SPIN LIKE THE WIND-the blog of Nigel James.

BOOKS WORTH READING.

It's about time I recommended some good books! Here are three that, despite my focus on writing a dissertation, I've found some time to read lately.

If you are sceptical about the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement and their theology and practice, or you have been hurt or disturbed by involvement in Pentecostal/Charismatic churches then I really urge you to read these two books:

J. Lee Grady: The Holy Spirit is Not for Sale: Rekindling the Power of God in an Age of Compromise

A fantastically Bible-based, common-sense filled, Spirit inspired book that calls Pentecostals and Charismatics to an authentic, humble and honest faith.

Michael J. Klassen: Strange Fire, Holy Fire: Exploring the Highs and Lows of Your Charismatic Experience

Especially helpful if you are trying to make sense of your Christian experience and feel that you have been bruised or battered by the extremes of the Charismatic/Pentecostal church.

On a different subject, if you are desperate to engage more with what it means to be a missional church in the 21st century and move your church from an 'attractional model' to an incarnational model' -or would just like to know what the heck al that means then read:

Reggie McNeal: Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church 

Basically this is about stopping DOING church and instead BEING church.

I'm not on a commission for any of these- but they are all full of extremely helpful insights!

CHOICE No.9-Being willing to go!

It's been sometime since I wrote one of my series on the good choices I have made, but here is another one.

Mark 16:15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.

It may be simplistic but I have always been willing to take God seriously when he challenges me to go into all the world. Of course, the world starts on out doorstep, and I began to preach in the small churches in the denomination I grew up in around the south-west London area. Now, thirty years later, I still get a real thrill from 'going' to preach about Jesus-whether it's to a church or youth event 10 miles away or a country five thousand miles away. In fact, I have a real difficulty in turning down opportunities to preach, wherever they may be.

The fact is that we worship a God who is a sending God-

*He sent His Son into the world to save us

*He sent His Spirit to live in us

*He sends us into the world to tell other about HIm

The very heart of mission is the mindset that Christians cannot be inward looking but be outward going. It's not that the church of God has a mission but that the God of mission has a church.

As for me, if I haven't been able to 'go' somewhere in the name of Jesus for while then I get restless and thirst for  the challenge and the experience again of being sent by God to be part of his mission to a world that needs to be be redeemed.

GOOD NEWS.

Good Friday above all days is a good time to talk about sin. I'm not averse to talking about sin, although in today's society it might be more relevant to explain sin in terms of selfishness. I'm uneasy about preachers who deliver the good news message of Jesus without mentioning the enormity of sin, and the eternal consequences of sin if we choose not to accept Christ's offer of forgiveness and life: A gospel message without reference to sin doesn't do justice to our Lord and Saviour. Yet equally, I'm just as uneasy about preachers who start a gospel message emphasising sin. It's as if original sin was the starting point of creation-which is obviously wrong, as Genesis 1.31 tells us: God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. John Eldredge calls this 'original glory' and reminds us that before sin there was the original glory of creation which included man and woman.

A good news message must focus first on God's creation and his desire to have fellowship with all of mankind...THEN the bad news that sin has damaged this can be introduced into the equation. The following outline may sound a bit twee or trite, but it is true nevertheless:

There is Good News- GOD FORMED US.

There is Bad News - SIN HAS DEFORMED US.

There is Good News-JESUS CAN TRANSFORM US.

1Pet. 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,