Today I remember the Last Supper. The last night Jesus spent with the disciples before he was crucified. The time when he must have had the agony of the next few hours on his mind. This was the whole point of his time on earth. His total mission. What strikes me most is what he chooses to do on this last night:
to eat with his friends
to wash their feet
to pray

I have mulled this and see this as a kind of ‘trinity of identity’.

Through the eating of the meal I see Jesus the human. The man who had needs, the man who got hungry, the man who had friends. The man who chose, on his last night, to invest just that little bit more of himself in that small group of disciples. The human Jesus putting friendships first. The human Jesus needing the presence of his friends around him.

Through the washing of his disciples feet I see Jesus the servant. The man who wanted to show others how much they were worth. The man who chose to humble himself in their presence. The man who sees the comfort and needs of others as priorities to be catered for. The main who simply came to serve.

Later, in the garden, he prays. When he is tired, when the strain is so great that he sweats blood he does not rest but he worships God. He does not give up, he gives himself back to God. He does not moan, he places himself totally in God’s hands. The man whose identity is totally dependent on his relationship with the Creator.

Jesus the human, Jesus the servant, and Jesus the son of God.

Hull YFC are being featured prominantly on Nailing the Cross on BBC1, Good Friday at 10am. Look out for it or set the VCR!

This morning I woke up to a great surprise. In front of me were 2 very proud children with swimming certificates and badges. Joe had swam 50 metres and Beth had swam an amazing 400 metres!

It was really fantastic to see the look of proud achievement on both of their faces. Today I have been th proud dad.

Those of you who, for some amazingly weird reason, come here and read regularly will know I have talked a little of heroes recently. I have a concern as to where our spiritual heroes such as Nouwen, Shepherd, Watson, Wigglesworth are today. There seems to be a lack of people to whom we look to for examples.

Last night I went to talk to about 60 people about the possibility of developing Gravesend YFC. This was a positive time and I hope things will develop. In fact, I think I will be quite surprised if the churches don’t develop a YFC work – but we shall see.

At the end of the meeting I met a lovely man called James. James is in his 60’s and is one of the leaders of a local church. James feels he is very out of touch with young people. In fact I thought James looked a bit like a younger Billy Graham as he had the hairstyle.

James’s church has no young people. In response to this they decided to run a Youth Alpha. James ran this with others in the church. 12 young people attended each of the 10 weeks. AT th end of the course no on wanted to accept Jesus and they all left.

A few week later James got a phone call from one of the mums of one of the girls who attended. She had returned from uni and could he come round please. He went, fearing the worst. To cut a lot story short, the girl wanted him to pray with her so she could become a Christian. He did, and she did.

immediately after she texted 10 of her friends: ‘I’m saved. Yippee!’ 1 texted back ‘I don’t believe you’. 3 other texted back to say they wanted to be saved to. These friends lived in Uxbridge and as James left he said he would be available if needed to help.

A few days later James joined a group going to Uxbridge and prayed with these girls friends in a local church hall of a pastor he knew. Within 48 hours James saw 4 new Christian teenagers – who know how many more of this group there are now as each went off to text their friends!

James is old. James does not speak the language of young people. James admits he is out of touch. James even wears a bright red ‘Jesus lives!’ badge on his lapel. James does, though, clearly have a heart for young people. James is in love with Jesus. James is one of the coolest people I have met in a long time. I think James is a hero.

I just spent my lunchtime watching the webcast of Tony Blair’s Faithworks lecture. Me and about 10 000 other people according to Steve Chalk.

I’ve campaigned for my party before, but hey … it’s who I am!

There were some comments and actions that encouraged me from the lecture:

Tony Blair made reference to the fact that nearly every community has valuable input from ‘the local church’. He particularly mentioned the fact that it is the church that it doing a lot of positive and good work with young people. ‘You inspire young people by being unashamed about your beliefs.’

Later when he took questions he made comment to the situation most of us find ourselves in at least part of the time. The situation of local government wanting what we do, but not wanting to be associated with our faith. Steve Chalk stated ‘ They want me to do the work, but they ask me to deny who I am’. Tony’s immediate response was

‘Local government needs to lose the hang up about that.’

Later Blair was pressed on his faith. Encouragingly he said he did not wish faith to become politically used as it is in America with the comment of – there is more to our faith than our worship, it is about our everyday actions as well.

Make Poverty History was discussed and endorsed. He stated that the main issue to fight for today was that of poverty, both home and abroad. Blair was given a white band by Steve Chalke – look tonight and in the future on the TV to see if he is still wearing it!

All in all I was encouraged to hear what was said – you can see all 3 lectures from Blair, Howard and Kennedy at the faithworks page linked above.

I received an email from Lenny Henry. That’s both Lenny and Dawn now. You could receive them too if you sign up for the Make Poverty History Campaign.

Seriously, the email was to inform me of a short video made by Nelson Mandela. You can watch it here.

When you have watched it, let other’s know about it too.

Poverty is not natural; it is man made.

This link is so funny and you must go and check it out. Thanks Richard for posting it.

It’s been a good day. I got good news from the doctor. A person I asked to be my accountability person said yes. I successfully booked locations for retreats and seminars. I encouraged someone with a simple phonecall. The youth group have just left after a really great night – although the house needs a bit of tidying!!

Usually I do not like Mondays. Boomtown Rat’s ‘I don’t like Monday’s‘ has always been a favourite song of mine that I have related to on a different level. Yes – I do still have an original vinyl copy; but I don’t have the ‘technology’ to play it anymore! Bizarre!

Tonight with the youth group we played the Trading Trainers game which we downloaded from the CAFOD site.

To be honest, I was a bit cynical about this role playing game, but the young people got into it and it really did give them a sense (even though small) at the great injustice of the trade world to those in places like Peru. It again reminded them of why we need to do something about Poverty – for good!

AS I looked around the room at the group we have I was struck by the amount of energy and potential that we had under one roof. The amount of transformational energy contained in this group is massive; and yet they need old people like Sarah, Wendy and myself to draw their attention to that, to believe in them, to encourage them and point out to them that they can make difference.

I wonder if the only thing that holds these young people back is their own disbelief in their potential?

We sang the Kendrick song, He walked where I walked, this morning in church. As I started to join in the first few words of the song:

He walked where I walk (echo)
He stood where I stand (echo)
He felt what I feel (echo)
He understands (echo)

I had a big question. Did he?
Yes I agree God was on earth, I agree with the statement he understands – partly. I have a big question over the rest and I find myself really wondering if Jesus has walked where I walked?

Jesus walked a very different planet. He experienced a very different humanity. A stressed, but still a very different, humanity.

Has Jesus experienced life in a fast moving, 21st century, post modern, post Christian and technologically advanced age? If he has not, then I can’t honestly sing that he has walked where I have walked, stood where I stand, felt what I feel. I guess a question of his understanding comes with that.

I guess we could argue Jesus is here all the time or that he is living through us. That would still mean his experience of 21st Century life would be as God, and not as a human being. Surely at best Jesus has had an experience of what life is like on earth, and because he is God that experience gives him a good basis to think what other stuff must feel like. Still, though, the experience is not first hand.

I can see what Kendrick is getting at here. God has created me, so in that sense he fully understands me. But knowing what it is like to stand where I stand, feel what I feel? I am not so sure. I wonder … he can observe my pain, my frustrations, my sense of hopelessness – and that saddens him. How, though, can he actually feel them if they are totally outside his experience when he was a human?

My point? Well I don’t know – it just grabbed me today! Except, one point, I guess, is that it has made me start to think about what we say and sing in our worship services. Could it be that it is very easy to write a song that says right and good things about God, but can still be a little inaccurate and possibly mis-leading in how those things are stated?

Kendrick fans … don’t hate me!

Yeaahh!!!
For the first time in months, and for the first time this year, the Gills are out of the relegation zone and it seems we may have a little more control over our fate!

C’mon you Gills!!

I’m now off to celebrate St Patricks’ Day a couple of days late with some friends! Another one of those meals where we use any excuse to get together; should be loads of fun – although I am having to go without Sarah which seems strange. The problems of not being able to get a babysitter – and Sarah being nice I guess!