SPIN LIKE THE WIND-the blog of Nigel James.

BOLLYWOOD BALL

After a few days trying to get rid of jet-lag and catch up on paperwork at home and in the office, this weekend has been busy but fulfilling. Yesterday Gill and our friend Shikala organised the Bollywood Ball fundraiser for our India School Project. Here's a picture of Jess Wilson, who came to India with our team back in September, wearing a sari she bought in Rajahmundry: We had 150 people in County Hall for a meal of curry and rice, some Indian dancing and an auction and a raffle. We'll have raised over £3,000 when all the money comes in! Gill has done a fantastic job envisioning her friends in education to help support the school project, and so the event was full of teachers and education authority staff. Gill promises to visit the school once it's been built, and to take a team of Cardiff teachers with her. At the same time as the Ball, Pastor Prasad and his family in India were praying for it, and thanking God for the partners in ministry that they have here in Cardiff.
This morning I was preaching at City Temple on "Gifted to train and lead others" as part of the church series called Gifted, and this evening I'm speaking at Gabalfa Baptist church on 'Reaching this Generation". Just now we have had a surprise visit from our friends the Frost family who have cycled from their home to see us- the boys Nathan and Jacob got a little muddy on the way so I had to lend them some shorts! Mark and Janet Frost were at the Bollywood Ball last night along with friends from their church, and as our house smelt like an Indian restaurant because we had so much left over curry, Gill promised to deliver them a pot full later today. In the auction, I successfully bid for a candlelit meal for 2 at the home of Martin and Daniella from our church, whilst a 4 course meal for 8 people at our house went for over £200- slightly scary, because the winning bidder is in the catering trade himself! Gill's great cooking and hospitality will be fine. I think I'll end up being a waiter.... all for a good cause!

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END..

It's the final show of the Wherever You Are tour which started back in February!. This leg of the tour commenced in mid-September and now we are finally in Third Day's hometown of Atlanta. The guys are all with their families and there's just me and keyboard player Scotty Willbanks in the dressing room. I'm quietly reflecting on the last couple of months. We had a fantastic prayer time all together yesterday, with a passion and intensity we don't always reach. Looking back over the tour we thanked the Lord for His faithfulness and for using the songs on Wherever You Are to minister to so many broken and hurting people. We prayed for a variety of people that God had laid on our hearts, and we pleaded with God to send us all strong back to our families and also into a new season of ministry with the band. I felt enormously privileged to walk around the dressing room, lay hands on Mac, Mark, Tai, David, Brad and Scotty, and to send them out in the power of the Holy Spirit. Scotty in particular was really overcome by the Spirit and with tears in his eyes prayed for revival in our lives, through the band's ministry in the USA, in Ignite and all over the world. He's a top bloke is Scotty. As well as being an immensely gifted keyboard player, God has been using him as a producer/manager/mentor to many young bands all over the USA. This gets a little daunting for him at times, but the evidence of the Lord's hand on him is so clear to the rest of us.
I fly back to the UK tonight, but I'll be carrying on working on the 'Lessons from the Road' book project and I'll probably catch up with Third Day in Australia and New Zealand at the end of January. By which time the England cricket team will have retained the Ashes cricket trophy against Australia- one can but hope!

COME OVER HERE AND HELP...

One of the great things being on the road with Third Day is learning to expect the unexpected!. I was quietly sitting in catering here in Columbia, South Carolina, eating a meal when Tai phoned me and said that he was about to go speak to a youth group about his African experiences. He wanted to me help him by adding a few verses of scripture after he had shared. So a few minutes later we were standing in the parking lot talking to the youth group from First Baptist Church of Augusta at the invitation of Bari, one of the Third Day Gomers. Tai spoke passionately and eloquently about faith in action and then I read the passage from Acts 16 when Paul responded to a call for help from Macedonia. Christianity came West because of Paul's response to that cry for help and most of us wouldn't be believers but for Paul's step of obedience. I simply shared that if we are willing to listen then there are people from all over the world asking for our help, and if we are obedient to this then who knows what God could accomplish through us. Third Day have seen that with there support of Invisible Children in Uganda, and I've certainly seen it with my friendship in India with Prasad.

IGNITE IN CINCINNATI.

After 2 days off in Atlanta with David Carr and his family I flew into Cincinnati 24 hours earlier than the band in order to speak at Eastgate Vineyard Church. The pastor there is John Sinclair, my friend Russ Pawlowski's father-in-law. The church adopted the Ignite name for their youth group after I spoke there 4 years ago and it was good to see how they have developed. I shared the message "Eight ways you know you are living a Kingdom life" and it was well received- especially by a bunch of guys from Teen Challenge. After a time of worship and prayer ministry, the evening finished off in the local Steak n' Shake!

OLD FRIENDS.

We had a really memorable time of prayer before the concert tonight. We are in an open air amphitheatre in West Palm Beach for an all day festival organised by WAY-FM radio. The prayer time was made even more special because John Poitevent was with us.
John was Third Day's road pastor when I first met the band, and it was at his invitation that I led a Bible study with Third Day on the Newsboys' Step Up to the Microphone tour in October 1998. He's remained a good friend ever since. Although we've emailed and spoken on the phone, this is the first time we've seen each other for well over two years. John joined Brad and I for golf this morning and then he hung out with the guys in the band for the rest of the day. It's been good to catch up with him.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN THE SOUTH WHEN....

We're in Florida for a set of concerts, and before we left Atlanta yesterday afternoon Tai and I went to a Bible study led by Tim Cash ( he's a long-time friend of the band and mentor to Mac). You know you're in the South when... guys in the Bible study pass photos around of the massive deer they just shot, you're the second Bible study to have had breakfast in the restaurant that morning, you can have your back adjusted by the Bible study's resident chiropractor, and the study is full of high-profile ball players and TV commentators. As far as Third Day goes, I've spent some time today interviewing Mac for our 'road book' project and started a series of Bible studies on the choices we make. Basically, who we are now is largely due to the choices we have made in life. I told this story:
An old Cherokee Indian was teaching his grandson about life.
"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too." The grandson thought about it for a long minute, and then asked, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee replied simply, "The one you feed."

ANSWER TO TOUGH QUESTION 3.

Some weeks ago Josh Baker sent me another 'tough question' - about staying dependent on the Lord once he had returned to his comfortable existence and surroundings (you can see the question in an earlier post). I've just returned to the USA to link up with Third Day, having been home and seen my daughter perform in her High School musical 'Little Shop of Horrors'- well done Bethan, we are very proud of you!
On the plane journey over, I formulated this reply for Josh:
Your situation reminds me of the great words of Paul when he said:
But to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.
Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2Cor. 12:7-10

Just like Paul, you are discovering that the grace of Jesus is adequate precisely because God’s power only really displays its’ full range and strength in human weakness. The more we acknowledge weakness, the more evident the power of Jesus will be. Paul would prefer to boast about the things that expose his weakness rather than pray for his weakness to be removed. He wasn’t glorifying his weakness, but celebrating the fact that his weakness meant that the power of God would be strong in his life and that Jesus would be glorified. I can certainly associate with your feelings of total reliance on God when you have been living ‘out of your comfort zone’. When I travel- either into the USA or on other mission trips, and leave my family behind, I often get a sense of loneliness, vulnerability, even fear, and have to utterly depend on God.
Of course, the heart of your question was about remaining dependent on God when we go back inside our comfort zone.
There is no doubt that comfortable living, material possessions, and a worldly environment can soften our dependence on the Lord, and just like you say, may mean that we aren’t always attentive to what He wants to say to us.
I suspect that the real key to this is not being taken in by our physical circumstances and surroundings, and by always remembering that however ‘physically’ comfortable we may be we should always be spiritually desperate for God and dependent on His Holy Spirit in our lives.
When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor. James 4:10
Again, Paul talks about surrendering his own independence and being surrendered to the Lord:
Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 Message
In fact, it is when we are at our most comfortable that we have to remind ourselves that we are really ‘aliens and strangers’ in a ‘foreign land’. Indeed, John in his first letter, warns us of the danger of complacency:
Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever. 1John 2:15-17
That doesn’t mean we don’t reach out with compassion and grace in the name of Jesus to those around us, and that we don’t engage with society, but it does mean we never forget where our allegiance and dependence lies.
So take heart from you recent experiences, grow your dependence on the Lord, and learn to have a desperate inner need for Him whatever your outward circumstances and situation. But also thank him too for His provision and for the pleasantness and safety of your comfort zone! Just never have a spiritual comfort zone in your heart that is happy without the presence of God!

CHRISTIANS DON'T LIKE SEX.....WE LOVE IT!

This afternoon I visited Porthcawl Comprehensive School and addressed 200 sixth-formers (Seniors, for our USA readers) on the subject of Christianity and Sexuality. Entitled 'Christians don't like sex..we love it' basically the 45 minute presentation covered a Biblical view of sex and sexuality. It's good fun to present but I have to make myself vulnerable and take some risks in order to really communicate. Looking at the faces of some of the girls and guys in the audience, I can see that they are hearing this stuff too late to avoid being hurt by, or feeling guilty about, their sexual experimentation. Sexuality, self-worth, relationships, are such a central part of life, and I'm thankful for a valuable opportunity to offer to these teenagers a different model than the one that media and culture persuades them to adopt.

OFFICE FIRE

Been back in the Ignite Office for a couple of days catching up at my desk before a few days break with Gill. Then 2 busy days early next week before going back on the road with Third Day. Came across this great quote from Samuel Logan Brengle, who was an early leader of the Salvation Army and an evangelist:

'What is fire? it is love, it is faith, it is hope, it is passion, purpose, determination, it is utter devotion, it is divine discontent with formality, ceremonialism, lukewarmness, indifference, sham, noise, parade and spiritual death. It is singleness of eye, and a consecration unto death. It is God the Holy Ghost burning in and through a humble, holy, faithful person.'