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Mission is not just one of a list of things that the Bible happens to talk about. Mission is, in that much-abused phrase, ‘what it’s all about’.

Now this is a bold claim. Does it make sense to speak of the Bible being ‘all about’ anything? Well, Jesus certainly thought so. In Luke 24, first to the two on the road to Emmaus, and then later to the rest of the disciples, Jesus made himself as Messiah the focus of the whole canon of the Hebrew Scriptures (verses 27 and 44).

To mark such a special anniversary, a booklet has been produced which outlines this wonderful history. Compiled by IMM’s Hon. General Secretary, David Shillitoe, this testament to God’s work among the mining community makes very encouraging and inspiring reading. The extract below selected by Alicia Felce gives an example.

Having begun in a truly miraculous way with the conversion of a 70-year-old wealthy mine owner, the Mission has moved on to working in challenging situations to bring the gospel to dark places.

On debating religion, Richard Dawkins likens all religious activity to ‘medieval superstition’. He goes on to argue that, ‘The hypothesis of God offers no worthwhile explanation for anything’, and that, ‘Faith is a great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence’. In light of these comments it is interesting to observe the impact the gospel is having on the students at Durham University.

The University of Durham has a long-standing reputation for academic excellence in the fields of science, literature and engineering. Its students are sporty, clever, articulate, and can expect future success. If Dawkins’s hypothesis is correct, Durham is probably the last place in the world you would expect the gospel to be flourishing, but, by God’s grace, it is!

THE GREAT GIVEAWAY
Reclaiming the Mission of the Church
By David E Fitch. Baker Books. 263 pages. £5.41 (Amazon)
ISBN 0 80106 483 X

Written out of frustration with the North American church scene, the thesis of this book is that evangelicalism has ‘given away being the church in North America’.

Matt and Debbie* and their three children are in crisis. They are crippled by debt, and Matt has just lost his job. His benefits will take time to be paid and even these will not service his debts. Where on earth are they going to find money to eat?

This is a true and oft-repeated story. There are still 12.4 million people living in poverty in the UK and increasing consumerism and debt is dividing the nation. Almost every community has its areas of social exclusion and deprivation. The church’s response to local poverty has been patchy, and often uncoordinated. Social action was once central to church mission but most find Jesus’s words in Matthew 25.35-40 a difficult challenge.

Twelve years ago the Airdrie Reformed Presbyterian (RP) Church in Scotland was, like many small churches in the UK, drifting its way out of existence.

Caught in a devastating self-preservation mode, church life consisted of a one-hour service for the 20+ ‘faithful’ on a Sunday morning. The prospect was bleak — with an average age in the 70s, the writing was more than just on the wall.

Monday nights have just got more thrilling. Eleanor Margesson watches as the fifth series of Spooks unfolds on BBC1.

Imagine you are a spy. Your mission: to bug the house of a terror suspect in order to gain intelligence about their imminent bombing campaign. As you enter the empty house on a rainy night, a cat escapes past you into the dark. What do you do?

In 2005, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote that if evangelicals chose a Pope, they would be likely to select John Stott.

Stott, who is 85, has been at the heart of evangelical renewal in the UK. His books and biblical sermons have transfixed millions throughout the world, and he has been involved in many important world councils and dialogues, not least as chair of the committee that drafted the Lausanne Covenant (1974) and the Manila Manifesto (1989), defining statements for evangelicals.

It is 1932 and we are in the North East of Brazil. A young missionary is facing a very hostile crowd which has been summoned by the Roman Catholic priest to stop him preaching.

The priest calls out: ‘What bishop ordained the preacher?’ The firm reply comes back: ‘The Lord Jesus Christ who said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel”, it was the Lord Jesus Christ who ordained me’. This is provocation enough for the priest and the stones begin to fly in response, forcing the missionary, together with his Brazilian colleagues, to leave town.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples: ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ (Matthew 9.35-38)

People today are no different from those Jesus met in the first century; they are ‘harassed and helpless’. Can we see them as they really are, in all their desperate need? We are surrounded by those who are lost, separated from God and facing eternity without him, ‘like sheep without a shepherd’. Do we have compassion on them?

The Rev. Gilbert Kirby died aged 92 on October 15.

He led a very active life which included being the Principal of London Bible College (now London School of Theology) and General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance.

Historically, the most exciting and strategic times of the gospel’s advance have been marked by fierce opposition and resistance from those who find its message offensive and foolish.

In Acts, we read of Paul’s encounter with Alexander the metalworker who did him ‘a great deal of harm’. In the 1780s, Charles Simeon, curate at Trinity Church, Cambridge, preached for ten years to a congregation locked out of their pews by angry churchwardens. Opposition is part and parcel of Christ’s call to mission.

There is a lot to be said for the value of older Christians, that is, those over the age of 55.

They buy more books than anyone else and, generally speaking, have sorted out their lives and are ‘more together’ than their younger counterparts. They have battled temptations and been through the deep waters and, when tapped, are springs of faith and encouragement.

Over recent months God has intervened in the life of one local church and a national mission organisation to cause them both great happiness.

Their problem

What seemed to be an impossible situation for the Railway Mission (RM) and Calvary Evangelical Church (CEC) in Brighton proved eventually to be no problem to God.

‘Half the world lives on less than two dollars a day’ (George Bush, June 2001).

They are poor because we have taken their money. 20% of the world receives 87% of its income while 80% of the world lives on 13% of its income. In 1820, income per person in developed countries was three times income per person in underdeveloped countries: by 1992, income per person in developed countries was 72 times income per person in underdeveloped countries.1

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Nov 2006

On the one hand, it’s a small story. It only relates to 50 students or so. Other than a cameo appearance in Love Actually, Wisconsin is not a name brand state.

On the other hand, this is the third in a row. First it was Rutgers University in New Jersey. Then it was Georgetown University. Now the University of Wisconsin has ‘De-recognised’ the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship group. On October 2, IVCF filed suit.

Sydney. Home not just to the Opera House and the Anglican evangelicals but also to Hillsong.

Led by Brian and Bobbie Houston, Hillsong is an Assemblies of God church at the cutting edge of modern worship. A London offshoot hires out the Dominion Theatre in the West End. Their latest conference was held in September in London’s Docklands. I went along to the Excel Centre one Friday to find out more.

Christians go to university with many of the same aims as everybody else. They want to spread their wings, find out who they are . . . perhaps even get a degree.

But there is one aim which Christian students do not share with their non-Christian counterparts. Many will spend much of their time at university being part of a student-run Christian community and trying to persuade non-Christians to join with all kinds of outreach activities.

Every mosque attempts to be modelled on the first mosque built and directed by Muhammad in Medina.

The functions of a mosque cannot be understood without considering the first mosque and its role and rule in the first Muslim community.

As I now think of my life since 1948, I realise that it has followed a clear pattern.

Reading John Benton’s The Big Picture for Small Churches prompted some reflections. It seems that the Lord’s purpose for me was to be, what the business world would call, a ‘trouble shooter’. I should have been prepared for this because every morning at breakfast at Bible Institute I read: ‘Thinkest thou great things for thyself, think them not!’ It is only now, as I look back, that I understand.