Bible College of Wales (BCW)

Ahoy hoy everyone from Wales, time I suppose to talk to you lot about my little week.

Well it’s been an odd “Freshers Week” with absolutely very little fun times scheduled, most of it has been sitting in the lecture theatre going through the rules, systems and routines that the college needs to have in place to function. Which have been very interesting but also at the same time very frustrating since I’m a very impatient man.

Right now, my morning routine is to get up at 6am a true oddity for the people in this college and I go and pray at about half past six to half past seven. Read my bible from half past seven to eight o’clock and then have some much needed and deserved breakfast.

Things like that seem odd here, people turn and look at me surprised to see someone a) Spending so much time with God. b) Being so determined to do it.

So this is where I come in. (teeeheeee)

I have entered this college unashamedly biblical with a driving attitude to pull people into the word and into the bible and prayer. So I have been constantly talking about Bible Read-through Groups, constantly, constantly constantly talking about them. Inviting people who may be interested in joining, and we should be setting one up a week Monday.

I have taken a great page from Wades book and turned my morning time into a prayer time, in which to foster passion and growth in those around me, so I have invited everyone to come and pray with me in the mornings in the communal student lodge its called. I fully expect only a few people to show up, then a little bit more, then loads, God willing.

BCW is not everything I expected it to be, it’s hard living in a communal environment 24/7, really hard for me, as I need my quiet time. I have found it harder to spend time with God, but at the same time I have become more determined, much more so than when I was in Glasgow. Submitting to so many rules, when I have come from an environment that has almost none, and when there are some created I had an opinion to throw in on them, is perhaps, no it is the hardest things I’m trying to deal with.

A set routine, my day is planned for me. It’s almost impossible to do anything because of the community environment we need to ask for everyone opinions, make sure no ones offended. I struggle to have any time for stuff like that. I’m taking the hard-line stance of lets just pray in the mornings, and if people for some reason find it annoying in the communal area, then we will move. Instead of sending it to committee.

What about the church down here?

Well it’s a Lifelink church led by a man called Andrew Scotland. I have been to only one of their meetings so far which was on Wednesday night, and I can only say that I was seriously out of my comfort zone.

They are heavily charismatic. Biblical, with a whole range of spiritual gifts, but it’s something that’s completely alien to me. Having another pastor for a start is odd, having another mentor is very hard. People are here to teach me, and for this first week it’s been difficult, because for me to be taught I need to respect the person. Well that’s the general frame of mind. And there’s people I respect, there’s people who instantly gained it, but there’s others that I find it harder to respect because of their character. Something which I need God to work on significantly.

So I have a few prayer requests for you guys  back home.

1) That I would come everyday with a teachable spirit in humility and abandonment of pride.

2) God would provide me with the people I need, to accomplish the revival of Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

3) God would provide me with the remainder I need for my fees, £2000 worth I think…..

 Now the negative parts out of the way, what about the positive?

This place is just steeped in the Holy Spirit, truly steeped in the giftings of God. I have met so many wonderful students who have amazing stories to tell. One student has planted underground churches in China. Another is from Zambia and he leads hundreds of churches, he develops leaders, trains them, empowers them. This man I respect.

He has come from a position of great authority to learn, to submit himself with people twenty years his younger, and most probably a lesser spiritual maturity. I look forward to learning great things from this man over our nightly games of chess. It has become a quick tradition that after dinner I give him a game of chess, of which, I have yet to win a single game.

There’s many preaching opportunities, I look forward to practicing and spreading the gospel and evangelising Christians in churches that once were alive but now are dead. A great blessing something that I look forward to with great hope.

Hmmm what else. Good mentors are developing, they have an insightful college staff who are only too aware of the dangers of using the bible as a text book.

Pictures will come in time, I’m trying to get something that will transfer them on to the PC’s here.

Tick Tock

So here we are, after a whole long drought of waiting we come to it at last, my departure date.

Many people come and speak to me and say, so Dan are you excited about a new start, are you looking forward to the future? A relevant question considering the times, and with all questions asked or not I endeavor to answer them as fully and as laboured as possible.

But here there is a problem. I do not regard Wales as a new start. I will scould in the most serious manner possible anyone who disagrees. For Wales to be a new start means that everything in Re:Hope was and is irrelevent and thusly I must terminate everything that came before it.

I dislike that terminology. Wales is a continuation in my walk with God, a place where I can grow, learn and mature. Unfortunately Re:Hope is not the place to do that. There’s just too much going on, too much church stuff to distract me from that personal growth that’s required.

There’s a time for doing and there’s a time for listening. Even Jesus went out into the desert for a time, Wales, believe it or not I see as my desert experience. It is a place that I pray I will be able to deepen my relationship with God and at the same time pour the concrete foundations for my vision casting that’s been swamring around my head the past couple of years.

So, my mission should i chose to accept it. Work and pray through a revival into the United Kingdom.

How am I going to do it?

I am not. God is.

I firmly believe that I will see a revival in my lifetime, and my ministry is to be a part in that. Wales will provide me an environment where I can rest on God. Gather people with the same vision. Grow in my gifts and then, help me fall upon this country as I work in the name of Jesus Christ.

The above reason is why I love the name of Regarding Hope. I love the word HOPE. It means to much, it grabs the attention, it holds our sight upon a future where God will be glorified rather than us.

Well I’m going way off topic here, but whats new with these blogs.

P.S I put this blog through my blog spellchecker and I find it ironic that the word blog does not register.

I loathe boring sermons.

Brians probably reading this with a little unease right now, thinking what’s that little scumbag up to slagging off my sermon.

 

Don’t worry Brian, it’s not you, you can relax.

 

So wow yeah it’s been a long time since I’ve been to any other church apart from my beloved own, such a long time and truth be told I’m almost shocked at the state of the preaching that I had to endure today.

 

In case you don’t know I went to another church in the morning.

 

It was ehm…. Weird. Boring. Quiet. Hushed. Draaawn out and laboured in every sense of the word. Well the words that I could hear.

 

The congregation was middle aged to aged, it looked like it was getting ready or at least on the road to dying and I just sat there in one of the most awesome church buildings in Glasgow with a few tears in my eyes.

 

That this congregation with so much power behind it, almost a hundred people, was struggling to cope.

 

The sermon was long, over balanced and furnished with words that doesn’t connect to the new generation. Laboured and complicated is not how you convey the love of Jesus Christ. Well in my opinion anyway.

 

Though I suppose they have to stick with the theme. Grand. Opulent. Bass and all Cathedraldom.

 

So the message sucked and the teaching well I can’t really comment on the content as I could barely hear it. HOWEVER THE WORSHIP!

 

Now that was some good worship. Pipe Organ. Choir. Huge acoustically awesome sanctuary, a blast of a Kyrie before going into communion. I felt at home. Which is in some places a bad thing, since we’ve all established that my home is 1901.

 

ANYWAY, the point of all of this is. That I now know, what not to be like. And just how thankful I am that I get to listen to Brian every week.

 

END.

Our Church is Surrounded by Darkness.

Kelvingrove park, on the surface it is magnificent, beautiful, filled with plants and statues significant of Victorian times long passed. The area is filled with trees and shrubs, kept by local grounds keepers. It is the perfect place to be in the day time, it is after all a piece of nature within Glasgows condensed urban landscape, but it’s also an area that’s often ignored, never talked about and hushed up within our society.

Kelvingrove park has been dubbed by the press Glasgows worst cruising area for gay men. It is infamous at night, especially in the summer when Homosexual men go to the park looking for sexual favours in their droves. The same is with Queens park, Strathclyde, and probably many others. The darkness that exists is unmistakable with Satan calling people to quite literally risk life and limb to glorify himself.

Walking through the next day on your way to school or work, you can often see the remains of what’s been left behind from the night before. A bloodied bandage or piece of clothing nestled within some Tennants cans in the shrubbery.

Quite often the frequenters of these areas enter into a world of literal darkness. It is a place without light from the cities lamps and it is beyond the help or care of the local police force. The Scotsman featured an article about queer bashing squads that run about Glasgows West End, rampaging into these sordid areas hoping to kill a few men, who are often married and have families, yet are bound by Satans chains.

How fitting it is for the devil to pull people in and only have them attacked, maimed and killed. The fruition of his plots.

In many peoples opinions the rise of the internet only fuels this drive and desire, with many dating websites and other forms of communication only broadcasting areas such as Kelvingrove park, and the dangers that ensue. As a church so close to this area of natural beauty and sin. Is it not our responsibility to pray for quite an obvious hurting in Glasgows ignored culture?

Then we have Byres road, the merchant capital of the West End. It is a street filled with nothing but merchants and money. Everyone has a purpose often far from the glorification of our God. It looks fantastic on the outside, most people that walk down the road have the latest clothes, have done up their hair, have done everything possible to look great on the outside. Yet their hearts betray them. Money, Drink, Sex. Often on the minds of those who walk down the road. Is it our responsibility as a church to pray and with the spirit of God to change this culture?

Then we have Partick, just behind our building. An area marked by poverty and crime, by a youth culture that is seemingly bent of self destruction and annihilation. Where their art is a form of crime and their crime is an unspeakable deed. Glasgow is in trouble it seems and the more I type the more I realise just how our church is surrounded.

And to the North, we have the Great Western Road and her lines of pubs, converted churches, and churches that are so off mission that they are certainly not serving the lord and it just goes on from there. And as usual you have the typical problems associated with Glasgow. Violence, alcoholism, youth culture, it goes on.

And I think to myself, when I look at Regarding Hope in the middle of this square, surrounded by a culture that most Christians have no idea about and often go out of our way to ignore. What exactly is under our skin? And how, in the middle of all this, can we truly stay Holy and above reproach?

The West End is hurting. It needs help. Please pray the God would fill Kelvingrove park, that his word would descend on Byres, the Partick once known for its full churches would return and cry to the lord for salvation and that the times of binge drinking would fall away like a foul wind.

But there’s one thing that stands out, a metaphor if you will. A lone candle shines brightest in the darkest of places. Let Re:Hope be that candle I pray. Amen.

 

Ladies, prepare to spend some money!

Yes here it is, when have you been washing the dishes and you’ve thought. I wish I knew what the time was, as you look up to the wall and find a clockless desert, barren of all things timeful.

Well, there no need to fear any more, be amazed at with the;
Murano Watch Waste Luxury Drain Plug clock.

 

 

Don’t you look at it and think, thats what I’ve always been missing when I use the sink?

 

Better Know a Ministry

This is going to be the first in a series of blogs entitled “Better Know A Ministry.” So in preparation for a long awaited discussion tomorrow, I’m going to just give a brief insight into Ellel Ministries. I’m not going to share my opinions, yet. Or share any of my bias or grid or whatever, instead I’m going to throw up a little video I found of Ellel Ministries and let you just have a little glimpse at what these people do.

The video is very cheeeeesy, be warned…. But it’s still good.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=f4c4db0902a8a395ced9

 

“Most churches I believe love their people, but don’t know how to set them free.” ~Pastor Harry Gillick.

 

 

My First Ever Message (because we’re too cool to call it a sermon.)

 

So it was almost a week ago today that I stepped onto the door that makes up our pulpit, for the first time as a preacher in the history of HUMANKIND and addressed our congregation, and thanks to podcast THE ENTIRETY OF THE WORLD!

 

That Sunday was an odd day for me, thirty or so people all looking at me, not realising that they were guinea pigs about to be tested upon with a whole range of pharmaceutical and cosmetic chemicals, which if used incorrectly would scour their minds, with discomfort and embarrassment at the trauma of my failure.

 

Now Sunday was an odd day, probably normal for you, but normal for me. I had truth be told fully expected not to get any sleep the night before, as in younger years all of my previous solo talks in school had garnished a delectable delight of midnight terror. But oddly, I had received a full nights sleep, well I would have, had it not been for the piles of neds celebrating their latest shot of buckfast for the fifth hour running.

 

So suffice to say I was up and out of the house early for prayer. It was a good time, Wade prayed for me, Jason was there doing his thing. I was there doing my thing and then they left and I got that whole big church building to myself.

 

The door (Pulpit stand thingy) looks much bigger when you’re standing on it. I suppose I sorta stood there for a few minutes just taking it in. I felt as though that big golden curtain covered monster threatened to gobble me up. It was as though the thing was growing, larger and larger until well you get the picture (INSERT HOLLYWOOD cliché’ WITH CHORAL MUSIC GOING OWWWWWWWWW)

 

Now lets be totally clear on this, the fact of speaking didn’t intimidate me. What did intimidate me though wasn’t the fact that there would be people there, but it was the sheer and irreducible responsibility that is charged to whoever walks up there and addresses Gods people in the name of God.

 

Wow, isn’t that a mind blower, that once I get up there, I have to leave my ego, my personality, my own hard selfish desires and own interpretation of the bible and preach truth, not my truth but Gods truth. That is no small goal, in fact it’s a darn hard one. So I was nervous, I was afraid of two things, not telling the truth, and abusing the authority I had up there.

 

So the day went on, I prepared my message, got to grips with the structure again, memorised a few parts, enjoyed reading out the scripture, and then would you believe it people arrived. And they started to ask questions….

 

“Are you nervous?”

 

“Well no, not really.”

 

“Aww sure you are, you’re nervous.”

 

“Ehh no I’m not, I’m really quite fine.”

 

“Listen here buddy, you’re going to be nervous if I have to grab a bag of insecurity and shove it down your throat. Do you hear me?”

 

So needless to say, that I wasn’t nervous until all of those people said I should be. Let me first of all thank them for their help, I am truly gratified.

 

So, I was at the end of it all a bit nervous when I went up there, it’s a scary thing. But I realised two things that instantly pulled away from the fear.

 

1) This is what God wants me to do with the rest of my life, why should you be afraid, be excited!

 

2) I read out the start of the service every Sunday, this is no different, only a bit longer.

 

So what did I learn!

 

I got major confirmation, I can tell you now that with 100% certainty preaching is one of my callings and yeah, it was awesome. I was very happy in the fact that the teaching from Brian, Stephen, Wade and all the others has rubbed off on me, as I was going through my message I just knew, that yup, this one is from Stephen, yup this advice is from Brian etc etc.

 

I do love it when you realise just how much God blesses you, though I couldn’t really take the time to reflect on it. I was talking you know.

 

I learned a few other things, that I never truly appreciated before. When you’re going to preach, you want people to be praying for you. You almost want to be jealous in the prayers. After giving a message is one of the hardest times in your life. Reflecting on what people are saying, how they’re laughing and picking out the bad parts. Did the message get across? Did you just abuse the authority God allowed you to have today? Why should you do it again after such a disaster?

 

So, a new golden rule I’ve made. No criticism until the Tuesday after the sermon. Responsibility of preaching is a huge thing, such a huge thing to me that I suppose it was going almost legalistic.

 

The enemy is excellent at plaguing on even Godly fears.

 

END.

A great deal of nothing

Ahoy hoy, well I’m going to make a blog on Sunday later on today, however before I do that, I just want to let all the people who are asking me about the Italian Star Wars Fan Film Dark Resurrection know, that yes it is out and it has been released in English subtitles.

May I say, that it is excellent in quality acting and storyline as well as action sequences and that if you’re a fan of any form of Sci Fi, then this is certainly the film for you.

http://www.darkresurrection.com/index_eng.html

There is the link and enjoy.

Also, time is closely approaching for me to pop off to Wales so if you would like to keep in touch with what I’m up to down there, then please send me an E-mail and I will add you to my address list.

Some Odd laws

No cows may be driven down the roadway between 10 AM and 7 PM unless there is prior approval from the Commissioner of Police.

Since 1313, MPs are not allowed to don armor in Parliament.

All English males over the age 14 are to carry out 2 or so hours of longbow practice a week supervised by the local clergy.

London Hackney Carriages (taxis/cabs) must carry a bale of hay and a sack of oats.

Any person found breaking a boiled egg at the sharp end will be sentenced to 24 hours in the village stocks (enacted by Edward VI).

Chelsea Pensioners may not be impersonated.

In New York:

The penalty for jumping off a building is death.

In Washington:

No person may walk about in public if he or she has the common cold.

When two trains come to a crossing, neither shall go until the other has passed.

In Texas:

A recently passed anticrime law requires criminals to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed.

A Big Deal over Nothing.

What a couple of weeks its been, a good few weeks, a busy few weeks but most importantly a God filled few weeks.

 

To quit my job and lay everything on Gods provision is something that I keep on referring to. How its an act of faith, how it’s something that I can’t wait to see fulfilled. But it’s also a small act of fear.

 

I am afraid of what could happen. If I don’t go to Wales. Where will I go? where will I stay? how will I do it? Will I get in the queue for the train without any money? So many questions all meaning the same thing.

 

But, there is one simple sentence that I remind myself of. “Doubting in God, for even a moment, is the gateway to ruin.” (Yes I did just quote myself.)

 

So I’ve been overjoyed with being in this place, I have been overjoyed with these questions floating around my head. Not daring to ask them, simply daring to believe.

 

I think Brian said it best on Sunday there, that we are a civilisation that believes God isn’t capable. It’s true we are. But slowly and surely, we’re moving forward. I only wish that it didn’t take results for us to trust in the Lord of Lords.

 

But yet it’s important that we don’t ignore them either. Here’s a few of places where Gods moved majorly in my life.

 

1. We’re back in the awesome red building thanks to GOD!

2. We’re growing and taking on the challenges we face, thanks to GOD!

3. In our year of mission, GOD is bringing us missionaries. I just met one yesterday going to Cambodia. Praying for him was one of the most awesome things I’ve done.

4. GOD PROVIDES! Right now I’m homeless, yet thanks to Tony Gaston, I have a roof over my head until I go to Wales. What a BLESSING.

5. A COMMUNITY that isn’t COMPLACENT!

 

Why am I making such a big deal out of this? Who knows.