you can, as we worship, pray and wait upon God together. <br /><br />Until then, have a very happy Christmas and New Year.<br /><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-12-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An Excellent Weekend</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/320</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/320</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/320/an-excellent-weekend-web.jpg" />We had a fantastic first weekend of carol services at King&rsquo;s, with a very encouraging number of guests and first-time visitors coming along. <strong>I&rsquo;d like to take this opportunity to say a huge &lsquo;thank you&rsquo; and &lsquo;well done&rsquo; to everyone involved - you all did an amazing job again!</strong><br /><br />If you haven&rsquo;t come along to a carol service&nbsp;yet, or if you&rsquo;d like to come again, then <strong>there are</strong> <strong>more opportunities coming</strong> <strong>up this Sunday</strong> with two carol services at the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee</a> site at 5pm and 7.30pm, and another at the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/beckenham/">Beckenham</a> site at 6pm. (Please note there is NO morning meeting at Beckenham this Sunday; Lee will meet at 10.30am as normal.) Meanwhile, the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford</a> and <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/downham/">Downham</a> sites have their Family Christmas Service. These are ideal for the whole family and are always a lot of fun. <br /><br />You&rsquo;ll find full details on our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">website</a>, but here&rsquo;s a quick summary of what&rsquo;s happening where and when:<br /><br /><strong>SUN 22 DEC</strong><br /><strong>Christmas Carol Services</strong><br /> 5pm &amp; 7.30pm Lee<br /> 6pm Beckenham<br /><br /><strong>Family Christmas Services</strong><br /> 9.30am &amp; 11.30am Catford<br /> 9.30am &amp; 11.30am Downham<br /><br />Come along, bring a friend. And if you can help us by booking your free tickets online in advance, that would be great. I look forward to seeing you there!<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/380043612?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-12-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Christmas at King&apos;s</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/319</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/319</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/319/web-Christmas19-CAK-url.jpg" />We are now in the final week preparations for this year&rsquo;s <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">Christmas Carol services</a> at King&rsquo;s, which start <strong>this weekend</strong> on the Catford site. Our carol services are an annual highlight, one I always anticipate with great excitement. It&rsquo;s also <strong>one of the easiest invites of the year</strong>, and if you haven&rsquo;t already asked your friends and family to come along, it&rsquo;s not too late! As well as carols, songs and performance pieces, I've heard there will be mulled wine, hot chocolate and mince pies. <strong>Our first <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">Emmanuel</a> service is this Saturday, 5pm, Catford, with another four services at Catford on Sunday at 9.30am, 11.30am, 5pm and 7.30pm and one at Downham at 6pm, Knight&rsquo;s Academy</strong> (please note NO morning meetings at Downham this Sunday). <br /><br />With so many services taking place over the next two weekends, it can be difficult to remember what&rsquo;s happening when, so here is a quick summary for you of all the different service times and venues:<br /><br />Christmas Carol Services<br /><br /><strong>SAT 14 DEC</strong><br /> 5pm Catford<br /><br /><strong>SUN 15 DEC</strong><br /> 9.30am &amp; 11.30am Catford<br /> 5pm &amp; 7.30pm Catford<br /> 6pm Knight's Academy School, Downham<br />(N.B. no morning meetings at Downham on 15 Dec)<br /><br /><strong>SUN 22 DEC</strong><br /> 5pm &amp; 7.30pm Lee<br /> 6pm Beckenham<br />(N.B. no morning meeting at Beckenham on 22 Dec)<br /><br />Family Christmas Services (for the whole family):<br /><strong>SUN 15 DEC</strong><br /> 10.30am Lee<br /> 10.30am Beckenham<br /><br /><strong>SUN 22 DEC</strong><br /> 9.30am &amp; 11.30am Catford<br /> 9.30am &amp; 11.30am Downham<br /><br />Although tickets are not required for entry, it is helpful for us to know in advance how many to expect at each service, so I encourage you to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">book your (free) tickets</a> for the carol services online for yourself and as many guests as you plan to bring. You do not need tickets for the Family Christmas services. <br /><br />As always, you can find all the information you need about what&rsquo;s happening at King&rsquo;s over the Christmas period on our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">website</a>. <br /><br />P.S. Christmas is yet to come, but we are already looking ahead to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Watchnight</a> on New Year&rsquo;s Eve! This is another fantastic evening when we gather to worship, pray and see in the New Year together. Watchnight is happening at Catford, Downham and Lee this year, and <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">tickets</a> are going fast, so book yours now if you intend to come.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/372382427?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-12-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Emmanuel</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/318</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/318</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/318/web-Christmas19-CAK-url.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.&rsquo; Isaiah 7:14<br /></em> <br /><strong>Christmas is approaching fast, and we are less than two weeks away from the first of our carol services here at King&rsquo;s.</strong> This is an annual highlight for us, one of my favourite times of year, and planning and preparations began many months ago. Rehearsals are now in full swing, and I am looking forward to seeing what our talented and creative team have put together this year.<br /> <br /><strong>Our theme will be <em>Emmanuel</em>, &lsquo;God with us&rsquo;.</strong> It&rsquo;s a word that expresses the very heart of Christmas &ndash; the time when we stop and remember that God, out of His mercy and love for us, came to live among us, bringing hope and salvation to the world. This year we want to give opportunity to share that hope with more people than ever before. Over two weekends we will be putting on <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">fifteen services</a> across our four sites &ndash; nine Carol Services and six Family Christmas Services. <strong>That&rsquo;s fifteen opportunities to invite your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues to come along and hear the Good News!<br /></strong> <br />To help us manage numbers at the Carol Services, <strong>we are asking you to book tickets in advance for yourself and any guests you plan to bring along</strong> (no tickets needed for the Family Christmas Services). Tickets are free as usual, but this year we are asking you to <strong>book them online</strong>. You will find all the information you need on our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">website</a>. Meanwhile, for a taste of what to expect from the carol services, have a look at the video below. <br /><br />I would like to encourage you to <strong>start thinking and praying about the people you can invite to one of the services</strong>. Let&rsquo;s pray that the Good News of Jesus &ndash; Emmanuel, God with us &ndash; will be shared with hundreds of people at King&rsquo;s this year; <strong><strong>let&rsquo;s pray that many will find hope and salvation in Him.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/372382427?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></strong></strong><br /> <script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-12-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Sharing Hope this Christmas</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/317</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/317</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/317/web-BRB-and-KCT-horizontal.jpg" />Christmas will soon be upon us, and preparations have been underway at King&rsquo;s for several months now. I have actually lost count of how many carol services are planned for this year! <strong>We want to make it possible for more people than ever to attend a service and hear the Good News of Jesus</strong>, and I&rsquo;ll be telling you more about this year&rsquo;s <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">Christmas services</a> in a couple of weeks. <br /><br />One of the things I like to do on the blog at this time of year is profile our two Christmas social action projects, King's Christmas Trees and Big Red Box.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees</a> is one project which is very simple but has a huge impact. All profits from trees sold go towards providing hot meals at <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a>, a weekly drop-in meeting for rough sleepers and vulnerable people. <strong>Last year we were able to serve more than 4500 three-course meals to local people in need.</strong> You can find out more about volunteer opportunities or how to order a tree <a href="https://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">here</a>.<br /> <br /><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/big-red-box/">Big Red Box</a> is the sister project to King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees. Last year, with the help of local social services and charities, we were able to distribute more than 2200 hampers of food to people who would otherwise go without. <strong>This year we are encouraging everyone who calls King&rsquo;s home to get involved &ndash; to donate an item, a bag or a box of food from the shopping list.</strong>&nbsp;(If you come to King's, <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/docs/BRB_2019_DL.pdf" target="_blank">here are the details</a> of when and where to drop off your donations.) You can also help with supermarket collections or packing and distributing boxes.&nbsp; You&rsquo;ll find everything you need to know at <a href="https://www.bigredbox.org/">bigredbox.org</a>. <br /><br />Extending God&rsquo;s love and mercy in practical ways to those who are hurting or in need is an integral part of our vision at King&rsquo;s.&nbsp;<strong>Christmas can be a challenging time for some people, so let&rsquo;s take this opportunity to g</strong><strong>et involved and share the hope of Jesus with those around us</strong>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-11-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Building Teams</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/316</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/316</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/316/building-teams-web.jpg" />We have numerous teams at King&rsquo;s for different areas of ministry &ndash; pastoral teams, worship teams, programme teams and so on. Over the years I have led or been part of many of these, but I now find myself on just five key teams, three in my home church and two in Newfrontiers. I lead three of these and sit on the other two. It is important to be aware of the role you have in any team context and adjust accordingly.<br /><br />The ability to build effective teams is a key skill for leaders, one which hopefully I have become better at with experience. This week I am meeting with eight of our younger staff to talk about the importance of building teams. Here are some of the things I will be encouraging them to consider:<br />&nbsp;<br />1. <strong>Get the right people in the room</strong>. I am slow to appoint new people to a team, especially ones that carry a lot of responsibility. Jesus spent a whole night in prayer before appointing the twelve disciples. I try to spend time getting to know someone before inviting them to join a team. <br /><br />2. <strong>It is helpful to ask people to sit in on a team before confirming their position.</strong> This gives space for both the new person and the team leader to see if their gifting is a good fit before making their appointment official. <br /><br />3. <strong>Help your team to catch your heart.</strong> To do that you need to spend time with them. John Maxwell says, <em>'A&nbsp;person with experience learns that people buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.'&nbsp;</em>For a team to catch your vision, they need to feel they know you. Part of my motivation for meeting with our younger staff members is that I want them to get to know me, catch my heart and so catch the vision for the church.<br /><br />4. <strong>Team culture is set by the leader.</strong> The leader sets far more than the agenda! You also set the culture, temperature and pace e.g., relaxed or formal, consultative or authoritarian.<br /><br />5.&nbsp;<strong>Leaders need to give time to future development of the team.</strong>&nbsp;By this I mean considering the future needs of a team. Where are the potential gaps? What about diversity? How can I bring in the next generation? Thinking about the next appointment is a key leadership role.<br /><br />Of course there is a lot more I could say on this subject, but hopefully the group I meet with today will find this helpful. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-11-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Prayer</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/315</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/315</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/315/prayer-web.jpg" />On <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/">Vision Sunday</a> a couple of weeks ago, I spoke about our plan to gather the church for<strong> 21 days of prayer in January</strong>. <br /><br />In preparation for this, I have been reading around the subject of prayer. I have begun with Tim Keller&rsquo;s excellent book <a href="https://timothykeller.com/books/prayer" target="_blank"><em>Prayer &ndash; Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God</em></a>. Like many of Keller&rsquo;s books, it is content rich. It is not a quick read &ndash; each chapter requires focussed time to digest &ndash; but it is certainly worthwhile. <strong>It is both an encouragement and an inspiration to persevere in prayer.</strong> It has already helped my prayer life and I commend it to you all.<br /><br />I am excited about starting next year with 21 days of prayer. Throughout this three-week period, <strong>we will be gathering the four sites together for an hour&rsquo;s corporate prayer each day between 7pm and 8pm, beginning on Monday 6 January</strong>. I am aiming to be at all of them, and I have already heard from several others who plan to do the same. I am encouraging everyone at King&rsquo;s to come to as many of the 21 prayer meetings as possible. In fact, why not put the dates in your diary now? <strong>If we are to see the fulfilment of Vision 2030 &ndash; to reach thousands of people and serve hundreds of churches &ndash; prayer needs to be at the heart of everything we do.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-11-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Giving Review</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/314</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/314</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/314/it-all-belongs-to-him-web.jpg" />At our recent <a href="/vision/#vision-sunday-oct19">Vision Sunday</a>, I asked King&rsquo;s to respond to God&rsquo;s call upon us as a local church by taking two steps: the first was a call to prayer, the second a call to give. <br /><br />King&rsquo;s is a remarkably generous church, and many are giving sacrificially in response to the grace we have received in Christ. <strong>This year I have asked 500 households to increase their monthly giving by at least &pound;10 per month, and to also bring an additional one-off gift towards Vision 2030 at our two gift days in November.</strong> The first of these is this Sunday, 3rd November, and the second will be the following week. I&rsquo;d like to encourage you to consider prayerfully what you can bring to the offering on either of these two Sundays. Deb and I have already looked at our budget and prayed together and will be ready to bring our offering this Sunday. The ongoing generosity of King&rsquo;s is an essential part of fulfilling the vision God has given us to <a href="/vision">Reach, Restore and Resource</a>.<br /><br />If you would like to know more about King&rsquo;s philosophy of giving, have a look at this video interview I did a few years ago.<br /><br /><em>The Vision 2030 update leaflet is available <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/#oct19_update" target="_blank">here</a> and the invitation/giving review form <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/docs/Giving_Review_Oct19_Invitation.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</em><br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/298367400" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-10-31</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Praying for Our Nation</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/313</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/313</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/313/praying-for-our-nation.jpg" />We returned yesterday from an excellent couple of days away with The Richmond Group. This is an annual gathering of leaders from some of the movements, networks and larger churches in the UK, hosted by Nicky Gumbel from HTB and Pastor Agu from Jesus House.<br /><br /><strong>One of the highlights was a helpful discussion around the issue of diversity.</strong> As part of the programme, Nicky interviewed <strong>Ben Lindsay</strong> who recently published <strong><em>We Need to Talk about Race</em></strong>, about the black experience in white majority churches.&nbsp;<strong>He spoke with much grace, courage and honesty on this important subject.</strong> I have known Ben for many years, as he was saved on an Alpha course at King&rsquo;s, and I recommend his book to you.<br /><br /><strong>Building a diverse church is a high value of King&rsquo;s.</strong> We have learnt a huge amount over the last couple of decades (and made many mistakes along the way!) as the church has become increasingly diverse, but there is always more to learn. If you are new to the church or interested in finding out more, I encourage you to take a look at <em><strong><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/invited/">Invited</a></strong></em>, our most recent teaching series on diversity.&nbsp;<br /><br />The Richmond Group meets at Lambeth Palace, which sits on the Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament. We were highly conscious of the important political debates taking place across the river as we were meeting, and our time together concluded with a powerful time praying and calling out to God for our nation. As our politicians continue to be as divided as ever as to what should happen next regarding the UK&rsquo;s future with the EU,<strong> it was good to finish with a reminder that we put our trust in a God far mightier and more powerful than any one politician or political ideology.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-10-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Partnering for the Gospel</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/312</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/312</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/312/partnering-for-the-gospel-web.jpg" />Last week, Deb and I had the joy of attending the Global 19 conference. <strong>It was an excellent few days, with about 90 apostolic leaders from within the international <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org">Newfrontiers</a> family gathering to worship, pray and learn together.</strong> It is always a joy to spend time with this group of Gospel partners, many of them ministering in challenging circumstances, and we thank God for the friendships we have built here over the years. I had the privilege of hosting some of the sessions, including a helpful round-table discussion about the different apostolic models within our fellowship. <br /><br />On Tuesday this week, I joined our King&rsquo;s team at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.growingtothenextlevel.online">European Learning Community</a> hosted by Dave Smith who leads the excellent Kingsgate Community Church in Peterborough. This is a great event, which gathers church teams from about 70 churches for a couple of days. We have been attending for several years now, and always find them stimulating and helpful.<br /><br />It&rsquo;s certainly been a varied few weeks, and on Monday and Tuesday next week we have the privilege of joining Nicky and Pippa Gumbel at Lambeth Palace for the Richmond Group, which brings together leaders from many different church streams in the UK.<br /><br />In the space of just two weeks we will have enjoyed fellowship with many leaders, both from within our family of churches and the wider body of Christ. <strong>We are very grateful to God for these dear friends and partners in the Gospel.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-10-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Global 19</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/311</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/311</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/311/global-19-web.jpg" />Tomorrow, Deb and I will be travelling to Cyprus for the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers</a> Global 2019 conference. We are looking forward to meeting up with friends from around the world who make up our Newfrontiers apostolic fellowship. Currently, Newfrontiers is working in more than 83 different nations. <strong>The annual Global conference is something we always look forward to, a time when we can come together to share news, pray, encourage and support one another.</strong> On this occasion we are delighted to have Mike Pilavachi and Andy McCullough as our guest speakers.<br /><br /><strong>This Sunday at King&rsquo;s marks the first anniversary of our fourth site in Beckenham.</strong> It is fantastic to see how the site has grown in twelve months &ndash; last week they had the joy of celebrating their first baptisms, and we are praying for many more lives to be transformed as that site reaches more people for Jesus. <strong>In fact last Sunday was an amazing day across all the sites at King&rsquo;s, with a total of 20 people baptised through the day!</strong> <br /><br />Deb and I return from Cyprus at the end of next week, and I am already looking forward to speaking at our <strong>Vision Sunday</strong> on the 13th October. Once again we will give thanks for God&rsquo;s goodness to us, and <strong>I will also take the opportunity to share some exciting and important news as we move towards fulfilling God's prophetic words over us as a community</strong>. <br /><br /><em>There will be no blog next week while Steve is away. He'll be back as usual the following week.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-10-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Restored Lives</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/310</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/310</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/310/ppt-baptisms-sep19-web.jpg" />I was baptised on 6th February 1983. I was 19 and had come to faith the previous autumn. Having resisted the Christian faith for years, I had finally responded to God&rsquo;s call on my life. <br /><br />I gave my life to Jesus during a Sunday service at the church where I had grown up in Bedford. My first response was to walk across the room and tell my pastor I wanted to be baptised. I also started to give 10% of my income to the church. I had left work the previous Friday, swearing and using bad language like most of my colleagues. When I turned up the following Monday, one of the first things my work friends noticed was that I no longer swore. The Gospel had an immediate and powerful effect on my life. I had spent many months considering the claims of Christianity and <strong>when I took the decision to turn away from my old ways and follow Jesus, I was radically changed.</strong> <br /><br />This Sunday we are <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">baptising</a> <strong>twenty people</strong> across the church, with baptisms on every site. <strong>Twenty people, each declaring faith in Jesus and giving testimony to new life in Him!</strong> As we approach the one-year anniversary of our new <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/beckenham/">Beckenham</a> site, we are particularly excited that we have our first baptism there. <strong>How encouraging, and what potential for Gospel extension!</strong> <br /><br />When we declare Jesus as Lord and give our lives to him, it is a moment of restoration; through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are restored to God our Father, brought back into relationship with the one who created us. <strong>Baptism is a powerful declaration of faith and of individual lives restored to God.</strong> <strong>But God&rsquo;s work of restoration doesn&rsquo;t stop there!</strong> It is the beginning of a process of being restored, made new. By the power of his Holy Spirit, our hearts, minds and attitudes are gradually transformed as we are made more like Him.<br /><br /><strong>In our new series starting this Sunday, we will consider what it really means to be <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/restored/">RESTORED</a> by Jesus.</strong> This promises to be an exciting and significant series, and I encourage you to make the most of it by coming on Sundays and&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">joining a group</a>. Neil Anderson&rsquo;s excellent book, <em>Freedom in Christ</em>, which we will be using in groups, will be available to buy on Sundays. Meanwhile, for a taste of what&rsquo;s to come in <em>RESTORED</em>, take a look at the video below and visit <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/restored">kingschurchlondon.org/restored</a> for more details.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/359343368?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="780" height="439" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /> <script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-09-26</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Objective Eyes</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/309</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/309</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/309/Steve-and-Cindy-Nicholson-Sep16-web.jpg" />At King&rsquo;s, we are always keen to invite translocal ministries to come and serve our team.<br /><br />In the last twelve months we have enjoyed input from a number of different people, each bringing their own gifts and area of expertise. These have included <strong>David Devenish</strong>, who oversees King&rsquo;s and leads the wider family of churches called <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/"><strong>Newfrontiers</strong></a> to which we belong. We also had the pleasure of welcoming <strong>Krish Kandiah</strong> from the charity Home for Good, who preached at King&rsquo;s on Mother&rsquo;s Day. In February, <strong>Geoff and Sherry Surratt</strong>, who have served on staff at a number of multi-site churches in the USA, were the guest speakers at our elders, staff and spouses&rsquo; weekend. While on sabbatical last year I met <strong>Ben Goodman</strong>, another leader from the USA, who has a recognised prophetic gift. Last term he spent an afternoon with our staff, teaching and leading us in a time of ministry. And this week, we have our dear friends <strong>Steve and Cindy Nicholson</strong>&nbsp; from the Vineyard with us for three days. Steve and Cindy (pictured above) have been regular guests at King&rsquo;s over many year now, and their input and wisdom to us as a church, and to many of us personally, has been invaluable.<br /> <br />As I look ahead to the coming months, I see that <strong>Andy McCullough</strong> will be spending a day with our staff; <strong>Tim Morbin</strong>, from the charity Transforming Lives for Good, is preaching across the church one Sunday; and <strong>Ryan TerMorshuizen</strong>, from Common Ground Church, Cape Town, will be speaking about StrengthsFinder at our next elders, staff and spouses&rsquo; weekend. Later in the year, we have also invited <strong>Brent Dolfo</strong>, an expert on leadership development, to help us raise up the next generation of leaders.<br /><br />I highly value input from outside King&rsquo;s. <strong>It brings fresh eyes and valuable objectivity to the issues facing us. It protects the church. It provokes, encourages and equips us to move forward.</strong> I honestly believe that one of the main reasons King&rsquo;s continues to grow is because of the lessons and advice we have received from friends around the world. <br /><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-09-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>When Things Don&apos;t Go to Plan...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/308</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/308</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/308/when-things-dont-go-to-plan-web.jpg" />I&rsquo;m known for being a planner. I like to set my diary weeks, months, even years ahead. Meetings, preaches, preparation time, evenings off, all of these are in my diary well into 2020, some as far as 2021, and holidays are booked at least twelve months in advance. But sometimes, despite the best of intentions, life doesn&rsquo;t go according to plan.<br /><br />On Monday morning I visited my dentist, expecting to be told I would need some minor treatment for a niggling problem. I was not expecting her to say, &lsquo;Steve, that tooth is cracked, I&rsquo;m afraid it will have to come out.&rsquo; It was not what I wanted to hear, and not the best start to the week. I had things to do, meetings to get to! After a brief discussion about the options available to me, we decided to deal with it immediately. After all I thought, the sooner it&rsquo;s done, the sooner I can get on with my day. If only life was that simple&hellip;<br /><br />I will spare you all the gory details. Let&rsquo;s just say things did not go to plan and my dentist was only able to remove part of the tooth. She quickly concluded I would need to see a specialist and made an emergency referral. I was advised to take heavy-duty painkillers and am due to have the rest of the tooth surgically removed under sedation on Thursday morning.<br /><br />So my week has been somewhat different to the one I had expected. However, I am a firm believer in finding the opportunity in every crisis, and this experience is teaching me that actually, most things can wait a week. I am very grateful to the fantastic team who have covered for me. And I have a new appreciation for dentists &ndash; what would we do without them? ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-09-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A New Church Year</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/307</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/307</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/307/a-new-church-year-web.jpg" />I love the start of the autumn term in church life. <strong>For many of us in church ministry, the first week of September feels more of a &lsquo;New Year&rsquo; than January.</strong> <br /><br />Following a ministry trip to Kenya and a week&rsquo;s holiday in France, it was great to be in the King&rsquo;s office again this week. Across August, the team is scattered between Newday and annual leave, and at times the offices can feel very quiet. But September marks the beginning of a new season of ministry with everyone back and raring to go, having benefitted from a change of pace. Our staff prayer meeting on Tuesday was a particular highlight this week. As I looked around the room, <strong>I felt blessed to be surrounded by such a passionate, committed and gifted team</strong>. It was especially good to welcome Phil Varley back from his sabbatical.<br /><br /><strong>Our first preaching series this term is centred around the theme of <em>Home</em>.</strong> Andrew Wilson got us off to an excellent start last Sunday, and if, like me, you were away, I recommend catching up with it <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/49/">online</a>. After a few weeks off, I am looking forward to being back at King&rsquo;s this Sunday as Andrew continues the new series. <br /><br />Finally, September is a month when we have always had a high number of visitors on Sundays. It&rsquo;s easy to forget that walking into a new church can be a daunting experience. <strong>Let&rsquo;s keep looking out for new people over the coming weeks and be ready to give them a very warm welcome.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-09-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Miracle in the Village</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/306</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/306</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/306/a-miracle-in-the-village-web.jpg" />Deb and I have just returned from a fantastic trip to Kenya visiting Edward and Fridah Buria in Meru, a city five hours north of Nairobi and right next to the Equator. <strong>It was a privilege to spend time with this amazing couple.</strong> We loved learning more about the Kerith movement, which is made up of hundreds of churches across Kenya and in neighbouring nations in East Africa. <br /><br />Our time was spent visiting a couple of local churches and projects and attending the annual leaders&rsquo; conference at Edward and Fridah&rsquo;s home church in Kambakia, a village on the outskirts of Meru. The conference gathered several hundred (predominantly young) leaders from the Kerith movement, many of whom had travelled long hours by bus to be there. <strong>The focus of the conference was mission, and their commitment and passion for the Gospel were impressive.</strong> A highlight for us was the worship, which was lively, vibrant and Jesus-focussed.<br /><br />Towards the end of the week, Edward and Fridah told us the remarkable story of how this family of churches began. As we sat in their living room one evening, we heard how the church had started with a small group meeting in the room in which we were sitting and grew rapidly following a revival in their village. <strong>The church that started in a living room now meets in a 1000-seater building down the road; the church birthed in a village revival now reaches thousands across Kenya and beyond!</strong><br /><br />This visit to Kenya has been yet another reminder of God&rsquo;s love for people. He is about a great work across the nations, calling many to His name.<strong> Let&rsquo;s keep sharing the Good News of Jesus and praying for God to move in revival again!<br /><br /></strong><em>There will be no blog next week as I will be enjoying a short holiday, but I&rsquo;ll be back the week after that.<strong><br /></strong></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-08-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Looking Ahead</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/305</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/305</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/305/looking-ahead-web.jpg" /><br /><strong>Forward planning is something I do quite instinctively, but my experience of managing others has shown me this does not come naturally to most of us.</strong><br /><br />If you are aware of the Myers Briggs personality test, you may know that this can be a particular challenge for those with a &lsquo;P&rsquo; (Perceiving) preference in their decision-making processes. People with this preference (such as my wife!) like to have as much information as possible before making a decision, leaving them free to be flexible and responsive. Or as I like to put it, not wanting to commit in case a better option comes along! Joking apart, these are good qualities, but make planning and committing your diary in advance a problem. You won&rsquo;t be surprised to learn that I have a &lsquo;J&rsquo; (Judging) preference in my Myers Briggs &ndash; I like to make decisions quickly and have things settled in advance. Deb is always encouraging me to enjoy the moment and not spend so much time thinking about the future!<br /><br /><strong>When we have busy lives with multiple responsibilities, I believe detailed planning is essential.</strong> It is important to pause from time to time, step back and take a moment to look ahead. This morning I was asked if I could speak at a seminar next January. I immediately got my diary out and was delighted to be able to accept, knowing that I have already pencilled in my other commitments.<br /><br />These are some of the key principles I take into consideration when planning ahead:<br /><br />1. Days off and holidays are first to go in.<br />2. Date nights with Deb are next.<br />3. Local church responsibilities go in after this.<br />4. Any ministry outside King&rsquo;s fits in around what is already in the diary.<br /><br /><strong>I give priority to family and home church responsibilities over any outside or trans-local ministry.</strong> Once these have been met, I then have the freedom to serve churches beyond King&rsquo;s, following boundaries agreed with both Deb and the elders and trustees.<br /><br />Whatever our personality preferences, whether we like to be very ordered or more flexible, I believe some good planning helps us meet our responsibilities and avoid overcommitting.<br /> <div><br /><em>The original version of this blog was posted in May 2018. Steve is away for a couple of weeks and will be back in September.&nbsp;</em></div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-08-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Visit to Kenya</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/304</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/304</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/304/visit-to-kenya-web.jpg" />After <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/media/">opening our August preaching series</a> on Psalms at King&rsquo;s on Sunday, my primary focus this week has been to prepare for our imminent visit to Kenya. <br /><br />Deb and I will be travelling with David and Scilla Devenish to visit <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/team-member/edward-buria/">Edward and Fridah Buria</a> in the city of Meru, north east of Nairobi and just a couple of miles from the equator. We are looking forward to seeing the remarkable ministry of Edward and Fridah for ourselves. I have had the privilege of visiting many different contexts within the wider Newfrontiers family, but this will be our first trip to Kenya, and it will be great to see all that God is doing in the nation. The majority of our time there will be spent at a leaders&rsquo; conference, which will gather over 600 leaders from Edward&rsquo;s family of churches. I will be speaking at three of the main sessions, and I would appreciate your prayers as I complete my preparation for these. Although I will be one of the speakers at the conference, I suspect I will learn more than I impart!<br /><br />We fly to Nairobi this weekend and return the following week. Please pray for us and David and Scilla as we travel, for Edward and Fridah, and for all those attending the leaders&rsquo; conference. <br /><br />I will be taking a short holiday when we return, but I shall look forward to being back in September for the beginning of the new term. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-08-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Visit, a Book and Time with Friends</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/303</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/303</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/303/a-visit-a-book-and-time-with-friends-web.jpg" />A highlight of this last week was a visit to <a href="https://newdaygeneration.org/">Newday</a> on Tuesday. <strong>Newday is a fantastic event which each year sees thousands of young people from across the wider Newfrontiers family come together for a week of worship, teaching, fun and fellowship.</strong> Deb and I have been unable to go along the last couple of years, so it was great to be back and have the chance to drop in and see everyone on the King&rsquo;s site. There was a wonderful atmosphere among our young people (over 100 of them from across the four sites!) and the brilliant team of servers looking after them. In the evening the King&rsquo;s band and choir led the worship&mdash;a very proud moment.<br /><br />While at Newday, I bumped into Ben Lindsay, who has just published his first book, <em>We Need to Talk About Race</em>. Ben leads a church in London but was saved at King&rsquo;s many years ago, and we have kept in touch since then. <strong>I highly recommend his book, which will increase your awareness of the issues around race (particularly in the context of church), challenge you, and make you think more deeply about this important subject.</strong><br /><br />The school holidays in July and August mark a slightly different pace in church life, with fewer evening meetings. It means Deb and I have more opportunities than usual to catch up with friends, and <strong>over the next few weeks we are looking forward to some meals out with good friends from King&rsquo;s and the wider Newfrontiers family</strong>. I will also be spending an evening&nbsp; at Lord&rsquo;s watching 20/20 cricket with David Stroud, which should be very&nbsp;enjoyable.<br /><br />On Sunday I am looking forward to preaching out of Psalm 1 as we start our summer series at King&rsquo;s. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-08-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newday Comes to King&apos;s!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/302</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/302</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/302/newday-comes-to-kings-web.jpg" />King's got a taste of worship Newday-style last week! The King&rsquo;s band will play a part in leading worship at <a href="https://newdaygeneration.org/">Newday</a> (which starts on Monday) and on Sunday they led all three Catford meetings as part of their preparation. They did brilliantly, and it was fun to see the church reveal its youthful heart in worship!<br /><br />This year Deb and I are excited to be coming to Newday for a day. This will be the first time we have been able to get there in several years, and we are looking forward to being on the Catford site for the afternoon before staying on for the evening to see the King&rsquo;s band and the Newday choir lead worship in the big top. We will be wearing both our pastors&rsquo; and our parents&rsquo; hats for the evening, as Josh will be on drums and Sam is in the choir. We also hope to have time to catch up with friends on the Newday team.<br /><br />As Newday approaches fast, <strong>let&rsquo;s pray for our young people and the outstanding team of leaders accompanying them</strong>, many of whom are taking annual leave to be there. Altogether, there will be around 150 people on the King&rsquo;s campsite, as well as others staying on the servers&rsquo; site. <strong>Let&rsquo;s pray for all those serving, and for all the young people attending.</strong> As parents, Deb and I can testify to the key part Newday has played in encouraging our own children in their faith. <strong>Let&rsquo;s pray that this year&rsquo;s event will again see hundreds of young people turn to Jesus.<br /><br /></strong>For a reminder of everything the King's young people got up to at Newday last year, have a look at the video below. <br /><br /><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/285274277?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script> <br /> <script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-07-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Celebrating 30 Years!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/301</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/301</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/301/celebrating-30-years-web.jpg" />On Monday, Deb and I celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We are so grateful to God for taking us&mdash;two people with very different personalities, backgrounds and interests&mdash;and making us one. <strong>We know that we are better people for the influence of the other.</strong><br /><br />The Office for National Statistics estimated in 2012 that <strong>42% of marriages in England and Wales would end in divorce</strong>. This is a tragic statistic. How does young love, with all its hope and optimism, end in the heartbreak of broken promises and relational breakdown?<br /><br />In their excellent book <em>The Meaning of Marriage</em>, Tim and Kathy Keller identify <strong>two apparently conflicting attitudes towards marriage in this modern era</strong>. On the one hand, there is <strong>an idealism about marriage</strong>, a belief that our potential spouse should be a &lsquo;perfect&rsquo; partner, meet our every need, that they should &lsquo;complete&rsquo; us. It&rsquo;s an idea communicated in many romantic comedies&mdash;and fairy tales! But because such idealism is not reflected in actual experience, it is <strong>coupled with a deep pessimism</strong>, a belief that no marriage can or will last for long and divorce is almost inevitable. What a sad state of affairs! But <strong>Keller argues that a Christian view of marriage is very different and offers hope:&nbsp;</strong><br /><br /><em>According to the bible, God devised marriage to reflect the saving love for us in Christ, to refine our character, to create stable human community for the birth and nurture of children, and to accomplish all this by bringing the complementary sexes into an enduring whole life union.&rdquo;</em> (<em>The Meaning of Marriage</em>, Tim and Kathy Keller)<br /><br />Over the years, Deb and I have found that our differences have tended to complement each other rather than cause tension. <strong>We are continually learning from each other, and together we have matured as people.</strong> We aim to do our best to serve and bless rather than demand and complain. That said, we continue to provoke each other to grow, even though it can be painful at times&mdash;as I heard someone say recently, growth is just another word for change! <br /><br />As we look back over three decades of marriage, <strong>we are immensely grateful to God for His commitment to us, for the family we have built, and for the love and companionship our marriage provides.</strong> While on holiday last month enjoying an early celebration of our 30th anniversary, Deb and I read <em>Making Marriage Beautiful</em> by Dorothy Littell Greco, another book we would recommend. We often take the opportunity to read something together when on holiday, as part of our commitment to investing in our relationship. If you are married, why not consider reading a book with your spouse? <strong>No matter how many years you have been together, there is always more to learn.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-07-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>It All Belongs to Him</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/300</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/300</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/300/it-all-belongs-to-him-web.jpg" />I once listened to a pastor from a Texas megachurch declare that his was one of the most financially generous churches in the USA. To be honest, the church&rsquo;s attendance was of such a scale that the figures presented were difficult to relate to anything within our UK experience, and it was hard to discern how true his statement was &mdash; but the numbers were impressive.<br /><br /><strong>My experience in the UK is that for every person attending a church, you can expect &pound;1000 to be given per year.</strong> That means a church with an average weekly attendance of 200 adults and children can expect an annual income of &pound;200,000. This will vary according to contextual factors, but is useful as a rough guide.<br /><br /><strong>In the 24 years I have been leading King&rsquo;s, as we have moved from one building project to another, added services and sites and increased our staff, I have had to teach about money and giving many times.</strong> I don&rsquo;t believe it is something many pastors enjoy speaking on, but I&nbsp;believe it is vital that we regularly address the subject on Sundays. Here are some of the key&nbsp;principles you would hear taught at King&rsquo;s. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully it catches our heart:<br /><br />In our personal finances:<br />1. Be generous.<br />2. Give out of what you <em>have</em>, not out of what you <em>do not</em> have.<br />3. You <em>&lsquo;get to give&rsquo;</em> not <em>&lsquo;give to get&rsquo;</em>.<br />4. We are called to steward <em>God-given</em> resources &ndash; all we have belongs to God first.<br />5. Give proportionally &ndash; 10% of a large salary is a smaller sacrifice than 10% of a small one.<br />6. Your bank account reveals your priorities.<br /><br />For the church:<br />1. Teach regularly on the subject of money and giving.<br />2. Be open about the church&rsquo;s financial position. <br />3. Give an account to the church at least once a year. At King&rsquo;s we call this Vision Night.<br />4. Openness, good management and vision casting are all important when asking people to give sacrificially.<br />5. Cash flow is really important!<br />6. Ultimately, God is the provider.<br /><br />We had our annual <strong>Vision Night</strong> at King&rsquo;s last night. It is a very important evening in our church calendar when we give an account of money given, how it has been spent to-date, and proposed future giving and spending goals. <strong>A key element for us is relating giving and expenditure to the implementation of vision.</strong> I believe churches should be accountable and open about money, and I love the fact that there are always lots of good questions on these evenings. <strong>This can and should be an interesting and exciting evening for the whole church!</strong> I am grateful to be leading an extremely generous church, and excited to see all that God will do with the resources He has given. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-07-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Time of Change</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/299</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/299</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/299/a-time-of-change-web.jpg" /><em>King&rsquo;s is a multi-site church meeting in four locations in south east London.&nbsp; This is the last in a short series of guest blogs with an update from each site. This week we hear from Andy Floyd at the Lee site.<br /></em><br />Have you ever been through a season of transition? Are you someone who enjoys and embraces change, or is change something that feels uncomfortable for you? I think I sit somewhere in the middle and often feel the joy and pain in equal measure.<br /><br />As I look back and reflect on this past year at the Lee site, I can see that we have been going through a period of transition and change. On a personal note, this time last year Sarah and I were at our old address with three children, and I was enjoying being part of a team led by Tristan Newman. I now sit here writing from our new home, listening to the cries of our fourth child as he wakes from his afternoon nap (I think that means I&rsquo;d better stop writing and give him a cuddle!!), and I now lead the Lee site. As I think about each of these delightful changes, I am both very grateful to God for his faithfulness but also aware of the challenges and stresses that have accompanied this change.<br /><br />The Lee staff team is also transitioning, with the wonderful Dave Moore and Ghulam Fernandes moving on to other things (Ghulam moving to the Catford site), and Neal Glanville moving across from Catford to Lee to be a support for me from this September. As I think about these things my heart is full of thankfulness for what&rsquo;s gone before and excitement about what lies ahead.<br /><br /><strong>With all of this change, the Lee site continues to feel strong, secure, vibrant and welcoming</strong>. We have seen a good number make commitments to Christ, including a couple of people from Muslim backgrounds, and heard some hugely moving stories from those who have been baptised. We enjoyed record numbers attending Carol Services and our Watchnight gathering during the festive period and have seen over 450 attending on a normal Sunday for the first time.<br /><br /><strong>Community is a high priority on the site and, along with almost 75% of those attending on a Sunday also involved in groups, we have also seen around 20 people step into group leadership for the first time.</strong> Community at Lee often means food(!) and, over this past term, we have had a massive &lsquo;bring and share&rsquo; lunch on Diversity Sunday and our annual site barbeque. <strong>These moments are crucial in keeping community alive as numbers grow.</strong> <br /><br />It has also been great to run <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a> over the summer term. What a privilege to see people growing and changing as a result of this magnificent course!<br /><br />We have new people attending every week and, as I consider the next church year, I look forward to seeing these people connected and knitted into the heart of community more fully than before. <strong>I am also eager that we continue to look outwards to reach those who have no faith and see an increase in salvation across the site.</strong> I would love you to join with us in prayer for these things.<br /><br /><em>Andy Floyd is a pastor at King's and leads the Lee site. He is married to Sarah and they have four young children.&nbsp;</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-07-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>I Chose You to Bear Fruit</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/298</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/298</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/298/i-chose-you-to-bear-fruit-web.jpg" /><em>King&rsquo;s is a multi-site church meeting in four locations in south east London. Over the next few weeks we will be posting a series of guest blogs with an update on how things have been going at each site. This week we hear from Charles Kimbangi at the Beckenham site.<br /><br />&ldquo;You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear&nbsp;fruit &ndash; fruit that will last.&rdquo;<br />John 15:16)</em><br /><br />Jesus spoke these words to His disciples on the night before He died. They were words of comfort as well as commissioning. Jesus had chosen them and appointed them to go and bear fruit. The disciples &ndash; and us &ndash; are the fruit of Jesus&rsquo; work on the cross and are sent to be His fruit-bearers.<br /><br />As I have reflected recently, these words have also been a source of comfort to me. I am Jesus&rsquo; fruit. He lived, died and rose again for me and I am now His and He is mine. But He has also given me, and you, a task. A task to go and bear fruit &ndash; everlasting fruit. <br /><br />How do we bear fruit? In the context of John 15, it is to love people and see people also come to faith in Jesus. Loving people and seeing lost people come to faith in Christ is at the heartbeat of who we are and what we do at King&rsquo;s. <br /><br /><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/beckenham/">The Beckenham site</a> was launched as a result of the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford site</a> bearing much fruit. In October 2018, 140 people from Catford were sent to launch Beckenham and thus far, by God&rsquo;s grace, we have seen fruit. The Catford site continues to expand and grow, now meeting across three services, and the Beckenham site now regularly gathers 170 people on a Sunday. <br /><br />Over the past nine months, there have been some amazing high moments at Beckenham. For example, 270 people attended our first Carol Service and on Easter Sunday we saw nine people respond to the Gospel by either making a first-time commitment or a recommitment to follow Jesus &ndash; the first fruits that we have seen since launching the site. <br /><br />I am also delighted that we&rsquo;ve been able to run two CAP money courses and an <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a> course in order to serve and reach people. We have also developed good relationships with local churches, organisations and Harris Academy, the school where we meet on Sundays.<br /> <br />Whilst there have been some amazing moments, there have also been some challenges. We&rsquo;ve had to adjust to meeting in a hired venue, meaning that we set up and pack down every Sunday (that&rsquo;s a lot of equipment being shifted around!) and we don&rsquo;t have a physical space to meet regularly during the week. However, I&rsquo;ve always said the church of God is not a building but a people; and the people that God has sent to Beckenham and those who have joined us since the launch, are a faithful, servant-hearted bunch who love Jesus and have opened their homes to show hospitality to others. <br /><br />80% of the site serve in some capacity on a Sunday and are passionate about building God&rsquo;s Kingdom and bearing much fruit. It has been a fantastic start to the Beckenham site, but the challenge now is to keep going; keep being faithful and keep bearing fruit that will last!<br /><br /><br /> <div><em>Charles Kimbangi is a pastor at King's and leads the Beckenham site, which launched in October 2018. He is married to Amy.</em></div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-06-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An Eventful Year</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/297</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/297</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/297/an-eventful-year-web.jpg" /><em>King&rsquo;s is a multi-site church meeting in four locations in south east London. Over the next few weeks we will be posting a series of guest blogs with an update on how things have been going at each site. This week we hear from Hilary Dalziel at the Catford site.</em><br /><strong><br />Some years are uneventful, with seasons coming and going &ndash; others have a turning point that defines everything.</strong> This last year has been one of those eventful years at King's, with the launch of the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/beckenham/">Beckenham site</a> from Catford and the opening of the 1.30pm meeting. The drive to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/">Reach</a> others with the good news of Jesus has led us to recruit many new volunteers to replace those going to Beckenham and to serve the 1.30pm meeting. It&rsquo;s been exciting to see people willingly step up and get involved in a team or take responsibility for leading a team. In our children&rsquo;s and youth work alone over forty people have started serving this year. <strong>We&rsquo;re so grateful for every person who serves and makes mission possible &ndash; they are an answer to many prayers.</strong> Their serving has meant the Beckenham site is flourishing, new people have been welcomed at the 1.30pm every week since it opened, and the 9.30am and 11.30am meetings have also stayed healthy.<br /><br /><strong>Reaching out isn&rsquo;t just for Sundays &ndash; the Catford building is busy all week!</strong> <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a> runs each term &ndash; we praise God for people finding faith for the first time, and prodigals coming home to God the Father. Many of those who got baptised over the year&nbsp;trace their journey of faith through Alpha.<br /><br />Our community-focused ministries such as <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/kids/#rainbowrhymes">Rainbow Rhymes</a> (for parents and young children), <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/wednesday-welcome/">Wednesday Welcome</a> (for older people) and <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a> (for those disadvantaged or rough sleeping) provide friendship and hope week by week across our local community. <br /><br />This year has been a tough year with violence on our streets. We have had the sad privilege of hosting two funerals for victims of stabbing &ndash; with hundreds of people gathering to remember and pray for hope and justice. <strong>Our young people desperately need our support and prayers.</strong> We have launched a <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/tlg/">TLG</a> project in a second local primary school and a partnership with XLP, both involving King&rsquo;s members mentoring children and young people who are under pressure. These projects aim to bring long-term hope. We are also in the early stages of working with several King's members on <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/">Restore</a> projects &ndash; watch this space!<br /><br />When we celebrated Diversity Sunday recently and read from Revelation 7 about the great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language praising God, I looked around and saw an echo of heaven right among us at Catford. (By the way, it also featured a Zimbabwean playing <em>Amazing Grace</em> on the bagpipes &ndash; we expect the unexpected at Catford!)<strong>&nbsp;What an amazing work of grace to bring so many different types of people together. What an amazing work of grace we have experienced this year at Catford &ndash; Praise God!<br /><br /><br /></strong><em>Hilary Dalziel assists in leading the Catford site and is the main driving force behind Groups at King's. She is part of the Pastoral Care Team, oversees marriage mentoring and organises much of the training of pastoral care staff and volunteers. Hilary is married to William and they have three grown-up children.<br /></em><br /><em>Please note there will be no blog next week &ndash; back as usual the following week.</em> <strong><br /></strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-06-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Promise of Harvest</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/296</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/296</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/296/a-promise-of-harvest-web.jpg" /><em>King&rsquo;s is a multi-site church meeting in four locations in south east London. Over the next few weeks we will be posting a series of guest blogs with an update on how things have been going at each site. This week we hear from Joe Macnamara at the Downham site.</em><br /><br /><br />Back in September, at one of our one-church prayer meetings, Annie Twort, who was a Pastor at King&rsquo;s for over 20 years, had a prophetic word regarding the Downham site. <br /><br />She had a picture of a seed being scattered very evenly on the ground in a large field, giving it the best chance of survival. The seed was still there, waiting to germinate in season. Annie went on to explain how this represented huge amounts of seed that have been sown over decades at Downham, affecting two generations. Prayers, acts of kindness, words of comfort and of truth that have been sown and are still being sown. She encouraged us that many of these seeds are not dead but are just lying dormant, and at the right time, they will produce a great harvest. <br /><br /><strong>There is a great legacy in Downham of Kingdom people serving God faithfully and planting seeds.</strong> It is how I came to faith, being baptised in our current Downham building over ten years ago! There is a huge gospel legacy at the Downham site, and it is honestly a great privilege to be able to lead there.<br /><br />Annie&rsquo;s word for Downham immediately resonated with a number of us at the site, and it is one that we have revisited often at our early morning Friday prayer meetings. It truly feels like these last nine months have been a part of the harvest season Annie spoke about. <strong>Although we believe there is more to come, there is no denying that there has been much fruit, and God has blessed us immensely since then.</strong> <br /><br />Not only has there been lots of numerical growth (we recently experienced our biggest ever regular Sunday, with 305 people there!) but there has been much going on in the community, and incredible stories of local people being saved. <br /><br />We have managed to build fantastic relationships with the local primary and secondary school. They have invited me in for assemblies, and we have partnered with them for our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/big-red-box/">Big Red Box</a> scheme. <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/downham/">Rainbow Rhymes</a>, our parent and toddler singing group, continues to draw a huge crowd on Friday mornings, and we have recently launched our first <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/">Restore</a> project at Downham: a coffee morning running on Thursdays for anyone who is lonely in the community - it has been going really well.<br /><br />Our prayer is that we can keep pressing on. Like those who have gone before, we want to faithfully build God&rsquo;s Kingdom in South East London. <strong>We want to keep sowing, planting and watering, trusting that God will make it grow and bring about a great harvest.</strong> <br /><br />We long to reach more people with the good news of Jesus Christ and see hundreds of people in our community impacted. <strong>I&rsquo;m excited about the year ahead and, as ever, am full of hope that God is building his church, and nothing can stand against it!<br /><br /></strong><em>Joe Macnamara is a pastor at King&rsquo;s and has been leading our Downham site since September 2018. </em><br /><strong><br /></strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-06-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Diversity Sunday</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/295</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/295</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/295/cs-diversity-sunday-web.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.&rsquo; </em><br /><em>Revelation 7:9</em><br /><br />I am looking forward to speaking out of Revelation this Sunday at King&rsquo;s. It is also Diversity Sunday which is always a highlight in our church calendar for me. As usual, we are encouraging everyone to come in national dress or, if you do not have one, to dress smartly or in the colours of your nation&rsquo;s flag. I will wear my suit&mdash;a rare event! <br /><br /><strong>Cultural diversity is a feature of the New Testament church and a high value of King&rsquo;s&mdash;we are a church made up of people from many different cultures, nations and backgrounds.</strong> In 2017, our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/invited/"><strong>Invited</strong></a> teaching series focussed on this important issue, and you will find some helpful resources from that series on our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/invited/">website</a>. As we approach Diversity Sunday, I thought I would post a video interview Charles and I did at the beginning of the series.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/201642748?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />I love being part of a church that is so diverse. I love meeting people from different cultures whose background, life experience and outlook may be very unlike my own. As I was reading the passage above in preparation for my message, I reflected what an appropriate verse it is for Diversity Sunday. Revelation paints a picture of heaven where&nbsp;<em>'a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people and language'</em> will be joined in worshipping Jesus. <strong>As we come together at King's this Sunday, let's take this opportunity to celebrate and appreciate our cultural differences and our unity in Christ.</strong> I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-05-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An Unforgettable Breakfast</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/294</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/294</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/294/an-unforgettable-breakfast-web.jpg" />In 2013, Phil Varley, our Associate Pastor, and I had a breakfast meeting we would not forget for a long time. We had arranged to meet Rich Nathan, who leads the largest Vineyard church in the USA in Colombus, Ohio. It regularly gathers 10,000 people each week and we were looking forward to seeing what we could learn from him. <br /><br />The conversation was going well until he started asking some probing questions about King&rsquo;s planning cycle:<br />&ldquo;When do you discuss the aims for the church year with your senior leadership team?&rdquo;<br />I replied confidently that we take our team away each September to agree on goals for the year ahead. It went downhill from there!<br />Rich was unimpressed. &ldquo;Why do you take all your key leaders away at the beginning of the new church year, when you need your full focus at a key growth moment in the church?&rdquo; My confidence began to ebb away. He continued with a series of quick-fire questions:<br />&ldquo;When is your budget year?&rdquo; My answer of&nbsp;April to March left him looking puzzled. <br />&ldquo;So, your financial planning cycle is not linked to your church year?&rdquo; By now I knew I was out of my depth. In a few moments, he had discovered that we were taking our key staff away at the wrong time of year and that there was a disconnect between the setting of annual goals and the setting of the budget. Things were about to get worse:<br />&ldquo;Then how do your site leaders and department heads integrate <em>their</em> aims for the coming church year with the overarching aims of the church?&rdquo; <br /><br />Ouch! My cover was blown. It&rsquo;s a breakfast meeting I will never forget.<br /><br />As a result of that meeting with Rich, we reworked the whole planning cycle at King&rsquo;s. We still take the senior staff away for a week, but we now do it in May, agreeing the objectives for the year starting the following September. This year we have five key goals and we spent the majority of our time in France last week discussing and finalising them. On Tuesday I presented them to the rest of our fantastic staff. Over the next few weeks, senior staff will be writing papers detailing the objectives for their own department or site, in line with the five key goals agreed last week. And yes, following that infamous breakfast meeting with Rich Nathan, we have now reworked our financial budget to run from September to the following August to correspond with our annual goal setting. <br /><br />These adjustments have ensured that all of us &ndash; elders, trustees and staff &ndash; are working from the same page. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-05-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Team Culture</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/293</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/293</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/293/team-culture-web.jpg" />This week, I have been in rural France with our senior staff team for our annual week of prayer and planning. This is something we have done for a number of years now and it has become a highlight in the calendar for me. Once again, we have been enjoying the excellent hospitality of our friends Paul and Charlotte Braithwaite at their lovely home just south of the Loire.<br /><br />&lsquo;Team culture&rsquo; is a phrase I often hear being used, but it is not always clear what is meant by it. Simply put, it asks the question, <strong>&lsquo;What is it like to work around here?&rsquo;</strong>. King&rsquo;s is a growing church with a big vision. It requires team members who possess a high capacity and a &lsquo;make it happen&rsquo; approach to problems. However, too much focus on this means that our team culture can quickly become driven and task orientated. <strong>Our time in France gives us valuable opportunity to ensure we are building relationally.</strong> As well as giving time to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing us as a local church (we spent two hours today discussing what would need to change if we are to become a church of 2500 with six sites!), we have space in the day to enjoy leisurely meals, walks in the surrounding countryside and some very competitive games of badminton and table tennis! It is always a week well spent.<br /><br />This weekend Deb and I will be visiting King&rsquo;s Church, High Wycombe, where we will be joining that church in honouring Neil and Des Bartlett. Neil has been their Senior Pastor for 26 years and is now retiring and handing over to John Harbour. I have the privilege of preaching there on Sunday as they mark the end of one season and the beginning of another. Meanwhile at King&rsquo;s London, we continue our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/47/">Revelation</a> series. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-05-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Week in Ukraine</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/292</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/292</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/292/a-week-in-ukraine-web.jpg" />Over the years I have had the privilege of visiting many nations, but I have only visited eastern Europe once before, when I went on a six-day trip to Romania in November 1996. My lasting memory is of the cold &ndash; an eastern winter wind has a definite bite!<br /><br />This last week, Deb and I have had the joy of visiting our friends Andrey and Natasha Bondarenko in Kiev, Ukraine. I am glad to say that this time, the sun shone! Kiev is the capital of Ukraine and in some ways reminded us of London, with its numerous shops and restaurants. The city centre is dominated by large historical buildings, churches and monuments, many dating back to Soviet days. During the evening at weekends, the main city centre road (their equivalent to Oxford Street) is closed to traffic and people gather to watch the many buskers who come to perform. It has a very youthful, vibrant feel. We visited a square in Kiev centre where more than 100 people were shot by sniper soldiers during the revolution of 2014. It was deeply moving to walk around the memorial to those who died, and remember the price many were prepared to pay for freedom.<br /><br />On Sunday I was invited to preach at the local church which Andrey and his family have been attending since 2014, after being forced to leave their home in eastern Ukraine following the outbreak of conflict. At the end of the meeting, Deb and I prayed with a number of families who had left eastern Ukraine at the same time&nbsp;and were now seeking God&rsquo;s guidance for the future. Their resilience in the face of very difficult circumstances was impressive.<br /><br />We spent the rest of the week at a conference hosted by Andrey, which gathered church leaders from all over Ukraine. Over breakfast one morning, we spoke to a group from eastern Ukraine, who had spent 24 hours travelling to be there &ndash; longer than it had taken us to get there from the UK! I was invited to speak in one of the conference sessions&nbsp;and preached out of the story of Joseph about preparation tests for leaders. Many of the people there have gone through very testing times in the last few years, yet they remain full of faith for all that God has called them to, both in Ukraine and other nations.<br /><br />Deb and I fly back to the UK on Friday, and we are looking forward to being in our home church this coming Sunday. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-05-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Easter Celebrations</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/291</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/291</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/291/Easter-Event.jpg" />At the Baptist church I attended when growing up in Bedford, our Pastor, Peter, established a tradition of a Good Friday church walk.&nbsp; After worship in the morning, everyone would get into their cars and drive in convoy to some woods about ten miles outside Bedford. Peter went at the front of the long procession of cars, and I always thought anyone watching us must have wondered where all these people were going on Good Friday. One of my lasting memories is of sitting in my new car at the back of the queue and seeing if my mates and I could find a quicker route, therefore starting at the back but arriving at the front. It&rsquo;s amazing what seems important when you are young and have a new car! Peter had created a good tradition and it was enjoyed by many.<br /><br />The Christian faith is rooted in tradition and history and this weekend we remember and celebrate an event which happened in Jerusalem over 2000 years ago, when a young man claiming to be God was crucified at the hands of the Romans. He died horrifically, yet three days later he rose again, making a way for millions and millions of people to find freedom from sin and death and new life in Christ. <strong>This weekend we will join billions of Christians around the world as we remember and celebrate Jesus&rsquo; death and resurrection.</strong> What story! What a Saviour!<br /><br />I would like to invite you to join us at King&rsquo;s this weekend for our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Easter celebrations</a>. Here is a reminder of what is happening across the weekend:<br /><br /><strong>Good Friday, 19th April</strong><br />Join us at three of our sites, Catford, Downham and Lee, at 10.30am, as we reflect on Jesus' death and break bread together. (There will be no meeting at our Beckenham site.)<br /><br />These services will last about an hour. Please note there will be no children's work.<br /><br /><strong>Easter Sunday, 21st April</strong><br />Join us as we celebrate Easter at King's!<br /><br />Our Easter Sunday services take place at all four sites at our normal meeting times. <br /><br />Catford: 9.30am, 11.30am &amp; 1.30pm <br />Downham: 9.30am &amp; 11.30am<br />Beckenham: 10.30am<br />Lee: 10.30am<br /><br />There is children's work at all our morning meetings this Sunday.<br /><br />Do come along &mdash; and bring a friend!<br /><br /><em>There will be no blog next week as I will be enjoying a few days holiday, but I&rsquo;ll be back the week after that.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-04-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Easter at King&apos;s</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/290</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/290</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/290/Easter-Event.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.&rsquo;</em><br /><em> 1 Corinthians 15:57<br /></em><br />Easter is central to the Christian faith. <strong>It&rsquo;s a time for us to pause and consider Jesus&rsquo; work on the cross, to celebrate and rejoice in his resurrection and victory over sin and death.</strong> <br /><br />As usual, there is a lot happening at King&rsquo;s this Easter, beginning tomorrow, Friday April 12th: In the morning we have an <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/calendar/"><strong>Easter Family Event </strong></a>taking place at the Catford site, from 9.45am until 12.00pm, for children 10 and under. This promises to be a lot of fun, and if you have friends or family with children under 10, why not invite them along? Then in the evening at 7.30pm, also on the Catford site, we have another <strong><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/calendar/">Encounter</a></strong> night, when we will <strong>come together to worship, receive the Holy Spirit, and pray for the new 1.30pm service and the Easter weekend services</strong>. <br /><br />Services for the Easter weekend itself begin on <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>Good Friday, 19th April</strong></a>. At 10.30am there will be a short, hour-long service taking place on each site except Beckenham. This will be an opportunity to reflect and remember Jesus&rsquo; death on the cross and to break bread together. Please note there will be no children&rsquo;s work at these services. Then please join us again on <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>Easter Sunday, 21st April</strong></a>, when we will be celebrating the risen Jesus Christ. Services will be at the usual times on all sites and children&rsquo;s work will be running as normal. <strong>As this is likely to be a busy day at King&rsquo;s, why not come to the 1.30pm service at the Catford site to make room for more visitors?</strong><br /><br />As we come to the end of this spring term and look ahead to the Easter weekend, <strong>let&rsquo;s respond to the provocation of our recent <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/reach/">Reach</a> series by inviting our friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues to an Easter event.</strong> More details on everything happening over Easter can be found on the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">King&rsquo;s website</a>. <br /><br />I shall look forward to being back at King&rsquo;s this weekend after my recent travels. This Sunday is Palm Sunday and Andrew Wilson will be preaching. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-04-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newfrontiers Cape Town Conference</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/289</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/289</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/289/newfrontiers-cape-town-conference-web.jpg" />After a very long overnight flight, I arrived in the beautiful city of Cape Town yesterday morning. (Incidentally, I don&rsquo;t think I realised just how big the continent of Africa is until I made my first trip here from London several years ago &ndash; most of the maps we see don&rsquo;t reflect its true size!). I am here in South Africa to help host a <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org" target="_blank">Newfrontiers</a> conference for next-generation leaders with emerging Ephesians 4 gifts. It is great to have people here from the different spheres that now make up the wider Newfrontiers family.<br /><br />I love coming to Newfrontiers events such as this. It is a reminder that we are a truly international family &mdash; our church community goes way beyond King&rsquo;s, London and the UK, connecting us with friends around the globe.&nbsp;<strong>Newfrontiers continues to expand all over the world and is now serving almost 2000 churches in more than 80 nations.</strong> It is a privilege to be involved in this conference, and I am looking forward to spending time with the next generation of this global family.<br /><br />Following the Cape Town conference, I will be staying on for another few days for a meeting with our international &lsquo;Together Team&rsquo; before flying back to London in time for the weekend. The last few months have involved a lot of travelling, and Deb and I were sorry not to be around for the launch of our 1.30pm Catford service last Sunday. <strong>However, I have heard that it got off to a fantastic start, with over 180 people in attendance.</strong> A massive thank you to our staff and the many volunteers who worked so hard to ensure it went well. I shall look forward to being there myself next week! ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-04-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Four Sites, Seven Services</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/288</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/288</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/288/web-Catford-1.30-launch-please-pray-alt2_.jpg" />This coming weekend at King&rsquo;s is another big moment in the life of our church.<br /><br />Following the launch of our Beckenham site last October, the remarkable growth on our Catford site has continued, and once again our 11.30am meeting is full. Therefore, <strong>this coming Sunday, 31st March, we will be opening an additional service at 1.30pm, meaning King&rsquo;s will now have seven meetings across our four sites each Sunday.</strong> This is another exciting development for us. Many have already indicated that they will be moving to the 1.30pm service, but there is still room for more! <br /><br />This Sunday we have dedication services across the church. We also have the pleasure of welcoming guest speaker Krish Kandiah, founding director of the charity Home for Good. Krish is an advocate for fostering and adoption, and a great communicator. <strong>Don&rsquo;t forget this Sunday is Mother&rsquo;s Day and the clocks will also be going forward one hour &ndash; perhaps another good reason to come to the 1.30pm service!<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files//mce/FILE-20190328-10094VS7LYGG4BWU.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br /></strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-03-28</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Prayer Day Report</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/287</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/287</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/287/web-newfrontiers-prayer-day-2019.jpg" />What a great day we had on Wednesday at the Newfrontiers UK Prayer Day. It was fantastic to see leaders from across the church family come together to pray for the nation. <br /><br />To read more about how the day went, <a href="https://catalystnetwork.org/prayer-for-the-nation/">here's an excellent report </a>from Catalyst Network.<br /><br />This weekend, Deb and I will be away with our pastors, elders and trustees, together with their spouses. This is something we like to do every year &ndash; a valuable time of fellowship, as well as a great opportunity to invest in our key leaders. On this occasion we have invited Geoff and Sherry Surratt from the USA to bring some input to us. Geoff and Sherry are experienced church leaders and have recently written an excellent book on marriage and ministry, called <em>Together</em>.<br /><br />When I say we are away for the &lsquo;weekend&rsquo;, I mean Friday evening and Saturday! Don&rsquo;t worry, King&rsquo;s, we will all be back for Sunday as usual, and I shall look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-03-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newfrontiers National Prayer Day</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/286</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/286</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/286/newfrontiers-national-prayer-day-web.jpg" />Like many of you, the Tibberts love to get our extended family together for a day. These family days often mark a significant event (our last one was to celebrate my mum&rsquo;s 80th birthday) but sometimes it&rsquo;s just for the fun of it. Tibbert family days are noisy, multi-generational affairs, and as the years go by and our own children marry, our numbers seem to keep on growing. It takes some organisation to find a date that suits everyone, but it is always worth the effort.<br /><br /><strong>Two years ago, we held a <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/" target="_blank">Newfrontiers</a> &lsquo;family day&rsquo;, when we gathered everyone from the wider Newfrontiers UK family to pray for the nation.</strong> It was the first time for a while we had all been together like that, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. We are now less than a week away from our second <a href="http://www.prayerday.uk/">National Prayer Day</a>, which is being held at <strong>Westminster Chapel on Wednesday 20th March</strong>. This will be a time for us to<strong> worship together, pray, and call out to God for our nation</strong>. As I write this post, our UK parliament is divided and our future relationship with Europe remains unclear. For this reason alone, our Prayer Day is timely. However, the spiritual need in the nation is of far greater importance than the need for consensus on Brexit. <br /><br />I am excited about next Wednesday. <strong>It will be a moment to come together as extended family to worship our sovereign God, who holds all things in His hands, and pray for this country.</strong> Over 500 of us have already booked in to the day next week, but tickets are still available if you would like to attend. More details can be found at <a href="http://www.prayerday.uk/">PRAYERDAY.UK</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-03-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Multiple Meetings</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/285</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/285</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/285/alpha-and-omega-web.jpg" />Deb and I have just returned from an excellent two-week trip to Mexico and the USA. While we were away, we spent time in three different locations and were superbly hosted by Lee and Stacey Yarborough in Leon, Mexico, Travis and Tiffany Aicklen in Visalia, California, and Bryan and Rachel Mowrey in St Louis, Missouri. <strong>It is always a joy to visit fellow believers, often in very different contexts to ours, all of us united in the same mission to build the church and reach the lost.</strong> Our time away concluded with a very encouraging few days at the Good to Grow conference in St Louis which was attended by over 80 leaders from the Confluence family of churches.<br /><br />Upon my return last Friday, I was immediately back to the joys of leading King&rsquo;s. <strong>We are now just a few weeks away from the launch of our new 1.30pm meeting on the Catford site.</strong> Our 11.30am service is filling up fast again following the launch of the Beckenham site in October last year, and with the 1.30pm service, we hope to create more space for new people. The question of multiple meetings &ndash; how, why and when to move to them &ndash; is one that comes up quite frequently in my visits to other churches. <strong>King&rsquo;s started multiple meetings in 2005, and we have learnt a lot over the years (and are still learning!) about what works and what doesn&rsquo;t.</strong> As we approach the launch of another meeting, I thought I would include a link to an updated version of a paper I first posted in 2008 about <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/docs/The_Move_to_Mutiple_Meetings_Updated_2019.pdf" target="_blank"><strong>The Move to Multiple Meetings</strong></a>. I hope you find it helpful.<br /><br />Scott and Claire Marques arrive in London from Harare, Zimbabwe, on Thursday morning, and Scott will be preaching at King&rsquo;s this Sunday. As you know, King&rsquo;s has an ongoing <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/partnership-in-zimbabwe/">church-to-church partnership</a> with River of Life Church in Harare, and it is great to be able to welcome Scott and Claire to London again.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20190307-1018C7N4DLTKY45T.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-03-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Spirit and Sacrament â€“ Part Three</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/281</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/281</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/281/spirit-and-sacrament-web.jpg" /><em>This is the third and final instalment of a three-part series based on my new book, Spirit and Sacrament: An Invitation to Eucharismatic Worship. This section is focused on the call to be &ldquo;charismatic.&rdquo;</em><br /><br />The pages of the New Testament reveal a charismatic church, characterized by an experience both of the person of the Holy Spirit&mdash;one that could be described in very tangible ways, including drenching, filling, drinking, crying out &ldquo;Abba!&rdquo; and so forth&mdash;and of angels and demons, languages and interpretation, prophecy and teaching, healing and miracles. Biblical Christianity was charismatic Christianity.<br /><br />The claim I am making here, however, is not just that the miraculous gifts were given throughout the New Testament period. I am also arguing that they continue to be given today&mdash;prophecy, languages, interpretation, teaching, miracles, healing, and the rest&mdash;and that, like every good gift that our Father gives us, they should be pursued as a result. Put differently, I am arguing that Romans 12:6, 1 Corinthians 12:31, and 14:1 still apply: believers are urged to use, to be zealous for, to earnestly desire, and to strive for spiritual gifts. This much is highly controversial, of course, as a few minutes on the internet will quickly reveal. Even so, I say it for three main reasons.<br /><br />The first, perhaps surprisingly, is historical. That is, one of the best reasons to think the miraculous gifts continued is the fact that, according to many of the church fathers, they did. In the context of contemporary debates, this point is often lost, not least because the gift that has proved the most divisive in the last hundred years or so, namely the gift of languages, is the one over which the patristic evidence is least clear. Charismatics are also, to generalize for a moment, less interested in the fathers than many more conservative branches of Christianity, in part because our narrative is so often presented (unhelpfully) as a bold rediscovery of something the church had lost for nineteen centuries. As a result, cessationists have leaned into the historical evidence, and charismatics have leaned away from it, even though much of it indicates that the gifts continued (a position often called &ldquo;continuationism&rdquo;).<br /><br />The second reason for pursuing the gifts today is hermeneutical. Put simply, this is the principle that explicit New Testament instructions to Christians should be followed, unless there is a clear reason from the context why they should not be. This presumption of obedience, it seems to me, should be a fairly uncontroversial rule of thumb for anyone who follows Jesus; we are under the same covenant as our first-century brothers and sisters, and as such, we should assume that what the apostles taught them, they would also teach us. In other words, the burden of proof should always be on the person who says we don&rsquo;t have to obey an apostolic instruction, rather than on the person who says we do. If we flip that round, we quickly end up in pick-and-choose territory.<br /><br />This has big implications when it comes to the pursuit of the gifts. &ldquo;Zealously desire spiritual gifts,&rdquo; Paul says (1 Cor 14:1). Or, fourteen verses earlier, &ldquo;Zealously desire the greater gifts&rdquo; (1 Cor 12:31). Or, later in the same discussion, &ldquo;Zealously desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues&rdquo; (1 Cor 14:39). Or, as part of his exhortation to humility in Romans, &ldquo;Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith&rdquo; (Rom 12:6). Or, in his conclusion to 1 Thessalonians, &ldquo;Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good&rdquo; (1 Thess 5:19-21). Sometimes the debate over the pursuit of the gifts can look like a no-score-draw, with continuationists pointing out that the New Testament never says the gifts will cease, and cessationists responding that it never says they won&rsquo;t, either. But in light of the hermeneutical principle we would normally use&mdash;and I tend to call it the Presumption Of Obedience, although I am not wild about the acronym&mdash;the reality is different. Our default setting, if you like, should be one of obeying these passages, and eagerly desiring spiritual gifts, unless a clear case to the contrary can be made from the text.<br /><br />And the third reason is eschatological. The gifts of the Spirit, and prophecy in particular, are seen by the apostles as characterizing the entire era between Pentecost and Parousia, the coming of the Spirit and the return of Christ. The kingdom of God is currently spreading throughout the earth like the little stone of Daniel&rsquo;s vision, dethroning kings and crushing empires before it, but it has not yet fully arrived. As long as we still live between the inauguration and the consummation of the kingdom&mdash;between D-day and VE-day, in one analogy&mdash;we should continue to expect, and pursue, all the spiritual gifts.<br /><br />This expectation is clear on the day of Pentecost itself. These people aren&rsquo;t drunk, explains Peter; they&rsquo;re doing exactly what the prophet Joel predicted: &ldquo;Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy&rdquo; (Acts 2:17-18). It is interesting that here, right at the start of the first sermon ever preached by a Christian, Peter so explicitly connects the last days, the pouring out of the Spirit on all nations, and the gift of prophecy. The &ldquo;last days,&rdquo; between the ascension of Jesus and his return, are described in the New Testament as a period of sinfulness in the world and difficulty for the church. But they are also, according to Peter, a period both in which the Spirit is poured out on all flesh and in which male and female, slave and free, will prophesy, see visions, and dream dreams. The latter, in fact, will be a clear sign of the former. So the Pentecost story itself leads us to expect that as long as we are still in &ldquo;the last days,&rdquo; we should expect the pouring out of the Spirit, accompanied by prophecy.<br /><br />You can find out more at <a href="http://www.spiritandsacrament.com">spiritandsacrament.com</a>.<br /><br /><em>Andrew Wilson is the Teaching Pastor at King's and is responsible for much of the preaching and teaching. Andrew has a PhD in theology, has written numerous books and regularly blogs at <a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk/">thinktheology.co.uk</a>.</em><br /><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-02-28</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Spirit and Sacrament â€“ Part Two</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/280</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/280</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/280/spirit-and-sacrament-web.jpg" /><em>This is the second of a three-part series, based on the argument of my new book, Spirit and Sacrament: An Invitation to Eucharismatic Worship. This section focuses on the challenge to be more &ldquo;eucharistic&rdquo; in our worship.</em><br /><br />Architecture tells you a lot about what people value. A century ago, when the street I live on was being built, architects were carefully separating kitchens from dining rooms with walls and doors, so that domestic work could happen in an environment designed for it, without being seen or obstructed by guests or children or even men, and the spaces where people were received (&ldquo;reception rooms&rdquo;) could be as pleasant and uncluttered as possible. For the last two decades, builders on the same street have been knocking those walls down to create larger kitchens, so that all of life can happen in one place: children&rsquo;s play, food preparation, the welcoming of guests, the serving of meals, audio-visual entertainment, maybe even paid work. The floor plans in my street reflect changes in society as a whole. We separate work and play, domestic and social, men and women, less than we used to; we also regard family meals, in which everyone sits down together without any distractions, as less important than our grandparents did. We can celebrate those developments or we can lament them, but they are there for all to see in the way we design our buildings. Architecture reveals priorities.<br /><br />So it is with church buildings. Show me your architecture, and I&rsquo;ll show you your theology. Admittedly, some of the differences between church buildings across the centuries are merely a matter of technology (the availability or not of electric lighting, projector screens, amplification, heating, and so on). But most of them reflect&mdash;and then reinforce&mdash;theological priorities. High vaulted ceilings communicate grandeur. Stained glass windows with gospel scenes assume the legitimacy and importance of teaching through visual images. Crypts and graveyards communicate something about the memory of the faithful departed. Chancels, steps, and screens indicate a separation between the people and the priesthood. Bells, pews, soft chairs, kneelers, towers, coffee lounges, lecterns, video screens, spires, vestries, breastfeeding rooms, lighting rigs, organs&mdash;all of these embody assumptions about what the church is and how it functions. If a church has a cross-shaped layout or has the children&rsquo;s ministry in a separate wing or sits on top of a hill or faces east, it speaks to us. The very stones cry out.<br /><br />Most striking of all is whatever is central. In all worship spaces, there is one central spot that our eyes are naturally drawn to as we enter the building. In an Orthodox church building, this might be the icon of Christos Pantokrator. In a Roman Catholic one, it would probably be the altar, where the Mass is celebrated. (In yet another sign of how layout communicates theology, the Protestant Reformers turned the &ldquo;altar,&rdquo; which implies we are offering a sacrifice to God, into a &ldquo;table,&rdquo; which makes it clear that God is offering a meal to us. Tweaking the furniture can have profound significance.) In many Presbyterian and Baptist sanctuaries it is the pulpit, where the Word of God is preached. In contemporary evangelical buildings, whether they are purpose-built warehouses, chapels, school halls, or theatres, our eye is usually drawn to the stage, on which you can see a band of musicians and, behind them, a screen. The centerpiece of a church&rsquo;s architecture usually reflects the centerpiece of its worship: singing, Communion, the preaching of the gospel, or whatever it may be.<br /><br />So you can tell a lot about a church&rsquo;s theology and practice by simply standing in their building with your eyes open. In many worship spaces, for instance, one of the first architectural features you encounter on your way in is a baptismal font. You cannot find your seat without walking past it. So every time you come to worship with God&rsquo;s people, you face a small but insistent physical reminder that you have been baptized (or, of course, that you have not been baptized). As soon as you have walked past it, you head down the nave&mdash;the chairs, or pews, are on either side&mdash;toward the large table that will later be used to celebrate the Lord&rsquo;s Supper. So in the very mundane act of entering the building and finding a seat, you walk unthinkingly between font and table, baptism and Communion. The message from the architecture is clear: sacraments are central to the Christian life around here.<br /><br />Now consider a different experience. You enter the church building and see no physical features whatsoever that would suggest the sacraments exist. There is no font, no baptism pool, no altar, and no table. If and when baptism happens, it happens in a nearby swimming pool. If and when the Eucharist happens, collapsible tables appear at the back, or in the aisles. In such a context, the message from the architecture is equally clear: sacraments are occasional intrusions into our normal patterns of worship. They are like a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.<br /><br />My point is not to recommend reshuffling our worship spaces, although in many cases that might not be a bad thing. Many New Testament churches met in homes and baptized people in rivers, and Jesus is present in the breaking of bread whether the table we use is made of oak, plastic, or nothing at all. My point is that the layout of our buildings reflects, and over time reinforces, our approach to the sacraments. What we find space for, we will usually find time for. And lots of us, including most charismatics and many of those in garden variety evangelical churches, have less space and less time for the sacraments than Christians have typically had for twenty centuries. In other words: we are not as eucharistic as we could be.<br /><br />You can find out more at <a href="http://www.spiritandsacrament.com">spiritandsacrament.com</a>.<br /><br /><em>Andrew Wilson is the Teaching Pastor at King's and is responsible for much of the preaching and teaching. Andrew has a PhD in theology, has written numerous books and regularly blogs at <a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk/">thinktheology.co.uk</a>.</em><br /><br /><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-02-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Spirit and Sacrament â€“ Part One</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/279</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/279</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/279/spirit-and-sacrament-web.jpg" /><em>Steve has kindly offered me the chance to introduce the argument of my new book, Spirit and Sacrament: An Invitation to Eucharismatic Worship. In some ways the whole idea is summed up in that one word &ldquo;eucharismatic&rdquo;, which is a word I invented to combine the words &ldquo;eucharistic&rdquo; and &ldquo;charismatic,&rdquo; with the word charis, meaning &ldquo;grace,&rdquo; in the middle. But like any new term, it probably needs a bit more explanation than that.</em><br /><br />When I talk about churches being &ldquo;eucharistic,&rdquo; I obviously mean to refer to the celebration of the Eucharist (or Communion, or the Lord&rsquo;s Supper) in corporate worship. But I also mean to evoke the entire Christian tradition in which it plays a central role. If I see a church notice board proclaiming that it has a &ldquo;sung Eucharist at 10:00 every Sunday,&rdquo; I know rather more than that the congregation comes together at some stage to share bread and wine. Somehow, the word is richer than that. I assume that the service includes some combination of prayers, formal liturgy, confession, hymns, psalms, readings, silence, sermon, offering, benediction, and commission. I also assume that it does not include spontaneous spiritual gifts, lengthy times of extended corporate singing, sermons that last more than twenty minutes, video presentations, or ministry times. To be eucharistic, in this sense, is more than merely to celebrate the Eucharist, although it is certainly not less. It is to be historically rooted, unashamedly sacramental, deliberately liturgical, and self-consciously catholic. <br /><br />The word charismatic has an even wider range of meanings. In its narrowest form, to be charismatic means to be part of a church that traces its roots to the charismatic movement of the 1960s and 1970s, often as distinct from the Pentecostal movement (usually dated from 1906). More casually, and inaccurately, the word is sometimes used to describe churches with a contemporary and expressive form of worship, so that a church could seem &ldquo;charismatic&rdquo; for having a band on the stage and extended times of singing, raised hands and dancing, even if most of the charismata never made an appearance. More often, charismatic is a bucket term for any contemporary church that emphasizes the reality of supernatural experiences and the availability of the New Testament gifts of the Holy Spirit to ordinary believers today: speaking in other languages, prophecy, healing, miracles, and so on. In its broadest sense, it can also connote a particular type of experiential, pietist, or mystical Christianity, in which personal and deeply emotional encounters with God occur, and a clear and direct sense of God&rsquo;s presence and communication is felt by the worshiper. Given this diversity, it is probably worth specifying that I have the last two of these meanings in mind (use of the gifts and experientialism), rather than the first two (emerging from the 1970s, and contemporary in style). Whatever our denominational origins, to be charismatic is to expect spiritual experience, pursue and use the charismata, live and pray as if angels and demons are real, and express worship to God with all the joy and exuberance of a Hallel psalmist.<strong><br /></strong><br />To be Eucharismatic, then, is to hold to the hope that it is possible to have one&rsquo;s ecclesiological cake and eat it. There is no reason, beyond a series of historical accidents, why there cannot be churches in which set prayers are followed by spontaneous prophecies, and the &ldquo;altar call&rdquo; summons people to the Communion Table, and the rhythmic recital of the Nicene Creed builds into an explosion of musical celebration, with dancing in the aisles and angels in the architecture. That is the vision that I am trying to cast in this book, and I am convinced&mdash;and hope to convince you&mdash;that the pursuit of it will make our worship richer, our churches deeper, and our joy greater.<br /><br />You can find out more at <a href="http://www.spiritandsacrament.com">spiritandsacrament.com</a>.<br /><br /> <div><em>Andrew Wilson is the Teaching Pastor at King's and is responsible for much of the preaching and teaching. Andrew has a PhD in theology, has written numerous books and regularly blogs at <a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk/">thinktheology.co.uk</a>.</em></div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-02-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Valentine&apos;s Day Trip to Mexico</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/283</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/283</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/283/valentines-day-trip-to-mexico-web.jpg" />Several months ago, I walked into the kitchen and suggested to Deb we do something different for Valentine&rsquo;s Day this year: &lsquo;How about going to Mexico?&rsquo; I said. Now, I must confess Deb knew we were planning to go to Mexico and the USA early in 2019, but as I&rsquo;d been looking at possible dates, I&rsquo;d realised we would need to leave on February 14th. The obvious answer was to present the trip itself as a Valentine&rsquo;s date &ndash; I always like to find a win/win in any situation! <br /><br />Despite leaving on Valentine&rsquo;s Day, we are very much looking forward to our two-week visit to Mexico and the USA, when we will have the privilege of spending time with friends from within our <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers apostolic fellowship</a>. We begin with a long weekend visiting <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/team-member/lee-yarbrough/">Lee and Stacey Yarborough</a> in L&eacute;on, Mexico. I last visited this nation twenty years ago, when I was fortunate enough to travel with Terry Virgo. Deb is also looking forward to visiting again. She has family in Mexico City and last went there when she was seventeen (so also about twenty years ago!). <br /><br />From Mexico, we fly to California to visit&nbsp;Travis Aicklen at Radiant Church, Visalia. This is a growing church and we will spend a day with their leaders before flying on to Missouri to be with <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/team-member/bryan-mowrey/">Bryan Mowrey</a> and his wife Rachel. Bryan leads Jubilee Church in St Louis as well as the Confluence family of churches, who are part of the Newfrontiers apostolic fellowship. Bryan and Rachel are good friends of ours, and we are looking forward to spending time with their local church and apostolic team. While we are there, I will be speaking at a three-day conference involving about 30 church leadership teams. We also hope to catch up with <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/team-member/john-lanferman/">John and Linda Lanferman</a>.<br /><br />This trip is part of the outworking of King&rsquo;s call to be a <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/">resource</a> to many other churches. Please pray that Deb and I will be a great encouragement to the people we visit.<br /><br />So, I don&rsquo;t know what your plans are for Valentine&rsquo;s Day, but I now need to find a table for two at Terminal Three in Heathrow. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-02-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Reach</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/284</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/284</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/284/Reach-ChurchSuite-Event.jpg" />Many of you will have heard my testimony of how I became a Christian, especially if you have been at King&rsquo;s for a while. Although I was brought up in a Christian home, I did not commit my life to Jesus until I was nineteen.<strong> I had attended church for most of my life, having been taken along by my parents, but it wasn&rsquo;t until the sudden death of a friend of mine in a motorbike accident that I looked seriously at the claims of Jesus.</strong> I remember being at my friend&rsquo;s funeral service and telling God that I&rsquo;d take six months to examine the Gospel! Not long after that I gave my life to Christ and have never looked back.<br /><br /><strong>From the moment I became a Christian I have wanted to tell others about the Good News of Jesus.</strong> My life was transformed overnight and I had no hesitation telling people why I had changed. Before going full-time, I witnessed to my work colleagues and ran <em>Just Looking</em>&nbsp;groups. As a young youth pastor, I once stood on a table in the middle of a crowded pub and started telling the room about Jesus &ndash;&nbsp;<strong>I was keen, but not always that wise when it came to the best way of communicating my faith to unbelievers!</strong> Since I came to lead King&rsquo;s over twenty years ago, we have run the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha course</a> each term and have seen many people come to faith through it. <br /><br /><strong>Reaching people with the Gospel is central to the Christian life and that is why it&rsquo;s a key part of <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/">King&rsquo;s Vision 2030: to Reach, Restore and Resource</a></strong>. But if we are honest, many of us find sharing our faith difficult and are not too sure how to go about it. <strong>In our new series starting this Sunday, we will learn how to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/reach/">REACH</a> others by looking at the best example we could possibly learn from: Jesus.</strong> Over the eight-weeks of the series, we will examine the different approaches Jesus took and see how we can apply them to our own lives. <br /><br />To make the most of the series we are encouraging everyone at King&rsquo;s to do the following:<br /><br />&bull; Be at church each week &ndash; it&rsquo;s only eight weeks!<br /><br />&bull; Be part of a <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/group">group</a> &ndash; a great place to make friends and discuss the topics together.<br /><br />&bull; Engage daily &ndash; buy the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/reach">REACH devotional workbook</a> (just &pound;3.50 and available at all sites on Sundays or online). This is a great way to think more deeply about the topics raised in the series during our personal prayer times. <br /><br /><strong>I am very excited about this new series and believe it will empower and equip us to &lsquo;Go and Tell&rsquo; others the Good News of Jesus.</strong> There are thousands in our community who do not yet know Him. Though only God can transform someone&rsquo;s life, we can all help to plant seeds.<br /><br />Our new Reach series starts this Sunday, 3rd February, at all sites. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-01-31</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Pray for Zimbabwe</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/282</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/282</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/282/a-weekend-in-zimbabwe-web.jpg" /><strong>Deb and I first visited Zimbabwe in 2012, just as the country was becoming more stable following the currency crisis of 2008.</strong> Since then we have returned each year, including once with our three sons, our last holiday with just the three of them before our eldest son, Ben, married the lovely Alice.<br /><br /><strong>Our last three trips to Zimbabwe have not been without incident.</strong> While we were there three years ago, one of the River of Life elders was arrested and placed in prison. We had gathered in the evening for a leaders&rsquo; meeting, when he arrived at the house having just been released quite unexpectedly. It really was like a scene from the book of Acts! Two years ago, we flew in as <em>&lsquo;the coup that wasn&rsquo;t a coup&rsquo;</em> unfolded. We witnessed people&rsquo;s joy at being able to demonstrate peacefully and their very real hope for change. We were there again in November, just three months ago, and found the believers in good heart despite signs of hyperinflation, food shortages, and the possibility of economic collapse looming once again.<br /><br /><strong>In the last couple of weeks, the situation in Zimbabwe has taken another worrying turn.</strong> The government increased the price of fuel by 150% overnight, meaning Zimbabwe now has the most expensive fuel in the world. This resulted in civil protest and a subsequent harsh crackdown from government authorities. Communication from Zimbabwe was hampered by the government shutting down the internet for some time. <strong>As the western media has been waking up to the deteriorating situation, we ask you to pray for our friends in Zimbabwe, the church, the government and the nation.</strong><br /><br />I have been in regular contact with Scott Marques, our dear friend and the leader of River of Life Church in Harare. <strong>He has asked us to pray along these lines:</strong><br /><br /><strong><em>- Pray for our Government and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness.<br /></em></strong><br /><strong><em>- Pray for Christians in all sectors of society to be salt and light, with Christ&rsquo;s love and faith outworked in all they do. <br /></em></strong><br /><em><strong>- Pray for the individuals, families, businesses, schools and many communities suffering injury through beatings, shootings, looting and other forms of violence at this time.</strong><br /></em><br />We are still planning for Scott to be with us in the first week of March when he is due to speak at King&rsquo;s on Sunday 10th March. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-01-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Word and Spirit</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/277</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/277</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/277/books.jpg" /><strong>One of the best things about being in a team is the opportunity it brings to learn from one another and to hear different perspectives and ideas.</strong> At King&rsquo;s, the preaching team meet every six weeks to discuss the current teaching series and look ahead at those to come. I have had the privilege of working closely with two fantastic Teaching Pastors, Mick Taylor (who was with us until 2014) and now Andrew Wilson.<br /><br />When the preaching team met last week, Andrew brought an overview of this summer&rsquo;s teaching series on Revelation. My mind was blown by what he shared &ndash; what a gift to have amongst us! We then talked about the spring term <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">REACH</a> series, which starts in a few weeks&rsquo; time. <strong>Our hope is that this series will equip all of us at King's to maintain our missional focus, encouraging each of us to <em>Go and Tell</em>&nbsp; the Good News of Jesus, and invite people to <em>Come and See</em>.</strong><br /> <br />Meanwhile, we are enjoying the January <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">ENCOUNTER</a>&nbsp;series with its focus on the Holy Spirit. I believe this is a perfect preparation for the&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">REACH</a>&nbsp;series. Acts 1 reminds us that the Holy Spirit enables us to be bold and effective communicators of the Gospel:<br /><br /><em>&ldquo;&hellip;you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.&rdquo; (Acts 1:8)<br /></em><br /><strong>At King&rsquo;s, we want our teaching series to deepen our knowledge and understanding of Scripture. But we do that whilst eagerly desiring and expecting the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.</strong> As well as the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">ENCOUNTER</a> Sunday teaching, we are also gathering the church on Wednesday evenings in January for an evening of prayer and worship, to wait upon God and invite the Holy Spirit. Our last evening will be at <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee</a> on 23rd January, and I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-01-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Pause, Reflect, Refocus</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/276</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/276</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/276/pause-reflect-refocus-web1.jpg" />Following a fruitful and busy season across Christmas and New Year, Deb and I enjoyed a couple of days away in the New Forest last week. This is something we try to do each January. Being away from the distractions of work and home, even for a short while, provides a valuable breathing space as we finish one year and begin another. On long walks and over pub meals, <strong>we have got into the habit of looking back over the last year and talking through the one to come - a moment to pause, reflect and refocus before another busy year kicks in.</strong> <br /><br />I tend to be someone who is always looking ahead, but <strong>it is helpful to make time to review what has gone before moving on</strong>. As Deb and I looked back over 2018 last week, we realised just how much we had to be grateful for. We talked through all that had happened for us personally, in our family, at King&rsquo;s and in the wider church family, and thanked God for his many blessings. We were able to identify what had gone well, as well as areas that still needed work. <br /><br /><strong>It was also good to take time to refocus and think about the year to come.</strong> We are aware that we are about to enter another busy season, with lots of overseas travel in the next four months. In February, Deb and I will be visiting Newfrontiers&rsquo; friends Lee and Stacey Yarborough in Mexico, and Bryan and Rachel Mowrey in St Louis, USA. Then in March I will be attending a Newfrontiers&rsquo; conference in Cape Town. It is a privilege to be able to witness all that God is doing in the nations, but being away from home so much requires lots of planning to avoid being overrun.<br /><br />It has become our tradition at King&rsquo;s to focus on prayer during the month of January and this year we have connected our weekly <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Wednesday prayer evenings</a> with our Sunday teaching series, Encounter. If you missed Andrew Wilson&rsquo;s <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/media/">opening message</a> in this new series last Sunday, I highly recommend listening to it. While King&rsquo;s continues to remain missional in its outlook, we want to start this year waiting on God and ensuring we are filled with the Holy Spirit. <strong>These Wednesday evenings will be another opportunity for us to reflect and give thanks for the year that has gone, to refocus on what we believe God has called us to, and to wait upon Him.</strong> Next Wednesday, we are looking forward to welcoming Mike Pilavachi as our guest speaker for the evening, and I hope to see many of you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2019-01-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Carols, Christmas Day and New Year</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/275</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/275</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/275/Wonder-Events.jpg" />Our first weekend of carol services got off to a flying start last Sunday at our Lee site. Once again, the creative team at King&rsquo;s did an outstanding job communicating the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">wonder</a> of the Christmas message, and I highly recommend coming along and bringing your friends and family.<br /><br />This coming weekend will be even busier than last, with another <strong>seven opportunities to come along to a carol service</strong>. Here&rsquo;s a quick reminder of times and venues:<br /><br /><strong>Catford:</strong><br />Saturday at 5.00pm<br />Sunday at 9.30am, 11.30am, 5.00pm and 7.30pm<br /><br /><strong>Downham:</strong><br />Sunday at 5.00pm<br /><br /><strong>Beckenham:</strong><br />Sunday at 6.00pm<br /><br />On Sunday, we also have a <strong>family carol service at Lee at 10.30am and one normal morning service at Downham at 10.30am</strong>. <br /><br />I understand that the Saturday 5.00pm service at Catford is likely to be quite full, so if you are planning on coming it would be best to choose a Sunday service where possible. <br /><br /><strong>Other Christmas Dates</strong><br />On <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">Christmas Day</a> there will be one morning service at 10.30am at Catford, Downham and Lee. This will be an hour-long family service and is always a great way to celebrate Christmas Day. <br /><br />On <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">Sunday 30th December</a>, the last Sunday of 2018, there will be one service at all sites, including Beckenham.<br /><br />Please check the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">website</a> for more details of what&rsquo;s happening at each site over the next couple of weeks.<br /><br /><strong>Watchnight</strong><br />Lastly, a quick reminder that our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/#watchnight">New Year&rsquo;s Eve Watchnight</a> services are being ticketed this year. Tickets are free, but you and every member of your party will need one to get in. We have two services happening, one at Catford and one at Lee, with 500 tickets available for each. There is still some space at Lee, but Catford has only a few tickets left, so I recommend booking in now! All details are on the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/#watchnight">website</a>.<br /><br />As you can see, there is a lot happening at King&rsquo;s this Christmas and I look forward to seeing you soon. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-12-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Christmas and New Year</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/274</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/274</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/274/Wonder-Events.jpg" /><strong>CAROL SERVICES</strong><br />Christmas is almost upon us, and our carol services kick off this weekend, starting at Lee this Sunday at 5pm and 7.30pm. The following weekend we have a further six opportunities to come along, with services taking place at Catford on Saturday and Sunday, and at Beckenham and Downham on Sunday. Please check the&nbsp;<a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">website</a> for details of times and venues. <strong>As I have said before, these are great events to take your friends, family, work colleagues and neighbours to &ndash; every year we have people attend who have never been to church before, and for many it is has been a first step in their own journey of faith.</strong> You can help us by collecting tickets for the service you intend to come to &ndash; tickets are free and are not needed for entry, but really assist us in our planning.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/301653923?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><strong>FAMILY CHRISTMAS SERVICES</strong><br />Don&rsquo;t forget we also have a further <strong>six Family Christmas services</strong> happening &ndash; at Catford, Beckenham and Downham this Sunday morning, and at Lee the following Sunday. These are fun events suitable for all the family, and last just over an hour.<br /><br /><strong>WATCHNIGHT</strong><br />We are also busy planning for New Year, and for the first time this year<strong> we are ticketing our New Year&rsquo;s Eve Watchnight services</strong>. This is to ensure we can accommodate everyone safely, as last year we were packed to the brim on our Catford site and still had to turn people away &ndash; not something we like to do. We have two Watchnight services this year, one at Catford and one at Lee, with 500 tickets available for each. Although tickets are free, you and every member of your party will need one for entry. Tickets can be reserved through the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/watchnight">website</a>.<br /><br />This month is a busy and often tiring time of year. But the carol services are always a highlight for me, a moment to pause and remember <strong>the wonder of Christmas</strong>. I highly recommend coming along and hope to see you there.&nbsp;<br /><br />Remember you can find details of everything happening at King's over the Christmas period on our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">website</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-12-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Wonder</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/273</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/273</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/273/Wonder-Events.jpg" />As I was driving into work early Tuesday morning, my attention was caught by the sight of a bright planet in the sky with a crescent moon beside it. It was still dark and for once the sky was clear. It was a perfect picture, one which I wish I could have photographed somehow.<strong> For a moment my attention was drawn away from the busy day ahead of me, as I reflected on the magnificence of God&rsquo;s creation.</strong> And since we are also approaching Christmas, I was naturally reminded of the Magi following the star in the east to worship Jesus. <br /><br />I am no expert in astronomy, but a quick Google search tells me the planet I saw on Tuesday morning was Venus. Apparently, it shines brightest in the morning sky in late November and early December and is, according to one piece I read, <em>&lsquo;a star in the east which shines like a modern-day Christmas star&rsquo;</em>. It is there each year, yet this is the first time I can remember really noticing it. How many other times have I driven to work at this time of year and not seen it? <br /><br /><strong>When something becomes very familiar, we often fail to notice or appreciate it.</strong> The stars and planets are there all the time, but I rarely take the time to stop and gaze at them. The same can be true of the Christmas story itself. Christmas has become a secular celebration for the majority of this country, but I suspect most people could give a rough approximation of the story of Jesus&rsquo; birth. But for many it has simply become another part of the Christmas season, along with Father Christmas, turkey and mince pies.<br />&nbsp;<br />This Christmas at King&rsquo;s we want to offer people a moment to stop and think.<strong> We want to invite them to pause and wonder, to ask themselves, could the Christmas story be true?</strong> Could it be more than a nice story for children? What if it is, as many of us believe, a true account of God loving us so much, He was prepared to come to us as a human, to live among us and die for us?<br /><br /><strong>I want to encourage you to invite your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues to come along to one of the <a href="/christmas">eight carol services</a> we are putting on over the next few weeks.&nbsp;</strong> We also have six Family Christmas Services, which last just over an hour and are always lots of fun. Carol services are taking place at all four sites and include carols, performance pieces, readings and a short talk. Details of times and venues can be found on the <a href="/christmas">King&rsquo;s website</a>&nbsp;and invites are available to collect on all sites. They are always fantastic events, and the video below gives a taster of what to expect.<br /><br />Maybe this will be the year the person you invite stops and wonders. <strong>Maybe this will be their moment to start asking those big questions and uncover the true wonder of Christmas.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/301653923" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br /><br /></strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-12-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Love in Action</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/272</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/272</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/272/web-BRB-and-KCT-horizontal.jpg" />This week Deb and I ordered our <a href="https://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">King&rsquo;s Christmas Tree</a>, a sure sign that Christmas preparations at home are underway. We love a real tree at Christmas and it&rsquo;s great to know the profits from our purchase will help provide meals for homeless and vulnerable people through the coming year. We have also been shopping for food items to contribute to <a href="https://www.bigredbox.org/">Big Red Box</a>, which distributes Christmas food hampers to local families who might otherwise go without.<br /><br /><strong>An integral part of our vision at King&rsquo;s is to extend God&rsquo;s love and mercy in practical ways to those in our community who are hurting or in need.</strong> King&rsquo;s has been running <a href="https://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">Kings Christmas Trees</a> and <a href="https://www.bigredbox.org/">Big Red Box</a> for a number of years now, and it is exciting to see how each project has grown and developed. I have asked Alice, our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/">Jericho Road Project</a>&nbsp;Manager, to give us a quick update on how things are going so far this year:<br /><br /><strong><em>Big Red Box<br /></em></strong><br /><em>Once again, we have been overwhelmed by the generous contributions from people at King&rsquo;s Church and in the local community. With the help of a fantastic group of volunteers, we have already distributed 478 boxes across south east London through our contacts with social services and local charities. Many companies are getting involved and at the end of this week we will be at J P Morgan packing boxes with donations collected by their employees - this year they hope to beat their previous record for number of boxes filled. On Monday, Lewisham Good Gym will be joining us to help sort and pack donations. We also have more schools taking part than ever before and we are looking forward to collecting their donations over the next couple of weeks.<br /></em><br /><em>If you would like to take part or donate, you will find more details at <a href="https://www.bigredbox.org/">bigredbox.org</a>.<br /></em><br /><strong><em>King's Christmas Trees<br /></em></strong><br /><em>This year marks our tenth year selling trees to fund <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a> and we are hoping to sell 700 this year, beating all previous records&mdash;I am excited to report we have already sold more than 400! More trees sold means even more meals can be provided for homeless and vulnerable people in the local area. <br /></em><br /><em>Our 700 trees arrived this week, and some have already been distributed to local schools and businesses. To mark our tenth anniversary, we have produced a short video about our work, which you can check out below. You may also like to take a look at this recent <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/buying-these-christmas-trees-will-help-feed-thousands-of-homeless-people-this-year_uk_5be1d042e4b09d43e3237954?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer_us=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvLnVrLw&amp;guce_referrer_cs=UUOCzRpyGvVY0V2qqJifYw">Huffington Post</a> article profiling our work. <br /></em><br /><em><em>It&rsquo;s not too late to order your tree! We have four collection sites in Beckenham, Catford, Deptford and Dulwich, and you can also order for home delivery. Go to our website <a href="https://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">kingschristmastrees.org</a> for more details.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/298347279?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></em></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-11-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Life Balance</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/271</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/271</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/271/small-changes-big-results-web.jpg" />On Tuesday I had the privilege of spending the day with a young leader called John Harbour. John is due to take on the leadership of King&rsquo;s Church, High Wycombe, sometime next year when their current lead pastor, Neal Bartlett, hands over the reins after 25 years of very fruitful ministry. Neal is a good friend of mine who has clearly trained his successor well.<br /><br />Over lunch John and I found ourselves talking about the tricky issue of finding and maintaining a sustainable life balance. This seems to be a question each generation of church leaders returns to again and again. <strong>How do we run the race, fulfil all that we believe God has called us to do, without failing to prioritise family life and rest?</strong> I have written about this before, but it is clearly something many of us struggle with and is worth returning to from time-to-time.<br /><br /><strong>A year ago, I made a significant change to my weekly rhythm by moving my day off from Monday to Friday.</strong> <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/236/">As I have written before</a>, this meant changing a habit that was quite ingrained, and has been common practice among Newfrontiers&rsquo; pastors. One reason it works for me is that we now record each week&rsquo;s preach on Thursday, ready to be shown at some sites on Sunday. I am aware that it does not suit everyone, as most Fridays many of us are focussed on getting ready for the coming Sunday, but for me it continues to be a very productive move. In fact, I have found it to be so beneficial that I have become quite an advocate for it.<br /><br />After a year of working this new weekly pattern, these are my top five reflections:<br /><br />1. Having Monday to work means that I am better prepared for the many meetings we have on Tuesday.<br /><br />2. Friday is a better day for rest, as I have fewer interruptions.<br /><br />3. Thursday night has become a more effective &lsquo;finishing line&rsquo; (everybody needs these!) and, if we are not working Saturday, we get a two-day weekend. <br /><br />4. Monday now starts with reading, prayer and sermon preparation, a great start to the week.<br /><br />5. It has led to me feeling more tuned in to God. By starting my week with unhurried time for personal prayer and study, rather than a hectic day of meetings, I am noticing more prophetic leading.<br /><br />These are all good steps forward for me.<strong> Finding and maintaining a healthy life balance is a constant challenge and is something we all need to review occasionally.</strong> Perhaps it is worth asking yourself if there are any adjustments you could make to your week which might have similar effects. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-11-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Zimbabwe 2018</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/270</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/270</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/270/zimbabwe-2018-web.jpg" />Deb and I have just returned from an excellent week in Zimbabwe. Our days there were busy but fruitful, and I thought I&rsquo;d give you a few of the highlights.<br /><br /><strong>Scott and Claire Marques and River of Life<br /></strong>It is always a joy to reconnect with dear friends Scott and Claire, and it was good to catch up and hear more about the ongoing situation in Zimbabwe. River of Life and the DNA family of churches are doing well. They recently held their Megavision conference for all the DNA churches in the southern region of Africa, and returned with a fresh sense of hope and faith in what God has called them to do. <br /><br />Please continue to pray for this nation: their economy is in crisis and everybody is affected by it. Many are experiencing difficulty finding food, fuel and essential medicines. There is no government &lsquo;safety net&rsquo; here, and inevitably, those who have least suffer the most.<br /><br /><strong>Ebenezer</strong><br />Despite an early start, our short flight down to Bulawayo to visit Ebenezer was a real highlight of our trip. Deb and I were last there five years ago, and we were excited to see how much progress they have made since then &ndash; a dairy has been added and new farm plots cleared. Ebenezer is a farming project which trains young Zimbabweans in farming and business skills and equips them to start a small agricultural business of their own. What makes it unique is its holistic approach to training, offering Christian discipleship alongside practical training as well as numeracy and literacy classes. Many of these youngsters are from impoverished backgrounds with little or no family stability, and the pastoral care they are given is impressive. <br /><br />It was great to see the new staff house and truck that were bought with money raised by King&rsquo;s &ndash; help with capital investment like this has a big impact on what they are able to achieve here. <br /><br />We also visited two Ebenezer graduates who are now married and running their own chicken-rearing business nearby, and who are actively involved in the local church. As well as raising 1000 chickens of their own, they oversee several other smallholders in the local area. We visited one of these and spoke to a woman who said that life before the chicken business had been very hard. Now she has a stable income, but Deb and I were still challenged to see that she sleeps outside next to her chickens, in a makeshift bed, to protect them from potential thieves and predators.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>Crossover</strong><br /><a href="http://www.crossoverzim.com/">Crossover</a> is another project that King&rsquo;s has recently been involved with, and Deb and I had the joy of visiting this for the first time while in Harare. This is a Christian school run by members of the church. They currently have about 70 pupils who would otherwise have no school to go to. Two former pupils have recently started as students at Ebenezer and we also heard from one young man, who had come to them at fourteen with little schooling, who has just been accepted for teacher training college. Along the way he has become a Christian and turned his life around. <br /><br />Crossover are developing their own curriculum, and members of King&rsquo;s are involved in writing the English and Maths parts for them. This is a very exciting development in our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/partnership-in-zimbabwe/">church partnership</a>, and a great example of sharing resources for the benefit of the wider church.<br /><br /><strong>Other Highlights</strong><br />&bull; Meeting a group of about 20 young adults from River of Life (RoL) to talk about <em>&lsquo;how not to waste your life&rsquo;</em>. What an impressive group they were!<br />&bull; Finding time to fit in nine holes of golf one afternoon &ndash; sadly King&rsquo;s were narrowly beaten by the RoL team. <br />&bull; An evening with the leaders of the Bulawayo DNA churches.<br />&bull; A fruitful morning spent with the RoL Senior Leadership Team.<br />&bull; A good time with the RoL elders and wives, who Deb and I have got to know well over the years. <br /><br />This was a very different trip to <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/222/">last year&rsquo;s</a>, which coincided with 'the coup that wasn't a coup'. Although there were no tanks on the streets this time, the country is still facing major difficulties. The church in Zimbabwe is a beacon of light in that nation. Their efforts to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of the people around them, to preach and demonstrate the Good News of Jesus Christ, are inspirational. It is a huge privilege to partner with them. <br /><br /><strong>Please continue to pray for River of Life and the DNA churches, for all the projects they have initiated and for the Kingdom of God to advance in Zimbabwe.&nbsp;</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-11-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>God First</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/269</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/269</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/269/web-Vision-Slide-Title-R.jpg" />The year was 1987. I was a young Christian, not yet a pastor and still working in business. Our church in Bedford was meeting in a rented hall while our own building was undergoing major extension and refurbishment. While I was enjoying worship along with the rest of the congregation, I suddenly felt God speak to me very clearly: <em>to give the generous bonus I had recently earned towards clearing the outstanding debt on the building project.</em> I remember walking to the front of the meeting and challenging everyone to join me so that we could clear the debt together.&nbsp;<strong>Thirty-one years later, the God-lesson I learnt in my twenties still applies today: Put God first, money second.</strong> <br /><br /><strong>A Faith Target of &pound;2 Million</strong> <br />Over the last six weeks, we have been sharing the heart of Vision 2030 &ndash; to <em>Reach</em> thousands with the Gospel, to <em>Restore</em> individual lives and the communities around us, and to be a <em>Resource</em> to hundreds of churches.&nbsp; <strong>As part of this exciting new vision, we have set a challenging faith target of &pound;2 million for the current year, from September 2018 to the end of August 2019.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong><br /><br />Last Sunday, I spoke about having a spirit of generosity. Please listen to the message <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/41/item/1/" target="_blank">here</a> if you missed it &ndash; I promise it will do you good! <strong>Now I am asking each one of us to act, to give sacrificially towards the achievement of Vision 2030.</strong> As always, we are asking everyone to participate according to their individual circumstances &ndash; please give out of what you have, not out of what you do not have. <br /><br />We are inviting each of you to take three steps:<br /><br />1. Review your regular giving to King&rsquo;s<br />2. Give towards Vision 2030<br />3. Consider making an additional up-front Vision 2030 gift<br /><br />At the back of your Vision 2030 booklet (available at sites if you do not yet have one) you will find the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/#download" target="_blank"><strong>Vision 2030 Commitment and Gift Form</strong></a>, detailing these three steps. <strong>We would ask you to prayerfully review your giving, complete the form and return it on or before our two Vision 2030 Gift Days on Sunday 11 and 18 November.<br /></strong><br /><strong>We have a God-given opportunity to see significant Gospel and Kingdom breakthrough over the coming decade.</strong> These next two weeks will determine the pace at which we can move forward. <br /><br />King&rsquo;s Church &ndash; Let&rsquo;s go for it! I am praying for a huge uplift in our annual giving and a massive upfront offering.<br /><strong>Let&rsquo;s put God first!</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-11-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Zimbabwe Trip</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/268</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/268</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/268/a-weekend-in-zimbabwe-web.jpg" /><strong>On Sunday evening, Deb and I will be flying to Zimbabwe to spend the week with friends at River of Life Church in Harare.</strong> We are very much looking forward to our trip, our seventh visit there &ndash; God has placed this amazing nation on our hearts and we are excited about the developing <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/partnership-in-zimbabwe/">church-to-church relationship</a> between King&rsquo;s and River of Life. On this occasion, we are delighted to be travelling with a small team from King&rsquo;s, William Dalziel, Simon Linley and Birgit Linley.<br /><br />Scott Marques (leader of River of Life and the DNA family of churches) has planned a full programme for us, and we would appreciate your prayers as we travel:<br /><br /><strong>Monday:</strong> Arrive in Harare around lunchtime. Evening with River of Life elders and wives. <br /><strong>Tuesday:</strong> Early start (they are a nation of early risers!) for a 7.00am flight down to Bulawayo, where we will spend the day with Renee Cunningham at the Ebenezer farming project. This is a fantastic initiative for young adults that offers Christian discipleship alongside training in business and farming skills. (Some of you may remember that King&rsquo;s raised an amazing &pound;35,000 in 2016 which went towards building much-needed staff accommodation and buying a new truck for transporting goods.) In the evening I will be speaking to a group of leaders from Scott&rsquo;s DNA family of churches. <br /><strong>Wednesday:</strong> Fly back to Harare to visit <a href="https://www.themichaelproject.org/">The Michael Project</a> (which includes a children&rsquo;s home and several pre-schools) and to discuss <a href="http://www.crossoverzim.com/">Crosssover</a>, the education project we are partnering with to write a curriculum - a great example of sharing resources!<br /><strong>Thursday:</strong> Spend the day with River of Life senior leaders. In the evening we will be speaking as a team to a group of students.<br /><strong>Friday:</strong> Flight back to Johannesburg.<br />Deb and I then have a couple of days holiday around Johannesburg before flying back on Monday.<br /><br />You may have picked up from the news that Zimbabwe is once again facing huge economic challenges. With memories of the crisis caused by the hyperinflation of 2008 still fresh for many, people are naturally anxious. <strong>Please pray that we would be both a blessing and an encouragement to everyone we meet, that the church would continue to put their trust in God who works all things for good, and that the Gospel would continue to advance in Zimbabwe.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-11-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Multiplication</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/267</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/267</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/267/multiplication-web.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;&hellip;the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world &ndash; just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God&rsquo;s grace.&rsquo; Colossians 1:6<br /></em><br />In the last few weeks, I have had many occasions where I have been able to echo these words of Paul&rsquo;s in Colossians, and say that <strong>the gospel is indeed '<em>growing throughout the world'</em></strong>. At the Newfrontiers Global event a couple of weeks ago, I was so encouraged to hear numerous stories from apostolic brothers of church growth and planting. And last week I had the privilege of attending a Learning Community, hosted by Dave Smith from Kingsgate in Peterborough, which gathered church leadership teams from around the country to see what we can learn together about church growth. The event was full of life and we heard from some great speakers. We heard news of Gospel breakthrough in places as far apart as Japan &ndash; historically a very challenging place to church plant - and Colombia, where we heard of a church of over 40,000 people. The conference finished with Michael Fletcher from Manna Church in Raleigh, North Carolina (which Deb and I visited during my summer sabbatical), speaking on the power of multiplication. <br /><br />Today, Deb and I have the honour of going to Lambeth Palace to hear Justin Welby speak. We will be there as part of <strong>The Richmond Group</strong>, a group of UK church leaders from many denominations and church families hosted by <strong>Nicky Gumbel</strong> from HTB. I am sure we will once again be hearing of Gospel breakthrough through the wonderful Alpha Course.<strong> Alpha has now been translated into 112 different languages; millions of people around the world have done the course, and countless have come to faith through it.</strong> <br /><br /><strong>We should be encouraged! The Gospel is bearing fruit and God is at work all over the world.<br /></strong><br /><strong>At King&rsquo;s, we want to play our part in seeing Gospel breakthrough, and we believe we are called to an exciting vision.</strong> On Sunday, guest speaker Geoff Surratt urged us to believe God for an &lsquo;earth-shaking move of God&rsquo; and to take hold of God&rsquo;s vision for changed lives and transformed communities. If you missed <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/media/">his message</a>, it is well worth listening to. I was also encouraged to bump into at least ten new people when I visited our fourth site in Beckenham. But while we are excited about all that God is doing at King&rsquo;s, it is good to be reminded of God's great Vision to reconcile mankind to Him. <strong>God&rsquo;s vision goes far beyond the reach of King&rsquo;s and is about far more than what we can do as one church community.</strong> We look forward to a day when all those in Christ, <em>&lsquo;from every tribe, nation, people and language, stand before the throne and before the Lamb.' (Revelation 7;9).</em><br /><br /><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-10-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Diversity and Cross&#45;Cultural Mission</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/266</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/266</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/266/top-ten-resources-on-diversity-web.jpg" />At the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers</a> Global 18 event last week, we once again gathered leaders from around the world. <strong>People travelled from Asia, North and Central America, Africa and Europe, representing hundreds of churches.</strong> As I looked around the room at our first meeting, I was reminded of the final verse of Lex Loizides&rsquo; brilliant worship song, <em>Be Still and Know that I am God</em>, which some of you may remember:<br /><br />Be still and know that I am God;<br />My Son has asked me for<br />The nations of the world.<br />His sprinkled blood has made a way<br />For all the multitudes of India and Africa to come;<br />The Middle East will find its peace<br />Through Jesus Christ My Son.<br />From London down to Cape Town,<br />From L.A. to Beijing,<br />My Son shall reign the undisputed King!<br /><br />The 80 or so people at Global 18 came from many nations, cultures and ethnic backgrounds; although much of the conference was conducted in English, we had Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Hindi and Bulgarian speakers in the room, to name just a few. I am always amazed by those who are fluent in more than one language &ndash; I struggle with English! It was another learning experience on how cultures can work together. <strong>We may live in very different countries and have diverse life experiences, but we are united in Christ and in our desire to see Kingdom extension around the world.<br /></strong><br />This week I had the privilege of speaking at a seminar for church leaders with my dear friend Tope Koleoso, Senior Pastor of Jubilee Church in Enfield. We spoke on the subject of diversity and cross-cultural awareness. <strong>Increasingly it seems that almost every leadership situation I am in involves a cross-cultural element.</strong> I have led a racially diverse church for more than twenty years, but I am constantly aware of how much I still need to learn.<br /><br /><strong>One way we can learn is through reading, and I have recently come across a couple of books which I would love to recommend.</strong> The first is <em>Global Humility</em> by Andy McCullough. Andy is a church planter who was born and grew up in Cyprus and has lived in the Middle East as well as the UK. His insights into working cross-culturally are challenging, helpful and provocative. The second book is <em>Prisoners of Geography</em> by Tim Marshall. This is a well-written, very accessible book which gives an overview of modern global politics &ndash; very helpful for any of us wanting to broaden our understanding of the world we feel called to reach. Do also have a look at Andrew Wilson&rsquo;s recent guest blog listing his <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/251/">Top Ten Resources on Diversity</a>.<br /><br /><strong>In more than two decades of leading a diverse church, I have found that one of the best ways we can learn is by building friendships, spending time and sharing meals with people from different cultures.</strong> In the last two weeks at King&rsquo;s I have visited two Nigerian families in their home. Food was provided and I enjoyed their hospitality - in the past&nbsp; I might have been very &lsquo;British&rsquo; and declined, but I am learning! Then on Sunday Deb and I were delighted to accept an invitation from a lovely Indian couple at King&rsquo;s to have a meal together in a couple of weeks&rsquo; time. Another rich learning experience to look forward to.<br /><br />In <em>Global Humility</em>, Andy McCullough urges us to <em>&lsquo;travel to learn, not just to teach&rsquo;</em>. We may not feel called to move to another country, as Andy and his family did, but many of us live in increasingly diverse cities and towns &ndash; we do not need to travel to meet people from a different cultural or ethnic background to our own! Let&rsquo;s continue to reach out and build bridges, to listen and learn. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-10-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Reach, Restore, Resource</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/265</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/265</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/265/reach-restore-resource-web.jpg" />On Sunday 23rd September we launched <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/"><strong>Vision 2030</strong></a>, setting a course for King&rsquo;s for the next twelve years.<strong> I spoke about how we believe we have a God-given opportunity to be involved in major Kingdom extension over the coming decade.&nbsp;</strong> We believe God is calling King&rsquo;s to be like the Antioch Church in the book of Acts, to <em>Reach</em> thousands with the Gospel, to <em>Restore</em> individual lives and the communities around us, and to be a <em>Resource</em> to the wider body of Christ. <br /><br />This is an important moment in the life of King&rsquo;s, and if you were unable to be there on <strong>Vision Sunday</strong>, I would like to encourage you to listen below. Copies of the <a href="https://issuu.com/kingschurchlondon/docs/vision_2030_booklet"><strong>Vision 2030</strong> <strong>document</strong></a>, which sets out our vision in more detail, are still available at all sites if you do not already have one. This is an exciting season for us! Please take some time to listen to the preach, read through the booklet and pray for <strong>Vision 2030</strong>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-10-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Niagara Falls and Victoria Falls</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/264</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/264</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/264/niagara-falls-and-victoria-falls-web.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;King&rsquo;s is like Niagara Falls, strong and secure. You do not need to worry about King&rsquo;s&hellip;</em><br /><em>&hellip;but I am calling you to be like Victoria Falls, a church whose reach goes much further, a wider calling.&rsquo;</em><br /><br />This is a prophetic word given to me when I was on a trip to Zimbabwe in 2013. It has proven to be a significant word for us, one which continues to shape the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/">life and direction</a> of King&rsquo;s Church, London. <br /><br />This week, we will see an example of this prophetic word in action, as we launch our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/beckenham/">fourth site in Beckenham</a> on Sunday. Deb and I, however, are unable to be there, as we will be in Cyprus for the <strong>Newfrontiers Global conference</strong>, the annual gathering of apostolic leaders in the international Newfrontiers family. While I would love to be present at the Beckenham launch, I am fully confident that the excellent team have everything in hand and that all will go well. <br /><br /><strong>I would like to ask for your prayers for this coming week.</strong> Please pray for a fantastic start for the Beckenham site on Sunday. I know that the team have been working hard delivering thousands of leaflets and we are hoping for many visitors to join us. Please pray also for an excellent Newfrontiers Global conference in Cyprus. <strong>Lastly, let us keep praying that King&rsquo;s will become a church that reflects the strength and depth of Niagara Falls, while also having the wide reach of Victoria Falls.</strong> <br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20181004-11105DND479RN6LN.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br />Our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/vision/"><strong>Vision 2030</strong></a> series continues this Sunday with Phil Varley preaching on &lsquo;Restore&rsquo;. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-10-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newfrontiers UK Prayer Day</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/263</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/263</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/263/newfrontiers-uk-prayer-day-web.jpg" /><strong>Westminster Chapel, London, 20th March 2019</strong><br /><br />One of the things I have always appreciated about the ministry of Terry Virgo, Newfrontiers&rsquo; founding father, is the emphasis he places on prayer, both personal and corporate. <br /><br />Over the years, I have had the privilege of praying with Terry on numerous occasions &ndash; on early mornings while travelling together in Mexico, in leadership meetings and at conferences. Each January, Terry would often invite small groups of leaders to his home to pray as we began the new year. Those of us who have been around Newfrontiers for a while will remember the regular days of prayer and fasting when we gathered from across the country to come before God. <strong>In the new era of Newfrontiers, prayer remains the backbone of the new apostolic spheres.</strong><br /><br /><strong>As we increasingly partner across the spheres in the UK, prayer is once again a natural point for us to come together.</strong> When we gather at <strong>Westminster Chapel, London, on Wednesday 20th March 2019</strong>, the nation will be days away from a decision on Brexit. Whatever your view on this national debate, it is undoubtedly a good time to pray! We will also be praying for an expansion in Gospel breakthrough and church planting.<br /><br />Booking is now open and you can reserve your tickets at <a href="http://www.prayerday.uk/">Prayerday.uk</a>. Once again, this is a day for all leaders &ndash; elders, pastors, staff and spouses. This will be the second national prayer day we have held in this new era of Newfrontiers, and it promises to be another encouraging and exciting time as we seek God together and pray for our nation. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-09-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>From 1995 to 2018</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/262</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/262</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/262/web-Vision-Slide-Title-R.jpg" />In 1995, I was 32 years old, living in Bedford and working as a youth pastor at what was then Brickhill Baptist Church. Deb and I had been married almost six years, had one young son and another on the way. We both clearly remember the evening I returned from a meeting and told her I believed God was calling us to move on from Bedford, our childhood home, to lead our own church.<br /><br />With the help of Dave Holden, who had apostolic oversight of Brickhill, we began to seek God for where he was leading us. An opening at a church in Great Yarmouth was mentioned, and we also visited a fellowship in Worthing, but neither felt right. I then found myself in a meeting with Mark Landreth-Smith, a friend and fellow pastor. He brought the following prophetic word: <em>&ldquo;Sand, sand, sand; pebbles, pebbles, pebbles; pavement, pavement, pavement, PAVEMENT!&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;. To most of the people present, it must have sounded very strange, but it made perfect sense to me: For a while, I had felt an increasing call to move to London. Great Yarmouth has a sandy beach, Worthing, a pebble beach, and as all of us who live in London know, there is a lot of pavement in the city! Not long after that, Dave Holden connected us with a church in Catford, south east London, who had been without a leader for eighteen months. <strong>It soon became clear that London was to become our home.</strong><br /><br />We visited King&rsquo;s Church in May 1995, and first impressions were made over lunch in Ron and Audrey Hopgood&rsquo;s garden. We remember their warm welcome, excellent hospitality and how relaxed we quickly felt. After lunch we drove to the Catford building, which was very different in those days. Back then, you entered the offices through a side door, and I vividly recall the large crack in the brickwork above it. We walked through a dusty hall into a Portakabin at the rear of the building, where we met some of the leaders, a group of around ten, fantastic people. (It was only recently that David Misselbrook told me how impressed he was that I had rocked up in my shorts!) First impressions are important, and what made an impact on us was the faith and commitment of this group. <strong>The building was tired and run down, the church had been through some challenges, but they had not lost sight of God&rsquo;s plan for King&rsquo;s.<br /></strong><br />Deb and I moved to London in September 1995, a young couple with two small boys. We didn&rsquo;t know what lay ahead of us, but we knew God had led us there. Fast forward 23 years to September 2018, and a lot has changed.&nbsp;<strong>It has been an exciting journey as we have seen King&rsquo;s grow from a small fellowship of fewer than 200 people, to a church of 1600 on three sites, with our fourth launching at the beginning of next month.</strong><br /><br />We approach our annual <strong>Vision Sunday</strong> this weekend believing that God still has much more for us to do together.&nbsp; <strong>On this occasion, rather than looking just twelve months ahead, we will be setting a course for the next twelve years as we launch Vision 2030.</strong><br /><br />Today, I am reflecting on where the journey began for us, 23 years ago. <strong>I am very grateful to God for his faithfulness over the last couple of decades, but I am excited for what I believe is yet to come.</strong> I want to encourage all of you who call King's Church home to make an additional effort to join us this Sunday as we launch Vision 2030. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-09-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Power of a Friendly Welcome</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/261</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/261</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/261/the-power-of-a-friendly-welcome-web.jpg" />One of the best things about being on sabbatical is the opportunity it brings to visit other churches. I love being at King's, but it is refreshing to attend a meeting and have none of the usual responsibilities that come with being in leadership. <strong>You also experience for yourself what it is like to walk into a church for the very first time. </strong><br /><br />This summer, Deb and I visited several churches, both in this country and in the USA. For the first time in a long while, we saw churches through the eyes of a first-time visitor. <strong>We quickly realised the importance of a good church website.</strong> Unless you are being taken along by a friend, the website is where you go for key information: <em>What time are the services? Where do they meet? How do I get there?</em> And most important of all if you are driving, <em>where can I park?</em> It was this last question which was often left unanswered. <br /><br /><strong>For most London churches, a car park is an unimaginable luxury, and parking is a constant challenge.</strong> We were particularly impressed with the parking stewards at <em>Jesus House</em>, north London, who did an outstanding job directing everyone looking for a parking spot nearby, while also helping others leaving the earlier service. Potential chaos was avoided and everything was managed confidently and with a smile!<br /><br /><strong>I realised afresh just how many little hurdles you face when arriving somewhere new.</strong> While visiting <em>The King&rsquo;s Arms</em> in Bedford (whose website does tell you they have an on-site car park!) we took a wrong turn, found ourselves in a traffic jam, abandoned our car in a supermarket car park, and arrived after the service had started! This is quite funny when you consider that both Deb and I grew up in Bedford and should know it pretty well &ndash; but it was a while since we had been to that part of town. <br /><br />Assuming you have parked successfully, the next question is where to go. <strong>Clear signage is vital, as are identifiable stewards who are on the look-out for visitors.</strong> At some venues it simply wasn&rsquo;t clear where we needed to go, especially if you entered a foyer full of people chatting. The next decision was where to sit. As someone who has a great passion for chair layout (we call it <em><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/246/">chairology</a> </em>at King&rsquo;s!) it was interesting to experience for myself the dilemma of where to sit. Of course Deb and I did not have the added pressure of working out where to take children. <strong>Our visits gave us a fresh appreciation for friendly stewards, ready to help.</strong><br /><br /><strong>First impressions are so important when visiting somewhere new. We can become so familiar with our home church that we fail to see it through the eyes of a visitor.</strong> We enjoyed being at all the churches we went to this summer and experienced a very warm welcome at each of them. Even when you are as familiar with church as we are, a friendly smile and warm welcome have a lasting, positive effect on your experience of a new place.<br /><br />We know that most Sundays at King&rsquo;s we are likely to have around 20 people who have never joined us before. This weekend we have baptisms across the church and expect closer to 100 visitors. <strong>Let&rsquo;s look out for new people and make sure they receive a very warm King&rsquo;s welcome.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-09-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Reflections from My Sabbatical</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/260</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/260</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/260/reflections-from-my-sabbatical-web.jpg" />I am back in London this week, following a three-month sabbatical. I have enjoyed the time off, but it is good to be home and back at King&rsquo;s.<br /><br />I am very grateful that King&rsquo;s allows me to take a three-month sabbatical every seven years, although I had actually delayed this one by a year. The first six weeks were focussed on family and home, a highlight being our second son Joshua's wedding. The sun shone, and it was a fabulous day. Our youngest son, Sam, was sitting his A levels through June, and it was great to have more time to support him through this. We also had the joy of attending Joshua&rsquo;s graduation in July. It is hard to believe our two older boys, Ben and Josh, are now both working and married, and our youngest has finished school.<br /><br />We also took the opportunity to worship at some great churches in and around London: Jesus House in north London, Jubilee Church in Enfield, and King&rsquo;s Arms in Bedford. It is always interesting and refreshing to visit other churches, to see what we can learn and to enjoy the novelty of having no responsibilities in the meeting!<br /><br />Deb and I spent the second half of our time travelling in the USA, a combination of holiday and visiting churches. We had the privilege of spending time with Michael and Laura Fletcher who lead Manna Church in North Carolina, and Greg and Debbie Surratt who lead Seacoast in Charleston, South Carolina. Both are really impressive churches and I will share some lessons and observations from those visits in a future blog. Deb and I also had a wonderful holiday together in California, as well as a fun family holiday in Orlando with our three sons and two daughters-in-law. <br /><br />While I was away I read <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/time-reckon-celebrity-power/">a sobering article</a> by Andy Crouch about coping with some of the challenges of being in pastoral ministry. One of his recommendations was to take a sabbatical every seven years to protect yourself from some of the pitfalls that seem to befall church leaders far too often, at great cost to everyone involved. Since we returned from the USA last weekend, I have been reflecting on what I see as some of the benefits of taking a sabbatical. Here are a few suggestions:<br /><br />1. The chance to think more long term around the rhythms of life and ministry<br />2. The delight of enriching your marriage<br />3. More time for reading and prayer<br />4. Space to gain a new perspective on situations<br />5. Hearing God personally rather than just for the next message<br />6. Ensuring your walk with God is not wrapped up in your leadership role<br />7. Your absence provides opportunities for others to grow in leadership and experience<br />8. The joy of visiting other churches on a Sunday, and not as the visiting speaker<br />9. Rest<br />10. It&rsquo;s fun<br /><br />I am so glad to be in a church that recognises the value of sabbaticals for its pastors. I have returned from these three months away feeling refreshed and full of faith for what lies ahead. It has been a joy to be back in the office this week with our fantastic staff team, and to prepare for some of the exciting things coming up this term. I would like to draw particular attention to <strong><a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Vision Sunday</a> </strong>on <strong>23rd September</strong>, when I will be preaching and telling you more about <strong>Vision 2030</strong>, the new vision we believe God is placing before us as a church. This is a Sunday not to be missed, and if you have not already done so, please put it in your diary. <br /><br />Deb and I have had a wonderful time away, but we are both very much looking forward to being back with our church family at King&rsquo;s this Sunday. We hope to see you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-09-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Who Has God Used to Shape Your Life?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/257</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/257</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/257/who-has-god-used-to-shape-your-life-web.jpg" /><strong>When I reflect on my journey of faith and leadership, I am aware that God has allowed me to walk alongside many great people.</strong> At different points along the way, He has used them to help shape me into the person and leader I have become. <br /><br /><strong>My parents are among the biggest influences in my life</strong>, and I thank them for their godly, positive example. After giving my life to Christ in my late teens, <strong>my pastor, Peter Ledger,</strong> and <strong>my youth group leaders, Mr and Mrs Chris</strong>, were the first to disciple me: Mr Chris met with me for many weeks and laid a great foundation in my life; Peter Ledger gave me my first exposure to church leadership. I am grateful for the time they gave to me as a young man.<br /><br />When my local church in Bedford joined <strong>Newfrontiers</strong> in the early 1990's, I began to be exposed to other gifted leaders, such as <strong>David Devenish, Dave Holden and Terry Virgo</strong>. I have had the privilege of spending many hours in the company of such people. The time spent praying, talking and sharing lives with such people has undoubtedly made me a better leader.<br /><br /><strong>Steve Nicholson</strong>, from Evanston Vineyard Church in Chicago, is another person I would count as one of my most significant mentors &ndash; his counsel to me as a leader and on the church here at King&rsquo;s cannot be understated. His visits to King&rsquo;s, together with his wife Cindy, are always hugely helpful and encouraging.<br /><br />So, why not take a few moments to ask yourself: <strong>Who am I helping to grow? Who are the main influencers in my life?</strong> Let us continue to ask God to bring men and women into our lives who will help make us into the people He wants us to become.<br /><br /><strong>Who has God used to shape your life?<br /><br /><br /></strong><em>The original version of this blog was posted on January 23rd 2015. Steve Tibbert is on sabbatical and will return in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-08-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newday 2018</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/259</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/259</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/259/newday-2018-web.jpg" />What do a big blue tent, thousands of young people, milkshakes and Jesus have in common? Another year at Newday! <br /><br />For the fifteenth year (since 2004 when I was eleven years old) we took a mass of our young people to join with thousands of others from around the UK and abroad to camp, play sports, drink milkshakes, have water fights and, most importantly, to exalt and worship the name of Jesus! <br /><br />Once again King&rsquo;s was so well represented at Newday, with our people being involved in almost every area of the event!<br /><br /><strong>Setup</strong> &ndash; for the eleventh year in a row, we sent a team of around twelve young people, five days before the event started, to help set up the site: carpeting, fencing, moving tonnes of equipment, laying pedestrian trackway &ndash; you name it, they did it, and did us proud!<br /><br /><strong>Event servers</strong> &ndash; It requires around 1,000 servers to make Newday happen and we had a number of our people playing a variety of roles at the event. From making coffee, hosting the music venue, praying with young people and emptying bins, King&rsquo;s people were right in the middle of it and did an amazing job!<br /><br /><strong>Joe Macnamara</strong> did another belter of a preach on the opening night of the event, focusing on the issue of shame and reminding us all that the guilt and shame we often still walk around wearing has been replaced with a robe of righteousness, given to us through Christ on the cross. I don&rsquo;t know about you, but I can never hear that enough! <br /><br /><strong>Worship</strong> &ndash; For the third year we took some of our worship team to help lead people into the throne room of God. We were well received and had some wonderful times in His presence together. The highlight was on Thursday evening when we were joined by a choir we put together, directed by our own Alex Magloire from Lee and Farriea Mclean Mannen from Catford &ndash; it was stunning!<br /><br /><strong>Youth Leaders</strong> &ndash; I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank everyone who came to Newday as a youth leader from King&rsquo;s. You served our young people so well, going to bed late every day, rising early, always being alert with next to no downtime. It is extremely tiring but you served wholeheartedly and we are so grateful for you. There are also many youth workers at King&rsquo;s who serve all year round but who couldn&rsquo;t be at Newday. We also want to thank you, as what happens in our young people&rsquo;s lives at Newday is not just the product of this one week, but a year&rsquo;s worth of caring, teaching, investing and prayer that you have provided! <br /><br /><strong>Caterers</strong> &ndash; I cannot thank or big these guys up enough. We had an amazing team of people cooking and caring for us at Newday. Led by Anne Camfield, they provided us with great food all week and always served with a smile. Nothing was too big or too much, they simply wanted to serve us &ndash; amazing!<br /><br /><strong>Finally, I want to thank our young people.</strong> You were beyond fantastic, showing respect to leaders, behaving so well even in the blistering heat, getting along to meetings. But most of all, thank you for creating a joyful, life-giving, honouring culture on our site &ndash; it was such a great vibe and we&rsquo;re very proud of you all.<br /><br />Newday remains the highlight of my year. Our holidays are planned around Newday and even my wedding was planned around Newday! I hope I get to serve this brilliant event every year that it&rsquo;s running and I would like to invite you to serve at Newday 2019 next summer with me &ndash; it runs from 29th July &ndash; 4th August.<br /><br />If you are interested in serving at Newday 2019, please email me at neal.glanville@kingchurchlondon.org. And parents, please get these dates in your diaries now and plan any summer holidays around them so your young people can be there for another life-changing week.<br /><br /><br /><em>Neal Glanville is the Worship and Youth Pastor at the Catford Site. He is married to Becci Glanville.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-08-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Know Your God</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/255</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/255</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/255/know-your-god-web.jpg" />It almost sounds clich&eacute;, but if there&rsquo;s anything I&rsquo;ve learnt from my time as a Trainee Pastor thus far, it&rsquo;s that one must know his/her God. <strong>It sounds simple on the surface, but I mean it, this has been the greatest lesson &ndash; learning to know my God.</strong><br /><br />Before starting as a Trainee Pastor at King&rsquo;s, I had worked in investment banking for three years. And though I was a follower of the Lord Jesus, and already serving within the church, I realise now, that for the most part, my service was at my convenience and in areas of my preferred choice. Now I do believe that comfort is good at times, and that gifting is important when considering where to serve, but <strong>when all you do for God and His people, is solely dependent on what brings pleasure to yourself, then something is wrong.</strong><br /><br />Part of my role, when I started as a Trainee Pastor, involved setting the chairs for a Sunday morning. And in all honesty, this was tough, as I had conjured up many reasons why I shouldn&rsquo;t be the one doing it. But in those moments, the Holy Spirit reminded me that the Lord Jesus went out of His way to serve me, and not in an easy manner, but by ultimately paying the price for my sin, by His death on the cross.<strong> I concluded in that moment that knowing God meant serving Him and His purposes, even at the expense of my own convenience and preferences.</strong><br /><br />But not only that, I&rsquo;ve come to see that knowing God must be my utmost priority when it comes to the relationships I forge. The title &lsquo;Pastor', let alone &lsquo;Christian&rsquo;, brings to mind various expectations. Most of all, the notion that I should have something of worth, from God, to give to His people is likely foremost. And though true, I have been struck with the humbling reality, that <strong>if I don&rsquo;t know the Helper Himself, how can I provide any help for those in need? If I don&rsquo;t pray, how can I teach others to pray? And if I don&rsquo;t know God and His promises, how can I start to teach others about such matters?</strong><br /><br />I am still on a journey, but I thank God for what He has done so far. Through my experiences as a Trainee Pastor, He is calling me away from hypocrisy and into deeper knowledge and fellowship with His Son. And do you know what&rsquo;s stark about this? This calling isn&rsquo;t just for me, for Trainee Pastors, or for others involved in church ministry. But for all those who believe and claim the name of Christ.<br /><br />Therefore, <em>&lsquo;this is what the Lord says: &ldquo;Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,&rdquo; declares the Lord.&rsquo; (Jeremiah 9:23-24)</em><br /><br /><br /><em>Moses Nwanji has been a Trainee Pastor at King&rsquo;s since September 2017 and is based at the Catford Site. He is married to Francesca and they have a baby daughter.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-08-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Change is Coming!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/258</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/258</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/258/change-is-coming-web.jpg" />I&rsquo;ve recently reread some of the stories in the book of Acts about how the first Churches started and grew. They faced many challenges and their members and leaders were often moved on by persecution or the call to share the good news across the Roman Empire. <strong>In the short period of the book of Acts, the church experienced many changes.</strong><br /><br /><strong>As I reflect on the last year at the Catford site and look ahead to the coming year, I see a lot of change happening.</strong> Some of it is totally positive &ndash; who hasn&rsquo;t been excited to see Moses, Jason and Gary (new staff members) step into leadership and service &ndash; they have done so well. Gary has finished his one-year internship and is looking to work in research, but Moses and Jason will continue working at King's, growing in their pastoral gifts. We have also seen many volunteers step into serving. Thank you &ndash; without you King's would not be King's! Week after week new people continue to join us.<br /><br />There has also been the joy of changed lives month after month. One hundred and forty nine people have attended Alpha this year - forty eight have put their faith in Jesus for the first time since September at King's, many others have recommitted themselves to love and serve Him, others have been baptised. <strong>We rejoice in what God is doing in people&rsquo;s hearts - we set the scene, but it is the work of the Holy Spirit within that truly changes people.</strong> Hallelujah! Let&rsquo;s never lose the joy of being part of God&rsquo;s life-changing work.<br /><br />The last year has not been without challenges and loss though: Annie Twort, who served on staff at King's for many years, retired; after much prayer and deliberation we have closed the 5:30 meeting; our work among the disadvantaged is growing, a sign that all is not well on our streets; people within our community have lost loved ones to knife crime; many amongst us face the pressures and difficulties of life in the city.<br /><br /><strong>The call to serve London and spread the good news of Jesus Christ, building a community of all kinds of people changed by the love of God is as pressing as ever.</strong> That&rsquo;s partly why we have chosen to regroup and pull everyone back into the morning meetings, ready to launch a <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/beckenham/">new site</a> in Beckenham this autumn. <strong>We want to reach more people for Jesus.</strong> We know at Catford sending over a hundred people to the new site will call for many more to step into serving &ndash; but we must continue to look outward. The harvest field is there &ndash; ripe and ready. We pray God will continue to draw new people to us, so we are planning a third meeting at Catford in the New Year. <strong>Change is coming! The gospel is spreading &ndash; let&rsquo;s take every opportunity to play our part.<br /><br /><br /><br /></strong><em>Hilary Dalziel assists in leading the Catford site and is the main driving force behind Groups at King's. She is part of the Pastoral Care Team, oversees marriage mentoring and organises much of the training of pastoral care staff and volunteers. Hilary is married to William and they have three grown up children.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert is on sabbatical and will be back in September.<strong><br /></strong></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-08-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An Update from the Lee Site</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/254</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/254</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/254/an-update-from-the-lee-site-web.jpg" />The <a href="/lee">Lee site</a>&nbsp;began in March 2011, when Phil Varley led a group of around 160 people over to the newly purchased Lee building to begin meetings on a Sunday morning. <strong>This, along with the simultaneous launch of the <a href="/downham">Downham site</a>, was the start of King&rsquo;s multi-site journey.</strong><br /><br /><strong>Since that time, and after a significant building project to increase the auditorium size from a 200- to a 500-seater, Lee has gone from strength to strength.</strong> From an initial group of 160, the site has grown steadily over the years, and now regularly gathers around 340 on a typical Sunday morning led by Tristan Newman. On Sundays there is a real sense of God&rsquo;s presence, a buzz of community, and the many new people who visit the site week after week often comment on how friendly and welcoming the site is.<br /><br />The King&rsquo;s offices also moved across to the Lee building in October 2016, and the large King&rsquo;s staff team can now enjoy working in a more spacious environment on the second floor. <strong>This great facility has also served us well as a place for people to meet through the week.</strong> <br /><br /><strong>One significant ministry to emerge on the site is <a href="/kids/#rainbowrhymes">Rainbow Rhymes</a>, a parent and toddler singing group, which started over two years ago.</strong> This draws in many mums (and a few dads) from the community, and for many this is their first contact with church. It has taken time, but recently a few of these mums have begun to attend on a Sunday morning, and many friendships are being formed. <br /><br /><a href="/alpha">Alpha</a> is now a regular fixture on the Lee site and we have run one Alpha course a year for the past five years. We have seen a good number of people attending each year, including one of the mums from the school that meets on the first floor of the Lee building. <strong>There has been a steady flow of people committing their lives to Christ and getting baptised through Alpha.</strong> <br /><br />There is a good committed core of people who serve the site diligently, both on Sundays and midweek, through various groups and ministries. This group has been expanding, particularly over the last few years, as tens of people have committed to becoming members of King&rsquo;s. <br /><br /><strong>Our prayer is that, rather than resting on our laurels, we continue, as a site, to reach out, make further inroads into the community, and see hundreds of people reached for Jesus and become His disciples.</strong> Though the building is somewhat hidden, we pray that the community that gather there each Sunday will be gloriously visible and well-known, as we spread the fragrance of Christ in all the spheres of influence we are involved in throughout the week.<br /><br /><br /><em>Andy Floyd is one of the Pastors at the Lee site, overseeing the Welcome Team, Youth, Alpha and Groups for the site. He will be taking on the leadership of Lee from September 2018. He is married to Sarah and they have three young children.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-07-26</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>On Mission in Downham</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/253</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/253</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/253/Joe-and-Sylvia-16x9-web.jpg" /><strong>The year was 1938 and Great Britain was on the verge of what would become known as the Second World War.</strong> Along with many others, my great grandma had to move from her inner-city home in Bermondsey onto the recently built &lsquo;suburban&rsquo; Downham Estate. In fact, she moved onto Roundtable Road &ndash; just 220 metres from the current Downham site!<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20180718-2236WZDP6S4YGPN7_1.jpg" alt="My great grandma and great grandad with my mum in their garden in Roundtable Road" width="780" height="606" /><br /><em>My great grandma and great grandad with my mum in their garden in Roundtable Road</em><br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20180718-2236WZDP6S4YGPN7.jpg" alt="My Nan and Grandad's wedding photo at St John's Church at bottom of Whitefoot Lane" width="780" height="606" /><br /><em>My nan and grandad's wedding photo at St John's Church at bottom of Whitefoot Lane</em><br /><br /><strong>Who would have thought that 80 years later, her great grandson would be going there to lead the <a href="/downham">Downham site</a> as a part of King&rsquo;s Church London! God had a plan.</strong> <br /><br />In fact, there is a remarkable synergy with my family&rsquo;s history in Downham. As I said, my great grandma moved there in 1938. Sixty years later, in 1998, my mum became a Christian at what was then Downham Way Family Church. Ten years after that, in 2008, I was baptised (I was only 15) and now, in 2018, I am preparing to lead the site. <strong>Who knows what God will do by 2028!</strong><br /><br /><strong>My wife, Sylvia, and I could not be more excited about going to lead the Downham site.</strong> As many of you will know, we were previously at the <a href="/lee">Lee site</a> where we were married last August, and in April this year we joined Downham. It&rsquo;s been an exciting year to say the least. <br /><br />We have been made to feel so welcome by everyone and have settled in quickly &ndash; we already feel like part of the family. <strong>There are some incredible people at the Downham site, who have been serving faithfully for many years &ndash; we consider it a privilege and joy to serve alongside them as we press on. </strong><br /><br />Looking ahead fills me with lots of excitement. If you know the area, then you&rsquo;ll know there isn&rsquo;t much in Downham &ndash; but the one thing it isn&rsquo;t short of is people! <strong>There is a community there that we want to serve and see come to know Jesus.</strong> People often say this, but I am convinced that the best is yet to come in Downham. <strong>Let&rsquo;s pray that the impact we have on the local community is vast, and that we continue to follow the command of Jesus to &lsquo;<em>make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit&rsquo; (Matthew 28:19).<br /><br /><br /></em></strong><em>Joe Macnamara joined the King's team in January this year and is based at the Downham site. He will be appointed Downham Site Leader in September 2018. He is married to Sylvia.<br /><br />Steve Tibbert is on sabbatical and will be returning in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-07-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Community on Mission</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/252</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/252</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/252/Beckenham-BBQ-DSCF6995_web.jpg" /><em>'You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.'</em><br /><em>1 Peter 2:9 </em><br /><br />It was a sunny day. I was at a church BBQ and I paused for a moment to look around at the people who were there. I saw children running around and bouncing up and down on a trampoline, teenagers sharing jokes and talking with adults, and people engaged in conversations whilst eating burgers and hot dogs. I saw a diversity of ages, ethnicities and backgrounds coming together and enjoying one another&rsquo;s company. This made me smile. This was a community of people coming together to build friendships, have fun and of course, eat lots of food! But as I paused, I also started to dream about the impact this community could have on those who were not there. <br /><br />While our culture may place a high value on independence and individualism, the truth is that Christians need one another to carry out the mission of God. A foundational truth is that God never intended anyone to have a solitary faith. In fact, someone once said, 'A solitary faith is not a Christian faith.'<strong> The truth is that God has called believers to live out their faith together in community.</strong> This is great news as we all desire, to some extent or another, to be known in community, and to have friendships with people we trust and enjoy. However, there is a danger in seeing community and friendships as an end.<br /><br />If we view community and friendships as the goal, we will find it very difficult to welcome new people and integrate them into our existing friendship circles. <strong>Rather than being an end, community is the necessary context for mission.</strong> The challenge is for Christians in community to encourage and embrace the benefits of being in community and then, rather than keep it for themselves, extend those benefits to others &ndash; those outside the community. <br /><br />This reflects what we see in Scripture with Jesus and His disciples (Luke 10) as well as the early church (Acts 2:42-48). In Luke 10, Jesus sends his disciples out to share with others what they themselves have received. The relationship between community and mission also extends throughout the book of Acts, where we see the disciples living in authentic community and '<em>the Lord added daily to their number those who were being saved.' (Acts 2:47)</em><br /><br /><strong>Christian community, rather than being an end, exists for mission.</strong> After all, we are a chosen people that we may declare, or share, the good news that Jesus has brought us out of darkness and into light (1 Peter 2:9).<br /><br />The BBQ that I mentioned at the beginning, was for people who are interested in coming to the <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/beckenham/">new fourth site of King&rsquo;s</a>. <strong>We are launching in Beckenham, at Harris Academy, on Sunday 7th October.</strong> <strong>Before then, we have a prayer meeting&nbsp; TONIGHT, Thursday 12th July, at Harris Academy Beckenham from 7.45-9.30pm.</strong> You are invited and very welcome to attend to pray for King&rsquo;s and the launch of the new site.<br /><br />My prayer is that we would continue to be a community on mission.<strong> A community of people who not only know one another and are known, but a community of people who are on mission to reach and serve many people with the good news of Jesus Christ.<br /><br /><br /></strong><em>Charles Kimbangi oversees UNITED, our ministry for young adults (17+ and anyone in their 20s &amp; 30s). He will be leading our new, fourth site which launches in Autumn 2018. He is married to Amy.<br /><br />Steve Tibbert is on sabbatical and will return in September.<strong><br /></strong></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-07-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>3. Top Ten Resources on Diversity</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/251</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/251</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/251/top-ten-resources-on-diversity-web.jpg" /><strong>Since moving to join the King&rsquo;s team two years ago, the subject that I have had the most to learn about has been the subject of diversity.</strong> I didn&rsquo;t know much history (of Africa, empire, white supremacy, slavery, the civil rights movement, more recent developments in America and Britain); I knew even less about the lived experiences of minorities in contemporary Britain and in the church. So, in moving from a largely white context to a church in south-east London, I had a lot of catching up to do. Good resources&mdash;books, articles, podcasts, videos, and so on&mdash;were hugely important to me.<br /><br />Occasionally people ask me which resources I have found particularly helpful. So here is my top ten:<br /><br />1. Christian Smith and Michael Emerson, <em>Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America</em>. Don&rsquo;t worry that it&rsquo;s US-based: the issues are almost identical in the UK, and their uncomfortable thesis (that evangelical Christianity usually makes the problem worse, not better) is both very challenging and very persuasive.<br /><br />2. Duke Kwon&rsquo;s message at LDR on &ldquo;Speaking the Truth in Love.&rdquo; As an Asian-American, Duke has a unique perspective on black/white relations, and <a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/the_best_message_ive_heard_this_year">this message</a> is the best single talk I heard last year.<a href="http://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/the_best_message_ive_heard_this_year"><br /></a><br />3. David Anderson&rsquo;s books <em>Gracism</em> (which King&rsquo;s used as a preaching series ten years ago) and <em>Letters Across the Divide</em> (in which David exchanges letters with a white man who has objections and questions) are very helpful in &ldquo;earthing&rdquo; some of the issues, especially for white pastors.<br /><br />4. Thabiti Anyabwile&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabiti-anyabwile/thabitis-top-ten-tips-for-talking-about/">Top Ten Tips for Talking About Race</a> are very helpful. Six years later, he wrote <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabiti-anyabwile/before-leading-your-congregation-in-a-discussion-of-race-and-racism-you-may-want-to-check-a-few-things/">this</a>, which is excellent at a more congregational level.<a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabiti-anyabwile/before-leading-your-congregation-in-a-discussion-of-race-and-racism-you-may-want-to-check-a-few-things/">&nbsp;</a>Thabiti is one of the outstanding voices on this subject worldwide, and virtually everything he writes on it is worth reading.<br /><br />5. Because so many of these resources are US-based, I think it&rsquo;s also helpful to get a punchy account of black British history, so that we don&rsquo;t imagine this is only something Americans struggle with. I found the history chapter in Reni Eddo-Lodge&rsquo;s <em>Why I&rsquo;m No Longer Talking to White People About Race</em> very helpful.<br /><br />6. The subject of privilege, and particularly white privilege, is massive, but I&rsquo;ve pulled clippings of three helpful treatments together <a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/disentangling_privilege">here</a>.<a href="http://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/disentangling_privilege"><br /></a><br />7. I have found it hugely helpful to have a perspective on African history more generally, not least because African history and heritage is so often decentred in favour of European history. Martin Meredith&rsquo;s <em>The Fortunes of Africa</em> is magnificent, but it&rsquo;s also long, so my summary is <a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/the_fortunes_of_africa">here</a>.&nbsp;From a historical point of view, it is also extremely valuable to read the African church fathers&mdash;many white people (and some non-white people!) do not know that most of the key Christian theologians of the first few centuries were African&mdash;like Tertullian, Origen, Athanasius and Augustine.<br /><br />8. Taking a more medium-to-long-term view, we obviously need to go beyond one-off reads (as helpful as they are), and make sure that we are regularly seeing the world from a diverse range of perspectives; otherwise, we fall into the trap of seeing something as "the black community&rsquo;s view&rdquo; on X or Y, when things are always more complicated than that. For me, Twitter really helps, and I&rsquo;ve found it especially illuminating to follow @ThabitiAnyabwil, @DukeKwonDC, @JemarTisby, @TheoChick, @TrilliaNewbell, @Mika_Edmondson, @BCWLindsay, @DrCEdmondson, @CarlEllisJr, @JasmineLHolmes and @JackieHillPerry. I also listen to the &ldquo;Pass the Mic&rdquo; podcast and keep an eye on <a href="https://thewitnessbcc.com/">thewitnessbcc.com</a>. Reading cultural influencers like Ta-Nehisi Coates, Gary Younge, Afua Hirsch and others is also very eye-opening, even though (or because!) you don&rsquo;t agree with everything. <br /><br />9. A number of resources that have really helped me have been TV shows and movies: <em>Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation</em>, <em>Roots</em>,<em> OJ: Made in America</em>, <em>13th</em>, <em>Selma</em>, even <em>Black Panther</em>. They&rsquo;re not made to help white pastors handle issues of diversity, but they do anyway.<br /><br />10. Most recently, the messages from April&rsquo;s <a href="http://mlk50conference.com/">www.mlk50conference.com</a> are all free to watch online. The panel discussions, short talks and main sessions are all outstanding, and by being grounded in Scripture, they provide hope in the midst of the challenges.<br /><br />On top of all this, the one irreplaceable thing is the most obvious one: eating with, talking to and building good friendships with people from different ethnic backgrounds, both inside and outside the church. Our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/invited/"><em>Invited</em></a>&nbsp;series last year was a fantastic invitation to the whole church to do that, and it&rsquo;s hard to quantify how much this helps. I hope some, or all, of that may help you as you wrestle with this massively important subject.<br /><br /><em>Andrew Wilson is the Teaching Pastor at King's and is responsible for much of the preaching and teaching. Andrew has a PhD in theology, has written numerous books and regularly blogs at thinktheology.co.uk.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert is on sabbatical and will return in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-07-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>2. Four Anchors in Theological Controversy</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/250</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/250</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/250/four-anchors-in-theological-controversy-web.jpg" /><strong>Virtually every important Christian teaching has been controversial at some point.</strong> We may wish that this wasn&rsquo;t the case, but it has been. The Trinity, the person of Christ, the atonement, the resurrection, baptism, the Lord&rsquo;s Supper, the gifts of the Spirit, the Church &hellip; <strong>If a doctrine is important, it gets challenged.</strong> Learning how to handle theological controversy, then, is an important part of a pastor&rsquo;s job description. John Piper is right:<br /><br /><em>Are there any significant biblical teachings that have not been controversial? I cannot think of even one, let alone the number we all need for the daily nurture of faith. If this is true, then we have no choice but to seek our food in the markets of controversy ... We do not have the luxury of living in a world where the most nourishing truths are unopposed. If we think we can suspend judgment on all that is controversial and feed our souls only on what is left, we are living in a dreamworld. There is nothing left. The reason any of us thinks that we can stand alone on truths that are non-controversial is because we do not know our history or the diversity of the professing church. Besides that, would we really want to give the devil the right to determine our spiritual menu by refusing to eat any teaching over which he can cause controversy?</em><br /><br />When faced with a topic that has recently become controversial, many of us find the landscape pretty intimidating to navigate. How do we know who is right? With intelligent, plausible-sounding people on both sides of the debate&mdash;and there usually are&mdash;how are we supposed to sift the wheat from the chaff?<br /><br /><strong>Although each debate is different, there are four postures that can serve as anchors for us in the storms.</strong> All four of them, appropriately enough, involve a posture of humility: a characteristic that is absolutely crucial to finding our way forward theologically, but is not always the first thing you would notice watching people discuss theology! I think four types of humility in particular can help us.<br /><br /><strong>Humility towards <em>orthodoxy</em>.</strong> There is a profound humility to operating on the assumption that Christians over the last two thousand years have been right, rather than wrong. As such, the bar for affirming something the Church has always (or almost always) rejected should be extremely high (and vice versa). This doesn&rsquo;t mean that the Church has always been entirely right, of course&mdash;but it does mean that the stronger her consensus has been on a subject, the stronger our argument needs to be that she was wrong.<br /><br /><strong>Humility towards <em>catholicity</em>.</strong> This is the same principle applied to the global Church today. We should be aware of how widespread or weird our views are, and set higher bars for minority views than majority ones. If a particular doctrine has only taken hold in some cultures (prosperity theology, progressive sexual ethics, or whatever), and has otherwise been rejected by the global Church, there are good reasons for being suspicious of it.<br /><br /><strong>Humility towards <em>scholarship</em>.</strong> Reading commentaries is a great way of finding out whether what you think a text means is what most experts think it means. You don&rsquo;t always have to agree with the experts (who don&rsquo;t always agree with each other), but it&rsquo;s a good idea to assume a scholarly consensus is right until proven otherwise. You would be surprised how often the consensus of scholars today lines up almost exactly with the consensus of the historic Church (as in #1).<br /><br /><strong>Humility towards <em>eldership</em>.</strong> Most people in most local churches don&rsquo;t read much biblical scholarship, and many are not especially aware of what is orthodox (historically) or catholic (globally). But Paul charges local church overseers and elders with teaching the church carefully, soundly, skillfully and in continuity with the apostolic faith. Elders are loving guardians of the flock &ndash; men with sticks, on patrol, whom the Holy Spirit has put in place &ndash; and therefore we trust them and defer to them on controversial matters of doctrine. (For those of us who are elders ourselves, this may serve as a provocation! But we have equivalents of our own&mdash;apostolic ministry, confessions, statements of faith, and so on&mdash;to help us.)<br /><br />Occasionally, of course, these will clash (as they did in the Reformation). But you&rsquo;d be astonished by how often they don&rsquo;t. And even when they do, having a posture of humility&mdash;towards those who have gone before us, those who are from other cultures, those who spend their lives studying these things, and those who are given by God to watch over us&mdash;will serve as anchors for us, no matter what theological storms we may face.<br /><br /><em>Andrew Wilson is the Teaching Pastor and is responsible for much of the preaching and teaching at King's. Andrew has a PhD in theology, has written numerous books and regularly blogs at thinktheology.co.uk.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert is on sabbatical and will return in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-06-28</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>1. How to Get the Best out of Reading the Bible</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/249</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/249</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/249/how-to-get-the-best-out-of-reading-the-bible-web.jpg" /><strong>How do we get the best out of reading the Bible?</strong> There is a long answer and a short answer. The long answer takes a lifetime; it&rsquo;s like asking how we get the best out of a marriage, or a friendship. But I think there are some short answers as well. In a message in January 2017, I gave five words that summarise how we can get the most out of Scripture, and if you&rsquo;re fairly new to the word of God, you might find them helpful.<br /><br /><strong>Read it slowly.</strong> I love the way the Psalmist describes the righteous person: &ldquo;His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day &amp; night&rdquo; (Psalm 1:2). Meditating involves turning something over in your mind, savouring it, memorising it, getting all of the goodness out of it, as if you were sucking a sweet. That&rsquo;s how to read the Bible: with enough space, and time, to read it slowly, and really draw the meaning out of the words, the phrases, the sentences. It&rsquo;s like John Piper says of reading the Bible: &ldquo;Raking is easy, but you only get leaves. Digging is hard, but you might find diamonds.&rdquo;<br /><br /><strong>Read it quickly.</strong> This may sound ridiculous in light of #1, but there are lots of parts of Scripture that, at least at first, need to be read quickly. If you read Numbers 7 slowly, you may never get out of it! So there are lots of passages in which it is good to keep moving, especially when you are new to the Bible. When you read the Old Testament genealogies, clock the names, but otherwise you can skim it. When you read the building passages, move quickly. When you read prophecies of judgment against surrounding nations, get the main point (God is angry with X for doing Y, and he will do Z), but don&rsquo;t get mired in the details. With stories, things are bit easier, because the story keeps moving, so read it fast enough to keep things moving, but not so fast that you don&rsquo;t understand what you&rsquo;re reading.<br /><br />If you&rsquo;re wondering how to tell which bits to read slowly and which bits to read quickly: as a general rule, read the Old Testament quickly, and the New Testament and Psalms slowly. As you get to know the Bible better, you&rsquo;ll find all sorts of exceptions to that. But generally speaking, it&rsquo;s a good rule of thumb.<br /><br /><strong>Read it in community.</strong> One of the most dangerous features of Western individualism is that it can make us think &ldquo;real&rdquo; growth happens on our own. But the Bible is meant to be read together. Remember: for most of Church History, most of God&rsquo;s people couldn&rsquo;t read, so they would gather to hear the word read (and explained) publicly. I&rsquo;d even go further: the Bible is meant to be heard, not just read. At King&rsquo;s, we do that on Sundays (as we hear it read and preached, so that its spiritual power crashes into us and reshapes us), and in groups (where we ask questions, discuss and grapple with it, talk about how it applies to us, and study parts of it in more detail). Make the most of opportunities like that.<br /><br /><strong>Read the Bible prayerfully.</strong> I love the image that songwriter Matt Redman uses here: he talk sbout breathing in revelation, and breathing out response. So you read a passage about God (breathe in), and it fuels praise (breathe out). Or you read a passage of lament (breathe in), and it prompts you to pour out your heart to God or to pray for others (breathe out). And so on. I would encourage you to pray as you start (&ldquo;Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your word&rdquo;), when you don&rsquo;t understand (&ldquo;What on earth does this mean? If this is difficult, Father, it&rsquo;s because you want me to think about it. What is going on here?&rdquo;), when you do understand (&ldquo;Thank you for revelation! I praise you, O God, because ...&rdquo;), and as you finish (&ldquo;Thank you for speaking, Father &ndash; now help me live according to your word, your story, and your purposes&rdquo;). Read the Bible prayerfully.<br /><br /><strong>Read the Bible Christianly.</strong> That sounds silly. How else would a Christian read it? But the reality is that it is surprisingly easy to read the Bible as if it is about us, rather than Jesus. So we read Genesis and ask, &ldquo;where am I in this story?&rdquo;&mdash;which is fine!&mdash;but may find it much harder to ask, &ldquo;where is Jesus in this story?&rdquo; Joy comes to me, time and time again, when I notice the ways in which a passage reveals Christ to us. Jesus is the true and better Adam, who won his battle with temptation in the garden, and whose life (rather than death) is granted to all who are in him. Jesus is the true and better Abel, rejected and killed by his brother(s) out of jealousy, and whose blood cries out for acquittal rather than condemnation. Jesus is the true and better Noah&rsquo;s ark, the one in whom we find safety from judgment, by grace, and emerge through the waters of baptism to inherit a new world and receive God&rsquo;s covenant promises. And so on, and so on, throughout the Old Testament.<br /><br />Like most relationships, our relationship with God through Scripture will grow over time. The Bible, as Gregory the Great put it, is &ldquo;like a river again, broad and deep, shallow enough here for the lamb to go wading, but deep enough there for the elephant to swim.&rdquo; If you&rsquo;re a lamb, enjoy paddling in the shallows; if you&rsquo;re an elephant, keep doing deeper. His word is a lamp to out feet, and a light to our path.<br /><br /> <div><em>Andrew Wilson is the Teaching Pastor and is responsible for much of the preaching and teaching at King's. Andrew has a PhD in theology, has written numerous books and regularly blogs at thinktheology.co.uk.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert is on sabbatical and will return in September.&nbsp;</em></div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-06-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Prayer for Fathers</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/256</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/256</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/256/a-prayer-for-fathers-web.jpg" />This Sunday is Father's Day and we hope you'll join us in praying this prayer for fathers, which also reminds us about our Heavenly Father.<br /><br />"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,&nbsp;is God in his holy dwelling.&nbsp;God sets the lonely in families." (Psalm 68:5-6)<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/274462940" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br /><em>The video was produced by the Comms Team at King's and is free to download, share and re-use.<br />Videography by Anthony Hurren and music by Tariq Fernandes. Thanks to Donald Hill for praying.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert is on sabbatical and will be back in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-06-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>God&apos;s Family</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/248</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/248</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/248/gods-family-web.png" /><strong>It&rsquo;s amazing how much the media found to say about the Royal Wedding &ndash; whether that fascinated or bored you, it was reassuring to know that every family, however grand, has its challenges!</strong> <br /><br />We had a wedding in the family recently &ndash; not quite on the same scale but with all the fun of catching up with relatives we hadn&rsquo;t seen for a while and getting to know the &lsquo;new&rsquo; family that&rsquo;s joining ours. As the bride and groom made their vows, it was a great moment to reflect on how our marriage is doing. <strong>As we ate together with family, it was a reminder how important family is &ndash; mum or dad, son or daughter, sister or brother, uncle or aunt &ndash; we belong.</strong><br /><br />On the day of course, weddings are filled with joy, but as a pastor I get to look behind the scenes, meeting with couples to prepare them for the big day. Some couples have been through many challenges to get to their day; for some marriage is a discipleship choice, moving from living together to a lifelong commitment made before God; others are just full of heady optimism as they start the journey of marriage. <br /><br />William and I celebrate 40 years of marriage this summer. We had no idea what lay ahead when we made our vows &ndash; I was still a teenager! We have lived in three different countries (well four counting Wales!), thirteen different flats and houses and one caravan! <strong>In it all we can testify to God&rsquo;s amazing grace and faithfulness over the years.</strong> In the frustrations and disappointments, the surprises and successes, our heavenly Father has led us and provided for us. The hardest challenges have been dealing with our own characters and choices. There has been such tender joy when we have chosen forgiveness over resentment, and perseverance over giving up on each other. <strong>We can still look each other in the eye and gladly promise to love, honour, comfort, and cherish each other &ndash; choosing to be faithful for as long as we both shall live.</strong><br /><br />If you&rsquo;re married, why not take a moment to review how you&rsquo;re doing &ndash; what can you celebrate together this summer? Or reflect on your family life &ndash; is there someone in your family who would love to get a call from you, a relative you need to forgive or invite round for a meal? Let&rsquo;s build family in a way that points to the preciousness of human relationships.<br /><br /><strong>As a church we are God&rsquo;s family, He is our Father, we belong together &ndash; every Sunday and group meeting let&rsquo;s keep intentionally welcoming and including new people into the family.</strong><br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Hilary Dalziel assists in leading the Catford site and is the main driving force behind Groups at King's. She is part of the Pastoral Care Team, oversees marriage mentoring and organises much of the training of pastoral care staff and volunteers. Hilary is married to William and they have three grown up children.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert is on sabbatical and will be back in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-06-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Sabbatical</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/247</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/247</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/247/sabbatical-web.jpg" /><strong>Over the years, I have seen too many pastors go through emotional breakdown.</strong> In fact, the pastor of the church where I grew up had two such occasions over the course of his leadership of our 300-member church. The experience of watching this happen made an impact on me, and <strong>when I entered full-time ministry myself, I knew I had to prepare to run a marathon, not a sprint.</strong><br /><br /><strong>When a pastor goes through emotional breakdown, recovery can be slow.</strong> It brings real challenges, not only for him personally, but also for his family and church.<strong> From my earliest days in ministry, I committed to putting certain things in place so that hopefully, I could avoid becoming burnt out.</strong> It has been my practice to build in regular periods of rest, relaxation and reflection, by ensuring that the first things to go in my diary are days off, time with Deb, and holidays. In addition to this, our pastoral staff are given a three-month sabbatical every seven years to give them a longer period away from the demands of ministry and allow more time to recharge. As many of you know, my next sabbatical is due and begins tomorrow!<br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20180524-124681M9WJ79JNQD.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br /><strong>It is actually eight years since my last sabbatical, and a lot has changed in that time.</strong> I think I see this most clearly when I compare photos of our boys from 2010, with photos of them today. Back then, Ben, Josh and Sam were aged 18, 15 and 10 and were all still in full-time education. Today, they are 25, 23 and 18; Ben is married, Josh gets married in June and Sam leaves school this summer! As the pictures above show, our family has grown up and expanded!<br /><br /><strong>A lot has changed in the church I lead as well.</strong> Since my last sabbatical, King&rsquo;s has grown by over 600 people. We have also moved from being a church on one site with three meetings, to a multi-site church on three sites with six meetings, and a fourth site being added in October this year. We have been involved in a &pound;6,000,000 building project and Newfrontiers, the family of churches we are part of, has gone through major transition. You could say that King&rsquo;s, like my family, has also grown up and expanded!<br /><br />The years since my last sabbatical have been exciting, but they have also been demanding, and I know this is a good time to step back from hands-on ministry and recharge. During my three-month break, members of the King&rsquo;s team will be posting guest blogs on this page, which I hope you will enjoy.<br /><br />So, I am now going off-line for three months! I look forward to returning in early September. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-05-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Chairology</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/246</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/246</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/246/chairology-web.jpg" /><strong>I am sure we can all think of occasions when we have walked into a venue we have never visited before.</strong> I had this experience on Monday when I hosted a dinner for six people. It was an important meeting, and we had arranged to meet in a restaurant that was new to me. I had already checked the place out online, but as soon as we arrived I had a look at the table we would be sitting at. I was greeted by someone as soon as I walked in (always a good start) and shown the table they had reserved for us. I wanted to be sure that it was the right size and located somewhere that would facilitate conversation. I quickly felt the restaurant was a good choice &ndash; busy but not overly so, tables spaced to give diners privacy, and with a relaxed atmosphere. We had a fantastic evening, and I am sure some of these things helped. <br /><br /><strong>I am renowned at King&rsquo;s for being passionate about chair layout in our auditoriums. </strong>In fact, I recently discovered that some of my staff have started calling this Steve&rsquo;s &lsquo;chairology&rsquo;. I love this! In my mind, 'chairology' is all about helping new people feel comfortable and welcomed so they can experience God.<br /><br />The experience of walking into a church for the first time is not dissimilar to my experience of walking into the restaurant. <strong><a href="https://churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-articles/302537-first-time-visitors-decide-theyll-return-first-10-minutes-dont-lose-carey-nieuwhof.html">Research shows </a>that new people decide if they will return to your church within the first ten minutes of arriving, such is the power of first impressions.</strong> How many times have you walked into a restaurant and quickly decided to try and find an alternative? It can be the same with churches &ndash; we are remarkably intuitive and can pick up the values and emphasis of a church very quickly. This is where a little bit of chairology comes in!<br /><br />Here are three reasons why chairs are important:<br /><br /><strong>1. New People</strong><br /><strong>When a new person walks through the door of our church, one of their primary concerns is where they will sit.</strong> Will there be enough space for me? Will I feel uncomfortable walking in? Will I have to sit at the front or can I hide at the back? Will it be obvious where I should go? The way we lay out our chairs influences how a new person feels when they enter. <strong>You cannot underestimate the importance of having a great welcome team ready to show people to a chair &ndash; one which is easily accessible and where they feel at ease.</strong><br /><br /><strong>2. Aiding Corporate Worship</strong> <br /><strong>I am passionate about leading a worshipping church, and chairs can influence our experience of corporate worship.</strong> On our Catford site, we have three Sunday services, each a different size. At the start of our larger morning meetings, we section off the back chairs and encourage people to sit nearer the front and centre of the room, only using the chairs further back as the auditorium starts to fill up. Our evening meeting is smaller, and so we put some chairs away and rearrange the rest to bring people closer together. We want to avoid having one side full and the other empty, or having a hundred people randomly scattered across a room of 500 chairs. <strong>Sunday worship is a corporate experience, and the decisions we make about chairs can either help or hinder this.</strong><br /><br /><strong>3. Maximising our Resources</strong><br /><strong>This is where the 50% to 80% rule comes in.</strong> If you have an auditorium that seats a maximum of 500 people, you should avoid having fewer than 250 people or more than 400 in that space &ndash; below 250, you will rattle, above 400, it can be difficult to move around. In an urban context such as King&rsquo;s, acquiring additional space is so expensive that we must ensure we are getting the most out of what we already have. <strong>Chair layout has financial implications for a church.</strong> Recently, I spent a Friday afternoon with a couple of other team members rearranging the chairs on our Catford site. Not the most exciting plan for an afternoon, I agree, but with some careful thought, we managed to make space for an additional 60 chairs! That is a lot less expensive than hiring another building or launching an additional service. An afternoon well spent!<br /><br /><strong>So it&rsquo;s not that I&rsquo;m just passionate about chairs. I&rsquo;m passionate about making new people feel welcome, aiding the corporate worship experience and maximising our financial resources for kingdom extension.</strong><br /><br />And that&rsquo;s why the Senior Pastor of King&rsquo;s is an expert in chairology! ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-05-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Looking Ahead</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/245</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/245</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/245/looking-ahead-web.jpg" /><strong>The importance of planning has been on my mind</strong> this week, as I have my annual appraisal next Tuesday. This is carried out by two of our elders and trustees, and I will be presenting my <strong>Higher Level Objectives Paper</strong>, a document which reports on the last church year and sets out our key objectives for the next, including a detailed financial budget. <strong>As part of the appraisal process, I will also be presenting a copy of my 2018 to 2019 diary.<br /><br /></strong><strong>Forward planning is something I do quite instinctively, but my experience of managing others has shown me this does not come naturally to most of us.</strong> If you are aware of the Myers Briggs personality test, you will know this can be a particular challenge for those who have a &lsquo;P&rsquo; (Perceiving) preference in their decision-making processes. People with this preference (such as my wife!) like to have as much information as possible before making a decision, leaving them free to be flexible and responsive. Or as I like to put it, not wanting to commit in case a better option comes along! Joking apart, these are good qualities, but they can make planning and committing your diary in advance a problem! You won&rsquo;t be surprised to learn that I have a &lsquo;J&rsquo; (Judging) preference in my Myers Briggs &ndash; I like to make decisions quickly and have things settled in advance. <strong>Deb is always encouraging me to enjoy the moment and not spend so much time thinking about the future!<br /><br /></strong><strong>When we have busy lives with multiple responsibilities, I believe detailed planning is essential.</strong> <strong>It is important to pause from time to time, to step back and take a moment to look ahead.</strong> This morning I was asked if I could speak at a seminar next January. I immediately got my diary out and was delighted to be able to accept, knowing that I have already pencilled in my other commitments.<br /><br /><strong>Here are some of the key principles I take into consideration when planning ahead:</strong><br /><br />1. Days off and holidays are first to go in.<br />2. Date nights with Deb are next.<br />3. Local church responsibilities go in after this.<br />4. Any ministry outside King&rsquo;s fits in around what is already in the diary.<br /><br /><strong>I give priority to family and home church responsibilities over any outside or trans-local ministry.</strong> Once these have been met, I then have the freedom to serve churches beyond King&rsquo;s, following boundaries agreed with both Deb and the elders and trustees.<br /><br />Hopefully, the two people I meet with for my appraisal next week will be happy with the diary I show them. But I know that submitting it to them, discussing it and taking their advice, will be a very helpful process. <strong>Whatever our personality preferences, whether we like to be very ordered or more flexible, I believe good planning helps us meet our responsibilities and avoid overcommitting.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-05-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Team Time</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/244</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/244</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/244/team-time-web.jpg" />I seem to be travelling quite a lot at the moment. Two weeks ago, I wrote my blog from Washington, and this week, it comes from France! For the past decade or so, it has been our practice at King&rsquo;s to take the senior staff away for a few days. It is one of my highlights of the year, and once again we are being brilliantly looked after by our hosts, Paul and Charlotte Braithwaite.<br /><br />This is an important part of our church calendar, time for us to pray, hear from God, plan and discuss the future. But as well as a fairly intensive time of meetings, it is also a wonderful chance to spend time together as colleagues and build friendship. We start each day with prayer and work until 1.30. We then enjoy a leisurely lunch followed by some free time in the afternoon, gathering again for another meeting before dinner at 8.00. <br /><br />This year we have been looking at some of the key challenges facing us as a church at the moment. We will be launching our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/beckenham/">fourth site</a> in October and have spent time considering some of the foundational reasons for becoming a multi-site church seven years ago. We have also been discussing the likely impact of moving from a church of three sites to a church of four.<br /><br />We return home on Thursday evening to prepare for another great Sunday ahead. Andrew Wilson will be speaking as we launch our new teaching series, <em>Exodus</em>. It promises to be a very interesting series and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-05-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Handling Money Well</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/243</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/243</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/243/handling-money-well-web.jpg" />At a recent stewardship seminar held at King&rsquo;s, I discussed the importance of regularly setting time aside to work on household finances. Making time in our week to ensure we have paid our bills and reconciled expenditure against both income and budget is a good habit to get into. I tend to look at our family finances every week, sitting down on a Saturday morning at the kitchen table with my spreadsheet on the laptop &ndash; as you know, I love a nice spreadsheet! In fact, I have several for our personal finances &ndash; one for our monthly budget, another for our annual budget and one with a twenty-year projection. What fun!<br /><br /><strong>Church families also have a responsibility to steward their finances well.</strong> Last night we held our annual Vision Night at King&rsquo;s, a very important moment in our church calendar. <strong>This is an evening when the leadership of the church give an account for the generous giving of God&rsquo;s people and how that money has been spent towards the fulfilment of our vision.</strong> When I started at King&rsquo;s, our budget was a few hundred thousand. Today we are managing an expenditure budget of over &pound;2 million each year. That is quite a responsibility!<br /><br />The finances of King&rsquo;s are overseen by a team of five trustees: Simon Linley (Chair), Ossie Klass, William Dalziel, Ayo Oyabayo and me. As Senior Pastor, I am the only paid member of staff on the board and provide an essential link between the trustees and the eldership and staff. We meet monthly to oversee all financial and legal aspects of church life. This trustee board is served by a group of four staff involved in the daily management of the church family purse, led by our Executive Pastor, Tristan Newman. <br /><br /><strong>I am very grateful to God that King&rsquo;s is served by such an excellent team of people, who ensure our church budget is run with integrity and with best practice. I am also extremely grateful for the continued sacrificial giving of everyone at King&rsquo;s, who trust us to steward our resources well.</strong> <br /><br />This coming Sunday I am told we have 15 people being baptised across the church, with baptisms in each meeting and on every site! It promises to be a great day and I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-04-26</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newfrontiers Together Team</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/242</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/242</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/242/newfrontiers-together-team-web.jpg" /><strong>This week&rsquo;s blog comes to you all the way from Washington DC, where I have had the privilege of joining David Devenish&rsquo;s Newfrontiers Together Team.</strong> This is a team of apostles from round the world and on this occasion, we have gathered in Washington. It is always a joy to be with dear friends and co-workers in our gospel partnership, and this is a fantastic team: Edward Buria, Scott Marques and Steve van Ryan from Africa; John Lanferman, PJ Smyth and Bryan Mowray from USA; Andrey Bonderenko from Ukraine; and finally, David Devenish and David Holden from the UK.<br /><br />We have spent the last few days praying, talking and planning together, but we have also had the opportunity to see some of Washington&rsquo;s iconic buildings. Jet lag meant that on the first morning I was awake very early, but it gave me the chance to get some steps in and take a long walk around some of the famous landmarks, including Capitol Hill and the National Mall. It is always an amazing experience to see places you know so well from TV and I can report that they are as impressive in real life as they are on screen! <br /><br />Visiting this city has been a bit of a walk down memory lane for me. I first came to Washington as a child with my family, to visit my Aunt Joy. She was a remarkable lady who was aptly named, as she was indeed full of joy and always great fun to be around. She married an American and lived here all her adult life and I have many happy memories from this city &ndash; of barbecues and basketball with my cousins and of watching Johan Cruyff play for the Washington Diplomats.<br /><br />As we have been praying for our growing apostolic fellowship this week, we have reflected on the God and King we serve. <strong>We are a group of apostles drawn from many nations, each of them different, yet united by a God who rules and reigns over us all.<br /></strong><br />Writing from the other side of the Atlantic, it seems strange to think that in just a short time I will be back in the UK. I shall look forward to seeing you all at King&rsquo;s on Sunday. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-04-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Welcome, Scott Marques!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/241</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/241</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/241/web-scott-marques-kingdom-seminar-apr18.jpg" /><strong>Our dear friend Scott Marques flew in from Zimbabwe yesterday morning, and it was great to catch up with him over breakfast.</strong> Even after a long flight and very little sleep, Scott never fails to bring his usual enthusiasm and positive energy! Our conversation ranged from catching up on family news and what is happening at both King&rsquo;s and <a href="https://www.riveroflifechurch.co.zw">River of Life</a> churches, to the political situation in Zimbabwe and developments in Scott&rsquo;s crocodile and egg businesses &ndash; it is always stimulating spending time with this guy!<br /><br />Scott will be spending the next four days with us at King&rsquo;s and will be meeting with our staff and the Zimbabwe Partnership Team.<strong> I am very excited that he will also be speaking at our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Kingdom Investment Seminar</a> on Saturday morning.</strong> As well as leading River of Life in Harare and the DNA family of churches, Scott is a successful business entrepreneur and leader. <strong>The <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">morning seminar</a> presents a great opportunity to come and hear Scott&rsquo;s story and catch his heart for finding kingdom opportunities in every area of our lives.</strong> The seminar is open to all and will run from 9.45-11.30am at our Catford site.<br /><br />I am also glad to tell you that Scott will be our guest speaker on Sunday, which is <strong>Diversity Sunday at King's</strong>.<strong> King&rsquo;s is committed to building a community made up of people from many different nations, races, ages and backgrounds, and this is a moment when we celebrate our diversity together.</strong> The service will be slightly different to normal and we would love everyone to come wearing national/traditional dress or to dress up a bit smarter than usual. I will be marking the occasion by bringing out my suit! I hear there are a variety of different things being planned, so I really encourage everyone to be there and not miss out. <br /><br /><strong>We have an exciting weekend ahead at King&rsquo;s, and I look forward to seeing you there.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20180413-0013NZZY7F7QX2YG.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-04-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Easter at King&apos;s</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/240</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/240</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/240/Easter-2018-Event.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures&hellip;&rsquo; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4</em><br /><br />I would like to extend a warm invitation to you all for our <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Easter services at King&rsquo;s</a> this coming weekend.<br /><br /><strong>On <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Good Friday</a> we gather across all our sites at 10.30am.</strong> We will break bread together and reflect on Jesus&rsquo; sacrifice on the cross, which has paid the penalty for our sin. The service normally lasts around an hour. Please note there will be no children&rsquo;s work for this service.<br /><br /><strong>Then on <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Easter Sunday</a>, we gather again, this time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.&nbsp;</strong><strong>Joe Macnamara</strong> will be speaking at both Downham meetings as he begins a new season of ministry based on the site. Meanwhile, I will be will speaking on our Catford and Lee sites. <strong>For those of you at the Catford site, please remember that we have meetings at 9.30am, 11.30am and 1.30pm. There will be no 5.30pm meeting on Easter Sunday.</strong><br /><br /><strong>So come along, invite a friend or family member and let us celebrate Jesus!<br /><br /></strong><em>P.S. I will be on holiday next week, so no blog &ndash; but back as usual the week after.&nbsp;</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-03-29</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Thank You, Annie Twort</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/239</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/239</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/239/thank-you-annie-twort-web.jpg" />When I came to lead King&rsquo;s Church in September 1995, I joined a small staff team of four: Ron, Martin, Beryl and Annie. Teams evolve over time &ndash; Ron retired more than a decade ago, Martin retired in 2014 and Beryl, my PA for five years, moved to work in a school. Annie Twort has held the record for longest serving staff member for some time now! <strong>This coming weekend we celebrate and give thanks for Annie&rsquo;s ministry amongst us as she ends 25 years of service to King&rsquo;s Church.</strong><br /><br />I always remember the first time I met Annie. In 1995, Annie was part of the leadership team at King&rsquo;s and I was a young, 32-year-old pastor, looking for a church to lead. In June of that year, Deb and I came to meet the King&rsquo;s leaders as a next step in finding out if this was where God was leading us. We arrived with our middle son, Josh, who was then just four months old and couldn&rsquo;t be left with grandparents. As soon as Annie saw this young couple with a baby in tow, she stepped in and offered to hold Josh, so that we could be free to concentrate on what proved to be a very significant day for us. <strong>It was just a small example of Annie&rsquo;s thoughtfulness and servant heart, a snapshot of the kind of person Annie is.</strong><br /><br /><strong>Annie is one of the most remarkable people I have ever met.</strong> In 25 years of working alongside her, I have never seen her lose her cool. She is unfailingly kind, gracious and supportive. She has been a fantastic person to work with, and we have enjoyed seeing the church flourish in recent years. <strong>She is prayerful, prophetic and passionate about God&rsquo;s church.</strong> She has had numerous roles on team, but her primary calling has been outreach, leading our Alpha team with great success. <br /><br />This weekend we are saying thank you for her ministry amongst us. On Saturday evening we are taking Annie and her husband Dickie for a meal at a nice restaurant on the River Thames, along with a small group of friends and close work colleagues. Then on Sunday we will be saying a public thank you on the Catford site and will also show a video interview that Annie and I recorded a couple of weeks ago to the whole church.<br /><br /><strong>Please make every effort to join us this weekend at King's as we say a big thank you for Annie&rsquo;s ministry amongst us.</strong> She will be greatly missed on the team, but we are very glad that she and Dickie plan to stay at King&rsquo;s for the foreseeable future. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-03-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>River of Life and Visit from Scott Marques</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/238</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/238</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/238/river-of-life-and-visit-from-scott-marques-web.jpg" /><strong>It is great to welcome Andrew, Jacob and David, three of the full-time elders from <a href="http://riveroflifechurch.co.zw">River of Life Church</a> in Harare, to King&rsquo;s this week.</strong> Their visit is a further development in the ongoing partnership between our two churches. They are spending their time meeting up with King&rsquo;s staff members, the eldership and the Zimbabwe Partnership Team, before returning to Zimbabwe later this week. On Sunday, the guys will travel around our different Sunday meetings and sites. Do welcome them if you see them.<br /><br />Two members of King&rsquo;s, Fay Thompson and Yvonne Steel, have recently returned from a trip to Zimbabwe. While there, Fay and Yvonne, both former headteachers, led a conference for teachers involved in education projects linked to River of Life and other DNA churches &ndash; it is great to hear that this went extremely well. They also spent time in Harare talking with project leaders about more ways we can be involved in supporting education in the future. It is very exciting to be able to share resources and expertise in this way. <br /><br />This is all excellent preparation for Scott Marques&rsquo; visit to us in April. <strong>On the morning of Saturday 14th April, Scott will be speaking on the subject of &lsquo;Kingdom Investment&rsquo;.</strong> As well as leading River of Life Church and the DNA family of churches, Scott is also a successful business entrepreneur and leader, running several farming businesses in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The morning seminar will be a great opportunity to hear his story and catch his passion for finding Kingdom opportunities in every area of our lives. There will be an interview with Scott, then a talk from him, followed by Q and A. This is definitely a date to put in your diary!<br /><br />I am also thrilled to tell you that Scott will be preaching at all our meetings on Sunday 15th April. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-03-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Seasons of Life</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/237</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/237</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/237/shutterstock_172618823_16_9_web.jpg" />Last Friday marked the end of a season for me and Deb: our youngest son Sam had his final GCSE and so wore his school uniform for the last time ever! It felt like a milestone moment. For this family, Friday meant that after 20 years there will be no more uniform to wash or school shirts to iron &ndash; our three boys really are growing up and a significant season of our lives is drawing to a close.<br /><br />Life never remains the same, especially if you have children.<strong> As the years pass, you move through different seasons, and each will bring its own opportunities and challenges.</strong> A number of years ago, I came across the writing of Gordon MacDonald, and I have found his observations on this subject extremely helpful. <strong>In his book <em>A Resilient Life</em>, he suggests that each decade of our lives raises different underlying questions and that &lsquo;...knowing them helps us to deal with people sensitively, and gives us a better understanding of how to build a larger view of our own lives.&rsquo;</strong> The questions we ask ourselves in our 20s will vary greatly to those we ask in our 40s or 50s. Here is a sample of some of the key questions MacDonald suggests are raised as we move through the decades:<br /><br />20s &ndash; What kind of a man or woman am I becoming? What will I do with my life?<br />30s &ndash; How do I prioritise the demands being made on my life?<br />40s &ndash; What can I do to make a greater contribution to my generation?<br />50s &ndash; Why is time moving so fast? How do I deal with my failures and successes?<br />60s &ndash; When do I stop doing the things that have always defined me? Do I have enough time to do all the things I&rsquo;ve dreamed about in the past?<br />70s and 80s &ndash; Is there anything I can still contribute? Am I ready to face death?<br /><br />Do any of these resonate with you? His book is well worth a read if you haven&rsquo;t come across it before. It has helped me understand myself and others better.<strong> Knowing what season I am in, what lies ahead and the questions I am likely to be asking, enables me to anticipate and prepare for the opportunities and challenges that are coming, and to embrace each season I live through.</strong><br /><br />So what season are you in at the moment? It is worth some reflection.<br /><br /><em>This blog was first posted on June 23rd 2016.&nbsp;</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-03-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Small Changes, Big Results</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/236</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/236</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/236/small-changes-big-results-web.jpg" />A few weeks ago <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/230/">I wrote about</a> how making one small change &ndash; starting to walk 10,000 steps each day &ndash; has brought great benefits, not just to my physical health, but also to my spiritual and emotional health. <br /><br /><strong>This week I thought I&rsquo;d tell you about another recent change I have made to my weekly rhythm: since the beginning of the year I have moved my day off from Monday to Friday.</strong> Now, I realise this will come as shock to many of you who have been around Newfrontiers for a long time! For as long as I can remember, Monday has been the standard day off for pastors in our family of churches. You could almost view it as a core value: grace, church, word, spirit &ndash; and Monday off! And until recently, I had followed that model unquestioningly. It was helpful to have a day off to rest after Sunday, the busiest day of the week. And as most other pastors and church leaders I knew were also off that day, it made sense that I was too.<br /><br /><strong>But in the last few years, having Monday off has gradually worked less well for me.</strong> As King&rsquo;s grew and its leadership demands became increasingly complex, I found I was having to spend at least some time every Monday ensuring I was well prepared for all the meetings which take place on Tuesdays, many of which I would be leading. This did not always go down too well with Deb, my wife! And I must confess that if we went out for lunch on Monday, I was sometimes distracted as I checked emails and messages. I also found that being in the office on Friday was not always a productive time, since many of the other staff I might need to see were busy preparing for Sunday. Then last year we began recording each Sunday&rsquo;s preach on the Thursday before. This meant that with the mix of live preaching and video that we operate at King&rsquo;s, every service could hear the same preach on the same week. Until then we had run some meetings a week behind. Having to be ready to preach by Thursday rather than Sunday put more pressure on the beginning of the week. <br /><br />So I decided to try moving my day off to Friday. Having run with this for three to four months now, I thought I&rsquo;d let you know what I&rsquo;ve found: <br /><br /><strong>1. Your diary needs time to adjust.</strong> I tend to plan a long way ahead and, inevitably, I had several commitments booked for Fridays which it wasn&rsquo;t possible to move. So for the first six weeks or so, I needed to be flexible with my day off.<br /><br /><strong>2. I needed time to adjust.</strong> At first, working Monday and being off on Friday felt very strange. After all, I had been having Mondays off for over two decades!<br /><br /><strong>3. My week has become far more productive.</strong> I can get far more done on a Monday than I ever could on a Friday.<br /><br /><strong>4. I am far better prepared for the coming week</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; and less stressed as a result.<br /><br /><strong>5. I am benefitting hugely from what has become a real &lsquo;weekend&rsquo; experience.</strong> Having two days off together, Friday followed by Saturday (although I do work occasional Saturdays) means that I am more relaxed and rested by the time Sunday and the new week comes around than I ever was before.<br /><br /><strong>6. My wife loves it!</strong> Deb has also rearranged her week to free up Fridays and she is appreciating having a husband who is less distracted by what may be coming up in the week ahead. We have had more days out together and overall it has been great for our marriage.<br /><br />So I am converted. If you are in full-time Christian ministry, I encourage you to review your day off and make sure that your chosen day is still working for you.<br /><br />And oh yes, for any of you wondering, I am still doing 10,000 steps a day. Only 66 days more and I will have completed a whole year! ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-03-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Feeling the Pressure</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/235</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/235</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/235/feeling-the-pressure-web.jpg" />Do you ever feel under pressure?<br /><br />As 2018 began, I wrote a paper for the elders and senior leadership team of King&rsquo;s called <em>100 Days and Vision 2030</em>. It was an attempt to manage expectations and agree priorities as I plan for my sabbatical which starts at the end of May this year. The second part of the paper was about showing that we have years ahead of us to get to all we want to achieve together.<br /><br />My experience of sabbaticals (my last one was eight years ago) has been extremely positive &ndash; at an emotional level they have been life changing. <strong>I have seen pastors go through burnout far too often, putting pressure on their families and leaving churches uncertain as to what the future holds.</strong> I am extremely grateful to the elders and trustees of King&rsquo;s for the opportunity to stand back and recharge &ndash; physically, emotionally and spiritually.<br /><br /><strong>However, one of the downsides of an approaching sabbatical is that people suddenly realise you are not going to be around for a while!</strong>&nbsp;They start bringing forward requests and suggestions, aware that if they don&rsquo;t catch me soon, they will have to wait until my return in September. And I am having to identify those essential tasks, things which would normally wait until June or July, which require my attention before my sabbatical begins. <strong>One seemingly small item builds upon another, and before you know it, you can begin to feel overwhelmed.</strong> <br /><br />So what can you do when you feel under pressure? Here are a few things which I find helpful when the demands are great but time is short:<br /><br /><strong>1. Keep praying.</strong> It is tempting to cut prayer times short when we are very busy, but this can quickly lead to too much reliance on ourselves and not enough on God. It is hard to keep going if we are not being fuelled spiritually.<br /><br /><strong>2. Do not compromise on boundaries.</strong> We may think that by working on days off, or cramming in just one more evening meeting, the pressure will ease. This is seldom the case and can increase the chances of burnout before we even arrive at the start of a break.<br /><br /><strong>3. Prioritise your work.</strong> I have two lists at the moment, one of things I must get to before my sabbatical begins, and another of things that can wait until after I get back.<br /><br /><strong>4. Manage expectations.</strong> It is important to communicate with team members what needs to take priority and what can be left for now.<br /><br /><strong>5. Continually re-evaluate your priorities.</strong> These may need adjusting as circumstances change and new information comes in. I make adjustments all the time.<br /><br />We all go through busy periods and times of pressure.<strong> If we are to keep going and not experience burnout, we need to find ways of managing these seasons, even if it means making some tough decisions.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-02-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newfrontiers London Prayer Day</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/234</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/234</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/234/newfrontiers-london-prayer-day-web.jpg" /><strong>Just over 23 years ago, Deb and I were seeking God about our future and felt called to London, our great capital city.</strong> It was a big move for us &ndash; our son Ben was three and Josh just six months, and it meant leaving the support of our families and long-term friends. But we felt certain God had spoken. In 1995, we moved from our provincial hometown of Bedford, with a population of 100,000, to the sprawling city of London, home to millions.<br /><br />We ended up in Catford in the south-east borough of Lewisham, but we were always called to London. A few years after arriving at King&rsquo;s, I started to serve as the Newfrontiers London team leader, a role I carried out for ten years. <strong>During that time we planted ten new churches in various parts of the city. At the same time, we began to see substantial growth in a number of the established churches, including my own.</strong> <br /><br />Roll on some twenty years from when we first arrived, and how times have changed! Last Thursday, with Dave Holden&rsquo;s encouragement, I hosted a gathering of the London leaders still partnering in the new era of the Newfrontiers wider family. We met at Westminster Chapel, right in the heart of the city. <strong>One after another people shared reports of growth, salvation, new sites and new churches. This was mixed with vision to see the city reached for the Gospel, with dreams of tens of churches and new sites planned in the coming years.</strong> When we arrived in London more than two decades ago, the largest Newfrontiers church gathered 300 people on a Sunday. On Thursday we heard that Tope&rsquo;s church is regularly gathering over 2000 and there are many others of over 500 now. <strong>So many signs of life and health!</strong> If you have not already done so, I recommend reading <a href="http://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/praying_for_london_five_highlights">Andrew Wilson&rsquo;s review</a>, which summarises the morning very well.<br /><br />In my years as a leader, I have learned that <em>past performance is often the best indicator of future performance</em>. Well, if what we have seen happening in the different London churches over the last two decades is anything to go by, then the next twenty years promise to be exciting and fruitful. As I said at the end of Thursday morning, <strong>I believe the best is yet to come.</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-02-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A B C Priorities</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/233</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/233</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/233/a-b-c-priorities-web.jpg" />Whatever happened to January? It seems to have flown by! This year, with a summer sabbatical fast approaching, my diary is being squeezed as I try to fit in all that needs to be completed in the next four months. A few days ago, a young pastor contacted me about meeting up to talk through some leadership challenges he&rsquo;s facing. Whilst I was keen to make time for him, I was only able to offer him a date once I return from sabbatical in the autumn.<br /><br />Before going into pastoral ministry, I was involved in selling computer systems in the printing industry. This was back in the days of page makeup, when the early Apple Macs were just coming onto the market &ndash; it was that long ago! My company paid well, gave me a nice car and generous commission on any sales made, but the role also came with an annual sales target of &pound;750k &ndash; a lot of money back in the eighties! It was up to me to make it happen. I had to decide whether to visit existing clients or concentrate on looking for new business. I had to work out whether a long journey in the car to visit a potential client was worth making. There was no daily structure provided, no weekly or monthly rhythms &ndash; <strong>I had to learn to be self-motivated, planning and organising how I spent my days to achieve the goals I had been set.</strong><br /><br />I have observed over the years that many pastors struggle with the number and variety of tasks that come with the role. <strong>Sometimes, it is a real challenge to assess what should be a priority and what could wait &ndash; it can feel as if everything is screaming for our attention.</strong> When this is the case, I find it helpful to list each task and then categorise each one as A, B or C, according to its degree of importance. <strong>I find this prevents me from feeling overwhelmed and spending time on the wrong things &ndash; it helps me identify the priorities among the many demands.</strong> This is also an exercise I go through from time-to-time with any members of staff who report to me &ndash; it helps them to know which of the many items on their to-do list I view as being most important.<br /><br />With my sabbatical now less than four months away, I am trusting that the lessons I learned in my sales days will help me prioritise wisely, focus on the right things and make optimum use of the time remaining. Hopefully, I will then reach the end of May finish line knowing that everything is in place for me to be away for the summer. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-02-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Disciple</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/232</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/232</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/232/Disciple-Events.jpg" />On Sunday we begin a new teaching series based out of the book of Philippians, called&nbsp; <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#collapse-event105"><strong>Disciple</strong></a>. <strong>Over the next eight weeks, we are encouraging everyone to do three things: come on Sundays, follow the daily Bible notes and join a group, so we can go deeper together.</strong><br /><br /><strong>The Great Commission calls us to make disciples, not just new believers.</strong> Different churches have different methods to encourage spiritual growth and discipleship, and at King&rsquo;s we have found Andy Stanley&rsquo;s approach to be very helpful &ndash; some of you may have come across his teaching, &lsquo;Five Things God Uses to Grow Your Faith&rsquo;, which suggests there are five areas God can use to help us develop spiritually. These are:<br /> <br />1. Practical Teaching <br />2. Providential Relationships <br />3. Private Disciplines <br />4. Personal Ministry <br />5. Pivotal Circumstances <br /><br />I have observed in my own life how God has used a combination of these five things to grow me as a disciple. So yes, my personal prayer and Bible study have been important, but so have some of the relationships God has brought into my life &ndash; I can think of many people whose example and wisdom have been hugely helpful to me. And yes, the practical teaching I have heard over the years has deepened my knowledge and understanding, but God has also taught me a great deal through different events in my life &ndash; both joyful and challenging ones &ndash; and also through serving,&nbsp; as a pastor and in other roles. I have always been nervous of too formulaic an approach to discipleship (though it worked well for the Methodists!) and prefer a more flexible approach which reflects the uniqueness of each person. <strong>Spiritual growth is multi-faceted, and God has many ways of helping us on our journey of becoming more like Jesus.</strong><br /><br />In the end, spiritual growth is our own responsibility, which is why I encourage you to read the daily Bible notes, get in a group to share, encourage and learn from one another, and to be here on Sundays to allow the word of God to shape your lives.<br /><br />Andrew Wilson will be opening the series on Sunday, and I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-01-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Revival</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/231</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/231</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/231/revival-web.jpg" />Shortly after going into full-time ministry, I attended Spurgeon&rsquo;s Bible College to study for a diploma in theology. As a part of my course, I had to write a dissertation &ndash; quite a challenge for someone with dyslexia and an E grade for English O level! The subject I chose was the 1859 revival. It was fascinating to see how a prayer meeting, which began with just a handful of believers, led to an outpouring of gospel preaching and tens of thousands of new converts being added to the church. Of particular interest to me was the research I did on the lasting impact of revival on church attendance. <strong>The conclusion was that churches that were healthier before the revival retained and discipled more of the new believers than weaker churches.</strong>&nbsp;Maybe the discovery is obvious, but as a young pastor it helped me realise that the work I was doing now was important &ndash; <strong>we wanted to be prepared for sudden church growth should revival break out!</strong> Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:2, <em>&lsquo;I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season.&rsquo;</em> It is a good reminder that <strong>we should be expectant and ready for an abundant harvest at all times!</strong><br /><br />Last week I joined Terry Virgo and a group of about 20 national church leaders from many different streams, denominations and networks to share news and to pray for our nation. <strong>Once again, we called on God to move in revival power.</strong> Terry has recently written <a href="https://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2017/November-2017/Terry-Virgo-Whatever-happened-to-the-promised-revival">an article</a> for Premier Christianity magazine on the subject, which is well worth a read.&nbsp;I felt stirred to keep praying for revival and last night, at our King&rsquo;s Church prayer meeting,<strong> we called out to God to move in power in this nation</strong>. There was a rise of faith and a real hunger in the room as we prayed that we would see people turning to God in numbers that we have never see before. <strong>Let&rsquo;s keep on praying, and let&rsquo;s be ready for a harvest to come!</strong><br /><br />This coming Sunday I am looking forward to preaching at King's as we celebrate nine people being baptised across the church. I always love hearing the testimonies of changed lives, and my title for this Sunday&rsquo;s message is <em>The Power of a Story</em>.&nbsp; I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-01-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Ten Thousand Steps</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/230</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/230</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/230/ten-thousand-steps-web.jpg" />One of the most <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/1991/spring/monitoring-your-pastoral-fitness.html">helpful articles</a> I have ever read was written several decades ago by Bill Hybels. In it he explains how he had always paid attention to his spiritual and physical well-being, putting disciplines in place to ensure he remained healthy in both these areas. But a time came when the demands of leading the rapidly growing Willow Creek Church meant that he came close to a breakdown, despite feeling well both physically and spiritually. <strong>He realised that even though he had kept an eye on his spiritual and physical &lsquo;gauges&rsquo;, he had been unaware of another crucial area &ndash; his emotional health.</strong> He had failed to appreciate how emotionally draining ministry could be and introduced the idea of an emotional gauge to look at alongside your physical and spiritual gauges.<br /><br /><strong>Over the years I have found the concept of these three gauges &ndash; an assessment of your physical, spiritual and emotional health &ndash; to be a very helpful way of considering how well I am or am not doing.</strong> It is also worth discussing as teams. Recently, I had a breakfast meeting with a businessman who attends King&rsquo;s. He leads a large advertising agency and travels extensively, and I was interested to know how he manages his life in that busy schedule. He said that for him, regular visits to the gym kept him sane &ndash; as well as looking after his physical heath, it helped him recharge emotionally.<br /><br />Of the three gauges Bill Hybels introduced me to, I normally had little reason to be concerned about my physical gauge until I reached my mid-fifties. I have always enjoyed sport and had been able to stay reasonably fit until a persistent lower back problem meant that all the sports I enjoyed &ndash; golf, running, football &ndash; were best avoided. By the age of 54 I was as unfit as I had ever been. <strong>Then one day last May, I read an article about the positive impact of walking 10,000 steps a day.</strong> It stated that walking this far every day had 66% of the impact of running the equivalent distance. <strong>In other words, walking gives you a good return for your effort!</strong> I like a good statistic, and realised that whilst my days of jogging were behind me, I could definitely walk more. So I decided to give it a go.<br /> <br /><strong>I started on May 6th 2017 and 251 days later, I am still doing 10,000 steps every day.</strong> My back is better and I know that I am much fitter than I was six months ago. <strong>But interestingly, and much to my delight, my spiritual and emotional gauges have also improved.</strong> I like to walk and pray (I am not good at sitting still!) and the daily times of walking mean that my spiritual life is in a far better place than it was. But taking time out to walk each day also gives me valuable thinking and processing time, and as a result I feel emotionally healthier too. <strong>One small change to my daily routine has improved my life balance and, I believe, my effectiveness as a leader.</strong> Time will tell if I can keep going, but so far it has been very good for me and I am highly motivated to continue. ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-01-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Looking Back and Looking Ahead</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/229</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/229</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/229/looking-back-and-looking-ahead-web.jpg" />Christmas has come and gone again. The flurry of activity that December brings has subsided and a new season, a new term is upon us. <strong>I love this time of year - a time of fresh starts, a chance to reflect and count one&rsquo;s blessings, to look ahead and dream. A time to plan, implement change and believe again.</strong><br /><br /><strong>I am excited for what lies ahead this year.</strong> For me, 2018 is a year which includes a sabbatical between June and August, my 55th birthday in March, and a wedding in June, when our son Joshua marries his&nbsp;fianc&eacute;e Roxanne. My last sabbatical was eight years ago in 2010 and I have been reflecting on how much has changed since then, both at home and at King&rsquo;s. In 2010, my three sons were all still at school; now the eldest is married, the middle one soon will be, and the youngest leaves school this summer! Eight years ago, Newfrontiers was led by Terry Virgo and King&rsquo;s had just three meetings on one site - we had yet to purchase the Lee building and had no idea that multisite was just around the corner. It has certainly been an interesting and busy few years! <br /><br />As a church family <strong>we begin this year with an invitation to pray together on Wednesday evenings, 10th and 17th January</strong>. At the end of the month, we start <strong>a new teaching series called DISCIPLE</strong>, based out of the book of Philippians. Do pick up a copy of the <strong>new&nbsp;</strong><strong>King&rsquo;s Life&nbsp;</strong><strong>magazine</strong>, where you will find all the information you need about what is happening at King&rsquo;s this term.<br /><br />I am praying 2018 will be a good year for us at King&rsquo;s. <strong>I am in faith for a significant step forward as we launch our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/fourth-site/">fourth site</a> later in the year.</strong> And while I am of course looking forward to my sabbatical this summer, I am already getting excited about sharing a new vision with the church on my return - <strong>please save the date for the next Vision Sunday, which will be on Sunday 23rd September</strong>. <br /><br />Much has happened in the last eight years and we have much to be grateful for. We draw faith from remembering all that God has done in the past &ndash; it is good to look back and give thanks, and if you missed our King&rsquo;s 2017 highlights video, shown at our New Year&rsquo;s Eve Watchnight service, you can have a look below.&nbsp;<strong>As we begin 2018, let&rsquo;s believe again for God to continue to move us forward.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/248138685?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /></strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2018-01-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>New Year&apos;s Eve 2017</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/228</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/228</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/228/Watchnight-Events.jpg" />Just a quick reminder about what is happening at King&rsquo;s Church this Sunday, 31st December.<br /><br />In the morning we will be holding ONE service at each of our three sites at 10.30am. Then in the evening, we gather again for our New Year&rsquo;s Eve Watchnight service. This year there will be ONE Watchnight service at our Catford site from 10.30pm to 12.30pm. As I&rsquo;ve said before, Watchnight has become one of the highlights in our church calendar. It&rsquo;s great to gather as a church family to give thanks for all God has done in the last twelve months and pray for all that lies ahead!<br /><br />I hope many of you will be able to join us. The service starts at 10.30 and doors open at 10.00 - I&rsquo;d advise getting there early if you want to guarantee a seat, as it's likely to be very busy! <br /><br />See you there! ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-12-29</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Christmas and New Year</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/227</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/227</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/227/CAK-16-9-Clean-Web-780x439.jpg" />We had a fantastic time at our King&rsquo;s Carol Services last weekend. I am always impressed by the way our creative team manage to put on such a brilliant and original service year after year. We are very fortunate to have so many talented singers, musicians, artists and technical experts among us, not to mention the numerous volunteers who give up their time to ensure everything runs smoothly. Well done and many thanks to all involved!<br /><br />With three Family Christmas services and seven Carol Services behind us already, it can easily feel as if Christmas has come early. But we still have Christmas Day itself to look forward to, as well as our New Year&rsquo;s Eve Watchnight service the following week.<br /><br />As Christmas Eve falls on Sunday this year, we will be holding ONE service at EACH SITE at 10.30am on 24th December. Then on Christmas Day itself there will again be ONE service at 10.30am on each site. The Christmas Day service is always one of my favourite times of the year, when we gather as a family to celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />The following Sunday on New Year's Eve there will again be ONE morning service at 10.30am on each site, followed by our WATCHNIGHT service on the Catford site from 10.30pm to 12.30am. As I said in my blog last week, this is always a great evening and a wonderful way to see in the New Year. Doors open at 10pm.<br /><br />All details of King&rsquo;s services over the Christmas and New Year period can be found on the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/#other-dates">website</a>.<br /><br />It only remains for me to wish you merry Christmas and a&nbsp;happy New Year.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20171221-1036QTDT3148KCN7.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-12-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Watchnight</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/226</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/226</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/226/Watchnight-Events.jpg" />I always find this an exciting time in the church calendar. Not only do we have our carol services, quickly followed by Christmas Day, we also have Watchnight on New Year's Eve.<br /><br /><strong>I love Watchnight!</strong> What better way can there be of seeing in the new year than to meet together as a church family to worship, pray and come before God as we look ahead to the next twelve months. <strong>This year we will be holding ONE Watchnight service on our Catford site from 10.30pm to 12.30am.</strong> Doors open at 10pm and I would suggest getting there early to secure a seat, as it is likely to be pretty packed towards the end of the evening!<br /><br />This is always a fun evening, so make sure you&rsquo;ve got it in your diaries. I look forward to seeing you there. <br /><br />Please note that as New Year&rsquo;s Eve falls on Sunday this year, there will be <strong>one morning service on EACH SITE at 10.30am on 31st December</strong>, in addition to the Watchnight service later in the day at 10.30pm on the Catford site. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-12-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>King&apos;s Carols</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/225</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/225</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/225/Carols-16-9-Web-780x439.jpg" /><strong>We had a great start to our carol services on the Lee site last Sunday evening.</strong> Despite the wintery weather, the room was packed with people ready to sing some carols and hear the Christmas story, and it was great to see many visitors there. Once again, I was so impressed with the creativity of the team who put this together, who continue to come up with new ideas each year. The theme is <em><strong>What A Beautiful Name</strong></em>, focussing on the meaning and significance of the name of Jesus, our saviour. Our musicians and singers excelled themselves as usual, but as is so often the case, it was the children who stole the show! If you missed last Sunday, but would like a sneak preview of what is in store, take a look at the highlights video below:<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/246825949?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><strong>This weekend there will be another SIX carol services for you to choose from.</strong>&nbsp;This really is one of the highlights of our church year and presents a fantastic opportunity to invite your friends, family and work colleagues. There will be FIVE services at our Catford site over the weekend, and ONE at our Downham site:<br /><br /><strong>SAT 16 DEC</strong><br /> 5pm* Catford<br /><br /><strong>SUN 17 DEC</strong><br /> 9.30am &amp; 11.30am&dagger; Catford<br /><br /> 5pm Catford &amp; Downham<br /><br /> 7.30pm* Catford<br /><br /><br />* with British Sign Language interpretation<br />&dagger; with kids' work for 0-9s<br /><br /><br />Don&rsquo;t forget Lee site have a Family Christmas Service at 10.30am on Sunday. This is fun for all the family and will be followed by drinks and mince pies. Downham will have just one morning service at 10.30am on Sunday, as they will be holding their carol service at 5.00pm. <br /><br />It promises to be a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-12-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Deb&apos;s Story</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/224</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/224</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/224/debs-story-web.jpg" />Those of you who were at King&rsquo;s on Sunday will have <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/item/276/">heard me talk</a> about my wife Deb&rsquo;s first experience of coming to a church carol service &ndash; a spur of the moment decision that turned out to be quite significant for her! As we approach our carol service season, I thought you might be interested to hear the story from her point of view. So, here is my wife Deb, in her own words!<br /><br /><em>As Steve said on Sunday, I was not brought up in a Christian home. I think he actually said that I had never been to church before going to a carol service, but that is not quite true! I remember a burst of interest in Christianity when I was about thirteen, which led me to visit two different churches. One was with my grandfather, who was a Catholic, and the other was with my friend Anne, who went to a Church of England church. My memories of both occasions are of feeling terribly out of place &ndash; everyone except me seemed to know what to do: when to stand up, sit down, go forward for communion (what was that about?) and how to follow the service in some book we were given! It was rather bewildering and seemed pretty meaningless at the time. My brief exploration of Christianity ended after a month or so, and I decided at the beginning of my teens that I was an atheist!<br /></em><br /><em>Roll on several years to Christmas Eve 1982, when I was seventeen. I was in a local pub with some school friends and as last orders were being called, someone suggested going to the midnight candlelight service at the church up the road. She knew the church and promised we would enjoy it. The thought of singing carols by candlelight sounded suitably Christmassy, so off we all went. <br /></em><br /><em>My initial impressions were not what I expected: the church was warm (I&rsquo;d assumed I&rsquo;d need my coat), full of people who were all talking and clearly happy to be there, and welcoming. We were given a candle, a hymn book and shown to a seat. This was in the days before we worried about issues of health and safety, and with several hundred people packed into the church, each holding a burning candle, there was a beautiful warm glow in the room. It was quite atmospheric, and I began to feel intrigued about what lay ahead. <br /></em><br /><em>I remember being surprised by the volume of the voices as we sang the first carol. Not only did the people here enjoy singing, they also sounded as if they believed it. There were no embarrassing moments where I didn&rsquo;t know what to do, and everyone seemed remarkably relaxed. But what I remember most clearly, and what I realise now, is that this was the first time I heard the gospel. At some point in the service there was a drama, during which a young woman stood in the middle of the stage with a torch and talked about Jesus being &lsquo;the light of the world&rsquo;. It was a simple message; it didn&rsquo;t answer all my questions, but it caught my attention.<br /></em><br /><em>It was another 14 months before I actually gave my life to Christ, but that carol service in 1982 marked the beginning of my journey to faith. It left me with a positive impression of church. It caused me to question my unbelief and gave me a desire to find out more. It was some months before I acted on that desire, but the seed was planted on Christmas Eve, 1982.<br /><br />Deb Tibbert<br /></em><br />That is Deb&rsquo;s story, and I am very grateful to the friend who invited her to that carol service. This Sunday marks the beginning of our carol service weekends at King&rsquo;s, and I want to encourage you once again to invite your friends and family. I hope Deb&rsquo;s story will be an encouragement to you. Who knows &ndash; perhaps your invitation will be the beginning of someone&rsquo;s own journey of faith?<br /><br />All our carol services are listed below, and more details can be found on the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">website</a>.<br /><br /><strong>SUN 10 DEC</strong><br /> 5pm Lee<br /><br /><strong>SAT 16 DEC</strong><br /> 5pm* Catford<br /><br /><strong>SUN 17 DEC</strong><br /> 9.30am &amp; 11.30am&dagger; Catford<br /><br /> 5pm Catford &amp; Downham<br /><br /> 7.30pm* Catford<br /><br />* with British Sign Language interpretation<br />&dagger; with kids' work for 0-9s<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20171207-123465BNUPAUP48F.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-12-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>What&apos;s In a Name?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/223</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/223</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/223/whats-in-a-name-web.jpg" /><strong>Names are important &ndash; they are part of our identity.</strong> Even if the name we have been given has no significant meaning, the way in which it is used often does. How we are addressed by different people reveals their relationship to us or says something about how they see us. <br /><br />To most people I&rsquo;m just &lsquo;Steve&rsquo;, rarely &lsquo;Stephen' - unless I&rsquo;m in trouble, especially with my mother! Growing up, I was &lsquo;Tibbsy&rsquo; to my friends. In our congregation at King&rsquo;s I&rsquo;m often known as &lsquo;Pastor Steve&rsquo;, a title which seems quite formal in my white British culture, and which it took me a while to get used to. Many of us who are married have affectionate names for our spouse which reflect the unique intimacy of the husband and wife relationship. And my three sons are the only people who call me &lsquo;Dad&rsquo; - although they have been known to shout &lsquo;Steve&rsquo; if they can&rsquo;t get my attention any other way! <br /><br />The names we use for someone are significant. <strong>They can reveal who they are, what they do and how we view them.</strong> The Bible is filled with numerous different names for Jesus: <strong>He is our 'Lord', our 'Saviour', our 'Comforter', our 'Counsellor', our 'Judge', our 'Guide' and our 'Rock'. He is the one who saves, who gives life and who frees us from our sin.</strong> Jesus is all this and more. <strong>Has one name ever encompassed so much?</strong> It is a beautiful name, and the reason we come to worship and celebrate at Christmas.<br /><br />As you probably know already, we like to do Christmas in a big way at King&rsquo;s. <strong>Across two weekends, starting on Sunday 10th December, we have no fewer than seven carol services for you to choose from.</strong> They take place at all three sites and include carols, readings, performance pieces, videos and a short talk that is fun and festive. Our theme for this year is <strong>&lsquo;What a Beautiful Name&rsquo;</strong> and we want to take this opportunity to invite as many people as possible. Last year, some 3000 people attended at least one of our Christmas services, and we hope to exceed that this year. So now is the time to start inviting your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues. Dates and times are as follows:<br /><br /><strong>SUN 10 DEC</strong><br /> 5pm Lee<br /><br /><strong>SAT 16 DEC</strong><br /> 5pm* Catford<br /><br /><strong>SUN 17 DEC</strong><br /> 9.30am &amp; 11.30am&dagger; Catford<br /> 5pm Catford &amp; Downham<br /> 7.30pm* Catford<br /><br />* with British Sign Language interpretation<br />&dagger; with kids' work for 0-9s<br /><br />We ask you to collect tickets for yourselves and any guests you know are coming. Tickets are free and help to give an indication of how many people are likely to be attending each service. They are available for collection at all sites on Sundays. All information can be found on the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">King's website</a>.<br /><br />Who knows, perhaps your invitation could be the beginning of a journey for somebody? <strong>Perhaps they too will come to discover the beauty, power and significance of the name JESUS.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20171130-1022QZZC7PJ9L8HV.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br /></strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-11-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Weekend in Zimbabwe</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/222</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/222</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/222/a-weekend-in-zimbabwe-web.jpg" />It is probably an understatement to say this last week has been eventful!<br /><br />As many of you will know, Deb and I were in Harare, Zimbabwe at the weekend. This was a trip that had been booked months in advance, our sixth visit to that great nation and to our friends in River of Life Church. We always keep a close eye on news coming from there, and although we knew that the vice president had been sacked a week or so earlier, we did not expect this to be the start of events that led to an apparent takeover by the army and Mugabe being placed under house arrest just a day before we were due to travel!<br /><br />Naturally, it raised questions about whether or not we should go. We sought counsel from our friends on the ground and also spoke to fellow King's Church elder, William Dalziel, who was already in Harare. Everyone was able to reassure us that, at least for now, everything was peaceful. Deb and I prayed, talked and both felt certain that we should go and stand with our brothers and sisters in Harare. <br /><br />There has been much discussion about whether or not this was a coup. Some have said that it could be described as 'a very Zimbabwean coup'. True, there were far fewer people on the flight into Harare than normal, but our impression on landing and then driving across Harare was of a country that felt both calm and cautiously hopeful. The army presence, what we saw of it, seemed low key and determinedly friendly. <br /><br />We arrived in Harare on Friday and left on Monday, and over those four days we had a taste of the rollercoaster ride of hope and disappointment that Zimbabweans have lived with for years. On Saturday, as tens of thousands marched through the streets of Harare, we adjusted our programme so the River of Life Church leaders could join with the masses celebrating what they hoped would be the end of the Mugabe era. That evening we met with some of the Harare church leadership teams and listened to their own experiences of being on the march. Many described it as a street party, and their happiness and optimism were infectious. <br /><br />On Sunday morning I had the joy of appointing and laying hands on three new elders and then preaching at the River of Life services. This is a church which we love and where we feel very much at home, and to be with them on this Sunday in particular was an honour. Then on Sunday evening we sat with our dear friends Scott and Claire Marques and watched Mugabe's live televised address to the nation. Expectations were high: WhatsApps were flooding in, people were recording it live and we were taking selfies to remember the moment, ready for what everyone believed was going to be his resignation speech. As his rambling statement continued for twenty minutes, it gradually became clear that he was stubbornly refusing to go. What a crushing anticlimax! For a while I was stunned &ndash; I'd seen a glimpse of what Zimbabweans have been going through for decades. So the four of us prayed together before retiring to bed, declaring once again our faith that God is sovereign and will have His way in Zimbabwe!<br /><br />We are now in Cape Town and taking the chance to spend some time with Steve and Anna van Rhyn from Jubilee Community Church, another excellent church. I have also had the joy of spending an afternoon with their eldership team. Just before we met Steve and Anna on Tuesday evening, we received a message to say that Mugabe had resigned! As we watched footage of crowds of people celebrating on the streets of Harare, we shared in their joy and relief and the four of us drank a toast to our friends in Zimbabwe!<br /><br />Zimbabweans are a people who have suffered greatly for many years, and their patience, tenacity and resilience never fails to impress us. The faith the church has shown, and their determination to continue to share the gospel and express God's kingdom in whatever way they can, is inspirational. To have walked these last few days with our Zimbabwean friends has been a huge privilege. We continue to pray for this great nation, for peace to continue and for God's purposes to be fulfilled.<br /><br />Deb and I return to London on Friday and we are looking forward to being back at King's on Sunday. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-11-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Sharing Hope at Christmas</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/221</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/221</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/221/Kings_Christmas_Trees_2.jpg" />At church yesterday, Deb and I picked up our <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/">Big Red Box</a>, ready to fill with a list of food items and Christmas treats. It is great to know it will be going to a family who might otherwise be going without. We have also just ordered our <a href="https://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">King&rsquo;s Christmas Tree</a> &ndash; we love a real a tree at Christmas, and all the profits from tree sales go towards providing hot meals at <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a>, our weekly drop-in for the homeless and vulnerable in the local area.<br /><br />An integral part of our vision at King&rsquo;s is to extend God&rsquo;s love and mercy in practical ways&nbsp;to those who are hurting or in need. If you have been around King&rsquo;s in the last few weeks, you will undoubtedly have heard about both Big Red Box and King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees, and if you have not already done so, why not get involved by buying a real tree or contributing towards a hamper?<br /><br />I have asked Alice, our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/">Jericho Road Project</a>&nbsp;Manager, to give an update on how things are going so far this year:<br /><br /><strong><em>Big Red Box </em></strong><br /><em>We have had a great start to <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/">Big Red Box</a> 2017 with over 200 boxes packed already! We have had more engagement with the local community than ever before with the Lewisham Young Offenders Service (YOS) helping us sort through donations, 32 GoodGym runners involved with our first packing evening and our local MP Heidi Alexander joining us for our second. <br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20171111-19223UCMJGVRVV4F.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br />We have also had some incredibly generous donations from our times at the Sainsbury&rsquo;s stores in Sydenham and Charlton. Each year, our Christmas hampers go out to some of the neediest families and individuals across South East London and are distributed by Social Services teams in Lewisham, Bromley, Bexley, Greenwich, Southwark and Croydon, as well as other local charities and organisations. With their help we were able to distribute 1,760 Big Red Box food hampers in 2016 and we hope to reach even more people this year.</em><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files//mce/FILE-20171111-1908TXFPTZY9LG2Z.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="NaN" /><br /><em>If you would like to get involved then please go to <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/">bigredbox.org</a> for more details or call 020 8690 5121.</em><br /><br /><em><strong>King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees</strong> </em><br /><em>We&rsquo;re reaching new heights with our King&rsquo;s Christmas Tree sales, selling 100 trees online in the first week! Our mission is to share hope in our community not only at Christmas but all year round &ndash; that is why all of the sales and donations from the King&rsquo;s Christmas Tree project go to running The Feast, our weekly Wednesday outreach meal, which not only offers a hot three-course meal but also advice, friendship and clothes to homeless and vulnerable people in our community. </em><br /><br /><em>Trees are available to buy now at <a href="https://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">kingschristmastrees.org</a>. You can also volunteer to help at <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">The Feast</a> on a Wednesday night. Call 020 8690 5121 to find out more details.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-11-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>What A Beautiful Name </title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/220</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/220</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/220/CAK-16-9-Web-780x439.jpg" />We are well and truly into November and I can no longer ignore the fact that Christmas is coming soon. It seems the retailers have been aware of this for several months already &ndash; it has been hard to avoid the displays of gifts and decorations for some time now &ndash; but I prefer to wait until the summer holidays are a more distant memory before turning my thoughts towards the approaching festive season.<br /><br />In fact, as many of you know, I love Christmas. I love the time spent with family and friends, the wonderful meals, games with the kids and the giving and receiving of presents. I love singing carols, eating mince pies and watching films in front of a log fire. <strong>But most of all I love the fact that it is the season when we celebrate the coming of our saviour Jesus Christ.</strong> <br /><br /><strong>We like to do Christmas in a big way at King&rsquo;s, and the highlight each year has to be our annual carol services</strong>. Preparations for this year began months ago and rehearsals are already underway. The theme is<em> What a Beautiful Name</em> and we will be exploring the various names of Jesus in a short preaching series running up to Christmas. In 2016 we welcomed some 3000 people to our carol services &ndash; we hope to exceed that this year. Once again, there will be many opportunities to come along, with services over two weekends, across all three sites and at different times of day. All details can be found on our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">Christmas webpage</a>.<br /><br />As well as spreading the good news of Jesus by inviting people to the carol services, we also want to show mercy to those who are in need in our community, through our <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/">Big Red Box</a> project and <a href="https://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees</a>. So once again there are three ways to get involved this Christmas at King&rsquo;s:<br /><br />1. COME TO THE CAROL SERVICES &ndash; Come to at least one, invite your friends, family and work colleagues and bring someone along. It has to be the easiest invite of the year!<br /><br />2. GIVE HOMELESS PEOPLE A GIFT THIS CHRISTMAS &ndash; Buy a <a href="https://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">King&rsquo;s Christmas Tree</a> and support homeless people throughout the year through our<a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/"> Jericho Road Project</a>. Each year the profits from the trees sold help provide hot meals at our weekly drop-in centre.<br /><br />3. HELP PUT FOOD IN PEOPLE&rsquo;S HOMES &ndash; Take part in our <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/">Big Red Box</a> project providing boxes of food for the neediest families in our local community. Last year we distributed 1760 boxes to families and individuals in need.<br /><br />So, with December just a few weeks away now,&nbsp; I hope you are starting to get as excited about Christmas as I am. Meanwhile, if you are new to the church or have not had the chance to come to one of our carol services before, have a look at the video below to see what you can look forward to.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/242030989?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-11-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Learning for Life</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/219</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/219</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/219/learning-for-life-web.jpg" />Over the past month I have found myself in no fewer than three different conferences, each of them presenting an opportunity to learn from others. It began with the <strong>Newfrontiers Global 17 conference</strong>, which <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/218/">I wrote about last week</a>. No sooner had Deb and I returned from that than we were off to the <strong>Richmond Group</strong>, a relational network of churches in the UK hosted by Nicky Gumbel from HTB Church. Then this week I have been at <strong>Kings Gate Church</strong> in Peterborough with some of our King&rsquo;s team and teams from over fifty other churches, for three days&rsquo; teaching on the subject of Biblical generosity. It has been a month of excellent input!<br /><br /><strong>It is a huge privilege to hear great leaders and speakers share their stories of God&rsquo;s grace and faithfulness</strong>. At the Richmond Group we were joined by <strong>Brian Houston, Global Senior Pastor of Hillsong</strong>. As he spoke I was deeply impressed with his heart, faith and vision. <strong>He believes in a big God and listening to him inspired me to believe God for more.</strong> At KingsGate this week we heard from <strong>Robert Morris, founding Senior Pastor of Gateway Church in Texas</strong>, who suggested a difference between preaching and teaching &ndash; that good <em>preaching</em> should answer the <em>why</em> question while good<em> teaching</em> should answer the <em>how</em> question. It was a new way of looking at the subject and certainly made me stop and think. Then today we have the joy of welcoming <strong>Geoff and Sherry Surratt</strong> to spend some time with our team here at King&rsquo;s. Geoff is one of the leading experts on multi-site church, and we are looking forward to benefitting from his wisdom and insights. Geoff and Sherry have also just published an excellent book called <a href="http://amzn.eu/2ZkwXmf"><em><strong>Together</strong></em></a>, which draws on their experience of ministry and marriage. <br /><br />I am hugely grateful for these recent opportunities to hear from such highly respected leaders. I have been in ministry for nearly thirty years now, but I know I still have much to learn &ndash; I am always looking out for people who are ahead of me. <strong>I believe it is important for each of us, no matter how experienced we may be, to continue placing ourselves in contexts where we can keep on learning.</strong> This Friday and Saturday, King&rsquo;s will once again be hosting the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/global-leadership-summit/">GLS Leadership Summit videocast conference</a>, which presents another opportunity to receive excellent input from some of the best leaders around the world &ndash; I highly recommend it to all of you! You will find more details <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/global-leadership-summit/">here</a> and if you are not booked in already, you can still turn up on the day. <strong>Let&rsquo;s keep learning together!</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-11-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Global 2017</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/218</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/218</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/218/Newfrontiers-Edward-Buria-web.jpg" />Deb and I have just returned from a fantastic week at the&nbsp;<strong>Newfrontiers Global 2017 conference</strong>, our annual gathering of apostolic leaders from around the world. For the last few years this has been held in Turkey but on this occasion we met on the other side of the Aegean Sea, in Athens, Greece. Newfrontiers has emerged from its transition from our founding father Terry Virgo to a band of brothers leading their own families of churches but joined together as Newfrontiers for mutual support, encouragement and accountability.<br /><br />It was great to see friends who had flown in from far and wide, from the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa. We worshipped, prayed and learned together. <strong>Hearing news of hundreds of church plants across the world and of new nations opening up to our fellowship was such an encouragement.</strong> In his key note message to us, David Devenish spoke out of Paul&rsquo;s letters to Timothy and exhorted us to continue pressing forward with our apostolic extension.<br /><br />A highlight of the conference was welcoming in <strong>Simon and Caroline Holley</strong>, based in the UK, and<strong> Joseph and Lily</strong>&nbsp;<strong>Mwila</strong> from Zambia. It is always good to see the family growing!<br /><br />As we broke bread together in our final session on Thursday we sang the beautiful hymn <em>When I Survey the Wondrous Cross</em>. It was a deeply moving time and as tears rolled down my face the words of the final verse resonated deeply with me:<br /><br /><em>Were the whole realm of nature mine,</em><br /><em>That were an offering far too small;</em><br /><em>Love so amazing so divine,</em><br /><em>Demands my soul, my life, my all.</em><br /><em>- Isaac Watts<br /></em><br /><strong>As the conference closed it was fitting to focus our hearts and minds on Jesus, on the sacrifice he made for each of us and the victory he has won. This is what motivates and inspires us all!</strong> It is a huge privilege to walk this journey with this growing family of apostolic leaders - what a great place to worship, learn and encounter God. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-10-26</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Keep Building Your Marriage</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/217</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/217</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/217/AdobeStock_116281879_16_9_web.jpg" />As part of our commitment to continuing to invest in our relationship, <strong>Deb and I decided some time ago to read a book on marriage together each summer</strong>. This year we excelled ourselves and read two! While our boys were serving at Newday, we took the opportunity to escape to the South of France where the weather and scenery provided the perfect context to discuss over meals some of the interesting issues raised by our reading. <br /><br />The first book we read was <a href="http://amzn.eu/5uOiTp6" target="_blank"><strong><em>Making Marriage Beautiful</em></strong></a>&nbsp;by<strong><em> Dorothy Little Greco</em></strong>. Unlike many marriage books we have come across, this one is written by a woman, with input and testimony from her husband, and gives a slightly different angle to some of the subjects that are often covered in Christian marriage books. She takes a similar approach to Tim and Kathy Keller in their classic <a href="http://amzn.eu/7rIDwdU" target="_blank"><em>The Meaning of Marriage</em></a>, being less of a practical &lsquo;how to&rsquo; manual and more of a challenge to consider underlying attitudes and character. The chapters on handling conflict and the influence of your upbringing were particularly helpful. <strong>We had some fascinating and extremely helpful discussions while reading this very well written book and would definitely recommend it.</strong><br /><br />Douglas Rosenau is the author of <a href="http://amzn.eu/2QnfW0X" target="_blank"><em>Celebration of Sex</em></a>, the &lsquo;must have&rsquo; book on intimacy in Christian marriage &ndash; it is one we recommend to all married couples at King&rsquo;s. So when I saw that he has written another book, <a href="http://amzn.eu/7tsyhCY" target="_blank"><strong><em>Total Intimacy</em></strong></a>, I ordered it immediately. This shorter book on romance looks at the subject of marital intimacy from different angles. <strong>It stresses the importance of friendship and emotional connection as well as sexual love.</strong> This is more of a &lsquo;how to&rsquo; book and again led to some very good discussions for Deb and I &ndash; another one to add to your reading list. <br /><br />You don&rsquo;t have to go to the South of France to spend time reading and investing in your marriage &ndash; although if you can, I highly recommend it as a romantic place to visit! <strong>But I would encourage all of you who are married to be intentional about building a great relationship &ndash; read a book together, make time and space to discuss it and act on what you learn!</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-10-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Wearing Two Hats</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/216</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/216</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/216/wearing-two-hats-web.jpg" />On our day off last Monday, Deb and I visited one of our local London parks. As we walked through fallen leaves on what was a fairly damp and misty afternoon, there was no doubt that autumn has arrived. The last six weeks seem to have flown by and it is hard to believe that we are already in October. <br /><br /><strong>For the first part of this new church year,</strong> <strong>the main focus for my leadership has been on my local church</strong> <strong>where I love to serve.</strong> Despite occasional time given to my wider Newfrontiers responsibilities, the majority of my days have been spent leading and building King&rsquo;s. Vision Sunday, when we announced our plans to launch <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/fourth-site/">a fourth site</a> in September 2018, was followed by a week of prayer and another excellent week of input from our friends Steve and Cindy Nicholson from Evanston Vineyard in Chicago.<strong> It has been a busy but exciting time.</strong><br /><br /><strong>As I look ahead to next week, I feel as if I will be taking off one hat and putting on another.</strong> For the next six weeks my focus will shift towards my Newfrontiers responsibilities, beginning on Monday with the <strong>Global 17 gathering of Newfrontiers international apostles</strong> <strong>in Athens</strong>. Deb and I are very much looking forward to meeting up with friends and co-workers from around the world at this annual leadership conference. It is always an encouraging and challenging time and we love to hear news of all that God is doing in the wider Newfrontiers family. Global 17 will be quickly followed by our attendance at <strong>The Richmond Group</strong>, a gathering of UK church leaders hosted by Nicky Gumbel. We then have a few weeks back at home base before another oversees trip in November, this time to <strong>River of Life Church in Harare, Zimbabwe</strong> and <strong>Jubilee Church in Cape Town, South Africa</strong>. <br /><br /><strong>Although it does feel as if I wear two different hats at times, switching between my local role and my wider one, I count it a privilege and joy to be able to serve God in this way.</strong> Deb and I would greatly value your prayers over the coming weeks, as we travel to Global17, The Richmond Group and then down to southern Africa. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-10-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Rejoicing and Mourning</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/215</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/215</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/215/Rejoice-and-Mourn-web.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.&rsquo;</em><br /><em>Romans 12:15</em><br /><br />King&rsquo;s Church is a family of people aiming to serve God in our communities here in London. Our church is urban, diverse and growing. Over the last few months we have seen many people step toward us looking for a home, a family and friendship &ndash; <strong>we have much to be encouraged about. </strong>We can rejoice at the joy of spiritual birth, as people regularly profess faith for the first time or give testimony in baptism. We are moving forward with plans to expand and <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/fourth-site/">launch a new site</a>.&nbsp;We can see God at work: our kids&rsquo; work is bursting at the seams, our youth work is thriving and there are many stories of God&rsquo;s favour on people&rsquo;s lives.<br /><br /><strong>However, woven into the fabric of our journey there are often seasons of both joy and sorrow&nbsp;</strong>and this has certainly been the case these last few weeks.&nbsp;Whilst rejoicing in all that God is doing, we are also grieving for loved ones lost. At our Catford site on Sunday, we shared the shocking news that the younger brother of one of our key musicians had been murdered. Sadly, crimes such as this happen all too frequently on the streets we call home, and have once again come close to our church community. We stand with this family in prayer as they walk through this tragic event together. This was followed by the news that our friend Ben Arnold, a former member here and an elder at Beacon Church, which was planted out from King&rsquo;s a decade ago, has died from cancer. Ben was a faithful and generous man, a great encourager of others and always ready with a smile. We mourn his loss, which has come far too soon, and we pray for his wife Emma and their two teenage children, Hannah and James.<br /><br />So as I prayed for the King&rsquo;s family this morning, I found myself both rejoicing and mourning. <strong>We rejoice because our God saves and ultimately, even in death, He reigns. But we also mourn for the untimely loss of those we love.</strong> My prayer for all of us, whatever season of life we may be in at the moment, is that we would each know the comfort of God, so that we can bring comfort to one another. <br /><br /><em>&lsquo;Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.&rsquo;</em><br /><em>2 Corinthians 1:3-4</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-10-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>We Believe</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/214</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/214</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/214/We-Believe-Event.jpg" /><strong>I am so excited about our new teaching series for this term, <em>We Believe</em>.</strong> We have given it the subtitle <strong><em>Foundations for a Resilient Faith</em></strong> and over the next eight weeks <strong>we will be exploring the core convictions held by Christians</strong>, those things we believe the Bible says which are central to our faith and which we are not prepared to move on. <br /><br />Andrew Wilson got us off to a brilliant start last Sunday with an introduction to the series. If you missed it, I highly recommend catching up <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/item/266/">here</a>. <em>We Believe</em> will be based around the Nicene Creed, a document produced in the Fourth Century which set out what Christians believe. Some 1700 years later, these foundational beliefs, these pillars of our faith, remain unchanged and are still held by all Christians everywhere. <br /><br />The series will consider eight of the core Christian beliefs, such as what we believe about God, Jesus and the resurrection. <strong>As we look more deeply at each of these foundations, my hope and prayer is that each of us will develop a stronger, deeper, more robust faith. </strong>Have a look below at this brief introduction video about the series to find out more.<br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/226916705?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="780" height="439" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />As I said on <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/item/264/">Vision Sunday</a> a few weeks ago, <strong>our emphasis at King&rsquo;s this year is on discipleship, and <em>We Believe</em> presents a great opportunity to grow in our understanding and knowledge of God</strong>. As well as coming on Sundays, I would also encourage you to join a <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups/index.php#groupselect">group</a>, many of which will be following the series. And if you&rsquo;re still exploring Christianity, or are new to the faith, why not consider joining <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a>, a great place to ask all those big questions you may have.<br /><br />I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.<br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-09-28</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Leading and Learning</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/213</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/213</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/213/Steve-and-Cindy-Nicholson-Sep16-web.jpg" />For the last few months, Deb and I, together with our Associate Pastor, Phil Varley and his wife Sarah, have been running a <strong>leadership development group</strong> with some of our young and emerging leaders. There is a great mix in the group, very much reflective of our King&rsquo;s family &ndash; male and female, married and single, racially diverse. Once a month we gather to discuss topics such as knowing who you are, maintaining a healthy life balance and pastoral care. This last Sunday evening I spoke about the importance of stewarding our money well and took the opportunity to show the <a href="https://vimeo.com/214173403" target="_blank">the video</a> we made earlier this year which sets out King&rsquo;s values on handling our personal finances. This could have been a rather dry and heavy subject, but as always it turned out to be a fun evening of lively discussion and excellent questions.<br /> <br /><strong>I love spending time with this outstanding group of young leaders.</strong> It is exciting to see so many high calibre people who are passionate for Jesus, keen to serve the church, and willing to give up their time to learn more. <strong>I believe it is vital for all leaders to be investing in the next generation.</strong> <br /><br /><strong>This week we are delighted to have Steve and Cindy Nicholson from Evanston Vineyard, Chicago with us again.</strong> As some of you will know, Steve is a long-time friend and mentor to me, who has served King&rsquo;s with his wisdom and insight over many years now. <strong>Deb and I continue to learn a great deal from Steve and Cindy and we are profoundly grateful for the time they give to us and the rest of the team here.</strong><br /><br />I believe all of us in leadership roles should be proactively looking to raise up and equip the next generation of leaders, whilst at the same time ensuring that we don&rsquo;t stop learning ourselves. <strong>My role as a pastor requires me to be both leading and learning.</strong> So, my question to you this week is: <strong>Who are you investing in and who are you learning from?</strong><br /><br />We enjoyed another fantastic Sunday at King&rsquo;s last week, with baptisms at all services. I was so impressed with the testimonies I heard and it was great to see so many visitors there. <strong>This week we begin our autumn term teaching series, We Believe, which will explore the core foundations of the Christian faith.</strong> It promises to be a fascinating series, and I look forward to seeing you for the opening week this Sunday. For a quick preview, have a look at the video below.<br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/226916705?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="780" height="439" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-09-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Week with Friends</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/212</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/212</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/212/Talking-Jesus-web-large.jpg" />It was great to see so many people at King&rsquo;s last weekend for our annual <strong>Vision Sunday</strong>. It was an exciting and encouraging day (and great to be able to speak briefly at all six services!) as <strong>I shared our plans to launch a fourth site and to spend the next year focusing on discipleship.</strong> You can <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/item/264/" target="_blank">catch up here</a> if you missed it or would like to listen again.<br /><br />Following a week concentrating on King&rsquo;s, the majority of my time this week has been spent with friends from the wider body of Christ. <br /><br />On Tuesday and Wednesday I was at the <strong>Evangelical Alliance leadership summit</strong> which was held in Windermere, a beautiful place even in the rain. <strong>It was such an encouragement to hear about all that God is doing across the wider church in the UK</strong>. We spent much of our time discussing the findings of Talking Jesus, a fascinating piece of research which looked at what people in the UK know and think about Jesus, Christians and evangelism. It is well worth a look and you can learn more about its findings <a href="http://www.talkingjesus.org/">here</a>. <br /><br />Today I am travelling again, this time to join the <strong>national leadership of the FIEC (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches), a movement made up of more than 500 churches in the UK</strong>. I shall be representing Newfrontiers and have been invited to speak. Please pray that I will be an encouragement to this group.<br /><br /><strong>This Sunday at King&rsquo;s we have the joy of baptisms at our services.</strong> I never grow tired of hearing stories of lives transformed by the power and person of Jesus. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-09-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An Invitation</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/211</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/211</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/211/an-invitation-web.jpg" />September has arrived and another church year is upon us! <strong>This coming Sunday I would like to extend an invitation to you to join me as I outline some exciting opportunities that stand before us as a church</strong>. Before the summer I produced this short promo video and if you have yet to see it, why not take a couple of minutes out of your day to have a quick look.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/227114565?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="780" height="439" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />I also want to remind you that <strong>we are calling the church to a half week of prayer from Tuesday 26th to Friday 29th September.</strong> This is a great opportunity to gather as one church to worship, pray and seek God. <strong>There is much happening and much to pray about!â€¨â€¨</strong> As we start this new church year, my 23rd leading King&rsquo;s, I am more full of faith and optimism for what the future holds for us than I have been for some time.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>These are exciting times for King&rsquo;s!</strong> I look forward to seeing you this weekend. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-09-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Journeying Together</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/207</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/207</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/207/journeying-together-web.jpg" />My local supermarket has just installed new chilled and freezer cabinets. The whole shop is like a fridge now (which is great on scorching summer days) but I can't find anything anymore! It seems like all the things I regularly buy have been switched around. I'm sure the goal is a better service for customers but what's surprising is how just a few changes can be stressful!<br /><br /> <strong>In life, we often face change &ndash;&nbsp;some are welcome, others disturb us.</strong> Maybe this year your life has changed in some way &ndash;&nbsp;your family has grown, or someone close to you has moved away. You have more pressure at work or you are without work. Maybe the challenges in our nation, the shockwaves of tragedy have affected you. It feels like London, our home, is always changing, always rushing forward.<br /><br /><strong>As believers, God calls us to a life that, although secure in Him, is also full of change.</strong> He calls us to follow Him, to be on a faith journey that will only end when we meet Him face to face in glory. Psalm 84:5-7 talks about having our heart set on pilgrimage &ndash;&nbsp;never settling or being complacent, but turning the desert valleys we go through into a place of springs &ndash;&nbsp;water, life, joy. That takes faith and resilience. <br /><br /><em>'Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.' &ndash;&nbsp;Psalmâ€¬ â€­84:5-7â€¬ â€­<br /></em><br /><strong>At King&rsquo;s we believe we are called to journey together &ndash;&nbsp;no one should face the desert alone.</strong> Joys are multiplied as they are shared. As we gather on Sundays and make friends in groups, we find <strong>strength and encouragement to keep changing, growing in faith and moving on.</strong> <br /><br />So, when <em>King&rsquo;s Life</em> comes out in September with all its information about groups, <strong>my challenge to you is to embrace change, join a group and set your heart on pilgrimage with God's people.<br /><br /></strong>You can find out more about Groups at King's by visiting <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">the groups pages</a>&nbsp;on our website.<br /><br /><br /><em>Hilary Dalziel is the main driving force behind Groups at King's. She is part of the Pastoral Care Team, oversees marriage mentoring and organises much of the training of pastoral care staff and volunteers. Hilary is married to William and they have three grown up children.<br /><br />Steve Tibbert will be back in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-08-31</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newday 2017</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/210</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/210</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/210/newday-2017-web.jpg" />It never fails to amaze me how, each year, we put up a big blue tent in the middle of Norfolk and God turns up!<br /><br />This summer, I attended <a href="https://newdaygeneration.org">Newday</a> for the 14th time. Having attended Newday every year since it started in 2004, when I was 11 years old, it has always been the highlight of my year and this year was no different. <br /><br />This year we took 124 young people from King&rsquo;s alone, along with 25 youth leaders, eight catering team members and a host of other servers! 22 of our young people also went up five days before the event to lay carpet, hang drapes and put up marquees, ready for 7,000 people to turn up &ndash; these young people did us proud as they worked long, hard days! <br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20170824-1630XYNFH51Q8MX5.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br />The vibe on our campsite was excellent, with new friendships being made, volleyball tournaments, water fights and my personal highlight &ndash; random explosions of worship and praise in our marquee. <br /><br />It&rsquo;s always fun to see our new year 7s attend Newday for the first time. The range of activities, the food available and the freedom to roam and explore, all within a safe environment, is, in part, what make Newday so fun for our young people &ndash; with different sports tournaments every afternoon, caf&eacute;s and the food court, a cinema to chill in, the Rhythm Factory to get your rave on, the Lounge to hear some great live music, and the Extreme &ndash; a great new roller coaster-type ride. On the last evening, a load of the youth leaders went on the Extreme and I must confess, I did scream a little bit. Ok, a lot!<br /><br />As great and fun all of this is, none of it compares to that moment when you see Jesus take hold of a young person&rsquo;s life &ndash; that moment when you see unconditional love break into their hearts, when you see past pains and hurts removed and healed. <br /><br />This year&hellip; <br /><br />20 of our young people made first-time commitments <br />24 of our young people made re-commitments to Jesus <br />8 young people now want to be baptised<br />23 young people have expressed interest in doing <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a><br /><br />This is why we go to Newday each year.<br /><br />This Newday was also special as we had our very own Joe Macnamara, based at the Lee Site, speaking on the opening night in the Big Top. He spoke on having confidence as we approach the throne of grace, and after he spoke some 200 young people gave their lives to Christ on the opening night. On the second evening, our King&rsquo;s worship team led worship in the big top; what a privilege to stand on that stage and see 7,000 people worshipping Jesus.<br /><br />If you would like to listen to any of the talks from Newday, you can by going to the <a href="https://newdaygeneration.org/audio-video">Newday website</a> &ndash; I highly recommend you do.<br /><br />Newday 2018 will be from Monday 30 July to Sunday 5 August. Parents, please put these dates in your diary now and make sure your young people get to this event. It has been life-changing for many of us who have gone. <br /><br />To finish this post, I want to take a moment to say a few thank-yous on behalf of King&rsquo;s. <br /><br /><strong>To the Newday leadership team</strong> &ndash; Thank you for building a fun, safe, God-centred event. Every year you review, adapt and make the event better than the previous year. I particularly want to honour Phill Gray, who is stepping down from leading the event, since he took it on in 2012. You have shown incredible passion, integrity, perseverance and character, and we want to honour you for all you have done. <br /><br /><strong>To every server at Newday</strong> &ndash; Thank you for every toilet cleaned, milk shake made, every carpet laid, every meal cooked, every song sung, every game planned, every prayer said, every early morning and every late night. Heroes! <br /><br /><strong>To the Youth Leaders at King&rsquo;s Church London</strong> &ndash; The commitment, skill, resolve and love you showed our young people this year was outstanding. Thank you to every single one of you for taking time off work, praying for the event, sitting and chatting with young people, staying up late into the evening, camping and not sleeping. For those who serve our young people all year round, but weren&rsquo;t at Newday, a huge thank you to you too. Keep serving, keep praying and keep being an example.<br /><br /><strong>Finally, to our young people at King&rsquo;s</strong> &ndash; Thank you for being fun, full of life and energy. Thank you for teaching us leaders how to dance! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your journey, for opening up to us, being honest with us, praying with us, asking us for help. Our prayer is that you continue to fall more in love with Jesus, that you allow Him to be Lord of your lives, that you find true joy and satisfaction in Him, and that you would serve Him wholeheartedly. <br /><br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/230933223?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="780" height="439" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-08-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Sharing Hope</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/205</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/205</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/205/sharing-hope-web.jpg" />I have been feeling really challenged recently by Peter&rsquo;s words in 1 Peter 3:15 which tell us to, 'A<em>lways be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.' &nbsp;</em>My question to myself is, '<em>Am I always prepared, always ready, always attentive and open towards the people God places around me?'</em><br /><br />I believe God gives us regular opportunities to share the hope and Joy of the Gospel with others. We carry around in our hearts the message about the love of God in Christ. It is the most precious thing we know. Yet the distractions of day-to-day life can easily stop us from seeing the opportunities God gives us to share what we know.<br /><br />Yet how can we be confident God will place people across our path who might be open to the Gospel? In the process of sharing the Gospel in Athens, the apostle Paul makes a wonderful and fascinating statement:<br /><br /><em>'From one man God made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.'</em><br /><em>(Acts 17: 26-27)<br /></em><br />We live where we live not because of some random process of chance. This is also true for everyone who lives around us! But where do we begin? What will we say?<br /><br />We can learn some helpful lessons from Paul's trip to Athens about the way he responded to people's context and shared the message about Jesus with them accordingly. First, he observed. He walked around Athens and saw many idols. This distressed him and propelled him into action! He wanted everyone to know the truth about Jesus. He reasoned with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue but then he also went into the market place. Finally he ended up at the Areopagus. Athens had been a world centre for art, architecture and philosophy when Greek culture was a dominant force in the ancient world. Although it had declined by Paul's day it remained a hotbed of philosophical ideas. The Areopagus was a place where people of standing gathered to debate such ideas on a regular basis.<br /><br />In that context Paul begins his explanation of the Gospel not with reference to the Old Testament or Jewish history, which may have been unfamiliar to his Greek hearers, but by affirming the Athenians as being '<em>very religious'</em>. He refers to a well-known local shrine which has an altar inscribed <em>'to an unknown God'</em>. This launches him into a description of the one true God who CAN be known through Jesus. He even quotes two of their poets whose ideas harmonise with what he is saying.<br /><br /> If we apply this approach in our own situation it will encourage us to learn about people's culture, background and identity before we share Christ with them. We can listen to those around us and learn what they think, believe and hope for. We can search for those things which resonate with the truth and provide a springboard for conversation about Jesus who IS the truth.<br /><br />We have our own story to tell of what we have come to believe and what difference this makes to our lives. Often as we listen to others and show genuine interest in their lives they will quite naturally want to ask us about ours.<br /><br />When Paul writes to Philemon he says, '<em>I pray you may be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full understanding of everything good we have in Christ.'</em>&nbsp; Now there is an incredible observation and one I have found to be true. When we share with others what we know and have experienced of Jesus, the truth about Him becomes yet more deeply embedded in our own hearts. Our faith and joy grow. We appreciate Jesus more. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Annie Twort leads Alpha at King's and oversees New Life, a group for new Christians. She is married to Dickie and they have three grown-up children.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert is on holiday and will be back in September.</em><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-08-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Who Has God Used to Shape Your Life?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/208</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/208</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/208/who-has-god-used-web.jpg" />When I reflect on my journey of faith and leadership, I am aware that God has allowed me to walk alongside many great people. <strong>At different points along the way, He has used them to help shape me into the person and leader I have become. </strong><br /><br />My parents are among the biggest influences in my life, and I thank them for their godly, positive example. After giving my life to Christ in my late teens, my pastor, Peter Ledger, and my youth group leaders, Mr and Mrs Chris, were the first to disciple me. Mr Chris met with me for many weeks and laid a great foundation in my life; Peter Ledger gave me my first exposure to church leadership. I am grateful for the time they gave to me as a young man.<br /><br />When my local church in Bedford joined Newfrontiers in the early 1990's, I began to be exposed to other gifted leaders, such as David Devenish, Dave Holden and Terry Virgo. I have had the privilege of spending many hours in the company of such people. <strong>The time spent praying, talking and sharing lives with such people has undoubtedly made me a better leader.</strong><br /><br />Steve Nicholson is another person I would count as one of my most significant mentors - his counsel to me as a leader and on the church here at King&rsquo;s cannot be understated. <br /><br />So, why not take a few moments to ask yourself: <strong>Who am I helping to grow? Who are the main influencers on my life?</strong> Let's continue to ask God to bring men and women into our lives who will help make us into the people He wants us to become.<br /><br /><strong>Who has God used to shape your life?</strong><br /><br /><em>This is an edited version of a blog originally posted on 23rd January 2015. Steve Tibbert is taking a break over the summer and will be back in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-08-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Taking Time to Rest</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/209</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/209</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/209/150723_bench_web.jpg" />I have written before on the subject of rest and how important it is. <strong>Even God rested on the seventh day!</strong> <br /><br />For many years now, I have built times of rest into my weekly and annual diary. I plan my diary 18 months ahead and my evenings off, days off and holidays are some of the first things to go in. For more driven personality types such as myself, this kind of detailed planning may be essential. I have found that by making rest a &lsquo;task&rsquo;, I ensure that those days off and holidays really do happen. <br /><br /><strong>Rest gives our bodies time to recover, our emotions time to catch up and our minds time to reflect and process thoughts.</strong> On slower days, I often find I am able to connect with God in a deeper way. When rested, we can be re-energised for the tasks ahead; it is often during periods of rest that I have some of my best ideas and hear God speak to me most clearly.<br /><br />Like many of you, I will be taking some holiday over the summer period. I am looking forward to time with Deb and the family, visiting new places and reading some of those books that have been sitting by my bed for a while! Although I will be in the office for some of the summer period, I will be taking a break from blogging for a few weeks. This will therefore be my last post until September. However, some of our other staff members will be writing guest blogs during August so do watch out for those.<br /><br />If you would like to read more on the importance of rest, do have a look at <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/downloads/Rest.pdf">this paper</a> I wrote a few years ago.<br /><br />Whatever your plans for this summer, I hope you will be able to take advantage of the longer days and make some time to relax and rest. I look forward to seeing you again in September. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-08-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newfrontiers on Mission Together</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/206</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/206</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/206/Newfrontiers-Edward-Buria-strapline-web.jpg" />In my last two blog posts, I have endeavoured to summarise what I shared at the UK Day of Prayer on 5th July. <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/203/" target="_blank">In the first</a>, I talked about how I believe <strong>we are still called to be family</strong>, and <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/204/" target="_blank">in the second</a> that <strong>we should continue to be led by the prophetic</strong>. In the final blog of this three-part series, I will share <strong>three key areas which give real purpose to our togetherness. </strong><br /><br />While most of the life and multiplication happens naturally in the newly established households, we will expect to occasionally gather as an extended family at key moments. As I said on the day, coming together in this way brings several benefits:<br /><br />Firstly, we should never underestimate the power of unity and the value of apostolic fellowship, friendship and accountability. <strong>Our togetherness protects, provokes and propels us forward.</strong><br /><br />Secondly, although relatively small compared to some UK movements and networks, I believe that the 300 churches that we represent together still have a significant part to play within the wider body of Christ. <strong>We must not lose our restoration roots, the strength of our collective voice and our potential influence for good.<br /></strong><br />Thirdly, <strong>we must remain open to far greater collaboration between different households.</strong> In time, church planting and additional national initiatives could flow out of our partnership.<br /><br />Lastly, family names are important &ndash;&nbsp;they give identity. <strong>I believe the name '<a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">New</a></strong><strong><a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">frontiers</a>' still opens more doors than it closes.</strong> <br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Newfrontiers is a group of apostolic leaders partnering together on global mission, joined by common values and beliefs, shared mission and genuine relationships.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-07-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>More Together Than Apart</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/204</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/204</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/204/Newfrontiers-Prayer-Day-Jul17-DSCF1015-web.jpg" />At the Newfrontiers UK Prayer Day at Westminster Chapel last week, I shared what I believe are some of the <strong>key prophetic words</strong> over us in this new season of family life. <br /><br />Jonny Mellor, author of an excellent review of the prayer day posted by Catalyst, summarises these well:<br /><br /><em>God had told us years ago &lsquo;you can do more together than apart&rsquo;, and as we gathered to seek God, He gave us a bit more clarity on what this may look like in this new era. John Groves shared a picture of a dry stone wall on a countryside hill. We&rsquo;re like those dry stones. Not stuck together with cement and even able to be moved around individually if necessary, however, when put together, strong enough to withstand the strongest hillside gale. [Guy Miller] saw the different spheres like Red Arrows planes at an air show: at times, they fly freestyle in all sorts of different directions, but then they come back together to fly in formation.<br /></em><br />You can read the full version of Jonny&rsquo;s review of the Prayer Day <a href="http://catalystnetwork.org/blog/article/an-update-from-the-prayer-day">here</a>.<em><br /></em><br />I also believe the new apostolic wineskin requires a reinterpretation of the key historic word about us being <em><strong>'more together than apart'&nbsp;&ndash;</strong></em>&nbsp;<strong>where in the past this word was applied to churches working together under Terry&rsquo;s leadership, now I believe it applies to our different apostolic &lsquo;households&rsquo; working together.</strong> <br /><br />I believe God is speaking through these prophetic words: <strong>we are called to stay together</strong>. Next week, a few thoughts on the purpose of our togetherness will conclude this mini-series which follows on from our Newfrontiers Prayer Day. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-07-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newfrontiers UK Day of Prayer</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/203</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/203</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/203/Newfrontiers-Prayer-Day-Jul17-IMG_0922-web.jpg" />A couple of weeks ago, Deb and I spent a few days in Cornwall with my parents, my brother Martin, and his wife Dawn. Although it rained most of the time, the six of us had a fabulous time together. <br /><br />Being back in Cornwall brought back many memories for me. When I was a child I spent numerous summer holidays on the north Cornwall coast with my parents and brother, the days spent playing cricket, surfing and building dams on the beach. Years later, when my brother and I were both married with children of our own, we returned to Cornwall for holidays as an extended family, only now Martin and I were the dads building dams and playing cricket with the children while Mum and Dad sat back in the deck chairs and relaxed a bit more.<br /><br />Three different seasons of Tibbert family life.<br /><br />As a part of our Newfrontiers Prayer Day last week, I shared my conviction that we can and should draw a parallel between what happens in a biological family and the new season in our wider <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org" target="_blank">Newfrontiers</a> family. Just as I left my father&rsquo;s house and established my own autonomous household when I married Deb, so my eldest son Ben has now married and set up his own home with his wife Alice. When I married, the way in which I related to my father changed &ndash; I still valued his advice but I was now responsible for my own family. My relationship with my brother has also changed: as boys, we would play cricket in our family garden for hour upon hour &ndash; his top score of 485 will never be beaten! But that has now been replaced by regular phone calls, occasional games of golf and family days &ndash;&nbsp;the right rhythm for the season we are now in. How we all relate has changed, but we are still family.<br /><br />Our church family, Newfrontiers, has been through a huge transitional moment, with sons setting up their own households, their energy rightly focussed on laying foundations for the next generation; sons have become fathers and fathers will have spiritual sons. Each household will have its own style, emphasis, and flavour. This is what happens as new families are established &ndash; it gives room for increased freedom, responsibility and multiplication.<br /><br />In the Tibbert family, as the number of households has multiplied through the generations, it has become increasingly difficult to arrange a wider family day. It requires intentionality, flexibility and long-term planning. The same is true for the Newfrontiers family! Following the UK Day of Prayer last week, our first Newfrontiers family day in six years, I am delighted to announce we are inviting everyone to gather again to pray on Wednesday 20th March 2019 at Westminster Chapel. It may be a long way ahead, but I would like to encourage you all to put the date in the diary now. <br /><br />These are exciting times! I have always believed that &lsquo;we can do more together than apart&rsquo; and I will share more on our prophetic journey in next week&rsquo;s blog. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-07-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>King&apos;s Annual Picnic</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/202</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/202</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/202/web-picnic17.jpg" />One of the first events that Deb and I ever attended here at King&rsquo;s Church was the annual picnic. It was July 1995, and we were visiting one Sunday in preparation for our big move to Catford the following September. Back in those days, the summer picnic was a casual affair, where 100 or so people gathered in a corner of a local park after church to share food, spend time with friends and play some football. I seem to remember my skills on the pitch were pretty good back then! <br /><br />Today, the summer picnic remains a highlight of our church calendar. <strong>But as King's has grown, so has the event.</strong> Nowadays we hire a local sports arena for the afternoon in order to accommodate the hundreds of people who come along and ensure that we can provide a safe venue for young children. This year&rsquo;s picnic is taking place this <strong>Sunday, 9th July, from 1pm to 5pm at the Ladywell Arena in Catford</strong>. There will be a BBQ, ice cream van, bouncy castles, as well as sports and games for all ages. The event is free &ndash; just bring your lunch or some money to buy food. Have a look at the video below for some highlights from last year.<br /><br />The weather is looking good, and Sunday promises to be another great King&rsquo;s picnic. Sadly my football-playing days are in the past, but I shall enjoy watching from the sidelines. I look forward to seeing you there.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/221749822?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="390" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-07-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Know Yourself</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/201</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/201</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/201/151001_know_yourself.jpg" />Last Sunday, Deb and I spent an evening with some of the younger leaders at King&rsquo;s, talking about personality types. This is a fantastic group of young men and women, and we had a lot of fun doing a couple of personality tests and looking at the results, but amidst the laughter some important insights were emerging. <br /><br />Knowing our strengths and weaknesses, having a realistic understanding of how others experience us, is vital if we are to work effectively as leaders. Below you will find a blog I posted in 2015 about the importance of knowing yourself. I hope you find it helpful.<br /><br /><br /><em><strong>'Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.' Oscar Wilde</strong></em><br /><br /><em>Last week, I was fortunate to spend a few days at our &lsquo;learning community&rsquo; in which leaders from several churches in the UK, the USA and elsewhere gathered for teaching and to spend time together as teams to reflect and plan for next steps. I particularly enjoyed hearing one of the guest speakers, Michael Fletcher. He leads a church of some 5000 people in North Carolina, USA, and I was eager to hear his insights on leadership. What would his advice be for taking your church to the next level? Powerful preaching? An effective outreach programme? Whilst all those are clearly important elements, it was reassuring that his first point was that <strong>good leaders know themselves.</strong></em><br /><br /><em>The importance of <strong>knowing who I am</strong> is something I have been aware of for many years now. Of course, on first hearing it can sound a little like navel-gazing. Aren&rsquo;t we in danger of becoming too self-absorbed, too introspective? Isn&rsquo;t there a danger that spending too much time thinking about ourselves could prevent us from getting on with the real work of spreading the gospel and building God&rsquo;s church? Naturally, if all you do is talk about yourself with others, you will soon turn your audience off. But I would argue that <strong>having a realistic awareness of who you are, your strengths and weaknesses</strong>, will make you a more effective leader in the long term. If spending time understanding yourself <strong>is part of an ongoing reflection on how you experience life and how others experience you, then it can lead to significant personal growth.</strong></em><br /><br /><em>Recently, another leader came to talk to me about the options for his future. He shared some thoughts and possible paths for ministry and then asked for my comments. I paused for a while, wanting to give good counsel and then answered that at this stage in the process, <strong>self-awareness was crucial</strong>. To ensure a good fit wherever he ended up, he needed to consider who he is. These are some of the questions I suggested he ask himself: What season of life and ministry am I in? How do I process life? How do other people experience me? What are my primary and secondary gifts? What is my personality type? Having an understanding of all these aspects can ensure that we place ourselves where we are most likely to be effective for God and his church.<br /><br />This blog was originally posted on 1st October 2015.</em><br /><br /><br /><em>Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucasartoni/6897009091/" target="_blank">Self Portrait in Vienna</a> by Luca Sartoni, used under CC</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-06-29</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newfrontiers Day of Prayer for the UK</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/200</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/200</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/200/web-Newfrontiers-Prayer-Day-Jul17-landscape.jpg" />In December last year, I was in a meeting with a number of UK apostolic leaders to discuss and pray about the ongoing partnership between the different spheres. While we were talking, Roger Bye leant across a map of the UK which had been laid out on the floor and stated: <strong>&ldquo;We should gather the leaders of all our Newfrontiers churches in the UK and pray for the nation.&rdquo; </strong><br /><br />Six months later, with only 13 days until our national Newfrontiers Day of Prayer for the UK, it is clear that Roger&rsquo;s suggestion was both timely and prophetic. <strong>Our nation is facing numerous challenges</strong> in the context of what seems like political impasse: In the last three months we have experienced the shock of several terrorist attacks in the cities of Manchester and London, with another taking place just this week outside Finsbury Park Mosque; following the terrible fire at Grenfell flats, people are rightly asking how something so horrific could happen in this country, in 2017; the political ideologies of tax and spend versus austerity are being discussed at length, with the younger generation engaging in new numbers and flexing their muscle; our nation seems more divided between rich and poor, city and rural, young and old, than ever before. And all this is taking place under the shadow of the beginning of Brexit negotiations which will shape the UK for years to come.<br /><br /><strong>It is in this context that we gather to pray.</strong> We will pray for our government and leaders, for peace and protection, for mercy and justice and for the church to rise up to serve and reach our nation. <strong>We will pray for a mighty move of God in revival.</strong><br /><br />The UK Day of Prayer takes place in less than two weeks, on Wednesday 5th July and I am delighted to say that Terry and Wendy Virgo will be joining us. <strong>Let us gather as His people and seek Him for our nation.</strong> I look forward to seeing you there. For details and booking go to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.prayerday.uk/">prayerday.uk</a>.<br /><br /><a href="www.prayerday.uk"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20170621-14098XZ4M7ZGMTQJ.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="1082" /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-06-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>For Better, for Worse</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/199</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/199</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/199/for-better-for-worse-web.jpg" />Yesterday morning I read <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2017/june/sacred-privilege-kay-rick-warren-we-were-in-marital-hell.html">a powerful article by Kay Warren</a>. It is an open, honest and deeply moving account of the difficulties she and her husband Rick have encountered in their marriage. She does not shy away from describing the challenges they faced; nor does she underplay the hard work needed to ensure that their marriage did not stay in a place of pain and disappointment. <strong>Their determination to work at and build their relationship means that they can now say with certainty they are <em>&ldquo;the best thing that has ever happened to each other&rdquo;</em>.</strong><br /><br />I find myself wondering why testimonies such as this are so powerful. I believe it is because they are not afraid to say that marriage can be hard - that <strong>a happy, successful marriage does not happen by chance, but by each person being determined to work at the relationship.</strong> I believe that when a couple as successful and high profile as Kay and Rick Warren have the courage to share their story and admit that their relationship has not always been perfect, it gives the rest of us permission to admit that yes, we too have experienced challenges in our marriages. I believe it gives us courage and faith to work on our relationships and not live in denial if there are problems. <br /><br />Like most young couples, Deb and I experienced difficulties in the early years of our marriage. We had challenges in our love life, our communication, how we dealt with conflict and the expectations we had each brought into the relationship. And <strong>over the course of nearly 28 years we have had to keep on talking, learning, growing, apologising and forgiving.</strong> It takes work &ndash; it does not just happen &ndash; but although it has been painful at times, <strong>it means that we too can say &ldquo;we are the best thing that has ever happened to each other&rdquo;.</strong> <br /><br />Our years in pastoral ministry have confirmed that our experience is pretty normal &ndash; <strong>most couples will encounter challenges in marriage</strong>. It is with this in mind that Deb and I host a marriage enrichment seminar each year called <strong><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#collapse-event43">Sex, Romance and God</a></strong>. The morning aims to help each of us understand and learn to love our partner better. This year, it is happening on <strong>Saturday 24th June, 9.45am to 1.00pm, at our Catford site</strong> - further details <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#collapse-event43">here</a>. Whether you&rsquo;ve been married for one month or several decades, <strong>the seminar is an excellent opportunity to invest in your marriage</strong>.<br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20170615-154938L8W8P5BPGX.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-06-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Leading and Teaching</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/198</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/198</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/198/leading-and-teaching-web.jpg" />I believe it was Bill Hybels who once said that <strong>it is difficult to lead well and preach well in the same week</strong>. It is a challenge I can identify with and one I am facing this week. Tuesday was made up of a full day of leadership meetings &ndash;&nbsp;a morning spent with the senior leadership team, an afternoon with the staff team, finishing with trustees' and elders&rsquo; meetings in the evening. It was a long but very fruitful and encouraging day! Contrast that with Wednesday, which I set aside for final preparation for this Sunday&rsquo;s message in our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/#collapse-event93">Origins</a> series. From a day spent discussing vision, values and strategy in rooms full of people, to a day spent alone in my office with a table of books! <br /><br /><strong>I have observed that the healthiest churches are both well led and well taught. </strong>Getting the right balance between the two, knowing which to prioritise at any given point is an important skill.&nbsp;I would like to recommend a couple of blogs which I enjoy reading &ndash;&nbsp;both are excellent resources for learning more about these two important areas. The first is Paul Alexander&rsquo;s blog, <a href="http://www.paulalexanderblog.com/">paulalexanderblog.com</a>, where you will find many great articles about different areas of church leadership. And I would also highly recommend <a href="http://thinktheology.co.uk/">thinktheology.co.uk</a>, an excellent source of articles by writers and thinkers passionate about theological matters.<br /><br />Finally, we have all been shocked and saddened by the recent terrorist attacks in London and Manchester. Let us continue to pray for our nation, for its communities and leaders, and for our emergency and security services. We pray also for today&rsquo;s election &ndash;&nbsp;may God&rsquo;s will be done. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-06-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Questions of Life, the Universe and Everything</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/197</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/197</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/197/Origins-Events.jpg" />Some of you, like me, are old enough to remember <em>&lsquo;A Hitchhiker&rsquo;s Guide to the Galaxy&rsquo;</em>, a popular TV comedy which we enjoyed in the early 1980s. And you may also remember that the show ended with the hero&rsquo;s discovery that the answer to his questions of <strong>&ldquo;life, the universe and everything&rdquo;</strong> was, simply, &ldquo;42&rdquo;! It was both brilliant and very funny of course. Yet behind it lies the assumption that it is simply not possible to find answers to these big questions.&nbsp;<br /><br />In the last few weeks at King&rsquo;s, our preaching series has been focussing on the book of Genesis. Called <strong>&lsquo;ORIGINS &ndash; Stories of Hope&rsquo;</strong>, each week we have taken an in-depth look at a different character from Genesis. It has been fantastic to revisit some very familiar stories and discover how much we can still learn from them. But of course, as well as having some great Biblical characters, <strong>the book of Genesis also covers some big issues: the creation of the earth, the universe, mankind and all other creatures &ndash; life, the universe and everything! </strong><br /><br /><strong>Reading Genesis inevitably raises questions &ndash;</strong>&nbsp;how should we read and understand the book of Genesis? How old is the earth? Where do Christians stand on evolution and creation? How do more recent scientific discoveries influence our understanding of Genesis? These are big questions, ones which we have not had time to address on Sundays. So that&rsquo;s why <strong>we asked Andrew Wilson, Teaching Pastor at King&rsquo;s, to host an &lsquo;ORIGINS&rsquo; seminar last week for anyone who wanted to go deeper into Genesis.</strong> There was a fantastic turnout, and some great questions were asked (and answered &ndash; thankyou Andrew) but if you were unable to be there, you can listen to the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/33/item/2/">podcast</a>. As well as explaining <strong>the different Christian positions on creation and evolution</strong>, you will also hear an excellent clip from John Walton, who helps us understand Genesis in its context.<br /><br />So if, like me, you are not convinced that the answer to &lsquo;life, the universe and everything&rsquo; can be found in the number 42, I highly recommend taking some time out to <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/33/item/2/">listen</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-06-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Flow and Capacity</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/196</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/196</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/196/AdobeStock_31920992_16_9_web.jpg" />Steve Nicholson, from Evanston Vineyard Church in Chicago, is a good friend of ours at King&rsquo;s. A few years ago, during a coaching session with our team, he introduced us to two simple yet important words &ndash;&nbsp;<strong>flow</strong> and <strong>capacity</strong>. Put simply, churches grow when there is both a <strong>flow</strong> of new people coming to the church week by week and the <strong>capacity</strong> to seat, pastor and disciple them.<br /><br />So from time to time, <strong>it is helpful for churches to ask the flow and capacity question</strong>. Last week, while away with our senior team, I took the opportunity to do just that. We began by looking at our latest trends, such as number of new contacts, numbers getting baptised and in groups, Sunday attendance etc. One indicator of flow stood out: since September 2017, King&rsquo;s has received contact information from over 900 new people &ndash; that&rsquo;s through all our ministries, groups and Sunday meetings. Yes, you read that correctly &ndash; 900 different contacts in just eight months! It may explain why we had our biggest ever Easter Sunday a few weeks ago!<br /><br />Therefore, since flow is clearly not the issue, <strong>we spent most of our week away discussing capacity</strong>. How do we accommodate and serve the new people coming through our doors? How do we create more space in our buildings, in our kids&rsquo; work, in our small groups? How do we take people on a journey of discipleship? How many new sites do we believe we can plant in the next decade and who is going to lead them?<br /><br />These questions and others are keeping us busy at the moment, as we pray and seek wisdom for answers. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-05-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Praying, Planning and Playing</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/195</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/195</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/195/1705_France_web.jpg" />As I write this week&rsquo;s blog, the view from my window is very different to my usual one. No houses, roads or traffic &ndash;&nbsp;instead, a huge old oak tree, green fields, and the sun setting on the horizon. I am actually in the southern Loire in France &ndash; not on holiday, but with some of the King&rsquo;s team &ndash;&nbsp;at the home of Paul and Charlotte Braithwaite.<br /> <br />It has become a tradition for the King&rsquo;s senior staff to go away together each May for a week of praying, planning and playing. Our days start with breakfast at 8am, followed by prayer and a devotion time led by Andrew Wilson. The rest of the day is then spent discussing various subjects facing us at the moment. This year&rsquo;s have stretched far and wide and have included issues such as discipleship making and leadership development, ideas for a fourth site and plans for the refurbishment of the first floor of the Catford site, as well as a review of our youth work and the philosophy around it. The days have certainly been full and productive! However, it has not all been about work &ndash;&nbsp;one of the advantages of being in the middle of France and away from the city is that there has been time for &lsquo;play&rsquo; as well. Time for walks, some birdwatching (hen harrier, hoopoe and merlin among the highlights), some table tennis and a bit of badminton. The excellent hospitality of the Braithwaites, with superb food and wine, has ensured that energy levels are kept high.<br /><br /><strong>It is my observation that the most successful teams seem to have the ability to retain relational harmony and unity, while continuing to move forward and grow together.</strong> Over the years, these times away with the King&rsquo;s senior staff have marked the beginning of some our most fruitful ministry breakthrough, and I am trusting that this year will prove to be just as significant. So as we near the end of our week away, please pray for us &ndash;&nbsp;and for our families back in the UK &ndash;&nbsp;as we seek God together and look to the future of King&rsquo;s. <br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-05-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Day of Prayer for the UK</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/194</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/194</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/194/a-day-of-prayer-for-the-uk-web.jpg" /><strong>Newfrontiers Leaders&rsquo; Prayer Day, Westminster Chapel, 5th July 2017</strong><br /><br />I was in my early 20's when I first attended a Newfrontiers prayer event &ndash;&nbsp;around 125 leaders met at King&rsquo;s Park Conference Centre in Northampton to pray for this nation and the nations beyond. It was a memorable time of worship, prophecy and prayer. <br /><br />At that time I was new to this family of churches, but <strong>I soon learnt that prayer was foundational to this group of believers</strong>, modelled and encouraged by our leader Terry Virgo. Over these last 30 years or so, I have been in numerous such meetings: large gatherings of leaders praying at the annual Brighton Leadership Conference; days of prayer and fasting, in increasingly large halls and auditoriums, at Stoneleigh, Derby and then Peterborough; and in smaller contexts, in Terry&rsquo;s front room; or weekly Thursday mornings spent seeking God with local London leaders. All were times of encounter, refreshment and intercession. <br /><br />The last six years have seen a season of multiplication and expansion through the ministry of Terry's &lsquo;spiritual sons&rsquo;. While these new movements continue to flourish, <strong>we believe God has spoken to us about gathering again to pray for the UK, under the banner of Newfrontiers.</strong> <br /><br />So on <strong>Wednesday 5th July</strong>, let's come together at <strong>Westminster Chapel</strong>, in the heart of our capital city, to pray and seek God for our nation. This is a day for all leaders &ndash;&nbsp;elders, pastors, staff and spouses, of any Newfrontiers related church in the UK. Tickets cost just &pound;5 and you can book in today via&nbsp;<a href="http://www.prayerday.uk/">prayerday.uk</a>. Many thanks to Commission for allowing us to use their venue and for organising the booking!<br /><br />We have not held an event like this for six years and we are very excited at the prospect of gathering to pray again. This new era has many strengths, but I have missed coming together to pray with friends and partners in the Gospel from across the nation. <strong>While affirming and rejoicing in our new era, we still believe 'we can do more together than apart'.</strong><br /><br /><em>Newfrontiers is a group of apostolic leaders partnering together on global mission, joined by common values and beliefs, shared mission and genuine relationships.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-05-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>God Loves a Cheerful Giver</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/193</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/193</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/193/annual-giving-review-web.jpg" />When I became a Christian &ndash; after having first told my pastor that I wanted to be baptised &ndash; I began tithing. I had already realised that how I managed my money was a discipleship issue and an indication of my willingness to trust God for my life. <strong>Our giving is an act of worship, a response to the generosity and grace shown to each of us by Jesus.</strong><br /><br />This month is our <strong>Annual Giving Review</strong>. When it comes to giving at King&rsquo;s, <strong>we teach the principle of stewardship</strong>, that we should each take responsibility to manage our money so that we can give generously and sacrificially out of what we have, not out of what we don&rsquo;t have. <strong>God loves a cheerful giver, and is ultimately more interested in the heart than the actual amount!</strong> Recently, I produced a short video which summarises some of our core, Biblical convictions about money, stewardship and giving. As we come up to our <strong>Annual Giving Review</strong> this month, can I ask you to take five minutes to watch it?<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/214173403?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><strong>I am asking all of you who call King&rsquo;s home to prayerfully review your giving, and come ready to return your form on Sunday 14th May or Sunday 21st May.</strong> If you have not had a chance to pick up the Annual Giving Review booklet and response form, you can <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/docs/Giving_Review_2017_web.pdf">find them here</a>. We will also be taking up an <strong>additional offering towards our Multi-Site Fund</strong> on these Sundays. Our target on this occasion is an additional &pound;40,000.<br /><br /><strong>King's has always been a generous church</strong> and I believe what God has been able to do through us is a reflection of the ongoing generosity of this church family. So I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of you once again for your faithful, generous giving. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-05-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Marriage and the Church</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/192</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/192</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/192/marriage-and-the-church-web.jpg" />Our teaching pastor, Andrew Wilson, has been involved in making a fantastic video about marriage. In it he demonstrates how <em>&ldquo;this is about that&rdquo;</em>, how marriage between a husband and wife is a metaphor for Christ&rsquo;s relationship with the church. He explains what the apostle Paul means in Ephesians 5 when he draws a parallel between marriage and the Christian Gospel. The video is beautifully shot and produced &ndash; it is well worth taking three minutes out of your day to watch it.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/213720278" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>This Sunday Deb and I will be speaking on marriage, something we always enjoy doing. And we will also be speaking at the first night of this year&rsquo;s <strong>Marriage Course</strong>, which starts next Tuesday evening. This is an outstanding course for any married couples who wish to enrich their relationship. We have just a few places left, so you will need to reserve a place quickly if you plan to attend. <br /><br />Also, we have another date for the diary: Deb and I will be speaking again at the <strong>&rsquo;Sex, Romance and God&rsquo;</strong> seminar on <strong>Saturday 24th June</strong>. This is a morning seminar designed for married couples who want to understand more about sex and romance in the context of Christian marriage. It&rsquo;s always a fun morning, so if you&rsquo;re married, why not check your diaries and book yourselves in.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20170427-1419DFSEPARGAENM.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-04-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Alpha and Omega</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/191</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/191</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/191/alpha-and-omega-web.jpg" /><strong>What a great Easter we had at King&rsquo;s last weekend!</strong> Firstly, coming together on Good Friday to focus on the cross, share communion and reflect on all that Jesus sacrificed for us. And then gathering again on Sunday to celebrate his victory over death and remember that <strong>he is indeed our redeemer, our substitute, our shame remover and our victor!</strong> It is always a joy to worship with my church family at King&rsquo;s, but there was one particular moment which stood out above all, when we sang the fantastic chorus Alpha and Omega. <strong>Our God really is &lsquo;&hellip;the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End&rsquo;</strong>, who died for us, conquered death for us, and is present in our lives today. It was a wonderful moment of corporate worship - <strong>the Easter story is very much our story and is worth celebrating!<br /></strong><br />It was good to be able to go into a busy week off the back of such a fantastic weekend. This week I am spending time with the <strong>Newfrontiers Together Team</strong>, led by David Devenish. The team with Dave currently are John Lanferman, Edward Buria, David Holden, P J Smyth, Steve van Rhyn and myself, with Alistair Gregory helping us in a management capacity. This is a great group, and it is a joy and privilege to serve alongside them. Do have a look at the recently relaunched <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers website</a> to read more about these guys as well as some of the other apostolic leaders heading up their own networks around the world.<br /><br />I will return from several days of meetings to another exciting Sunday at King&rsquo;s. This week we have the joy of celebrating with new Christians, with baptismal services at the Lee and Catford sites. I always love to hear people's personal stories of how they have encountered Jesus and come to know Him as their saviour. It is a reminder that <strong>God continues to meet people daily and transform lives. He is indeed Alpha and Omega!</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-04-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Easter Changes Everything!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/190</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/190</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/190/Easter-Events.jpg" /><em>'Don&rsquo;t be alarmed,' he said. 'You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.' Mark 16:6</em><br /><br />The cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ are at the heart of the gospel, providing the way for us to know forgiveness and have eternal life. This weekend, along with Christians around the world, King&rsquo;s will be remembering the cost of our Saviour&rsquo;s sacrifice and rejoicing in His victory over sin, death and the devil. <br /><br /><strong>Jesus is our <a href="http://player.subsplash.com/qgpb92k">Shame Remover</a>, our <a href="http://player.subsplash.com/uto4nxr">Victor</a>, our Substitute and our Redeemer!</strong> Let us gather together this Easter weekend to give thanks for this wonderful salvation.<br /><br />On Good Friday, please join us for a reflective service centred around the cross, when we will break bread together. Then on Easter Sunday, we will gather again to celebrate our victorious, risen Lord Jesus Christ! <br /><br /><strong>Good Friday</strong><br />All sites &ndash; 10.30am to 11.30am<br />Please note there will be no children&rsquo;s work during these services.<br /><br /><strong>Easter Sunday</strong><br />Our Easter Sunday services take place at the normal Sunday service times, and there will be children&rsquo;s work as usual.<br /><br /><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford</a> &ndash; 9.30am, 11.30am &amp; 5.30pm<br /><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/downham/">Downham</a> &ndash; 9.30am &amp; 11.30am<br /><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee</a> &ndash; 10.30am<br /><br /><strong>Easter changes everything!</strong> I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-04-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Going Multi&#45;Site</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/189</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/189</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/189/going-multi-site-web.jpg" />In 2008, I found myself in a seminar at a Newfrontiers Leadership Conference listening to Mark Driscoll talk about multi-site churches. For the first time, <strong>it occurred to me that King&rsquo;s was exactly the type of church that could become multi-site</strong> in the future.<br /><br />King&rsquo;s was in a season of remarkable growth and we were short of space in our auditorium, in our kids&rsquo; works and for parking. We had already done a major refurbishment of our building, followed swiftly by a second extension to enlarge our worship space; we had reached the limits of what we could do with the Catford building.&nbsp;We were running multiple services on Sunday and had no more capacity there. King&rsquo;s is situated in the London Borough of Lewisham, where, as in most parts of our capital city, property is expensive and in short supply, and large spaces are a rarity. We had no shortage of people &ndash; but we were running out of places to put them! <strong>Multi-site was the perfect model for us, allowing a large church to continue to grow whilst at the same time be involved in planting new congregations in other areas.</strong> Three years later, in March 2011, we became a multi-site church.<br /><br />In preparation for the launch, we read and researched widely. <strong>One of the most helpful books we came across was Geoff Surratt&rsquo;s &lsquo;Multi-Site Church Road Trip&rsquo;</strong>, which drew on his experiences of being on the staff of <strong>Seacoast Church</strong> in the USA, one of the pioneers of the multi-site church movement. King&rsquo;s has benefitted greatly from the lessons shared in Geoff&rsquo;s book and it is therefore a huge privilege to be welcoming him, together with his brother Greg, the founding pastor of Seacoast, to King&rsquo;s this week. <strong>Greg and Geoff will be leading a day&rsquo;s conference on multi-site churches, hosted at King&rsquo;s.</strong> The team and I are looking forward to drawing as much helpful advice as possible to apply to our own context, but <strong>it is also great to be joined by 150 pastors from 40 churches within the Newfrontiers family.</strong> <br /><br />King&rsquo;s has come a long way and changed a great deal in the last decade. <strong>When you look back and see all that God has done, you wonder what God will do amongst us over the next decade?</strong><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-03-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Invited Highlights and Prayers for London</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/188</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/188</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/188/INVITED_Breaking_bread_web.jpg" />What a fantastic Sunday we had last week, as we ended our series on diversity with a time of worship and celebration. I particularly enjoyed watching the <strong>short video of highlights from the series</strong>, put together by the creative team at King&rsquo;s. It gives a taste of what <strong>INVITED</strong> has been all about, and I thought I would share it with you here &ndash; it is well worth a look!<br /><br /><iframe style="margin-bottom: 12pt;" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/208848322?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br />As we broke bread together on Sunday, it was a reminder that <strong>in His death and resurrection, Jesus destroyed all barriers between us and brought peace</strong>. <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/187/">As I said last week</a>, I believe we still have much to learn in the area of diversity, and <strong>INVITED</strong> has been another step in a longer journey. But <strong>I know that God is at work among us, and I trust that what He has started will continue over the next months and years</strong>.<br /><br /><strong>This Sunday is Mother&rsquo;s Day</strong> and we will be taking the opportunity to remember and honour the women in our lives. We are also holding dedication services, when parents come to give thanks for new babies and to commit themselves to bringing them up in God&rsquo;s ways. Can I encourage all of you at King&rsquo;s to come early and to be ready to welcome the many guests we are expecting? It should be a great Sunday and I look forward to seeing you there!<br /><br />Steve<br /><br />All the material from the series is available online at <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/invited">kingschurchlondon.org/invited</a><em>.<br /><br />As I was writing this blog yesterday, news was starting to come in of the tragic events in Westminster. It is always shocking when atrocities such as this take place, particularly when it happens so close to home. As London gets back on its feet, let us continue to pray for the friends and family of those who have died, for the people still recovering from injuries, for the emergency and security services, and for peace to come to this city. <br /></em><br /><em>Steve</em><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/invited"><br /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-03-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Everyone is Invited &#45; Let us Celebrate!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/187</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/187</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/187/invited-celebration-v1-web.jpg" /><br /><em>"People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God." Luke 13:29</em><br /><br />Around 18 months ago I began to sense God directing us back to territory similar to that covered in our <em>Gracism</em> teaching series of 2008. The subject of diversity is an important one for us at King&rsquo;s. A large number of people who are attending now were not here in 2008, and if we were to continue to be <strong>intentional in our desire to build a truly diverse church</strong>, a new teaching series addressing the subject seemed timely. We called the new series <strong><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/invited">INVITED</a></strong>.<br /><br />I believe it has been an excellent series &ndash; Biblical, inspiring, challenging and at times, deeply moving. As we draw this series to a close, I would like to extend a few thankyous:<br /><br />Thank you to all the <strong>preachers and group leaders</strong> who have served and taught us so well over these last seven weeks. Particular thanks go to <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/invited/#wk4"><strong>Joel Edwards</strong></a> and <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/invited/#wk6"><strong>Owen Hylton</strong></a>, our guest speakers, who each brought such helpful words.<br /><br />Thank you to our <strong>fantastic creative staff team</strong>, who spent so much time and energy producing the rich content for us to discuss around tables.<br /><br />Thank you to <strong>everyone who has shared their story and engaged in discussion.</strong><br /><br />Thank you to <strong>the numerous people who have extended hospitality and welcomed others into their homes to share meals.</strong><br /><br />And thank you to <strong>all who have travelled this journey with us</strong>. In many ways, I believe <strong>INVITED has been another stage in a longer journey</strong>, one that we continue to travel and which will ultimately end when we reach our final destination &ndash;&nbsp;when we gather together from every corner of the earth to <em>take our places at the feast in the kingdom of God</em>. We have made much progress, yet I know we still have a way to go. As we continue along this path, let us embrace Owen&rsquo;s word to us on Sunday, and endeavour to develop at King&rsquo;s <strong>a culture of acceptance, forgiveness, empathy and common identity.</strong> <em>&ldquo;For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.&rdquo; (Ephesians 2:14)<br /></em><br />This weekend we mark the end of this series with <strong>a time of celebration.</strong> We are asking people to come in national or smart dress. I will be wearing my suit and tie, which is my culture&rsquo;s dress for important moments of thanksgiving and celebration. We are working on a few creative ideas to help us celebrate, so I can promise you that this is another Sunday at King&rsquo;s not to be missed.<br /><br /><strong>So let us gather together as family this Sunday, and celebrate.</strong><br /><br /><strong>Everyone is INVITED.<br /><br /><br /></strong><em>All the material from the series is available online at&nbsp;<strong><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/invited">kingschurchlondon.org/invited</a></strong>.</em><strong><br /></strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-03-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Our INVITED series</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/186</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/186</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/186/web-INVITED-title.jpg" />We are now more than halfway through our seven-week <strong><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/invited">INVITED series</a></strong>, looking together at the important issue of diversity. It has been fantastic hearing lots of positive reports from people across the church about the Sunday teaching, the testimony videos, the daily devotionals reading through Acts and learning from the early church's experiences, and time spent in groups, sharing stories and discussing the material week by week. <br /><br />It was a real privilege to have <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/invited/#wk4">Joel Edwards speaking</a> this last Sunday on the important topic of trust, and I'm really looking forward to us welcoming Owen Hylton on Sunday, 12th March. Owen is a former elder at King's and author of <em>Crossing the Divide &ndash; A call to embrace diversity</em>, which I highly recommend to you.<br /><br />If you have missed any of the Sunday teaching or the group interviews, they're all available on our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/invited"><strong>INVITED webpage</strong></a>. Each week we've also had members of the church sharing their experiences of diversity which have been enlightening and moving. This week there will be two contrasting stories of reconciliation and forgiveness &ndash; Paul's and Cindy's. These will go up online next week along with the previous ones that are already on the webpage.<br /><br />Let's keep sharing our stories, stepping across the divides and meeting up with others from different backgrounds for meals/to chat. And I do hope you'll join us this Sunday &ndash; Phil Varley is speaking on the important topic of forgiveness and we'll be coming to God's table, breaking bread together at all meetings.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20170302-17487FYHGTBME7D7.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-03-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>An Invitation to the Sceptical</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/185</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/185</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/185/Tim-Keller-at-Google-web.jpg" />If you&rsquo;ve never read anything written by Tim Keller, you should! He&rsquo;s a fantastic communicator that has written on a wide range of subjects, and his book <a href="http://amzn.eu/1ONDqfF" target="_blank"><em>The Meaning of Marriage</em></a> is one of the best books on marriage I&rsquo;ve ever read &ndash;&nbsp;not only worth reading if you&rsquo;re married but if you&rsquo;re single too.<br /><br />One of his most recent books is <a href="http://amzn.eu/dnwa474" target="_blank"><em>Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Sceptical</em></a> &ndash;&nbsp;a subject he&rsquo;s well qualified to write and speak on having &ldquo;spent decades engaging with sceptics of all persuasions, from the hostile to the hopeful, in personal conversations, sermons, and books&rdquo; while leading Redeemer Church in New York City. In many ways it&rsquo;s a prequel to another of his books, <em>The Reason for God</em>, but starting further back, engaging with those who are sceptical about religion and faith and whether it&rsquo;s relevant in our 21st Century world.<br /><br />This week I watched a talk he gave at Google, based upon this book, which I highly recommend you watch. It&rsquo;s about 35 minutes followed by around 20 minutes of Q&amp;A.<br /><br /><iframe style="margin-bottom: 20px;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4uIvOniW8xA?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0?ecver=2" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-02-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Not What I Was Expecting</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/184</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/184</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/184/not-what-i-was-expecting-web.jpg" /><strong>I will never forget my first day of full-time Christian ministry.</strong> I had begun to sense the call of God on my life some six years earlier, whilst still in my early twenties. Over that time, God had taken me on a journey and taught me much, and at last I was free to begin serving Him as a youth pastor in my home church in Bedford. I clearly remember the day I left my job in sales and marketing - leaving the keys to my BMW on my desk, handing back my brick-sized car phone and saying goodbye to the handsome pay packet. <strong>I didn&rsquo;t mind the 80% drop in salary because I was about to devote myself to the real work of preaching the gospel and seeing people saved.</strong><br /><br /><strong>I spent my first day in my new role as a pastor putting out chairs for a funeral and welcoming the people coming through the door.</strong> This was not quite what I had imagined! It seemed a very long way from my sales and marketing job, a world of meeting directors of large companies and ad agencies in London. I had left all that to spread God's word and found myself serving as a steward at a funeral! This was just the first of many reality checks about what a pastor does and does not do week by week. <br /><br />Last week I saw the following tweet from Pete Greig:<br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20170216-1006E9XX1DT9A49R.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="366" /><br /><br /><strong>It was a statement that resonated with me.</strong> My experience has been that while I love to preach and teach, a large amount of my time is spent in building team, meeting with people, poring over spreadsheets and getting through essential administration. Very often what people imagine the primary work of a pastor to be is what they see happening on Sundays: preaching, anchoring meetings and leading ministry times. But the reality is that for all those things to run well and effectively, a lot of time needs to be spent behind the scenes building the teams and systems that enable those things to happen, and investing in leaders. <strong>My experience, like Pete&rsquo;s, is that churches that prosper are both well led and well taught - health comes from both these key areas.</strong> The truth is that if you aspire to preach the word of God, you will have to do a lot of stewarding and putting out chairs as well. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-02-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Building a Marriage</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/183</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/183</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/183/Steve_and_Deb_laughing_web.jpg" /><strong>One of the greatest challenges of leading a large church is coping with the sheer volume of pastoral news.</strong> In any given week, I will hear about numerous situations among our community at King&rsquo;s, some good and perhaps a cause for celebration, others more difficult and occasionally tragic. Just yesterday, I congratulated friends on the safe arrival of a grandchild, received an email telling me that a young man has lost his faith and had a discussion in our elders&rsquo; meeting around the complexities of trying to help the many new people joining us who are struggling with relationship breakdown. <br /><br /><strong>By far the biggest presenting problem on the King&rsquo;s pastoral list is couples with marriages under pressure, particularly those in cross-cultural marriages.</strong> It is one of the reasons Deb and I continue to take part in leading our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/pastoral-groups/index.php#marriage">Marriage Course</a> each year, and why I regularly address the subject of marriage on Sundays. I am very fortunate to be married to the love of my life, and as the years go by (we have been married nearly 28 years) we are enjoying and appreciating one another more and more. <strong>But one thing I know: a marriage is built over years.</strong> Tim and Kathy Keller, in their outstanding book, <em>The Meaning of Marriage</em>, describe the marriage relationship as <em>&ldquo;a deep oneness that develops when two people, speaking the truth in love to one another, journey together to the same horizon.&rdquo;</em> <strong>A healthy marriage does not just happen by chance</strong>, but is the result of intentionally learning how to communicate well and to understand and appreciate your differences. <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/31/item/1/">As I said on Sunday</a>, sometimes you have to sit down together and talk things through.<br /><br /><strong>Pastors and spouses face additional challenges with the blur of boundaries between work, church and friendship.</strong> That is why we take all our elders, pastors and senior operational team away for a weekend once a year, so that we can invest in this fantastic group of people. We held our most recent weekend just recently and on this occasion, Brian and Jo Watts gave us a masterclass in how differing personalities impact communication in marriage, through the lens of Myers-Briggs. To those of you who know the Myers-Briggs model, I am an ESTJ married to an INFP &ndash; definitely a case of opposites attracting! <strong>Understanding these differences in our personalities has helped us hugely in our marriage.<br /></strong><br />If you are married, I would like to encourage you to do <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/pastoral-groups/index.php#marriage">The Marriage Course</a>, a series of eight sessions, plus one Saturday morning seminar, designed to help any married couple strengthen their relationship. Each evening consists of a romantic meal for two, a short talk on subjects such as Communication, Handling Conflict and Good Sex, and time to discuss as a couple. There is no group discussion, and you do not need to disclose anything about your relationship to anyone else. We will be running our next course at King&rsquo;s after Easter and details will be available nearer the time. And if you are not yet married but are dating, engaged or perhaps living together, <strong>I would highly recommend our one-day seminar <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/pastoral-groups/index.php#relationship">Relationship Matters</a></strong>, designed to help couples build a strong relationship based on Biblical principles. Our next course is on Saturday 8th April on the Downham site. ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-02-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Power of a Story</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/182</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/182</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/182/the-power-of-a-story-web.jpg" />One of the most memorable afternoons in my first year at King&rsquo;s, was when I sat at the hospital bedside of one of our older members and attempted to talk with him about the prospect of dying. I felt my youth and inexperience &ndash; this was not something I had done before, and this gentleman was one of the faithful saints at King&rsquo;s who had served the church for many years. He began telling me about his life as a young soldier during the Second World War, and how he had made his peace with God as he prepared to cross the Channel, knowing that he may not return. It was <strong>a moving and powerful story</strong>, and I began to understand how his experiences all those decades ago had helped shape the man he had become. <br /><br /><strong>There is such power in a story</strong>. A famous quote from Harper Lee&rsquo;s 'To Kill a Mockingbird' says that, <em>&lsquo;You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view&hellip;Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.&rsquo;</em> Hearing someone&rsquo;s story enables us to do just that &ndash; to take time to stand in their shoes and see things from their perspective. <strong>We cannot really know a person or understand them until we have heard their experiences.</strong><br /><br />This Sunday we begin our <strong>important new series on diversity</strong>, called <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#91">INVITED</a>. As part of this series we will be hearing testimonies from different church members, as they share their individual histories and experiences of diversity. You can read Cindy's story below.<br /><br />During the series, we want to encourage you to share your own stories, and also to take the time to listen to others as they share theirs. One of the ways we can do that is by <strong>joining a group</strong> &ndash; it is not too late to <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups/index.php#groupselect">sign up</a> for one. If you have not already done so, let me encourage you also to <strong>buy a copy of the booklet</strong> accompanying the series, which has daily devotionals and prayer points. Books are available for &pound;3.50 from the Information Desk on Sunday.<br /><br />I am excited about INVITED, but also<strong> aware of the challenges that discussing the issue of diversity can bring</strong>. For many in our community, this is an area that carries pain and hurt, and many of us still have a lot to learn. I believe that the church should reflect kingdom values, where all are equal and barriers are broken down. Let us enter this series with an openness to God&rsquo;s Holy Spirit, a willingness to be challenged and a desire to understand others. I look forward to seeing you all there on Sunday, when I will be preaching and opening the series.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20170201-1518NVYF7NXN1GH5.png" alt="" width="724" height="997" /><em><br /></em><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-02-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Lunches with Leaders</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/181</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/181</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/181/lunches-with-leaders-web.jpg" />This past week has been marked by some enjoyable lunches with leaders from different church movements in the UK. Not very good for the post-Christmas healthy eating plan, but a great encouragement nonetheless.<br /><br />Last week I had the joy of joining with a number of leaders from different movements within the UK, as Terry Virgo hosted two days of praying and sharing together. These times are always very helpful and provide a great opportunity to hear what God is doing across this nation. A highlight for me was having lunch with Paul Reid from Belfast. I first met Paul over thirty years ago when he and his wife Priscilla came to lead a church week away in Wales and it was fantastic to catch up with him after so long. <br /><br />On Monday, I had another enjoyable lunch when Deb and I met with John and Eleanor Mumford from the Vineyard movement. John and Eleanor recently handed over leadership of the Vineyard Churches in UK &amp; Ireland in order to play an increasing role in the international family of the Vineyard. It is always fun spending time with these two, and Monday was no exception as they shared stories of travelling up the Amazon to visit remote fellowships in the rainforest, as well as a trip to the Vatican to meet the Pope. Deb and I have loved getting to know John and Eleanor, and it is a privilege to receive wise counsel from such experienced leaders.<br /><br />Later this week, Deb and I will be hosting two 24-hour conferences. The first is with five couples who lead some of the largest churches within the Newfrontiers family in the UK. We have been gathering this group for a number of years now and it has become a real source of encouragement as we share news and pray for one another. Then on Friday and Saturday we welcome Brian and Jo Watts to lead our annual King&rsquo;s elders/pastors and spouses weekend. I am looking forward to more fun meals with friends over the two days!<br /><br />After that we will be returning to our home church of King&rsquo;s on Sunday, when we have the joy of seeing fifteen people baptised across the different services. I never tire of hearing peoples&rsquo; testimonies of lives transformed by Jesus.<br /><br />God is on the move &ndash;&nbsp;in the nations, in <em>this</em> nation and in London! ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-01-26</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Invited</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/180</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/180</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/180/events-INVITED.jpg" />In a few weeks&rsquo; time, we begin an important and exciting new series at King&rsquo;s called <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#92">INVITED</a>,&nbsp;where we will be exploring some of the challenges and opportunities that come when trying to build a diverse church. <br /><br />My preparation for this series has caused me to reflect again on what I have learnt about diversity in the 21 years I have been leading King&rsquo;s. When I first came here, I thought we were already a very mixed congregation. Looking around the room then, some 10-15% were from the black community, predominantly first and second generation Caribbean, and the majority of the rest were white British. Fast forward two decades, and it is a very different picture. A recent church survey, conducted at King&rsquo;s last year, showed that we are 60% black and 40% &lsquo;other&rsquo;. Roughly a third of that 60% are black British, another third from different African nations (mainly Nigeria), whilst the other third are from a Caribbean heritage. And if you came to our 11.30am service on the Catford site, our largest and fastest growing, it would be at least 90% black. <br /><br />I love being part of a church like ours! I love meeting people from different cultures, whose background, life experience and outlook may be very unlike my own. But there are times when it can be a challenge &ndash;&nbsp;it is easy to misread and misunderstand one another and I know that I have made many mistakes over the years. <br /><br />In the last two decades I have been on a steep learning curve. I realised fairly early on in this journey that I tend to see things through a white British lens. The moment a young black woman commented to me that she had never been in a &lsquo;white majority church&rsquo; before (but I thought we were so diverse!) was a significant moment. I suddenly realised that from her point of view that is exactly what we were &ndash; and that in coming to us she was stepping out of her comfort zone. I wonder what it is like for people joining King&rsquo;s now?<br /><br />I am excited about this series. I know that I still have much to learn about diversity and I believe INVITED presents a great opportunity for us to continue to learn together, gain greater understanding of one another, and build closer community. To make the most of the series, we are encouraging everyone to do four things:<br /><br />BE AT CHURCH EACH WEEK &ndash; it&rsquo;s only seven weeks, but if you miss a week you can <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/media">listen online</a> or via the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/app">free King&rsquo;s app</a>.<br /><br />BE PART OF A GROUP &ndash; a great place to make friends and discuss the topics. Sign up <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">online</a> or go to the Welcome Desk on Sunday &ndash; places are filling up fast!<br /><br />EAT TOGETHER AND SHARE YOUR STORY &ndash; whether it&rsquo;s a meal or just a coffee, we encourage you to meet up with others from different backgrounds to ask questions and listen to each other&rsquo;s stories.<br /><br />READ THE DAILY DEVOTIONALS &ndash; Join with others from across King&rsquo;s to read through the book of Acts together. The INVITED booklet will be available to buy from this Sunday.<br /><br />From this Sunday, we will also be selling Owen Hylton&rsquo;s excellent book, <a href="http://amzn.eu/aNOjB3A"><em>Crossing the Divide</em></a>. Owen was a pastor at King&rsquo;s and now leads Beacon Church in Brixton. He will be speaking one Sunday during the series, and we are encouraging people to read his book to explore this subject in more depth. <br /><br />INVITED starts on Sunday 5th February, and in the meantime, we continue with the excellent <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/30/">Devoted</a>&nbsp;series. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am, and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/196856953?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-01-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Understanding Millennials</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/179</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/179</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/179/Millennials-Social-Media-31-web.jpg" />Like many of you, my attention was caught this week by a video doing the rounds of social media about Millennials in the workplace.<br /><br />The term Millennial has been around for a while now. They are the Western demographic group who have followed the so-called Generation X which was the one we were all talking about when I was a youth pastor, back in the 80s! A quick Google search reveals that there are various definitions of exactly what is meant by the term. Most commentators seem to agree that it refers to those individuals born between the mid-1980s and the early years of this century. <br /><br />Of course, there is always room for individuality and difference within any group, but it can sometimes be helpful to identify common characteristics and tendencies. As a parent, pastor and team leader of those born after 1985, the content of this video interested me and it has sparked some thought-provoking conversations. It gives some helpful insights into the worldview of Millennials and some of the underlying values and expectations they may have. It certainly reminded me of the importance of good mentoring and parenting of our young people.<br /><br />Watch it for yourself and see what you think.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NEsUudZvntE" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-01-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Handling Pressure</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/178</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/178</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/178/2915056465_318ba2515b_o-pressure-gauge_web.jpg" />Happy New Year to you all! I have returned from a short break across the Christmas period feeling rested and refreshed, as I hope many of you do too. However, I am aware that as we approach this new year we know that there are likely to be both challenges and opportunities awaiting us.<br /><br />Over the years I have found that stress is often experienced in the midst of apparent progress; blessings and opportunities can carry with them seasons of unusual busyness and personal challenge. So whilst it was fantastic to hold 12 carol services across two weekends at King&rsquo;s last month, it was not without pressure. Of course, some level of pressure is good for you &ndash; without it, life could become very boring very quickly. Sometimes, when complaining to Deb about feeling stressed, she will gently remind me that most of it is the result of something I have initiated! <br /><br />Experience has taught me that there are a number of things I can do which help me manage pressure. Here are just a few of them:<br /><br /><strong>Having an outside interest:</strong> I admit that watching Palace lose to Swansea on Tuesday was disappointing, but a night out with my boys was still great fun and it certainly took my mind off everything else! Watching sport is one way in which I relax and switch off, but I also enjoy birdwatching (I know this will come as a surprise to some) and playing golf. It is important to have interests beyond our work environment.<br /><br /><strong>Prayer:</strong> Obvious of course, but worth emphasising. When in the presence of God, whether that&rsquo;s in corporate worship, a prayer walk (I like to walk and pray) or simply through reading a psalm, my perspective changes. My monthly prayer breakfast with a couple of guys from King&rsquo;s is also a great encouragement. Psalm 16:8 reminds me to <em>&lsquo;&hellip;keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand I will not be shaken.&rsquo;</em>&nbsp; Anxiety creeps up when I lean too heavily on my own resources and not enough on God&rsquo;s.<br /><br /><strong>Forward planning:</strong> This week I have not attended my normal meeting schedule. For several years now I have taken the first week of January as a study break. I miss the interaction with people in the office, but it gives me the opportunity to plan my diary for the next two years and begin preparing for upcoming sermons. Having the time to do this helps me build in a sustainable rhythm.<br /><br /><strong>Stretching my diary:</strong> My father, now 80, is still a great source of encouragement and wisdom. One of his catch phrases is <em>&ldquo;stretch your diary&rdquo;.</em> In other words, when under pressure extend the deadline or stop doing something for a while &ndash;&nbsp;create space in your week.<br /><br /><strong>Time with Deb and family:</strong> Being with my family is one way I can relax, be myself and have fun, which is why I prioritise this time in my diary. <br /><br />These are just a few&nbsp;things I do to&nbsp;manage the pressures that come in life, and I have learnt to be intentional about making sure I am doing them. I know that when I neglect any of these, my ability to carry stress is greatly reduced. <br /><br />This Sunday, King's services are back to normal. Andrew Wilson will be opening our short series for January called <em><strong>Devoted</strong></em>, based out of Acts 2:42. Let's gather together and find God&rsquo;s rest and encouragement as we worship, pray and listen to His word.<br /><br /><em>Image: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/5rAqJe">Pressure</a>&nbsp;by Pete Birkinshaw, used under CC</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2017-01-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Watchnight!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/177</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/177</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/177/web-watchnight-16-17.jpg" />Watchnight has become one of my favourite nights of the year. Before coming to King&rsquo;s, New Year&rsquo;s Eve was usually spent having a meal with friends &ndash;&nbsp;certainly a fun way to see in the New Year, but nothing can beat gathering&nbsp;as a&nbsp;church to worship and pray. <br /><br />This year there will be <strong>Watchnight</strong> services at Catford from 9.30pm-12.30am, and at Downham and Lee from 10.30pm-12.30am. In addition to this, we have<strong> NYE</strong>, a New Year&rsquo;s Eve event for our 17-30s group. All details can be found on our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/#other-dates">website</a>. <br /><br />What better way to see out 2016 and welcome in 2017 than by coming together&nbsp;to celebrate, pray and give thanks to God for his unfailing faithfulness to us? I look forward to seeing you there.<br /><br />Looking beyond New Year's Eve, we begin 2017 at King&rsquo;s in our normal way with a month focusing on prayer. Our preaching series for January is called <em>Devoted</em> and as a part of this we will be gathering as one church each Wednesday for an evening of worship and prayer. Our first <strong>celebration evening</strong> will be next <strong>Wednesday 4th January, 7.45-9.30pm on the Catford site</strong>. These are always great opportunities for our three sites to meet as one church, and I hope to see many of you there.<br /><br />Finally, because we are all anticipating a late night on New Year&rsquo;s Eve, there will be <strong>NO SERVICES AT KING'S CHURCH LONDON on Sunday 1st January 2017</strong>. Services on all sites will resume as normal on January 8th.<br /><br />Happy New Year to you all.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20161221-20221HLSVZHD9448.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-12-29</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Christmas is Here &#45; Almost</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/176</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/176</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/176/Christmas-Web-Header.jpg" /><p>I hope you enjoyed our <em>Light of the World</em> carol services last weekend. Once again, I was impressed by the quality and professionalism of our musicians and performers and I was thrilled to see so many visitors. Thank you again to everyone who took part and helped to make it such a success.<br /><br />With seven carol services and another five family Christmas services already behind us, it can feel as if Christmas has come early! But we still have the joy to come of celebrating as a church family on Christmas Day. As in previous years, there will be <strong>one service at 10.30am at each of our three sites</strong>, lasting for no more than an hour. These services are always lively and fun and are a great way to begin Christmas Day.<br /><br />Then just a week after Christmas, we have another of my favourite King&rsquo;s events, when we gather across all our sites for <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/#other-dates" target="_blank"><strong>WATCHNIGHT</strong></a>. What better way to mark the start of 2017 than to see in the New Year with worship and prayer! <strong>WATCHNIGHT</strong> will be taking place on all three sites at the following times:<br /><br />CATFORD: 9.30pm &ndash; 12.30am</p> <p>DOWNHAM and LEE: 10.30pm &ndash; 12.30am</p> <p><br />We will also be hosting <strong>NYE</strong>, our New Year&rsquo;s event for the 17-30s age group, which&nbsp;will be taking place on the Lee site. Doors open at 9pm and there will be worship, a short talk, entertainment, and a party going on until 2am &ndash; long after I plan to be in bed! This is a ticketed event &ndash; details on the <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/#other-dates" target="_blank">website</a>. <br /><br />Don&rsquo;t forget that because we will be celebrating into the early hours of New Year&rsquo;s Day, there will be <strong>no Sunday services on Sunday 1st January 2017</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; enjoy the lie-in!<br /><br />So whether you are staying at home or travelling to see friends or family this year, I wish you a very happy Christmas.<img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20161221-16515QUWP5766QYF.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-12-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Light of the World</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/175</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/175</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/175/carol-service-16-web.jpg" />What a great start we had to our Christmas season at King&rsquo;s last Sunday! Our series of carol services kicked off at Lee, and once again our team of performers, musicians and technicians excelled themselves &ndash; well done to everyone involved.&nbsp;I am always so proud to be able to stand up and say that everyone who takes part in these events comes to King&rsquo;s &ndash; we really are privileged to have so much talent among us. Some great photos from the evening can be found <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kingschurchlondon/posts/1319257154813004">here</a>,&nbsp;and there's a short video of some of the carol service highlights <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kingschurchlondon/videos/1321560544582665/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br />If you didn&rsquo;t manage to come to one of the services last week, don&rsquo;t worry! We have <strong>six more opportunities</strong> <strong>coming up this weekend</strong>:<br /><br /><strong>SAT 17 DEC</strong><br />5pm Catford<br /><br /><strong>SUN 18 DEC</strong><br />9.30am &amp; 11.30am Catford&nbsp;(with children&rsquo;s work for 0-9s)<br />5pm Catford&nbsp;&amp; Downham<br />7.30pm&nbsp;Catford<br /><br />I know many of us have been picking up tickets and taking the chance to invite friends and family along. Remember, tickets are free, and you do not need one to come along &ndash; we never turn anyone away! This really is one of the easiest invites of the year, and everyone is welcome.<br /><br />In addition to this, we have a <strong>Family Christmas Service on the Lee site</strong> in the morning of <strong>Sunday 18th December</strong> <strong>at 10.30am</strong>. This is a fun services for the whole family and will be followed by drinks and mince pies. So once again, let me encourage you to invite your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues and come along to one service, two or maybe even more! I will see you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-12-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Christmas is Coming!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/174</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/174</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/174/Christmas-Web-780-439-Web-Address.jpg" />How are your Christmas preparations going? We have been a little slow off the mark in the Tibbert house &ndash;&nbsp;a season of travelling during November meant that we only really got started last week. But now that we are back I am starting to get in the Christmas spirit. <br /><br />Those of you who know me well will know that I love Christmas &ndash; the food, the family times, the games; I even enjoyed those ridiculously early Christmas Day mornings when our boys were young! But more than anything, I love Christmas for what it represents to us as Christians &ndash; the coming of Jesus into this world with His plan of rescue and salvation for His people. It really is something worth getting excited about!<br /><br />As you know, we like to do Christmas in a big way here at King&rsquo;s. Last year, we had some 3,000 people attending our carol services and we hope to exceed that number this year. Our theme is <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/"><strong>Light of the World</strong></a> and we are again offering <strong>seven opportunities to come along</strong>. The&nbsp;talented team who put these carol services together have been working hard for many weeks and our outstanding performers and musicians are already busy rehearsing. I am always so impressed by the number of people at King&rsquo;s who give up their valuable time to ensure that these Christmas services are such a success &ndash; thank you to all of those involved. <br /><br />I had the privilege of getting a sneak peek of the band and choir in rehearsal last night and they sounded fantastic! This really is an event not to be missed, and it is <strong>a brilliant opportunity to invite all your friends and family</strong>. The first of our seven carol services takes place this <strong>Sunday 11th December, 5pm at Lee</strong>, but if you are unable to join us this time, there will be <strong>another six chances to come along next weekend</strong>. Details of all services at Catford, Lee and Downham can be found on the <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">website</a>. There are also Family Christmas Services taking place; again, details are on the website.<br /><br />Christmas is coming and I hope you are starting to feel as excited as I am! <strong>Jesus came as a light in the darkness</strong>, a beacon of hope to this world. Our carol services present a wonderful opportunity to share that hope with our friends, neighbours and family.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/194806981?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-12-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Richmond Group</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/173</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/173</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/173/Steve-and-Deb-web.jpg" />When I first felt a call to full-time ministry during my 20s, I had little idea of the many varied places to which God would take me over the years. Just two weeks ago, Deb and I were visiting a high security women&rsquo;s prison in Harare. We were there to see a fantastic pre-school run by River of Life Church for the prisoners&rsquo; children &ndash; a beautiful example of mercy being shown in a very deprived and challenging setting. Then last week we found ourselves having dinner in the rather grand setting of The Peers dining room in The House of Lords &ndash;&nbsp;this is certainly a life of contrast at times!<br /><br />We were at The House of Lords with The Richmond Group, a relational network of church leaders from across the UK, at the invitation of the Bishop of London. This was the second time Deb and I had attended the annual gathering of this group, although dinner at The House of Lords was a first for most of us! Our two days together were once again hosted by Nicky Gumbel from HTB, Gary Clarke from Hillsong, and Pastor Agu from Jesus House. After an interesting afternoon sharing news, praying for each other and discussing some of the current issues facing the church in the UK, we all smartened ourselves up a bit before making our way across Westminster Bridge to spend the evening at The House of Lords. It was a fascinating night and I enjoyed hearing from Richard Chartres, Bishop of London. It was great to be in a room of leaders from a wide spectrum of churches, joined in our desire to see gospel expansion across this nation. <br /><br />The following morning the group were once again invited to Lambeth Palace by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. As I have said before, he is a gracious man and an impressive leader, with many challenges before him. Please do remember to pray for him and his family. <br /><br />It has been a hectic few weeks, what with the trip to southern Africa followed immediately by The Richmond Group, and I have returned to find that Christmas is well and truly upon us here at King&rsquo;s! Once again, <a href="http://www.kingschristmastrees.org">King's Christmas Trees</a> is raising money through tree sales for the ongoing work of the&nbsp;<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/">Jericho Road Project</a>, and I understand that <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/">Big Red Box </a>has already filled 484 hampers, which will be distributed to&nbsp;families in need. These are two excellent projects which serve some of the most disadvantaged in our community &ndash; do get involved if you have not already done so. <br /><br />The theme for our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">carol services</a> this year is <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas/">Light of the World</a>, and it promises to be yet another outstanding King&rsquo;s event. Our carol services present one of the easiest invites of the year for friends and family, so can I encourage you all to be thinking about who to invite? Free tickets for all services will be available for collection at all sites on Sunday and there's more information at <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/christmas">kingschurchlondon.org/christmas</a>.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/191950670?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-12-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Cape Town and Harare</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/172</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/172</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/172/web-jubilee-rol.jpg" />Deb and I have just returned from an excellent trip to South Africa and Zimbabwe. After a six-hour delay in Harare, and some doubt as to whether we would actually make our connecting flight to London, it is good to be home. <br /><br />Being part of the <a href="http://newfrontierstogether.org" target="_blank">Newfrontiers</a> family brings many joys, not the least of which is the opportunity to have relationship with churches in other parts of the world. We had planned a couple of days holiday in Cape Town before flying onto Harare and took the chance to visit <a href="http://jubilee.org.za" target="_blank">Jubilee Community Church</a>. In fact we landed on Sunday morning after an eleven-hour flight from London and drove straight to the first of their services! They have recently become a multi-site church, with a second site launched in the very centre of Cape Town just six weeks ago. It was so encouraging to see both their sites full &ndash;&nbsp;what amazing growth and momentum! <br /><br />Following a few days off enjoying Cape Town, and an afternoon with the Jubilee elders, Deb and I flew on to Harare. This was my fifth visit to Zimbabwe in as many years. One of the benefits of repeated visits is the ability to build real relationship with the people there and Deb and I greatly value the friendship that has developed with Scott and Claire Marques and the other elders and wives at <a href="http://www.riveroflifechurch.co.zw" target="_blank">River of Life</a>. It was a joy to preach at all five services on Sunday, to see 31 responses for baptism and witness the amazing growth they have been experiencing as a church. All this is set in the context of a nation facing increasing political and economic uncertainty, so it is tremendously encouraging to see the robust faith and growing unity amongst all the churches there. There is a sense that this is a country waiting for resolution, like a woman waiting to give birth. These are important days for Zimbabwe &ndash;&nbsp;please continue to pray for them.<br /><br /> We arrived back in London early Tuesday morning following a long flight through the night, but I could not resist going into King's to see our new offices. Over the last ten days the team have been working hard to get us settled into our new premises at the Lee building. Our staff outgrew our offices in Catford many years ago, so six years after purchasing our Lee building it is great to at last be able to provide a comfortable working environment for those who serve us so faithfully.<br /><br />This Sunday I will be hosting a membership morning. This is for anyone interested in finding out more about what it means to become a member of King&rsquo;s &ndash;&nbsp;there is still time to <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/membership" target="_blank">sign up</a> if you have not already done so. <br /><br />God&rsquo;s church is flourishing both at home and in other parts of the world. I am looking forward to being back with my King&rsquo;s family this Sunday, knowing that as we gather to worship Jesus, our voices join with countless others from around the globe. Wherever we are, whatever our circumstances, God's name is being praised and His church marches forward.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/membership" target="_self"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20161124-0959E9U8GMPA4SBA.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-11-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Trump Effect</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/171</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/171</guid> <description><![CDATA[ Have you ever done StrengthsFinder? According to that model, one of my strengths is that I am analytical, a result that didn't surprise me much. I like to dissect everything, to try to understand why one event leads to another, before going on to suggest a solution. Therefore, as a part-time political analyst (that's a joke by the way, in case you were wondering), it has come as a shock to me that I misread both Brexit and now the American election. On both occasions I called the result wrong.<br /><br />While sitting on the balcony of our hotel room in Cape Town this morning, and looking out across the bay to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, I find myself trying to understand why the political world appears to be lurching to the right in parts of the West. Clearly a whole group of people are very unhappy with the recent liberal political agenda and with the emphasis of globalisation over national identity. It is ironic that the feelings of the unheard white voice, which many analysts believe is behind the victories for both Brexit and Trump, echo the experience of all minority groups. They feel forgotten and overlooked.<br /><br />Although I do believe that the voice of this predominantly white majority needs to be heard, whether that's from the northern cities of England, the towns of East Anglia or the rural states of America, I am deeply concerned by the dark side of this political swing. And whilst I would not say for one moment that everyone who voted for Brexit or Trump is either racist or sexist, it would seem that the agendas of both parties have given permission to those who do hold those views to voice and at times act upon them. As Christians it's important that we speak out and challenge this. <br /><br />So how do we respond? I believe the following would be a good place to start:<br /><br />1. Pray. When trying to make sense of what is going on in this world, we need to keep coming before God and asking the Holy Spirit to guide us and give us wisdom. Let us also remember the Bible's exhortation to pray and intercede 'for all those in authority' (1 Timothy 2).&nbsp;<br /><br />2. Keep welcoming the stranger. Hebrews 13 reminds us to 'keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters' and to 'not forget to show hospitality to strangers'. For many in our community, the results of both Brexit and the American election mean that they feel less welcome where they live and more fearful of what the future holds.<br /><br />3. Speak up on the issues. Every voice counts. Of course, there are times when it is wiser to stay quiet, but on the whole, when we stay silent in the face of injustice, we are in danger of communicating the wrong message.<br /><br />4. Engage in the discussion. I endeavour to read widely in an attempt to understand and make sense of what is happening &ndash;&nbsp;the analyst in me! In our social media era we have quick and easy access to numerous blogs and newspaper articles. It is good to take advantage of this, whilst also being aware that our reading is inevitably filtered by our own choices. By keeping ourselves informed we are better placed to participate in the discussion.<br /><br />5. Work for reconciliation. Let us do everything we can, through our words and actions, to promote peace and understanding between different groups. <br /><br />Pray, welcome others, speak out, engage in the discussion and work for reconciliation. Whatever your political beliefs, whatever your feelings about recent global events, I believe this is a good place to start. <br /><br />Steve ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-11-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Coaching, Cape Town and Harare</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/170</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/170</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/170/table-mountain-web.jpg" />If last week was about receiving input, it seems this week and next are about passing on all that I have learned about leadership in the local church. <br /><br />Over the last two days I have been hosting a coaching session with leaders from 17 churches from around the UK. I always enjoy these days &ndash; it is so encouraging to spend time with people who are seeking to develop their own skills in order to build and strengthen our local churches. As Bill Hybels puts it:&nbsp;<em>&lsquo;The local church is the hope of the world, and its future lies primarily in the hands of its leaders.&rsquo;&nbsp;</em><br /><br />Once the coaching finishes, I will be turning my thoughts to Saturday, when Deb and I fly to South Africa and Zimbabwe. We arrive in Cape Town on Sunday morning and will be spending a few days with Steve van Rhyn and his team at the fantastic <a href="https://jubilee.org.za/">Jubilee Community Church</a>. It is such a joy to serve with friends on global mission, and a day spent discussing multi-site with their eldership will be great fun! A quick day off to visit a few of Cape Town&rsquo;s many sights and then we fly to Harare to be with Scott and Claire Marques at <a href="http://www.riveroflifechurch.co.zw/">River of Life</a>, another great church. I am so pleased that on this occasion our Executive Pastor, Phil Varley, and his wife Sarah, will be coming to join us in Harare. Although we will be there just a few days, we are managing to fit a lot in: some training with leaders from the <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dnachurches.com/">DNA </a>family of churches, time with the River of Life elders and wives, and then preaching five times on Sunday. I have had the pleasure of visiting both River of Life and Jubilee many times now and I always feel very much at home when I am with them. They may be thousands of miles from London, in completely different contexts, yet each has much in common with us at King&rsquo;s - urban, racially diverse, multi-site and growing fast. <br /><br />Our trip to southern Africa means that we will be missing another great Sunday at King&rsquo;s this week. In the morning services at Catford and Lee we have dedications&nbsp;, when we will be praying with new parents who want to dedicate themselves to bringing up their children in God&rsquo;s ways. Then at the Catford 5.30 service, we are privileged to have <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/">guest preacher Steve Clifford</a>, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance. Do come along and take advantage of this great opportunity to hear him speak. <br /><br /><em>I began drafting this blog last week, and am finishing it as the world responds to the results of the USA presidential election. As I reread the quote from Bill Hybels, I am reminded that the hope of the world lies not with elected leaders but with Jesus Christ and his church. Let us each continue to place our faith in our sovereign God and to play our part in bringing his kingdom through his church.<br /></em><br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20161110-1210P9M6NFWE9KQV.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br /><br /><br /><em>Header image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/south-african-tourism/2417712713/">Table Mountain in the Mists</a> by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/south-african-tourism/">South Africa Tourism</a>, used under CC<br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-11-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Leadership Development</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/169</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/169</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/169/events-GLS-2016.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;The local church is the hope of the world, and its future rests primarily in the hands of its leaders.&rsquo; </em><br /><em>Bill Hybels</em><br /><br /><em>&lsquo;We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.&rsquo;</em><br /><em>Romans 12: 6-8</em><br /><br />A few weeks ago, Deb and I had the pleasure of attending the 25th wedding anniversary of a couple of friends from our youth group days. It was great to meet up with people we hadn&rsquo;t seen for a while and inevitably conversation turned to reminiscences about our younger selves. They were formative years, when we were all fairly new Christians, and I remembered the time my friend Nigel and I decided to complete Selwyn Hughes&rsquo; gift discovery form. It was the first time I had ever given that much thought to who I was or what my particular strengths or weaknesses may be. I clearly remember being shocked when the results revealed that I was a leader. My initial instinct was disbelief until Nigel, who knew me well, responded that the results were undoubtedly right.<br /><br />This last week has been all about leadership. I have just spent two excellent days with a number of the key leaders from King&rsquo;s, attending a learning community for large churches. The event was hosted by Dave Smith from Citygate Church, Peterborough, who served us brilliantly. We spent much of the time looking at the important subject of leadership development and discussing how this can be improved and best implemented in our context. In a growing church, it is crucial to have an active and ongoing leadership development programme.<br /><br />Then on Friday and Saturday, King&rsquo;s will once again have the privilege of hosting the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit</a>. This has been held at King&rsquo;s for a number of years now, and I never fail to be impressed with the quality of the speakers and the relevance of the input they bring. <br /><br />What a feast of leadership input in just one week! It is a long time since I took my first steps in leadership, but I am keen to continue growing and learning. Churches need leaders and good leaders continue to hone their gifts in order to serve God&rsquo;s people. So what are you doing to sharpen and develop your leadership skills? Are you placing yourself in contexts where you can be challenged? If you have not already booked in, let me encourage you to come along to <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/">GLS</a> this Friday and/or Saturday. This is an opportunity not to be missed.<br /><br /><em>Speaking of feast&hellip;I&rsquo;ve just heard that our <a href="http://kingschristmastrees.org" target="_blank">King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees</a> website is now live, so why not check it out and consider supporting homeless people this Christmas through <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/" target="_self">The Feast</a>, our Wednesday night outreach at our Catford site.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-11-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Recalling Key Prophecies</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/168</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/168</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/168/Victoria-falls-web.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well...&rsquo;</em><br /><em>1 Timothy 1:18</em><br /><br />In a few weeks&rsquo; time, the King&rsquo;s staff team face the exciting prospect of moving into brand new offices. For many years now, we have worked in surroundings which are far from ideal. As the number of people working here has grown, desks have been squeezed into every possible corner, storage space is in short supply, and finding a spare room for a meeting is often a challenge. So when we acquired the Lee building in 2010, our hope was to quickly move our offices over there. Various factors have meant that this did not happen as soon as we would have liked, but now at last, our spacious new office environment is nearly ready for us to move in. I am very grateful for the patience shown by everyone here throughout the delay.<br /><br />So, we are starting to think about packing up, clearing out and preparing for The Big Move. In my case, this is a rather daunting task, as I am not renowned for being the tidiest of people! Why put things away, when you can have piles of all the papers you may need close to hand? Nevertheless, I have taken the opportunity to have a good sort out. Whilst looking through some files, I came across one enticingly titled &lsquo;Prophetic Words&rsquo;. It contained all the key words given to King&rsquo;s over the last couple of decades. &nbsp;It was a fascinating read (as well as a welcome distraction from tidying up) and so good to be reminded of God&rsquo;s words to me personally and to us as a church. <br /><br />Yesterday, I was sharing some of what I had read with one of the senior staff members here, and he urged me to take some time to reflect on the key prophecies over my life and for King&rsquo;s, to trust God and move forward. What an encouragement! It really is so helpful to return to some of these words after a period of time, to think and pray about them again.<br /><br />One significant word continues to speak to me and it is one I have shared numerous times recently. It was given to me a few years ago during a trip to Zimbabwe when I had just finished preaching out of Acts 16 on the subject of God&rsquo;s guidance. The essence of the word was this:<br /><br /><em>"Kings is like Niagara Falls, strong and secure. You do not need to worry about King&rsquo;s, but I am calling you to be like Victoria Falls, a church whose reach goes much further, a wider calling."</em><br /><br />It was a word that was personal to me, but which also applied to all of us who call King&rsquo;s our home. &nbsp;If you would like to know more on how we handle prophecies at King&rsquo;s, then you may be interested in reading <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/downloads/Prophecy.pdf">this paper</a> I wrote a few years ago. Knowing God&rsquo;s &lsquo;now word&rsquo; to us is a precious thing. It is good to recall and reflect on the key prophecies given to us. It helps us to keep moving forward and <em>&lsquo;fight the battle well&rsquo;</em>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-10-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Global 2016</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/167</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/167</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/167/Newfrontiers-Edward-Buria-web.jpg" />Deb and I have just returned from an excellent week at the annual <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org" target="_blank">Newfrontiers</a> conference. Five years on from when Terry Virgo handed over the movement to his &lsquo;sons&rsquo;, there was a tremendous sense of unity in the room as we gathered with friends from all around the world &ndash;&nbsp;&lsquo;from London down to Cape Town, from LA to Beijing&rsquo;, to quote one of my favourite Lex Loizides&rsquo; songs!<br /><br />Following the handover from Terry in 2011, it has taken the movement a number of years to find its feet. Like a toddler taking his first experimental steps, progress has been slow at times, but this year I felt more than ever a genuine joining of hearts and faith for world mission. <br /><br />Among the many highlights were the times of prayer for friends in countries where gospel preaching, or life in general, can be demanding, challenging, and sometimes dangerous. To pray and cry out to God for places such as India, Pakistan, The Crimea, China, The Middle East, Zimbabwe and many other African nations, was deeply moving. Throughout the week our worship was joyful, as we were ably led by a small band made up of a team from New York and Moscow. We were a truly international group joined by common purpose.<br /><br />If you would like to keep up with news from the Newfrontiers family, do have look at the recently launched <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/" target="_blank">website</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-10-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Hug a Pastor Week</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/165</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/165</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/165/1610-loneliness-web.jpg" />This week, Deb and I have been speaking on a seminar for senior leaders within the Newfrontiers family on the subject of &lsquo;Leading a Balanced Life&rsquo;. To be honest, it&rsquo;s quite a daunting task &ndash; many of them are far more qualified to teach on the subject than we are.<br /><br />It seems to me that there is a remarkably high fall-out rate among pastors. Each time I hear a report of another pastor resigning because of emotional burnout, or adultery, or financial mismanagement, my heart sinks. It&rsquo;s why I feel it is so important that we keep addressing the important issue of leading a balanced life, so that we can hopefully avoid the potential pitfalls that lie behind some of these tragic stories.<br /><br />So how do we ensure that we remain physically and emotionally healthy when juggling the multiple demands on our time? How do we ensure that we are not prioritising work and ministry at the expense of our family? Of course, I am naturally more aware of the particular challenges facing pastors, but I am sure the same issues arise in all walks of life, whether you are a teacher, a doctor, working in business or you are a young mum at home trying to get by on minimal sleep. So whilst our seminar was aimed at pastors, I hope it helps us all.<br /><br />Our three simple points were as follows:<br /><br />1. Know and understand the season of life you are in and adjust accordingly<br />2. Whether you are single or married, invest in your primary relationships<br />3. Find a rhythm that works for you<br /><br />Recently, another high profile pastor in the USA told his church he was resigning because, as he put it, he had been &lsquo;running on empty for too long&rsquo;. That is sad at so many levels. So I am calling my blog this week &lsquo;Hug a Pastor Week&rsquo;. Why not find your pastor on Sunday, provide them with a listening ear, commit to praying for them and give them some words of encouragement. And if you can&rsquo;t find your pastor, why not find a teacher, doctor or young mum and do the same. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-10-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Reach and Teach</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/164</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/164</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/164/reach-reach-web.jpg" />It was 1996, and the latest trend to emerge among UK churches was cell church. The four Ws were in vogue: welcome, word, witness and &ndash;&nbsp;what was the last one? Worship? Works? I cannot remember. At King&rsquo;s, I was in the first year of leading a struggling church, and small group or cell group life was well down the list of priorities. Feeling pressure from some quarters to adopt the cell church model, I sought advice from Steve Nicholson, an experienced friend and pastor in the US Vineyard. His view was that cell church had been tried in the States five years earlier and had not seen much success. I decided to keep my head down and get on with the task at hand.<br /><br />Obviously the cell church movement has borne and continues to bear much fruit, especially in communities where extended families and shared communities are the norm. That is very different to the urban context of western cities such as London, where a strong cultural undercurrent of individualism means the principles behind cell church are far less likely to succeed.<br /><br />My observation was that most churches in the west who were regularly reaching people for Jesus had a few things in common. Here are three for starters: openness to the work of the Holy Spirit; an outreach strategy that put Sunday at the centre; and an invitational culture which invited people to come on a journey, which may lead to faith.<br /><br />Good contextualisation takes biblical truth and applies it to the mission field &ndash; it works out the best way to reach the particular culture in which we live.<br /><br />So perhaps you are wondering if groups are not important to us at King's. If so, you would be mistaken &ndash; they are a core part of our church community and in fact last term we had more over 12s meeting in our groups than were here on a Sunday!<br /><br />But when it comes to first contact with unbelievers, we still find Sunday services to be the place most people come to. We then give them an invitation to come on a journey by providing a &lsquo;next step&rsquo;. It is another way we &lsquo;reach and then teach&rsquo;. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-10-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Teach and Reach, or Reach and Teach?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/163</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/163</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/163/reach-reach-cycle-web.jpg" />In the first four weeks of this new church year, I have twice found myself in discussions with the King&rsquo;s staff team about what should make up the content of the preaching, and who should be our target audience on Sundays.<br /><br />This is a very important area of our <strong>philosophy of ministry</strong>. Ministry philosophy is <em>the prioritisation of one value over another and how you work out that value in practice</em>. All values are important &ndash;&nbsp;a breadth and balance creates a healthy church. Perhaps it helps to earth this principle in an example: As you leave church on Sunday, what defines success for you? Is it that someone was saved, or is it that a Christian left with more knowledge and a deeper understanding? Ideally at King&rsquo;s, we seek to achieve both. But if you had to choose one, which would you choose?<br /><br />So who are you trying to reach and serve on a Sunday? How do you remain both biblically true and culturally relevant? What is unique about your context? Good contextualisation gives answers to these questions and lays the foundation for Gospel preaching, which applies Biblical truth into the lives of the listeners.<br /><br />I have observed over the years that the answers to the questions above normally reflect the gift mix of the lead elder. A pastor teacher tends to lean towards the belief that if he teaches the people well, evangelism will follow. Most of the time at King&rsquo;s, we turn it the other way round: <em>let's reach people and then teach them</em>, rather than <em>let's teach them and then reach</em>. Or, as I expressed recently when preaching in our Acts series: <strong>Holy Spirit activity</strong> leads to <strong>gospel proclamation</strong> and then <strong>discipleship</strong>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-09-29</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>If God, Then What?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/162</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/162</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/162/IGTW-hyAD-Events.jpg" />About a year ago, Andrew Wilson and I were attending the same conference when he asked if we could find a moment for a chat. It is always a joy to spend time with Andrew, and I looked forward to meeting up. To my surprise, he wanted to talk about his future &ndash; I think I was expecting nothing more than a &lsquo;catch up&rsquo;. It was not until near the end of that conversation, having discussed many options, that I mentioned the possibility of his coming to be with us at King&rsquo;s one day; to my delight, he quickly responded that he too had wondered about that.<br /><br />As can happen, things have moved far more swiftly than either Andrew or I had anticipated. Who would have thought that just one year after that conversation, he would be joining King&rsquo;s as our Teaching Pastor? Andrew&rsquo;s unique gifts add depth and strength to our team, and I am confident that he will be a huge blessing to us as a church. Over the summer, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading his excellent book <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/#collapse-event76"><em>If God, Then What?</em></a>, which forms the basis for <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/#collapse-event76">our next teaching programme </a>. It is a series which will equip the church whilst also helping guests think through Christianity from different perspectives. Andrew will be taking the lion&rsquo;s share of the preaching and it will therefore be a great way of introducing his ministry to King&rsquo;s.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/178383111" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><em>If God, Then What?&nbsp;</em>begins this <strong>Sunday 25th September</strong> on the Catford and Lee sites (Downham will start the following week) and I would like to encourage you to do the following:<br /><br />&bull; Be at church every week<br />&bull; Buy a copy of the book <br />&bull; Join a <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/groups/index.php#groupselect">group</a> <br />&bull; Invite your friends<br /><br />This promises to be a thought-provoking, encouraging and helpful series and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.<br /><br />Lastly, don't forget that we have our church-wide <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">celebration</a>, 7.45pm next Wednesday 28th September at the <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford</a> site. It is a great opportunity to gather as one church to worship, pray and encounter God together, and I look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160922-09276YZ7K7NTQUP4.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-09-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Steve and Cindy Nicholson</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/161</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/161</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/161/Steve-and-Cindy-Nicholson-Sep16-web.jpg" />It is a real joy to have Steve and Cindy Nicholson with us again this week. Steve is Senior Pastor of <a href="http://www.evanstonvineyard.org" target="_blank">Evanston Vineyard</a> in Chicago, a church he planted at the age of just 23. Steve and his wife Cindy come to us with much pastoral wisdom and prophetic insight, and their annual visits to us here at King&rsquo;s are always helpful and significant. On this occasion they have been spending time with our senior staff as we grapple with the challenge of keeping King&rsquo;s moving forward, as well as encouraging our elders and wives team and speaking to our key leaders. <br /><br />Steve is uniquely positioned to give us excellent input: he leads a large, racially diverse church in the urban context of Chicago and also served on the national board of the USA Vineyard leadership team for many years. He is a veteran of the Vineyard movement, and I never grow tired of hearing his stories from the early days of John Wimber&rsquo;s ministry. Recently I saw this short interview with Wimber describing his early days as a Christian and his longing to see the church &ldquo;do the stuff&rdquo; that Jesus did &ndash;&nbsp;it is well worth a minute of your life to watch. <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/item/203/">As I said on Sunday</a>, I have a growing sense that a wave of power and gospel proclamation is about to break out among us.<br /><br />Lastly, this coming Sunday we have the joy of baptisms across the church, with over 15 people testifying to the Lord Jesus in word and deed. I look forward to seeing you all there.<br /><br /> <blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">"When do we get to do the stuff?" Watch this classic clip of John Wimber from 1995. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vineyard?src=hash">#vineyard</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wimber?src=hash">#wimber</a> <a href="https://t.co/eID2wrC50p">pic.twitter.com/eID2wrC50p</a></p> &mdash; Vineyard Churches (@VCUKI) <a href="https://twitter.com/VCUKI/status/772818593671155712">September 5, 2016</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script> <br /><br /> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-09-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Fix Your Eyes on Him</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/160</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/160</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/160/Christ_on_Corcovado_mountain_web.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith...&rsquo;</em><br /><em>Hebrews 12:1</em><br /><br />Did you enjoy watching the Olympics over the summer? I find it hard not to get drawn into the drama, to share the joy of success and the heartache of failure, sometimes by the smallest of margins. I particularly enjoyed the wonderful spectacle of these Olympics, with those wide-angle shots of Christ the Redeemer towering over the vast city of Rio. And I am always amazed at the commitment and dedication of the competitors, each with a story of hidden perseverance in preparation for their big moment, the culmination of years of early morning workouts and strict diet regimes, all to achieve the goal of winning gold.<br /><br />In Hebrews 12, Paul draws on the image of the sporting amphitheatre, and calls us to run the race of life with similar perseverance and determination. The verse always brings to my mind the image of an Olympic stadium, of athletes running with single-minded commitment and of crowds cheering them on. As we prayed as a staff team on Tuesday morning, I felt prompted to share a few thoughts from this famous passage in Hebrews, so rich in content. <br /><br />Our team consists of many people with very different roles, some more public and upfront, others more hidden but just as vital. My first exhortation was to be clear about the call God has placed on each of our lives and the lane He has marked out for us. It is no good trying to be a long-distance runner if you are more gifted to be a sprinter. I recently heard John Mumford of the Vineyard movement quote Oscar Wilde: <em>&lsquo;Be yourself, everyone else is taken.&rsquo;&nbsp;</em>Knowing who you are and running in the lane marked out for you is both exhilarating and fruitful. So at the beginning of this new church year, as the gun goes off for the start of another term, it is good to consider whether we are running in the right lane. <br /><br />Secondly, I encouraged us all to fix our eyes on Jesus, to focus on Him, <em>&lsquo;the pioneer and perfecter of our faith&rsquo;</em>. Our faith begins with Jesus. He is the one who fires the gun as we stand on the starting line, who acts as our pacesetter and who cheers us on. So, as we picture the statue of Christ the Redeemer towering over the city of Rio, a symbol of Jesus&rsquo; constant presence, let us continue to follow Him with all the perseverance of an athlete preparing to win gold.<br /><br />Lastly, can I encourage you all to join me this weekend at King&rsquo;s when I will be sharing what I believe God is whispering to us as a church, as we begin another lap together.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160908-09202SYY2B1Q9P7J.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Image by <a class="new" title="User:Artyominc (page does not exist)" href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Artyominc&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1">Artyominc</a> - <a class="new" title="Template:Artyom Sharbatyan (page does not exist)" href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Artyom_Sharbatyan&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1">Template:Artyom Sharbatyan</a>, <a title="Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9515642">https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9515642</a></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-09-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A great city, a great church, and a great team!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/157</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/157</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/157/160901-great-city-church-team-web.jpg" />Joining the team at King's London feels like coming home. I was born in Lambeth, first lived in Camberwell, took my first job in Holborn, went to church in Bermondsey, lived in Islington and then Southwark in my twenties, and did my doctoral studies at King's College London in my thirties. My parents became believers in Bishopsgate, and my sisters live in Croydon and Nunhead. Whether or not London is the centre of the universe&mdash;and I couldn't possibly comment&mdash;it has mostly been the centre of mine.<br /><br />But as much as I love this city, my main reasons for joining the team as Teaching Pastor this September, and for being excited about it, are bound up with the church. I have had the privilege of visiting and preaching at an awful lot of churches over the years, most of which are both charismatic and enthusiastic about preaching, but I have never been anywhere quite like King's. It's not just the exuberance in worship, or the spontaneous outbursts of applause, or the beautifully diverse congregation, or the warmth of the people; it's the sense I get, while worshipping and preaching, that the men and women around me actually believe what they are singing and hearing. I love that. It struck me the first time I visited several years ago, and it strikes me still.<br /><br />On top of that, there is a wonderful team in place, full of competent and committed people who like what they do and know what they're doing. At a personal level, elders, trustees and staff members alike have gone out of their way to welcome me over the last few months. It's also an exciting time to join a team: there are a number of new faces around, and the office move to Lee will create a better working environment and a huge amount more space, as well as shortening my commute dramatically (which Steve keeps assuring me is the main reason it is happening; I remain sceptical).<br /><br />So it's a great city, a great church, and a great team. Beyond that, though, Rachel and I genuinely sense God's leading in my joining King's. If you had told us a year ago that it would be possible for me to serve as a teaching pastor in London, work alongside Steve in Newfrontiers, continue with my wider ministry of teaching, writing and training pastors, and yet keep the family in Eastbourne for now, we would have stared at you in disbelief. But God has opened a way for all of this to work, so that the church in Eastbourne can flourish, I can do what I feel God has called me to do, my children can keep their school and support network, and King's can hopefully benefit as well. We are so grateful.<br /><br />Our first major teaching series of the academic year will be starting towards the end of this month, and it will engage with seven big questions we all have about truth, origins and redemption: it's called <em>If God, then what?</em> We're planning for me to do five of the seven messages, so you'll be hearing a lot more from me in the next few months! But I'm thrilled we're doing it, because it will be a fantastic context to invite people who have questions, as well as a good way of equipping the church. All in all, I can't wait to get started. I look forward to meeting you later this month!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#76"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160815-14269J8E68N6LGWA.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a><br /><br /><br /><em>Andrew Wilson is married to Rachel and they have three young children:&nbsp;Zeke, Anna and Samuel.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert will resume his blog from next week.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-09-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Weâ€™re all in this together!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/158</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/158</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/158/all-in-this-together-web-alt.jpg" />The church is such a great place to get stuck in and volunteer. Over the years I have volunteered to do all sorts of things in the churches we have belonged to. Some things have been more fun than others &ndash; I remember Sunday mornings in cr&egrave;che trying to stop toddlers fighting over toys, the privilege of praying for people, making no end of cups of tea, and groups where, through discussion, people had &lsquo;light bulb&rsquo; moments about Jesus and His Word. <br /><br />King's has some wonderful volunteers who turn up early every Sunday, who hoover and move chairs, who play instruments and make children laugh &ndash; each volunteer is vital to the life of the church. I think of Shirley Toppin and Alice Bell, &lsquo;mature&rsquo; ladies in every sense, who could easily sit back but still take their turn to stand at the door welcoming people on Sundays at Catford. I admire the energy and enthusiasm of Charlie Osborne at Lee or Nick Surridge at Downham who make learning about Jesus fun for our children. And what about all those behind the scenes people who do PA and projection, floor managing and King's Kids reception &ndash; if they didn&rsquo;t turn up we would never be ready to worship God each week.<br /><br />As we start a new term in a week or two, literally hundreds of volunteers at King's will be checking their rotas and donning t-shirts or badges, turning up for training and rehearsals so we can all enjoy church. I&rsquo;m particularly excited about the more than 150 leaders who are preparing for groups across King's from the first week of October. They will be opening their homes, or coming to church during the week, dusting off teapots and opening Bibles, praying that you will find a place in their group and grow in your faith, learn a skill and make new friends. (You can sign up for a group on a Sunday from 4th September or to get signed up early, <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">check out next term's groups online now</a>.)<br /><br />The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:13-14,27, &lsquo;we were all baptised by the one Spirit so as to form one body &ndash; whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free &ndash; and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. And so the body is not made up of one part but of many....Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it.&rsquo; <br /><br />So I guess we really are all in this together &ndash; I pray this term you find where you can play your part.<br /><br /><br /><em>Hilary Dalziel is the main driving force behind <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">Groups</a> at King's. She is part of the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/pastoral-care/">Pastoral Care Team</a>, oversees marriage mentoring and organises much of the training of pastoral care staff and volunteers. Hilary is married to William and they have three grown up children.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert will be back in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-08-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>â€˜He giveth more graceâ€™</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/159</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/159</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/159/160818_He_giveth_more_grace_web.jpg" />There are seasons in our lives when life is really tough. Perhaps it&rsquo;s illness or relational breakdown, maybe it&rsquo;s disappointment or delay, or perhaps it&rsquo;s the loss of a loved one.<br /><br />The hardest season in my life was a number of years ago when my Dad passed away (an untimely death due to leukaemia at the age of 55), compounded by my wife having two miscarriages in the course of the following year (one at twelve weeks and one at twenty weeks). Life was really tough and for a number of years I felt like I was living life in greyscale &ndash; life had lost its colour. Without God and the friends and community around me, I don&rsquo;t know how I would have endured that season; they taught me what it means to &lsquo;mourn with those who mourn&rsquo; (Romans 12:15). And in the years that have followed it&rsquo;s been a privilege to see the outworking of what Paul writes about in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 as I&rsquo;ve been able to support and comfort others:<br /><br /><em>&lsquo;Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.&rsquo;</em><br /><br />I can&rsquo;t remember when I stumbled across the following poem by Annie Johnson Flint, but the truth it conveys has been of enormous encouragement to me. I have found myself giving copies of it or mentioning the words to many others who are in difficult seasons.<br /><br /><em><strong>He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,</strong></em><br /><em><strong>He sendeth more strength when the labours increase;</strong></em><br /><em><strong>To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,</strong></em><br /><em><strong>To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.</strong></em><br /><br /><em><strong>When we have exhausted our store of endurance,</strong></em><br /><em><strong>When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,</strong></em><br /><em><strong>When we reach the end of our hoarded resources</strong></em><br /><em><strong>Our Father&rsquo;s full giving is only begun.</strong></em><br /><br /><em><strong>Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,</strong></em><br /><em><strong>Our God ever yearns His resources to share;</strong></em><br /><em><strong>Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;</strong></em><br /><em><strong>The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.</strong></em><br /><br /><em><strong>His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,</strong></em><br /><em><strong>His power no boundary known unto men;</strong></em><br /><em><strong>For out of His infinite riches in Jesus</strong></em><br /><em><strong>He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.</strong></em><br /><br />What a difference it makes to know this God of grace, strength and comfort! He&rsquo;s the God who says, &lsquo;My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness&rsquo; (2 Corinthians 12:9).<br /><br />If you&rsquo;re currently in a difficult season, I&rsquo;d encourage you seek Him &ndash; to trust Him to be all He says He is. The Holy Spirit strengthens and comforts us directly but God also uses friends and those around us as a means of His grace. So ask for help, get people to pray with and for you, don&rsquo;t isolate yourself, find someone to speak to.<br /><br />If you&rsquo;re not going through a difficult season, I encourage you to grow in your relationship with God, to invest in friendships and get increasingly connected in God&rsquo;s family &ndash; build strong foundations and relationships that will serve you well when the storms come.<br /><br />And let&rsquo;s all be on the lookout for those who are going through a tough season &ndash; to be God&rsquo;s means of grace and to point them to the One who &lsquo;giveth, and giveth, and giveth again&rsquo;.<br /><br /><br /><em>Brett Melville oversees all aspects of Communications at King's. He is married to Jo and they have three young children.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert will be back in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-08-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Power to witness</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/156</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/156</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/156/160811_power_to_witness.jpg" />Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to witness effectively to Jesus?<br /><br />The coming of the Spirit on Jesus' followers on the day of Pentecost propelled them into witness. When the Spirit came they began praising God in languages they had never learned, and a large crowd gathered to see what all the commotion was. Peter explained the message about Jesus with great effectiveness and 3,000 were added to their group that very day.<br /><br />Jesus tells the disciples in Acts 1: <em>'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses...'</em>&nbsp;These words have continued to inspire the spread of the Gospel throughout history, even in the face of fierce persecution. Jesus' message to us hasn't changed: through the power of God's Holy Spirit we will have what it takes to be an effective witness to Him in our world today.<br /><br />Firstly he calls us to PRAY. Alone, yes, but also together. On the day of Pentecost the disciples were <em>'together in one place'</em>. God's power is at work when we pray together with unity of heart and purpose. I cannot forget praying with others in the early years of my time at King's every Wednesday at 6.30am, for God to open people's hearts to the Gospel. At the time, we were seeing two or three people come to Christ each year. On one occasion we had a picture of God opening up a 'fountain of salvation' in our community, with hundreds coming to Christ. Over the last 20 years, hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds have come to Christ at King's. I am so grateful to God for what He has done, but also challenged to keep praying, because there is much more He wants to do!<br /><br />Secondly Jesus invites us to ASK GOD FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT'S HELP (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2011:9-13&amp;version=NIVUK" target="_blank">Luke 11:9-13</a>). Do you ever get the feeling God is waiting to be asked? The truth is we instinctively blunder on without drawing on the incredible resources God has for us.<br /><br />Finally, we need to be ready to ACT when the opportunity arises, just as Peter did on the day of Pentecost. He rose to the challenge to explain the message about Jesus, even though Jesus had only recently been crucified for that very same message. <br /><br />We all have the unique message about Jesus to share, a message of life, love, forgiveness and hope. Each of us has our own unique story to tell of God at work in our lives. In addition to this we all have a completely unique set of relationships and opportunities to share that story. Jesus' encouragement to us all is that He has given us what we need to do this, and to do it effectively. Let's pray, ask for the help of the Holy Spirit and act on the opportunities God has given us.<br /><br /><br /><em>Annie Twort leads <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a> at King's and oversees <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/new-life/">New Life</a>, a group for new Christians. She is married to Dickie and they have three grown-up children.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert will be back in September.</em><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-08-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Where is your Jerusalem?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/155</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/155</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/155/160804-where-is-your-jerusalem.jpg" />&lsquo;What do you do for work?&rsquo;<br /><br />That is the question that I am always looking out for. When I hear it, it&rsquo;s like a light bulb turns on in my brain. I often have to stop myself from smiling because I know that the person I am speaking to has no idea what is coming next! I wonder briefly how the person will respond, and then I go for it.<br /><br /> &lsquo;Well, actually, I am a pastor at a local church.&rsquo;<br /><br />This is usually followed by silence as the person thinks about what to say next. Often the other person will change the subject and the conversation leads nowhere, but I am pleased that I have planted a seed in their mind &ndash; they now know that I am a Christian. At other times the conversation does lead somewhere. People ask questions such as, &lsquo;So what denomination do you belong to?&rsquo; or &lsquo;What does your church believe?&rsquo; and my personal favourite, &lsquo;Is being a pastor a full-time job?&rsquo;.<br /><br />In order to have these conversations, I try to put myself in situations where someone will ask me what I do for work. So I have joined a running club! I run with them once a week and I have really enjoyed being put through my paces (in case you are interested, in eight short weeks I have shaved 90 seconds off my 5k time!). More importantly, as we train I get to know the other runners, I am asked questions, and I have the opportunity to say something about the God we believe in. <br /><br />We read in Acts 1:8 that Jesus said to his disciples, <em>&lsquo;You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.&rsquo;</em>&nbsp; As I have thought about this verse, I have noticed that the disciples were promised two things: firstly, power from the Holy Spirit and secondly, a strategy for reaching the whole earth. This strategy was to start in Jerusalem &ndash;&nbsp;Jerusalem was <em>where they were</em>. <br /><br />It is my firm belief that if the whole earth is going to be reached with the good news of Jesus, then it will require Spirit-filled disciples to witness to people <em>where they are</em>. <br /><br />So where is your Jerusalem? My Jerusalem is my family, neighbours, friends and running club. Your Jerusalem might be your class mate at school, your work colleagues, or parents at the school gates. Can I encourage you this summer to think about how you will witness to your Jerusalem? <br /><br />It will be a challenge. It will cause some inconvenience to you. It will require prayer and perseverance. But the God who sends us is also the God who saves all those who come to Him in faith. <br /><br /> Look out for those key questions, &lsquo;What did you do over the weekend?&rsquo;, &lsquo;Why do you go to church?&rsquo;, and delight in taking the opportunity to point people towards Jesus.<br /><br /><br /><em>Charles Kimbangi&nbsp;oversees <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/united/">UNITED</a>, our ministry for young adults. He helps run Alpha and leads numerous other groups. He is married to Amy.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert will be back in September.</em><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-08-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>You are worth more than you think!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/151</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/151</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/151/160728_you_are_worth_more_than_you_think.jpg" />The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition started on 10th June and runs through to 21st August. It is famous for being the world&rsquo;s largest open submission art show and it takes place in the Royal Academy's magnificent building in Piccadilly. As ever the exhibition will present an eclectic mix of oil paintings, watercolours, prints, sculptures, architectural models and drawings. Works by emerging artists are exhibited alongside household names.<br /><br />Every summer my wife and I go to the exhibition with a couple of old friends. We always purchase an exhibition catalogue and play a game of <em>'Guess the Price'</em>. The rules are simple: we pick a painting and each hazard a guess at the sale price. The person who gets closest wins a point. The player with the most points at the end wins the game. Simple! Actually it&rsquo;s not that simple because we are frequently thousands of pounds out in our predictions. So what gives a painting its value? It&rsquo;s partly the scale of the artwork (the bigger the canvas the more paint you have to use!) but normally it has a lot to do with who painted it. If they are an established artist with the letters RA (Royal Academician) after their name, the price goes sky-high.<br /><br />Some years ago, a desk and chair belonging to Charles Dickens sold at auction for &pound;433,250 and the money was generously donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital. It is thought they were used by the author at his home in Gads Hill Place, Kent when he wrote <em>Great Expectations</em>. The mahogany desk bears a bronze plaque which carries the name of its famous owner. <br /><br />The theologian William Barclay wrote: <em>&lsquo;A very ordinary thing acquires a new value, if it has been possessed by some famous person. In any museum we will find quite ordinary things &ndash; clothes, a walking stick, a pen, books, pieces of furniture &ndash; which are only of value because they were once possessed and used by some great person. It is the ownership which gives them worth. It is so with the Christian. The Christian may be a very ordinary person, but he acquires a new value and dignity and greatness because he belongs to God. The greatness of the Christian lies in the fact that he is God&rsquo;s.&rsquo;</em><br /><br />Galatians 4:7 states: <em>&lsquo;So you are no longer a slave, but God&rsquo;s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.&rsquo; <br /><br /></em>You are worth more than you think!<br /><br /><br /><em>Malcolm Kyte is an elder of the church and leads the Downham site. He is responsible for the Pastoral Care Team and Safeguarding at King's. Malcolm is married to Cathy and they have three grown up children.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert will be back in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-07-28</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>His Power in our Weakness</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/150</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/150</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/150/blog-PIW.jpg" />Over many years, I've drawn encouragement from the words spoken by God to the apostle Paul as recorded in 2 Cor 12:9: <em>"My Grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness".<br /></em><br />Paul is making reference to an intense struggle he &nbsp;faces in the context of his apostolic calling. Although he has cried out to God for his affliction to be removed, it is still an issue. We don't have enough evidence to know what the problem was. Paul describes it as a 'thorn in the flesh' and a 'messenger of Satan' which torments him. These are strong words - he's clearly not talking about a cold he can't shake off. The words carry the implication of both physical pain and mental struggle.<br /><br />Since God has not relieved him of his difficulty, he has lived with it long enough to draw a stunning conclusion. He has observed that whatever hardships he faces for the sake of Christ, whether insults, physical difficulties, even torture and outright persecution, it has all led to Christ's power being demonstrated more greatly in his life.<br /><br />This is a radical discovery. I have lost count of the number of times I have disqualified myself as 'not up to' the work of God on the basis of my weaknesses. I've been distracted - does that disqualify me? I've been repeatedly ill - does that count me out? I've been tempted - what does that say about me? I've worried and sometimes stayed awake at night - how does that reflect on my trust in God?<br /><br />What Paul gives us here is an insight into how the power of God works. It is all Grace, all His gift flowing freely from the sacrifice of His own precious Son on our behalf. The more we lean fully on God, the more His power is released in us and through us.<br /><br />Dependence on God is by no means a natural instinct - unless you happen to have just slipped and fallen over the edge of a cliff, or caught flu' the day before an important exam, or had a call from the police to say someone you love has been in an accident. In extreme difficulty when we feel anxious and powerless, we lean fully on God. God's power is 'made perfect' and becomes fully operational when we depend totally on him in this way.<br /><br />The challenge then is to take on board this wonderful lesson in the good times as well as the times of pressure, whether we feel strong or weak. Jesus has called each one of us to follow him. He has 'appointed' us to produce fruit that will last. The lasting fruit of our lives and service to him will reflect the degree to which we have learned to depend fully on God rather than ourselves. We need to learn how to 'lean', so that greater Glory might go to Him.<br /><br /><em>Annie Twort leads Alpha at King's and oversees New Life, a group for new Christians. She is married to Dickie and they have three grown-up children.</em><br /><br /><em>Steve Tibbert will be back in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-07-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newfrontiers, Highlights of the Church Year, and a Holiday</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/154</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/154</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/154/advert-picnic-2016.jpg" />This week I have spent a few days away with friends and fellow leaders from within our <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers</a> family. It has been great to pray together, hear news from the different apostolic worlds and discuss how we can partner together in planting churches across the UK.<br /><br />This week also marks the end of another church year for me, as Deb, Sam and I go off on holiday at the weekend. Once again, it has been a year in which we have experienced the favour of God in remarkable ways: the Education Funding Agency&rsquo;s leasing of the first floor of our Lee building has released hundreds of thousands of pounds into our mission together, and the news that Andrew Wilson will join our team from September this year is a very exciting development.<br /><br />Don&rsquo;t forget we have our annual <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/#41">King&rsquo;s Church London picnic</a> this Sunday! This is always a fantastic occasion, and is once again being held at Ladywell Arena, from 1pm. The weather forecast looks good and I am sure it will be another fun afternoon. If you haven't been to the annual picnic before, take a look at the video below for a taste of what's to come.<br /><br />Over the next few weeks, while I am away, I will be taking a break from blogging, but I am delighted to say that we have a number of guest posts during that period. So, enjoy reading those, have a great summer and see you soon.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/174634399" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-07-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Together on a Mission</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/153</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/153</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/153/1607_Newfrontiers_website_alt2.jpg" />Several years have passed since Newfrontiers multiplied into autonomous spheres, when Terry Virgo handed over responsibility to his sons. It is very heartening to see how we have continued to expand since then.<br /><br />The brand new <a href="https://newfrontierstogether.org/">Newfrontiers website</a>, launched last week, gives a flavour of the gospel expansion taking place within the spheres. Do have a look to see how we are continuing to work together to pursue the purposes of God around the world. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-07-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Week is a Long Time in Politics</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/152</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/152</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/152/europe_by_night_cropped_web.jpg" />A week ago, the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU. I stayed up until five in the morning watching the results and like many of you, I was surprised at the outcome. Whatever your political persuasion, the referendum has undoubtedly exposed deep divisions in our country. It has left us in a period of uncertainty &ndash;&nbsp;we are a less united, more divided nation than we had perhaps fully realised before Friday&rsquo;s result was announced. As the voting patterns have been analysed over the course of the last seven days, major differences have been revealed between young and old, Scotland and England, and urban centres (like the one in which I live) and more rural regions. There is evidence of tension rising between people groups, and even within families where opinions differ. It has left our government with a vacuum of leadership and some of our political parties displaying a worrying drift towards the right or left. It is understandable if many among us are concerned and anxious about what the future may hold.<br /><br />What an opportunity for the church in this land to stand up and be counted! Whatever your political persuasion, let us welcome the stranger, preach the Gospel and show mercy to the vulnerable and the foreigner. Let us pray for our leaders and the government and seek to build together rather than move apart. Let us respect the result of the referendum and ultimately put our trust in another kingdom, God&rsquo;s Kingdom, where He reigns and which will last forever. We often teach that we should have no other gods than the great I AM. So, in a time of uncertainty let us seek to hold on to Him, confident in the knowledge that He can meet all our needs whatever the political or economic outlook.<br /><br />This Sunday we welcome Andrew Wilson to speak at the Catford and Lee sites in the second part of our new series based out of the book Ruth, and I hope to see many of you there. As we gather again to focus on Jesus and worship the King of kings, let us stand together as a church and continue to be salt and light in our homes, communities and workplaces.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/26/"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160629-1527LQ4PH76P7BTZ.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-06-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Seasons of Life</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/149</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/149</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/149/shutterstock_172618823_16_9_web.jpg" />Last Friday marked the end of a season for me and Deb: our youngest son Sam had his final GCSE and so wore his school uniform for the last time ever! It felt like a milestone moment. For this family, Friday meant that after 20 years there will be no more uniform to wash or school shirts to iron &ndash; our three boys really are growing up and a significant season of our lives is drawing to a close.<br /><br />Life never remains the same, especially if you have children. As the years pass, you move through different seasons, and each will bring its own opportunities and challenges. A number of years ago, I came across the writing of Gordon MacDonald, and I have found his observations on this subject extremely helpful. In his book <em>A Resilient Life,</em> he suggests that each decade of our lives raises different underlying questions and that <em>&lsquo;...knowing them helps us to deal with people sensitively, and gives us a better understanding of how to build a larger view of our own lives.&rsquo;</em>&nbsp; The questions we ask ourselves in our 20s will vary greatly to those we ask in our 40s or 50s. Here is a sample of some of the key questions MacDonald suggests are raised as we move through the decades:<br /><br />20s &ndash;&nbsp;What kind of a man or woman am I becoming? What will I do with my life?<br />30s&nbsp;&ndash; How do I prioritise the demands being made on my life?<br />40s&nbsp;&ndash; What can I do to make a greater contribution to my generation?<br />50s&nbsp;&ndash; Why is time moving so fast? How do I deal with my failures and successes?<br />60s &ndash;&nbsp;When do I stop doing the things that have always defined me? Do I have enough time to do all the things I&rsquo;ve dreamed about in the past?<br />70s and 80s &ndash;&nbsp;Is there anything I can still contribute? Am I ready to face death?<br /><br />Do any of these resonate with you? His book is well worth a read if you haven&rsquo;t come across it before. It has helped me understand myself and others better. Knowing what season I am in, what lies ahead and the questions I am likely to be asking, enables me to anticipate and prepare for the opportunities and challenges that are coming, and to embrace each season I live through.<br /><br />So what season are you in at the moment? It is worth some reflection. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-06-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Ebenezer Project</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/148</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/148</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/148/web-ebenezer-collage.jpg" />It was such a joy to have Scott Marques and Renee Cunningham with us in January, when we introduced the work of the Ebenezer Agricultural Centre in Zimbabwe to the church. As many of you will know, Scott Marques is the apostolic leader for DNA, a part of Newfrontiers, and Renee Cunningham is the director of Ebenezer, a church-backed, Christian project which trains young adults in farming and business methods, whilst also offering them Christian discipleship. King&rsquo;s is keen to develop its links with the church in Zimbabwe and with the Ebenezer Project in particular, and so with this in mind, Malcolm Kyte took a team from King&rsquo;s out to Zimbabwe in March to visit the churches in Harare and Bulawayo and to see some of the many social action projects they run. We hope this will be the first of many such trips.<br /><br />As part of a packed schedule, Malcolm and the team spent some time at Ebenezer and were very impressed with the work that goes on there. They discovered that one of the most acute needs at the centre is for improved accommodation for their staff &ndash;&nbsp;one staff family is currently living in a tent! After consultation with Renee and Scott, we set a target to raise &pound;20,000 from King&rsquo;s to build that family a new house. We held our gift days a few weeks ago, and I am thrilled to announce that once again, the people of King&rsquo;s have excelled in their generosity: We have gone way beyond the original target and raised the amazing amount of &pound;35,000! Renee and her team will be able to put this to great use. King&rsquo;s, thank you again for being such a generous community.<br /><br />This coming Sunday is Father&rsquo;s Day and I am looking forward to speaking on the subject of fatherhood at the Catford and Lee sites. Malcolm Kyte will be speaking on a similar subject at Downham, where the service will include dedications. Please come along this Sunday ready to mark Father&rsquo;s Day, to worship our heavenly Father and to give thanks for dads.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160616-0854MKNUSG4QVMEU.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-06-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Finding your Pace</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/147</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/147</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/147/photo_for_blog_9.6_.16_alternative_resized_.jpg" />It was my last ever sports day of junior school. I was eleven years old and I wanted to end my years at Newnham Junior School on a high! As I stood on the starting line for the 400 metres, I thought back to last year&rsquo;s race &ndash;&nbsp;I had run too fast at the outset, had fallen behind on the final straight, and had been beaten. This year, I was determined not to allow that to happen again. As I came around the bend of the last lap, I sprinted out of the pack and crossed the finish line. I had won! This marked the high point in my brief athletics career &ndash; I may have lost the year before, but this time I got my pace right.<br /><br />Over the years, I have come to realise that pastoral ministry is more of a marathon than a sprint. There are far too many casualties among those who share my calling and job, whether that is from moral failure, emotional breakdown or the misuse of money or power. It seems to me that all too frequently, the dangers of 'measure, treasure or pleasure' disqualify good men and women from running the race.<br /><br />I find myself pondering why it is that so many succumb to injury and drop out of the race. The reasons are probably numerous, but I believe one of the dangers is having a lifestyle with an unsustainable pace. Living life in this way puts leaders, or for that matter anyone in a demanding job, in a very vulnerable place. You may think that you can keep going at that speed, but pretty soon warning signs will begin to show: short temper, disengagement from the family, spiritual dullness, or just plain old fatigue. Being in such a position can leave you far more susceptible to the enemy&rsquo;s temptations.<br /><br />It is important to take time to step back occasionally and consider how you are doing. I am aware that in the last few months the pace in my own life has picked up again. Since I became a pastor, I have endeavoured to put in place a rhythm of life that I can sustain over the long haul. And as I begin to feel the effects of running hard, I am glad to see that I am only a few weeks away now from my summer holiday and this year&rsquo;s two week study break. It does me good to step out of the race for a while, to get off the treadmill and give myself time to relax, recharge and refocus. I know that it means I can return refreshed and ready for the next lap. <br /><br />How is your pace at the moment? ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-06-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Waiting...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/146</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/146</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/146/pexels-photo-large_-_resized.jpg" />I am not very good at waiting.<br /><br />This is probably not a helpful attribute when you happen to live in London. Our traffic is such that it is pretty much impossible to go anywhere without having to sit in in a queue at some point. My family know that I am always on the lookout for a shortcut, many of which frequently become &lsquo;long cuts&rsquo; &ndash; but at least we&rsquo;re moving! Whenever I am in a supermarket, I will always try to find the shortest possible line at the checkout, mentally calculating how long any people ahead of me are likely to take. Yet still, the chances are, I will end up in the slowest one! Deb is always telling me that God is trying to teach me patience, but it seems this is not an easy lesson for me. I am not very good at waiting&hellip;<br /><br />Over the last couple of weeks we have been waiting for the completion of the lease of the first floor of our Lee building. Many of you will know that we are in the process of letting it to a new school that is starting up in Greenwich. As I write this blog, I have just been informed that there is another delay because of the Bank Holiday, and so we are still waiting for the finalities to be completed. I am really not very good at waiting&hellip;<br /><br />So today I have decided to take Deb&rsquo;s advice, be patient, and &lsquo;take a chill pill&rsquo;. While on a practical level we will continue to work hard to push this transaction over the finish line, I will endeavour also to relax and remember that God is sovereign.<br /><br />Maybe God is trying to teach me something &ndash; how to stretch our faith in times of delay perhaps, or challenging me to work on that impatient aspect of my character. The trouble is, it really doesn&rsquo;t come easily! I am not good at waiting&hellip;<br /><br />P.S. I have just heard that everything has now been signed and we have completed on the lease! Fantastic news &ndash;&nbsp;but I am still not good at waiting!<br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-06-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Coaching</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/145</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/145</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/145/1605_FA_Cup_Final_web.jpg" />For a number of years now I have been running coaching courses for lead elders and their teams. Some 40 to 50 churches have been involved since we began, and it is great to have played a small part in helping other churches flourish. One good example would be Neal Bartlett from High Wycombe, whose church has doubled in size and went multi-site in March.<br /><br />I am therefore very excited to see that our next course begins in a couple of weeks with 45 leaders, representing some 18 churches from across the UK Newfrontiers family, taking part. My style tends to be very interactive and I prefer the attendees to set the agenda rather than me. I am keen that the days should not be too 'front-led', as I want to respond to the current issues being faced by those in the room. Over the years we have discussed topics such as team building, raising and handling money, preaching programmes and size dynamics. The days are made up of a mixture of group discussion, time for self-reflection, and Q&amp;A sessions &ndash;&nbsp;the aim is to provide an environment which facilitates dialogue and where peer leaders can learn from one another.<br /><br />It is my firm belief that leaders also benefit from good self-awareness, and so we also spend time looking at the subject of personality traits. I am hugely indebted to Brian Watts, who co-leads these coaching days with me, as he brings a great deal of expertise to this area in particular. Brian has also helped me with some one-to-one coaching on a few occasions. I have found this to be extremely useful in identifying the key issues of particular leadership challenges I may be facing.<br /><br />Of course, in a blog about the benefits of coaching, I need to mention Saturday&rsquo;s FA Cup Final. Despite their months of training and preparation, Palace sadly failed to beat Manchester United &ndash;&nbsp;although they did manage to creep ahead for a brief, joy-filled period of four minutes! Nevertheless, Ben, Josh and I had a fantastic day. We sang our hearts out and loved the whole experience of seeing our team play at Wembley. Maybe, with a little more coaching, they can do it next year... ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-05-26</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Team Spirit</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/144</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/144</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/144/image.jpeg" />This week I have been away in France with key members of our staff team. Over recent years, we have made it our habit to get away in May to the Braithwaite&rsquo;s, who always provide us with outstanding hospitality. We have found that being away together has been hugely beneficial - it enables us to make time and space for prayer and discussion about all we believe God is calling us to at King&rsquo;s. By the end of the week we hope to have a growing sense of the next steps on our journey, and upon our return I will present our recommendations to the eldership team for their input. Sadly this year I will not be able to participate in the annual water polo and badminton championships, as I am still recovering from lower back pain.<br /><br />Then on Saturday we are taking advantage of a rare opportunity - Ben, Josh and I have tickets to watch Palace in the FA Cup final! Josh has suggested we make a day of it, so after a hearty cooked brunch we will make our way across London to Wembley. Sam has shown great maturity and will be staying at home, as he is in the middle of his GCSEs. However, we have agreed that whatever the outcome we will all meet up in central London in the evening to mark the day. Hopefully we will be celebrating and not commiserating!<br /><br />So this week it&rsquo;s Team Spirit week: Team King&rsquo;s, Team Palace and Team Tibbert! ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-05-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Annual Giving Review</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/143</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/143</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/143/web-giving-review-title.jpg" />What an amazing weekend we have just had, with a total of nineteen people being baptised at our Catford and Lee services on Sunday. As always, it was fantastic to hear the different stories of people&rsquo;s journeys towards finding faith and encountering Jesus. What is more, two people became Christians and ten responded to say they too would like to be baptised, including one of those who had just responded to salvation! Wow, praise God! This weekend it is our Downham site&rsquo;s moment, with another four people testifying in word and deed to the risen Lord Jesus and taking the step of being baptised. We will be praying for another fruitful Sunday!<br /><br />I do find these moments such an encouragement - witnessing each life transformed is deeply moving. With this in mind, as we approach our <strong>Annual Giving Review</strong>, I hope that we will be encouraged that our generous and sacrificial giving is bearing fruit in many lives. Please take a look again at the short video notice I shared with the church recently:<br /><br /><iframe style="margin-bottom: 5px;" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/164703791?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br />On this occasion, we are asking everyone to review their <strong>regular (revenue) giving</strong>, to review their <strong>regular multi-site giving</strong> and also to bring an <strong>additional one-off gift towards our multi-site fund</strong>. We take a monthly multi-site offering towards the fulfilment of our vision here at King&rsquo;s but on <strong>these next two Sundays, 15th and 22nd May,</strong> it&rsquo;s a multi-site offering with a difference: we are looking to raise &pound;20,000 for the Ebenezer Project in Zimbabwe, where we have a growing relationship.&nbsp;<br /><br />So as we approach the next two Sundays, let us continue to be a people who excel in faith-filled giving.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160512-1043UZKD7RVUU3T7.jpg" alt="" width="NaN" height="NaN" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-05-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Fuelling the Mission</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/141</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/141</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/141/web-baptisms-title-only.jpg" />I was recently asked the question,<em><strong> &lsquo;If you could summarise what King&rsquo;s is about in one word, what would that word be?</strong></em>&rsquo;<strong>'</strong>. My answer was immediate: <strong><em>&lsquo;Mission&rsquo;</em></strong>. At King&rsquo;s we are clear that we are about gospel extension &ndash;&nbsp;about reaching our community, playing our part in the building of God&rsquo;s kingdom and making disciples. That is why I get so excited about Baptism Sundays! <br /><br />Over the next couple of weeks, I am thrilled to say that we will be baptising over 20 people. I never grow tired of hearing the unique testimonies of those getting baptised; each person is precious to God and an example of His on-going grace towards us. It reveals to me afresh the kindness of a Saviour who takes each person on a journey of faith. I am looking forward to speaking on Sunday and presenting the risen Jesus as Saviour and Lord. And I will be praying that many others will follow the example of those being baptised by putting their faith in Him.<br /><br />Last weekend we launched our <strong>Annual Giving Review</strong>, that time of year when we ask all those who call King&rsquo;s their home church to prayerfully review what they give to our <strong>Revenue</strong> and <strong>Multi-site Funds</strong>. Remember also that this year we are taking up an <strong>additional offering</strong> towards the <strong>Ebenezer project in Zimbabwe</strong>. Ebenezer runs a fantastic programme which disciples young people and trains them in farming and business, equipping them with the skills required to set up their own farming enterprises. Our target is to raise &pound;20,000 which will go towards building much needed staff accommodation on the site. To find out more, have a read of <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/137/">Malcolm Kyte&rsquo;s report</a> about the King&rsquo;s team&rsquo;s recent visit to Zimbabwe. And if you missed it on Sunday, have a look below at the video we produced to launch our <strong>Annual Giving Review</strong>.<br /><br />I cannot emphasise enough how valuable it is when God&rsquo;s people commit to giving faithfully and generously. It is through the continued giving of all those at King&rsquo;s that God has been able to accomplish so much here. And as that faithful giving continues into the future, I pray that it will lead to us seeing many more people coming to know Jesus as their personal Saviour and taking the step of being baptised.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/164703791?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-05-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Celebrations and Tributes</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/140</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/140</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/140/160428_80th_celebration_web.jpg" />Last Saturday, three generations of the Tibbert family met in Bedford to celebrate my father&rsquo;s 80th birthday. My dad is quite a guy &ndash; a godly leader, loving father and wise mentor. Both my brother Martin and I are leading Newfrontiers churches and all the grandchildren are following God and serving faithfully &ndash; what a legacy! It was wonderful to have the opportunity to gather as family and tell my dad how much we appreciate him. One of the highlights of the afternoon was watching a video in which the grandchildren told &lsquo;Poppa Brian&rsquo; what they love about him &ndash; a wonderfully moving, funny and fitting tribute. And to top the weekend off, Crystal Palace won the FA Cup semi-final and are on their way to Wembley!<br /><br />On Sunday evening we said farewell to Pastor Robert Kwami, who is leaving the King&rsquo;s pastoral team after seven years of faithful service. Robert joined the church in the days when we only had one meeting, so he has seen some major changes among us in the last decade. It was great to honour Robert and his family and give thanks for all he has done among us. <br /><br />Lastly today, I would like to extend an invitation to all at King&rsquo;s to join us on <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Wednesday 4th May, 7.45pm</a> on the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford </a>site. As a part of our teaching series <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/25/"><em>When the Spirit Comes</em></a>, we will be gathering for worship, prayer and to receive from God. I always enjoy these evenings, when we have more time to pray and wait upon God and I look forward to seeing many of you there. <br /><br />By the way, did I mention Palace are in the FA Cup final?<br /><br /><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/events/62/WTSC-Celebration-Events.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-04-28</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>When the Spirit Comes</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/139</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/139</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/139/WTSC-Events.jpg" /><em>&ldquo;But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.&rdquo;</em>&nbsp;<em>Act 1v8<br /></em><br />When I was young my parents took me to church every week. Maybe &lsquo;dragged me&rsquo; would be a better phrase, as I was a reluctant church-goer &ndash; it was definitely something to be endured rather than enjoyed. As I got older my interest in going along began to grow, but that was only because I met girls there! At that time I had never heard of the Holy Spirit and the services I sat through seemed irrelevant, lifeless and stuck in the past.<br /><br />Then during my teenage years I began to notice some changes occurring at the Baptist church we attended. People started talking about the Holy Spirit and meetings were gradually transformed. There was an expectation of power, a new rise of faith that God was in our midst. As the church went through what we now call renewal, it became a place of life, vibrancy and relevance and it was during this time that I committed my life to Jesus. <br /><br />How different things are now! Every week we come with an expectation that God will speak. We welcome the Holy Spirit to fill us and propel us on mission. We come with certainty and faith that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are freely available to us.<br /><br />This Sunday we launch a new series on the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford</a> and <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee</a> sites (it starts at <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/downham/">Downham</a> the following Sunday) which looks again at the work of the Holy Spirit through the book of Acts. Our intent is to ensure we retain an attitude which seeks to lean into the power of God, while remaining rooted in a clear biblical framework for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We will teach, meet in groups and pray for God to meet with us. You can read more about <em>When the Spirit Comes</em> <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/docs/WTSC_series_web.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br />I am excited about this series and would like to invite you to join us each Sunday. We also have an opportunity to meet midweek when we gather as one church on <strong>Wednesday 4th May</strong>&nbsp;. It will be a <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/">celebration evening</a> where we will take time to receive and pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon us. The meeting will begin at <strong>7.45pm</strong> on the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford</a> site and I hope to see many of you there.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160421-1359BLXJ7NLZ3S11.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-04-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Five Years On &#45; Super Sunday!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/138</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/138</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/138/web-super-sunday-apr16-title.jpg" /><em>"'Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.'"</em><br /><em>Joshua 1:11<br /></em><br />Just over five years ago at King&rsquo;s Church London, we got our provisions ready, and launched out from our Catford base to become a multi-site church. There was much to prepare &ndash;&nbsp;it involved the purchase of a large school in Lee and the renovation of our Downham building. But perhaps more costly as we 'broke camp' was the sending out of over two hundred people to our new sites; friends we had become used to seeing each Sunday were now worshipping somewhere else.<br /><br />It has often been said that you can overestimate what can be achieved in one year and underestimate what can be done in five. That was certainly true in this case! To be honest, the first couple of years were a bit of a blur as we adjusted to being a church which meets across three sites rather than just one. In the end it required the complete restructuring of our staff team to accommodate and serve the change we had embarked upon. But King&rsquo;s has changed radically over the last five years! I was amazed to discover from the results of a recent survey that 57% of people attending had started coming to King&rsquo;s within the last five years! Both our new sites have doubled in size and we have grown overall by around 40%. But alongside our numerical growth and the development of our facilities we have also seen a massive step forward in our group attendance: we are now approaching the same number of adults in groups as we see on Sundays &ndash; quite a change and extremely encouraging!<br /><br />This coming weekend, on <strong><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Super Sunday</a></strong>,&nbsp;we will tell our multi-site story, give thanks to God for His faithfulness and look forward with faith to our future together. What might God accomplish here in the next five years?<br /><br />So I would like to invite you all to come this weekend. Come ready to give thanks, to celebrate and to look forward with anticipation to all that God is calling us to reach for in the coming years. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-04-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Report from Zimbabwe by Malcolm Kyte</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/137</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/137</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/137/160331_Zim_trip_Mar16_web.jpg" />Thank you so much for praying for the King&rsquo;s Church team over the last couple of weeks &ndash; the trip was a great success and everything went to plan. Our team was made up of five from the Catford site &ndash; Charles &amp; Amy Kimbangi, Helen Fuller, Roberta Walker and Jean-Marie Tucker; three from Lee &ndash; Peregrine &amp; Denise Storrs-Fox and Lauren Miller; and me from the Downham site.<br /><br />Our trip was packed with extraordinary experiences and it will take a while for the team to process everything we saw and heard. Time and time again we heard stories of great faith and were challenged by the entrepreneurial spirit of the people. In the UK we often put social action in a separate category to church but there, church and social action is totally integrated. Even the smallest churches were reaching out to their local communities to make a difference. They often start projects in a small way and see what God does. There is a real dependence on God in prayer for all their needs and a willingness to step out in faith to try to meet needs wherever they can. So, for example, The Michael Project (based at River of Life, Harare) started in a small way and has now grown to a children&rsquo;s home for 16 children, a pre-school in a poor community called Wingate, a pre-school at Greystone Park (one of their church sites) and a pre-school and day-care centre for children in Chikurubi Maximum Security Women&rsquo;s Prison.<br /><br />The King&rsquo;s Church team was based in Harare for the first half of our trip and then travelled to Bulawayo for the final three days. Our road trip to Bulawayo took over eight hours, mainly due to the 13 or 14 times we had to stop at police checkpoints!<br /><br />We attended five church services over two weekends at River of Life in Harare and New Creation Church and Hope City Church in Bulawayo. We also spent time meeting other church teams, visiting pre-schools, orphanages, social enterprise projects, a kids&rsquo; club and the highly impressive Ebenezer Project, where 85 apprentices are currently being trained in agriculture &amp; farming with an education and discipleship programme alongside. Possibly the highlight of the trip was the first-time response to the gospel made by our driver Peter at Hope City Church on our last Sunday! <br /><br />There are several videos of our trip on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kingschurchlondon/?fref=ts">King's Church London Facebook page</a> &ndash; it is worth looking at it if you haven&rsquo;t already. Our intention is to build an ongoing link with Zimbabwe to learn from each other &ndash; there are plenty of opportunities to make a significant difference!<br /><br /><em>Pictures (clockwise from left) &ndash;&nbsp;River of Life Church (Greystone Park site),&nbsp;Wingate Community Pre-School,&nbsp;Team house in Harare</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-03-31</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Hallelujah! What a Saviour!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/136</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/136</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/136/web-easter16-title-with-dates.jpg" />I was baptised on February 6th 1983. It marked the end of one journey and the beginning of another &ndash; the old life had gone, a new life had begun. In those days, anybody being baptised in the church where I grew up could choose a worship song for their baptismal service. My choice was an old hymn &ndash;&nbsp;perhaps not very contemporary, but its words are so powerful:<br /><br /><em>Hallelujah! What a Saviour!</em><br /><br /><em>1. 'Man of Sorrows!' what a name</em><br /><em>For the Son of God, who came</em><br /><em>Ruined sinners to reclaim.</em><br /><em>Hallelujah! What a Saviour!</em><br /><br /><em>2. Bearing shame and scoffing rude,</em><br /><em>In my place condemned He stood;</em><br /><em>Sealed my pardon with His blood.</em><br /><em>Hallelujah! What a Saviour!</em><br /><br /><em>3. Guilty, vile, and helpless we;</em><br /><em>Spotless Lamb of God was He;</em><br /><em>&ldquo;Full atonement!&rdquo; can it be?</em><br /><em>Hallelujah! What a Saviour!</em><br /><br /><em>4. Lifted up was He to die;</em><br /><em>'It is finished!' was His cry;</em><br /><em>Now in Heav&rsquo;n exalted high.</em><br /><em>Hallelujah! What a Saviour!</em><br /><br /><em>5. When He comes, our glorious King,</em><br /><em>All His ransomed home to bring,</em><br /><em>Then anew His song we&rsquo;ll sing:</em><br /><em>Hallelujah! What a Saviour!</em><br /><br /><em>Philip P. Bliss, pub. 1875<br /></em><br />What a wonderful hymn! It may have been written over a century ago and its language may seem a little archaic to our modern ears, but the truths it expresses are timeless.<br /><br />This Easter weekend our theme at King&rsquo;s is <em><strong>Easter Changes Everything</strong></em>. We begin with a <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>Good Friday service</strong></a><strong>, 10.30 am at all sites</strong>. This will be a shorter meeting of around an hour during which we will break bread and reflect on Jesus&rsquo; death on the cross. Please note there will be no children&rsquo;s work on Good Friday. Then on Sunday, we will celebrate the risen Lord Jesus Christ at our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>Easter Day</strong></a> services, taking place at the normal times at all three sites. <em>And don't forget to set your alarms on Saturday night because the clocks go forward this Sunday!</em><br /><br />The events of Easter changed everything for me, as they did for many of you reading this blog. This is a great time to invite our friends, family and neighbours to come to church, so let me encourage you again to get those invites out! We are praying that this weekend will be one where many more come to faith and realise that for them too, <em><strong>Easter changes everything</strong></em>. <br /><br /><em>I will be taking a short holiday and some study leave over the next two weeks, so I will not be writing a blog post during that time. However, next week Malcolm Kyte, recently returned from leading our King&rsquo;s team trip to Zimbabwe, will be bringing a report on their time there.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-03-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Transformed &#45; Week Seven</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/131</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/131</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/131/web-transformed-vocational-health.jpg" />This is the final week of our Transformed daily devotionals. There are some suggestions for prayer for the week and a Bible verse for each day for meditation and further study.<br /><br />As you read, you may want to keep a simple journal of God&rsquo;s word to you. A helpful way of doing this may be to consider the following points each time:<br /><br />&bull; What did you hear?<br />&bull; What do you think?<br />&bull; What will you do?<br />&bull; Now talk to God&hellip;<br /><br />Visit <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/transformed">kingschurchlondon.org/transformed</a> for additional teaching by Rick Warren, recordings of the Sunday messages, the testimony videos, the family devotionals.<br /><br /><strong>If you have enjoyed this series, we would love to hear what God has done/is doing in your life. Please share with your Group Leader or one of the Pastors, or email <a href="mailto:info@kingschurchlondon.org">info@kingschurchlondon.org</a>. </strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>WEEK 7</strong><br /><strong>TRANSFORMED IN MY VOCATIONAL HEALTH</strong><br /><br /><strong>This Week...Talk To God &ndash;&nbsp;POINTS FOR PRAYER</strong><br />&bull; Praise God for the way He has made you and that He has given you gifts and talents to be used for His glory.<br />&bull; Ask God to direct your path each day and to give you wisdom and integrity in all that you do.<br />&bull; Pray for those in government &ndash; of our country and throughout the world &ndash; that His wisdom and integrity will prevail and that godly decisions will be taken.<br /><br /><strong>Day 43 &ndash; Sunday 20th March</strong><br />Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.<br />Proverbs 16:3 (NLT)<br /><br /><strong>Day 44 &ndash; Monday 21st March</strong><br />But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.<br />Deuteronomy 8:18a (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 45 &ndash; Tuesday 22nd March</strong><br />Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct <br />your paths.<br />Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) <br /><br /><strong>Day 46 &ndash; Wednesday 23rd March</strong><br />For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.<br />Proverbs 2:6-7(NLT) <br /><br /><strong>Day 47 &ndash; Thursday 24th March</strong><br />Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.<br />Proverbs 15:22 (NIV) <br /><br /><strong>Day 48 &ndash; Friday 25th March</strong><br />Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.<br />James 1:2-3 (NIV) <br /><br /><strong>Day 49 &ndash; Saturday 26th March</strong><br />Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.<br />Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)<br /><br /><br /><em>Please think and pray about who you could invite to our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Easter services</a> next weekend or next term&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a>.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-03-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Easter Changes Everything</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/135</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/135</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/135/5699748900_ec8af8530c_o_web.jpg" />I clearly remember my first Easter as a Christian.<br /><br /> Although I was brought up in a church-going family, I did not become a Christian until I was 19. It was a decision which radically changed the direction of my life. One of the Easter traditions of the church in which I grew up and came to faith, was the &lsquo;Good Friday Walk&rsquo;. The whole church would &nbsp;gather in the car park, load up into cars and drive in convoy out to the countryside. (This was not London and green space was never far away!) We would then walk, chatting, through beautiful woodland and fields. I had been on that walk many times, but that Easter, my first since committing my life to Jesus, I felt as if I was experiencing it with fresh eyes. The woods were filled with signs of spring and new growth and I was reminded once more of the new life that had begun in me.<br /><br />Before becoming a Christian, the significance of Easter was lost to me &ndash; it meant no more than a welcome holiday, lots of chocolate and a few more church services to be dragged along to. But after giving my life to Christ, my eyes were opened to the reality that <strong>Easter changes everything</strong>. Suddenly I understood the meaning of Jesus&rsquo; death on the cross &ndash; not just a gruesome and painful way to die, but the moment when our Saviour died in our place, taking our brokenness upon His own shoulders that we might be set free from sin. And the story did not end there: on Easter Sunday Jesus rose from the dead, conquering sin and death for us. My journey to faith had rested on my ultimate conviction that Jesus was raised from the dead. Knowing that was true, I realised I could never be the same again &ndash; I would commit my whole life to following Jesus. <br /><br />This <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Easter at King&rsquo;s</a> we will celebrate the truth that <strong>Easter changes everything</strong>. On <strong>Good Friday</strong> we gather at 10.30am on all sites. This will be a time to reflect on the meaning of the cross, worship and break bread together. Then on <strong>Easter Sunday</strong> we will meet on all sites at the usual times for a service of celebration and thanksgiving, as we worship the<strong> risen Lord Jesus Christ</strong>. Easter provides a great opportunity to invite friends, neighbours and family to church, so let me encourage you to start thinking now about who you can invite. Flyers are available to pick up this week, and I know many <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups/index.php#groupselect">groups</a> will be leafletting their local streets. <br /><br />This coming Sunday our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/transformed/"><em>Transformed</em></a> series continues and I am looking forward to hosting a <strong>Membership Morning</strong>. This is a great opportunity for those new to King&rsquo;s to find out more about our vision and values &ndash; please contact Mary Lindsay in the <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/contact/">King&rsquo;s office</a> if you would like to book in.<br /><br />Lastly, I was thrilled to hear that five people on the <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha course</a> put their faith in Jesus last Saturday! As we begin to enjoy the first signs of spring during this Easter season, how fantastic to know that new life continues to be born in our community.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160316-1412246K3PAWPV3R.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br /><em>Image: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/9FEGLL" target="_blank">Anglesey Abbey (NT) 02-04-2011</a>, by Karen Roe, used under CC</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-03-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Transformed &#45; Week Six</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/130</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/130</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/130/web-transformed-financial-health.jpg" />The aim of this compilation of daily verses and prayer points is to provide a link between the Sunday preaching series, group life and our personal walk with God. They are available weekly each Sunday in the news sheet, on the blog and on the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/app">free King&rsquo;s mobile app</a>.<br /><br />There are some suggestions for prayer for the week and each day there is a Bible verse for meditation and further study. As you read, you may want to keep a simple journal of God&rsquo;s word to you. A helpful way of doing this may be to consider the following points each time:<br /><br />&bull; What did you hear?<br />&bull; What do you think?<br />&bull; What will you do?<br />&bull; Now talk to God&hellip;<br /><br />Visit <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/transformed">kingschurchlondon.org/transformed</a> for additional teaching by Rick Warren, recordings of the Sunday messages, the testimony videos and the family devotionals.<br /><br /><br /><strong>WEEK 6</strong><br /><strong>TRANSFORMED IN MY FINANCIAL HEALTH</strong><br /><br /><strong>This Week...Talk To God &ndash;&nbsp;POINTS FOR PRAYER</strong><br />&bull; Thank God that He is the generous provider of all our needs.<br />&bull; Pray that God will help you to give towards His Kingdom with a generous and cheerful heart.<br />&bull; Pray that He will show you how to be generous towards others this week.<br /><br /><em>Please remember &ndash; We recognise that personal circumstances will affect how you are able to give. If it is a difficult time for you financially, please don&rsquo;t ever feel under any obligation &ndash; we believe you should only give out of what you have. Feel free to ask for prayer on a Sunday or in your group, or to talk to a leader if you are struggling financially or with debt.</em><br /><br /><br /><strong>Day 36 &ndash; Sunday 13th March</strong><br />He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.<br />Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 37 &ndash; Monday 14th March</strong><br />&ldquo;So do not worry, saying, &lsquo;What shall we eat?&rsquo; or &lsquo;What shall we drink?&rsquo; or &lsquo;What shall we wear?&rsquo; For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.&rdquo;<br />Matthew 6:31-33 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 38 &ndash; Tuesday 15th March</strong><br />"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,&rdquo; says the Lord Almighty, &ldquo;and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."<br />Malachi 3:10 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 39 &ndash; Wednesday 16th March</strong><br />Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.<br />Proverbs 3:9-10 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 40 &ndash; Thursday 17th March</strong><br />Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, &ldquo;Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.&rdquo;<br />Hebrews 13:5 (NIV) <br /><br /><strong>Day 41 &ndash; Friday 18th March</strong><br />And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.<br />2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 42 &ndash; Saturday 19th March</strong><br />&ldquo;Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.&rdquo;<br />Luke 6:38 (NIV)<br /><br /><br />Please start thinking and praying about who you could invite to our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Easter services</a> or next term&rsquo;s <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-03-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Building Relationships</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/134</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/134</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/134/web_orange_people_holding_hands.jpg" />Churches are communities where we seek to <strong>grow in relationship</strong> &ndash; both with God and with one another. <br /><br />As it was Mother&rsquo;s Day on Sunday, it seemed like a good moment to address the important subject of <strong>family relationships and parenting</strong>. As I said on Sunday, this area can bring many challenges and can also remind us of experiences or circumstances which may be painful &ndash; we should take time to reflect and be aware of these. It was great to share the platform with my wife Deb and discuss how, with God&rsquo;s help, we can build strong families. A strong family is a place for growth &ndash; that is where we can learn to manage our emotions, deal with loss, learn important values and handle conflict appropriately.&nbsp;All this is done, hopefully, in the context of fun, loving relationship.<br /><br />Further afield, I am very excited about our <strong>ongoing and developing relationship with Scott Marques and River of Life Church in Harare, Zimbabwe</strong>. As part of our mutual desire to work more closely together as churches, we have sent a team out from King&rsquo;s to learn more about their context, what they do and how we might be able to partner in the future. The team arrived last Saturday after 22 hours of travelling and have already reported being overwhelmed by the welcome and hospitality extended to them. Currently in Harare, highlights of their time so far have been:<br /><br />&bull; attending Sunday services at River of Life Church &ndash; like King&rsquo;s, a multi-site, diverse, city church <br /><br />&bull; visiting an orphanage just outside Harare<br /><br />&bull; seeing a number of projects run by a church connected to River of Life, including outreach to street children and a discipleship project for ex-gang members<br /><br />Towards the end of this week the team will be moving on to Bulawayo to visit churches there and spend some time at the <strong>Ebenezer farming project</strong>. You may remember meeting <strong>Renee Cunningham</strong>, who manages this fantastic enterprise, when she and Scott spent a weekend at King&rsquo;s earlier this year. Please do pray for our team, that their visit would be fruitful, informative and have lasting impact. And if you would like to see some videos of their time, check out the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kingschurchlondon/?fref=ts">King&rsquo;s Church London Facebook</a> page.<br /><br />Finally, let me remind you again to make every effort to be with us on Sunday to welcome <strong>Andrew Wilson and his wife Rachel</strong>. Andrew will be speaking at our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford</a> and <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee</a> sites in the next in our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/transformed/"><strong>Transformed</strong></a> series &ndash; the video will be shown at <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/downham/">Downham</a> the following week. I will take the chance to interview them both, so that you can hear a little more from them. Andrew joins our team as our Teaching Pastor in September, and I know that the <strong>King&rsquo;s family</strong> will give a warm and enthusiastic welcome to them both.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160309-1043PWUYEX5WQGTL.jpg" alt="" width="728" height="410" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-03-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Varied Week</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/133</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/133</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/133/background-dedication.jpg" />One of the things I love about my role is that it is so varied. No two weeks are ever the same and this week has proved to be no exception. After an excellent day at King&rsquo;s on Tuesday, which included a very fruitful staff afternoon (what a fantastic bunch of people they are!),&nbsp;I have spent much of the week focussing on the <strong>Newfrontiers</strong> world. For the last couple of days I have been meeting with a group of key leaders from our Newfrontiers family to pray for and discuss our future together.&nbsp;Then tomorrow night I am looking forward to speaking at a <strong>New Ground</strong> training event &ndash;&nbsp;New Ground, for those who don&rsquo;t know, is one of the Newfrontiers groups of churches, headed up by Dave Holden.<br /><br />Following that, my attention this weekend will be back on King&rsquo;s and I would like to highlight our next two Sundays. As I am sure you know, this Sunday is <strong>Mother&rsquo;s Day</strong> (Mum &ndash; your card is already in the post!) and across the sites there will be dedication services for ten families and their children. We will be taking a week's break from our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/transformed/"><em>Transformed</em></a> series: in the morning meetings at Catford, Deb and I will be speaking on building great families and Phil and Sarah Varley will be speaking at Downham and Lee. Then in the evening I am delighted to say that we will be welcoming <strong>Ben Lindsay</strong> to preach at our 5:30 meeting. Ben used to be a member of King&rsquo;s and is now an elder at Emmanuel Church, Greenwich &ndash; it will be great to have him with us.<br /><br />The week after that, on Sunday 13th March, I would like to ask you to make every effort to be with us to welcome <strong>Andrew and Rachel Wilson</strong>, who will be at King&rsquo;s for the day. Andrew will be preaching the next in our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/transformed/"><em>Transformed</em></a>&nbsp;series, and I will also be interviewing them both. This will be a chance to get to know them a little before Andrew joins our team in September as our teaching pastor.<br /><br />All in all, a busy, varied and satisfying week! And as it is my birthday on Saturday, I will take the chance to have a day off and spend some time with the family before a full day with our church family on Sunday. I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-03-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Transformed &#45; Week Five</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/129</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/129</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/129/web-transformed-relational-health.jpg" />The aim of this compilation of daily verses and prayer points is to provide a link between the Sunday preaching series, group life and our personal walk with God. They will be available weekly each Sunday in the news sheet, on the blog and on the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/app">free King&rsquo;s mobile app</a>.<br /><br />There are some suggestions for prayer for the week and each day there is a Bible verse for meditation and further study. As you read, you may want to keep a simple journal of God&rsquo;s word to you. A helpful way of doing this may be to consider the following points each time:<br /><br />&bull; What did you hear?<br />&bull; What do you think?<br />&bull; What will you do?<br />&bull; Now talk to God&hellip;<br /><br />Visit <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/transformed">kingschurchlondon.org/transformed</a> for additional teaching by Rick Warren, recordings of the Sunday messages, the testimony videos, the family devotionals, and a link to buy the Transformed Workbook online.<br /><br /><strong>WEEK 5</strong><br /><strong>TRANSFORMED IN MY RELATIONAL HEALTH</strong><br /><br /><strong>This Week...Talk To God &ndash;&nbsp;POINTS FOR PRAYER</strong><br />&bull; Praise God for the transforming power of His Holy Spirit in your life.<br />&bull; Pray that God will show you people who need a demonstration of His love this week.<br />&bull; Pray that everyone coming to King&rsquo;s will find acceptance, love and authentic relationships that point to Jesus.<br /><br /><strong>Day 29 &ndash; Sunday 28th February</strong><br />&ldquo;I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.&rdquo;<br />John 15:5 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 30 &ndash; Monday 29th February</strong><br />&ldquo;Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy&rdquo;<br />Matthew 5:7 (NIV) <br /><br /><strong>Day 31 &ndash; Tuesday 1st March</strong><br />&ldquo;Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God&rdquo;<br />Matthew 5:9 (NIV) <br /><br /><strong>Day 32 &ndash; Wednesday 2nd March</strong><br />But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.<br />Luke 6:35 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 33 &ndash; Thursday 3rd March</strong><br />Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.<br />1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 34 &ndash; Friday 4th March</strong><br />He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.<br />Psalm 147:3 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 35 &ndash; Saturday 5th March</strong><br />Cast all your care upon him, for he cares for you.<br />1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV)<br /><br /><br /> <div><em>In order to celebrate Mother&rsquo;s Day and Dedications, we have a one-week break from the TRANSFORMED series starting on Sunday 6th March.&nbsp;</em><em>We suggest that for this coming week you take a break from the daily devotionals and the family devotionals, reflect on previous readings/weeks or do some catching up if you&rsquo;ve missed any.<br /><br /></em><em>The devotionals will continue the following Sunday, 13th March, with </em><em>Day 36 in the Transformed book and the Parable of the Rich Farmer in the family devotionals.</em></div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-02-28</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Andrew and Rachel Wilson</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/132</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/132</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/132/1602_Andrew_and_Rachel_Wilson_web.jpg" />I was thrilled to be able to announce on Sunday that from September&nbsp;<strong>Andrew Wilson</strong> will be joining the King&rsquo;s Church London team as our Teaching Pastor. Andrew is an excellent communicator, writer and teacher. He is also the author of several excellent books, the latest of which, <a href="http://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/the_life_you_never_expected" target="_blank">&lsquo;The Life You Never Expected&rsquo;</a>, he wrote with his wife Rachel. Both he and Rachel will be with us on Sunday 13th March. Andrew will be speaking in our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/transformed" target="_blank"><em>Transformed</em></a> series, and I will be taking the opportunity to interview them both so that you can hear a little more from them. His own summary of the news was posted on his popular <a href="http://thinktheology.co.uk" target="_blank">Think blog</a>. It is well worth a read:<br /><br /><br /><strong><em>A Bigger Announcement<br /></em></strong><br /><em>By Andrew Wilson | Sunday 21 February 2016<br /></em><br /><em>So I have some news.<br /></em><br /><em>In September, I&rsquo;m going to be joining the team at King&rsquo;s Church London as their teaching pastor. It&rsquo;s a hugely exciting move for me&mdash;it will be challenging, interesting, stretching, stimulating, demanding, energising and a bit intimidating&mdash;and I&rsquo;m hoping it will also be good news for both churches involved, and of course my family. For now we will continue to live in Eastbourne, and I will split my time three ways: two days a week doing preaching and wider leadership stuff in London, one day a week doing some preaching and other bits and pieces in Eastbourne, and two days a week continuing with the writing, training, research and teaching I do in Newfrontiers and beyond. I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it.<br /></em><br /><em>King&rsquo;s London is a remarkable church. Based in southeast London, with sites at Catford, Downham and Lee, they have been growing numerically for twenty years, have six meetings on a Sunday with 1400+ in attendance, run a huge ministry for the poor, own three church buildings and various supported houses, see people respond to the gospel on average every week, and comprise an astonishingly diverse congregation (which, I suspect, is one reason why they have some of the most celebratory worship meetings I have experienced anywhere). Urban, growing, socially engaged, diverse, evangelistic, charismatic: what&rsquo;s not to like? As an added bonus, Steve Tibbert, who leads the team, is currently facilitating what we do together as Newfrontiers in the UK, so working more closely with him will help shape my wider teaching and writing ministry as well. And then there are a couple of interesting personal twists: I was born four miles away, and Rachel&rsquo;s family used to own the land on which the Catford church is now built. Spooky.<br /></em><br /><em>At the same time, it is really sad to be stepping back from Eastbourne. It is an absolutely wonderful church&mdash;generous, creative, encouraging, large, welcoming&mdash;filled with people who have been extraordinarily good to us as a family over the last few years, and to whom we will always be grateful, and led by a team of elders who are all among my closest friends. I&rsquo;ve been an elder there for seven years, and a member for thirteen; Rachel has been there since it was planted in 1988, when she was three! Although we are not moving now, we still feel a sense of loss, knowing that things won&rsquo;t quite be the same (which is as it should be); at the same time, I am very upbeat about the future in Eastbourne, with some exciting changes in the pipeline, a superb team ready to expand, and most of all a God who has led the church through leadership transitions before and seen it grow every time.<br /></em><br /><em>So that&rsquo;s my news. If you&rsquo;re inclined to, I&rsquo;d really appreciate your prayers&mdash;given that we&rsquo;re expecting our third baby in May, it&rsquo;s a lot of change happening at once. </em><br /><br />If you missed my own announcement of this exciting news on Sunday, here's the video.<br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/155522034?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="411" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-02-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Transformed &#45; Week Four</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/128</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/128</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/128/web-transformed-emotional-health.jpg" />Welcome to these brief Transformed devotionals. For the full devotional and group study guide, please buy a <em>Transformed Workbook</em>, available online for &pound;7 (see <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/transformed/">kingschurchlondon.org/transformed</a> for the link).<br /><br />The aim of this compilation of daily verses and prayer points is to provide a link between the Sunday preaching series, group life and our personal walk with God. They will be available weekly each Sunday in the news sheet, on Steve&rsquo;s blog (<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/">kingschurchlondon.org/blog</a>) and on the free King&rsquo;s mobile app (<a href="http://get.theapp.co/005d/">kingschurchlondon.org/app</a>).<br /><br />There are some suggestions for prayer for the week and each day there is a Bible verse for meditation and further study.&nbsp;As you read, you may want to keep a simple journal of God&rsquo;s word to you. A helpful way of doing this may be to consider the following points each time:<br /><br />&bull; What did you hear?<br />&bull; What do you think?<br />&bull; What will you do?<br />&bull; Now talk to God&hellip;<br /><br /><strong>WEEK 4</strong><br /><strong>TRANSFORMED IN MY EMOTIONAL HEALTH</strong><br /><br /> <div><strong>THIS WEEK...TALK TO GOD&nbsp;&ndash; </strong><strong>POINTS FOR PRAYER!</strong><br />&bull; Thank God that He wants to renew our minds and will do so as we spend time with Him.<br />&bull; Ask Him to replace old lies with His truths.<br />&bull; Pray that as a church we will make it a priority to seek God&rsquo;s presence and peace in all that we do.<br /><br /><strong>DAY 22 &ndash; Sunday 21st February</strong><br />&ldquo;Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.&rdquo;&nbsp;Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 23 &ndash; Monday 22nd February</strong><br />Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.&nbsp;John 14:27 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 24 &ndash; Tuesday 23rd February</strong><br />The Lord is my shepherd... Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;&nbsp;Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.&nbsp;Psalm 23:1,4 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 25 &ndash; Wednesday 24th February</strong><br />The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.&nbsp;Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 26 &ndash; Thursday 25th February</strong><br />Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.&nbsp;Romans 8:1 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 27 &ndash; Friday 26th February</strong><br />The joy of the Lord is your strength.&nbsp;Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 28 &ndash; Saturday 27th February</strong><br />Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High&nbsp;will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.&nbsp;I will say of the Lord, &ldquo;He is my refuge and my fortress,&nbsp;my God, in whom I trust.&rdquo;&nbsp;Psalm 91:1-12 (NIV)<br /><br />Visit <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/transformed">KINGSCHURCHLONDON.ORG/TRANSFORMED</a> for additional teaching for each week by Rick Warren, recordings of the Sunday messages, the Transformed testimony videos, the family devotionals, and a link to buy the Transformed workbook online.</div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-02-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Transformed &#45; Week Three</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/127</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/127</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/127/web-transformed-mental-health.jpg" />Welcome to these brief Transformed devotionals. For the full devotional and group study guide, please buy a Transformed Workbook, available online for &pound;7 (see <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/transformed/">kingschurchlondon.org/transformed</a> for the link).<br /><br />The aim of this compilation of daily verses and prayer points is to provide a link between the Sunday preaching series, group life and our personal walk with God. They will be available weekly each Sunday in the news sheet, on Steve&rsquo;s blog (<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/">kingschurchlondon.org/blog</a>) and on the free King&rsquo;s mobile app (<a href="http://get.theapp.co/005d/">kingschurchlondon.org/app</a>).<br /><br />There are some suggestions for prayer for the week and each day there is a Bible verse for meditation and further study.&nbsp;As you read, you may want to keep a simple journal of God&rsquo;s word to you. A helpful way of doing this may be to consider the following points each time:<br /><br />&bull; What did you hear?<br />&bull; What do you think?<br />&bull; What will you do?<br />&bull; Now talk to God&hellip;<br /><br /> <div><strong>WEEK 3</strong><br /><strong>TRANSFORMED IN MY MENTAL HEALTH</strong><br /><br /><strong>This Week...Talk To God &ndash; POINTS FOR PRAYER</strong><br />&bull; Thank God for His faithfulness and that He has never left your side and will always go with you.<br />&bull; Pray for any anxious thoughts and ask God to give you His peace.<br />&bull; Pray for ways that help you fix your thoughts on God and to see the various aspects of life from His perspective.<br />&bull; Pray for those you know struggling with mental health issues &ndash; that they will find peace, acceptance and help in their time of need.<br /><br /><strong>DAY 15 &ndash; Sunday 14th February</strong><br />You will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.&nbsp;Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 16 &ndash; Monday 15th February</strong><br />Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.&nbsp;Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 17 &ndash; Tuesday 16th February</strong><br />Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable&mdash;if anything is excellent or praiseworthy&mdash;think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me&mdash;put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.&nbsp;Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 18 &ndash; Wednesday 17th February</strong><br />Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God&rsquo;s will is&mdash;his good, pleasing and perfect will.&nbsp;Romans 12:2 (NIV) <br /><br /><strong>Day 19 &ndash; Thursday 18th February</strong><br />We have the mind of Christ.&nbsp;1 Corinthians 2:16 (NIV) <br /><br /><strong>Day 20 &ndash; Friday 19th February</strong><br /> If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.&nbsp;James 1:5 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>Day 21 &ndash; Saturday 20th February</strong><br />Those who get wisdom do themselves a favour, and those who love learning will succeed. Proverbs 19:8 (NCV)<br /><br /><br />Visit <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/transformed">KINGSCHURCHLONDON.ORG/TRANSFORMED</a> for additional teaching for each week by Rick Warren, recordings of the Sunday messages, the Transformed testimony videos, the family devotionals, and a link to buy the Transformed workbook online.</div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-02-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Transformed Lives</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/126</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/126</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/126/web-transformed-janett.jpg" />I love to hear personal stories of lives that have been impacted by Jesus. One of the most moving moments in the last week was listening to <a href="https://vimeo.com/154287154">Janett&rsquo;s video testimony</a>. Janett&rsquo;s story is one of a life <strong>radically transformed</strong>, of being brought back to God from her lowest point and realising that, <strong>&ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t have God, I don&rsquo;t have life.&rdquo;</strong> <br /><br />Then as I was taking the train home from St Pancras last Wednesday I met Destiny and Angel, two sisters who both attend King&rsquo;s. It is remarkable how often I meet people from King&rsquo;s amongst the crowds of our city! We discussed <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a>&nbsp;among other things and on Thursday evening I was delighted to be able to greet them briefly as they started the course.<br /><br />At our staff prayer meeting this week I sat back and listened to story after story of more and more people connecting to God and his church here at King&rsquo;s. In these last weeks we have seen more people on <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a> and <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/new-life/">New Life</a> than in recent months, more coming to our Wednesday night <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/the-feast/">Feast</a> than ever before, numbers increasing at our Friday night <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/youth/">youth</a>, the highest ever attendance at <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/kids/#rainbowrhymes">Rainbow Rhymes</a>&nbsp;and the exciting launch of Rainbow Rhymes at Lee this week. Wow! And as if that was not encouraging enough, we had our <strong>biggest ever normal Sunday over</strong> all three sites &ndash;&nbsp;it was a special moment!<br /><br />We understandably get excited by numerical growth but it is important to remember that behind the numbers are personal stories of people on their own journeys towards knowing God. <strong>Individual journeys and individual lives transformed &ndash; that is the power of the gospel!<br /></strong><br />Finally, on Sunday I shared some <strong>very exciting news</strong> regarding our Lee building and a new free school. For those of you who were not there, you can watch the video below to find out what is happening.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/154287949?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="409" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-02-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Transformed &#45; Week Two</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/125</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/125</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/125/web-transformed-physical-health.jpg" />Welcome to these brief Transformed devotionals. For the full devotional and group study guide please buy a Transformed Workbook, available at the Welcome Desk (last opportunity this week) or <a href="http://purposedrivenresources.co.uk/resources/item.aspx?productId=490" target="_blank">online</a> for &pound;7. <br /><br />The aim of this compilation of daily verses and prayer points is to provide a link between the Sunday preaching series, group life and our personal walk with God. These are available weekly each Sunday in the news sheet, on the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/blog">blog</a> and on the free <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/app">King's mobile app</a>.<br /><br />There are some suggestions for prayer for the week and each day there is a Bible verse for meditation and further study.<br /><br />As you read, you may want to keep a simple journal of God&rsquo;s word to you. A helpful way of doing this may be to consider the following points each time:<br /><br />&bull; What did you hear?<br />&bull; What do you think?<br />&bull; What will you do?<br />&bull; Now talk to God&hellip;<br /><br /><strong>WEEK 2</strong><br /><strong>TRANSFORMED IN MY PHYSICAL HEALTH</strong><br /><br /><strong>THIS WEEK...TALK TO GOD &ndash; POINTS FOR PRAYER!<br /></strong>&bull; Give thanks for the body God has given to you &ndash; you were made in His image.<strong><br /></strong>&bull; Pray for wisdom in knowing how best to make healthy choices and to look after the body God has given you.<br />&bull; Ask God for strength to follow through on any targets you have set.<br />&bull; Pray for those you know who are sick, that they will know comfort and healing.<br /><br /><strong>DAY 8 &ndash; 7th February<br /></strong>Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 9 &ndash; 8th February</strong><br />But he said to me, &ldquo;My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.&rdquo; 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 10 &ndash; 9th February</strong><br />He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40: 29-31 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 11 &ndash; 10th February</strong><br />I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 12 &ndash; 11th February</strong><br />God has not give us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 13 &ndash; 12th February</strong><br />Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8 (NIV) <br /><br /><strong>DAY 14 &ndash; 13th February</strong><br />I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 (ESV) ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-02-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>God&apos;s Transforming Power</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/123</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/123</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/123/web-transformed-blue-butterly.jpg" /><em>Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!</em><br /><em>2 Corinthians 5:17</em><br /><br />I often reflect on the day I became a Christian. At the age of 19, it marked a huge transformation in my life. I was radically changed by the joy of forgiveness, a renewed sense of purpose and the overwhelming knowledge that God loved me. When we meet Jesus and allow Him to reign in us, we are <strong>transformed in every area of our lives</strong>. We <em>become a new person</em>. That is what is at the heart of our current <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/22/" target="_blank"><em>Transformed</em></a> series here at King&rsquo;s &ndash;&nbsp;God changes us from the inside out. <br /><br />Over this first week of the series, the daily devotionals have been looking at how we are <strong>transformed in our spiritual health</strong>. It has caused me to consider how and when I connect with God most easily. I have realised that my primary pathways to sensing His presence are in the beauty of creation and through corporate worship. What a joy it is to be worshipping with others each Sunday and during our Wednesday celebrations in January. And at any time when I feel particularly emotionally drained, a walk by the sea (with some birdwatching!) will refresh my soul. It is important to know how we best connect with God. We are all different &ndash;&nbsp;you may prefer to withdraw to a quiet place, or perhaps you feel closest to God through serving or studying the Bible. What is your pathway?<br /><br /><a style="float: right;" href="www.kingschurchlondon.org/app" target="_blank"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160204-1114X3ZGDCCD7TQM.png" alt="" width="270" height="480" /></a>I encourage you to download the free <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/app" target="_blank">King's mobile app</a> if you've not yet done so. It contains all the resources from the <em>Transformed</em> series (sermons, testimony videos, family devotionals, daily verses and weekly prayer points) and is an easy way to access and share previous Sunday teaching.<br /><br />This Sunday I will be at the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee</a> and <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford</a> sites to preach the second message in the <em>Transformed</em> series, whilst Phil Varley will be introducing the series at the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/downham/">Downham</a> site. I will also be sharing some <strong>exciting news</strong> which I trust will encourage the whole church. I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-02-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Transformed &#45; Week One</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/122</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/122</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/122/events-transformed-1.jpg" /><p>Welcome to these brief <em>Transformed</em> devotionals. For the full devotional and group study guide please buy a <em>Transformed Workbook</em>, available at the Welcome Desk or <a href="http://purposedrivenresources.co.uk/resources/item.aspx?productId=490" target="_blank">online</a> for &pound;7. <br /><br />The aim of this compilation of daily verses and prayer points is to provide a link between the Sunday preaching series, group life and our personal walk with God. These are available weekly each Sunday in the news sheet, on the blog and on the free <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/app">King's mobile app</a>.<br /><br />There are some suggestions for prayer for the week and each day there is a Bible verse for meditation and further study.<br /><br />As you read, you may want to keep a simple journal of God&rsquo;s word to you. A helpful way of doing this may be to consider the following points each time:<br /><br />&bull; What did you hear?<br />&bull; What do you think?<br />&bull; What will you do?<br />&bull; Now talk to God&hellip;<br /><br /><strong>WEEK 1</strong><br /><strong>TRANSFORMED IN MY SPIRITUAL HEALTH</strong><br /><br /><strong>THIS WEEK...TALK TO GOD &ndash; POINTS FOR PRAYER!</strong><br /><br />&bull; Give thanks for the way Jesus has loved you and gave His life for you.<br />&bull; Pray for those you know who are suffering, whether through illness, work, family or those in the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ.<br />&bull; Pray for groups in King&rsquo;s, that as they are established, people will find authentic friendship and a place to be &lsquo;transformed&rsquo; and made more like Jesus.<br /><br /><strong>DAY 1 &ndash;&nbsp;31st January</strong><br />For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.&nbsp;John 3:16 (NIV)</p> <p><br /><strong>DAY 2 &ndash;&nbsp;1st February</strong><br />Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God &ndash;&nbsp;children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband&rsquo;s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13 (NIV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 3 &ndash;&nbsp;2nd February</strong><br />You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4 (KJV)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 4 &ndash;&nbsp;3rd February</strong><br />This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) <br /><br /><strong>DAY 5 &ndash;&nbsp;4th February</strong><br />The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)<br /><br /><strong>DAY 6 &ndash;&nbsp;5th February</strong><br />If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV) <br /><br /><strong>DAY 7&nbsp;&ndash; 6th February</strong> <br />Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...&nbsp;No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39 (NIV)</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-01-31</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Transformed</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/121</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/121</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/121/events-transformed-1.jpg" />It was fantastic to hear this week that we already have over 1,000 people signed up for <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups/"><strong>groups</strong></a> again, a wonderful response to our new series, <strong>Transformed</strong>. This promises to be a challenging and relevant series which will take a biblical look at essential areas of our discipleship, such as our finances, our relationships, and our spiritual health. We are encouraging everybody at King's to <strong>do three things</strong>: be here on Sundays, be part of a group, and be transformed daily &ndash;&nbsp;read the daily <em>Transformed</em> Bible study, which can be found in the book accompanying the series. &nbsp;So, if you haven't already done so, there is still time to <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">sign up for a group</a>, although places are filling up fast!<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160127-1150MARCPJEZ4KX9.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br /><br />What a joy it was to have our Zimbabwe friends, <strong>Scott Marques</strong> and <strong>Renee Cunningham</strong>, with us last weekend. Once again I was so impressed with their zeal for the Lord and their provocation to pursue God and serve Him wholeheartedly, whatever the circumstances. I am confident that we will build on this relationship in the coming years. (If you missed Scott's message, you can <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/media/series/21/">listen to it here</a>.)<br /><br /><strong>This evening</strong> we have the privilege of welcoming <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>Mike Pilavachi</strong></a> to the last of our January prayer and celebration evenings. Mike is senior pastor of Soul Survivor Church in Watford and founder of the Soul Survivor festival &ndash;&nbsp;I know that our young people are particularly excited about his visit since he is a popular speaker at Newday. He is a gifted and entertaining preacher and this is definitely an evening not to be missed. Don't forget that <strong>tonight's meeting will be at our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee Site</a></strong>, so if you haven't yet made it over there, this is a great time to go and have a look at our fantastic new auditorium. Doors open at 7.45pm and the meeting will begin at 8pm.<br /><br />This Sunday Phil Varley will be launching the<em> Transformed</em> series at Catford and Lee. We will also be baptising 12 people through the day &ndash;&nbsp;another great weekend ahead!<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160121-1108PLE4QQXGNA6Z.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-01-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Friends From Zimbabwe</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/120</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/120</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/120/events-start-scott-marques-alt.jpg" />One of the many benefits of being part of a movement such as Newfrontiers is that we get to meet some fantastic people from all over the world. <strong>Scott and Claire Marques from Harare, Zimbabwe</strong> are two such people, true heroes of the faith. Since Deb and I first met them many years ago, our friendship has grown and we have had the privilege of visiting Zimbabwe and working with the churches there on a number of occasions. <br /><br />Scott leads the multi-site <a href="http://www.riveroflifechurch.co.zw/" target="_blank">River of Life Church</a> in Harare, and is also the apostolic leader for the Newfrontiers world in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and neighbouring countries. He somehow manages to combine these roles with running his own businesses in Mozambique - he is a remarkable man with an infectious love for Jesus and seemingly endless energy! Zimbabwe has many challenges and I have huge respect for Scott in his desire to see the church flourish, as a leader, and for his motivation to serve the poor in that nation and beyond. <br /><br />In 2012, Deb and I were in Zimbabwe for our second visit, this time with our three boys. As well as some sight-seeing and safaris, we spent some time just outside Bulawayo (Zimbabwe&rsquo;s second city) at the <a href="http://www.newfrontierszimbabwe.com/initiative/ebenezer/" target="_blank">Ebenezer Agricultural Training Centre</a>. This is a fantastic project, supported by the churches, which trains young adults in farming techniques, business skills, literacy, maths and Christian discipleship. After two years, successful graduates are equipped to return to their communities and set up their own sustainable farming plots. The centre is run by <strong>Renee Cunningham</strong>, an impressive woman with a passion and calling to serve young people in Zimbabwe.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160121-11321266WDN233C7.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="389" /><br /><br />Although Zimbabwe and the UK are vastly different countries, our churches have a great deal in common. Apart from being united in our desire to see Jesus proclaimed, both River of Life and King&rsquo;s are diverse, multi-site, city communities. Whenever we visit River of Life, we feel immediately at home! Scott and I are keen to develop the relationship between our churches, which is why I am extremely excited to have both Scott Marques and Renee Cunningham with us at King&rsquo;s this weekend. We are hugely fortunate to have such gifted and busy people make the time to serve us in this way, and I would therefore urge you to make every effort to be there on Sunday. Scott will be preaching at the Catford and Lee sites and Renee will also be there to tell us more about the work of Ebenezer.<br /><br />Following this Sunday, we have the privilege of welcoming <strong>Mike Pilavachi</strong>, who is coming to speak at the last of our current series of prayer and celebration evenings on <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Wednesday 27th January</a>. Mike is an engaging and entertaining speaker and I promise it will be well worth being there. On this occasion we will be meeting at the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee site</a> at 7.45pm.<br /><br />As always at King&rsquo;s there is much to be excited about and much going on! I look forward to seeing you this Sunday and the following Wednesday.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160121-1108PLE4QQXGNA6Z.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-01-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Season of Seeing Just What God Can Doâ€¦</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/119</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/119</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/119/160114_sun_and_wheat_web.jpg" />Having benefitted from a slightly slower pace during my study days last week, I am feeling energised and ready for all that&rsquo;s coming in the year ahead. So far, this week has been a very interesting and fulfilling one. Tuesday began with our usual staff prayer meeting at King&rsquo;s &ndash; I love starting the week in this way, focussing on Jesus, before we all head off to our meetings and to-do lists. Then a very full day followed by trustees and elders meetings in the evening. I have said it before, but I am so grateful to be working with such a <strong>fantastic team</strong>. That was followed by two days spent with key leaders from Newfrontiers and other church networks around the UK at a gathering hosted by <strong>Terry Virgo</strong>. I always enjoy these opportunities to share news and pray together, to hear about <strong>all that God is doing both within Newfrontiers and the wider body of Christ</strong>.<br /><br />Our January focus on prayer continued on Wednesday evening, with the second of our <strong>weekly prayer and celebration nights</strong>. Dave Holden got us off to such a good start last week with his invitation to <em>lean into the power of the Holy Spirit</em> (available online <a href="http://player.subsplash.com/2b52cb6" target="_blank">here</a>) &ndash; it was fantastic to have another opportunity to gather together to worship and wait on Jesus. During these weeks, I have been reflecting on the prophetic word brought to us by our friend <strong>Steve Nicholson</strong> on the opening night of the Lee auditorium:<br /><br /><strong><em>&ldquo;You took the step, you paid the price, to be in this room tonight. Now comes the harvest. This night marks the beginning of a whole new season &ndash; a season of favour, a season of harvest, a season of amazing miracles. And I think that what&rsquo;s coming, is now a season of seeing just what God can do.&rdquo;</em></strong><br /><strong><em>Steve Nicholson, September 2014</em></strong><br /><br /><em><strong>A season of seeing just what God can do</strong></em>. This was one of those words that resonated &ndash;&nbsp;I have prayed about and reflected on it a great deal. We long to see <strong>all that God can do at King&rsquo;s</strong> and I have a growing sense that we are beginning to see the fulfilment of this word. I look forward to being able to share more in the coming weeks!<br /><br />This Sunday I will be preaching the next in our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/21/"><strong>Start</strong></a> series &ndash; I hope that you are enjoying this fitting challenge to us as we set out on a new year. I will be speaking on the important topic of <strong>how to steward our lives well</strong>, and it is worth coming just to see the dramatic landing of the message &ndash; you&rsquo;ll have to be there to see it! <br /><br />Steve<br /><br /><br />Image: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/sy1VPV">Sun and Wheat</a> by Rick, used under CC ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-01-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Starting Well</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/118</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/118</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/118/Start-Series-web-alt.jpg" />Happy New Year to you all!<br /><br />January is one of my favourite months. Each New Year brings the opportunity to reflect on progress made over previous months and to look ahead and plan for what is to come. Following the fun festive season, I find the sense of turning a new page, of having a whole new year before us, very motivating. <strong>What will 2016 bring?</strong><br /><br />For many years now, I have taken a week at the beginning of January to make the most of this opportunity. It has become part of my annual rhythm to have time away from my normal work pattern, to start with an emphasis on prayer and to make space for planning and preparation for the year ahead. So already this week, I have been able to spend more time reading and praying. I have got my diary out and looked at all my speaking commitments up to July, made sure that all my holidays have been booked and planned outline agendas for key meetings at King&rsquo;s and for Newfrontiers.&nbsp;I have made space for some important matters at King&rsquo;s which will impact this next year, such as welcoming <strong>Andy Floyd</strong>, our new trainee pastor, to the team, discussing with <strong>Phil Varley</strong> some exciting new staffing ideas under consideration and taking a look at the next phase in our building projects on the Catford and Lee sites. It has also been fantastic to have time to catch up with old friends such as <strong>Mark Landreth-Smith</strong>, who is now planting a church in <strong>Newbury</strong>, and <strong>Tim and Liz Brown</strong>, who are helping with a church plant in <strong>Delhi, India</strong>. Then today, Deb and I will be making a trip to our home town of Bedford to visit <strong>Simon and Caroline Holley</strong> &ndash; Simon leads the exciting and fruitful <strong>King&rsquo;s Arms Church</strong>.<br /><br />I have found that <strong>taking this time to pause, pray and plan has proved incredibly beneficial over the years</strong>. It helps me ensure key things are in place before the busyness of normal life takes over; in the long term I believe it saves me time and helps me prioritise the important rather than only responding to the urgent.<br /><br />Having time to focus on prayer, to wait on God, is a great way to begin the year, which is why here at King&rsquo;s we set January aside for a <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>month of prayer</strong></a>. Last night, we had the first of our January prayer and celebration evenings, with <strong>Dave Holden</strong> encouraging us all <strong>to lean in to the power of the Holy Spirit, our helper in prayer and in all aspects of discipleship</strong>. We meet again next <strong>Wednesday 13th January</strong>, whilst on Sundays we continue with the theme of beginning well, with our new '<strong><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/#64">Start</a></strong>' series.<br /><br />A full and great start to 2016! I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.<br /><br /><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20160107-11049QSF3MCNPA4P.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2016-01-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Watchnight!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/117</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/117</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/117/Event-Watchnight-15-16.jpg" />6If you haven&rsquo;t yet made any plans for New Year's Eve, why not come along to one our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>WATCHNIGHT</strong> </a>services? This has become one of my favourite events of the year! Who wouldn&rsquo;t want to begin the New Year by worshipping Jesus, praying and celebrating together?<br /><br />This year we have services taking place at <strong>Catford from 9.30pm until 12.30pm</strong> and at <strong>Downham and Lee</strong> starting at the slightly later time of <strong>10.45pm until 12:30pm</strong>.<br /><br />In addition to this, for the first time this year we are running a separate <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>New Year&rsquo;s Eve event for our 17-30s</strong></a>. The evening boasts entertainment, worship, an inspiring talk and a party going on into the early hours of New Year&rsquo;s Day! It takes place at the Lee site from 9pm until 2am. This is a ticketed event &ndash;&nbsp;&pound;7.50 for a single ticket (<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/nye" target="_blank">online</a> or at the door on the night) or &pound;10 for 2 tickets (<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/nye" target="_blank">online</a> only if you book today!).<br /><br />A good place to begin 2016 &ndash;&nbsp;in God's presence!<br /><br /><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/nye" target="_blank"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20151223-1923XR6YY7HT1LW8.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a><br /><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-12-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>One More Day to Go!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/116</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/116</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/116/advert-closer-url.jpg" />It is hard to believe that after all the weeks of planning and preparation Christmas is actually upon us. My parents arrive today and we are looking forward to beginning our celebrations with a family meal this evening. <br /><br />We are no longer at that stage of life when we are woken in the small hours of Christmas morning by young children bursting with excitement &ndash; I confess there are times I miss that! But the Tibbert family will still be up at a reasonable time to get the turkey in the oven and unwrap a few presents. Then it will be time to quickly get down to King&rsquo;s for our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/closer/"><strong>Christmas Day service</strong></a>. As in previous years, there will be <strong>one service at 10.30am at each of our three sites</strong> lasting for no more than an hour. These times are always lively and fun and are a great way to begin Christmas Day.<br /><br />Then on <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/closer/"><strong>Sunday 27th December</strong></a> we also have a slightly altered schedule, with just <strong>one meeting at each site at 10.30am.</strong><br /><br />For those of you who are already beginning to look past Christmas and into the New Year, we have a great <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>WATCHNIGHT</strong></a> planned for New Year&rsquo;s Eve. What better way to welcome in the New Year than by meeting to pray, worship and celebrate together? There will be <strong>WATCHNIGHT</strong> services at <strong>all three sites</strong> at the following times:<br /><br /><strong>CATFORD</strong>: 9.30pm - 12.30am<br /><strong>DOWNHAM &amp; LEE</strong>: 10.45pm &ndash; 12.30am<br /><br />This year we are also running a <strong>New Year&rsquo;s Eve event for our 17-30s age group</strong>. The <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>NYE celebration</strong></a> takes place at the <strong>Lee site</strong>. Doors open at 9pm and I understand that they will be worshipping, enjoying a talk and partying until two in the morning! This is a ticketed event &ndash;&nbsp;&pound;7.50 for a single ticket (<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/nye" target="_blank">online</a> or at the door on the night) or&nbsp;&pound;10 for 2 tickets (<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/nye" target="_blank"><em>online only</em></a> on or before 30th December).<br /><br />So, whether you&rsquo;re staying at home, or travelling to see family or friends, have a great Christmas!<br /><br /><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/nye" target="_blank"><img src="https://mlsvc01-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/15fe169f101/83b436cc-84e3-4539-a5ee-1b300bd525c4.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-12-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Closer</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/115</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/115</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/115/CLOSER_IMG_9618_web.jpg" />What a great start we had to our Christmas season at King&rsquo;s last week. Our series of carol services kicked off on Sunday with services in the evening at both Catford and Lee. Once again, our creative team excelled themselves &ndash; well done to everyone involved. I am always so proud to be able to stand up and say that everyone who is takes part in these events comes to King&rsquo;s &ndash; we are privileged to have so much talent among us.<br /><br />If you didn&rsquo;t manage to come to one of the services last week, don&rsquo;t worry! We have <strong>five more opportunities coming up this weekend</strong>:<br /><br /> <strong>SAT 19 DEC</strong><br /> 5pm Catford<br /><br /><strong>SUN 20 DEC</strong><br /> 2.30pm Catford<br /> 5pm Catford &amp; Downham<br /> 7.30pm Catford<br /><br />In addition to this, we have <strong>family carol services</strong> <strong>at all three sites in the morning of Sunday 20th December at 10.30 am</strong>. These are fun services for the whole family and will be followed by drinks and mince pies. So once again, let me encourage you to invite your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues and come along to one service, two or maybe even more! I will see you there.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20151217-1230JW959KBPLPFB.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-12-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Excitement Builds...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/114</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/114</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/114/151210_Christmas_2013_IMG_0939_web.jpg" /><strong>I love Christmas</strong>! Preparations at home are well underway: the turkey has been ordered, we collect our King&rsquo;s Christmas Tree on Saturday and most of our presents have been bought &ndash; or so Deb assures me! As well as the excitement of Christmas, we also have a family birthday in December. Josh will be returning from university at the weekend and we are looking forward to all being together to celebrate Sam&rsquo;s sixteenth birthday next week.<br /><br />I am particularly excited about our <strong>King&rsquo;s carol services</strong>. Our theme this year is <strong><a href="https://www.kingschurchlondon.org/closer/">CLOSER</a></strong> and we are offering no fewer than <strong>seven</strong> services to choose from. Preparations are in full swing and our buildings are busy with band, orchestra and choir rehearsals. This week, I had the privilege of being given a preview of some of what we can look forward to &ndash;&nbsp;I was so impressed with both the creativity and professionalism of what I saw. <strong>This is an event not to be missed, and definitely one to which you should invite all your friends and family!</strong> The first two of our seven carol services take place this Sunday, 13th December, 5.30 pm at both Catford and Lee. If you didn&rsquo;t manage to pick up a free ticket, <strong>remember that you can still come along on the day without a ticket</strong>. <em>Morning services will continue at all sites this week, at the normal times</em>. Full details of all our services over this month can be found on at&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.kingschurchlondon.org/closer/">kingschurchlondon.org/closer</a></strong>.<br /><br />This is also a busy time for all the <strong>fantastic volunteers</strong> involved in our Christmas social action initiatives. I heard that we have almost sold out of <a href="http://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees</a>&nbsp;&ndash; just a few left if you still want to buy one! Deb was at our Lee building on Tuesday evening to help the <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/">Big Red Box</a> team pack hampers &ndash;&nbsp;it is quite an operation!&nbsp;Some <strong>500&nbsp;boxes</strong> have been packed so far and they will start to be distributed through social services and other local charities this week.&nbsp;If you would still like to get involved, have a look at the <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/">webpage</a> &ndash; donations need to be brought to one of our sites by this Sunday.<br /><br />However busy Christmas can seem it remains one of my favourite times of the year. Despite my more mature (!) years, I have never lost that <strong>sense of excitement the season brings!</strong> I love the opportunity it gives to spend time with family and friends; and I love the sense of joy and anticipation we feel as Christians as we <strong>reflect on and celebrate the birth of our Saviour</strong>. And of course Christmas also provides a <strong>fantastic opportunity</strong> to invite our friends and families to come to church and find out more about why we celebrate and why Christmas is called Christmas. So I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/closer/" target="_self"><img title="CLOSER - King's Carol Services" src="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/assets/img/img-closer-1.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-12-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Follow Me</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/113</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/113</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/113/events-follow-me.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.&rsquo; Mark 8:34<br /></em><br />It was good to be back at King&rsquo;s on Sunday, preaching the concluding part in our <strong>'Follow Me'</strong> series. I have greatly enjoyed all the sermons over the last weeks and have been encouraged by the positive feedback received. As I had hoped, it has proved to be a <strong>thought-provoking and challenging</strong> run of messages. If you were unable to be there on Sunday morning, you can listen <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/media/series/19/" target="_blank">online</a>&nbsp;or via our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/app" target="_blank">church app</a>.&nbsp;It is my personal conviction that this has been a very important series for us as a church, for the following reasons:<br /><br /><em>1. It has allowed us to consider how we can make Jesus central in our lives</em><br /><em>2. It lays a foundation for our discipleship </em><br /><em>3. We have covered key discipleship issues </em><br /><em>4. Through the series we have expressed our approach to church life here at King's</em><br /><br />The key principle behind this last point is that <em><strong>at King&rsquo;s we aim to take people on a journey, accepting them at their own starting point and inviting them to come on a journey of discovery.</strong></em><br /><br />It is with this in mind that I am so excited about our upcoming <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/closer/"><strong>carol services</strong></a>. These provide a fantastic opportunity for all of us to invite our family, friends and work colleagues to come to church &ndash; as I have said before, this is probably one of the easiest invites of the year! This year we are providing no fewer than <strong>seven opportunities to come to a carol service</strong>, as well as <strong>three site-based family carol services</strong>. Here is a reminder of dates, times and venues:<br /><br /><strong>SUN 13 DEC</strong><br /> 5.30pm Catford &amp; Lee<br /><br /><strong>SAT 19 DEC</strong><br /> 5pm Catford<br /><br /><strong>SUN 20 DEC</strong><br /> 2.30pm Catford<br /> 5pm Catford &amp; Downham<br />7.30pm Catford<br /><br />And in the morning on&nbsp;<strong>SUN 20 DEC,</strong> we have family carol services at all sites at 10.30 am.<br /><br />So, once again, let me encourage you to <strong>start inviting people</strong> &ndash; this could well be a chance for them to <strong>take a step closer to Jesus</strong>. Free tickets are available for you to pick up this Sunday at all sites. I look forward to seeing you then. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-12-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Sharing Hope at Christmas</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/112</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/112</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/112/151126_Sharing_Hope_web.jpg" />Christmas is a time of celebration, a time to give thanks and a time to share presents. &nbsp;But for families who are struggling to get by on low incomes, Christmas can also be a very challenging time. That is why I love <strong>Big Red Box</strong> and <strong>King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees, </strong>our King's Christmas initiatives.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/"><strong>BIG RED BOX</strong></a>&nbsp;distributes gifts of food hampers donated by the church and local community to families who might otherwise go without over the festive period. It was launched in 2011 and has so far given away over<strong> 2,300 boxes</strong>. The scheme has been headed up by the brilliant <strong>Mike Reich</strong> and this year he has been joined by the equally brilliant <strong>Alice Tibbert</strong>. Last year we gave away over 1,000 hampers and we are hoping to equal that in 2015. Collections began early, and we have already filled 184 boxes! They will be distributed through Social Services, Lewisham Refugee Network and other local charities. We would love as many of you as possible to get involved. All you need to do is:<br /><br />1. <strong>Get the food</strong> &ndash; pick up a <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/docs/BRB_2015_DL.png" target="_blank">list</a> or use the <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/list.html">website</a>&nbsp;and decide what items you are going to get. You can buy just one or a few items, get it all yourself, or you can join with others: family, friends, work colleagues, class mates, group &ndash; you choose!<br />2.&nbsp;<strong>Get a box</strong> &ndash; if you want to fill a whole one, you can pick up a flat-pack box from any <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sites-and-meetings/" target="_blank">King&rsquo;s Church London site</a> from now.<br />3. <strong>Give it&nbsp;in</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; you can give a complete box or simply bring in any donations from the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/docs/BRB_2015_DL.png" target="_blank">list</a>. All items and boxes should be brought to any of our sites on or before Sunday 14th December.&nbsp;<br /><br />You can also help in these ways:<br />&nbsp;<br />4. <strong>Make a Donation</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; If you are unable to give food or a box in person, you might like to make a financial donation &ndash;&nbsp;we will do your shopping for you! Details of how to do this can be found on the <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/donate.html">webpage</a>.<br />5. <strong>Volunteer!</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; If you visit a local supermarket in the weeks leading up to Christmas, you are likely to see our fantastic volunteers &ndash;&nbsp;dressed in their distinctive red t-shirts &ndash;&nbsp;collecting donations from generous shoppers. We are out again this weekend, and we need more volunteers! We also need people to help with packing and transport. If you would like to get involved, please contact the church office on <strong>020 8690 5121</strong> or <a href="mailto:info@bigredbox.org">send us an email</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kingschristmastrees.org/"><strong>KING'S CHRISTMAS TREES</strong></a> is another exciting Christmas initiative which has been running for a number of years. The Tibbert household loves a real Christmas tree &ndash;&nbsp;it is a part of our family tradition &ndash;&nbsp;and by buying ours from King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees, we know that we are making a difference. Not only do we get a beautiful tree, but all profits from sales are helping rough sleepers and vulnerable people through the work of our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/" target="_blank">Jericho Road Project</a>. This year we are hoping to sell 500 trees and I have been told that we have already sold over half of them! Profits from the sale of just one tree can <strong>provide ten hot, three-course meals at The Feast</strong>, our weekly drop-in meeting. So, if you normally buy a real tree, can I encourage you to go to the <a href="http://www.kingschristmastrees.org/">webpage</a> and&nbsp;order yours from King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees?<br /><br />The theme for our carol services this year is <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/closer/"><strong>Closer</strong></a>, and it promises to be yet another brilliant event. <strong>Have you thought about who you can invite?</strong> Don&rsquo;t forget you can <strong>pick up your tickets this Sunday</strong> &ndash; they are free, but it really helps us to have an indication of how many are coming! This week I am looking forward to preaching the last in our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/media/series/19/" target="_blank"><strong>'Follow Me'</strong></a> series, considering what it really means to be a disciple of Jesus and follow Him! And then in the evening at our 5.30pm meeting, we have the privilege of <strong>Terry Virgo</strong> preaching the final part of his brilliant series on grace. Definitely a great Sunday ahead, and I look forward to seeing you all there.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/closer/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/assets/img/img-closer-1.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-11-26</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Christmas Comes Closer</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/111</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/111</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/111/advert-closer-url.jpg" />Christmas is definitely one of my favourite times of year, a highlight in both my church and family calendars. It may still be November, but preparations are already in full swing both at King&rsquo;s and at home.<br /><br />We like to celebrate Christmas in a big way at King's, and this year there will be no fewer than seven evening carol services taking place across all three sites and over two weekends! Our carol services are one of the highlights of the church year for me - I never cease to be impressed by the creativity and talent of all those involved. Our theme this year is <strong>CLOSER</strong>, celebrating a time when <strong>Jesus comes closer to us than ever before</strong>. We would love you all to attend at least one of the services - and also to <strong>bring a friend</strong>. This is probably the easiest invite of the year! Flyers will be available for you to pick up this Sunday, so can I encourage you to start thinking about who you can invite? This may be the moment when your friend, colleague or family member <strong>takes a step closer to knowing Jesus.<br /></strong><br />This time of year also provides us with opportunities to <strong>take the love of Jesus closer to our local community</strong>, through the <a href="http://www.kingschristmastrees.org/" target="_blank">King&rsquo;s Christmas Trees</a> and <a href="http://www.bigredbox.org/" target="_blank">Big Red Box</a> initiatives. Deb ordered our own tree this week and it really couldn&rsquo;t be easier! &nbsp;All profits go to the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/social-action/">Jericho Road Project</a>, helping rough sleepers and vulnerable people in south east London.&nbsp;Then on Sunday, we will be picking up our <strong>Big Red Box</strong>, ready to fill with food for a family who might otherwise go without. If you would like to participate or contribute you will find all the information you need on the Christmas webpage - <strong><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/closer/">kingschurchlondon.org/closer</a></strong>. We are also looking for volunteers to help with our food collections at local supermarkets over the next two weekends. If you are able to help, please contact the church office on 020 8690 5121, or email <a href="mailto:info@bigredbox.org">info@bigredbox.org</a>.<br /><br />We have all been deeply shocked and saddened by <strong>events in Paris</strong> this week. And whilst we try to come to terms with what has happened in a country so near to us, we are aware that equally terrible atrocities are occurring in many other places around the world - even as I write this blog, news has come in of a bomb blast in a crowded square in Nigeria. It is important that we pray for all our world leaders, for wisdom and insight as they seek to find solutions and a way forward. Let us also pray for all those who are living in fear, fleeing war zones or living in refugee camps. <br /><br />This weekend, we are looking forward to going to Portsmouth to visit our middle son Josh who is at university there, and also to spending an evening with good friends, Paul and Charlotte Braithwaite. Then on Sunday we have the next in the <strong>'Follow Me'</strong>&nbsp;series, looking at the issue of how we honour the elderly. Meanwhile I will be taking our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><strong>membership morning</strong></a> for anyone new to King&rsquo;s who would like to find out more about the church and what it means to be a member. I look forward to seeing you there.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/144911993?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-11-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Visit to the Palace</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/110</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/110</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/110/111115_Steve_and_Deb_at_Labeth_Palace_web.jpg" />It is not often that I worship and pray in a chapel that dates back to the thirteenth century, but that is where I found myself last Friday morning! With its stained glass windows, carved wooden pews and painted arched ceilings, the chapel at <strong>Lambeth Palace</strong> is certainly a stark contrast to my usual places of worship. Deb and I were there last week as part of the <strong>Richmond Group</strong>, a relational network of church leaders from across the UK hosted by Nicky Gumbel. We spent a fascinating two days (only Friday morning was spent at Lambeth) with leaders from other denominations and church families in the UK, including Vineyard, Salt &amp; Light, HTB and Jesus House.<br /><br />It was a huge privilege to be able to spend time with such experienced and gifted leaders, and also to be able to <strong>share news from</strong> <strong>Newfrontiers of ongoing apostolic extension</strong>. An interesting part of our time away was hearing some results and analysis from the recent <strong>Barna</strong> <strong>survey</strong> on<em> &lsquo;Perceptions of Jesus, Christians and evangelism in England&rsquo;</em>. If like me you enjoy statistics and numbers, go to <a href="http://www.talkingjesus.org/">talkingjesus.org</a>&nbsp;to find out more. It was also good to hear from <strong>Baroness Philippa Stroud</strong>, recently appointed to the House of Lords, about what she feels God has called her to do and how we can support and pray for her.<br /><br />The highlight of the two days was most certainly the visit to Lambeth Palace, which started early on Friday morning with prayers in the chapel led by <strong>Archbishop</strong>&nbsp;<strong>Justin Welby</strong>. He is a most impressive leader with a challenging task before him &ndash; <strong>can I encourage you to pray for him?</strong> It was good to be able to stand together and pray for our nation, with Ken Costa from HTB urging us to believe God for another move of His Spirit across our land. Deb and I left feeling inspired by all that God is doing in and through His church. <br /><br />As I look ahead to the next few weeks, I am excited to see the launch of our <strong>Christmas</strong> programme here at King&rsquo;s &ndash; more of that next week, but if you&rsquo;d like a sneak preview of our theme <strong>&lsquo;Closer&rsquo;</strong>, have a look at the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/closer/">Christmas webpage</a>. I also see from my diary that I have a visit to another palace coming up - a more familiar one this time, the mighty <strong>Crystal Palace</strong>, playing Sunderland at home! Just hope they win&hellip; ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-11-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Some Important News</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/109</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/109</guid> <description><![CDATA[ For those of you who have not yet heard the recent news regarding my new role for Newfrontiers UK, here is a copy of the letter I sent out to the King&rsquo;s Church London family last week:<br /><br /><em>Dear friends,<br /></em><br /><em>I am writing to each of you to share some important news. <br /><br />Newfrontiers is the family of churches to which King's has belonged for over 30 years. Starting as a house church movement in the 70s, under the leadership of Terry Virgo, it began in Sussex and spread across the UK and to many nations around the world. In July 2011, at the Newfrontiers International conference held in Brighton, Terry Virgo handed over the leadership of his movement to a number of his spiritual sons. Since then, Newfrontiers has continued to multiply and grow; it now has around 300 churches in the UK and approaching 1,500 around the world.<br /></em><br /><em>At our recent international leadership conference in Turkey, hosted by David Devenish, it was announced that I have been invited by the UK based apostles to provide facilitating leadership across the several different spheres which now make up our family of churches in the UK.<br /></em><br /><em>In practice this will mean that I will host our leaders&rsquo; meetings and represent Newfrontiers to the wider body of Christ. We have discussed this at length as elders and within our senior leadership team. We believe this is a great opportunity for King's to serve our family of churches.<br /></em><br /><em>On a personal note, I remain totally committed to King's. I will continue as our Senior Pastor and we will be implementing a number of changes within our senior leadership over the next couple of months to ensure we continue to move forward locally. I would value your support and prayers as I take on this new role,<br /><br /></em><br /><em>Steve Tibbert</em><br /><em>Senior Pastor</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-11-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Week in the Life</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/108</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/108</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/108/151022-11892994453_ea221e8e28_o-web.jpg" />As a boy, I remember being taken to church every Sunday and wondering what the pastor did on the other six days of the week. Once he had delivered his sermon, what else was there to do? In my young mind I imagined he must spend most of Monday to Friday playing golf - it seemed like an easy life to me!<br /><br />Of course now, after more than 25 years as a pastor, I am well aware that the reality is very different. As I was preparing this blog, I found myself thinking over just some of the situations I have been involved in this week:<br /><br />&bull; Delivering an afternoon&rsquo;s teaching on church growth and leadership to another local network of churches<br /> <br />&bull; An hour&rsquo;s phone call to a fellow pastor advising on multi-site and other challenges <br /><br />&bull; An afternoon with Terry Virgo, founder of the Newfrontiers family<br /><br />&bull; Final preparations and then delivery on Sunday of the latest in our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/media/series/19/">Follow Me</a> teaching series, looking at the important issue of singleness<br /><br />&bull; Trustees and elders meetings - the agendas ranged from finance, buildings, health and safety, and our stance on divorce<br /><br />&bull; Reading and research for my next sermon addressing the subject of marriage<br /><br />&bull; Leading the weekly prayer meeting with our fantastic staff team<br /><br />These are just a few of the things that occupied my time over the last few days.&nbsp;A pastor needs to be both a leader and a teacher. Over the years, I have had to develop and draw upon an amazingly diverse range of skills, from budgeting to pastoral advice, theology to health and safety, preaching to building matters. I am frequently aware of my inadequacies and shortcomings, and at times find myself offering up the &lsquo;HELP!&rsquo; prayer. And I remind myself daily to keep drawing on the wisdom and strength of the God we seek to serve and honour.<br /><br />The boy that I once was could never have dreamt that a pastor&rsquo;s life could be so varied. I can honestly say that I am in a job in which no two days are ever the same - my life is busy, but I am never bored! I consider it both a joy and a privilege to be called to this role.&nbsp;But I have to admit, occasionally I look forward to the day when I will have a little more time to spend on the golf course...<br /><br /><br /><em>Image: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/j7WGUv">Golf silhouette</a> by Brian Patrick, used under CC</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-10-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>More Together Than Apart</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/107</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/107</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/107/151015_world_airline_routemap_3_web.jpg" />Last week Deb and I had the privilege of attending the <strong>Newfrontiers</strong> conference in Turkey. Friends from around the world gathered to spend time learning, praying and discussing our future together.<br /> <br />The event was hosted by David Devenish who spoke with great insight out of Titus on the important issue of contextualisation; Steve van Rhyn, from Cape Town, gave a punchy &ndash; and challenging &ndash;&nbsp;summary of the New Testament practice of apostles working in groups of two or sometimes more; Terry brought a great word from Exodus 17, exhorting us to work hard and pray &ndash; classic Virgo!; the Lanfermans and Holdens spoke on the importance of continuing to build strong marriages in the context of ongoing apostolic extension; and through the week we were effectively aided by the chairing and teaching skills of PJ Smyth.<br /> <br />However, I have to say that the prayer time on Wednesday afternoon stands out as the highlight of the week for me; hearing of churches moving forward and others being planted in many countries was just wonderful. It is always inspirational to hear news from different places, and to gather and pray for one another is a powerful thing. Our family&rsquo;s reach into nation after nation continues apace. In fact, I saw on <a href="https://twitter.com/terryvirgo" target="_blank">Terry Virgo&rsquo;s Twitter feed</a> on Tuesday that when Stoneleigh closed in 2001, Newfrontiers served 300 churches worldwide. Now, through multiplied teams, we serve approaching 1,500 churches!<br /><br />I do hope you are enjoying the <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/media/series/19/">&lsquo;Follow Me&rsquo;</a> series in which we are addressing how to respond biblically to some of the key issues facing today&rsquo;s society. I hear it has led to some fantastic discussions in <a href="https://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups/">groups</a>. The series continues this Sunday, when I will be speaking in the morning on the subject of &lsquo;Single and Satisfied&rsquo;. Then in the evening I encourage you to join us again as we welcome Terry Virgo, who will be bringing the second in his three-part <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/18/">series on grace</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/18/"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20151014-1625BTVPMQ9YHRX8.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /><br /></a><br /><br /><em>Image:&nbsp;By Jpatokal (Own work) [<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a> or <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html" target="_blank">GFDL</a>] via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AWorld-airline-routemap-2009.png" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-10-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Newfrontiers Global 2015</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/106</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/106</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/106/151008_newfrontiers_global_web.jpg" />This week Deb and I have been in Turkey attending the annual Newfrontiers leaders' conference. Over 100 of us gathered from around the world, from countries as far flung as India, Mexico, USA, Ukraine, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Australia, UK, among others. The few days we spent sharing news, worshipping, praying and breaking bread together served as a reminder that Newfrontiers is a church movement which is first and foremost based on relationship and friendship with others. We have partnered with many of these wonderful leaders within our movement for over 25 years and it was great to have the opportunity to spend time with them once again.<br /><br />We particularly enjoyed catching up with Scott and Clare Marques from Harare and Vinu Paul from Mumbai. It was fantastic to hear news of Kingdom progress in both Harare and Mumbai, cities Deb and I have visited recently. We consider it a huge privilege to stand with friends from among the nations.<br /><br />We return on Saturday and look forward to seeing you at King's this weekend as we continue our <em><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/19/">'Follow Me'</a></em>&nbsp;preaching series .<br /><br />Steve ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-10-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Know Yourself</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/105</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/105</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/105/151001_know_yourself.jpg" /><strong><em>&lsquo;Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.&rsquo; Oscar Wilde</em></strong><br /><br />Last week, I was fortunate to spend a few days at our &lsquo;learning community&rsquo; in which leaders from several churches in the UK, the USA and elsewhere gathered for teaching and to spend time together as teams to reflect and plan for next steps. I particularly enjoyed hearing one of the guest speakers, Michael Fletcher. He leads a church of some 5000 people in North Carolina, USA, and I was eager to hear his insights on leadership. What would his advice be for taking your church to the next level? Powerful preaching? An effective outreach programme? Whilst all those are clearly important elements, it was reassuring that his first point was that <strong>good leaders know themselves</strong>.<br /><br />The importance of <strong>knowing who I am</strong> is something I have been aware of for many years now. Of course, on first hearing it can sound a little like navel-gazing. Aren&rsquo;t we in danger of becoming too self-absorbed, too introspective? Isn&rsquo;t there a danger that spending too much time thinking about ourselves could prevent us from getting on with the real work of spreading the gospel and building God&rsquo;s church? Naturally, if all you do is talk about yourself with others, you will soon turn your audience off. But I would argue that <strong>having a realistic awareness of who you are, your strengths and weaknesses</strong>, will make you a more effective leader in the long term. If spending time understanding yourself<strong> is part of an ongoing reflection on how you experience life</strong> <strong>and how others experience you, then it can lead to significant personal growth.</strong><br /><br />Recently, another leader came to talk to me about the options for his future. He shared some thoughts and possible paths for ministry and then asked for my comments. I paused for a while, wanting to give good counsel and then answered that at this stage in the process, <strong>self-awareness was crucial</strong>. To ensure a good fit wherever he ended up, he needed to consider who he is. These are some of the questions I suggested he ask himself: What season of life and ministry am I in? How do I process life? How do other people experience me? What are my primary and secondary gifts? &nbsp;What is my personality type? Having an understanding of all these aspects can ensure that we place ourselves where we are most likely to be effective for God and his church.<br /><br />Perhaps you also have a sense of call on your life and would like to grow as a leader. Perhaps, like my friend who came to talk to me, you find yourself in a position where you are considering your future. If that is you, then why not think about applying for one of our trainee pastor roles? All details can be found <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/job-opportunities/">here</a>.<br /><br />Steve<br /><br /><br />Image: <em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucasartoni/6897009091/" target="_blank">Self Portrait in Vienna</a></em>&nbsp;by Luca Sartoni, used under CC ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-10-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Vineyard Friends</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/104</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/104</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/104/CJW_DJW_Commissioning.png" />At the age of 21, I attended John Wimber's 'Signs and Wonders' conference at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster. It was a life-changing event. The worship, teaching and evidence of God's power were simply extraordinary and I had never witnessed anything quite like it before. <br /><br />Since then, the ministry of The Vineyard network of churches has continued to shape and influence me, mainly through our friendship with Steve and Cindy Nicholson from Evanston, Chicago, but also through Rich Nathan from Columbus, Ohio, John and Eleanor Mumford and John and Debby Wright from the UK. Therefore it was a great joy to be representing Newfrontiers at John and Debby Wright's commissioning and celebration service last weekend, as they take over the leadership of Vineyard UK and Ireland from the Mumfords. Whilst very distinct in their values, philosophy and style, the honouring of John and Eleanor during the service reminded me of Newfrontiers' own handover from Terry and Wendy Virgo just over four years ago. Of all the networks based in the UK, Vineyard has much in common with Newfrontiers' own core values. The commissioning service was preceded by a lunch during which Deb and I found ourselves sat next to Bishop David Pytches and Mike Pilavachi - a real privilege and very entertaining!<br /><br />This week I am attending a leadership conference hosted in Portugal before returning to London late Friday evening. I am looking forward to launching our new series 'Follow Me' at our baptism services on Sunday.<br /><br />Steve<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20150924-1101S47TJ96JXEBZ.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-09-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Celebrating Twenty Years</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/103</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/103</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/103/150917_20_Year_Celebration_Sep15_IMG_8983_web.jpg" /><strong><em>&lsquo;For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;</em></strong><br /><strong><em>His faithfulness continues through all generations.&rsquo;</em></strong><br /><strong><em>Psalm 100:5</em></strong><br /><br />Well, celebrating our 20 years at King&rsquo;s Church last Sunday proved to be quite a day to remember! As Deb and I travelled around during the morning to all five services across our three sites, and then celebrated with the whole church after our sixth service in the evening, it was impossible not to be struck by the remarkable change we have witnessed at King&rsquo;s. In 1995 we joined a group of 200 faithful people, who had experienced one setback after another, in a rundown church building; today, King&rsquo;s is a diverse church of some 1,400 people on a Sunday, meeting across three sites in six different services. More than anything the day was about taking a moment to look back and thank God for all that He has done, for <em>His faithfulness</em> <em>to King's through the generations. </em>We certainly felt that we had much to be thankful for!<br /><br />We would like to express our deep thanks to everyone at King&rsquo;s who helped to make the day so memorable and for the kind and generous gifts with which we were presented &ndash; thank you. We were particularly grateful for the hundreds of cards with personal messages, presented to us in a box to keep &ndash; we are still enjoying reading through each of them.&nbsp; If you missed the video interview that was shown of us talking about our journey over these last two decades, you can <a href="https://vimeo.com/138655505" target="_blank">catch it here</a>. <br /><br />King&rsquo;s would not be the church it is today if it wasn&rsquo;t for the hard work of so many people, many of them unseen. This is very much a body ministry! I would like to express my personal thanks to each of you, whether you have been with us for the whole journey, part of it, or joined us relatively recently. Together, we can do great things to see the Kingdom of God expressed through His church.&nbsp; <em>Let us continue to serve Him in our generation.</em><br /><br />Finally, we thought you might like to&nbsp;have another look at the fantastic video produced by the team, charting the last twenty years at King's and in the wider world. Enjoy, and see you Sunday!<br /><br />Steve and Deb<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/139014144?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-09-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Back to the Future</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/102</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/102</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/102/150910_Tibberts_1995_and_2005.jpg" />If you were to travel back in time to <strong>1995</strong>, you would discover a world with few mobile phones, slow internet and no euros. We were young back in those days, Deb in her late twenties, me only 32. We had been married just over six years with a boisterous three-year-old Ben and six-month-old Josh. It seems a very long time ago now. In <strong>September 1995</strong> we moved from Bedford to Catford.<br /><br />The church we joined had around <strong>200</strong> in attendance, meeting in a run-down building. It had seen a decade of decline but the <strong>remnant were strong</strong> and had shown <strong>remarkable faith</strong> during a period which had been difficult for the church. Following our arrival there was slow progress in the first couple of years, with as many people leaving as joining.<br /><br />The first five years were demanding. There were many sleepless nights at home due to young children, but in the church we gradually started to get some momentum. With our third son, Sam, born at the end of 1999 and the church moving into a refurbished building in <strong>September 2000</strong>, London was feeling like home. It took us a few years to establish our roots, but by the time we moved into the new building both our family and the church had a strong foundation from which to move forward. <br /><br />Over the next five years the church started to grow steadily and by the <strong>beginning of 2005</strong> it had grown to a size similar to the one we had left a decade ago in Bedford. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - little did we know what God was about to do amongst us! Those first ten years had been early steps, childlike steps. Now we were about to enter the teenage years in our household and see a period of growth and maturity in the church. <strong>By</strong> <strong>2015</strong> King&rsquo;s had experienced remarkable growth, growing by another 1,000.<br /><br />It is difficult to summarise that decade of ministry in a single paragraph. One meeting that became two, then three, and ended with us as a church meeting across <strong>three sites with six meetings</strong>; a <strong>mercy ministry</strong> launched and people being saved every week &ndash; these are just a few highlights. The opportunity to purchase the massive building at Lee and the move to become a <strong>multi-site church</strong> in <strong>March 2011</strong> changed the church we had become and laid a new foundation for all we will see together in the future.<br /><br />So now King&rsquo;s enters its adult years, full of potential and promise. Only God knows what is before us. He calls us to follow Him with eyes and hearts full of faith, daring to believe the best is ahead. But <strong>as we look back we also look to the future</strong>. I believe we have been given an opportunity and the responsibility to <strong>serve God in our generation</strong>, just as King David did. Who knows what the next decade will bring? Only God!<br /><br />We are very grateful to God that He called us to London; we are very grateful to Him for all the blessing we have seen in our own family and in this, our church family; and we are very grateful to you as well for your part in this exciting journey. Whether you are new to King&rsquo;s or have been here for many years, I hope you&rsquo;ll enjoy this term and the year ahead. And I hope also that you will take the opportunity to come this <strong>Sunday</strong> to <strong>give thanks</strong> for all God has done here, and pray for all He has in store. Only God knows our future, and in Him we put our trust, for His name and glory.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20150909-19541XW4YZ9R97YP.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-09-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Twenty Years and Counting</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/101</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/101</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/101/events-vision-sunday-sep15-1-updated.jpg" />It is fantastic to begin this term feeling refreshed from my summer break. One of the greatest benefits of being away is that it provides an opportunity to pause, think and gain a fresh perspective. My holiday this year gave me time to reflect and has left me extremely grateful for all we have seen here at King&rsquo;s over the last twenty years. Suddenly, the daily and weekly pressures of leading the church faded for a while and I had the chance to see a wider landscape, a broader picture and maybe even a glimpse into the future. And just as I was considering how much God has done at King&rsquo;s in the last two decades, news came in of 23 first-time commitments on the King&rsquo;s Newday site this year &ndash; what a wonderful example of how different the church is now! Praise God!<br /><br />When my&nbsp;leadership team first proposed the idea of marking twenty years of the Tibbert family being at King&rsquo;s, I was fairly hesitant. However, on reflection I felt it would provide an excellent opportunity to celebrate all that God has done amongst us &ndash; a moment to look back and remember our journey as well as a chance to look forward and dream of how much more there is to come! Therefore, I would like to encourage you all to make a special effort to join us at one of our meetings on <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/sites-and-meetings/">Sunday 13th September</a>.<br /><br />Before then we have the joy of <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/">Terry Virgo</a>, founding father of Newfrontiers, joining us this Sunday evening. He kicks off the first of three visits to King&rsquo;s this term, when he will be speaking on the subject of grace, one of his life messages. This is a real treat with which to start the new term.<br /><br />I trust you have had a good summer. I am expectant of another fantastic church year together and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.<br /><br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/138188756?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="729" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br /><br /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-09-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>What Else Could I Possibly Do?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/100</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/100</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/100/150724_charles_web.jpg" /><br />A few years ago I asked an older friend, who had served in full-time gospel ministry for many years, how he had known that God was calling him full-time. He responded by taking a Bible out of his pocket and reading the apostle Paul&rsquo;s words in 1 Corinthians 9: 16: <br /><br /><em>Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!</em> <br /><br />My friend paused. He then said, &lsquo;God had laid on Paul a <strong>deep conviction</strong> that compelled him to preach. <strong>He couldn&rsquo;t possibly do anything else</strong>. How do you know if you are called to full-time gospel ministry? When you know that you couldn&rsquo;t possibly do anything else!&rsquo; <br /><br />Many of you know that last summer I left my job as a PE teacher to join the staff team at King&rsquo;s. At the time, many people couldn&rsquo;t understand the decision I had made. Some felt that this was too big a step, that I should work part-time for the school and part-time for the church. Others felt that I had simply made a mistake. But I knew that when I was given the opportunity to join the team, I had to take it - because God had laid on my heart a deep conviction to serve the church. <strong>I couldn&rsquo;t possibly do anything else</strong>. <br /><br />It has been a tremendous privilege to serve King&rsquo;s over the past 12 months. After all, we are in the business of teaching and proclaiming the <strong>Good News of Jesus Christ</strong> to a world that desperately needs to hear&nbsp;about his amazing grace! I have been involved in a number of different ministries: leading a variety of Groups, overseeing the Alpha &amp; New Life courses, leading Sunday services on&nbsp;the Catford Site and co-ordinating our trip to Newday this summer, when we took nearly 100 young people to the Norfolk Showground. It has been a joy to see people&rsquo;s lives <strong>changed by the power of the gospel</strong>.<br /><br />As well as the joys and privileges, I have learned that pastoral ministry can also be costly. I say this because a pastor&rsquo;s role is primarily to serve others, and not themselves. This has a number of implications and can be difficult at times (as if you weren&rsquo;t aware already!) but I have tried to follow Jesus&rsquo; example, who came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). <br /><br />I have learned a great deal about myself and what it means to serve Christ; but I have also learned a great deal about King&rsquo;s Church and the incredible journey that we are on together. My ongoing prayer is that Christ would continue to be glorified in my own life as well as in the church. <br /><br /><em>Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21<br /><br /><strong>Charles Kimbangi</strong> is a Trainee Pastor at King's. He helps run Alpha and leads numerous groups. He is married to Amy.<br /><br /><strong>Steve Tibbert </strong>is taking study leave and summer holiday and will be back in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-08-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>King&apos;s Kids</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/98</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/98</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/98/150724_kings_kids_web.jpg" />I love sharing Jesus with other people; being able to do this every Sunday at <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/kids/">King&rsquo;s Kids</a> is an amazing privilege. Across our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sites-and-meetings/">three sites</a> at King&rsquo;s we have over 100 children between the ages of one and nine who come to learn about Jesus each week. In addition to this we have provision for those in years five and six, after which they move into our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/youth/">youth work</a>. Looking after all our young people each week requires a lot of planning, organising and many fantastic volunteers!<br /><br />We have a clear vision for our children&rsquo;s work at King&rsquo;s. Firstly we want King&rsquo;s Kids to be a place where<strong> Jesus is communicated clearly</strong>, where every child knows <strong>Jesus is their friend</strong> and where they come to know for themselves that they have a <strong>Saviour who loves them unconditionally</strong>. But also central to our philosophy is that children&rsquo;s work should be fun! My desire is that our youngsters grow up knowing that church is not boring, that it can be <strong>exciting</strong>, a place where they will experience a lot of <strong>laughter</strong>. And lastly, we want every child who comes to us to know that they are <strong>valued and cared for</strong>.<br /><br />As a parent myself, I often get to hear some of the things my children are learning in King&rsquo;s Kids. My four-year-old regularly repeats phrases that he has been taught in Promiseland. He recently told me to remember that &lsquo;Jesus is your treasure&rsquo; and &lsquo;Jesus is always listening&rsquo;! My seven-year-old loves to look in his Bible to find the stories he has heard in King's Kids &ndash;&nbsp;and then asks me to quiz him on the details. My one-year-old happily dances around the house singing worship songs that she is taught in Jumping Beans. Just the other day, a friend told me that her son had been asking if it was Sunday yet as he couldn&rsquo;t wait to go to Promiseland! How wonderful that our children can grow up with such a positive experience of coming to church.<br /><br />Children are brilliant &ndash; they soak up so much and they love hearing about Jesus. Thank you to all our volunteers who invest their time in such an important area &ndash;&nbsp;you are making such an impact on these young lives and we could not do this without you. And if after reading this you think this may be an area you would like to get involved in, please contact me at the church office.<br /><br /><em><strong>Kerri-Jane Lamb</strong> is a part-time Children&rsquo;s Worker at King&rsquo;s, based on our Catford site. She also has a role supporting all our sites with developing our children&rsquo;s curriculum and in training the many volunteers involved in Kids' Work. Kerri-Jane is married to Andy and they have three young children.<br /><br /><strong>Steve Tibbert</strong> is taking study leave and summer holiday and will be back in September.<br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-08-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Finding Truth in the Bible</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/94</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/94</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/94/150724_stones_and_sling_web.jpg" />I love London - there is so much to do and see right on our doorstep!<br /><br />Recently I went on a tour of the British Museum with a group of pastors led by Mick Taylor. Among the mummies and ancient statues are many objects which date back to the time when the Old Testament was written. It was amazing to see a wooden board game that was discovered at Ur, the wealthy city Abraham came from; or an elaborate wall decoration made of glazed painted tiles from the Palace at Susa during the time of Queen Esther; stone balls and a slingshot just like the one David used against Goliath; writing on clay tablets which document the culture of Babylon and Egypt - you can imagine how that would have impacted the people of Israel; and seals and boundary stones that explain how things were done in Biblical times.<br /><br />It&rsquo;s great to remember that our faith is a historic one, grounded in ordinary people&rsquo;s lives, geography and true events. We have in the Bible the most wonderful collection of 66 books, written over thousands of years. It documents dramatic stories of real people, songs written to celebrate real victories and to mourn real defeats. It records words that challenged the people of the day to love God with all their hearts. The Old Testament zooms into one tiny baby in the bulrushes and then chronicles the deliverance of a whole nation through the Red Sea. The scope is massive but the themes throughout are consistent. God loves us. He wants to gather a people and He will do whatever it takes to rescue them. The birth of a baby in the New Testament begins the fulfilment of the story.<br /><br />Interesting though they are, I don&rsquo;t need to see a lot of crumbling artefacts to believe the Bible - when I read it, or meet with others in a group to discuss it together, it comes alive. My heart witnesses that, just like Abraham, I need to leave my games and follow after God; just like David, if I listen and obey God amazing things happen. Each week during term time, hundreds of people across King&rsquo;s meet in groups and discover the Bible has encouragement for them today.&nbsp;His word still speaks 'I love you' - 'Come, follow Me'.&nbsp;<br /><br />I love the Bible - there's so much in it to do and see right there on my bookshelf!&nbsp;Why not start reading Luke&rsquo;s gospel? Perhaps read a chapter a day and follow our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/16/">parables teaching series</a>. Or for ideas about how to get reading your Bible this summer go to <a href="https://www.youversion.com/">youversion.com</a><br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Hilary Dalziel</strong> is the main driving force behind Groups at King's. She is part of the Pastoral Care Team, oversees marriage mentoring and organises much of the training of pastoral care staff and volunteers. Hilary is married to William and they have three grown up children.<br /><br /><strong>Steve Tibbert</strong> is taking study leave and summer holiday and will be back in September.<br /><br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-08-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A Year of Impact</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/99</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/99</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/99/150731_impact_web.jpg" /><em>&ldquo;Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me&rdquo;.&nbsp;John 12:26</em><br /><br />Shortly before predicting His death in John 12, Jesus makes the point that in order to <strong>serve</strong> Him we must <strong>follow</strong> Him. This implies that serving God and following His commandments are closely linked in His Kingdom. This was one of the main reasons I decided to do the <strong>Impact</strong> year here at King&rsquo;s. I wanted to follow God by serving the local church that had blessed me throughout my life. <br /><br />However, this year has turned out to be much more than simply 'giving something back' to the church I call home. Being on the staff team for a year has resulted in my spiritual growth and maturity, whilst <strong>deepening my knowledge of who God really is</strong>. Serving God in a full-time capacity has been both challenging and richly rewarding, as you are working to build His church on earth and invest in your eternal life to come (Matthew 9:19-20). <br /><br />A major part of the year is also attending the monthly training blocks in East Grinstead. During these days, visiting speakers from Newfrontiers or elsewhere preach on various subjects from church planting to salvation. These weeks broadened my understanding of the Bible, as I have received high quality teaching on many aspects of the Christian life. It was also helpful to be on training with the rest of my block, a group of Impacters from other churches in South-East England. <br /><br />If you are over 18, have a free year and a desire to grow in Christ, I would recommend that you do Impact.&nbsp;You will not regret it!<br /><br /><br /><em><strong>David Gayle</strong> has taken a gap year before starting university, spending the majority of his time working voluntarily at King&rsquo;s on an Impact year of training. He has focussed primarily on youth work and worship and has proved an invaluable member of the team!</em><br /><br /><em><strong>Steve Tibbert</strong> is taking study leave and summer holiday and will be back in September.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-08-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Who Do You Think He Is?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/93</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/93</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/93/150724_Who_Do_You_Think_You_Are_web.jpg" /><em>Who Do You Think You Are?</em> is a BBC TV programme in which celebrities trace their ancestry and discover secrets from their past. Often their discoveries stir up some deep emotions. The programme started in 2004, has run for eleven seasons and has been watched by up to 6 million viewers at a time. Clearly this documentary on genealogies strikes a chord with the general public!<br /><br />A few months ago I was reading the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 and was struck again by how flawed Jesus&rsquo; background was. His long ancestral line contains quite a few cheats and criminals &ndash; hardly the ideal foundation for the Holy One of Israel! So here&rsquo;s a sample of the embarrassing catalogue of relatives that preceded Jesus&hellip;<br /><br />&bull; Jacob &ndash; who cheated his brother out of his father&rsquo;s blessing<br />&bull; Judah &ndash; who slept with his daughter-in-law Tamar thinking she was a prostitute<br />&bull; Boaz &ndash; whose mother was Rahab the prostitute and married a non-Jewish (Moabite) woman called Ruth<br />&bull; David &ndash; who had an affair with Bathsheba and had her husband killed in an attempt to cover his sin<br />&bull; Solomon &ndash; who started well but ended up worshipping many foreign gods<br /><br />Some Christian counsellors would have a field day if Jesus made an appointment to see them today! There must be plenty of scope for &lsquo;generational curses&rsquo; here. Surely there are some strongholds that need to be broken? Christian counselling has its place and many will benefit enormously from counselling sessions. But there is an important lesson to learn here. None of us need to be limited by our family backgrounds. God is able to take hold of anyone from the most messed up background and use them powerfully.<br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Malcolm Kyte</strong> is an elder of the church and leads the Downham site. He is responsible for the Pastoral Care Team and Safeguarding at King's. Malcolm is married to Cathy and they have three grown up children.<br /><br /><strong>Steve Tibbert</strong> is taking study leave and summer holiday and will be back in September.<br /><br /></em><strong>A quick reminder...</strong><br /> Around 100 young people from King's are getting ready to go to <a href="http://newdaygeneration.org/" target="_blank">Newday</a>, the large Newfrontiers youth event, which takes place from Monday and throughout next week. Please pray for our young people and the leaders going with them. There will be daily updates from the event on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/kingschurchlondon" target="_blank">King's Facebook page</a> and our <a href="http://twitter.com/KingsChurchLDN" target="_blank">Twitter feed</a>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-07-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Importance of Rest</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/97</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/97</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/97/150723_bench_web.jpg" />Rest is so important - even God rested on the seventh day! Rest gives our bodies time to recover, our emotions time to catch up and our minds time to reflect and process thoughts. When rested, we can be re-energized for the tasks ahead; it is often during times of rest that I have some of my best ideas!<br /><br />At King&rsquo;s, I am in the fortunate position of being given a six week break across the summer. Usually, three weeks of this is for study and preparation for the year ahead, and three weeks is annual leave, a chance for us to have a family holiday. This year, because I have had overseas trips to India, Dubai and Africa, I find myself with a large amount of annual leave still to take! So, I will be spending 10 days of my time preparing for our autumn series <em>Follow Me</em>, and the rest will be taken as holiday. <br /><br />If you would like to read more on the <strong>importance of rest</strong>, do have a look at <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/downloads/Rest.pdf" target="_blank">this paper</a> I wrote a few years ago.<br /><br />My summer break begins today, so this will be my last post for a few weeks. However, the blog will continue throughout July and August, as other members of our fantastic team here at King's will be writing guest posts. I hope you all have a relaxing, restful summer, and I look forward to seeing you all again in September.<br /><br /><em>Image:<a href="http://bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=4469243936&amp;size=large" target="_blank"> Just Sit Back and Relax!</a> by Vinoth Chandar, used under CC</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-07-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Save the Date</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/96</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/96</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/96/advert-vision-sunday-sep15-save-the-date.jpg" />It seems hard to believe, but this coming September marks <strong>20 years</strong> since Deb and I moved from Bedford to Catford. On <strong>Sunday 13th September</strong>, at each of our services, we will be celebrating and giving thanks for all that God has done amongst us in the last two decades. <br /><br />The day that we moved is etched in my memory. I had lived in Bedford for 24 years, from the age of 8 to 32. Bedford was where I had become a Christian, started in ministry, got married to my beautiful wife and become a dad; it was quite a momentous decision to leave. I still remember the drive down to London in early September 1995, with Ben age 3 and Josh just 6 months strapped into their car seats in the back. I think it would be true to say that our emotions could not process the enormity of what was happening to our young family. However, we knew that God had spoken and Deb and I were moving with a clear conviction that we were in God&rsquo;s will. My original hope was to lead a church of a similar size to the one I had just left in Bedford. I also wondered if we would survive leading King&rsquo;s and whether or not we would still be there in 10 years time...<br /><br />Well, 20 years later, we are still here and still loving being part of the community we call King&rsquo;s. The church we joined 20 years ago has changed and grown remarkably. So whether you have been with us for the whole journey, joined along the way, or have been at King&rsquo;s just a week, <strong>please do join us on Sunday September 13th</strong>. Save the date - write it on your calendar, put it in your diary or stick it on your fridge door! More details will follow soon and we look forward to seeing you all there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-07-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Better Together Update</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/95</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/95</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/95/150709_better_together.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts...&rsquo; Acts 2:46<br /></em><br />At the beginning of this year we launched our new <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups/"><strong>groups</strong></a> initiative at King&rsquo;s, <strong>Better Together</strong>. As many of you will know, it proved to be extremely successful but I had wondered if the surge in attendance would continue over the long term. A few weeks ago I asked Hilary Dalziel, our groups pastor, to give the team some feedback on how things are going. I was amazed to hear that we have the same number of adults in groups during this second term as we had in the first, and that we have the leadership capacity for more to attend! In over 25 years of Christian ministry, I have never heard this said before.<br /><br />Although King&rsquo;s has many strengths, group life has not historically been one of them. However, following the implementation of lessons learned from <strong>Nelson Searcy&rsquo;s</strong> book &lsquo;<strong>Activate</strong>&rsquo;, and our teaching series <strong>Better Together</strong>, our average attendance in groups has been 100% of what it is on Sundays. To have the same numbers in groups as we have on Sundays &ndash; that is a first for us!<br /><br />The numbers are undoubtedly encouraging but more importantly, they demonstrate our commitment to build a <strong>community</strong> and not just a crowd. As my summer break approaches and I look back over the last church year, I feel that this is a very satisfying achievement.<br /><br />Thanks to each of you who has stepped into community at King&rsquo;s. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-07-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Grace of Giving</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/92</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/92</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/92/advert-GR-title.jpg" /><em>But since you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you - see that you also excel in this grace of giving. </em><br /><em>2 Corinthians 8:7</em><br /><br />Are you a saver or a spender? Do you prefer to give presents or to receive them? Would you call yourself generous? <br /><br />I consider myself fortunate to have been brought up in a household which was open about money. Having grown up in the war era, my parents had experienced rationing for many years and therefore understood the value of money. Whilst they were never extravagant, they modelled good stewardship and generosity. And when it came to giving to the church, I was in a family context where giving at least 10% of your income - very often more - was normal.<br /><br />In 1998, King&rsquo;s took on its first major building project and we asked the church to double tithe for three years. I still remember how thrilled I was by everyone's faithful response. What most of you will not know is that my parents decided that they would like to stand with us in our faith venture. Amazingly, they also committed to giving 10% of their income to King&rsquo;s, in addition to what they already gave to their own church. It was yet another example of their love of God, for His church, and for me.<br /><br />When I became a Christian, what I had seen modelled at home quickly became my own practice. I was keen to follow Jesus with my whole heart and was happy to endeavour to excel in the area of giving. As I said on Sunday, when I left a successful business career at the age of 26 to become a youth pastor, my salary shrank by 80%. The church Treasurer told me this meant they had lost their largest giver out of 300 members. Since they were also now paying me as a staff member this must have made quite a dent in the finances! Taking such a significant drop in earnings was undoubtedly challenging, yet I have always believed that whilst money is necessary, eternal matters are of far greater importance. I was secure in the knowledge that my own personal value was found not in the type of car I drove, or how large my income was, but in Jesus alone, who paid the ultimate price and died for me. <br /><br />So if you have been around King&rsquo;s for a while, you will know that we are open about the subject of money and that we challenge everyone to give generously, according to their means. This is the season for our <strong>Annual Giving Review</strong> and we are asking everyone to <strong>TAKE A STEP</strong> on our journey towards becoming a more generous, God-honouring community.<br /><br />Deb and I will once again continue to give beyond 10%. As the father of this church family, I would like to ask you to <strong>take a step</strong> further, and to <strong>give generously</strong> to God&rsquo;s work here. Please take some time to read the <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/docs/Giving-Review-2015-web.pdf"><strong>Annual Giving Review</strong> <strong>leaflet</strong></a> carefully and to prayerfully consider what you can do. Then on <strong>Sunday July 12th</strong> or <strong>Sunday July 19th</strong>, please come prepared to return your giving review form.<br /><br /><em>As Jesus said himself, &lsquo;It is more blessed to give than to receive.&rsquo; Acts 20:35b</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-07-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>God Loves Every Church</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/91</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/91</guid> <description><![CDATA[ &lsquo;<em>All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...&rsquo;</em><br /><em>Matthew 28:18b-19<br /></em><br />At our staff prayer meeting yesterday morning, I heard of a young man attending our current <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/"><strong>Alpha</strong></a> who has put his trust in Jesus for the first time. I never cease to be excited when someone becomes a Christian; each story speaks of a life renewed. To be in a church context which is always growing is undoubtedly a great privilege - King&rsquo;s has experienced steady growth each year for well over a decade now. But the increase in numbers is not without challenge. <br /><br />Yesterday I spoke to a group of pastors and their teams on the challenges faced by a growing church. By drawing on the mistakes I have made in the leadership of my own church, and the lessons I have learned, I endeavoured to help this highly gifted group. Together, we can improve our leadership so that we can continue reaching and caring for people.<br /><br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20150625-1405YH1ABKATJDLK.jpg" alt="" width="NaN" />Churches grow one person at a time. Behind the numbers are stories of individual lives transformed in Christ. God loves every single person in the orbit of your church, as well as the many millions who have not yet returned to the heavenly Father. Therefore, as <strong>Christ&rsquo;s ambassadors</strong>, we are compelled to do everything we can to help people embark on a journey towards discovering Jesus, while recognising at the same time that we can save no-one &ndash; <strong>only God can save.</strong><br /><br />In order to continue growing, we need to keep learning. So, whether your church gathers a handful or a large crowd, let&rsquo;s all continue to place ourselves in contexts where we can grow as leaders and disciples in order to fulfil the <strong>Great Commission</strong> God has put before us. In fact, this autumn there will be a fantastic opportunity to learn from some of the most gifted leaders in the world! On 6th and 7th November, King&rsquo;s will once again be hosting the <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/global-leadership-summit/"><strong>Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit</strong></a>. This is a great chance to be challenged and equipped in our leadership, whether that is in our work contexts, our churches or in our families. I encourage you to book those days in your diary now and to book before the end of July to get the discounted rates.<br /><br /> <div><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/131755862?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="780" height="439" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-06-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Leaders Learning Together</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/90</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/90</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/90/6804359308_564a593d30_o_web.jpg" />Have you ever sat in a room with a group of leaders and had one of those 'light bulb' moments? I love such times, when the shared learning experiences increase your self awareness, help you understand more clearly your own unique leadership context and provide insight and solutions which ultimately serve the church you lead.<br /><br /><img style="float: right;" src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/FILE-20150617-2128Y6E8P4P9BP1S.jpg" alt="" width="373" height="210" />Over the last two days I have gathered with 10 <strong>church teams</strong> to discover together how we can improve our <strong>leadership</strong> edge. It is such a privilege to work with these men and women. I am praying for many more 'light bulb' moments during this time, for lessons and insights which we can then apply to our own situations.<br /><br />In 2016 I will once again be offering an opportunity for key leaders to join me in discovering how we can continue to serve our local churches. This is a four-day course held over two separate two-day sessions. If you would like to know more, then please&nbsp;<a href="mailto:carol.hancock@kingschurchlondon.org">contact Carol Hancock</a> at the King&rsquo;s office.<br /><br /><br />Image: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/bnh7XN">Railway lightbulb</a>&nbsp;by Julian Dunn, used under CC ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-06-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Sex, Romance and God</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/89</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/89</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/89/ppt-marriage_enrichment-newsheet.jpg" />At our elders&rsquo; meeting recently, we discussed at some length our theological and&nbsp;pastoral position on divorce and remarriage. This is a sobering yet important issue in the light of the increasing number of divorces in our society. According to figures published in 2012 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a staggering 42% of marriages in England and Wales now end in divorce. Tragically, almost half of these involve children under 16 years of age (ONS, 2012). It is always extremely sad when a marriage, which started out with such joy and high expectations, ends in the tragedy of separation or divorce.<br /><br />God always intended marriage to be a lifetime commitment for the mutual benefit of both men and women and the ideal place for children to be raised. It is one of the many reasons Deb and I enjoy speaking on our <strong>Marriage Course</strong> and also at the annual seminar <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#16"><strong>Sex, Romance and God</strong></a>, taking place on Saturday 27th June. All marriages will come under pressure occasionally but by spending time investing in our relationships, we can help to protect and strengthen them. The seminar looks at the important subject of sexual intimacy and romance, considering God&rsquo;s view and how men and women may approach these things differently. So if you are married, why not take a moment to sign up now. <br /><br />This Sunday I am looking forward to speaking on the ministry and message of reconciliation as we continue with our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/15/"><strong>Power in Weakness</strong></a> series. As always, I look forward to seeing you there. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-06-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Terry Virgo</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/88</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/88</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/88/150603_terry_virgo.jpg" /><strong>Terry Virgo</strong> is the founding father of the <strong>Newfrontiers</strong> family of churches. Following his visit to our prayer evening in January when we had the joy of <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/all/119/" target="_blank">hearing his story</a>,&nbsp;we are very much looking forward to hearing him preach at our <strong>5.30 meeting</strong> on the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/catford/" target="_blank"><strong>Catford site</strong></a>, this coming <strong>Sunday</strong>. Terry is renowned as a gifted preacher and teacher, and this is definitely an opportunity not to be missed. <br /><br />Following a couple of weekends away speaking in <strong>Harare</strong> and then <strong>Cape Town</strong>, it is good to be worshipping in my home church this Sunday. Whilst it is a privilege to visit friends in other churches, it is always a joy to be with my King&rsquo;s family. See you on Sunday! ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-06-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Partnering in Mission</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/87</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/87</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/87/150529_river_of_life_church_web2.jpg" />One of the great joys of my role is being able to partner with others in the gospel, not just at home but also further afield. &nbsp;This last week has seen us spend another excellent few days with our friends <strong>Scott and Claire Marques</strong> and the other leaders from <strong>River of Life Church</strong> in <strong>Harare</strong>. &nbsp;One year on since my last visit, it has been so encouraging to witness their successful move to a church on two sites with five meetings since January of this year. <br /><br />Our trip began with 24 hours away with the eldership team and their wives, where Deb and I taught on marriage and ministry and also gave opportunity to hear from them how the multi-site model is going. &nbsp;Once again, what a privilege to be with such a high calibre team. &nbsp;Then back to Harare to preach at each of their five meetings. &nbsp;It was fantastic to experience their vibrant worship and see how much they have grown in just a few months. &nbsp;Their commitment to the gospel and enthusiasm to serve seems all the more remarkable in the light of some of the real day-to-day challenges faced by those in Zimbabwe. <br /><br />Then from Harare, a quick two-flight hop down to <strong>Cape Town</strong> to spend time with friends from <strong>Jubilee Community Church</strong>, <strong>Steve and Anna van Rhyn</strong> and <strong>Lex and Jo Loizides</strong>. &nbsp;The programme has included a morning teaching on leadership with the <strong>Advance</strong> sphere leaders, an evening on marriage with Deb for the Jubilee elders and wives, and some time with the Jubilee eldership team. <br /><br />Following a fairly intense week of travelling and teaching, Deb and I are now looking forward to a relaxing few days' holiday in Cape Town. &nbsp;We are very much enjoying getting to see this beautiful city, despite the fact that it is winter here, and we have not yet seen the top of Table Mountain through the clouds! &nbsp;Then after preaching at Jubilee this coming Sunday, we will be on our way back to London. &nbsp;Whilst we love visiting the wider church family abroad, it is always good to return to our home church family in London. &nbsp;Have a great Sunday! ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-05-29</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Leadership &#45; Home and Abroad</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/86</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/86</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/86/150522_elder_training_web.jpg" />Following a fruitful few days spent in France with the senior staff of King's, I began this week by meeting with the elders and trustees of the church. What a privilege it is to work with such gifted and committed people - I am grateful to each of them for their wisdom, time and input.<br /><br />Having spent the past ten days or so concentrating on the leadership of my home church, my focus for the next ten days moves further afield, serving other churches in the UK, Zimbabwe and South Africa. This week I hosted 13 lead elders from Newfrontiers churches across the UK for two days' coaching. Then on Thursday Deb and I flew to <strong>Zimbabwe</strong> to join the elders and wives of <strong>River of Life Church, Harare</strong>. We are speaking on 'marriage and ministry' on Friday and Saturday. Following that, I will be preaching on the subject of marriage at their five Sunday services. We are delighted that <strong>William and Hilary Dalziel</strong> will be travelling to Zimbabwe with us. <br /><br />From Harare we fly down to South Africa for a few days with our friends <strong>Steve and Anna van Rhyn</strong>, who lead <strong>Jubilee Community Church</strong> in <strong>Cape Town</strong>. I will be spending a morning speaking on leadership with a number of the leaders in the <strong>Advance</strong> family of churches. Deb and I will also teach on marriage and ministry again, this time with the Jubilee elders and wives. At the end of that week, we are looking forward to few days' holiday in Cape Town, when we hope to have the opportunity to visit Robben Island and Table Mountain. Having visited this beautiful city myself on a number of occasions, it is wonderful to be able to take Deb with me this time. Our trip will finish on Sunday when I will have the privilege of preaching at Jubilee, followed by lunch with our dear friends <strong>Lex and Jo Loizides</strong> - what a great way to finish!<br /><br />So, a fairly packed programme for the next couple of weeks. As ever, I am grateful to the fantastic leaders here at King's who make it possible for me to serve further afield in the security of knowing that 'home base' is in good hands. Please do pray that we will be a blessing as we serve overseas. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-05-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Prayer and Planning with Purpose</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/85</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/85</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/85/150415_france_work_web.jpg" />Taking time out to pray, reflect and plan together has always proved invaluable to us as a team. Once a year, the senior leadership team at King&rsquo;s spends a few days at the Braithwaite&rsquo;s house in France to focus on what God is saying to us as a church. In fact, it was while we were in France this time last year that the original thinking for the <strong>Better Together</strong> initiative took place. &nbsp;The overwhelmingly positive response to the new <strong>groups</strong> has been one of the highlights of the church year -&nbsp;<strong>group life</strong> at King&rsquo;s is now healthier than ever before.<br /><br />This week we have returned to France to enjoy the Braithwaite&rsquo;s hospitality and spend a few days <strong>praying and planning with purpose</strong>. Yesterday we prayed again into the major prophetic words over us as a church, sensing a tangible rise in faith towards the <strong>vision</strong> God has set before us. &nbsp;This was followed by discussions around subjects such as the next phase of our building development, preaching programmes and worship; these are just a few examples of how we spend our time together. &nbsp;We also enjoy good food and much laughter!<br /> <br />I am looking forward to being at King&rsquo;s again this Sunday before Deb and I visit Zimbabwe and South Africa at the end of next week. &nbsp;I look forward to seeing you this coming weekend. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-05-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Running Fast</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/84</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/84</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/84/150508_bw_running_web.jpg" />When I was at school - which is more years ago than I care to think about - I used to enjoy cross country running. I even made it into the school team! I was fortunate enough to attend a school on the edge of town where we had easy access to fields and open countryside. Looking back on it now, I am puzzled as to why I enjoyed scrambling through the mud, usually in rainy, windy weather. But I have always loved running and have always been drawn to competitive sport. However, despite being reasonably successful, there were many others who were consistently better than me. I learnt that during any race there would come a point when someone upped the pace &ndash; and that was the moment when you had to do the same in order to keep up with the front runners.<br /><br />Over the last couple of weeks, the pace has picked up significantly in some of the areas where I carry leadership responsibility. Hopefully this requires just a short spurt and will not have to be sustained long term. Therefore I would value your prayers for a couple of leadership challenges I am facing at the moment.<br /> <br />Next week I will be taking a number of our key staff away for a planning week at Paul and Charlotte Braithwaite&rsquo;s house in France. Paul and Charlotte served at King&rsquo;s for many years before emigrating to France and Paul is still involved in our building developments. They are now kind enough to host the team at their home for what is always a significant few days. During this time we will pray, discuss and then plan for all that we believe God is leading us towards for the next church year. Our recommendations from this week will be presented to the elders on May 19th.<br /> <br />Then the following week I will be running two days of coaching with twelve lead elders, before flying out with Deb to visit our friends at River of Life Church in Harare, Zimbabwe. Our itinerary in Harare is fairly packed, and includes teaching on a marriage enrichment weekend for their elders and wives as well as preaching five times on Sunday. We then travel on to Cape Town where we will be spending a few days with Steve van Rhyn and the Jubliee Church eldership as well as with some of the other guys from the Advance sphere. I finish by speaking at the church on the Sunday.<br /> <br />As you can see, the pace is picking up -&nbsp;with God&rsquo;s help I will endeavour to keep running fast. But before then, I look forward to preaching at King's this Sunday. See you there.<br /><br /><em>Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/endogamia/6333371497/" target="_blank">The Running Man</a> by N Feans, used under CC</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-05-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>From Sunny Winchester to Windy Chicago</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/83</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/83</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/83/150524_mrandmrs_web_169.jpg" />We had a wonderful family day last Saturday when our eldest son Ben married the beautiful Alice Conn - we now have another Mr and Mrs Tibbert! The weather was kind, Hope Church, Winchester - the place where Ben and Alice first met - provided a brilliant setting for the service, and David and Hilary Conn hosted a fantastic wedding reception at The Long Barn in the beautiful Hampshire countryside. There were many highlights throughout the day, but if I had to choose one it would be when each of my three sons spoke at the reception - Ben as the groom of course, and Josh and Sam as best men. They expressed with great confidence, clarity and humour the type of family we are, and I was extremely proud of each of them. It was a very moving moment, one I will carry with me forever.&nbsp;<br /><br />Then early on Monday morning, Phil Varley and I flew to <strong>Chicago</strong> to attend the <strong>USA Vineyard Large Church Conference,</strong> held on this occasion at <strong>Bill Hybels&rsquo;</strong> church, <strong>Willow Creek</strong>. It was great to have the opportunity of catching up with <strong>Steve Nicolson</strong> while we were there &ndash; his wisdom and advice is always highly valued by us. It was a very short trip this time, but a very useful one, and we returned yesterday morning.<br /><br />Lastly, this coming Sunday we will be having <strong>16</strong>&nbsp;<strong>baptisms</strong> throughout the day. I look forward to seeing you all there! And, if you have not already done so, remember to pick up the latest copy of <strong>King&rsquo;s Life</strong> and have a look to see what <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups/index.php#groupselect"><strong>groups</strong></a> are on offer this term &ndash; places will be filling up quickly.<br /><br />See you all on Sunday! ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-04-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Big Wedding Day</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/82</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/82</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/82/150415_ben_alice_web.jpg" />The Big Day is just around the corner. This week has been all about the final touches for Ben and Alice&rsquo;s wedding. Deb and I are looking forward to celebrating with Ben and Alice, family and friends this Saturday.<br /><br />Let&rsquo;s pray this great weather continues! ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-04-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Waiting in the Silence </title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/76</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/76</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/76/Saturday-Waiting-in-the-Silence.jpg" />Why do bad things happen and bad people get away with it? Where is God in times of darkness, silence and pain? The story of Easter Saturday explores some of these questions:<br /><br /><em>&lsquo;Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither [...] Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes [&hellip;] Those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.&rsquo; (Psalm 37:1-2a, 7, 9b)</em><br /><br />I can hardly begin to imagine what must have been going through the disciples&rsquo; minds on Easter Saturday. The man with whom they had shared their lives for three years, who had claimed to be the Messiah for whom they&rsquo;d been waiting, upon whom they have placed their dreams and expectations, had suffered an excruciating death and now lay in a tomb. And with him lay their hope.<br /><br />The question of why bad things happen to good people is immense and difficult. Still, across the centuries, God&rsquo;s people have drawn a sense of comfort from knowing that God is with them, even in the pain.<br /><br />Easter Saturday is a painful day full of questions and disappointments. It stands in the silence between the despair of Friday and the hope of Sunday. The disciples on the road to Emmaus were forced to re-evaluate their whole worldview and their faith in God&rsquo;s purposes. &lsquo;They stood still, their faces downcast&rsquo; and said, &ldquo;Jesus was handed over to death and crucified, but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.&rdquo; (Luke 24:17, 20-21)<br /><br />It is incredibly important that we learn how to handle times of silence.<br /><br />Even the great King David, who wrote Psalm 37 above also wrote &lsquo;You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay&rsquo; (Psalm 16:10), but as Peter reminds us David most definitely did die, was buried and has decayed! In this we learn a valuable lesson, that David&rsquo;s hope was not in vain, and that God works through even the most hopeless situations. Peter continues, &lsquo;David was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay&rsquo; (Acts 2:29-31)<br /><br />It&rsquo;s easy to see it now, with the gift of hindsight, but even as Jesus&rsquo; body lay in a grave, having cried out only a day earlier &lsquo;My God, why have you forsaken me!&rsquo; (Matt 27:26) God had not abandoned him. It was all part of his plan for the healing of the world and the rescue of mankind.<br /><br />God doesn&rsquo;t work in predictable ways. The Apostle Paul marvels at the apparent illogic of the cross, saying, &lsquo;We declare God&rsquo;s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for it they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory&rsquo; (1 Corinthians 2:8).<br /><br />When wisdom seems hidden, God is at work. In the darkness and gloom of Easter Saturday, trust in God. Sunday is coming.<br /><br /><strong>Questions for Reflection</strong> <br />&bull; How must the disciples have felt on Easter Saturday? Can you identify with their experience and their questions?<br /><br />&bull; How can you learn to see God at work in your world, even when He appears to be absent?<br /><br /><strong>Easter Sunday Services</strong><br />Join us tomorrow for our Easter Sunday services, where we will think about the resurrection of Jesus and celebrate the promise of new life: <br />Downham 9.30 &amp; 11.30am<br />Catford 9.30 &amp; 11.30am and 5.30pm<br />Lee 10.30am.<br /><br /><strong>Prayer</strong> <br />Why not use the following to help you to pray today:<br /><br /><em>Lord Jesus, I thank you that you do not abandon your people, but are always in control. Even as you lay in a grave on Easter Saturday, God&rsquo;s purposes were not defeated. Please help me to see you at work in my life, even when it seems like you are absent. I choose to trust in you, and I look forward to Easter Sunday and the promise of hope and new life. Amen</em><br /><br /><strong>Going Deeper</strong> <br />For further reading on this subject check out Pete Greig&rsquo;s excellent book, God on Mute.<br /><br /><br /><em>Thank you to ChristChurch London for allowing us to use these devotionals.<br />Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/alamodestuff/4445574000/in/photolist-7LQJgA-7LLLEV-wfTJa-dkmBvi-7AbECV-ee4YW9-3fNARA-kp4mgD-3fJage-3fJ9p6-3fJdEc-9wA5Lm-nJAm1-pbe5pZ-61GkiL-3fJev4-nwD5VA-ei61rf-kXN7kq-pH7oYL-qjr6Lq-kz78ES-pj6zEh-3fNz8d-fsuhnV-5F55TF-4bPsP2-2qf5sQ-aaa3ss-hcBSB2-cu2cg1-3Uh5pH-dbDmw-7W4yZi-ppCy63-ppS6D6-8Am3KU-6j8kx3-doi52C-8NRth4-dpi35h-qkbv8R-dzb1hs-rL62Z-6eHPnk-r5m8EG-doYtFm-fNS3DN-3caAM5-8yaep">Empty Chair</a>, by alamodestuff, used under CC<br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-04-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Broken for Us</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/75</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/75</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/75/Friday-Adding-Insult-to-Injury.jpg" />Betrayed, tried and wrongly condemned to death, Jesus is handed over to the soldiers to be brutally tortured and crucified. <br /><br /><em>&lsquo;The soldiers stripped Jesus and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. &ldquo;Hail, king of the Jews!&rdquo; they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him [&hellip;] Above his head they placed the written charge against him: &ldquo;This is Jesus, the King of the Jews&rdquo; [&hellip;] About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, &ldquo;Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?&rdquo; (which means &ldquo;My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?&rdquo;) [&hellip;] And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.&rsquo; (Matt 27:28-31, 37, 50)</em><br /><br />As if an unwarranted death sentence was not enough, Jesus is beaten, mocked, and abused by his captors. The whole battalion - around 600 Roman soldiers &ndash; gathered to watch Jesus be dressed like a king, and then beaten with the staff that was meant to symbolise power and authority. The God who spoke Creation into existence, reduced to nothing at the hands of cruel men.<br /><br />The mockery didn&rsquo;t stop with the torturing. People cried out &ldquo;If you are the Son of God, come down!&rdquo; (v40) and &ldquo;He saved others, but he can&rsquo;t save himself!&rdquo; (v42) Even the rebels who were crucified next to him heaped insults upon him (v44).<br /><br />But little did they know that beneath all of their mockery and scorn was a prophetic reality. Jesus was the King, though they couldn&rsquo;t perceive it. He was the Son of God, and the resurrection would soon prove it (cf. Rom 1:4). And although Jesus could have saved himself, the fact that he didn&rsquo;t was the way by which all mankind could be saved!<br /><br />Then the most agonising moment of all, when Jesus cried out &ldquo;My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?&rdquo;(v46). This is a direct quote from Psalm 22, an incredibly prophetic Psalm which predicted not only the manner of Jesus&rsquo; death, but also the reaction of the crowds, and something of the anguish that Jesus must have experienced. Thirsty, mocked by all, bones out of joint, clothes divided amongst his killers, hands and feet pierced by nails, and ultimately separated from God.<br /><br />Even within Psalm 22 there is a glimmer of hope. God has always been faithful to His people (v3-5), he hears the cry of the suffering (v24) and He promises that His name will be made known in all the Earth (v27-31). This combination of deep anguish and yet surprising hope is remarkable. As we reflect upon the cross, we cannot help but be amazed at the exchange that took place. Jesus, the only sinless being ever to have lived, died in our place, taking our pain and brokenness upon himself, so that we could be set free. &lsquo;God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God&rsquo; (2 Cor 5:21).<br /><br />This Good Friday, take a moment to reflect on the wonderful exchange of the cross:<br /> <br />&bull; He was led outside the city, so that we could be brought into the city of God.<br /><br />&bull; He was stripped naked, so that we could be clothed in righteousness.<br /><br />&bull; His body was broken, so that we could be made whole.<br /><br />&bull; He was forsaken by God, so that we could be accepted.<br /><br />&bull; He was put to death, so that we could be made alive.<br /><br /><strong>Questions for Reflection</strong> <br />&bull; It is so easy to become familiar with the cross and to forget the reality of how Jesus must have felt physically, emotionally and spiritually. How have you seen this passage in a new light today?<br /><br />&bull; How can we learn to see hope in dark places, in your own life and in the lives of those you love? How can we learn to trust in God as Jesus and the Psalmist did, even at the points of greatest agony?<br /><br /><strong>Good Friday Service</strong><br />Don&rsquo;t forget to join us for our Good Friday service today at 10.30am, as we worship, break bread and reflect on the significance of the cross.<br /><br /><strong>Prayer</strong> <br />Why not use the following to help you to pray today: <em>Lord Jesus, thank you that you allowed yourself to be humiliated, tortured and killed so that I could receive dignity, forgiveness and life. Help me never to take your sacrifice for granted, but to recognise and worship you as the true King who gave himself for me. Help me to find hope in dark places, and to trust that you are in control, even when life is at its most difficult. Amen</em><br /><br /><strong>Going Deeper</strong> <br />If you find yourself with some extra time today, read and reflect on Psalms 22 and 69 and Isaiah 53, and consider how they pre-empt and predict Jesus&rsquo; experience at the cross. <br /><br /><br /><em>Thank you to ChristChurch London for allowing us to use these devotionals.<br />Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/martins_nunomiguel/3106715799">barb wire </a>by Nuno Martins, used under CC<br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-04-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Black and White Movie or 3D Experience?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/81</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/81</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/81/blog-easter-2015-info.jpg" /><br />As a young boy, before I became a Christian, Easter for me meant nothing more than chocolate eggs and extra meetings at church. The chocolate was something I did look forward to, the church services were something I didn&rsquo;t. &nbsp;At that time, the story of the cross, the resurrection of Jesus, seemed like a black and white movie &ndash; stuck in the past, outdated, irrelevant to me.<br /><br />Then when I was 19, God broke into my life. &nbsp;For the first time I had begun to consider seriously the claims of Christianity. &nbsp;It was a journey that led me to be convinced that <strong>Jesus was raised from the dead</strong> - suddenly, Easter took on a whole new meaning. &nbsp;Discovering that Jesus died for me and rose from the dead was a 3D multi-coloured experience. &nbsp;This message of <strong>forgiveness</strong>, <strong>life</strong> and <strong>truth</strong>, was vivid and life-changing. &nbsp;In a moment, this story from the past became alive in my present.<br /><br />Nowadays, I really look forward to the Easter weekend. &nbsp;At our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#24/"><strong>Good Friday</strong></a> services, whilst feeling responsible for our gathering as Senior Pastor of King&rsquo;s Church, I will give thanks that a saviour died for me. Then on <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#24/"><strong>Easter Sunday</strong></a> I will rejoice that <strong>He is risen</strong> and will enjoy preaching the <strong>good news. &nbsp;</strong>My title for this <strong>Easter Sunday</strong> is &lsquo;<em>How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news</em>&rsquo;. &nbsp;I will be eternally grateful to those who brought the good news to me.<br /><br />I look forward to seeing you at King's over this Easter weekend. &nbsp;The times for our services are summarised below:<br /><br /><strong>Good Friday, 3rd April</strong><br />- 10.30am at <strong>Catford, Downham and Lee</strong><br /><br /><strong>Easter Sunday, 5th April</strong><br /> - <strong>Catford</strong>: meetings at 9.30am, 11.30am &amp; 5.30pm<br /> - <strong>Downham</strong>: meetings at 9.30am &amp; 11.30am<br /> - <strong>Lee</strong>: meeting at 10.30am ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-04-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>The Garden of Tears </title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/74</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/74</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/74/Thursday-The-Garden-of-Tears.jpg" />In one of the most moving passages in all of Scripture, Jesus is pushed to the point of despair. The story of Gethsemane challenges us to be obedient to God, even in the toughest of times. <br /><br /><em>&lsquo;Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, &ldquo;Sit here while I go over there and pray.&rdquo; He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, &ldquo;My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.&rdquo; Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, &ldquo;My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.&rdquo; [&hellip;] While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: &ldquo;The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.&rdquo; Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, &ldquo;Greetings, Rabbi!&rdquo; and kissed him. Jesus replied, &ldquo;Do what you came for, friend.&rdquo; Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.&rsquo; (Matt 26:36-39, 47-50)</em><br /><br />Gethsemane was a garden among the olive trees on the Mount of Olives. It was here that Jesus spent his final hours of freedom, praying and weeping as he anticipated the suffering and death that was about to come. For years, Jesus had prepared himself for this, knowing that he was to die a death on behalf of others as their Passover Lamb. Until this point, he had experienced close, intimate relationship with his Father, but now in a moment of real vulnerability and intense sorrow, Jesus pleads with Him for another way.<br /><br />&lsquo;The Cup&rsquo; was a regular biblical picture, not only for suffering, but the punishment of God (e.g. Psalm 75:7-8; Jeremiah 25:15; Habakkuk 2:16). Jesus understood that going to the cross would mean taking upon himself the full punishment of God for all the wrongdoing of mankind, and even though he longed for another way, he ultimately trusted in his Father and submitted to His will (v39, 42).<br /><br />When Judas arrived, he brought with him a large crowd of priests, elders, and Roman Soldiers (cf. Luke 22:52; John 18:3, 12) armed with clubs and swords, to arrest Jesus. This was an unnecessarily large show of force to arrest a man who had consistently resisted violence and taught peace. But Jesus&rsquo; response is astonishing. He said, &ldquo;Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?&rdquo; (v53).<br /><br />In 2 Kings 19:35, we see that one angel is capable of killing 185,000 Assyrians, so twelve legions would amount to 72,000 angels, capable of defeating over 13 billion soldiers! In other words, if he had wanted, in an instant Jesus could have summoned heaven&rsquo;s armies who would have infinitely more power than was ever needed to defeat this small band of armed men. The fact that Jesus resisted and willingly allowed himself to be arrested is mind-blowing! Tempted though he was, Jesus was so submitted to the will of God, that even in his moment of need, he refused to find another way out.<br /><br />Judas approached Jesus, kissing him as a sign that he was the one who the guards should arrest and calling him Rabbi, which means &lsquo;Teacher&rsquo;. For a disciple to kiss their Rabbi, usually on the hand, was a sign of special honour. A disciple should never have done it without first being invited. So as Judas kisses Jesus, it is an act of mockery and an insult. Still, Jesus responds with grace.<br /><br />Judas called Jesus &lsquo;Rabbi&rsquo;; Jesus called Judas &lsquo;friend.&rsquo;<br /><br />This is remarkable; that Jesus would still call &lsquo;friend&rsquo; the one who sold him for thirty pieces, betrayed him and gave him over to his killers. Nobody is beyond the grace of God. Whoever you are, whatever you have done, and however far you are from Him, you can still be welcomed and forgiven. Judas showed no signs of remorse of repentance, but the offer still remained, as it does for us: if we trust in Jesus&rsquo; sacrifice, as our Passover Lamb, the one who has drunk the cup on our behalf, we can be called friends of God.<br /><br /><strong>Questions for Reflection</strong> <br />&bull; Jesus&rsquo; example teaches us about the importance of obedience to God&rsquo;s call, even when you may prefer easier or less painful solutions. In what areas of your life do you need to submit to God and say &ldquo;not my will, but yours&rdquo;?<br /><br />&bull; Luke tells us that even in the midst of his suffering, Jesus was supernaturally strengthened (Luke 22:43). What are the areas in your life where you feel tempted or tested, and how can you learn to rely on God for strengthening as Jesus did?<br /><br />&bull; Paul writes that &lsquo;There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus&rsquo; (Romans 8:1). What difference does it make for you to know that Jesus has drunk the cup of God&rsquo;s punishment on your behalf?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer</strong> <br />Why not use the following to help you to pray today:<br /><br /><em>Lord Jesus, thank you for your unwavering commitment to God&rsquo;s plan; that you put His will before your own desire for comfort, and that you drank the cup of God&rsquo;s punishment on my behalf. I am so grateful that there is now no condemnation for me because of your faithfulness. Help me to be fully submitted to you, and strengthen me in my times of weakness. Amen</em><br /><br /><br /><em>Thank you to ChristChurch London for allowing us to use these devotionals.<br />Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jennie_pol/6933299446">Israel 2012 338</a> by Jennie Pollock, used under CC<br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-04-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Three Meals to Change the World </title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/73</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/73</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/73/Wednesday-Three-Meals-to-Change-the-World.jpg" />Are there areas of your life where you are in slavery, or lacking in hope? In today&rsquo;s passage we see that Jesus promises freedom for captives and the promise of a new world. <br /><br /><em>&lsquo;Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed [&hellip;] When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, &ldquo;I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfilment in the kingdom of God.&rdquo; After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, &ldquo;Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.&rdquo; And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, &ldquo;This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.&rdquo; In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, &ldquo;This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.&rdquo;&rsquo; (Luke 22:7, 14-20)</em><br /><br />The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a seven-day event that the Jewish people celebrated every year, and it began with the Passover (Lev 23:5-6). This was a time to reflect on one of the greatest stories in Israel&rsquo;s history: God leading them out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:1-51). God instructed the people to kill a perfect lamb, and smear the blood on the doorposts of their houses. Then when God came to judge Egypt, He would see the blood and pass over the house. The people were saved because of the blood of the Passover Lamb.<br /><br />Jesus and his Disciples gathered to celebrate the Passover, as they would have done each year, only this year it took on a deeper significance. As they ate, they would typically reflect on God&rsquo;s mercy in leading their forefathers out of Egypt, and long for Him to do the same for them in their day.<br /><br />As they began the meal, Jesus declared that he had eagerly desired to eat this Passover meal with the disciples before he suffered (v15). Knowing, as he did, that his suffering and death were only a few hours away, his eagerness to share his final meal with his friends demonstrates both how much he cared for them, and how significant the symbolism of the Passover was. Jesus knew that in the events that were about to unfold, he was to play the part of the Passover Lamb, sacrificed so that others could be saved by his blood.<br /><br />&lsquo;This is my body,&rsquo; said Jesus, &lsquo;given for you&rsquo; (v19). It is hard to imagine what must have been going through the minds of the disciples at this point, but the word translated &lsquo;given&rsquo; was the same word Luke used in 2:24 to speak of a sacrifice being offered. Whether the disciples realised it at the time or not, Jesus was saying that he was offering himself as a sacrifice to deliver people from their sins (cf. Gal 1:4). And if they didn&rsquo;t perceive that, his next phrase &lsquo;this is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you&rsquo; (v20) was unmistakably reminiscent of Moses&rsquo; action in Exodus 24:8, &lsquo;Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, &ldquo;This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.&rdquo;&rsquo;<br /><br />This was a dinner tinged with mixed emotions: on the one hand the agony, fear and sadness of knowing that immense suffering and death was imminent, on the other the hope of sins forgiven and freedom for many. And in the midst of it, Jesus looks forward to the day when he will eat and drink in the New Creation (v16, 18). When God puts the world to rights, ridding it of all sickness, suffering and death, there will be an incredible celebration, like an extravagant wedding feast (Rev 19:6-9), with the best of meats and the finest of wines (Isaiah 25:6-8), and Jesus, the Passover Lamb who was slain, will receive glory and honour forever more (Rev 5:12-13; 22:3-5). The Last Supper, sitting between the Passover and the Wedding Feast is one of three meals to change the world; and the Lord invites us to eat and drink, proclaiming his death until he comes again to make all things new (1 Cor 11:23-26).<br /><br /><strong>Questions for Reflection</strong> <br />&bull; What does it mean for you that Jesus is the Passover Lamb? How does his sacrifice set you free?<br /><br />&bull; How does the knowledge that you will feast with God in the New Creation excite and encourage you?<br /><br /><strong>Good Friday Service</strong> <br />Please come along to our Good Friday service at 10.30am on Friday 3rd April, when we will break bread together and remember Jesus&rsquo; sacrifice for us.<br /><br /><strong>Prayer</strong> <br />Why not use the following to help you to pray today:<br /><br /><em>Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the Passover Lamb. I recognise my brokenness, and I thank you that you allowed your body to be broken and your blood to be shed so that I could be set free and made whole. I look forward to the day when I will eat and drink with you in the New Creation. Fill me with your Spirit and give me boldness to proclaim your death and resurrection today. Amen</em><br /><br /><br /><em>Thank you to ChristChurch London for allowing us to use these devotionals.<br />Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ohadby/128472541/in/photolist-YK7Y-cgu76-cnowC-e5V11h-4G27iP-9Afomg-cmspP-7QBt99-7Psj7B-FtpeJ-bwdW4y-4F4r5T-buFUFE-9AivkY-FR3FQ-4F3Fsz-e654ht-Ftp4h-cCWob-FtrHy">Passover</a> by Ohad Ben-Yoseph, used under CC<br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-04-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>What is Jesus Worth? </title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/72</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/72</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/72/Tuesday-What-is-Jesus-Worth.jpg" />If you had to put a price on Jesus&rsquo; value, what would it be? In today&rsquo;s passage, Jesus, the most precious being ever to have existed, is humbled to the point of being sold for next to nothing. <br /><br /><em>&lsquo;Then one of the twelve &ndash; the one called Judas Iscariot &ndash; went to the chief priests and asked, &ldquo;What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?&rdquo; So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.&rsquo; (Matthew 26:14-16)</em><br /><br />This is a real turning point in the story of Jesus&rsquo; life. Judas had been with him from the beginning, one of the core twelve; yet beneath the surface his doubts, frustrations and personal ambition had been bubbling away. In Matthew 26 Judas&rsquo; true colours come to the surface, as he trades in the life of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.<br /><br />I don&rsquo;t know if that sounds a lot to you; thirty pieces of silver? In Jesus&rsquo; day it was probably worth about four months wages for a labourer. Not an amount to be sniffed at; but also an incredibly small price for a human life. Exodus 25:32 tells us that thirty pieces of silver was the price that must be paid to a master if their slave was gored to death by an ox. On one level, Jesus&rsquo; life was valued the same as that of a slave, accidentally impaled by an animal.<br /><br />But there is also something symbolic going on here. Matthew is deliberately evoking the language of Zechariah 11, a chapter which he draws from a good deal in the Easter story. Zechariah 11 is packed with evocative imagery of a shepherd who is tasked with caring for a flock doomed to death. He rescues them, only to then be rejected by the sheep. He breaks two staffs of &lsquo;favour&rsquo; and &lsquo;union&rsquo; and the sheep are left to the leadership of a worthless shepherd.<br /><br />Having been rejected, the shepherd declares &lsquo;&ldquo;If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.&rdquo; So they paid me thirty pieces of silver [&hellip;] the handsome price at which they valued me!&rsquo; (Zech 11:12-13) Zechariah&rsquo;s words are dripping with irony: &lsquo;the handsome price!&rsquo; Thirty pieces of silver is an insultingly low wage for someone whose job is to risk his life to protect sheep. And such was the minute cost for which Judas was willing to sacrfice his master.<br /><br />The symbolism is striking: a shepherd, giving his life to protect sheep doomed to death, only to then be betrayed by them. But notice the key difference between Jesus and Zechariah. Zechariah grew weary and resigned his position, leaving the sheep to their fate (Zech 11:9). Jesus refused to desert his sheep, but paid the ultimate price, giving up his life for them.<br /><br />How much is Jesus worth to you? The thirty pieces paid for the life of Jesus tell us that both Judas and the Priests esteemed him so little that they treated him like a common slave and a worthless shepherd. They were so blind to the truth of who Jesus was. The most rich and valuable being to ever have existed made himself nothing, taking on the form of a slave, and being obedient to the point of death (Phil 2:4-8). The good shepherd laid down his life for the sheep (John 10:11-13, 17-18).<br /><br /><strong>Questions for Reflection</strong> <br />&bull; Read Philippians 2:5-8. How must it have felt for Jesus, who was God himself, to make himself nothing? What would it look like for you, who are not God, to live with the same mindset?<br /><br />&bull; What does it mean for you to think of Jesus as a faithful shepherd? How does this truth affect your day to day life?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer</strong> <br />Why not use the following to help you to pray today: <br /><br /><em>Lord Jesus, thank you that you humbled yourself, taking on flesh and coming to Earth in order to rescue me. I recognise that you are the Good Shepherd who gave your life for me. Help me to hear and recognise your voice, and to be obedient in following you wherever you lead. Forgive me for times when I have failed to value you highly enough, and help me to honour, worship and follow you today. Amen</em><br /><br /><br /><em>Thank you to ChristChurch London for allowing us to use these devotionals.<br />Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/heleninwales/4994084458">Roman Coins</a> by Helen Hall, used under CC<br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-31</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Welcome the King</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/71</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/71</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/71/Monday-Return-of-the-King.jpg" />Is Jesus King of your life? Are you fully submitted to him? The Easter story begins with a dramatic entry to Jerusalem, which proclaims Jesus as king and demands our allegiance: <br /><br /><em>&lsquo;As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, &ldquo;Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, &lsquo;Why are you doing this?&rsquo; say, &lsquo;The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.&rsquo;&rdquo; They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, &ldquo;What are you doing, untying that colt?&rdquo; They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, &ldquo;Hosanna!&rdquo; &ldquo;Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!&rdquo; &ldquo;Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!&rdquo; &ldquo;Hosanna in the highest heaven!&rdquo;&rsquo; (Mark 11:1-10)</em><br /><br />I wonder how you imagine this scene? It was the time of the Passover, when thousands of Jews would have travelled to Jerusalem to celebrate the time in Israel&rsquo;s history when God set them free from captivity in Egypt (Exodus 12). It was no easy journey. The climb from Jericho to Jerusalem was around 18 miles (the length of the Circle line) and almost entirely up hill. Jericho was the lowest city on earth, around 800 feet below sea level, and Jerusalem was 3,000 feet above sea level. The journey would have been long and hard, travelling through desert and over rocky terrain. Walking it would have been tough enough, but Jesus chose an even less convenient mode of transport: a donkey!<br /><br />In fact, Jesus didn&rsquo;t simply request any old donkey, he asked for &lsquo;a colt, which no one has ever ridden&rsquo; (v2). This was not pickiness on his part, but a powerful prophetic statement. In the Jewish writings it was decreed that nobody should ride on an animal that is set aside for the king. And the prophet Zechariah wrote, &lsquo;Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey&rsquo; (Zechariah 9:9)<br /><br />By entering Jerusalem on a colt that had never been ridden, Jesus was making the bold claim: &ldquo;I am the King you have been waiting for.&rdquo;<br /><br />Many people got the hint. They lay down their coats on the ground, like their forefathers had when they recognised Jehu as King (2 Kings 9:13), and they raised their voices in song. And not just any song! As the people journeyed at the Passover, they would sing Psalms which had been set for the occasion; in particular Psalms 113-118. These were the same Psalms they sang every single year, Psalms which told of the goodness of God in rescuing His people from slavery. But this year they took on a new sense of poigniancy, as the people sang &lsquo;Hosanna&rsquo; which means &lsquo;God save us!&rsquo; and &lsquo;Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!&rsquo;, whilst Jesus rode in their midst (Psalm 118:25-26).<br /><br />Whether or not they realised the full implications of their prayers, songs and actions, we, with the gift of hindsight can see what Jesus was doing. This was a declaration of intent: The King had returned to the city, to lay claim to what was rightfully his and to set his people free.<br /><br /><strong>Questions for Reflection</strong> <br />&bull; Jesus challenged the expectations of the crowd by coming, not as a victorious warrior, but as a humble man on a donkey. In what ways does Jesus&rsquo; humility challenge you? In what, perhaps unexpected, ways is he currently working in your life?<br /><br />&bull; Upon recognising Jesus as King, the people lay down their branches and cloaks at his feet. Are there things that you currently need to lay down in recognition of Jesus&rsquo; rule over your life? Do you welcome him as King?<br /><br />&bull; Is there anyone you could invite to one of our Easter Sunday services, to encounter Jesus the King?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer</strong> <br />Why not use the following to help you to pray today?<br /><br /><em>Lord Jesus, I recognise you as King, and I lay down my life before you. I thank you that you came to rescue mankind, through your life, death and resurrection. Would you be enthroned as King in my life today, ruling over my thoughts, my plans, my decisions and my ambitions and may I glorify you in all that I do. Amen</em><br /><br /><strong>Going Deeper</strong> <br />If you find yourself with some extra time today, why not use this question to go a little deeper:<br /><br />&bull; Read and reflect on Psalms 113-118. How has God intervened in your life and what reasons do you have to give Him thanks and praise today?<br /><br /><br /><em>Thank you to ChristChurch London for allowing us to use these devotionals.<br />Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/samueljohn/5370757854">Palm Frond</a> by Samuel John, used under CC <br /></em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>River of Life</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/80</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/80</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/80/1503_Zim_guys_web.jpg" />It was a great joy to have the senior leadership team (above) of <strong>River of Life</strong>, <strong>Harare</strong> join us last week. This is a fantastic church in <strong>Zimbabwe&rsquo;s</strong> capital, with whom we have a growing partnership. <strong>River of Life</strong> has recently transitioned to a church with five meetings across two sites, and now is gathering well over 1,200 people each week. On this visit we spent time talking through both the opportunities and challenges that a multi-site church can bring. This is an&nbsp;encouraging and fruitful relationship, and Deb and I are very much looking forward to visiting <strong>Harare</strong> again in May.<br /><br /><strong>Diversity Sunday</strong> is an important occasion in the life of King&rsquo;s, and it was fantastic to see so many people in national dress last Sunday. Once again, hearing people&rsquo;s testimonies of the power of the cross to unite people of different ages and cultures was extremely moving. <br /><br /><img style="float: right;" title="Steve's Better Together group" src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/1503_ST_group_web.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" />My weekend finished with the last evening of my <strong>Better Together</strong> group. We held an outreach event which concluded with an invite to our Easter service<em><strong> Welcomeâˆ™Brokenâˆ™Risen</strong></em>. Have you seen the <a href="http://vimeo.com/kingschurchlondon/easter" target="_blank">video</a> yet? Easter is always a highlight in our church calendar, and I encourage you to come along and invite a friend. Full details of all services can be found <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#24/">here</a>. You may also be interested to know that starting on Monday 30th, a special series of <strong>Easter devotionals</strong> will be available through the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/">King&rsquo;s website</a>. <br /><br />This week is <strong>Palm Sunday</strong>, so why not set the alarms early and join with us as we welcome King Jesus! I look forward to seeing you then. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Because we are one</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/70</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/70</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/70/blog-BT-devotional-week7.jpg" />Henry Ford said: &lsquo;Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.&rsquo;<br /><br />Being united in Christ through faith does not mean that ethnic and cultural differences will be erased. Rather, ethnic and other categories (economic, gender, etc.) no longer define of our identities. Galatians 3:28 &ndash; <em>&lsquo;There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus&rsquo; (NIV)</em> &ndash; is not a call to erase ethnic, class and gender diversity in an absolute sense. Rather, it is a call to break down any existing barriers and inequalities between them.<br /><br />Do we embrace the youth and their culture? Do we embrace women as equal partners? Do we make all ethnic groups feel welcome and whole in the church? Are we sensitive to and do we make accommodations for people with disabilities? Do we embrace those with differing viewpoints? Perhaps diversity is the greatest challenge facing the church! How can we importantly love our differences? Can we preach (live) the gospel by accepting diversity; by accepting God&rsquo;s heart of unconditional love &ndash; the gospel? At King&rsquo;s we are increasingly recognising and accepting, respecting and celebrating, our cultural diversity.<br /><br />Only God can bring about the full restoration and reconciliation of diversity in unity. This keeps us Christians humble as we go about being faithful and obedient in being agents of reconciliation for God, knowing that our efforts will be fruitful.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />Do you stand for honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated and helping those in need, regardless of their race, colour or creed?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will give us endurance and encouragement and a spirit of unity among ourselves as we follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth we may glorify Him.<br /><br /><em>We hope you have enjoyed following these Better Together daily devotionals. We would welcome any feedback or stories of how God has spoken to you or encouraged you through these words.</em><br /><em><br />We will be posting some devotionals leading up to Easter Sunday to help you consider and prepare for the death and resurrection of Jesus, so central to our faith. These will start on Monday 30th March.</em><br /><em><br />After that, if you are looking for a daily devotional or Bible reading plan to download, you will find a wide selection on <a href="http://www.youversion.com">youversion.com</a>.</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>We have a vision...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/69</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/69</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/69/blog-BT-devotional-week7.jpg" />Martin Luther King had a powerful dream of people having the same opportunities, of children from different backgrounds sitting at the same table, equals in every sense:&nbsp;&lsquo;I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.&rsquo; His dream mobilised many across the world and step by step changes have been made.<br /><br />John had a vision full of the glory of heaven, which we read about in the book of Revelation, where there was unity and praise. <br /><br /><em>&lsquo;After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: &ldquo;Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.&rdquo;&rsquo; (Revelation 7: 9-10)</em><br /><br />People of all nations, people groups and languages were worshipping God as one. Their focus was on King Jesus but something of their distinctiveness remained so John could see they were from different heritages, languages, nations. This is a wonderful illustration of the glory of the Saviour who has redeemed us from every nation and every situation. <br /><br />We want to pray daily for God's will to be done on earth in just the same way it is in heaven. That means worship and praise, unity and diversity. All kinds of people together focused on Jesus. Sometimes that will be expressed as we gather on Sunday's &ndash; other times as we sit round tables sharing meals and hearing each other&rsquo;s stories of grace.<br /><br />Sometimes this will be easy, carried along by the Spirit; other times we will have to lift our voices for justice and defend each other in our broken society. But John's vision will be fulfilled.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />Who do you share meals with? Why not ask someone who comes from a different background or is in a different season of life from you round for a meal and share life together?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Points</strong><br />Pray for John&rsquo;s vision to be fulfilled more and more as we worship together. Pray for our society that there will be justice and peace for all.<br /><br /><br /><em>We hope you'll be able to join us tomorrow for Diversity Sunday.&nbsp;Come dressed for the occasion if you would like to - national costume or just Sunday best, although, of course, you are also very welcome to come as you are! </em><br /><br /><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/events/"><img title="Diversity Sunday" src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/diversity-sunday-780.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /></a><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Easter &#45; who will you invite?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/79</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/79</guid> <description><![CDATA[ Easter is only a few weeks away and we've got an exciting Easter mini-series coming up. I hope you enjoy the short video below. Please share it widely and think who you could invite to join us on Easter Sunday.<br /><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/122122185" width="543" height="305" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Belonging together</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/68</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/68</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/68/blog-BT-devotional-week7.jpg" /><em>As we end our Better Together series we are focusing on celebrating our diversity across the church on Sunday 22nd March. It&rsquo;s a value precious to King&rsquo;s and something we continue to pray about and work on. Join with us as we thank God for all He is doing at King&rsquo;s &ndash; we are Better Together.</em><br /><br />Have you ever had that moment of joy when you opened a letter and found you were accepted to the school of your choice, the university you dreamed of, the sports team you tested out for? Or maybe for you it was the moment your wife accepted your proposal or the moment you held in your hand the keys to a flat to share with good friends.<br /><br />Being accepted, included, belonging is a powerful emotion. <br /><br />When the good news of Jesus was first preached, the church struggled to include everyone &ndash; they thought the message was primarily for the Jews and weren't sure how to react as Gentiles (people not born Jews) began to respond. Paul writes in Ephesians that both Jews and Gentiles were now included together in Christ. All that divided them &ndash; prejudice, rituals, customs and culture &ndash; had been broken, any barriers or hostility done away with through all Jesus did on the cross. A new people were formed in Jesus.<br /><br /><em>&lsquo;But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.&rsquo; (Ephesians 2:13)</em><br /><br />This is really good news. We should be filled with joy and amazement that all which would separate us from each other, all that would separate us from a holy God, has been torn down in Jesus. Stop and think about that for a moment &ndash; you are part of a new household, part of a united people being built together so that God can live among us by His Spirit.<br /><br /><em>&lsquo;Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God&rsquo;s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.&rsquo; (Ephesians 2:19-22)</em><br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />Look into your heart &ndash; do you still keep barriers in place to separate you from some people or are you open-handed, accepting as brothers and sisters all who believe in Jesus?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Points</strong><br />Pray for people in King&rsquo;s who feel they are not accepted or included, or that they don't belong. Pray that the Holy Spirit will use each one of us to draw them into family life at King&rsquo;s.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by celebrating together</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/67</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/67</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/67/blog-BT-devotional-week6.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart.&rsquo; Ephesians 5:19 (CEV)</em><br /><br />Genuinely praising God is an outward expression of His work in your life. Ephesians 5:18 (the previous verse) commands you to let the Holy Spirit fill you. Verse 19 shows that your act of praise is the direct result of His presence.<br /><br />As the earlier verses in this chapter tell us, when God invades your life He shines light that eliminates the darkness not only in your life, but also in the lives of those around you. Reading this chapter will reveal what God wants you to avoid in your life. When you commit to right living, you will avoid the trappings of this world. In this context, our praise to God is an expression of thanks for what He has either saved us from or helped us avoid.<br /><br />Many people may read this and become apprehensive. Am I going to have to sing in public? Be relieved that praising can take many forms. Giving praise to God can be done by telling each other how He has helped you. You can also praise God by singing words of praise to Him. Praying words of gratitude to Him praises God too.<br /><br />However you choose to give thanks to God, doing it together will bring pleasure to God, but also act as a testimony for others who need His help.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />When you worship, are you more concerned about what others think or what God thinks?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that even as your heart is truly transformed by what God has been doing in your life, you will genuinely praise Him as an outward expression of His work in your life.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by giving our offerings together</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/66</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/66</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/66/blog-BT-devotional-week6.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income&rsquo; 1 Corinthians 16:2 (NIV)</em><br /><br />Giving back to God is the heart of worship.<br /><br />Give your offerings. What is an offering? An offering is an act of worship to God. It can be money, belongings or talents. In this case it was money. The money Paul is talking about in this verse was for an offering specifically taken to help the church in Jerusalem. An important function of the church is to help others who are needy. The church in Corinth was fulfilling its duty by taking this collection.<br /><br />When we commit at an early age to give offerings, we learn to keep God first in our lives. A great act of submission to God is when we tithe the first ten percent of everything we earn and give it to the church for ministry. This is a guideline but we are all called to be intentional and generous &ndash; some can afford much more than 10%; others have to give more gradually, working towards 10%.<br /><br />You may even wonder if you really make a difference by making the contribution if it&rsquo;s not much money. Yes, you do make a difference, but the difference is not in the church as much as it is in your own life. Our obedience brings God&rsquo;s blessing and He will grow us spiritually as we acknowledge everything we have comes from Him.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />What does my giving say about the direction and condition of my heart?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to always give to His kingdom with a generous and cheerful heart.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by praying together</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/65</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/65</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/65/blog-BT-devotional-week6.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;They all met together continually for prayer...&rsquo; Acts 1:14 (NLT)</em><br /><br />Fear and uncertainty must have been running through the minds of the people who gathered together for prayer that day. Jesus, having come back to life, had spent several days with them, but had returned to heaven just before these people gathered. What did the future hold, who would replace Judas, how would they continue what Jesus started? They all had very serious reasons to pray.<br /><br />Fortunately for them, Jesus had spent time with them teaching them how to pray. They knew that prayer was an act of humility before God and that they could persistently ask for anything in Jesus&rsquo; name and it would be done (Luke 11:1-13 and 18:1-8). We also benefit from their experience because we can read what Jesus taught them.<br /><br />James 5:16 says, <em>&lsquo;Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.&rsquo;</em> Not only do we get great tips on prayer from Luke, but James shows us the benefits of prayer. Jesus also promised in Matthew 18:20 that where two or three are gathered to pray, He is there among them.<br /><br />God not only wants to communicate with us, but because He uses people to minister to each other, He wants us to band together at times to pray. He may even use you to do a miracle in a friend&rsquo;s life. Because we were designed to need others, it is no surprise that God wants us to pray to Him as a group of believers.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />How high a priority is prayer in your group life?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Points</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to be devoted to prayer and make prayer a priority.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by preparing for worship</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/64</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/64</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/64/blog-BT-devotional-week6.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;[Rehoboam] did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.&rsquo; 2 Chronicles 12:14 (NKJV)</em><br /><br />When we worship with an unprepared heart, we sin.<br /><br />Rehoboam got in trouble because he believed he didn&rsquo;t need God. Verse one of this chapter says, <em>&lsquo;But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord...&rsquo;</em>&nbsp; When we enter into worship thinking we don&rsquo;t really need God, we are not in a place to receive from Him.<br /><br />However, when we realise our true dependence on God, that is when we truly worship. Worship is much less about words that come out of our mouths and more about the condition of our hearts. If in our hearts we believe that we are in control of our lives, our hearts are not ready for worship. It&rsquo;s only when we realise where we would be without God that we can truly be thankful and participate in worshipping Him.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />What can you do to prepare yourself for corporate worship this weekend?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Points</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to clear your mind to worship Him wholeheartedly with a humble, undivided heart.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by worshipping weekly</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/63</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/63</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/63/blog-BT-devotional-week6.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;You have six days to do your work, but the seventh day of each week is holy because it belongs to me. No matter where you live, you must rest and <strong>come together for worship</strong>.&rsquo; Leviticus 23:3 (CEV)</em><br /><br />We were created to worship God together, as a community united by faith in Him, and filled with the Holy Spirit. We are commanded to gather together regularly to publicly affirm our faith, to rest, and to glorify God.<br /><br />I&rsquo;ve heard a few Christians rationalise their way out of going to church by saying, &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t need to go to church to be a Christian.&rsquo; While you may not need to go to church to become a Christian, you do need to be part of a church to grow spiritually. God doesn&rsquo;t create us to be spiritual orphans, but He chooses to use people to minister to us. Because of this, it&rsquo;s important for us to remain part of a church where we can worship together weekly.<br /><br />In corporate worship, we worship in ways we are unable to by ourselves. As we sing and celebrate together, pray and confess together, share and meditate together, give offerings and commit together, our faith is reaffirmed, our hope is reinforced and our love is renewed. That can only happen in community.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />What do you need to work on to get your schedule and priorities in step with God&rsquo;s rhythm?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer point</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to prioritise worshipping together at church each week.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by cooperating with each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/61</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/61</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/61/blog-BT-devotional-week5.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;We <strong>work together</strong> as partners who belong to God.&rsquo; 1 Corinthians 3:9a (NLT)</em><br /><br />The theme of 1 Corinthians chapter 3 is that the entire church needs to work together to reach a common goal: helping people know Christ. Distractions to that goal are worldly influences that take your attention away from the purpose. Jealousy or disagreements, for instance, can plant a seed of anger and divisiveness in your heart.<br /><br />God&rsquo;s design for the church is that its members will bring together all of the unique gifts He gave them. When the church diligently uses its gifts, lives can be transformed because ministry is happening the way God intended. Because each person has unique gifts, when everybody participates the ministry can thrive.<br /><br />God&rsquo;s plan is for us to partner with Him and partner with each other to fulfil His purposes. But the thing about partnerships is they&rsquo;re made from parts. <em>&lsquo;We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others&lsquo;</em> (Romans 12:5 NLT).<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />How do your gifts and abilities complement the others in your group?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray for there to be unity in the community and a oneness of spirit where we agree.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Welcome âˆ™ Broken âˆ™ Risen</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/78</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/78</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/78/blog-easter-2015-title.jpg" />Easter at King&rsquo;s is always a high point in our church calendar - a time of remembrance, reflection and celebration. &nbsp;Our theme this year is <strong>Welcome âˆ™&nbsp;Broken âˆ™&nbsp;Risen</strong>. &nbsp;The week begins on <strong>Palm Sunday</strong>&nbsp;when you are<strong> welcome</strong> to join us for a time of celebration. Then on <strong>Good Friday</strong>, we meet to break bread together and reflect upon Jesus, <strong>broken</strong> for us. &nbsp;Finally, on <strong>Easter Sunday</strong>, we have the joy of celebrating the <strong>risen</strong> Jesus Christ. &nbsp;All services will be taking place at each of our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford</a>, <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/downham/">Downham</a> and <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee</a>&nbsp;sites, and the times are summarised below:<br /><br /><strong>PALM SUNDAY, 29th March</strong><br /> - <strong>Catford</strong>: 9.30am, 11.30am &amp; 5.30pm<br /> - <strong>Downham</strong>: 9.30am &amp;11.30am<br /> - <strong>Lee</strong>: 10.30am<br /><br /><strong>GOOD FRIDAY, 3rd April</strong>&nbsp;<br />- 10.30am at <strong>Catford</strong>, <strong>Downham</strong> and <strong>Lee</strong><br /><br /><strong>EASTER SUNDAY, 5th April</strong><br /> - <strong>Catford</strong>: 9.30am, 11.30am &amp; 5.30pm<br /> - <strong>Downham</strong>: 9.30am &amp; 11.30am<br /> - <strong>Lee</strong>: 10.30am<br /><br />Easter is a great opportunity to <strong>invite</strong> family and friends to join us, so I encourage you to pick up flyers on Sunday.<br /><br />Have you seen our new <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/">King&rsquo;s website</a>? &nbsp;I frequently meet new people on a Sunday who have visited the website before visiting the church. &nbsp;Many thanks to all the team involved in updating and improving this important part of our publicity and communication.<br /><br />Lastly, on <strong>22nd March</strong> we conclude our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/sermons/series/4/"><em>Better Together</em></a> series with <strong>Diversity Sunday</strong>. &nbsp;This is always a fun, vibrant and colourful event, when you are invited to come in your national dress - or &lsquo;smart clothes&rsquo; if you don&rsquo;t have one! &nbsp;On the same day, if you are not already a member of King&rsquo;s, you can join me on the Catford site from 10.15am to 1pm for our <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/events/#16"><strong>Membership Morning</strong></a>, an opportunity to hear from more from me about our values and what it means to be a member.<br /><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/blog-easter-2015-info.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="439" /> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by sacrificing for each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/60</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/60</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/60/blog-BT-devotional-week5.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;We understand what love is when we realise that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers.&rsquo; 1 John 3:16 (GW)</em><br /><br />Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to demonstrate His love for the world. Sacrifice means giving up ownership and control to serve someone else. True service is a rare thing in our world and in the Christian community, because it involves personal sacrifice.<br /><br />The world says: If you want something, you have to earn it; once it&rsquo;s yours, you have every right to keep it. However the Bible teaches us that everything belongs to God. Sacrifice is the deliberate decision to give up control and ownership to help someone else and glorify God. When we make a sacrifice, we are drawn closer to God and follow His example. Letting go of something that we &lsquo;rightfully own&rsquo; acknowledges God as our most important priority.<br /><br />Because you&rsquo;re called to be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice, you also need to make smaller sacrifices along the way. These could come in the form of time, money, possessions, reputation or status. I don&rsquo;t know what God will call you to sacrifice next, but I can promise it will be tough because it will be something personal. You&rsquo;ll know because whatever is keeping you from helping others is what ought to be sacrificed.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />What sacrifice can you make that will enrich the lives of many?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Points</strong><br />Pray that God will humble you and soften your heart as you continue to genuinely follow Him. And pray that whatever roadblocks you face on your journey of faith will become a clear indicator of what God requires of you.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by using our talents to bless each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/59</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/59</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/59/blog-BT-devotional-week5.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God&rsquo;s generosity can flow through you.&rsquo; 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT)</em><br /><br />God gives us spiritual gifts when we accept Christ. It&rsquo;s kind of weird to think about, but we get a bonus gift when we choose to accept the ultimate gift of salvation. Some gifts are based on natural talents that we already had before we became Christians. For example, a person who has a talent for singing may be given a spiritual gift of worship leading. The difference between a talented singer and a singer with the spiritual gift of worship leading is that people are led into a worship experience when the gifted singer sings.<br /><br />The second sentence in this verse helps put our gifts into perspective. Many people feel cheated if they don&rsquo;t get gifts that put them in the centre of attention. God has chosen to give some people spiritual gifts that allow them to serve behind the scenes, while others have gifts that allow them to lead in front of people. However, when we realise that all gifts are distributed so that God can show His generosity to others through us, our perspective changes. It is absolutely amazing that God specifically chose to give gifts to us that will help others see Him working through us.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />How can you use your abilities to serve God by serving others?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to use your gifts and manage them well so that God&rsquo;s generosity can flow through you.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by being humble with each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/58</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/58</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/58/blog-BT-devotional-week5.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;All of you serve each other in humility, for God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favour to the humble.&rsquo; 1 Peter 5:5 (NLT)</em><br /><br />It&rsquo;s difficult to be a Christian in a world that is so full of opportunities to sin. Let&rsquo;s admit it, sometimes we think it would be easier to give in than to keep striving toward a closer relationship with Christ. Two pieces of wisdom keep us going: the knowledge that Jesus is coming back for us some day; and the fact that the world&rsquo;s way, although it can be fun for a season, always ends in destruction.<br /><br />Because we all struggle at times with living the Christian life, why would anybody become prideful? Our salvation has nothing to do with our own ability to be good; we are nothing without Christ&rsquo;s ultimate gift which allows our sins to be forgiven. When we are growing in our faith, it&rsquo;s silly to look down on another person who is struggling. What we need at that time is the same humble compassion to see that person restored as Christ had for us when we were messing up.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />How do you feel when you&rsquo;re treated like a servant?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to serve others in humility and have compassion for others.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by being generous with each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/57</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/57</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/57/blog-BT-devotional-week5.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;All the believers met together constantly and shared everything with each other.&rsquo; Acts 2:44 (LB)</em><br /><br />When you think about serving others generously, I doubt there is a better example than the first church that ever existed. If you open your Bible and read the entire chapter of Acts 2, you&rsquo;ll find that there was a spirit of joy and unity in that church. If anyone had a need, the church members brought their resources together to fill it.<br /><br />Somewhere along the line, the church has changed, but the need hasn&rsquo;t. There are still as many people who struggle in our churches today as there were in the original church. However, in many churches we don&rsquo;t take the same approach to meeting one another&rsquo;s needs. My hope is that you will develop the same kind of passion for meeting needs as the early church had.<br /><br />You may not be able to offer much, but you can give what you have. For instance, as a group you could volunteer to do gardening, home repairs, cleaning, or cook some meals for those who are seriously in need of help. You could give a gift of money to the Jericho Road Project to help people marginalised in our community.<br /><br />When you think of giving generously, don&rsquo;t get burdened down with feelings of guilt over not being able to share what you don&rsquo;t have. Instead, find joy in making a difference where you&rsquo;re able. Use your creative mind to find ways to meet needs that you are unable to meet financially.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />How attached are you to your possessions? Do you own them or do they own you?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will help you develop the same kind of passion for meeting needs as the early church had.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by helping each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/56</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/56</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/56/blog-BT-devotional-week5.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ.&rsquo; Galatians 6:2 (NCV)</em><br /><br />What is the &lsquo;law of Christ&rsquo;? When the Pharisees asked Jesus what the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses was, He summed up all the law with this statement: <em>&lsquo;Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. And love your neighbour as yourself&rsquo;</em> (Luke 10:27). He explained that all the law and the prophets hung on those two things.<br /><br />If you open your Bible and read verse 1 in Galatians chapter six, you&rsquo;ll discover that Paul is challenging these people to help others who have fallen into sin. I love this because Paul recognises that Christians sin. Too often we feel unable to share our pain with others and get the help we need.<br /><br />Practical service requires a humble spirit and a realisation that we all mess up. Many times Christians believe they have to give out solutions. However, that&rsquo;s not always what&rsquo;s needed. What people need is to be cared for. They will see more of Christ through your actions than your words. A person who is struggling with a bad habit probably won&rsquo;t be impressed with all the Scriptures you can use to prove he needs to quit. He already knows he needs to quit. What will minister to him is your willingness to show kindness and give him encouragement as he makes his way toward recovery.<br /><br />With your help, hurting people can find Christ without ever hearing a sermon from you.<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />Who do you know who needs your help to carry their burden today?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Points</strong><br />Pray that you will love others not just with words but with practical, hands-on service.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by being willing to serve</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/55</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/55</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/55/blog-BT-devotional-week5.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.&rsquo; Galatians 5:13 (NIV)</em><br /><br />We are saved to serve each other.<br /><br />Many people have the misconception that being &lsquo;called&rsquo; by God is something that only missionaries, pastors, nuns, and other church leaders experience. But the Bible says that everyone is called to serve God by serving others. We are not saved by serving, but we are saved for serving.<br /><br />Because of our sin, we are unworthy of ever getting to heaven. However, Jesus Christ has paid our sentence for us and freed us from sin and death. We, too, are faced with a choice &ndash; what will I do with my freedom? Will I continue to do the things that make me unworthy of spending eternity with God, like serving myself and looking after my own interests? Or will I go in a different direction and serve others as Christ served me?<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />How will you serve someone in your church or group today?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will give you a willing heart to serve others in love.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by forgiving each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/53</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/53</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/53/blog-BT-devotional-week4.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.&rsquo; Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)</em><br /><br />The greatest gift we have in Christ is forgiveness. All of us are separated from God by sin &ndash; salvation is possible only because of the forgiveness Jesus was able to offer by dying on the cross for us. To be a Christian means we&rsquo;ve been saved and forgiven for our sins.<br /><br />Forgiveness, like confession (see yesterday in case you missed it), is one of the most powerful actions the Christian community can express. It is a necessary component of spiritual relationships. Because we have each been forgiven, we must forgive others. We will hurt each other...yes, you will hurt someone...and forgiveness is the only solution that brings genuine healing.<br /><br />Forgiveness isn&rsquo;t easy; and one reason it is so tough is because it&rsquo;s not a one-time action. When you have been deeply hurt or wronged, resentment and bitterness can return again and again. You may have to decide many times to forgive the same past hurt. Forgiveness says, &lsquo;I forgive you today, and I&rsquo;m willing to forgive you again tomorrow.&rsquo;<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />If there is someone you need to forgive, when are you going to do it? If there is someone you&rsquo;ve wronged, when are you going to ask for forgiveness?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Points</strong><br />Pray that God will forgive you for any sins you have committed in thought, word and deed. Pray too that He would help you to forgive others who have hurt you.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-07</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Eight Years until My Free Bus Pass!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/62</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/62</guid> <description><![CDATA[ This week, I celebrated my 52nd birthday and so took a step closer to my free London Oyster card! What a sobering thought... although, as someone in the office said this week, they will probably raise the age for that privilege before I get there!<br /> <br />All in all, this was quite a big week in the Tibbert household, one which included our eldest son Ben and his fianc&eacute;e Alice getting the keys for their new flat in Lee. They are enjoying thinking about how they will organise their first home before they move in after their wedding in April. With only 43 days to go until the big day, we are all busy making sure the final arrangements are in place, whilst our middle son, Josh, is planning Ben's stag weekend. Then on Wednesday, we were very pleased to find out that our youngest son, Samuel, has been made House Captain at his school.<br /><br /><img style="float: right;" title="Martin and Dawn Tibbert" src="http://kingschurchlondon.org/images/1503_Martin_and_Dawn_web.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="NaN" />Last weekend we also enjoyed a meal out with my brother Martin and his wife Dawn (pictured below), and on the same day we were all thrilled when their daughter announced her engagement to Johnny. So you can see it has been quite a week for the Tibberts.<br /><br /><em>'Two are better than one'</em> has been a recurring theme throughout our <strong>Better Together</strong> series. Deb and I are passionate believers in the importance of family life - and right at the heart of a strong family is a stable, fun-filled, loving marriage. It takes time to build a strong family; it takes time to build a strong marriage. That is why each year Deb and I love speaking on The <a href="https://kingschurchlondon.ccbchurch.com/form_response.php?id=97" target="_blank"><strong>Marriage Course</strong></a> here at King's, drawn from the excellent HTB material. The next Marriage Course starts on <strong>Tuesday 6th May</strong> on the <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/catford" target="_self">Catford site</a>. This is the group we will be attending next term, and if you are married and would like to invest some time building your relationship, we would love you to join us. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by confessing to each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/52</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/52</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/52/blog-BT-devotional-week4.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.&rsquo; James 5:16 (NIV)</em><br /><br />The purpose of confession is not disgrace, but grace.<br /><br />When the Bible uses the word &lsquo;confess&rsquo;, it literally means &lsquo;to say the same&rsquo;. When we confess, we are saying the same about our sin that God says. It means we acknowledge and take responsibility for our sin. We confess because of a repentant heart that desires to obey and please God, not merely because we got caught doing something wrong.<br /><br />So to whom do we confess? Do we confess to Jesus or to people? The answer is &lsquo;yes&rsquo; &ndash;<br />the Bible teaches we should confess to both. The Apostle John wrote,<em> &lsquo;But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong&rsquo;</em> (1 John 1:9 NLT). Scripture is clear that only Christ can forgive our sins and that as Christians we can go to Him any time, any place and He will forgive us.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />If God is speaking to you about a hidden area of your life that needs to be confessed, what are you going to do about it?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to <em>&lsquo;confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed&rsquo;</em>.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by giving honour to each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/51</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/51</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/51/blog-BT-devotional-week4.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other.&rsquo; Romans 12:10 (NLT)</em><br /><br />If you&rsquo;ve ever known someone you didn&rsquo;t like, then you can understand how I struggle with honouring certain people. If you know people who annoy you or make you angry, you can sympathise with the difficulty I face when I read a verse like the one above and force myself to honour those who I&rsquo;d rather avoid.<br /><br />When I read this verse, I wish it was referring only to those people that I like to be around. However, the apostle Paul, who wrote this verse, meant that we need to include everybody in our efforts to love and honour others with genuine affection. <br /><br />Paul doesn&rsquo;t say just to honour each other; he says to take delight when we do it. When I consistently care for those who I am angry with, or who don&rsquo;t fit in with my group of friends, I grow more like Christ. You also grow spiritually when you honour those you love.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />In what ways and situations do you need to be less important or in a weaker position than someone else?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to include everybody in your efforts to love and honour others with genuine affection.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-05</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by warning each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/50</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/50</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/50/blog-BT-devotional-week4.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called &lsquo;today&rsquo;, so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.&rsquo; Hebrews 3:13</em><br /><br />People will have two predictable reactions to the words &lsquo;warn each other&rsquo;. Some will run from them because they don&rsquo;t want to confront others. Other people will read this verse as a license to bring judgment down on anyone who makes a mistake.<br /><br />The word &lsquo;warn&rsquo;, however, should be looked at as an act of love. When a parent warns a child not to touch a hot stove (like my Dad did for me), it&rsquo;s an act of love to prevent hurt. Unfortunately in my case, I needed to find out for myself what happens when you place your hand flat on a hot burner.<br /><br />When we warn people, we are expressing that we care enough about them to reveal danger in their lives. When you warn others because you care about them, you don&rsquo;t need to be confrontational or judgmental. Oftentimes you&rsquo;ll warn a person and then watch as they make a tragic mistake. When you preserve your relationship by the way you warn, you can be a source of healing when they are ready to turn back to God.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />We wouldn&rsquo;t hesitate to stop a friend from stepping into traffic &ndash; why are you hesitant to stop a friend from stepping into sin?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will help you always to be a source of healing to others.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by teaching each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/49</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/49</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/49/blog-BT-devotional-week4.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use His words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.&rsquo; Colossians 3:16 (NLT)</em><br /><br />To understand how we grow by teaching each other, we need to first back up a few verses to Colossians 2:20-23. To paraphrase what Paul wrote, when we only follow the moral code of the world (hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil) we show only bodily discipline, but we don&rsquo;t have victory over our thoughts and temptations.<br /><br />Fast-forward to the verse for today (Colossians 3:16) and we see a recipe for overcoming our sinful nature. When we turn away from the world&rsquo;s way to choose God&rsquo;s way and spend time reading the Bible, we discover that the promise in the second part of this verse is true...that we will become wise. With this promise, however, comes a command: &lsquo;Use His words to teach and counsel each other.&rsquo; Paul ends this verse with a command to worship God through singing to Him with thankful hearts<br /><br /><strong>Question to Consider</strong><br />What are some lessons God has taught you recently that you can share with others in your group?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to turn away from the world&rsquo;s way, choose God&rsquo;s way and spend time reading the Bible.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-03</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by encouraging each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/48</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/48</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/48/blog-BT-devotional-week4.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Encourage one another and build each other up.&rsquo; 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)</em><br /><br />&lsquo;Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.&rsquo; This vicious lie is impossible to believe, for we have all been wounded deeply by something said to us.<br /><br />Our words can also have a powerfully positive effect on people. We can help people tremendously with just a few thoughtful words. A kind word at the right moment can make all the difference in their world.<br /><br />It is easier to be negative and critical. When we speak like this, we often push others down just to lift ourselves up. Insecurity and selfishness combine to result in poisonous, destructive words. This is natural for all of us, but as members of God&rsquo;s community who are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can speak differently.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />How can you become a more consistent source of encouragement to those around you?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that as a Spirit-filled person, God will help you to offer a kind word at the right moment and make a difference in someone&rsquo;s life.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by being examples to each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/47</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/47</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/47/blog-BT-devotional-week4.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.&rsquo; Philippians 3:17 (NIV)</em><br /><br />According to Philippians 3:17, Paul was a really great guy, but isn&rsquo;t it prideful for him to tell us to follow HIS example? Isn&rsquo;t the church&rsquo;s answer to just &lsquo;follow Jesus&rsquo;? Paul also says &lsquo;Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ&rsquo; (1 Corinthians 11:1). We are called to follow other people who follow Jesus.<br /><br />Sometimes it&rsquo;s easy to fall into the trap of thinking we don&rsquo;t need other Christians. This simply isn&rsquo;t true. We need to overcome our pride and learn from other great Christians. As growing believers, we don&rsquo;t have to be perfect examples &ndash; you can learn from someone who is flawed, and none of us is going to be perfect this side of heaven anyhow. Our responsibility is to strive to be more like Jesus.<br /><br />Consider these challenges as they relate to your life: Who are you learning from and who are you leading? What should you be learning and how should you be leading?<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />Who will I look to as models and mentors for my spiritual growth? Who am I willing to be an example to?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that you will be more like Jesus and you will have the opportunity to be an example to others.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-03-01</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by being honest with each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/45</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/45</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/45/blog-BT-devotional-week3.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;&hellip;no more lies, no more pretence. Tell your neighbour the truth. In Christ&rsquo;s body we&rsquo;re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.&rsquo; Ephesians 4:25 (Msg)</em><br /><br />Proverbs 12:18 (NLT) says, <em>&lsquo;Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.&rsquo;</em> It&rsquo;s difficult to tell someone the truth they need to hear in a way that&rsquo;s encouraging and gentle. Usually we excel at one of these things to the exclusion of the other. If we&rsquo;re &lsquo;too encouraging and gentle&rsquo;, our words lack the substance those who are stumbling need to hear. When we are &lsquo;too honest&rsquo;, the cold truth of our words is so direct, so harsh, it makes no impact because we were so offensive.<br /><br />We all have &lsquo;blind spots&rsquo; in our lives, and we need the perspective of the friends in our community to help us see. When a friend speaks a difficult word, while painful at first, we&rsquo;re much better off in the end. The words of the wise bring the healing we need.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />Which temptation are you more prone to struggle with &ndash; being too gentle and compromising the truth or being too honest and offending others?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will grant you the strength and courage to be truthful.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-28</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>High Sundays, Group Highs!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/54</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/54</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/54/1502_Steves_groups_16_9_web.jpg" />&ldquo;...they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together...&rdquo; Acts 2:46<br /><br />For the last 18 years, the church here at King&rsquo;s has continued to grow, and although the rate of increase has slowed more recently, we still have more people coming on Sundays than ever before. However, over this time the attendance in group life has not kept pace with the Sunday growth.<br /><br />This time last year, Phil Varley and I attended a conference in California, hosted by <strong>Rick Warren</strong> of <strong>Saddleback Church</strong>. During our time there, we felt prompted that, for the sake of the overall health of the church, it was time to address the issue of attendance at groups.<br /><br />We worked, planned and prayed hard, then shared this conviction with the church at the Vision Sunday on September 14th. In January this year, we launched our new <strong>group initiative</strong>. The church&rsquo;s response has been overwhelming: on average, we have more than <strong>1,100 over 12s</strong> attending groups this term! I have thoroughly enjoyed leading my group on a Sunday evening and I am so pleased that our preaching series, <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/resources/audioseries.php?filter=Better%20Together"><em>Better Together</em></a>, has been such a great success.<br /><br />King&rsquo;s, you are a fantastic church, and we are <strong>better together</strong>! ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by being patient with each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/44</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/44</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/44/blog-BT-devotional-week3.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.&rsquo; Ephesians 4:2b (NLT)</em> <br /><br />&lsquo;I want it my way and I want it now, Dad!&rsquo; My three year old son said that the other day, because he saw the hot brownies on the counter. I tried to explain to him that he&rsquo;d need to wait because he&rsquo;d burn his tongue (mine bears many injuries because I&rsquo;m a slow learner). He didn&rsquo;t care, he had no patience.<br /><br />It&rsquo;s no wonder where he got this from...as much as I&rsquo;d like to say his mother, it&rsquo;s just not true! I hate to wait. I can&rsquo;t stand waiting in queues and when I make a call and I&rsquo;m put on hold, this can be stressful for me. Email isn&rsquo;t fast enough for me, so I use instant messenger.<br /><br />A person&rsquo;s faults or failures can stunt their growth. But when we respond with patience, we help them to grow to their full potential. Today you&rsquo;re going to notice someone doing something wrong, or they might inconvenience you in some way. Rather than doing what&rsquo;s natural, do what&rsquo;s spiritual and show the patience God has shown you.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />How can you become more patient with the people in your life?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Points</strong><br />Pray for patience when you interact with others. Pray to be a more patient person.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by getting along with each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/43</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/43</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/43/blog-BT-devotional-week3.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;I beg you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves. Let there be real harmony so that there won't be splits in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.&rsquo; 1 Corinthians 1:10 (LB)</em><br /><br />We&rsquo;d have fewer arguments if we just slowed down. Many arguments are &lsquo;accidental&rsquo; because we&rsquo;re so reactionary. It&rsquo;s possible to control our impulses &ndash; it takes discipline and relying on God&rsquo;s power &ndash; but it can happen.<br /><br />Maybe you&rsquo;re not one of those people who spontaneously explode with the slightest spark. You could go the other way and keep everything on the inside, plotting silently and striking when the time is right. You might not shout and scream. You might be the type who will slide in a remark or two with a carefully constructed look, and then sit back and watch the fireworks.<br /><br />Arguments are destructive on so many levels. They destroy peace and ruin our ability to work together to reach the world for Jesus.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />If you have a conflict with a brother or sister in Christ, what will you do today to seek reconciliation?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Points</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to make a commitment to slow down today and to be more reflective about your words. Also pray for a way to show support, encouragement and kindness to others.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-26</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by supporting each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/42</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/42</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/42/blog-BT-devotional-week3.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Let us be always seeking the ways which lead to peace and the ways in which we can support one another.&rsquo; Romans 14:19 (NJB)</em><br /><br />Seeking ways to support someone isn&rsquo;t all that different from playing hide-and-seek. As the seeker, you aim for your goal &ndash; to find people. You seek to find people you can support, care for and encourage. Once you&rsquo;ve &lsquo;found&rsquo; them, you support them in whatever way they need. You don&rsquo;t have to try to fix them; but rather, simply come alongside them and support them by just &lsquo;being there&rsquo;. They will never forget it!<br /><br />For today, ask God to give you His eyes that you might see people as He sees them and respond with support and encouragement. You won&rsquo;t have to look very far, because there are people everywhere who are hoping to be supported. Will you be the seeker?<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />To whom will you lend your strength today and how will you do it?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will give you His eyes that you might see people as He sees them and respond with support and encouragement. <br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by respecting each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/41</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/41</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/41/blog-BT-devotional-week3.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Excel in showing respect for each other.&rsquo; Romans 12:10b (GW)</em><br /><br />There are many people in this world who command our respect. When an Olympic athlete competes and wins the gold medal, you have a level of respect for that person. Even if someone wins the gold in walking, that&rsquo;s still pretty sweet because you know they walk a lot faster than you!<br /><br />The world&rsquo;s way of doing things says you only have to respect people who earn it &ndash; the popular, the experts, the beautiful, the powerful. The world&rsquo;s focus is on earning respect and not giving respect. We concern ourselves with achieving or talking like we&rsquo;ve achieved, so we might somehow gain the respect of others around us.<br /><br />God&rsquo;s standard is different, and it leads to a more powerful and fulfilling life. As Christians, we ought to show respect to everyone &ndash; even if they haven&rsquo;t &lsquo;earned it&rsquo;. This isn&rsquo;t some minor concern; this is something we are to excel at.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />How does showing respect to others present the greatest challenge to you?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Points</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to show love and respect to others. Pray that as groups meet during the week they will also show love and respect to each other.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-24</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by committing to each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/40</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/40</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/40/blog-BT-devotional-week3.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Let us agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other.&rsquo; Romans 14:19a (Msg)</em><br /><br />Some people are tough to get along with. It can be difficult because there are many people who do things extremely differently than you do them. Just think about your friends and their families. I bet each family is completely different and each family interacts in their own way. But in this verse, God is basically saying through the apostle Paul, &lsquo;Hey, why don&rsquo;t we stop judging each other. Instead, let&rsquo;s do all that we can to get along, regardless of our differences!&rsquo;<br /><br />So let&rsquo;s take this a step further. Today&rsquo;s focus is &lsquo;Commit to each other&rsquo;. Pick someone &ndash; a friend, maybe someone in your group &ndash; to whom you will make a commitment to get along better with others. Ask that person to hold you accountable to your commitment. Who will it be? When will you call them?<br /><br />Jesus was the master at building bridges with people. He wants you to do the same. I challenge you to take a small step in that direction today. Will you?<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />If you were to ask one of your friends to what &ndash; or to whom &ndash; they think you are committed, how do you think they would answer?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that God will help you to make a commitment to get along better with others.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by admitting our need for each other</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/39</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/39</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/39/blog-BT-devotional-week3.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.&rsquo; Romans 12:5b (NLT)</em><br /><br />God hates loneliness. That does not mean everyone should be married! It does mean everyone needs a spiritual family, and that&rsquo;s why God created the church. When God saves you and adopts you into His family, He intertwines your life with the lives of other believers. You&rsquo;re not just a believer; you&rsquo;re a &lsquo;belonger&rsquo;. <em>&lsquo;Now all of you together are Christ&rsquo;s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it&rsquo;</em> (1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT).<br /><br />You must be connected to a church to survive spiritually. More than that, you need to be in a small group of people where you can love and be loved, serve and be served, share what you are learning and learn from others. You can&rsquo;t do that with a crowd.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />What might be keeping you from making a deeper commitment to church or the group you attend?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Lord, we pray for those who feel lonely in our church &ndash; give them courage to step towards others and give us sensitivity to generously welcome them.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-22</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by representing Jesus</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/38</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/38</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/38/blog-BT-devotional-week2.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus.&rsquo; Colossians 3:17 (NLT)</em><br /><br />As believers our role in life has changed. We no longer have the assignment of looking out for our own interests. Our job now is to represent the interests of Jesus. We are His face and hands and feet &ndash; showing up in the lives of others on His behalf. We represent Jesus in the hospital, we represent Jesus at the funerals, we represent Jesus at the weddings, we represent Jesus across the fence as we talk to our neighbours.<br /><br />We are not of this world but we are in this world. We function as ambassadors for Christ; we serve at the will of King Jesus. We serve as spokesmen and servants for God&rsquo;s Kingdom &ndash; always prepared to give an explanation about the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15) while still remembering the world is not our home (1 Peter 2:11).<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />How can you represent Jesus in your world today?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray for those in King&rsquo;s who have jobs on the frontline of our community &ndash; like teachers, the police, nurses, social workers and those in local government &ndash; that they may be faithful representatives of Jesus.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-21</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Johannesburg</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/46</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/46</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img style="float: right;" src="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/images/uploaded/Johannesburg_edited.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="179" />Last week was a particularly full one, which included a 3 day trip to <strong>Johannesburg</strong>. After flying through the night, I arrived on Tuesday to spend some time with dear friends in the <strong>Advance</strong> movement, which is led by the inspiring PJ Smythe. In the evening I joined with 70 elders from over 10 churches across Johannesburg to pray for that city and the great continent of Africa.<br /><br />Following that, I had the privilege of speaking to their teams on some practical leadership lessons. Then it was goodbye to the South African sunshine, and back on a plane again to our grey London skies! Deb and I look forward to being back in Africa in May to visit Zimbabwe and Cape Town.<br /><br />This week I will be on holiday, spending some time with the family. But I will be back on Sunday as we gather together for our next part in our <strong>Better Together</strong> series. I look forward to seeing you then. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by giving practical help</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/37</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/37</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/37/blog-BT-devotional-week2.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions.&rsquo; 1 John 3:18 (LB)</em><br /><br />People know we love them when we show we love them.<br /><br />In the book of James (2:15-16), there&rsquo;s a practical question:<em> &lsquo;Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, &ldquo;Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,&rdquo; but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?&rsquo;</em> The challenge for all Christians is to show love and not just talk about it. It&rsquo;s easy to talk about love, but it&rsquo;s tough to really love others. <br /><br />In showing our love, no task should be too menial. Jesus specialised in acts of service most people try to avoid: washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast and serving people with leprosy. Nothing was beneath Him because His service flowed from love.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />Who can you show the love of Christ to in a practical way today?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray for the staff and volunteers who work with people in the <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/socialaction">Jericho Road Project</a>, that the love of Jesus will shine through all that is done.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by building friendships</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/36</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/36</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/36/blog-BT-devotional-week2.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.&rsquo; Romans 12:16</em><br /><br />That&rsquo;s the message we are to tell the world, but we limit ourselves in how we can share the Good News if our only friends are other believers. Jesus, on the other hand, understood His mission was to seek the lost, and so He became friends with those who needed to become friends with God.<br /><br />When Jesus was talking to the woman at the well (John 4:4-26) He searched for common ground rather than condemning her. As a results, she not only made peace with God, she also brought her friends and family into the presence of Jesus. We see from this example that our friendship with non-believers requires that we understand the difference between loving them and loving their ways.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />Do you have any meaningful friendships with non-believers?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray for the Alpha team as they make friends with people seeking Jesus.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by showing acceptance</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/35</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/35</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/35/blog-BT-devotional-week2.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Reach out and welcome one another to God's glory. Jesus did it; now you do it!&rsquo; Romans 15:7 (Msg)</em><br /><br />Everyone wants to be accepted.<br /><br />Jesus accepted &lsquo;rejects&rsquo;, and it got him a bad reputation with the religious leaders of His day. He was ridiculed for being a friend to sinners. Our Lord accepted the outcasts, the unclean, the poor, and the &lsquo;sinners&rsquo;. He believed the Kingdom of Heaven was available to anyone that would turn to him.<br /><br />We ought to accept others because Christ first accepted us. When we accept others, we&rsquo;re following the example of Christ. We reach out to others as an expression of what we&rsquo;ve already experienced. Let&rsquo;s be honest &ndash; none of us had it together before we found Christ (and we still don&rsquo;t have it together). The Church is a collection of dropouts, losers, sinners, failures, and fools. But we have found perfect acceptance in Christ, unconditional and eternal.<br /><br />As you interact with your world today, consider how you might reach out to someone with acceptance.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />Who is the last person in your life that you would expect to become a Christian? How could your acceptance of them build a bridge to Christ?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Lord, open my eyes to see people as You see them, to accept them with Your grace.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by offering hospitality</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/34</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/34</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/34/blog-BT-devotional-week2.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.&rsquo; 1 Peter 4:9 (NIV)</em><br /><br />Hospitality is more than just a courtesy &ndash; it is a standard set for us by God. Hospitality means freely offering your resources and creating a place that makes others feel comfortable and &lsquo;at home&rsquo;. Hospitality extends further than just offering up your home. It is using your possessions to benefit others. This is why the Bible says to offer hospitality without complaining.<br /><br />Hospitality is an action and an attitude &ndash; we offer what we have without grudge or complaint, in order to make others comfortable.<br /><br />Hospitality doesn&rsquo;t have to be complicated. It&rsquo;s as simple as giving people what they need in a way that they are comfortable:<em> &lsquo;And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded&rsquo;</em>&nbsp; (Matthew 10:40-42).<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />Have you had your neighbours into your home lately?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Ask God to help you make your home somewhere people feel welcomed.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-17</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by using our group</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/33</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/33</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/33/blog-BT-devotional-week2.jpg" />&lsquo;I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.&rsquo; Philippians 1:27b (NLT)<br /><br />&lsquo;We&rsquo; is more powerful than &lsquo;me&rsquo;.<br /><br />There is power in partnership, and that&rsquo;s never truer than when we&rsquo;re working to tell the world about Jesus. Evangelism is always a team effort, even in those times when we think we&rsquo;re working alone. The reality is, when we lead someone to Christ, the Holy Spirit has already been at work in that life, and other believers have also been influential, directly and indirectly. Paul once wrote, &lsquo;I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants but God made you grow&rsquo; 1 Corinthians 3:6 (Msg).<br /><br />You don&rsquo;t have to do this alone &ndash; God can use your group. He intends for us to work together side by side.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />Which of your friends and family members can your group begin praying for?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Lord, help us as a group to pray for people who don&rsquo;t know Jesus and prompt us to pray consistently for their salvation.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>...by being intentional</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/32</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/32</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/32/blog-BT-devotional-week2.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.&rsquo; Colossians 4:5 (NIV)</em><br /><br />Today&rsquo;s devotional is a passionate plea for you to take a look at your life and pray as David did,<em> &lsquo;Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life&rsquo;</em> Psalm 139:24 (NLT). When you accepted Christ&rsquo;s forgiveness, you also became an ambassador for Him. Daily asking Him to help you evaluate your life will help you act wisely around people who are not believers.<br /><br />Being wise in the way you act involves being intentional about your life. What you demand as rightfully yours fades away so that Christ can shine through you. When people are inconsiderate, Christ in you gives grace. When an enemy is in need, Christ in you humbly lends a hand. When you&rsquo;re having a bad day, Christ in you exhibits self-control.<br /><br />As you commit to allowing God to change the way you act, you will find that your witness to others will improve. Even if you don&rsquo;t say a word about God, the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23) will become evident and attractive in your life. Others will see the way you act and will be drawn to have a relationship with God.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />Will anyone be in heaven because of your witness?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Lord, may the fruit of Your Spirit permeate my life and be seen by others.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King's Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-15</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>â€¦because it is a witness to the world</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/30</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/30</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/30/blog-BT-devotional-week1.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.&rsquo; John 13:35 (NLT)</em><br /><br />Jesus tells us to love one another because this is a witness to the world. It seems like most conversations about evangelism neglect this aspect. Building relationships, answering questions, sharing the truth of the gospel&hellip;these are important and essential elements of evangelism. But the world is looking for love more than anything else.<br /><br />You know you can see much farther away than you can hear. And the world is watching us to see if we really love each other. They will see us long before they will hear us. And if they don&rsquo;t like what they see, they&rsquo;ll never stop to listen. A family that doesn&rsquo;t love one another isn&rsquo;t worth listening to, let alone joining.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />How loudly do your actions speak about the love of God?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray for your friends and family who do not yet know Jesus.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King&rsquo;s Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK&nbsp;for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-14</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>â€¦because it is practice for eternity</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/29</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/29</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/29/blog-BT-devotional-week1.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;We are anxious that you keep right on loving others as long as life lasts, so that you will get your full reward.&rsquo; Hebrews 6:11 (LB)</em><br /><br />God wants to do some great things in our lives to prepare us for eternity. If He wanted you in heaven right now, you&rsquo;d be there. He is continuing His work within us, and much of what He wants to do can only be done as we love one another. When we love others, we look to their interests, doing what&rsquo;s best for them. In the midst of our love for others, God is working &lsquo;behind the scenes&rsquo;, doing something great within our hearts: making us more like His Son.<br /><br />Most of the accomplishments and success this world has to offer will disappear at the end of time, but our character will last forever. How we live now will have real consequences in eternity. The quality of our love toward other believers will be rewarded. The Bible says loving others will turn into eternal rewards.<br /><br />There is so much more than the present: we have the hope of eternity in heaven, worshipping God along with the rest of his family.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />Why do you think how we love others here on earth will be connected to our heavenly reward?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Lord, help me to keep on loving others today, tomorrow and the rest of my life.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King&rsquo;s Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK&nbsp;for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>â€¦because weâ€™re family</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/28</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/28</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/28/blog-BT-devotional-week1.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers.&rsquo; 1 Peter 2:17 (NIV)</em><br /><br />Every Christian has been spiritually adopted into a spiritual family. Like any family, God&rsquo;s family has close connections, shared trials, conflicts, and celebrations. Because we&rsquo;re no longer spiritual orphans, we ought to stop acting like lonely and isolated individuals, and love each other like God has designed for us.<br /><br />A family is a place where we are known for who we truly are. There is an intimacy that isn&rsquo;t easily shared with outsiders. Being known can be a real sense of comfort because we find the acceptance we so desperately need. A good family is a safe place, a place where we are known and loved. In this context, everyone feels the freedom to grow and make changes and become who God has called us to be.<br /><br />God&rsquo;s family ought to be this kind of safe haven, where we can find the acceptance, value, and forgiveness that we desperately need to shelter and strengthen us from the storms of life.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />How devoted are you to your church family?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Lord, help those in our church family and others I know who are facing challenges today.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King&rsquo;s Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK&nbsp;for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-12</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>â€¦because it shows weâ€™re saved</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/27</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/27</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/27/blog-BT-devotional-week1.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.&rsquo; 1 John 3:14 (NLT)</em><br /><br />There&rsquo;s more to life than the here and now. The relationships we build with other Christians will continue into eternity. We have something great to share, now that we have passed from death to life.<br /><br />Salvation isn&rsquo;t just a gift to be opened and enjoyed &ndash;although joy is a real by-product of a relationship with Christ. Salvation is also an adventure to be explored. Loving other Christians invites them along so we can journey together; it helps others overcome the struggles and difficulties along the way.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />If you were put on trial for your faith, and your expressions of love were the only evidence, what would the verdict be?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Lord, help me to work on showing love to my brothers and sisters in Christ.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King&rsquo;s Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK&nbsp;for permission to use the extracts</em>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>â€¦because itâ€™s how we love God</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/26</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/26</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/26/blog-BT-devotional-week1.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.&rsquo; 1 John 4:20 (NIV)</em><br /><br />We love God when we see each other the way God sees us. This means we stop judging others according to appearances and start viewing them from a heavenly perspective. The Bible says we should show love whenever we have the opportunity (Galatians 6:10), using every chance we get.<br /><br />Were you aware that God is constantly placing people right in front of you so you can have these opportunities to demonstrate love? Today could mark a new beginning in your life as you open your eyes and begin looking for opportunities God sends your way.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />What does the way you show love to others say about your love for God?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Ask God to give you a heavenly perspective on the people you meet today.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King&rsquo;s Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK&nbsp;for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-10</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>â€¦because God commands it</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/25</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/25</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/25/blog-BT-devotional-week1.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.&rsquo; John 13:34 (NIV)</em><br /><br />Love is an act of our will.<br /><br />God says we must decide to love one another. We&rsquo;re to love other believers regardless of how we feel about them or how unlovable they may appear. No matter how difficult it may seem, we&rsquo;re to actively, consistently, and deeply love the believers God brings into our lives, our congregations &ndash; and our groups.<br /><br />Love is a command. Our decision to love is an act of obedience. God considers loving one another so important that He told us we must do it (1 John 4:21). It is a lesson so important that John consistently describes love and obedience as synonymous: if you love Jesus you will obey His commands.<br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />How could you show love to someone you find difficult to get along with?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Give thanks for the way Jesus has loved you and given His life for you.<br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King&rsquo;s Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK&nbsp;for permission to use the extracts.</em> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>â€¦because God loves us</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/24</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/24</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/24/blog-BT-devotional-week11.jpg" /><em>&lsquo;Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.&rsquo; 1 John 4:11 (NIV)</em><br /><br />Community is all about looking to God&rsquo;s Word so we can discover what it means to love God. By doing this, we will learn how to love one another, how to build up other Christians, and how to help non-believers find Christ.<br /><br /> <div>So take a few minutes to consider God&rsquo;s love in your life. What does the Bible say about God&rsquo;s love for you? Then go further &ndash; get personal. How have you seen God&rsquo;s love in action in your life? The more you are aware of God&rsquo;s love for you, the better you&rsquo;ll be able to love others.<br /><br /><em>&lsquo;...he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.&rsquo; Titus 3:5,7</em><br /><br /><strong>Question to consider</strong><br />Have you signed up for a group yet? If not, what is hindering you?<br /><br /><strong>Prayer Point</strong><br />Pray that as groups meet during the week, everyone who signed up will make it a priority to attend their group so as a church we will grow in love for one another.<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>These devotionals include edited extracts from the Better Together book by Rick Warren, with additional prayer points for King&rsquo;s Church London. We are extremely grateful to Purpose Driven UK for permission to use the extracts. </em></div> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-08</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Bedford, Norwich and Beyond...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/31</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/31</guid> <description><![CDATA[ This week, I have visited a couple of other <strong>multi-site churches</strong> to share some of our experience here at King&rsquo;s. I was particularly delighted to spend the day with the senior leadership team of <strong>All Nations</strong> in <strong>Bedford</strong>. As some of you may know, <strong>All Nations</strong> - formerly known as Brickhill Baptist Church - is where I was saved over 30 years ago, and where I began my ministry as a youth pastor. It was wonderful to meet up with old friends and to see the progress of the church where I started my journey of faith. In fact, I am able to count a number of friends from our youth group days, who made their first commitment to Jesus in Bedford and who have now been called to minister and serve in other churches in this country and others.<br /><br />It caused me to reflect on the many people who have taken their first steps of faith at King&rsquo;s, and who now worship and serve God in other churches across this nation and beyond. It is always good to see growth and progress in our local setting; but it is my hope that many who begin their Christian life here at King&rsquo;s will go on to be a blessing to other churches not only in the United Kingdom, but all over the world. As a church made up of the nations, at a time when travel has never been easier, God can use His people to spread the Word to those who do not yet know Him.<br /><br />Following my day in Bedford, I travelled to <strong>Norwich</strong>, another church with three sites. I spoke on the challenges of leading a multi-site church, once again drawing on our journey and the lessons learnt, to help and encourage others.<br /><br />Our <strong>Better Together</strong> series continues this Sunday - I will be back in London and speaking at our Catford and Lee sites. To make the most of the series, we are providing <strong>daily devotionals</strong>, which can be accessed on the new, <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/app">free church app</a>&nbsp;and this blog. We hope they will be beneficial to many of you.<br /><br />I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-02-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Better Together</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/23</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/23</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/23/blog-BT-groups-have-you-joined-group-yet-catford.jpg" />I love these verses from Ecclesiastes 4:9-10:<br /><br /><em>Two are better than one,</em><br /><em>because they have a good return for their labour:</em><br /><em>If either of them falls down,</em><br /><em>one can help the other up.</em><br /><br />These words serve as a reminder that God does not intend us to be alone, but to enjoy the benefits of being together - supporting, encouraging and helping one another.<br /><br />With that in mind, it is worth remembering that this weekend is the last opportunity to step into a <strong>group</strong> for this term. I have been delighted by the response from the church so far - hundreds have already signed up. However, there is still room in a number of our <strong>groups</strong>. Take a look at the new magazine, King's Life, or look at the online <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/groups">groups pages</a> to find one that suits you. We believe we are <strong>better together</strong>.<br /><br />Signing up could not be easier: All details can be found <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/groups">here</a>, or you can complete a form and hand it in at church this Sunday. We also now have a new <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/app">free church app</a> where you can find all the information you will need.<br /><br />Lastly, starting on 8th February we will be making <strong>daily bible devotion notes</strong> available via the app.<br /><br />Two are better than one - we are <strong>better together</strong>. ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-01-29</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Who has God used to shape your life?</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/22</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/22</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/22/blog-BT-terry-virgo.jpg" />When I reflect on my journey of faith and leadership, I am aware that God has allowed me to walk alongside many great people. At different points along the way, He has used them to help shape me into the person and leader I have become. <br /><br />My parents are among the biggest influences in my life, and I thank them for their godly, positive example. After giving my life to Christ in my late teens, my pastor, Peter Ledger, and my youth group leaders, Mr and Mrs Chris, were the first to disciple me: Mr Chris met with me for many weeks and laid a great foundation in my life; Peter Ledger gave me my first exposure to church leadership. I am grateful for the time they gave to me as a young man.<br /><br />When my local church in Bedford joined <strong>Newfrontiers</strong> in the early 1990's, I began to be exposed to other gifted leaders, such as David Devenish, Dave Holden and Terry Virgo. I have had the privilege of spending many hours in the company of such people. The time spent praying, talking and sharing lives with such people has undoubtedly made me a better leader.<br /><br />I am therefore delighted that one of my mentors, <a href="http://www.terryvirgo.org/"><strong>Terry Virgo</strong></a>, will be joining us at King&rsquo;s next <strong>Wednesday, 28th January</strong>, for the last of our prayer meetings this January. We will be meeting at our <strong><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee site</a></strong>, at the usual time of 7.45. On this occasion Terry will not be preaching, but I will be interviewing him. As the founding father of a global movement he is worth listening to! Perhaps I will take the opportunity of asking him who has helped shape his life... <br /><br />Steve Nicholson is another person I would count as one of my most significant mentors - his counsel to me as a leader and on the church here at King&rsquo;s cannot be understated. <br /><br />So, why not take a few moments to ask yourself: Who am I helping to grow? Who are the main influencers on my life? Take the chance to come along next Wednesday and listen to Terry Virgo, but also, let us continue to ask God to bring men and women into our lives who will help make us into the people He wants us to become.<br /><br /><strong>Who has God used to shape your life?</strong> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-01-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A New Eldership Team</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/21</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/21</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/21/new-elders-jan15-780.jpg" /><p>It was great to have David Devenish with us on Wednesday evening as we appointed four new elders to join our Eldership team.</p> <p>William Dalziel, Kwaku Osafo, Simon Linley and Ayo Oyabayo now join me, Phil Varley and Malcolm Kyte to strengthen and enhance our Eldership. What a privilege it is to work alongside such a group of godly men! Please continue to pray for us and all the leaders at King's.</p> <p>Have you signed up for a <strong>group</strong> yet? If you haven't yet decided which one you want to join, pick up a copy of <strong>King's Life</strong> on Sunday to check what's available. Alternatively, you can <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups">sign up online</a> through our new groups pages. Places are filling up fast!</p> <p>I have a growing sense of God calling us to pray for our church, our city and our nation. Our next <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/communitylife"><strong>church-wide Wednesday celebration</strong></a> is next week, <strong>21st January</strong>, 7.45pm (<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/catford">Catford site</a>). Please can I encourage you again not to miss this chance to gather together to pray, worship, and give thanks.</p> <p><span style="color: red;">***STOP PRESS***</span></p> <p><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/advert-BT-terry-virgo-350.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="197" /></p> <p>Fantastic news! I have just heard that <strong>Terry Virgo</strong> has confirmed that he will be at our last Wednesday celebration this month - <strong>28th January</strong>, 7.45pm (<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/lee">Lee site</a>). As many of you will know, Terry is the founding father of Newfrontiers, the group of churches to which we belong - a man of great vision, wisdom, and faith. It is a real privilege to have him with us, and an evening not to be missed.</p> <p>I look forward to seeing you there!</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-01-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Better Together </title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/20</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/20</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/20/blog-BT-david-devenish.jpg" /><p class="MsoNormal">On New Year&rsquo;s Eve, hundreds of us gathered for our Watchnight services to worship, give thanks and pray for the year ahead. What a fantastic evening, and what better way to welcome in 2015! If you were unable to be there, then have a look at the video review of 2014 <a href="https://vimeo.com/115433749/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This coming Sunday, I am looking forward to speaking at our Vision Sunday on the theme of <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Better Together </em><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">when</span>&nbsp;I will be preaching out of John 21:1-14. This last chapter of John&rsquo;s Gospel shows us the resurrected Jesus inviting his disciples to share a meal with him, demonstrating the importance of spending time with a small group of believers - it is good to <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">be together</strong>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">New Year is traditionally a time for new starts, new challenges and new opportunities, and that is certainly true here at King's.&nbsp;This month sees the launch of our new termly magazine&nbsp;<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">'King's Life'</strong>, which I hope many of you are already reading and enjoying. In it you will find a summary of all our groups, an essential part of <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">being together</strong>. Can I encourage you to sign up to your preferred group quickly, as places will fill up fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Also, please make a special effort to join us next Wednesday evening, <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">14th January, 7.45pm</strong> (<a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/catford">Catford site</a>) when David Devenish will be appointing 4 <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">new elders</strong> to join our existing team - another important moment in our journey as a church together.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lastly, keep an eye out for the launch date for our updated church website, going live soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Also on its way, our new church app, making access to our website even easier. In the meantime, our <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups">new groups pages</a></strong> are already live on the website, so you can go there to sign up online.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>All these technologies can help us stay connected &ndash; however, nothing can replace the value of face-to-face, heart-to-heart communication. So, let&rsquo;s gather throughout January (Wednesday evenings at 7.45pm) to worship and pray as a church, and <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/groups">sign up to a group</a> quickly.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>We are better together!</strong></p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2015-01-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Watchnight!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/18</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/18</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/18/blog-watchnight-14-15.jpg" /><p>Have you made any plans yet for <strong>New Year's Eve</strong>?</p> <p>Why not come along to the <strong>Watchnight</strong> evening at the Catford and Lee sites where you can join in a time of worship and prayer and meet with friends from King's to start the year with God's people.</p> <p>The <strong>Catford</strong> site Watchnight event starts at 9.30pm through until 12.30am and the <strong>Lee </strong>event starts at 8pm until 12.30am. King's <strong>Downham</strong> site folk are invited to attend the Lee Watchnight event.</p> <p>A good place to begin 2015 - in God's presence!</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-12-29</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Christmas Day and beyond...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/17</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/17</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/17/blog-home.jpg" /><p>For those of us who will still be at home here on December 25th, we look forward to worshipping together at our <strong>Christmas Day</strong> meetings! These will be shorter than usual - an hour at most - and will take place on each of the Catford, Downham and Lee sites at 10.30am.</p> <p>Then on <strong>Sunday 28th December</strong> we have a slightly altered schedule:</p> <p>- <strong>Catford</strong>: meetings at 9.30am and 11.30 am only (no 5.30 meeting)<br />- <strong>Downham</strong>: meeting at 10.30am only<br />- <strong>Lee</strong>: meeting at 10.30am as usual</p> <p>Looking forward to celebrating together!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-12-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Thank you, Val Taylor!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/19</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/19</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <p>For the last six years, Val Taylor has helped me with this blog and other areas of writing. In addition to these weekly postings, we have produced numerous leadership papers and even written a book together. Her help over this time has been invaluable. As many of you will know, she and the mighty Mick Taylor have recently moved to join Guy Miller at Citygate Church in Bournemouth. She has continued serving me from there for a number of months, but we have concluded together that the time has come to hand over.</p> <p>I suspect that my most ardent follower of this blog is my Mum. She reads every posting and claims it is the best way to keep up with the latest news. She, of anyone, knows my limitations when it comes to writing. I did not enjoy school - both my mum and dad can tell stories of difficult parents' evenings and their need for a sherry together afterwards. Val's skill as a writer has enabled me to share our journey at King's both locally and with a wider audience. She has always done this with remarkable creativity, patience and grace - she once said to me that the reason I tend to miss out words in a sentence is because my brain works so fast my writing cannot keep up with it!</p> <p>Val, I am extremely grateful for your amazing writing gift - your eye for grammar, spelling and style, but also your humility. There have been many occasions when I have read back over something I had drafted, and felt that it expressed the heart and content of my original message, but more clearly and strongly. Thanks especially for those occasional times when I have been particularly overrun and you have managed to create a great blog out of the very little I have given you. You will be a hard act to follow.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-12-19</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Home...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/16</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/16</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/16/blog_HOME_2014_Lee.jpg" /><p>The word &lsquo;home' conjures up all sorts of pictures and meanings for different people. For some of us we think of an island or a country where the sun always shines! But even here in London, it's great to come home at the end of a busy day and get out of the rain and cold. Home should be a place of warmth and safety, a place where we give and receive care and love and into which we can welcome others. For those who call King's Church London 'home', we have seen over the last year even more people welcomed and becoming part of the King's family. I'm delighted that three months after the opening of our new Lee auditorium it was full for our first <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/home/">King's Carol Service</a> last Sunday evening - a fantastic start to our Christmas celebrations! <strong>Home</strong> is our Christmas theme this year and our goal is to help many more members of our local communities find their own way home to a heavenly Father who longs to welcome them!</p> <p>With that in view, I would like to invite you to join with me this coming weekend at one of <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/home">our eight remaining Carol Services</a> - don't stay at home! Come along, bring a friend or family member, and let us celebrate together the coming of the Saviour of the world!</p> <p>There are five remaining <strong>KING'S EVENING CAROL SERVICES</strong> at the Catford site. The services include carols, readings, some performance pieces and a short talk.<br /> <br /><strong>Saturday 20th</strong> - 5pm &amp; 7.30pm at Catford<br /><strong>Sunday 21st </strong>- 2.30pm, 5pm &amp; 7.30pm* at Catford<br />*BSL interpretation at this service</p> <p>And site Carol Services will take place on the morning of <strong>Sunday 21 December at 10.30am</strong> - at Catford, Downham and Lee.</p> <p><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/home"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.org/images/slider/advert-home.jpg" alt="Christmas Carol Services" width="451" height="254" /></a></p> <p>Meanwhile, we also remember those for whom a physical home is an issue. Simon Allen and his team at our&nbsp;<strong><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/socialaction/">Jericho Road Project</a></strong>, which reaches out to rough sleepers and those with life-controlling issues and addictions, have been working hard to add further funds to support this great work through the sale of <strong><a href="http://www.kingschristmastrees.org">King's Christmas Trees</a></strong>. All the trees are now sold! And we heard late last night that Mike Reich and the <strong><a href="http://www.bigredbox.org">Big Red Box</a></strong> project team have more than met their goal of 1,000 filled food boxes for distribution to local community members for whom Christmas will be a time of financial hardship. That's a brilliant effort! Our thanks to all of you who have volunteered for these two great causes and are extending the love of God beyond our immediate circles.</p> <p>Finally, I want to wish you all a wonderful Christmas time! I hope you will enjoy a break and a rest, get to be with family and friends and recognise again and value the great gift we have in Jesus, who welcomes us all and makes his home with us.</p> <p>A joyful Christmas to you all!</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-12-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Living in London</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/15</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/15</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/15/blog-home-evening-carol-services.jpg" /><p>When Deb and I moved from our home town of Bedford just under twenty years ago our main motivation was to serve God and place ourselves in a context where we could reach as many people as possible for Christ! I concluded that if you wanted to reach a nation you had to reach the capital city. Each one of us is called to serve God wherever He places us, in village, town or, in our case, a global city like London.</p> <p>Urban life has its challenges - we now live in the borough of Lewisham, one of the most densely populated - and are a fifteen-minute train journey from central London and its cultural venues and historical sights. From the top floor of our house we can see Canary Wharf and the skyline of the city of London. Meanwhile, the combination of traffic, noise and the pace of city life can be demanding.</p> <p>But! We love living in London; it's our home and the city provides many great opportunities along with any challenges. This week our youngest son, Sam, is on work experience - like our other two sons before him he is working in the city, in an office right next to the Gherkin building in a large and successful insurance company, learning about life and work in that context. We are grateful to our good friend Peregrine who has been brilliant in giving Sam this opportunity, one unlikely to have happened had we lived elsewhere.</p> <p>As for our church, I am often asked why King's has grown so much over recent years. One clear reason is - there are a lot of people here! That's why, over the next few weeks, King's will host <a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/home/">nine Carol Services</a>, each expressing our heart, to reach lost people and call them home to their Maker and Saviour.</p> <p>It is also the motivation behind our <strong><a href="http://www.bigredbox.org" target="_blank">Big Red Box</a></strong> initiative. Mike Reich and his fantastic team are aiming for 1,000 food hampers for distribution to some of the most disadvantaged people in our southeast London communities. Currently there are 583 filled boxes - 130 already distrbuted but hundreds more in the auditorium awaiting delivery! At the same time Simon Allen and his team have done an excellent job this year with the <strong><a href="http://kingschristmastrees.org">King's Christmas Trees</a></strong> initiative. All the trees have now been sold - 438 of them! All profits go to support the <strong>Jericho Road Project</strong>, our social action ministry, reaching out and giving support and food to those who live on the streets.</p> <p>So with the same motivation over our original call and move to London, can I invite you to join with me this Christmas by being there at one of the <strong>Carol Services</strong> and inviting your friends and family members to come along too... and together, let's reach London for Christ!</p> <p><em>There are six <strong>KING'S EVENING CAROL SERVICES</strong>, hosted at the Catford and Lee sites. The services involve carols, readings, some performance pieces and a short talk.</em></p> <p><em><strong>Sunday 14th</strong> - 5pm* at Lee<br /><strong>Saturday 20th</strong> - 5pm &amp; 7.30pm at Catford<br /><strong>Sunday 21st</strong> - 2.30pm, 5pm &amp; 7.30pm* at Catford<br />*BSL interpretation at these services</em></p> <p><em>And site Carol Services will take place on the morning of <strong>Sunday 21 December</strong> at 10.30am - at Catford, Downham and Lee.</em></p> <p>Further details found at&nbsp;<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/home"><strong>kingschurchlondon.org/home</strong></a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-12-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>One Focus</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/14</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/14</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/14/blog-home-evening-carol-services.jpg" /><p>This is a busy time of year - I realise that many of us feel there is so much to do in order to be ready for celebrating this great season with family and friends. So, I'm keeping this blog to one point and just one point!</p> <p>It's a simple message - in the midst of all your preparations please keep your focus on our <strong>King's</strong><strong>&nbsp;Carol Services</strong> and at the top of your list of things to do put <strong><em>&lsquo;Remember to pick up tickets this Sunday'</em></strong> for you and your family and friends!</p> <p>Our theme is <strong>&lsquo;HOME</strong>' and we are praying that these carol services will be the means of starting yet more people on that wonderful journey of coming home and finding a Heavenly Father who loves them. Keep praying for those you have invited (and are going to invite!) - as a result there will be some people having a wonderful Christmas gift - that of new life in our fantastic Saviour. That's our real focus!</p> <p>There are six KING'S CAROL SERVICES, hosted at the <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/catford/">Catford</a> and <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/lee/">Lee</a> sites. The services involve carols, readings, some performance pieces and a short talk.</p> <p>Sunday 14th - 5pm* at Lee<br />Saturday 20th - 5pm &amp; 7.30pm at Catford<br />Sunday 21st - 2.30pm, 5pm &amp; 7.30pm* at Catford<br />*BSL interpretation at these services</p> <p>And site Carol Services will take place on the morning of Sunday 21 December - one meeting at 10.30am at each site.</p> <p>Further details can be found on <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/home"><strong>kingschurchlondon.org/home</strong></a>.</p> <p>Meanwhile, enjoy your preparations!</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-12-04</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Help! Christmas is coming...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/13</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/13</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/13/advert-home.jpg" /><p>Four weeks today is Christmas Day. The Tibbert family love Christmas - a definite favourite time of year, but if it's going to be a success now is the time for action! It's time to get everything in place for the festive season...</p> <p>So, we have ordered our <strong><a href="http://kingschristmastrees.org" target="_blank">King's Christmas Tree</a></strong>. (Check!)</p> <p>We have picked up our <strong><a href="http://bigredbox.org" target="_blank">Big Red Box</a></strong>. (Check!)</p> <p>We have begun to invite friends and family members to the <strong><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/home/">Carol Services</a></strong>, where the theme this year is <strong>Home</strong>. Please join us and continue to pick up flyers and tickets for the One Church evening Carol services. There are still more people the Tibbert family intend to invite along so the &lsquo;check' will have to wait on that one!</p> <p><img style="float: right;" src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/1411_ST_and_Krish_Kandiah.jpg" alt="Steve and Krish Kandiah" width="178" height="125" />In the midst of all our Christmas planning, yesterday I had the privilege of meeting Krish Kandiah, the founder of <strong><a href="http://www.homeforgood.org.uk" target="_blank">Home for Good</a> </strong>and President of the <strong><a href="http://www.lst.ac.uk" target="_blank">London School of Theology</a></strong>. We had a great time together sharing our stories and it was exciting to show him around our Lee site.</p> <p>On the Tibbert home front we will be hosting Deb's parents on Christmas Day and having a day with the extended Tibbert family members over the following weekend - we need to make sure everything will be in place. I know that many of you will be making similar plans and preparations. This is a busy time of year, but let's continue in the midst of all the activity to remember and rejoice that a Saviour has been born - more than that, this Saviour has come and made His home with us. Over the last few weeks at King's, over fifteen people have made first time commitments to Christ! They have come home to the Father in and through Christ, and there is now much rejoicing in heaven!</p> <p>Help! Christmas is coming! But for those who have become Christians amongst us recently, Christmas has come early. Praise God!</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-11-27</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Bournemouth, Brighton and Christmas!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/12</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/12</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/12/Christmas_at_Kings_2014_How_to_get_involved_web.jpg" /><p>Yesterday, after spending a day with Guy Miller and the <a href="http://www.citygatechurch.net">Citygate</a> eldership team, I had the opportunity to visit Mick and Val Taylor in their new home in Bournemouth. It was fantastic to see these dear friends and to catch up on news together. They are settling in well and I'm glad to say that Mick will be preaching here at King's next year on Sunday 3rd May, a day not to miss.</p> <p>On Friday and Saturday this week Deb and I are speaking at a weekend for the <a href="http://cck.org.uk" target="_blank">CCK Brighton</a> elders and leaders, along with their spouses. We are looking forward to spending time with our friends Joel and Katie Virgo, who lead this fantastic church. We have been asked to speak on the subject of <em>Marriage &amp; Ministry</em> and would value your prayers that we would serve this great church well.</p> <p>On Sunday I am looking forward to speaking on our Catford and Lee sites as we continue our series <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/resources/audioseries.php?filter=Making%20Life%20Work"><em>Making Life Wor</em>k</a>. I hope you are enjoying this series!</p> <p>Meanwhile Christmas continues to rush toward us! It's not too early to be making plans for who you will invite to one of our fantastic evening <strong>Carol Services</strong> - nor to pick up your tickets in faith that your invitation will be accepted! These are events that take time and energy to produce, with high quality levels of contributions and are always received well. God has done amazing things through our Christmas events - there are people in the Kingdom and serving in King's today because one day someone invited them along. Did they know then that it would be a life-changing event? Probably not - but in God's great plan they were brought into the family of God! As a result lives are being changed!</p> <p>We can also take part in blessing those outside the church who feel themselves to be on the edge of society. King's volunteers will be out and about at local supermarkets from this Saturday collecting packets and cans of food for the <strong><a href="http://bigredbox.org" target="_blank">Big Red Box</a> </strong>appeal. If you would like to help with this then details are available on the website. And how about ordering your Christmas tree from <strong><a href="http://kingschristmastrees.org" target="_blank">King's Christmas Trees</a></strong> and supporting the homeless through the <strong>Jericho Road Project</strong> as you enjoy a really great tree as part of your Christmas? As the Sainsbury's ad reminds us - 'Christmas is for sharing!'</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-11-20</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Coaching and Christmas</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/11</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/11</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/11/advert-home.jpg" /><p>A recurring event in my diary, and one that took place again this week was hosting the two days of coaching, on this occasion with ten teams of church leaders from across the UK. It is something that I consider a real privilege and at the same time find stimulating and encouraging - the attitude of those who attend is that in their desire to serve Christ and His church they want to lead well and to continue to grow in leadership. As I share something of what we have learnt (and are continuing to learn) here at King's, we are helping to prepare these leaders and their churches for the future.</p> <p><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/1411_Coaching_at_Lee.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="240" /></p> <p>Meanwhile, in case you haven't noticed, Christmas seems to be heading towards us at great speed! As you would expect, planning, preparation and prayer for the programme of events at King's have been going on for a while - those who were around on Sunday will have been able to pick up the list of Christmas events, along with information regarding serving opportunities and <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/home/Christmas_at_King%27s_2014_Leaflet_web.pdf">how to get involved</a>.</p> <p>The theme of our Christmas events is <strong><em>&lsquo;Home'</em></strong> and we will be unpacking thoughts and ideas around this topic in our Carol Services and Christmas meetings. Now is definitely the time for us all to be preparing - not only with gifts and cards and planning visits to family and friends, but also thinking about who we will invite to the Carol Services. Christmas is a fantastic season when friends and neighbours are often more open to invitations to come along. Let's make the most of these opportunities!</p> <p>Tickets and flyers for the <strong>evening </strong><strong>Carol Services</strong> will be available from next Sunday and apart from the five to be held as usual at the Catford site on <strong>Sat 20th</strong> and <strong>Sun 21st</strong>, this year there will be <strong>an evening Carol Service at the Lee site</strong> on <strong>Sunday 14th December at 5pm</strong> - a new venture!</p> <p>Our <strong><a href="http://bigredbox.org" target="_blank">Big Red Box</a></strong>&nbsp;project will be taking place again this year - you can collect your box/boxes to fill on Sunday, along with a list of contents to put together. These boxes of food have been a real blessing in past years to those for whom life is hard and as the boxes are distributed by Social Services and other dependable agencies we know they bring some festive cheer to those who would not otherwise have much with which to celebrate!</p> <p><strong><a href="http://kingschristmastrees.org" target="_blank">King's Christmas Trees</a></strong>, another venture we are continuing from previous years, are already doing brisk trade - 86 trees already sold as I write this! All profits from the sale of these good quality trees go to support the <strong><a href="http://www.kingschurchlondon.org/socialaction/">Jericho Road Project</a></strong>&nbsp;- Simon Allen and his team are aiming to sell a magnificent 430 trees this year!</p> <p>Further details about Christmas at King's can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/home"><strong>kingschurchlondon.org/home</strong></a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-11-13</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Love my job!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/10</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/10</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <p><em>Tuesday </em>- meetings all day, good progress made. <br /><em></em></p> <p><em>Wednesday</em> - preparation for preaching this coming Sunday from the book of Proverbs, title: '<em>Choose Friends Carefully</em>', and planning ahead with the King's team for 2015. <br /><em></em></p> <p><em>Today</em> - visiting the fantastic church in High Wycombe led by my friend Neil Bartlett.</p> <p><em>Tomorrow and Saturday</em> - joining all our Pastors and senior staff team and their spouses for 24 hours away together. Our guest speakers are Ian and Heather Galloway who serve and lead the Newcastle Newfrontiers church and who have a wealth of experience and insight for us to benefit from as a team.&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Sunday</em> - preaching four times at our Catford and Lee sites.</p> <p>A full and fruitful week!</p> <p>Returning from a productive trip to India and Dubai, most of this week has been focused on serving King's. I love this church, made up of so many amazing people!</p> <p>I have just heard that we reached the sum of &pound;59,400 in October's giving towards our multi-site offering! A remarkable result - and so close to our target of &pound;60,000. Thank you to all who contributed so faithfully and generously.</p> <p>Can I invite you to join us this weekend at any of our six meetings across our three sites? I look forward to seeing you at King's this weekend...</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-11-06</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Good afternoon from Dubai!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/9</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/9</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <p>Dubai is an amazing place! It has a skyline like a major American city and includes the tallest building in the world. It is a place of contrasts - you can hear the muezzin give the call to prayer as you walk through a shopping mall of such size that it would dwarf Bluewater. And at the same time there are beautiful views to be had of the desert that surrounds it, wonderful sunsets - and then there are camels!</p> <p>This is our stopping off point after our week in India and tomorrow we return to London. The trip has been very fruitful but there is no place like home! We are grateful to our parents and to the fabulous Allen family for taking care of Sam while we have been away. It has been a privilege to see what God is doing among these nations!</p> <p>I heard yesterday from King's that our Multi-Site offering for this month now stands at &pound;57,000 so we are very close to reaching our &pound;60,000 target - this is great news and a brilliant encouragement to us all! Thank you to all for your amazing response and generosity. Praise God!</p> <p>I'm looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday when we'll be continuing our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/resources/audioseries.php?filter=Making%20Life%20Work"><em>Making Life Work</em></a> series. It has begun well and I know it will be of great use and blessing to us all.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-10-30</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>News from Freetown and a visit to India and Dubai...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/8</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/8</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <p>Last Sunday evening it was a privilege to speak with Wilben Short in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to hear from former King's leaders the challenges Sierra Leone is facing. Both Wilben and Clare are in good heart, while the situation particularly for the disadvantaged in that country is heart-rending. When the Shorts decided to return to their country to work for the good of their land, who knew that they would be facing such times as these? Only God. Please continue to pray for Wilben and Clare, for the fight against Ebola in West Africa, and the local and international leadership in all they face.</p> <p>Deb and I arrived in Delhi late last night. It's an amazing city in the north of India where we are visiting our long-time friends Tim and Liz Brown. When we leave here we fly down to Mumbai for 24 hours before ending our trip to India with 48 hours in Bangalore. Although these are short stays we are glad to be able to visit these great cities that God loves and has a plan for! Finally, we stop off at Dubai to spend some time with Steve and Heather Oliver before we return to London. Please pray for good travel and good health and that God will guide and bless our conversations.</p> <p>We leave King's in good heart following our highest ever Sunday on a normal week, with growth on all our sites. Praise God! Are you enjoying our <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/resources/audioseries.php?filter=Making%20Life%20Work"><em>Making Life Work</em></a> series? I wonder if our increased attendance is due to this great series? Do come this Sunday - the title of the message is <em>Develop Discipline</em>. It will bless you and will do you good!</p> <p>We still have a little way to go towards our total of &pound;60,000 for our multi-site offering this month - at the moment the total stands at just over &pound;50,000. If you have yet to contribute please come ready to give this Sunday (or you can do so <a href="https://www.kingschurchlondon.org/giving/onlinegiving.php">online</a>). God is at work! We are grateful for all His blessings, including a generous people!</p> <p>King's! We are a church made up of the nations - can I ask you to pray particularly for the nations of India, Dubai and Sierra Leone this week? God is at work in each of these countries too - our prayers are part of our support for the people of these great nations!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-10-23</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Graduation day...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/7</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/7</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/7/advert-gift-days-oct14.jpg" /><p>Never a dull moment in the Tibbert household, with another landmark day on Tuesday this week as we celebrated Ben getting his degree. A very proud father-and-mother moment! The week has also involved Deb being away on a school trip, so the household routine is falling apart in her absence. Take-away meals all week - a complete lack of integrity after <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/resources/audioseries.php?filter=Making%20Life%20Work">my challenge on Sunday</a> to eat and live healthily. Fortunately, I believe in and practice the principle of grace, but I am planning to go running over the weekend.</p> <p>Following the brilliant Willow Global Leadership Summit last weekend, I am now passing on much of what I learned to a group of lead elders who have arrived for two days of coaching - always a stimulating event!</p> <p>At the same time preparations are in place for our trip to India next week. We will visit Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Please pray for good travel and protected health for Deb and I as we seek to encourage those we meet in this amazing and significant nation. We will also spend a few days in Dubai before returning home.</p> <p>Back here in southeast London our focus is on our monthly Multi-Site Gift Day offering this weekend. I ask again that whichever meeting you attend you come <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/giving/">prepared to give</a> - reaching our target of &pound;60,000 would be such an encouragement to us all. I believe we can do it!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-10-16</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Global Leadership Summit</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/6</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/6</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/6/advert-gls2014-350.jpg" /><p>Bill Hybels is one of most influential Christian leaders of our generation. He is also one of the most focused people I have ever met, as I found out some time ago when I was fortunate enough to have lunch with him. He was clearly a man with a desire to see the gospel of Jesus go forward - a great motivation to have. Willow Creek Community Church, which Bill Hybels leads, has become a byword for reaching out to those seeking God and is a church that has worked at refining a sensitive approach to seekers as the people of Willow declare the Good News of Jesus.</p> <p>So, I am delighted that once again over the next two days we will be hosting the annual <strong><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/gls">Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit</a></strong> here at King's, this Friday and Saturday, at the Catford site. There are available places still to be had - if you would like to come along on the 10th and 11th and register for this videocast conference. It will be well worth it!</p> <p>Then on Sunday I will be speaking again at our Catford and Lee sites in the second week of our series based in the book of Proverbs - <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/resources/audioseries.php?filter=Making%20Life%20Work"><em>Making Life Work</em></a>. This series is already proving popular, with all the copies of the books (written by Bill Hybels) we had provided sold out last week! More were delivered to the King's office this week, ready for you to buy if you weren't able to get hold of one last weekend. And our Downham site will begin with the introduction to the series.</p> <p>Last Sunday saw another exciting milestone in the life of King's - <a href="https://vimeo.com/107901546/">the official opening of the new Lee auditorium</a>. We are already anticipating great gospel fruit from this wonderful resource but you will realize that there is still much work required in the rest of the building. Can I therefore ask you all to come prepared to contribute to our <strong>Multi-Site Gift Day</strong> this Sunday, when our target for October is &pound;60,000. We are eager to see even more gospel progress among the people and communities of southeast London. I believe it's what we are here for!</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-10-09</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Making Life Work</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/5</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/5</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/5/advert-MLW.jpg" /><p>We begin a new preaching series this coming Sunday entitled <strong>Making Life Work</strong>. It is based on a book of the same name by Bill Hybels - an immensely practical, readable and encouraging book - and draws on the wisdom teaching found in the book of Proverbs. We actually did this series 13 years ago, but 90% of the church was not around then - an amazing statistic! I'm looking forward to seeing how the riches of this Old Testament book will impact us as we go through the series.</p> <p>I began to think where we were 13 years ago as a church. Who could have imagined three sites, with six meetings over all, and three meetings at our Catford site alone? This Sunday also marks the opening of the refurbished auditorium at our Lee site and there will be an outreach morning this Saturday in preparation for the start of this new term.</p> <p><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/lee/"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/lee-auditorium-sep14.jpg" alt="New Lee auditorium" width="543" height="305" /></a></p> <p>There are people who are now a part of our church who were first contacted through our outreach mornings and we are preparing to welcome and care for even more people who are beginning their journey of faith! Our Alpha teams are preparing to welcome those we invite - be thinking and praying about who you can speak to about coming along to <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/alpha/">Alpha</a>. It's going to be a great year!</p> <p>Have you seen our billboards around the locality? Look out for them!</p> <p>And I wonder what God will do with us over the next thirteen years?</p> <p><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/lee/"><img src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/lee-launch-6-sheet-web.jpg" alt="Lee billboards" width="298" height="447" /></a></p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-10-02</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Growing in leadership</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/4</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/4</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/4/advert-gls2014.jpg" /><p>I am always as eager to develop my own leadership gift as I am to encourage others in our churches to do the same. This week I have had the privilege to gather with like-minded leaders from fifteen large churches from different countries across Europe - a great opportunity to think about and discuss together how we lead our churches! This event is hosted by Leadership Network and on this occasion we are learning from the leadership team of a large church called Gateway from the USA.</p> <p>Next week I am looking forward to hearing Dr. Henry Cloud speak at a day conference on <em>Leadership and Boundaries</em> - he has written an excellent book on the subject and was a contributor to the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit a couple of years ago.</p> <p>The following weekend there is the opportunity for many of us to benefit from the experience and wisdom of some first class leaders when King's hosts this year's <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/gls"><strong>Global Leadership Summit</strong></a> videocast conference at our Catford site. This great event takes place on <strong>Friday 10th and Saturday 11th of October</strong> and it's not too late to book in (there is a &pound;30 discount for regular King's attenders). I am looking forward to being there and to seeing as many of you as can make it - it will be well worth it! And with the conference fast approaching, it's the last chance to sign up for the GLS - sign in online <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/training/gls.php">here</a>.</p> <p>Whatever context in which you exercise leadership, whether at home, in a secular work context or in the life of the church, it is good to continue to have your leadership gift challenged, encouraged and stretched. Being faithful in these roles now will be essential preparation for whatever God has for us in the future! We have a great Biblical encouragement from Jesus for that in the Parable of the Talents! (Matt 25:14-30)</p> <p>So... can I ask you - how are you investing in your leadership development?</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-09-25</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Come and See!</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/3</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/3</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <p>Those of you who have been at King's for some time will know that September is the start of our church year. After the summer break there's a sense of another starting line for the life and ministry of our great church and this year is no exception! <strong>Vision Sunday</strong> marks the official start this coming weekend. &nbsp;</p> <p>I'm looking forward to preaching at all three sites this Sunday and sharing with you something of what I believe God is calling us to in the time ahead. I have given my talk the title - &lsquo;<strong><em>Come and See'</em></strong> and I look forward to seeing you there. This is a day not to miss! Please do all you can to be at one of the six meetings and come prayerfully prepared - as we look around at the communities we serve we have a great call on our lives to reach the lost people of southeast London - and beyond. Here's a short <a href="http://vimeo.com/106302700">video clip</a> to whet your appetite...</p> <p><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/106302700?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="543" height="305"></iframe></p> <p>Apart from taking time this weekend to consider the King's vision and our local mission, another great event rapidly approaches. We have been actively involved with the Willow Creek UK Association for some years and the <strong><a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/gls">Global Leadership Summit</a></strong>, which we will be hosting here at our Catford site takes place on Friday and Saturday <strong>October 10th-11th</strong>. This is always a brilliant couple of days.</p> <p>Entitled <strong><em>Lead Where You Are</em></strong>, this videocast event will give us the chance to hear world-class speakers from outside our usual network - men and women with experience and expertise in areas of leadership who have proved to be helpful to churches like us all over the world. The sessions are on video and there will be a well-stocked bookstall. Come and be inspired and encouraged! You can find further details and <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/training/gls.php">book online here</a>. A special rate of &pound;30 is available for regular King's attenders - book via the King's website!</p> <p>Each year in September we have been able to look back on all God has done for us as a church and all He has brought us through. We can also look ahead with faith knowing that He holds the future and has even more for us - it's His call! Let's enter into all He has for us with joy and resolve to follow and serve as His faithful people, covered by His grace. Come and see on Sunday!</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-09-18</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>Family matters...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/2</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/2</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/2/photo-wilben-and-clare-sep14.jpg" /><p>After a full and exciting last Sunday Deb and I had the privilege of hosting Wilben and Clare Short at our house. Wilben and Clare were key leaders here and part of the church family of King's during the last decade, but felt God call them back to their home nation, Sierra Leone, around three years ago. Following a very successful business career culminating in organising the London Olympic transport bid for 2012, Wilben felt called home to help rebuild his home nation. They are such an impressive couple - please do pray for them as they prepare to return once again, even with the challenges that the Ebola virus is creating in West Africa.</p> <p><img style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; float: right;" src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/photo-steve-nicholson-sep14.jpg" alt="Steve Nicholson at Lee" width="300" height="200" />This week we have had the privilege of being served by Steve and Cindy Nicholson our friends from the wider family of God from Chicago Evanston Vineyard, USA. Their visits are always significant for King's! What an amazing evening it was to gather in our new Lee auditorium last night - to praise God, receive from Him, and ask Him to move in power amongst us in the coming year.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img style="float: right; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" src="http://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/mce/photo-josh-tibbert-sep14.jpg" alt="Josh Tibber" width="300" height="200" />And we had another momentous day in the Tibbert household earlier this week when on Monday we took Joshua to his new university house in Portsmouth! After his year on FP Impact training he is ready for the new challenge but we miss him at home already. Another red-letter day for our family!</p> <p>This weekend sees another opportunity for us to gather to worship our wonderful God - do join us at one of our meetings, whether at Catford, Downham or Lee. See the relevant times of meetings <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org">here</a>. We also have the added blessing of dedications, where we will celebrate the joy of new birth and pray for the parents who will be raising the next generation as they seek God's guidance and the support of the church family in this vital task!</p> <p>At the same time in our church family our prayers are with the members of the Glanville family - Ruth Glanville passed away on Monday night, following a long stay in hospital. Ruth was a member at King's (and before that at Catford Hill Baptist Church) for over 50 years and headed up what became Wednesday Welcome. A service of celebration for Ruth's life will take place at King's on Friday 3rd October - further details to follow. Meanwhile, let's continue to pray for the Glanville family.</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-09-11</pubDate> </item> <item> <title>A new season...</title> <link>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/1</link> <guid>https://kingschurchlondon.org/blog/item/1</guid> <description><![CDATA[ <img src="https://kingschurchlondon.hyadcms.net/files/kingschurchlondon/blog-sharing/1/New_staff_with_Steve_Sep14_web.jpg" /><p>It was an interesting experience stepping back into the King's offices this week! I had a really enjoyable summer break, including a wonderful few days away with Deb to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, followed by our family holiday with the opportunity to play golf with my brother. Martin continues to make excellent progress and is now back at work, and I am now ready to go again here at King's!</p> <p>While I was away our offices have been reorganized (don't worry, I still found my desk where I had left it...) a sterling job by Tris Newman and Nigel Mumford which will enable staff members to communicate more easily and work together more effectively in their teams. So, not only were there familiar faces in new places but there are in addition new team members who have joined us this month. On Tuesday this week I had the joy of spending an hour with Ghulam Fernandes, Cindy Dickson, Simon Knightly, Charles Kimbangi, Joe MacNamara and Neal Glanville, the new members of King's team - I was so impressed with each of them.</p> <p>The beginning of this particular new church year also marks a new season in the life of Kings. Just over four years ago we acquired the building in Lee and we have just completed the next phase of its development - I know that the site members, who have faithfully pioneered that work for the last three years, will enjoy meeting in the new hall with the added facilities and freedom it will give. Mark Jeffery has been our &lsquo;man on site' during this work - thank you, Mark for your work! Let's continue to pray for growth there as well as at our Catford and Downham sites.</p> <p>And so we begin another year and another term of kingdom activity at King's. Coming up soon is the <strong>Willow Creek video Global Leadership Summit </strong>- we are hosting this major event at Catford on <strong>Friday 10th and Saturday 11th October.</strong> This is always an inspiring time and I would encourage those who can to come along. We will have guests and visitors from all over London and beyond, all keen to hear a wide range of gifted people speak about their areas of life and work. Among the speakers this year will be <strong>Bill Hybels</strong> and also <strong>Patrick Lencioni</strong>, who some of us heard at the HTB leadership conference last year. Also <strong>Susan Cain</strong> who has written a book called &lsquo;<em>Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Won't Stop Talking'.</em> If you would like a taster, her TED talk on the topic is available <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0KYU2j0TM4" target="_blank">here</a>. Booking for the conference is also online at <a href="http://kingschurchlondon.org/gls">kingschurchlondon.org/gls</a> where you will get all the information necessary.</p> <p>As we begin this term and the next phase of the life of King's let's be calling on God to direct our paths and ask Him for the power and energy to accomplish all He has for us in these days.</p> ]]></description> <pubDate>2014-09-04</pubDate> </item> </channel> </rss>