SPIN LIKE THE WIND-the blog of Nigel James.

YOUNG LEADERS.

You don't have to trawl too deeply through the Bible to find out that as well as using some extremely elderly characters to serve Him, God also uses young people. Think David the shepherd boy, Mary the teenage mother of Jesus, Joseph and his multicoloured coat, Jeremiah saying he'd never be a good speaker, Esther risking her life for her nation, the young man Mark fleeing the scene of Jesus' arrest only to end up writing a gospel. I'm firmly committed to identifying, equipping, encouraging and releasing young people into Christian leadership in all its fullness, and this weekend is a good example. It's the time of year when we meet up with our young leaders from the Flames of Fire conference in the summer. Ignite runs the youth and young adult programme at the week, which for years has been Flames of Fire but from next year will be known as New Wine Cymru. Some of these leaders we know well and have been on our team for a few years, but a whole bunch this weekend are joining us for the first time- transitioning from being one of the 'crowd' to one of the leadership team. Including our own Ignite office team we'll have close to 30 people here for most of the weekend. We'll be giving them loads of input about leadership characteristics, expectations, attitude but most of all we'll be getting to know them and welcoming them to the world of leadership.

JANET FROST

This is a special blog entry devoted to Janet Frost. Janet was personally devastated that I omitted to mention her at all in the previous blog despite mentioning her husband and sons. So this is all about Janet. Janet has been a great friend to Gill and I and she is just as much a 'character' as her husband Mark. Here are 10 of her best attributes:
*Passionate supporter of all things Welsh, despite being born in England.
*Thrilled that her boys are Welsh, not English.
*Loved it when her husband no longer played cricket for money but just for the love of the game.
*Thoroughbred long-distance runner, wearing the very latest in sleek athletic attire.
*Great admirer of her husband's jokes and games.
*Never yet been on a winning female team in any quiz game when Mark and I have been in the opposing male team.
*Has been known to text me complaining about the plumbing in her house- apparently the plumber's called Nigel as well. Yeah, yeah, we believe that old excuse.
*Could earn a living as a Steffi Graf lookalike.
*A legendary flute player-she's magic.
*Models for 'Fatface'-Clothing that's built to withstand the demands of an active lifestyle.

No wonder she's one of my favourite people!

SMILES AND GROANS

What's put a smile on my face recently... and what's brought on a groan.

Smile -England eventually winning a decent game in the Cricket World Cup.
Groan- coach Duncan Fletcher resigning (actually brought on more of a sigh than a groan.)
Smile-Peter Moores appointed the new coach. Mark Frost and I toured India with him as part of the Christians in Sport team in 1990. I remember a marathon joke telling session with the three of us plus a few others at the back of a bus on the way to the Taj Mahal.
Groan-bumpy greens on the golf course I played with Gill on Saturday.
Groan- the slow play of the three guys in front of us.
Groan- the way I'm playing with my new clubs.
Groan- just why do I play golf?
Smile- lunch with the Davies's and the Frosts on Sunday.
Smile- The Frost boys cheeky grins.
Groan- how I felt after one bowl of dessert too many.
Smile- Graham Davies admitting he 'lost it' when his eldest daughter didn't take enough money to the last Ignite event and he had to drive all the way back to give her some. A kindred spirit I thought to myself!
Smile-whirling the youngest Davies girl around my head in the garden.
Smile-Mark Frost reminding me and Graham about us leading a Christmas service together and him having the responsibility of playing a video clip. We introduced the video, turned the light off and he couldn't find the button to press on the video player.
Smile- Mark Frost confessing to Graham Davies and I that if it weren't so unhealthy he'd love to smoke a pipe.
Smile - the worship band at church last night, they were really laying down some serious licks!
Groan- realising the amount of reading I've still to do in preparation for my first Masters study week.
Smile- seeing Rev. Nigel James on the City Temple news sheet.
Smile - remembering I'm just 14 days away from Third Day's UK tour.
Groan- waking up at 4.30am when the taxi arrived to take our son James to Bristol Airport for his flight to Dublin. (he's working there for a few weeks and came home for the weekend.)
Smile- meeting with good friend Rob Burns this lunchtime and discovering we are both in a transitional stage in ministry and feel the same mix of frustration, excitement, uncertainty, perserverance and sense of 'wilderness'.
PICTURES- from the top: Peter Moores- the new England cricket coach, Graham Davies- once a Cambridge University and Neath rugby player whose favourite chorus is 'Open Our Eyes Lord' as he proved by singing it every time he led worship at a Christians in Sport Bible study, Mark Frost -possibly no-one exists who gets more pleasure from silly family games and corny jokes, Rob Burns- ex-Wolves footballer who is now a missionary into Wales from the USA and armed with a big folder of diplomas and certificates has dedicated his life to discipling others. I'm proud to know Peter Moores a little bit, and very proud to call the other 3 guys my friends.

THE REVEREND WAS STUCK IN THE TOILET.

Well! I got ordained on Monday night at the Elim National Conference in Minehead. It was a pretty special occasion really, with the National Leadership Team of Elim laying hands on the 26 ordinands and praying for us. Jeff Lucas then delivered a great message to the 3,000 or so people attending the conference.
My wife Gill and my parents travelled across to Minehead from Cardiff for the ordination, the stewards in the venue were all from City Temple in Cardiff, the rest of the leadership team from the church were all present, as was Gary Smith my long-time colleague at Ignite. The suit and tie were required dress for the occasion but didn't stay on for the rest of the week.
A little earlier in the day I needed to be assisted by Chris Cartwright- good friend and senior pastor at City Temple. I'd locked myself in the bathroom and the lock was jammed, with me wearing only a towel. After much struggling with the lock we seemed to have no alternative but for Chris to hand me some clothes through the window and for me to climb out. He tried one final time to open the lock and it worked. The assembled gathering in the evening were amused to hear me thanking Chris for rescuing me- not spiritually but from the toilet!

HOW CAN THEY HEAR ABOUT HIM UNLESS SOMEONE TELLS THEM?

In the midst of study and research for my Masters, plus some family time, and attending two funerals this week,at last I've got around to adding some audio sermons to this site. You can see them in the 'Some of my Sermons' sidebar. Most of them have been preached at City Temple over the last few months or so, and I'll be adding more from time to time. Hope you enjoy them!

JUST LIKE JESUS.

Great quote from Max Lucado in the book that Gill and I have been reading:
'God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.'

MORTAL BODIES

In the space of the last week I've had a painful tooth out, seen a specialist about a forthcoming operation, and had my eyes tested resulting in a 2 for one deal on reading glasses at Specsavers! Sitting here writing this wearing my new glasses and heavily dosed with anti-biotics and painkillers I'm aware that I'm getting old, that my body is not as healthy as it was. In fact, I'm getting acutely aware of my own mortality. Far, far worse was the shocking news yesterday that a 53 year-old member of our church died suddenly over the weekend, only a couple of weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. The truth is that our life on this earth is fragile and transient, precious and temporary. Nowhere was I more graphically reminded of this than on my two visits to the leprosy church ministered to by my friend Pastor Prasad. On both visits to the leprosy church I've been challenged by their devotion to God and their delight in worshipping Him despite their incredibly difficult physical circumstances. They know well that their physical bodies are only temporary residences and that one day they will be united with the Lord in heaven, and free of all pain and suffering. Whenever I see these humble people I realise that they are living out daily the message of hope found in the death, resurrection and new life of Christ that Easter brings. It's a message I need to rediscover in the midst of my own minor ailments this Easter time.
He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere. Phil. 3:21

THE PRESENCE OF GOD.

We all know that we can't escape God's presence wherever we go in the world, so to talk of 'God turning up' isn't completely accurate. However, there are times when God's tangible and manifest presence comes down.
I experienced this a few times over the weekend:
* Standing next to Mike Pilavachi on the platform at Friday night's Igniting a Passion for Worship event - we were beginning the ministry time, and as Mike urged us to wait on the Lord I could see the Holy Spirit touching young lives.
*At the wedding of Paul and Shikala at City Temple on Saturday. When the bridesmaid preceded them down the aisle spreading rose petals on the floor I was almost overwhelmed by a sense of the Lord's compassion and love.
*In church on Sunday morning, when Chris Cartwright was preaching about 'The Jesus ministry'- a powerful message urging us to get involved not in 'our ministry' or 'my ministry' but the ministry of Jesus. Without Him we have nothing to offer. In response, I met with God deeply and intimately.