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PEP Talk with Christians in Sport
There was a time when a famous sports star giving their testimony was considered the pinnacle of evangelism. These days, there’s a richer and more accessible relationship between sport and sharing the gospel. We have two guests from Christians in Sport on the podcast today, exploring the opportunities sport has for us, either as participants or observers.
With Jonny Reid and Graham Daniels – PEP Talk
Our Guests
Dr Graham Daniels is a former professional footballer, now the General Director of Christians in Sport and a director of Cambridge United Football Club. He also holds positions at St Andrew the Great Church and Ridley Hall Theological College in Cambridge. He is married to Michelle and has three children and five grandchildren.
Jonny Reid is the Director of Engagement at Oak Hill College and writes regularly for Christians in Sport. He plays cricket at Cumnor Cricket Club and is one of the leaders of Town Church Bicester.
About PEP Talk
The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, Andy Bannister (Solas) and Kristi Mair (Oak Hill College) chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.
Lloyds Bank Christian Network!
Andy Bannister talks about his time with the Lloyds Bank Christian Network, and the ways in which Christians like these folks are gathering in the workplace to further their Christian witness.
Should We Be Activists?
Everyone is passionate about something, and for many it is a cause like justice, peace, or addressing poverty in our world. But why should we be activists – why do we think the world ought to be changed in some way or another? If we live in a godless universe, it’s difficult to see why things ought to be any different than they are. But if we start with the God of the Bible, we find a fantastic vision of how the world should be – and an amazing ally in Christ who sets out to accomplish it.
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Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!
Science & God: Friend or Foe?
Are science and God really at war?
A superficial reading of the history of science has left many with the idea that science and belief in God are mutually exclusive and incompatible. This is an idea which – although long discredited – is still presented by many who, for various reasons, wish to relegate belief in God to the corridors of ancient myth. Science, we are told, has squeezed God out of the gaps in our knowledge that He was once there to fill. In short – we know better now, and any real scientist would acknowledge this and abandon such silly antiquated superstitions as belief in God. Where there is any perceived conflict, the outcome will be – must be – that science will be the victor even if only in the distant future, they say. This view has come to be known as the ‘warfare’ or ‘conflict’ thesis.
How did we get here?
That assumption that science and faith were natural enemies hasn’t always dominated, however. When the great natural philosophers of old (what scientists were called back before the word ‘scientist’ was a thing) embarked on their investigations of the world, they did so very much because of their belief in God. They believed that the world was made by an intelligent creator who had endowed it with intelligibility – that is, because they believed in an Orderer, they assumed that there was order to be found in nature, which their job was to explore.
“No way! That’s just nonsense made up by Christians!” some people object. Don’t take my word for it; here are the words of just one of the great scientific pioneers, Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer and mathematician:
“It is a right, yes a duty, to search in cautious manner for the numbers, sizes, and weights, the norms for everything He [God] has created. For He himself has let man take part in the knowledge of these things … For these secrets are not of the kind whose research should be forbidden; rather they are set before our eyes like a mirror so that by examining them we observe to some extent the goodness and wisdom of the Creator.”[i]
And again Kepler says,
“The chief aim of all investigations of the external world should be to discover the rational order and harmony which has been imposed on it by God and which He revealed to us in the language of mathematics.”[ii]
Or again,
“I wanted to become a theologian; for a long time I was unhappy. Now, behold, God is praised by my work even in astronomy.”[iii]
Hypothetically, even if Kepler’s belief was false, what one cannot say is that he thought his belief in God and his scientific endeavours were at odds with each other or that belief in God would inhibit doing good science. He, like the majority of the pioneers of modern science, believed that God and science were not enemies on the battlefield, but were actually good friends sharing a pint down at the pub…proverbially speaking.
So then, how did we get here? How did this warfare or ‘conflict thesis’ become such a norm, especially in the media, the public imagination, and the black hole of Instagram comment sections.
Writing in the 19th century, two of the most well-known authors who popularised the ‘conflict thesis’ were John William Draper[iv] and Andrew Dickson White[v]. Their writings became popular and widely circulated at a time in history where it seemed that science was the ultimate panacea – the cure to all the ills of our human condition. Microscope and Bunsen burner in hand, Science the Saviour had come to our rescue. That was the perception, anyway.
Both Draper and White, it turns out, had their own personal issues with organised religion and White’s critique was directed more toward overly dogmatic theology than it was to religion and the idea of God in general, and their conclusions were not the result of any empirical science but rather a poor reading of the history of science. However, those facts are generally overlooked by those who want to keep the ‘conflict thesis’ afloat. As the sciences enjoyed success in the following years, the warfare idea grew in popularity too. This was not the result of more scientific observation, but as an attractive polemic for those who rejected religion but needed a weapon.
A few Issues
The problem is that the ‘conflict thesis’ has been widely rejected as a completely inadequate framework within which to construct a sensitive and realistic historiography of science in the West. Historian of science Ronald Numbers regards the idea of science and faith being in perpetual conflict as “historically bankrupt”[vi], and has written extensively to correct this stereotypical and inaccurate view.[vii] Here are just three issues with the ‘conflict thesis’: first, it unnecessarily hinders the recognition of other relationships between science and religion – especially where they have been mutually encouraging and symbiotic. As previously mentioned, key figures of modern science like Johannes Kepler, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton and Rene Descartes acknowledged that Christianity played a significant role in shaping their scientific endeavours. Second, the warfare thesis simply ignores instances of science and religion working together – especially in the establishment of societies and academic institutions committed to the integration of science and religion. Third, it seems to strip minor squabbles from their historical context, distort, and enthrone them as shining examples of religion oppressing scientific progress – with the result of only obscuring both the ideas of science and religion. One clear, and still widely-flung example is the case of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). The popularised version perpetuated by proponents of the ‘warfare thesis’ reads more like a low-budget Channel 5 playground drama than the complex clerico-political saga of Galileo’s day. The shortcomings of the conflict thesis have been elucidated repeatedly in the past few decades by scholars on opposite ends of the spectrum, and yet it still lingers on – primarily due to lack of study and perhaps, sadly, because it still serves as a good piece of anti-religious propaganda, despite it having been convincingly debunked.
There is so much more that could be written – and indeed so much more has been written. A good place to start, if you’re looking to dig a little deeper, is a great book titled Of Popes & Unicorns by Hutchings and Ungureanu (2021). Our friend Mark McCartney was kind enough to write a short review ‘here’.
Instead of unpacking the debate further, we at Solas thought a demonstration may prove more useful. To that end, over the next few months we will be interviewing several scientists from diverse cultural and scientific backgrounds about their professional work and their Christian faith. We will be hearing from the proverbial horses mouths, how science and Christianity may inform and enrich one another.
The ‘conflict thesis’ may still have popular currency and be misleadingly assumed in some school textbooks, but it is time to tell a better, and more accurate story.
[i] Epitome of Copernican Astronomy. In Michael B. Foster, Mystery and Philosophy, 61.
[ii] Defundamentis Astrologiae Certioribus, Thesis XX (1601)
[iii] Letter to Michael Maestlin, 3 October 1595. KGW 13, 40.
[iv] History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science, 1874.
[v] A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, 1896.
[vi] Numbers, Ronald L. “Science and Religion.” Osiris 2d ser. (1985):58–80.[vii] Numbers et. al. God and Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter between Christianity and Science (1986)
The Great Question of Suffering – Steve at RGU
One of the most difficult topics to address is suffering. It’s something we all experience at some point in life, probably many times, and in very different ways. It can be really hard to address in a short talk, and there are often people who come along to listen who are at that moment suffering – so it’s something you need to navigate very gently too.
But, it’s also one of the best topics to speak about as a way to get to sharing the Gospel! Jesus himself stepped in to this world and experienced great suffering, for us! So we can point people to him as our sympathetic High Priest, as the author of Hebrews puts it.
Recently the Christian Union at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen invited me to speak at a lunch event of the topic ‘Why do we experience suffering?’. As I made my way to the venue I passed the CU team in a broad and busy corridor area where they were busy engaging with people to invite them to come along for a free lunch and to hear a talk on the issue of suffering. The place was buzzing with energy as new students were moving past all the tables where different groups and clubs had pop-up stalls showcasing their different activities.
That energy continued as the event began, and there was a good turnout with several visitors coming after receiving flyers, and several more came along with Christian friends who had invited them. After the talk there were some really good conversations all around the room, and I had the opportunity to spend some time speaking to two student who had arrived in Scotland from Nigeria just 3 weeks ago. They were really intrigued with the fact that Christians were doing events like this, and were keen to come along to future events to hear more.
Engaging on universities campuses can often feel daunting, but time after time I’m so encouraged by the openness that people have to hearing about the truth of Christianity. Let’s continue to pray that the seeds that are sown at events like this will be watered and flourish.
With Tom Elliott
Whilst street drama and puppet shows might be a dying form of outreach these days, today’s guest started there and continued on to become a professional comedian and magician. How has he achieved success in this field without compromising the gospel or his own values? And how might the church use arts and entertainment better in reaching the world today?
With Tom Elliott – PEP Talk
Our Guest
Tom Elliott works as an Event Host & Comedy Magician, performing across the UK hosting corporate events, whilst also performing at holiday parks, churches, theatres and comedy clubs. Once described by Miranda Hart as ‘Such Fun’, Tom has appeared on BBC TV & Radio, had a feature piece in the Times Newspaper and received significant crowdfunding support for his arts-based initiatives. He also hosts a weekly show on Konnect Radio.
To book Tom at your church, or find out more, go to tom-elliot.org
About PEP Talk
The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, Andy Bannister (Solas) and Kristi Mair (Oak Hill College) chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.
Spotlight on Workplace Evangelism
God in the Workplace: Why Faith on the Frontlines Matters
“You can’t get prayed-for in this church unless you are a ‘Reverend’ or a missionary”, she said to me, with obvious frustration. Her church was good at praying for people in so-called full-time Christian ministry positions, both at home and around the world, but had clearly missed something important along the way. When I enquired further, it turned out that she had a boss who…had an apparent need to mock and humiliate Christians in the workplace, using his power within the organisation as his platform. The church at that stage seemed disinterested in her struggle – their prayers focused on their pastor and his ministry in the church. What was going on there?
Page menu
- Bringing Faith to the Frontlines: The Impact of God at work
- Doughnuts and disagreements
- Thrive25: transforming Scottish workplaces
- Witnessing in the workplace
- Starting a Christian workplace group
- Recommended reading
- Supporting workplace evangelism
Doughnuts and Disagreements
“How are you going to practice all this lovey-dovey stuff, if you think people like me are an abomination?”
This was the objection a transgender colleague made to Matt Chapman when he wanted to start a Christian group at work. How would you respond to something like that? Find out what Matt said, as well as how he navigated diversity and inclusion policies to open up more conversations about God, including “Doughnuts and disagreements” sessions.
Thrive25: Transforming Scottish Workplaces
Look out for Thrive25, an exciting series of events happening across Scotland in September 2025, aimed at helping Christians live out the gospel in and through their workplaces (a partnership between Solas, the Business Connection, and Transform Work). Keep an eye on our website for further news about it.
Witnessing in the Workplace
Jim Grimmer shares how God called him to help Christians be more confident in their workplaces.
Starting a Christian Workplace Group
Transform Work provides practical guidance for anyone wanting to launch a Christian group at work.
Recommended Reading
- Thank God it’s Monday! by Mark Greene
- How to Talk about Jesus without Looking like an Idiot by Andy Bannister
- God at Work by Ken Costa
- The Heart of Success by Rob Parsons
- A Good Return by John Lennox
- Every Good Endeavour by Tim Keller
- Proving Ground by Graham Hopper
Will You Support Workplace Evangelism?
Will you stand with Solas as we seek to help Christians in the workplace share the good news of Jesus persuasively? We speak at evangelistic events in business settings, as well as helping to empower Christians for evangelism through practical training and resources.
St John’s Walmley – Church Weekend
I don’t honestly know how St John’s Church in Walmley came across me, but they got in touch and invited me to come and speak at their church weekend away – their first church weekend for almost two decades! When I got there and was introduced to the team the vicar Aide Evans and I realised that we had in fact met years and years ago and after a chat we eventually worked out that we had been in the Boys Brigade together! He recalled that I had once tried to teach him how to play the bugle! I don’t remember that at all, but I did remember being in the youth with him at Westside Church in South London and that was the last time I saw him until this weekend!
I was asked if I could adapt the material on evangelism-training I had delivered at the last Word Alive Conference, for a church setting. And that was really interesting because doing that in a church-setting went really, really well – the folks from Walmley were really engaged, involved and enjoyed the sessions and that is obviously a joy when you are the speaker. Each of the four sessions over the three days lasted 75 minutes, so that gave me plenty of time to open up the topics, and then for discussion and Q&A too. Everytime we opened it up for discussion, the volume went the roof in the room, such was the enthusiasm and energy they brought to every session.
The Q&A was interesting too – and one of the highlights for me was the teenager who brought a huge list of questions to work through. We did the first few in the meeting, but there were so many more I was invited to sit with her family at the next meal so that we could continue working through her list! One unique question in there was ‘Do you think there is a problem with big-gig culture, like Taylor Swift etc. Doesn’t it smack of idolatry? Should Christian go?’ What an insightful question about youth culture from that age group, I thought! So it was really encouraging to meet a teenager who was really, really through-through in her faith and seeking to faithfully contextualise it in her own culture.
Walmsley itself is a suburb of Birmingham really, out to the North East of the city towards Sutton Coldfield. The weekend I spent with them wasn’t there though, it was in Staffordshire, at a beautiful Christian conference centre called Cloverley Hall – which is in a lovely Victorian mansion. With the lovely environment and the enthusiasm of the congregation, it was just a joyous weekend.
Do All Religions Lead to God?
It sounds nice to say all religions lead to God, but could it really be true? If we take the time to investigate, religions often say very different things about God – contradictory things that can’t all be true. As well, it turns out many religions claim to lead to something other than God in the first place.
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Support
Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!
Steve Goes Off to S.U.
Jenny Thomson works for Scripture Union Scotland, and has responsibility for schools work in the East of Scotland for Independent Schools. She also coordinates the Equip meetings for young people in Edinburgh in school-years S3-S6. I met Jenny not long after I arrived in Scotland and HAD just begun working for Solas – and we got chatting and that led to me being invited to go and speak at their Equip night. It was actually the first event I have done with Scripture Union Scotland! I really love their work in schools, holidays, and youth groups so it was great to be able to work them a bit.
It was a really enjoyable night too. They are a fun group, there was a good vibe, and I loved being there There were about 25 folk there, but I am not sure how many of them were leaders! So it was a smaller group, but a good one. I was sharing on the subject, “How to Share Your Faith In Our Secular Culture” and perhaps unsurprisingly I took them to Acts 17 (“Paul at the Areopagus”) and drew some lessons from that.
Equip has a great little band who lead the worship, it was made up of some young Christians with a real desire to lead people in worship – along with some other young folks who are involved in the group but perhaps still exploring matters of faith.
We also did some Q&A, and the young people sent loads of questions in on scraps of paper for me to read out and address. They asked some tough questions too, such as “Did God allow slavery, and if so does that mean it is right?”, and then the age old classic, “If God is all-powerful could he create a boulder so heavy that he couldn’t lift it?” To which I suggested that God can do all things which are logical possibilities, but making square-circles or married-bachelors is nonsensical! There were loads more questions too!
What’s great is that SU are helping the young people to really think, apply their faith and relate it to the schools and colleges they go to where their non-Christian peers are asking these kinds of questions. So, in short – I loved my first evening spent working with SU Scotland!
With Clive Parnell
This week Andy and Kristi chat with a creative evangelist (he once taught Kristi how to share the gospel with a paper clip!) with experience of student ministry and church pastoral work. Drawing on these areas and reflecting on the cultural changes over the years, he offers insight and encouragement for parents, pastors and lay people as they seek to “drip the gospel” into daily conversations.
With Clive Parnell – PEP Talk
Our Guest
Clive Parnell is Teaching Pastor at Kirkliston Community Church on the northwest side of Edinburgh. He has served in the church since 2012. Previously Clive was with UCCF for nine years speaking at mission weeks all over the UK and abroad, training staff and students in creative evangelism.
Clive is a singer/songwriter currently with Goldfinch Music whose recent release received airplay on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio Ulster. He has also written Bible notes for “Daily Bread” and is currently working on his first book called “Everyday Worship.”
About PEP Talk
The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, Andy Bannister (Solas) and Kristi Mair (Oak Hill College) chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.
Launch Pad – Complete Series
All over the country Christians are finding interesting, creative and engaging ways to share their faith in Jesus Christ. The main gathering of the church on a Sunday morning is always a hugely important thing, but our witness doesn’t stop there! In the great commission in Matthew 28, Jesus emphasises that the mission of the church is to ‘go’ into all the world to tell of Him!
But how?
The truth is that while there is only one gospel, and that will never change; there are countless ways of going about sharing it with others – and still more for creating an environment in which such conversations can naturally occur.
Launch Pad is a series of 52 very short articles, each of which features a different way in which some Christians are going about sharing their faith – that’s one a week for a whole year! Every one is based on a true story, of someone we know or have interviewed for the series. In each case people where excited to share with us (and you!) what they had tried, what they had learned and what was effective! Launch Pad ideas here range from small-scale ideas for starting spiritual conversations to themes event around Christmas or Easter, with all kinds of things in between.
Here is one page that links to the entire series – a great little resource, and repository of evangelistic ideas for you and your church to try. Have a good look through, choose an idea that could work where you are, and give it a go. Let us know how you get on!
Sharing Hope in Lossiemouth
My first contact with Lossiemouth Baptist Church came from Liam Morton, one of their pastors who reached me through the Solas office because was keen to get some more evangelism going in the town. His colleague, Rab Donald had done some work with Solas in his previous church down in Stirling, and obviously took the word about our ministry up to the North East with him.
The event I did with Lossiemouth Baptist was significant for them, I think – because it was the first major outreach event they had done in the town outside the church premises for as long as anyone can remember. It had the feel of a new, exciting project in its early stages of development; but I think it went really well.
In preparing for the evening, I had a brilliant conversation with the pastors about the context in which they are ministering in Lossie, and in response to that I carefully selected a topic; and they did a great job in finding a location. They found a wonderful place called the Stottfield Hotel in the middle of the town which was actually a really good venue for this type of event. The hotel was well used to doing events such as weddings, and had a really good tech set-up in situ which was ideal. They had the guests sat in tables of eight around the room, for the great buffet dinner – which was good, and not too expensive, making the price-per-head feasible.
About 55 people came, which I think was less than the church had hoped for, but as a new venture it was a good start, I thought. Numbers may have been small, but encouragingly there was a spread right across the age ranges, and the church estimated that between a quarter and third of the people who came were not professing Christians, but people who came to find out about the Christian faith.
I spoke on “Where can I find hope for now and for the future?” and that was designed to help people outside the church to explore faith, but also to speak to those who have been perhaps brought up in and around church, but are not committed to Christ, and who perhaps are not sure it’s true. So it was intended to show them what real faith in Christ has to offer. Then we had some opportunities for Q&A after a coffee break.
Most of the questions came from the younger end of the audience (High School and University Students). One question was ‘when I read something in the Bible I disagree with, what should I do?’ – which is a great question. Another one was about given all the different versions of Christianity that are around, what do you actually have to believe in order to be a Christian?; which again was a very perceptive question from someone outside the church.
One of the reason the church held this event was to help launch their Christianity Explored course, and it was really encouraging to see that five people signed up to do that and really explore the Christian faith more deeply. I really enjoyed meeting the folks at Lossie Baptist, and working with them at this event. I really hope that Solas has the opportunity to work with them again as I’d gladly jump on the train and head North again.
The Coming Year Can be Great
“We wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy new year” – we really do. It is our genuine wish that you really enjoy the Christmas period and that the coming year is one you will look back on fondly for the rest of your life.
But maybe, “merry” and “happy” are good but rather limited aspirations for what we might experience in the coming days. Even a cursory reading of the Bible will reveal that while God has no problem with us being cheery or happy, he has far greater ambitions for us than that. In fact in one poignant moment in the gospels Jesus instructs his disciples in the pursuit of greatness. The context of his remarks is more poignant still as the disciples had been bickering about who was the greatest amongst them, in a similar conversation to the one they had when they sought to secure the ‘best seats’ in the kingdom they were convinced Jesus was going to launch.
You can read the story from Mark 9 here.
Fascinatingly Jesus doesn’t rebuke their idea that greatness itself is wrong (he doesn’t commend living insignificant useless lives) but he does tell them that their whole concept of what constitutes greatness is entirely mistaken. The disciples seem to have been thinking in terms of accumulating the kind of prestige, power, recognition and influence that grants access to this world’s goods and pleasures.
Instead Jesus did two things. Firstly he predicted his death, and in so doing reminded them that he had come to die at the hands of sinful men and then rise again. This clearly bewildered the glory-hunting messiah-followers who found these words incomprehensible. Then secondly, after telling them that he had come to die, (which we also know meant taking the lowest place, become the servant, demonstrating the greatest love, and laying down his life for the sins of the world) he told them this: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” In other words, be like him. In fact, he says that when we welcome the least, we welcome him and the Father!
The problem with Jesus’s ethical teaching though is that while it is utterly compelling, morally unsurpassed and ethically beautiful – it’s completely beyond our ability to do! The truth is that as we look back over our lives, they have shown moments of kindness and sacrifice for others, but also plenty of evidence that our hearts are enraptured with the very same things that the disciples stumbled over. Some of us love money, others crave status, others influence and reputation, others desire possesions – and that the pursuit of these things controls our lives to the extent that they prevent us from ever being truly great in the terms Jesus described. We might think that Jesus’ vision of service is the most beautiful thing we have ever read, but who of us can ever say that we have truly lived this vision out? Worryingly when Jesus then says: “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me”, that actually means that the disciples he addressed had rejected God when they sought power, and so have we.
As we look twards the New Year, Jesus offeres us two pieces of really good news.
The first is that, he came to die for us – to redeem us from every act of selfishness, power-grabbing, and selfishness and that he can do that because he alone has fully lived out the lofty ethics he proclaimed. The pinnacle of Jesus’ great life is his sacrifical death on the cross to redeem the undeserving. The one truly ‘great’ life is that lived by Jesus himself. If you accept Jesus’ definition of greatness, no King, Emperor, artist, pilgrim, scientist, entrepreneur, or philanthropist looks remotely close to that which we see in Christ. Though he was the king of glory he took flesh, and spent his first days on earth lying in a feeding trough in an obscure village. He touched lepers and outcasts, washed our feet and gave his life for the undeserving. He lived the one truly great life, fully and completely acceptable to God. And when he died, he didn’t do so as some grandiose gesture – but in order to share his ‘greatness’ with us. He gave his life, to both pay the debt for our sin, and also to give us his righteousness, to share his great life with us. We are saved by grace!
The second piece of good news, is that Jesus came to change us. In his grace he welcomes us as we are, but doesn’t leave us as we are, as he instigates regime-change in our hearts. Paul would write in Ephesians that we have been “saved by grace with good works prepared in advance for us to do”. That is, in the power of the Spirit, we can bcome more like Christ, beacuse those good works are likely to be in service to the poor, the least, the undeserving, the unglamorous – and result in no recognition in this world for us whatsoever. However, as we are set free from the control of the idols which once controlled our hearts, we are libertated to pursue true greatness!
The question is, as we face 2025 – will we pursue things of genuine greatness which store up treasures in heaven, or are our hearts set on the treasures of earth which rot, rust and fail?
Even in Christian ministry we can get this wrong! Greatness in ministry doesn’t necessarily mean preaching impressive sermons to vast crowds in state-of-the-art auditoriums. Such opportunities are, after all open to very, very few people. For sure, if you are gifted like Billy Graham, or George Whitfield – preach your heart out. But in Jesus’s kingdom greatness isn’t restricted to the gifted few, because serving the poor, sharing the gospel with a neighbour, praying for the lost and broken, sitting with the bereaved, being on the church cleaning rota – is available to virtually everyone. In Jesus we have the surprising democratisation of greatness because only those too arrogant to serve are precluded.
So as the proverbial ‘man at the gate of the year’ marks out this milepost in the progression of time and points us in the direction of the hand of God beckoning on onwards, we can look at this new year with some confidence. The one true great life has been lived – for us and we are saved by his grace. Romans 8 says: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son”, which means at the very least, that God’s agenda for us in this new year is to make us increasingly more like Jesus! Jesus offers us forgiveness for every time we have settled for eternal mediocrity by pursuing the the things this world values as ‘great’; and then he calls us towards lives of true greatness, which he defines as self-sacrificial service to the least; sharing with them both physical bread, and the bread of life.
We hope that this New Year is one of great joy for you – but the truth is that we don’t know what triumphs or tragedies we might face us in it. What we can say with real certainty is that the coming year can be ‘great’, (eternally great), if we receive the love, forgiveness and greatness of Christ – and follow His call to serve others in His name. In so doing, to become more like Him.
So think, as you begin this New Year, not what you can grasp but what you can give. Who you can serve, not what you can store up. How can you take the lowest seat, not the loftiest throne? How can you imitate the humility of Christ, who though being in very nature God, did nto consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, ? How can you serve in ways that gain no recognition from men, or status in this world, but which will make you just a little more like Christ?
For this way lies greatness – according to Jesus.
Have a great New Year.
Canterbury Baptist Church
I spoke at the Canterbury Christchurch Christian Union mission earlier in the year, where I met Luke Barrs who is the pastor of Canterbury Baptist Church (CBC). The CU hosted a series of ‘international dinners’ that week, and Luke contributed a really good short devotional talk at these events, which is where we got chatting.
Luke then invited me to come and preach at Canterbury Baptist Church, on my next visit down to Kent. So I spoke on ‘Confident Faith’, partly drawing on some of the conversational tools found in my book “How to talk about Jesus without looking like an idiot”.
After the service there was a church lunch and I had thought it was aimed mainly at their many students – but it was a whole-church lunch with people of all ages, older folk, families and, of course, students in search of a free lunch too! After the meal, I was invited to lead a Q&A session, primarily about evangelism with the 70 or so people who stayed.
As it was the start of term, there were an unusual number of students about who are surfing around different congregations looking to see which church they would settle in. Apparently one of the Iranian student leaders suggested bringing a crowd of students to CBC to catch up with me, which was lovely too. And it meant a lively Q&A with lots of younger folk in! There were students from Christ Church CU, Kent University and the University of Creative Arts (USA).
One of the questions asked was, “why should students get involved in things like mission on campus?”, so that was great! There was a warm response to the Have You Ever Wondered? book too. A youngster asked, ‘Why does God give us pets and then let them die?’ and ‘Will all pets be in heaven?’ The final question I was asked was rather poignant, as the issue of sharing the faith in the context of a harrowing story of suffering was raised by a church member. So it was good to be able to think through some of those sensitive issues with them.
The minister at CBC, Luke Barrs, added, “Andy’s encouragement particularly blessed the students, and each of them heard that they could be surprised at the impact they could make to others through sharing their faith. It was highly practical and we will be highlighting his three questions in our church magazine: “What do you mean by that?”, “Why do you think that?” And “Have you ever wondered?” We’re also looking forward to getting Andy back next year for an event for many of our local Baptist and other mission-minded churches to attend.
Andy’s talk at CBC can be watched here:
