ClearWords

Churches today are losing young people like never before. This is obviously a very positive trend, which needs to be sustained for as long as possible. Young people are noisy, and far too full of energy and enthusiasm. They speak their mind, play loud music and keep wanting to change things. As far as possible, it is better to keep them right away. Here are a few tips for doing just that. 1. Never change anything. Your church has been the same for tens, maybe hundreds of years. Young people are a threat to that. If you give them an inch they will take a mile, so don’t allow the slightest change. If possible, hedge everything around with layers of bureaucracy, like deacons, committees and church meetings, to make sure change is virtually impossible. 2. Turn down the PA. Young people like to feel music, not just hear it. They also worry what other people think of them, and after years of exposure to programs like The X Factor, they may be paranoid about what they sound like.

I learned just recently - and it came as no surprise - that 60% of 25-35 year-olds feel unfulfilled at work; and 90% of 30-40 year-olds want to leave conventional business jobs for something more satisfying*. Being what's commonly know as a 'baby boomer', I grew up in a period of ever-increasing wealth and ever-extending choice. For most of my generation, gaining financial security and acquiring material possessions became the major goals in life. However, having once achieved those things, we somehow found that they failed to satisfy the deepest needs that we felt inside. If you are in your teens or twenties today, you probably either grew up with financial security and take it for granted; or you have looked at the rising costs of housing, pensions and healthcare and concluded that financial security is beyond your reach. You are one of the generation that seeks fulfilment in 'experiences'. I predict that this will prove to be an equally fruitless and unsatisfying

I remember a preacher once saying that experience is not necessarily a good teacher – it’s a hard teacher. Well this year, I learned something the hard way. When we moved to our present home, the garden was a blank canvas. That’s to say there was nothing much in it except concrete, grass and weeds. Remembering that nice Mr Titchmarsh’s advice on the tele, to ‘spend little on the plants and a lot on the soil’, I bought some compost and went round filching cuttings from various shrubs I saw that took my fancy. Ten years on, many of those small cuttings had grown into thundering great triffids that were taking over the garden. Pruning them was taking hours, and generating dozens of bags of green waste for the dump. So this year I decided enough was enough. I dug out the most uncontrollable ones and got rid of them. A lesson in life About halfway through digging out some particularly stubborn roots, I realised I was learning a lesson in life. In our personal lives, our families, churches,

Ahead of every vision, there is a time of preparation. Ahead of every birth is a pregnancy. Whatever is to come to birth outwardly must first be nurtured inwardly. The foundation must be laid before the building is constructed. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4: 1-4 The time of preparation is vital, and all that should happen in that period must happen if the birth is to be healthy, if the building is to be strong. During that time of preparation, there are some key principles that we need to hold in mind. 1. Don't Jump The Gun People of vision tend to be people of action who are keen to get on with it. But with God there is

When a child is placed for adoption, a check is done into the prospective parents and their background, to try to make sure they can provide a good and safe family environment. God, on the other hand, apparently chose more recklessly. We can see in Matthew chapter 1 that Jesus family tree included some very noble ancestors, but also some pretty shady ones. Cheats, bandits, thieves and murderers – almost every depth of human depravity is represented. Just look at some of the people whose blood ran in Joseph, his adoptive father's, veins: ‘Jacob the father of Judah’ (v1) A cheat and a deceiver who swindled his own brother out of his inheritance (Genesis 27) ‘Judah the father of Perez A promiscuous man who had a child by his own daughter (Genesis 38) ‘David the father of Solomon’ Lied to a man who trusted him, and lived as a bandit (1 Samuel 27). He had sex with another man’s wife, got her pregnant, and had her husband killed to try to cover it up. (2 Samuel 11) ‘Solomon the father of

On 17th October 2006, my Mum passed away after a year-long battle with cancer. Now I know all Mums are special, but I think everyone who knew mine would agree that she was more special than most. Mum had a lot of friends, and at her funeral, the chapel was packed. She lived an amazing life, and influenced a lot of people. She ran a youth group, set up and ran an advice and counselling centre, and gave hospitality to dozens of people from all around the world. In her late forties, Mum learned to drive; not to go shopping at Tesco, but to join my Dad on an expedition in east Africa. For three weeks they drove around together, camping out in some of the wildest places on earth. In her sixties, they went pony trekking in the Himalayas. In her seventies, Mum learned to use a computer and email. That was the sot of person she was. She was a kind, gentle, courageous and remarkable woman who lived life to the full. Which started me thinking. If there really is no God... If there is no afterlif