SPIN LIKE THE WIND-the blog of Nigel James.

PREACH THE WORD!

I've just been reading John Stott's chapter on 'The Paradoxes of Preaching' in Greg Haslam's book Preach the Word. Stott talks about the art of Double Listening- both listening to the voice of God and the voice of the world around us. This enables our preaching to be Biblical AND contemporary. He reminds us not to listen in equal measure, our ears should always be closer to God's voice than the world's voice.
Stott refers to many great quotes-here are a few:
*First light, then heat. - Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, 1656
*There must be light as well as fire. Some preachers are all light and no fire, while others are all fire and no light. What we need is both fire and light.- C.H. Spurgeon.
He who no longer sows in the study will no more reap in the pulpit.-C.H. Spurgeon.
*What is preaching? Logic on fire! Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire.- Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

FROM THE DESK OF....

Back in the Ignite office today after a couple of weeks rest and recuperation. It's been a chance this morning to thank the team for coping so well at Flames of Fire without me, and to find out how our stand worked out at Soul Survivor. We had our first team meeting for a few weeks, caught up with everyone's news and prayed together.
Over the last few weeks I've been struck by the development of so many young people who have been part of the Flames of Fire programme in years gone by:

Jess Wilson oversaw all the morning teaching programme for the 11-16's at Flames of Fire which took a massive burden from me- just as well since I never actually got there!, she's recently written her first book for Ignite, about self-harm- which we are immensely excited about, and she's soon to go off to France for 9 months working with a mission agency. I got to know Jess much better when she came to India on an Ignite Expedition with me last year, and she's really good friends with my wife Gill.

Lois Richards returned from Brazil to Wales for a few months before going back to Canada, and she hosted and spoke in the new Furnace venue for 18+ at Flames of Fire. It was so encouraging to know that Lois was using all the great stuff God has been pouring into her over the last few years to make a difference in young lives back here in Wales. Lois was one of the very first young people in the Ignite programme at Flames of Fire 11 years ago.

Mark Nam was also back in Wales for a few weeks. Mark is now based in The Vine Church in Hong Kong. He was another one of the original kids at Flames of Fire 11 years ago, and in a long chat together on the phone he explained to me how much of a foundation God built into him in Wales- especially a passion for music and worship.

Craig Wakeling has been at Flames of Fire almost since the start as well. This year he was involved in the speaking team, and last year he and his girlfriend Maddy, along with Jess Wilson, came to India with me. Craig and Maddy have just graduated from Chester University, Craig's starting a radio journalism course, and they are getting married next year. I'm giving the address at the wedding, which will be good fun because funny stories about Craig are in abundance!

BETHAN'S BRAINS

Big congratulations to our daughter Bethan who got her GCSE results yesterday. She achieved an A star, 3 A's and 7 B's. She's really pleased with these and so are we! Especially the A star in Religious Education, and the A's in Drama, Music and History. B in Welsh was a pleasant surprise for her too. She'll be commencing her A levels in English, Drama, History & Politics, and Music in a week or so.

COUCH POTATO.

One of my shortcomings is a tendency to watch too much TV, but over the last month- when I've either been ill or on holiday- I have consumed loads of television. Here are the programmes I've enjoyed:

*CSI and CSI:Miami on Five, Five USA and Living
*E-Ring and JAG on FX
*Sanjeev Baskhar's 4 part series around India on BBC2
*Plenty of Pro40 Cricket on Sky Sports
*Michael Palin's Himalayas on UKTV Documentary
*The 1981 Ashes Cricket series on ESPN Classic
*The Day India Burned-60 years after Indian independence on BBC2
*Old episodes of A Question of Sport on UK Gold
*The Inspector Lynley Mysteries on BBC1

PLAYING CATCH UP.

Home again after a week in our caravan, and awaiting me were an inbox of over 700 emails and a desk full of letters. Ploughing through all this I came across the occasional highlight- the first chapter of my new book Lessons from the Road back from the US publishers for me to agree to some minor amendments, and a cheque from the UK Gomers (Third Day fans) to go towards another Ignite church in India! Gary also called around today- he's been on the road with Rebecca St. James and her band on a European tour so took the opportunity to fill me in about the tour and about Flames of Fire. This week, Gill and I will spend some time unpacking boxes and tidying up our basement, going out with friends, and hopefully selling a load of unwanted stuff at a car boot sale. It's a glamorous life!
Next week back to work, editing the book, and finishing off a Masters research paper.

I'M BACK, I'M BACK, I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

After 2 weeks stuck at home I finally felt well enough to get out and preach at City Temple this morning. Continuing our year-long series HIS STORY, I spoke on Daniel and my theme was - Foreign Food, Fiery Flames, Fierce Fangs, and Firm Faith. It felt good to be back, and tomorrow, when Bethan goes off to Soul Survivor with the church youth, Gill and I go down to our caravan for the week.

If you haven't got it, you can't give it away!

A while ago Stephanie asked me to have a think about the following question.
Do you think that one's inability or unwillingness to "receive" love (meaning accepting help or encouragement when in need) impacts our effectiveness at expressing or offering love towards those that might require that added measure of grace?
It has taken me an age to get around to answer this question, but in a nutshell I believe that the answer is a resounding ‘YES’.
Let me unpack that a little, put simply if you haven’t got it you can’t give it, if you haven’t received it you can’t help others experience it. In Luke chapter 7 Jesus is eating at the home of a Pharisee when a sinful woman appears and lavishly anoints him with rich perfume using her tears and her hair. In his summary of the situation to the Pharisee, Jesus says this:
"I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Luke 7.47-48.
Jesus is really saying that you can really only show deep love to God when you have extremely experienced his love and his forgiveness. I'm going to take that one stage further and comment that it's impossible to offer the love of God to others unless we have lavishly accepted it ourself. In fact, if weve been unwilling to receive God's love and forgiveness then we'll often have real trouble in offering love and grace towards others. Our unwillingness to receive God's love and all that it brings, might result from a sense of unworthiness, a refusal to forgive ourselves, a previous hurt when we have reached out to someone, and it might be manifested by a reluctance to receive love and help from the people of God. That takes us to a place of spiritual and emotional isolation- the barrier around us makes it hard to give or to receive. Fundamental to the healthy Christian life is NOT living in a place of independence BUT living in a place of utter dependence. Sadly, many of us would rather give the impression that we have everything sorted and don't need anyone's help- even God's. Whilst the world might think dependence is a sign of weakness, for the mature believer then dependence is a must. That doesn't mean we abdicate responsibility for our actions, or that we are incapable of standing on our own two feet, but it does mean we rely on the grace of God and we recognise that we may well see it evidenced in the people around us. To come out of that place of isolation, away from independence and into dependence, to admit our vulnerability, is very tough. But there is one thing tougher, and that's staying isolated. Jesus said:

Freely you have received, freely give.

DISTANT FLAMES.

Today's the day that the New Wine Cymru Flames of Fire conference starts, and for the first time ever I won't be there. I've been leading the youth programme from the start of the conference over 10 years ago. Now I'm home still unwell, and Gary takes over the sole leadership of our team.
Every cloud has a silver lining, and despite coughing and spluttering I'm unexpectedly able to watch Twenty20 Cricket finals day live on TV and also England v. Wales rugby later. Unfortunately, the cricket team I support- Surrey- were knocked out in the earlier stages of the competition, and Wales are playing a deliberately understrength side against England as a warm-up for the forthcoming World Cup. A lazy day of TV sport on the settee, but I'd much rather be up and about at Flames of Fire.
If I feel better in a day or two I may do some Master's research paper work, and depending on doctor's advice on Wednesday may even go to Builth Wells for the final 24 hours of Flames of Fire. Gill and Bethan will be there without me so it will be strange for us all.