Here I stand...

Well, it appears that Westminster is going to be confronted with a shocking revelation thanks to the British Humanist Association - apparently "There's probably no God." The BHA have been busy raising funds to emblazon this statement on the sides of bendy-buses in London. Unsurprisingly, the fundamentalist atheist, Richard Dawkins has popped up to support this initiative, he had pledged to match any donations given to a total value of £5,500. The BHA have now collected a total of £20,300, not including Prof. Dawkins' generous donation. (As an aside, I don't quite understand Prof. Dawkins involvement in this project. With its agnostic message, it falls far short of the extreme atheistic ideal that he so aggressively preaches!) Now, I somehow doubt that such a flimsy statement is going to allay many fears as to the existence, or non-existence, of God. In fact I think it exposes the very shaky foundations of atheism. I can't help but feel that 'probably

On Wednesday evening I had the privilege of leading the Christianity Explored group. Despite my initial apprehension and nerves, I say privilege because of the reaction of some of the group members to encountering the real Jesus in the pages of Mark's gospel account. It's so exciting to hear how one particular member has already invited one of their friends to the next course, and how every time they sit down to read the gospel at home they end up turning to their spouse and saying "Wow, listen to this...!" When people respond like that you know that they've caught a glimpse of the real Jesus! I had the privilege of listen to John Chapman on Thursday afternoon - the author of 'Know and Tell the Gospel". He echoed something Becky Manley Pippert said at the IFES European Evangelism Conference earlier this year. "Jesus is irresistible, when we introduce people to Him through the gospel accounts they can't help but be amazed by Him as He

(I'm aware that it's been a while since I last posted, and I did promise that my notes from the LTS conference would be posted next, but last night I went to a meeting where we discussed the importance of Church membership and I wanted to share my thoughts here.) We live in a society that is inherently individualistic and isolationist. Personal happiness and fulfillment have become the criteria by which everything is judged and prioritised This mentality has managed to creep into our understanding of what a Christian is, so we find 'christians' who are happy to ask how a Church will serve them, but can't be seen for dust if they're asked to serve the Church. The ultimate outworking of this attitude is found in 'christians' who will enthusiastically inform you that their beliefs are a personal conviction and that they don't do church. I use the term 'christians' because I don't see any non-serving, solo-pursuit Christians in the