I AM NOT A GRASSHOPPER!!!

This morning (May 12th) was amazing. 

I traveled out of the city to the HQ of Campus Crusade for Christ and met up with a guy called Mark Tjenagle. Mark is the Chief Finance Officer for CCC ... that means he controls a budget of about half a billion a year!!! 

After a quick chat with him, Andy (a pastor from the Aloma church) and I went through the Jesus Video project tour. This is amazing. The Jesus video has been translated into 1027 different languages, but its not your usual badly lipped synced film. They record the dialogue using ordinary members of the community in their natural dialect. The recording is then shipped back to the US where the syllables are all matched up to the actors lips so that the finished film looks like Jesus is speaking Spanish or Mandarin or ... whatever! Its seriously cool!

After the tour, we met up with Mark again who took us "behind the scenes". We walked around the I.T. department (Jason, you'd be jealous man!). Then he took us to the executives suites. It was amazing to see photos of Bill and Vonette Bright (the founders of CCC) with a succession of past US presidents, and to see "keys to the city" hanging on the wall. 

Bill died in 2003 but CCC has kept his office as it was ... and he even still has a secretary! 

The most amazing thing was being shown into Bill's office. If you look at the pictures of the HQ above (and that's just one of the buildings!) you'd think his office would be palatial ... but it really wasn't. It was a small, corner office looking out on the back of the property. 

On his desk was a small plaque that read "I am not a grasshopper". Its a reference from Numbers 14, when 10 Israelites went to explore the promised land. Only Joshua and Caleb returned with a positive report while the other 8 focused on the Nephillim (giants) saying we looked like grass hoppers even in our own eyes! 

It was incredibly humbling to stand in the office of a man who had a vision from God that has literally touched the world. 

And then ... right there in the office of Bill Bright ... the founder of CCC ... the guys prayed for me, for direction and clarity! How cool is that!?!?!?!?!?

I AM NOT A GRASS HOPPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Georgia ... The Wedding

Wow, I've been to some weddings but this one was truly beautiful. We drove up from Casslebury, leaving about 1:30 on Friday and arrived in Georgia at about 5:30. Its basically made up of various islands, so we ended up in place called St Simons. There is a big Christian retreat centre here, founded around a visit by John Wesley. 

The wedding was between Kelly (a woman who works at Man in The Mirror) and Jerry, a guy who had gone through the Salvation Army Adult Rehab program (see the other blog for more details). This guy has an awesome testimony of God getting him out of alcohol and serious drug abuse (and no word of lie, I really liked this guy the first moment I met him!). The wedding itself was quite simple, but the most powerful moments were when Jerry and Kelly made public commitments to Kelly's two Children and then to see them serving everyone in the congregation with communion. It really was awesome! (Its that word again Matt!). There was hardly a dry eye 

 

Some Updates

Hey guys,

Well its been a crazy few days and I've not really had time to catch up on the blog ... so here goes! I've decided to separate this out a little, so hopefully it will make more sense. 

The wedding over the weekend was awesome (see the blog above and some pics)

Sunday morning I was up at 6:00 and at church by 6:45! I will never again complain about having to be in Tiptree by 9:30!!! (... Sunday afternoon ... I was asleep!). They have three services on a Sunday morning (some pics above ... I didn't get a chance to take a photo of the church "in full flight" with the everyone dressed in robes but I'm sure you can imagine!). A traditional service at 8:00, a contemporary service at 9:15 followed by another traditional at 11:00. I'll try and blog some more observations of the church (ought to say the Church generally in the US) in the next few days ... I'm still reflecting!

This morning I went over to the HQ of Campus Crusade for Christ (see above) and the then this afternoon / evening I spent at an Alpha course run by the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Centre. This was very cool. About 110 guys in a facility outside Orlando all with alcohol and/or drug addictions. We spent some time setting up and then ate. When the "meeting" started we had about 45 minutes of worship, then watched a short version of Nicky Gumbels talk on prayer. I then joined one of the discussion groups (9 of us in all). Overall, there were 7 groups all about the same size. It was a really great evening and amazing and humbling to see members of the church sowing so much time, effort and money in to these guys. I didn't take any photos as it didn't seem right at the time, but it will be a lasting memory.  

Shikah Boom Bah!

Hey guys,

Wow, well its been a couple of days since I've updated this ... man what a rush its been! On Wednesday I did a bit of the tourist thing, went to Florida and and wandered around Downtown Disney (not the big resort but a small ... free version of it) and then hit the stores! I cant believe the prices over here. What we pay for stuff in pounds they pay in dollars so everything is half price or less! Its amazing!

Then last night we went down to Lakeland. The meeting was ... AWESOME! Two hours of worship, loads of miracles and stuff happening during the worship. A lady from Milton Keynes was there and gave testimony about a healing in England over an answer phone message! Todd then asked if there were any others from England ... there must have been about 150 at least! We literally ran down to the front! It was awesome! Cant really describe it in words but the presence was so strong. I ended up on the floor (somewhere at the bottom right hand side of the picture!) 

Not only that but Claudio Friedzen was there as well as Randy Clarke! It was such an awesome meeting! You can watch the meeting if you missed it here ...

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/401263

The impartation stuff for the UK is about 30 minutes in.

I'd been asking God for an impartation while I was in the US and especially at the meeting. I was chatting to guy afterwards who had been there since Saturday and he told that this was the first time Todd had prayed for the UK. Its just amazing to me how things have worked out. The start of the revival in April and continual meetings since then. Before I left for the US i was asking God not to let it end before I had a chance to get to it. Not only did I get to it but I also got to meeting where Todd prayed specifically for the UK!!!! Not only that, but He feels that the greatest outpouring of the healing revival outside of the US would be in the UK! God is so awesome! I'll have to tell you guys all about when I get back, its too much to type now ... expect a long story!!!

I took some video of the meeting too (some of the testimonies) but if you watch it from the link you shouldn't need it. 

We are living in unprecedented times. God is moving all over the earth in so many countries. Its what we have been praying for, for years. Don't get put of by the style or the presentation, or even the manifestations. Just push into what God has for you ... and us! Often God challenges the mind to get to the heart. I pray that we would all be open to what He is doing in our midst. 

Well, I gotta go. I'm traveling up to Georgia now for a wedding rehearsal for tomorrow. I'll try and blog some more stuff while I'm there ... there is so much to say!

Stay blessed, and keep pressing in!  

 

Man In The Mirror

Hey guys.

Well, I just got back home ... it's like 30 degrees outside and forecast to be hotter by the end of the week! It's about 2:50 here which is 7:50 your time. 

I spent the morning at the offices of a para-church ministry called "Man In The Mirror". It was started by a guy called Patrick Morley and is basically a teaching ministry with a focus on discipling men. I went to their weekly staff meeting first thing (at about 8:30) and then had a couple of meetings with two of the staff. The first was with a guy called Jim. We chatted about what I was in the US for and about the future ... it was really cool, very prophetic and he said some great stuff, and I get to catch up with him again next week at a chili cook off! I'm gonna try and get to his church on Sunday too.        

After that was a lunch meeting with Brett, another one of the teaching staff, a little more conservative than Jim but he still said some great things. I really feel that some of the people I'm meeting are those sort of "God moments" and that some lasting relationships will come out of them. It's all very cool (apart from the weather!)

Well, I'd better go, got a driving lesson this afternoon (I've never driven here before and being able to turn right on a red light is weirding me out a little!) and then I have  a bible study tonight at a local restaurant. 

Not sure what is happening tomorrow yet, but I know I have music rehearsal for Sunday in the evening. 

Thursday .... LAKELAND!!!

Bless ya 

ah ... there it is. This is of to one side

Northland Mega Church

Well, this is Northland ... or at least part of it! You wouldn't believe how big this place is. You cant see the balcony, or the two wings, the entrance hall, the coffee shop, the book store, the youth hall ... its huge!!!! 

Man, Its Hot!

Hey guys

Well I arrived in sunny Florida. Had a few nervous moments at the airport when I went to check in. I didn't realize that you had to give an address of where you are staying, at least for the first night. I didn't have a clue where I was staying so, after twenty minutes hunting through the internet we gave them the church address and hoped they wouldn't check it too carefully!

Well, they let me on the plane so that was a start. We flew Gatwick to Halifax (Canada) and then down to Sanford. Took about ten hours in all, with a forty minute stop at Halifax for fuel. Arrived at Sanford at about 5:20 local time (we are five hours behind here, so 10:20 your time). 

Well, today has been fun. I started off this morning with a tour of the church ... I'll have to send you some photos ... of the campus!!! Went to a couple of meetings this morning, one about developing leadership and then a worship planning meeting. The planning meeting was good but I have to admit a little weird ... I haven't planned worship for years.

Tonight has been fun. Four of us went to Northland Church ... an American mega church! total attendance over the weekend ... only about 7800!!! The service was great, way more traditional than i expected with some of the Anglican liturgy and communion. From what was said this was a little out of the ordinary, but made a real refreshing change. I tried to take a photo of the inside ... hm not sure of its working. I'll try to put it on facebook

Later