A common "folk Christian practice" that is fraught with dangers

The Bible - it is the inspired word of God 2 Timothy 3: 16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

The Bible has a level of authority no other recorded utterance possess. That's the meaning of divine inspiration. There is no "extra-biblical" revelation that reaches this kind of inspiration. The scriptures are the authority and every other "word from God" is to be judged by it! We know we need to read it and study it - but how much time do we dedicate to the task and how passionately do we pursue biblical truth?

The "God-told-me" deception is a powerful bit of folk Christian practice today. If you preface your comments with "The Lord told me..." you set yourself up so no one can counter your comments. This practice is dangerous and can lead to deep deception. Be careful how you use the phrase "I have had a word from the Lord."

1 Corinthian 14: 29 says, "Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said." Paul is speaking to the church at Corinth so as to bring correction and clarity to that church.

Paul's comment here holds a powerful principle - when someone speaks and declares they have a word from God - then that word should be able to stand up to the scrutiny of other mature people within the church.

Can you imagine a church or a body of believers where any one can stand up and say, "I have a word from God." But there is no one to bring any kind of accountability and if necessary correction? That would be a recipe for disaster and total confusion.

There are some who feel that their word from God gives them immunity from accountability - in my years of ministry I watched literally hundreds of people walk into deception, lose the plot and their destiny and wonder why it all went so wrong. If they had been open to correction, if they had been open to the wisdom of other godly leaders they would not have had such heart ache!

It was tweeted yesterday, "Submission to Godly leadership will always release the FAVOUR of God into your life."

Proverbs 11:14 says, "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety."

Can your "word from the Lord" stand up to the scrutiny of other mature leaders; does it flow with the conventional wisdom of scripture?

Spiritual deception comes in when people are unaccountable or irresponsible. Through their own adherence to this folk Christian practice and their own immaturity people wonder why they lost their way, lost their passion and lost their friends!

They wavered from truth and swallowed a lie - they had a subtle shift in convictions from what the bible says to some flaky spooky bit of subjective experience.

I overheard a couple of guys talking after their ordination service some years ago, which was run by their denomination. One said to the other, waving his plastic card around, “It’s only a piece of paper.”

I couldn't hold myself back. I went over and asked to look at it and then proceeded to throw it away in a nearby bin.

“Hey!” he said! “What are you doing?” I looked him in the eyes and said to him, “You said it was just a piece of paper so I was going to throw it away for you.” He looked a bit chastened when I handed it back to him.

Some people think that ordination is just a piece of paper. But is it? Is it really just a piece of paper?

What ordination represents is so much more than a piece of paper. But hang on to the paper. The paper is the sign – it’s the symbol, it’s the endorsement it’s the stamp of recognition from a group of others who have seen a divine calling on your life. They now want to publicly agree with the Holy Spirit and acknowledge your calling as true and authentic; they want to make a public declaration.

There are many people walking around today as self authorised, self proclaimed and self declared “ministers of the church.” They have no authorising body and no one in positions of authority recognising their ministry or calling. They are under no authority and relate to no one in positions of authority. They have had no formal theological training and no one in church ministry recognises them as ministers of the church. They are self proclaimed!

At this juncture red lights should be flashing and we should hear the sound of danger. Let’s look at scripture.

Acts 26:16, “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.”

“...to appoint you...” To make you – to make my choice of you; the original Greek seems to imply that Paul is being handled like a vessel in the hands of a potter. In clear terms Paul was being chosen and appointed by the risen Christ as a “servant” or minister of the gospel.

The Greek word used for minister here is “under – oarsman” the guy on the lowest level on a boat pulling the hardest and working the toughest job. (The story is found in Acts 9)

Acts 9:15 says that Paul is a divinely chosen instrument of God’s.  

Move forward now to Act 13 where “prophets and teachers” were gathered to fast and pray.

Let’s read the account; Acts 13:2-3, “While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

Note some very important ingredients;

1. The word of the Holy Spirit – no doubt being spoken through the prophets.

2. Direction from the Holy Spirit is to “set apart” – the Greek word is aphorizo (af-or-id'-zo); which means to separate or appoint – ordain is another word to describe this process.

3. Note these words; set apart for the “work to which I have called them.” This is clearly the work of ministry and it is a work they have been “called” to perform. Called by Christ; a specific and special calling of Christ to ministry. This is not the calling every Christian receives to serve in God’s House but is a designated call we ultimately see to be an Apostle.

Note Paul’s words in Romans 1:1, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.” He is set apart – aphorizo – appointed or ordained.

4. Here is where we get the procedure for our “ordination services.” The gathered group of prophets and teacher – leaders of the church in Antioch – did something to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit had indeed spoken. They laid their hands upon Paul and Barnabas and sent them. These words “sent them off” in the Greek is one word meaning to set them free to do what God had called them to.

Let’s now move on a few chapters and we find Paul ordaining others to ministry.  Acts 14:23, “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”

I see a progression here that ordained people ordain others into the ministry. Follow the usage of the word in Acts and read further in Titus where another generation of ordained leaders are being instructed to further ordain others into ministry. (Titus 1:5)

We live in an interesting time in church history. It seems anyone who wants to be a minister can proclaim themselves a minister. They can set up a church and just start doing their thing. No one in the church even bats and eyelid – I mean hey! What’s going on here?

Paul’s tendency to highly charged and descriptive writing is interesting as he calls these self proclaimed kinds of people as “... false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:13) Deceitful in what way? Masquerading how? Interesting questions.

To the leader of the church in Ephesus Jesus commends them for making sure they have had to judge certain ministries; Revelation 2:2 says it all. “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.”

I’m not saying that every person with an ordination certificate is automatically to be trusted and seen as a true leader, or minister of Christ. What I am saying is never before have we needed to be discerning of those who proclaim themselves minister’s of Jesus Christ.

What I am also saying is your ordination certificate is far much more than a piece of paper. It is the recognition of other ministers that you are truly called to minister on the behalf of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:8-12, “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." It was He [Jesus Christ] who [gifted] some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Respectfully submitted by Tom Rawls

Lead Pastor of Proclaimers Norwich, UK

Tom & Denise are ordained minister of the Assemblies of God Australia

I stand in awe of some of histories revivals! They amaze me and quite frankly, confound me. How does it work? What makes them happen? Why do they happen in certain places and not others? My mind is in a spin.

Perry Noble once said, “You can never schedule a move of God but you sure can be prepared for one.” This wisdom struck me powerfully!

James 4:7-10 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

My preparations will always involve a life lived devoted to God!

1. Being submissive to His authority, sensitive to His voice open to His presence and always responsive to His word.
2. Resisting evil – seeking justice to rectify wrong doing
3. Accessing ever activity I can imagine to literally DRAW NEAR to HIM!
4. Living worthy of His name, marked by grace sowing to my spiritual life and reaping God’s nature
5. Remain ever humble before God so I can maintain a confidence before men

My prayer; “I am prepared God for you to move in my life, my relationships and in the church you have asked me to lead.”

Offence:a personal attack, and insult, an affront – Offence can be REAL or PERCIEVED; offence is when someone says or does thing that is insulting or hurtful, a comment or act that is thoughtless. 

You are offended when someone says or does something that causes you to react with resentment, annoyance, hurt or anger – it causes you pain, it can be like a slap in the face or an affront – you can become offended when you perceive someone has done you wrong – when you are slighted, ignored or slandered. Offence can be real - someone has gone out of their way to say or do something to hurt you - it can be a REAL attack.

 We can be genuinely offended– but like other negative emotions it isn’t something we want to live in and is a state we want to get out of as quickly as possible.

 We can genuinely forgiveand still feel the hurt, the outrage and the pain – very few people can forgive and forget – but we can release others form our judgement.

1. Brian Houston tweeted the other day; “No mature Christian, who is seasoned in the word, has any defendable excuse for living offended!”

Offence happens when we are hurt, criticised, gossiped about, betrayed by a friend or someone whose loyalties you were sure of turns on you. It hurts; it is painful and it’s real. But for your health sake – you don't want to live offended when there is an alternative.

There are two extremes in people as well – there is the person in a perpetual state of offence – these people are incredibly prickly. There seems like there is nothing you can say without them getting offended – they live a life of high drama.

There is a person who also lives in this highly reactionary state and it seems like every time they open their mouth they are offending people and hurting people with their words. They live in a storm of controversy; they are critical, confrontational and rude. 

Offence is a reactive state not a responsive state – not all reactive states are bad but they're energy consuming – it takes a lot more emotional energy to live offended than it does to respond with love, grace, kindness and understanding.

I’m sure you have all experienced offence at some stage of your life

It can be a teacher who upset you, a boss who was rude to you

A friend’s criticism, a husband’s harsh words

A wife’s thoughtless remarks, a child’s angry words or a friend’s correction

Surprisingly, God’s word has a lot to say about this subject of offence: Firstly, an overarching principle about living; Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” This is wisdom. 

Wise people deploy discretion, prudence and good judgement – foolish people blurt out whatever is on their mind. You’ve heard the phrase, “He speaks his mind?” This is not always a wise thing to do.

Words are the major carriers of offence. It’s what we say that offends other. Proverbs 16:23-24, “A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction. Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

Proverbs 18:19 sets up the classic example of what happens when a person is offended;  it says, “An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.” It’s hard to talk to someone who has become offended – sometimes you need to wait until they come out of the reactive state and return to normality

Proverbs 25:28 gives us the opposite view that when we lack restraint and strength of mind we become like a city with its walls broken down and we are open to a raiding party at any time; “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”  Self control is a wonderful emotion and a fantastic personal discipline. It is a strength of will and according to Galatians “... a fruit of the Spirit.”

Proverbs 16:32is again a great encouragement to learn self control and restraint; “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” KJV

How do we apply these scriptures?

1. If you haven’t been offended yet just wait awhile – prepare for offence and have a follow up plan that involves forgiveness, understanding and insight – people speak offensively for a reason – hurt people hurt people

       2.  Remember your personal opinion is just that – a personal opinion. So beware of allowing or even desiring for your personal convictions to become a public value

       3.  Stop trying to judge a person’s motivations – you are not the Holy Spirit – what you perceive may not be true – get over it and move on – take the moral high ground

       4.  Correction is an important way of learning – stop letting pride ruin your experience and learn to receive correction well and not get offended

       5.  There are people who will inadvertently hurt you and offend you – offer understanding and forgiveness and move on

Proverbs 17:9 says, “He who covers over an offence promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.”

Proverbs 19:11, “A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offence.”

      6.  Living perpetually offended makes you sick emotionally – as human beings we were not created to harbour offence – it turns into bitterness

Ephesians 4:30-32, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

      7.  Offence is like a wall you build around yourself making hard for others to get close to you - Proverbs 18:19, “An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city.”

       8.  Offence separates you from others – the most given reason why people leave a church is they were offended  - Proverbs 17:9, “He who covers over an offence promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.”

• Be wise – there are certain people who it is in their nature to want to offend you, they will want to strike out at you, rile you up, wind you and make you want to strike back – recognise those people like a rerun of CSI and stay away from them, limit your association with them

• Be wise – don’t live in an offended state but offer forgiveness to those around you – walk in understanding and insight – walk in forgiveness devoid of malice

• Be wise and speak with grace Colossians 4:6, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, and seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

• Be wise – don't let the sun go down on your angry expressions with others but walk in forgiveness Ephesians 4:26-27, “In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Anger is a worthless expression of emotion when directed at a person or people – direct it at a problem and you’ll find a solution

• Be wise – walk in forgiveness Colossians 3:13-14, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Proverbs 3:5-8, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. 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.”

As a leader it is not wise to live offended; we don't want to be door mats either so find the balance and live the balance. Be as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove – these are the words of our Lord Jesus. Learn to be tough and keep a soft heart towards people; both good and bad!

Learn to walk in forgiveness and be a person who can navigate personal offence well. It has been my experience in the ministry to watch both senior pastor and their families suffer dearly with offence. I’ve watched as team members go through difficult times and not react well to tough situations and they get hurt. It is so easy to become offended and hurt and live in offence.

At times we suffer greatly from difficult situations (code word for PEOPLE!) and need the grace of God to navigate it well. I hope this article can equip you to deal well with offence. Denise and I remain ever your servants I you ever wish to confidentially discuss any personal need.

Luke 15:9-10, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

You can be a church that reaches people or a church that keeps people – but you can’t do both. Your emphasis must be one or the other.

I know this comment will stir many leaders. Some will get upset, some will get mad and some will think. I encourage you to think. Think about the outcomes of what you place your emphasis on.

What is the focus of your church? What is the motivation of your church? What is the goal of your church? Of course we want to make sure people get connected and assimilated into church life - but beware the subtle shift in focus.

In the parables found in Luke 15 Jesus’ emphasis is on the “lost” and He gives us permission to leave stuff and go in search. Leave the 99 and go look for the lost, turn the house upside down and go look for the lost coin; in anticipation and patience look out for the return of lost people.

The Son of man has come to seek and save those who are lost. Don’t allow the subtle shift to your agenda to KEEP people but to motivate then to continue the cycle of reaching out. In a pervious blog i wrote about the command of Jesus to GO & MAKE disciples - going and makig are part of the same command; not an either or.

Would love to hear your comments.

Ephesians 2:4-9, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no-one can boast.”

This article on grace is designed for you to understand the nature of God’s grace which is rooted in His mercy and His great love. For some the grace of God appears scandalous, outrageous, indecent, at times appalling even shocking. How could God accept us when we are so unworthy of His love?

Paul declares; “it is by grace you have been saved.” To those of us being saved Grace is an amazing sound of God’s compassion, His kindness, His clemency, His forgiveness and His amazing love.

We need to understand that the nature of God’s grace is founded in His absolute fascination with us as people. Grace is the bridge over which God conducts all of His transactions with redeemed man. Grace is the fullest experience of the love of God towards us as the objects of His love. 

The redeemed are saved by it, live by it, grow by it, are known by it and work by it. God only deals with us by His grace; it is the connection He built so we could be His children. God may be ticked with the problems of the world, He may be angry with Satan and all his schemes but God is not angry with us anymore. Jesus declared that God so loved the world He gave His only Son to personally carry the load of our sins in His death.

The shocking nature of God’s Grace!

To fully understand the shocking nature of God’s grace we need to look at grace through the eyes of the religious leaders of the day when Jesus walked the earth and as Paul wrote his theological letters to the churches. As we peer through the eyes of these legalistic and religious people we see why grace was considered to be so scandalous by them.

The coming of the Messiah was well documented in Jewish life; the problem was they had spent a lot of time reinterpreting the scriptures about His coming. In the days of Roman rule around the time of Jesus the Jews thought Messiah would come as a liberator from Roman rule, they thought he would come as a political figure who would lead a revolution that would bring the Jewish nation back to its ascendency throughout the world like it was under King Solomon’s rule.

Can you imagine the outrage when a man by the name of Jesus from an obscure backwards town called Nazareth appeared?  Matthew 13:54-57 records the offences of the people in Jesus’ home town when he visited. “Coming to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offence at him.”

They knew the story; they knew Mary had been pregnant with Jesus before the marriage. They knew all about the scandal of his birth and when he came into their town they took offence at Jesus. They simply couldn’t believe someone like him could be Messiah because of the scandal and the familiarity they had with him and His family.

Rather than receive Him they took offence; they misunderstood the scriptures and out of a political and legalistic mindset they misrepresented the Messiah. They were offended by his humble birth in a manger; they were offended that he was conceived out of wedlock; they were offended by his upbringing in Nazareth, they were offended that he was a mere carpenter’s son, they were offended because he was not of noble birth or higher education; He had no political aspirations and wasn’t a great military person.

His life offended them. He was unpredictable, spontaneous, his attractiveness to the crowds offended them; they hated it when he drew large crowds and spoke with authority, they hated his parables because they saw themselves as the brunt of the story. They hated his reputation with the common folk and they were upset that he grew in popularity.  

The religious leaders sought to discredit him, they sought to trick him, they sought to silence him, they sought to incite the crowd against him and finally they sought to murder him. They hated Him because they were outraged by Him as a person. John in his gospel describes it this way John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus embodied the true nature of grace. The way Jesus moved and acted amongst the people was indeed scandalous. He healed people on the Sabbath, He had the power to cast out demons and when he did it upset the meetings in the synagogues, He spoke to blind beggars, He touched people with deadly and infectious diseases, He spent time eating with disreputable people and with people who were known to be sinners and He spoke as one with power and authority in stark contrast to the pious religious leaders of His day.

It appeared to the religious that he actually enjoyed spending time with common people the religious referred to as sinners! It is certainly true He mixed with everyday and common people like publicans, tax collectors, women who were known to be sinners, code word for prostitutes. He ate with these people – went to their homes and allowed these people to actually touch him. He had no problems with conversing with a Samaritan woman who had a reputation of loose morals and He even allow a miracle to be performed for a woman who was Syro-Phoenician mix race not of the household of Israel. He was seen with sinful women and even allowed them to weep over His feet and clean His feet with their hair! 

His very life outlived the grace of GOD AND was an outrage to the religious of His day and may I say the religious of OUR day!

Jesus lived grace, walked grace spoke grace: Matthew 9:10-13, “While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

In the message bible it says Jesus shot back “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this scripture means, “I’m after mercy not religion, I’m here to invite outsider not coddle the insiders!”

Jesus death and resurrection introduced the most scandalous aspect of Christianity ever considered. Instead of Jesus being only the Jew’s Messiah, God opened the door for salvation to now come to the entire world. Instead of just becoming a Jewish sect Christianity has become the open door experience for the whole world. Jesus has become the door of grace the way of mercy and the church has become a house of favour for all who believe on Jesus. 

It was scandalous, for centuries the Jewish religious person had a long list of laws to obey, they went annually to the temple to offer sacrifices and now all you had to do was believe in what Jesus did and it was counted to you as righteousness. It was disgraceful, shocking and outrageous; all you needed to do was believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you would be saved! Scandalous!

Paul records it this way in Galatians 3:28-29, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” The religious Jews of Paul’s day would have been riled and angry at such comment. The encompassing of Gentiles as “Abraham’s seed” would have caused to be apoplectic with fury; enough to murder the proponents of such heresy. 

Through Jesus’ death and resurrection God ushered in an age of grace, the law had been fulfilled’ there is now righteousness apart from the Law. Now anyone who simply believes on Jesus can be saved, anyone who has faith in Jesus can partake of this grace, this mercy and great love of God. Jesus came because our God so loved the world, Jesus came into the world to seek and save those who were lost, He came to bring salvation to anyone who would call upon the name of the Lord.

Paul teaches it this way in Ephesians 2:13-16, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.”

You who were once far away, that is every non Jew, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. This is terminology is referring to His death and resurrection of Christ. Grace is now for all and where sin once abounded grace does now super abound.

Here in lies the absolute scandal of God’s grace; the religious leaders of the day were incensed by this opening of the door. What it meant was anybody could be saved and the doors to Heaven were now open to anyone who would have faith in Jesus Christ. Heaven was no longer the exclusive reserve for the law keepers, the self righteous, and the legalist. Heaven was no longer the reward for those who obeyed the Law, Heaven was no longer the A listed party of the ages. Now anyone could have their sins forgiven, anyone could have faith in Jesus Christ and anyone could receive the forgiveness of sins and new life in Christ.

To the religious this was scandal of the high order.

Jesus came with grace and truth and it is now through the church that this scandalous agenda continues. Even as Jesus went to seek and save the lost this is now the churches mission. We are called to now go and demystify this story about God and let people really know what God thinks of them.

God is love and He reaches out with abounding grace, He reaches out scandalously outrageously to touch whoever will believe on what His Son has achieved for them.

Today we live under the grace of God. A grace so profound and so overwhelming that we are taken aback by the great love of God towards us! Like the prodigal son returning to His father we are so stunned and shocked by this scandalous grace and kindness of a loving heavenly Father.

All He needs us to do is simply fall at His feet as He loves us and forgives us; we are stunned by His mercy towards us because we know we deserved death, we deserved judgement we deserved punishment. But by His kindness and His grace we can now come with confidence and boldness into the very presence of God, the King of all creation and the Deity responsible for our destiny. We can come humbly but can now do so with a sense of audacity draw near to the Lord of all and call Him our Father. We who were once far away can now draw near assured we will not be judged, condemned or made to feel guilty or unworthy.

Ephesians 2:4-5, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved.”

This awesome grace we experience is the same grace God shows to the world. God is no longer judging the world for its sin; all judgement was taken by Jesus upon the cross. We are called to no longer judge people in the world for their sin or sinful lifestyles but to reach out with love, kindness and scandalous grace.

John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Hey Church, 

We say good bye to 2010 and hello to 2011 today and to mark this special occasion I wanted to write to everyone on our mailing list. Firstly to say thank you! Thank you for your generosity in financial giving, thank you for serving with a whole heart, thank you for not complaining but being passionate and positive – a big thank you to each and everyone who makes our church what it is and what it will become! A BIG THANK YOU!!

A word for 2011 from the Lord
The Lord spoke to me a number of months ago – He said this to me, “The time of battle is over I will now bring you into a time of building.” I reported this to the church in October at our Vision Night gathering.

I believe this New Year of 2011 will indeed be a year of building. As a church and as leadership we will be committed to building.

1.      2011 to build a church

• In size with many people connecting with Jesus Christ,
• In integrity as we walk in holiness with a passion to be like Jesus,
• With a clear articulated vision and unmistakable mission within our city and beyond,
• I believe Jesus is working to build a prevailing church.

2.      2011 to build a people

• Who are passionate for Jesus and His cause – a people driven by God’s purpose
• Who connected with each other and God learning to grow in spiritual health and vitality – being positive, bright and upbeat
• Who will prosper and succeed in life, work, family and ministry

3.      2011 to build influence

• In this New Year we will be committed to new levels of influence as we seek to touch the lives of many people in Norwich and Norfolk and beyond to Europe with a message that changes lives

4.      2011 to build a bright future

• To see our church and her people in positions that are safe and assured building environments where you can get help in your time of need
• To continue to build people from the youngest to oldest for productive ministry reproducing the life of Jesus where ever we go.

Denise & I are not going anywhere – we are here and I believe Proclaimers will be a church for many decades to come. The Space is our temporary resting place for now but keep dreaming big as we see the next pages unfold for our church!

2011 will be an exciting time of building strength into our lives and the fulfilling of a vision so big – the salvation of our city! Be passionate, stay engaged with God and the church – do not grow weary in doing what is right.

William Danforth, Author of “I Dare You” once wrote, “I dare you to think bigger, to act bigger, and to be bigger. I dare you to think creatively. I dare you to lead and inspire others. I dare you to build character. I dare you to share. And I promise you a richer and more exciting life if you do!”

Jesus Christ said, “All things are possible to him who believes!”

Make this a year of BIG DREAMS!!

Tom & Denise Rawls

Evangelism and Discipleship are separate things in the minds of many church leaders. We think in terms of either winning people to Christ or trying to establish people in Christ. A lot of energy seems to go both ways

I think we spend too much time pastoring, feeding and looking after God’s people. 

Just thought I’d throw that out there for some reaction and hopefully comment. I think the words of Jesus are sheer genius and in Matthew 28:19 He says, “Therefore go and make disciples ...” 

Evangelism and discipleship are part of the “great commission.” It’s both/and not an either/or. Jesus is saying that as you engage in witness you are being discipled. Evangelism is discipleship. Jesus did not say go and then make disciples – He said go and make – hand in hand with each other. 

Subtle changes take place within our churches when we distinguish between the two and emphasize discipleship over the other. It is a matter of focus. It is a matter of goals and motivation that translates into the energy that propels a church forward.

In my blog post for November I mention the fact that Jesus is happy for us to leave the 99 sheep and go in search for the lost on. I believe that shepherding the sheep is vital but I think in the scheme of things in church life we “over-pastor” our people and give them little chance to grow themselves.

It is sad when we try and put on offer things in the church that were meant to be accessed through our relationship with God. It is impossible to sustain a church culture that tries to meet people needs when the needs we seek to meet were to be met by Christ in God. 

Yes we need to do everything we can do but there are some things that only God can do. Maturity in God is knowing the difference. This is one reason why some people become disillusioned with church life. It’s because we are teaching people to bypass God and come to the church instead. It is a subtle detour and short circuits true discipleship. It’s hard to wean people off the church and get them to go to God instead. 

Maturity is being able to distinguish when to go to God and when to receive from others.Hebrews 4:15-16, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” 

We’re not just talking about maturity here but being emotionally healthy and mentally vigorous. Being a church with clear unwavering commitment to reach a community for Christ is vital.

Would love to hear your comments.

Tom

Lots of preachers and speakers know what “homiletics” is all about; the art of sermon construction. But it seems few understand the subject of biblical “hermeneutics;”which is the study of the principles of biblical interpretation.

Bible interpretation has a number of distinct laws; laws of interpretation such as:

-      The law of first mention – when a word or concept is first used in scripture God indicates in the first mention of a subject the truth with which that subject stands connected in His mind. For instance the first time “house of God” is mentioned in Genesis the connection is with “... how awesome is this place!” 

-      The Agreement Principle  – The truthfulness and faithfulness of God become the guarantee that he will not set forth any passage in his word that contradicts any other passage. In our evangelical statements of faith we declare the Bible is inspired and infallible and without contradiction; it would be good if our preaching followed this principle too.

There has been a recent trend the last decade of new preachers not necessarily having to attend traditional bible colleges but learn on the go in the local church. This trend both excites me and concerns me. It excites me because many new preachers are finding their voices and not being dislocated from local churches. However, the trend concerns me because it seems to me that many have missed out of on learning the foundations of theology; of which hermeneutics is an important and vital subject. 

There seems to be a missing step in the process for some; that missing step is subjects like hermeneutics. Without good principles for biblical interpretation there is the chance of and the likelihood of faulty interpretation and unscriptural applications. It may make for exciting communications even a humorous delivery but if we believe that the word of God changes our lives then there is a great burden upon us to accurately deliver God’s word.

2 Corinthians 4:2-3, “... we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” 

It is vital we understand the principles of interpretation to accurately “set forth the truth plainly.” Personal development is vital and to meet this need I want to suggest that those speakers who have missed the tradition of bible school to make sure they study this subject and make themselves aware of the principles of interpretation to accurately handle the word of God.

Book recommendation:

Principles of Biblical Interpretation by Louis Berkhof

C. S. Lewis once said, “If I have a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the explanation is I was made for another world.” 

No one who’s seen this film will deny it is cinematography at its best! Many people believe Avatar has redefined the medium of cinema. The movie is awesome, fantastic and mind blowing. The colour, the characters (some a bit predictable) the animals and the 3D, it was all simply a phenomena! 

The film is a visual wonder. One sequence alone when Jake learns to fly a Pandoran dragon through the planet’s floating islands is worth the price of admission. The grace and beauty of that scene literally brought tears to my eyes.

No one can doubt Cameron’s artistic genius when it comes to bringing to the screen this fantastical, mythical world. It represents the best expression of what J.R.R. Tolkien meant when he said that we are to be “sub-creators” with the Creator. Cameron’s vision is so powerfully and beautifully rendered that it’s easy to imagine a world like Pandora actually existing.

Perhaps the great success of James Cameron’s film Avatar is that he unwittingly emphasizes our need for God and relationship with Him. Let me explain. 

A recent article on CNN’s Entertainment website highlights an unexpected phenomenon associated with the movie Avatar: Fans who long for the alien world Pandora feel depressed and suicidal because it’s unattainable. We’re not talking about a few teenagers in despair here but 10,000’s of people from all ages filled with despair, desolation, anguish and hopelessness. They are so hooked on hopelessness they wrote on the forum’s site to express their misery! According to fans of the film, compared with life on Earth, Pandora is a beautiful, glowing utopia. 

But It’s Not Real

The problem with that is Pandora is an entirely fictional place. It’s not just out of reach, its non-existent. So why are so many people so obsessed with it? 

Fans commenting on an online forum say Pandora seems to be a perfect place, a pristine world where there is synergy between all of the characters. In their words, it’s a world with “something we don’t have here on Earth.”

But we did have a pristine world once. There was a place where man and God walked together in perfect harmony. It was beautiful, awesome and beyond our explanation. 

Then man sinned; he disobeyed God and as a result, we don’t live harmoniously, and won’t, until Christ comes again. Sin came into our human existence, like a virus it infected every person ever born to flesh and blood. 

Created in God’s Image

According to the creation account in Genesis 1, God created man “…in our image, in our likeness.” God Himself is an eternal being with no beginning or end. He has perfect knowledge and perfect understanding, and God is love. 

Created in His image we carry certain aspects of His divine nature. Like Him, we have “eternity in our hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and eventually we will dwell with Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 in the Amplified Bibles says this, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

This eternity in our hearts is “a divine sense of purpose” which was placed inside of our hearts. It is a sense of purpose that God created and only God can fill. 

In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John described the new heaven and new earth as the dwelling place of God, where He will live with man. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

This new heaven and new earth is a hope for all who believe in Christ. Eternal life is a promise given to each individual who turns from unbelief to faith in Christ. It is a changing of our mind about God and when we do make this change and decide to believe we inherit life eternal and an a open loving relationship with God who stands with open arms wanting desperately to embrace each of us as His child. A relationship with a loving God, a promise of life and life more abundant as well as the promise of life eternal are all great hopes of the believer’s life.

Longing for Something Better

Doesn’t that sound like what the fans of Avatar are longing for? Aren’t we all longing for something better, something perfect, and something that seems unobtainable? 

Yet Bono’s song, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” resonated in the hearts of multiplied millions of people all over the world. The reason is we are searching by nature, within each of us is the desire for beauty, perfection and love. People want direction, guidance, peace and satisfaction. People are looking for hope. 

But in the words of a 20th Century poet and prophet Mick Jagger most are saying, “I can’t get no satisfaction.” C. S. Lewis once said, “If I have a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the explanation is I was made for another world.” 

Cameron’s movie rightly depicts Earth as a dying planet, but his promise of a utopia on another planet is an empty one. The writer of Proverbs would call that “a hope deferred,” which “makes the heart sick.” (Proverbs 13:12)

The unrelenting insistence by those who insist there is no God only magnifies the futility of hoping for anything better. If this world is all there is to life, then seeing something as promising as Pandora would lead to depression, and perhaps even suicidal thoughts.

But There’s More to This Life

But the good news is that there’s more to this life than the world around us. There IS a God and He intervenes regularly in human affairs. God didn’t create us to find satisfaction in His creation, but in Him. God is the object of our searching; God is the fulfilment of our seeking. Some people describe the longing we feel as a “God-shaped hole,” which only He can fill.

But what does man do? He ignores this hole, or attempts to fill it with things other than God: imaginary worlds, business, family, materialism, sports, and accomplishments. That’s why life is never satisfactory. We look to other things and other people – anywhere but to God.

Where Is Hope?

Is there hope for those who are so sadly affected by Avatar? There is, but it won’t be to be found on message boards, in playing video games, or watching the movie countless times. Nothing created by any human being will bring the satisfaction we crave. It will only be found in relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He alone satisfies and fills the emptiness of our lives.

Hope

The biblical word hope means “a confident expectation of good.” Hebrews 11:1 says that hope is a vital ingredient to faith in that, “... faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 

Now we need to take great care here in our understanding of faith and hope. Our faith is in God, in God’s word and consequently in His nature and character. There are times when pandemonium runs amok and we’re in the middle of uproar, trials and hard times. This is not the time to pull away but the exercise hope and faith in God and His unchanging nature. 

Isaiah 40:29-31, “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.” 

Craig Groeschel

"Tom Rawls’ passion for the local church and all that it can accomplish is inspiring. This is a good book for anyone who needs reminding of the beauty, power and true mission of God’s church."

Craig Groeschel — Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.tv Author of The Christian Atheist

We are about to have literally tens of thousands of students descend on Norwich to study at the many institutions we have! I have asked our student co-ordinator Helena Russell-Reddish to share some thoughts on why we are so committed to reaching out to our local campuses.

Coming from a church like Proclaimers where half our core leadership team are UEA graduates, it makes you realise that university students can be vital to a healthy growing church. So here are a few points explaining why it is essential to invest in the students in church:

They are open to new things

Going to university is a time of new beginnings; and it is amazing how many people are open to coming to church when their friends ask. Christian students have a fantastic opportunity, especially in their first year, to invite their friends along to church. The more students you have planted in church, the more people you can reach on your university campuses.

They have a lot of time to give

Students are not exactly known for their 9-5 lifestyle! From personal experience, even with some of the most intensive degrees it is still possible to serve significantly during this time. I consider it a real privilege to have more time to give towards building the local church in a way that others who work full time cannot. My encouragement to any student is get stuck in to church. It does not have to be at the expense of their degree too; in my 4 years of serving in church and studying medicine the only impact on my degree I have seen is a positive one. All it takes is organisation and a passion to want to achieve great things.

They have unrefined potential

Many students that join church may have been in church all their life and/or have a strong, mature relationship with God. Many will have had great foundations laid and will quickly flourish given good direction and mentoring. They are just waiting for you to give them something to run with!

They are in at unique point in life

It is a transitional time where they start to form significant plans for their future. It is a time where they start to get more of a real idea of the destiny God has for them. Given the right encouragement and great opportunities in church, they can catch that they have the potential to change the world.

Ultimately, like every person in church, students have a destiny in God that is beyond anything we could imagine. We need to help them realise their potential and empower them to step into everything God has for them.

My heart is heavy this morning with news of two deaths - one a little girl, daughter and princes and the other an old man, a legend and mighty servant of God!

Our love and sympathies go to the the Avril family as their dad Lloyd Avril aged 96 says farewell to earth and enters heaven to stand with his Lord. Pastor Lloyd was a warrior and father in the faith to many - he enters Heaven with great reward.

My heart is deeply sorrowful for the news of the passing of Ava Hunter precious daughter to Josh & Lisa - she was only 5 years old. Today we can only share their saddness knowing that as we grieve we do not grieve like those without hope for one day Ava will dance with her daddy again.

It is hard for us here on earth to understand death. But we know that this life is only a shadow of the glory to come when we will see HIM face to face.

Our love and sympathies, our prayers are with you all.

Tom & Denise Rawls

I have always cared about the people I lead! I care deeply about you! But I want you to know that I don’t rest easy in reference to your journey of faith. I watch, I pray and seek to offer words of encouragement when I can.

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12, “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”

I still care and pray and feel responsible for you as a church and family but not in the same manner as I once did.

Now listen with great care; hear what I am saying and don’t hear what I am NOT saying. It’s not that I care less but I’ve had an epiphany a revelation and it has made my life easier. I don't feel as responsible FOR people as I once did but I feel more responsible TO you as our church family and friends.

Let me show you the difference; when I felt responsible FOR every person my failure or success depended upon your steps towards maturity; my success depended on your journey with Christ. If you failed I took that very personally.

I felt profound guilt when people left the church; I had failed in my responsibilities FOR them. I took it very personally.

When people were going through a tough time, I stayed up late at night praying for them. When people were in conflict with each other; if a marriage was on rocky grounds, if someone was unhappy about their life, their jobs or their relationships I felt a deep and profound responsibility for them and saw their failure, their crises as my failure and crises.

This was no way for me to live; I was either going to die loving the church or something needed to change. I needed to grow personally and in turn it would facilitate the church’s growth too. I would enlarge my capacity as a pastor and leader and in turn the church would move towards maturity.

In my regular reading I got a hold of a book called “Lasting Impressions” by Mark Waltz the Connections Pastor at Granger Community Church. It was quite literally a life saver for me. It was to me the missing piece of the puzzle in pastoral care and leading a growing church.

Mark talked about being responsible FOR people and being responsible TO people. Being responsible TO people is very freeing! It’s a point of view that leads towards maturity. This view enlarged my capacity; I believe made me a more mature person and a better pastor. Let me explain.

1. When I am responsible TO people I understand they have choices. When I am responsible FOR people I feel I should decide for them. Intervene and make them see the point.
2. When I am responsible TO people I know they must figure out the next steps. When I am responsible FOR people I try to tell them what their next steps should be.
3. When I am responsible TO people I know they must bear the consequences of their own choices. When I am responsible FOR people I assume the guilt – or worse the shame – for them. Makes it hard to sleep at night especially multiplied by 500!
4. When I am responsible TO people I share their journey, offering encouragement and teaching. When I am responsible FOR people I try to direct their journey, never allowing them to wrestle, mess up, or make a wrong turn. I try to protect them from the mess, the fight and they end up weak and without confidence – there’s nothing like a win to help us understand our own maturity.
5. When I am responsible TO people I talk to God a lot on their behalf. When I am responsible FOR people I talk to people a lot on God’s behalf.

As your pastor I have responsibilities. My responsibility is TO you to teach and lead the local church. Paul puts it this way – let me quote the Message Bible Translation: Ephesians 4: 11-12, “He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ's followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.”

Paul say I have a responsibility TO you as a group, as a family together; that responsibility is TO train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work until we all move rhythmically and easily with each other efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults. This is through my leadership, my teaching, my example, my training, my work with you to see maturity.

I love the way Owen and Gemma in their recent message, have outlined our goals for our church. (You can find a copy of it on our website under “recent messages”)

They begin each goal with the words “Take responsibility for ...” It’s only as we grow in our understanding of what we are responsible for that we grow into maturity.  Growth is all about transformation, the renovation of our heart, our attitude, our behaviour and our feelings.

Imagine a church that has he goals outlined in Owen’s and Gemma’s message!

To take responsibility for...

1.      Develop a growing relationship with God

2.      Become relationally connected into the life of the Church

3.      Serve in some capacity contributing to the health, life and expression of the church

4.      Contribute financially through tithes and offerings

5.      Help someone somewhere less fortunate than you:

6.      Help someone in your world connect with God and His church

Imagine the impact of a church like this on a city, a county or nation! Can I inspire you today to not just take these words as rhetoric, or just words but to desire passionately to make them lifestyle! A world in great need waits with baited breath for us to be the church.

I love you, Tom Rawls

I am so thankful to the committed and professional kids team that we have here at Proclaimers. This week I have invited the leader of our Kids and Families Department, Mark Hodder, to share his thoughts on why it’s so important for men to be a role model to what’s been dubbed ‘the fatherless generation’:

We are living in a world filled with huge uncertainty, dangerous insecurity and fading integrity; a world where children need their fathers more than ever before, and yet, it is this generation that has been labelled as 'The Fatherless Generation'. Statistics prove that divorce rates are rocketing, single-parent families are becoming far too common and fathers are simply abandoning their children.
 
A devoted father encourages, supports, protects, nurtures, guides and loves. Without these things, how can a child overcome life's challenges, grow with confidence in who they are and fulfil their God-given potential?
 
Never before has there been such a need for men to rise up within the church and lead the way as role models for the next generation. I believe that we can be those role models. Men of faith, strength, love and compassion, prepared to reach out and be an influence for good in the lives of those who desperately need someone to demonstrate what true masculinity is. Men, passionate about the next generation and committed to doing all they can to help these children become all that they can be.

We are delighted to announce that we are partnering with Metamorphic International to run the Water 4 Water Campaign in the UK. This is something that your church could get involved in too so I have asked our Executive Pastor Owen Morgan to let you know what it’s all about:

We’re teaming up with Metamorphic ahead of World Water Day in March to raise money for to provide pump wells for clean water in developing nations. Lindsay Clark (Metamorphic International) and his team have come up with a great way for lots of churches and organisations to get involved. They will provide bottles of water (500ml) which are branded as Water 4 Water. People donate £20 for one bottle of water. That £20 will result in 6 people having clean water for life. We intend to run this to coincide with World Water Day on the 22^nd March.

We will be running one or two church wide events but on the whole we will be encouraging connect groups and teams to create opportunities to raise the money. We will also be encouraging people to get their workplace involved as well.

Did you know that 1 in 6 people don’t have access to clean safe drinking water, that’s 1 billion people. 1.8 million children die of diarreah as a result of contaminated water each year. The goal is to plant wells through local churches primarily in Cambodia, Laos and Kenya.  This is part of a world wide initiative to help over 100,000 people gain access to clean safe drinking water.  The gift of a community well will transform the lives of families and will open the door for local church leaders to build relationships.  In both Cambodia and Laos pastors are persecuted and in many cases jailed for their faith, past projects have shown that the wells can lead to these pastors becoming key and respected leaders within the community.

One of the things we love about Metamorphic is the way they combine Aid and Development projects such as this with Church Planting. All the wells are provided through local churches. Lindsay Clark has been a great friend and advisor to our church for many years and to Tom and Denise personally for even more!

Last year we partnered with Metamorphic and saw 30 wells planted in Cambodia. Our church loved rising to the challenge of putting on creative and fun social events which resulted in people’s lives being transformed.

If you are interested in partnering alongside us please get in contact with our missions team leader John Lee

Johnlee@proclaimerschurch.com
Mobile: 07746855114
Office:  (+ 44) 1603 740064
www.metamorphic-water.org/

Acts 17:16, “… [Paul] was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.”

We are often times distressed by what we see in our world today. Separating ourselves from the world is though is not a choice we can make. In fact it is opposite to the words of Jesus, who said,

John 17:15, “My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one.” And again He says John 17:18, “As You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world”.

God is not calling us to a monastic life of silence and separation from our fast paced and ever changing world. We are not called to be so busy that we miss opportunities to engage with our fellow travelers. Church is not a place for us to retreat to from the “big bad ooga boogga” world around us. In fact the church was never designed to become a refuge from the world.

The desire of Jesus the Master Builder and Architect of the church is exactly the opposite! His design is that we find ourselves right smack in the middle of society, our generation and the world at large!

When it comes to feeling distressed … I think it is actually good for us to feel this kind of distress and allow our hearts to be moved by what moves God’s heart.

Look at the word “distressed;” In the Greek this word implies that Paul was stirred, sharpened or stimulated. It is an old verb used only once here in the book of Acts. What Paul saw stirred him, and sharpened his ability to speak. It was in fact an irritation that moved him to action.

21^st Century church people are also distressed and stirred by the hardship they see in their community. 21^st Century Christians are vitally aware of the desperate needs of people around them and regard their journey as a mission. The 21^st Century Church are a people motivated by the very cause of Christ.

A prayer …
May our lives, our intellect and our emotions be stirred and distressed. May our communication skills be sharpened and our attention to the world around us be stimulated so we see and hear as Christ sees and hears.

May we become irritated with church baggage from decades and centuries ago and be stimulated by the Spirit of God to reach out in genuine love accompanied by authentic actions.

May we be galvanized into radical love to touch and impact people around us who are worshiping unknown gods and introduce them to the God of all ages Maker of Heaven and Earth. 

If you hire venues for your church, you could be paying VAT that you don’t need to pay. We saved £500 a month when we found out!

We recently discovered that the venues we hire for weekend and midweek events and services can actually ‘disapply’ the option to charge us VAT on those hires. Up until that point we had been paying over £100 a week in VAT. I’ve asked our Executive Pastor, Owen Morgan to explain the details.

A Landlord/Property Owner has the option to tax the facilities they let out. Most Landlords/Property Owners choose to apply tax because it means that they can reclaim the VAT they pay up to the amount they charge. However there is an option in the VAT on Property law that says if a room or building is being hired for charitable purposes the option to tax can be ‘disapplied’.

It is at the discretion of the owner as obviously the less tax they pay, the less they can claim back. We asked the hotel where we regularly meet if they would ‘disapply’ the option and provided them with the relevant paragraphs from the HMRC Guidelines (see below). They agreed to ‘disapply’ the tax when letting the facilities to us. They are able to do this as the amount of tax they usually charge is greater than the amount the claim back.

We hire the hotel for one day every week but it is also possible to disapply the option to tax on a whole building for example our administrative offices. However it is not as easy to convince the Landlord/Property Owner to do this they are not able to offset any VAT paid out on repairs and maintenance.

All that is required is for you to inform the company which you are hiring from and provide them with the relevant HMRC information and they can ‘disapply’ the tax. We saved nearly £500 per month – that’s £6000 per year!

Unfortunately, the law can only be applied from the present time forward. That means that we were unable to claim back VAT retrospectively. We looked into pursuing this but found that there was case law from where someone had tried to claim it back. Our friends in Newcastle our still looking into it and we’ll keep you posted if we hear of any success stories.

Click here to go to the HMRC website for Notice 742A: Section 3.5 is the relevant bit.

For further queries contact the HMRC Charities Helpline on 08453 020203.

Denise and I are resting in a Bangkok hotel! We've done some shopping (bought a really nice coat!) and eating some great Thai food. We've slept in both mornings, walking a lot each day and just spending some good time together. Bangkok is a great place to just take a break.

I know a few pastors who hardly ever take holidays and hardly ever take a day off each week. When Denise is present during a discussion like this she goes for the jugular vein. No one gets off the hook. She says it isn't fair on your wife or your children. You can’t work every day and every week with no time off. You're breaking a "Sabbath" principle established by God in Genesis.

God thought it was a great idea to rest and review His work. Resting for us mere mortals is to renew our strength and re-create. It is an opportunity to spend valuable time with our spouse and children. They need us to have undivided time to concentrate on them exclusively.

Time away is also great to see things from another perspective. It is a time to work ON the church and not IN the church. It is a time of review; we tend to see things differently from a distance. We will see some things we'd never see if we weren't separated by space and time.

We're here in Bangkok until Sunday morning when we board Thai to Sydney. Hillsong Conference starts on Tuesday and we're excited about being there!! We'll arrive rested and relaxed ready to receive revelation and inspiration. We won’t be trying to overcome jet lag or getting over our tiredness from work.

Sometimes you just need to take a break!

Bless,

Tom Rawls