Children growing up thinking that betting and football go together

It was refreshing to watch World Cup football in the USA without any betting advertising. I did get to hate the crass Volkswagen adverts on the Fox channel. We, in the Uk, are constantly bombarded with betting adverts on commercial channels like ITV, Sky and BT. Children see it at football matches, on football shirts, on the television, on the web and in newspapers. The adverts make betting appear to be great fun. There is the lure of free bets and endorsements by film stars, media personalities and even a well respected football manager. The consequences will not be good for our society. It will breed gamblers addicted to betting. Some will experience debt, family feuds and poverty.

Evangelism, the means of spiritual reproduction

Some churches that once thrived reached a stage of senility, sterility and impotence. They lost their reproductive capacity. They failed to share the Gospel, to win people for Christ, to engage in evangelism. Consequently they became inward looking, comfort zones for the converted, and faded into obscurity and geriatric decline. Many closed. I have written about the Brethren of Havering but I could produce evidence of church decline and demise in the former Congregational chapels that became United Reformed churches (URC). It was sad, to me anyway, to find that URCcongregations  in Essex and North London no longer exist. The closure of Wethersfield and Finchingfield URC chapels hurts. Some Baptist chapels had to die, in my opinion, because they had clearly lost their candlesticks, their living witness in the community. Dead churches, I'm sorry to say, are not a positive force for good, but a waste of resources: energy, money, time and electricity etc. Failure and survival without Holy Spirit blessing merit closure. Some churches exist without any evidence of Holy Spirit activity. Some are museums or places of historical/architectural interest, but they are not places of vibrant fellowship and evangelism.

If a church wishes to survive and to thrive then it should evangelize, by the Holy Spirit. It should be unapologetically conversionist. "Kindness evangelism" as I call it, may be sweet and cheerful, but the mission of the Kingdom is to proclaim the authentic Gospel message of repentance, conversion, regeneration, eternal, abundant life in Christ, spiritual life from God. That is not to deny the social and ethical dimensions of the Gospel, the God given Good News in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Every Christian church or fellowship needs to ask the questions:
what is the evangelistic strategy?
what is being done to share the Gospel?
what is in place to see conversions and spiritual growth?

An Open Letter to Nigerian Christians in the UK

Dear Nigerian Christians in the UK

I have noticed significant church growth among churches in the UK that have Nigerian leadership. They have a vision for more growth and more churches in the UK. This is commendable.

However, there is concern, and it has been expressed by other Nigerian Christians, about the lack of Gospel preaching, ministry, church work in the north of Nigeria. When my friend travels around the north he does not find Christian workers, evangelists or preachers working there. So charity does not begin at home when it is the north! They seem to avoid it. Like the plague?

I don't know why there is so much focus on UK ministry when there is an enormous mission back home in Nigeria, northern Nigeria. Please explain this. I find it hard to understand, especially when Nigerian preachers have prophesied a mighty revival in Nigeria.  When such preachers talk about Nigeria do they mean southern Nigerian and never the north.

Do the Nigerian church leaders in this land invest money, time and effort in projects to evangelise the north of Nigeria? Are there any plans to work in the north?

Love Nigeria? Well, what about the north of the land? It needs your help.

Yours fraternally

Johli Baptist

Alpha in HM Prisons

In the 1990s and at the beginning of this century I thought a lot about Alpha in prisons, particularly in England and Wales.  I found that the Alpha material did not resonate with certain inmates and a number of chaplains. They were critical of the bourgeois/upper middle class ethos of Alpha, from Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), and Nicky Gumbel's presentations. His humour and style grated at times. He was seen as a toff, and someone who lived in another world. They did not relate to his message and medium.  Some of the Alpha supporters and lovers of the Alphacrats, those who run and make the policy decisions at Alpha HTB, could not understand how anyone could dislike Nicky Gumbel.

I asked the Alphacrats in charge of the Alpha for prisons and Caring for Offenders programmes to make an alternative video or some fresh presentations. I suggested using working class converts, ex-prisoners, former convicts and other suitable people that would have a greater appeal. They needed folk they could relate to, that understood their pain and prison life. Such testimonies would have far more impact than jokes about the luncheon club, life with Pippa, challenges at the gym, or evangelistic adventures with Rupert. The upper middle class ethos is not suitable for prison ministry, despite claims to the contrary.

At the time I was told that such a project to film a suitable presentation was too expensive. What? HTB was making loads of money through Alpha, the books, the merchandise, the courses, the videos (at that time) etc. A university visual aids department could have made a decent film or video presentation at a cost of £ 1,000 per day at 2000/2001 prices. Perhaps a professional film school could have produced a series of videos or DVDs at a reasonable cost.

 Some scholars and critics of Alpha thought that naivete and muddled thinking was evident in the early years by some Alphacrats at HTB, and they certainly did not take any criticism at all well.

The good news is that the Alphacrats did produce some videos using ex-convicts and prisoners who have an engaging story to tell. There are some great testimonies to lives changed through Alpha, and it must be said by other interventions.

Pakistan, a place of persecution and pathetically poor standards of human rights

What disgraceful scenes were shown today on our television screens of mob violence, madmen, mayhem and murderous intent over the just acquittal of an innocent Christian woman, Asia Bibi. People have been murdered. Her lawyer has had to flee for his life. Very sensible. Who would want to stay there in Pakistan? Asia Bibi is not currently permitted to leave Pakistan. Crazy! More murders are expected.

 If you ever go to Pakistan then be prepared to adjust your watches. Put them back three hundred years! The country is one of the most unenlightened on the planet.

Imran Khan, the former cricketer and Oxford graduate, will have his work cut out if he wishes to bring enlightenment and human rights to his country. 

More about Alpha Course

Those of a reformed and conservative evangelical persuasion have been critical of the Alpha Course because they dislike its charismatic elements and presentation of the Gospel. They claim that the message of repentance is not strong enough. They are unhappy about the teaching on the Holy Spirit, particularly any mention of speaking in tongues or spiritual gifts (charismata). Some promoted Christianity Explored as an alternative.

In this reformed and evangelical camp, which includes those in the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, there is concern and criticism of Alpha's ecumenical and charismatic links.  Some would denounce Alpha as a deception that leads Christians into doctrinal danger.

Some critics seem to forget that Alpha is a starter and not a main course. It was never intended to be more than an introductory course. Its original milieu was upper middle class and Alpha became popular among the bourgeoisie, particularly confident young urban professionals at Holy Trinity Brompton.

I was particularly interested in its application in prisons. More about that in due course.

LLDC? Letting London Down Catastrophically?

Security at the London Stadium last night was said to be, by some waggish football fans, not only comical but also catastrophic. One pitch invader was careless, but two separate incidents could mean a catastrophe or comedy of errors. Both invaders managed to interrupt play. No doubt the guy in the mask from a horror film (Wes Craven's Scream) thought he was being funny on Halloween, the eve of All Saints' Day. It was topical, but not amusing at a major sporting event.

Fortunately for Tottenham Hotspur fans it did not spoil their victory in any way.  Spurs won away by three goals to one, and Son bagged a brace. West Ham management must be wondering and worrying about the level of security provided by LLDC, who have let them down again. It's not the first time.  And now two foul ups during play. Is that a red card offence?