Hypocrisy # end

The current furore surrounding Jimmy Savile and the sexual harassment issues regarding allegations of paedophilia whilst he was retained at the BBC is another example of our culture going through some realistic 'soul searching'. Whilst the issues of the abuse perpetrated by Jimmy Savile and possibly others retained within the BBC are in themselves diabolical, the process of examining the foundations of our institutions is in itself very healthy, mature and ultimately a significant healing process.

 

Parliamentary expenses; priests engaged in paedophilia; banking scandals; phone tapping within the media and the Leveson enquiry. All of these issues are not only recent, but are in themselves challenging and focussing our expectations on what is right and wrong within a mature democracy and what we expect from our institutions and citizens.

 

This is about our collective morality and the hypocrisy within our society which destroys the harmony of our agreed values.

 

It is human beings who govern the world. Now you and I may, or may not agree on who governs human beings, but it is the responsibility of us all to make our planet a better place. Human rights should be aligned with human responsibility. Jimmy Savile raised millions for charity whilst apparently abusing hundreds of children. He was without doubt a hypocrite.

 

He was not the person everybody thought he was.

 

Hypocrisy is in the human heart and by definition impacts on every sphere of life and is a challenge for us all. I am hypocritical and it is only my faith and thus my 'world view' which inspires me to 'work on my character defects' and try and be on the outside, what I am on the inside and vice versa. This inner journey of faith, in my experience, does eventually lead to real freedom as we ask God for His power to heal our characters.

 

Sometimes we are so 'nice in the church,' (and there is nothing wrong with being nice), but we often struggle to be honest about what is going on within the 'community of faith'. As somebody said, if you find a perfect church don't join it because you'll ruin it. The church is a community of which the great Catholic writer Henri Nouwen said "the Christian faith community are in themselves 'wounded healers'."

 

In the love of God, all I've got to give my fellow man is hope that there is healing and there is freedom in God. If my story and communication to others isn't honest then I am hypocritical. People respond well to honesty. They can smell its authenticity.

 

A good definition of hypocrisy is "...the state of promoting or administering virtues, morals or religious beliefs, principles etc. that one does not actually have or is also guilty of violating. Hypocrisy often involves the deception of others and thus can be considered as a kind of lie."

 

In Jimmy Savile's case that hypocrisy led to a life which was a lie, and which seriously abused people and damaged them. I believe Jimmy Savile has to give an account for his life and actions because justice demands it. Whatever the decisions of our judicial system regarding Savile, whatever the outcomes of the work done by those responsible for trying to right the wrongs done to people who were abused, I firmly believe that God will be perfect in His Judgements, and offers healing and hope to those who are hurting and in despair.

 

 

 

 

Running the Race # end

Last month I wrote about the Olympics and the Paralympics at a time when none of us knew just how fantastic the two weeks of the former would be for us as a nation. Looking back on the first couple of weeks in August who would have imagined we would have come third in the medals table beating everybody except the USA and China and then ending with the greatest accolade going to the 70,000 volunteers who gave of their time, energy and resource to make the Olympics a joy for all who attended and watched on TV.

 

Like life, it was a roller coaster event of major ups and downs with tears of joy and sadness. Hopes realised and hopes dashed. The men crying as much as the women and that was just the audience let alone the athletes themselves.

 

The perception of Team GB around the world was definitely enhanced, and who knows, perhaps it will even pay dividends in the future on the tourism front.

 

I for one was very grateful to Providence for the overall outcome.

 

I'm now looking forward to the Paralympics because in terms of inspiration, we should all take encouragement from our fellow citizens who have often overcome incredible odds just to maintain hope for life. I am very humbled by the courage I witness, from all the Paralympians including those of our armed forces that end up competing in the Games as well.

 

We can all play our role in the gift of encouraging each other.

 

I spoke to a friend of mine who is a lecturer at the University and we both remarked on the fact that the Olympics were a perfect launch pad for what some call the 'big society'. All the factors were there: Fantastic athletes; good planning; financial governance; excellent security; great coverage from the BBC and of course the heart and generosity of the volunteers and the goodwill of the nation.

 

What next? Well definitely a legacy of sport for the next generation. Somebody once said that you can judge the quality of a civilisation by how well they treat their children. All over the news a great story of helping the younger generation. The only other news to cloud the whole experience was the death of little twelve year old Tia Sharpe, possibly by an extended family member.

 

If we are to 'run our race' of life as the Apostle Paul said we need to understand, as any athlete understands, that it takes courage, commitment and perseverance to win the 'prize of life'. Giving our children hope is a great achievement for any parent. We also bring our children up in a 'little villages' with Dads, Moms, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, Sisters and the all important Grandparents. If there is no accountability in the family village, then it is hard for real accountability and protection of our children to be realised. As good as the social services are, they don't live with families 24/7.

 

The athletes all thanked their families for the support they had received. This was almost their first response when asked about winning a medal. Thanks to family and friends for the support without which I would not have made it. Winning the race is tough enough, that's why we have to do it together.

A Tale of Two Stories # end

                                       

 

In the classic Dickens novel 'Tale of two Cities' the opening lines grab the attention of the reader with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light."

 

Two stories a couple of months ago attracted my attention, because they seem to illustrate Dickens' words:

 

Earlier this year Fabrice Muamba, a professional footballer and devout Christian, collapsed on the field and his heart stopped for 78 minutes. The football community and national press called for prayer. The miracle was that he recovered without any brain damage. Life coming out of death and resurrection are at the cornerstone of the Christian faith. For those who want to see with their spiritual eyes, is this a sign of what God will do in our generation as He has done throughout our history? I believe there are some very positive 'signs' of life within our Christian community.

 

Shane Jenkins watched a horror movie the night before subjected his girl friend Tina Nash to a horrific assault of domestic abuse by gouging out her eyes in April 2011. The courage of Tina was obvious to all and she said "You've only got one life and I'm not going to let him (Jenkins) ruin it." This event shocked all of us by its evil intent.

 

Regarding these two stories, Jesus Christ, Himself says in John 10 verse 10 "the thief has come only to steal, and kill and destroy, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." The Bible teaches us that before Jesus came to establish what we understand as religion, He came primarily to set individuals free from the enslaving power of negativity and spiritual destruction.

 

People often talk to me about God and these discussions are the 'stuff of life'. Often the discussions relate to the nature of God and the part we play in the theatre of life. The first thing I share and submit is that the theatre of life involves God, us and 'powers and principalities'. 

 

I believe in life after (and before) death and I believe that I can only understand the true love of God and my fellow man with 'free will'. I am not a robot. To exercise free will I must make right choices. There are consequences of actions. All of us are going to face challenging times in this life as the Bible states, but God is the 'power' who carries us through these times. Tina Nash has chosen not to allow this horrendous event to rob her any more and Fabrice is just thankful to be alive. What a testimony he has!!!

 

Yes these are the best of times and the worst of times, but, personally, I trust that my understanding of time and my journey of life will result in eternal life as I put my faith in Jesus Christ (to 'cling to, rely on, trust in Him' as the Amplified Bible puts it).

I absolutely love the Christmas season #end

I absolutely love the Christmas season. Now for some of you, I have already alienated you from reading further because you don't share the same sentiments about this festive holiday period. We'll I'm sorry if you've aligned yourself with 'old scrooge' and I can hear you already, muttering humbug

 

I enjoy the season because of a number of reasons. My faith informs me that this time of year can bring out the best in people as well as the worst in humanity which Dickens so wonderfully depicted in his novel 'A Christmas Carol'. The family will batten down the hatches for a few days and watch some wonderfully sentimental films like 'It's A Wonderful Life'. We'll eat, drink and be merry and thank God for the family we have around us.

 

Some will drink too much and establish long running family feuds for a while and probably then have to wait until Easter to understand the message of the cross and the freedom that forgiveness brings.

 

Christmas is about the gift of life that God gave us in His Son, Jesus Christ and Easter is what that gift of a Son bought for us all when he voluntarily, of His own free will, paid the cost for our lack of love and tendency towards selfishness.

 

This year, I want to send a massive bouquet to the folks at John Lewis. They have an advert of a young boy going through the incredible frustration and impatience of waiting for Christmas day. You get the sense from the start of the advert that 'dear of him' this is just the aged old story of a child waiting for the day when he will open masses of presents and he just can't hold his excitement. The subtlety that John Lewis advertising agency has established and who I think should win an award for this well crafted advert, is that what he can't wait for is the moment when, on Christmas morning, he wakes up and rushes into Mom and Dad's bedroom with the present that he wants to GIVE them.

 

Not only is this a great advert with a touch of genius, but it establishes what Christmas is all about. Giving, not getting.

 

There is a principle that I have found in the patient journey of faith. The gift makes way for the giver and that the character of God is one of incredible generosity. God gives beauty for our ashes and he does an amazing thing through the gift of His Son. He heals the broken hearted and he prospers the human soul.

 

There may be trouble ahead, but with Christ in the vessel, you can smile at the storm.

Redeeming Our Communities #end

Times of difficulty have often proven to be the catalyst for bringing the best out of people.  We use terms like 'the blitz spirit' or the 'wartime spirit', referring to the way that people under extreme pressure and hardship found ways to pull together for the common good.  Acts of kindness, mercy, and generosity when there is little to give, seem to have an opportunity to flourish in the most difficult of circumstances.  As Charles Dickens wrote, these can be 'the best of times, and the worst of times...'

 

The problems we are all facing as a result of the recession and economic instability can be seen in that light.  Lack of finances is forcing the coalition government to look at its 'Big Society' agenda, and ways in which voluntary organisations and communities can bring benefits to their villages, towns and cities, standing in the gap for provision that it seems can no longer be afforded by central or local government.

 

The Faith Action Audit showed just how much is being done already by the church in Plymouth.  Youth work, elderly care, debt and financial advice, food banks and soup runs, many forms of specialist counselling, community safety, supporting and strengthening families and much more... the list of provision made by church groups is a long one.

 

All these services are offered, usually free of charge, to any member of the community who needs help regardless of whether they have any kind of faith or none at all.  The motivation is one of passion and a desire to 'love your neighbour', putting the teachings of Jesus Christ into action.  When He was asked by the Jews he lived among 'who is my neighbour?' Jesus made no distinctions and excluded nobody.  Instead, he told a story about a Samaritan (the 'enemy' for a Jew) who helped a Jew in trouble.  His story rattled the cages of the narrow-minded but gave hope to everyone who is facing adversity.  In effect, he said 'your neighbour is anyone you meet who needs your help'.  Jesus' words are still challenging us today to get involved and help those in need, regardless of whether they are our friends or not.

 

Church groups work alongside many non-faith organisations, where the shared aim of delivering assistance to people in need can overcome any perceived barrier to working together.  Forgiveness when offence could be taken, and love to motivate acts of kindness and mercy, are real keys to this kind of partnership.  Any partnership, from a marriage to a citywide strategy involving many organisations, can benefit from the love and forgiveness at the heart of the Christian faith, as people 'rub each other up the wrong way' in efforts to get closer together to fufil a common goal.

 

Down through the centuries, the Christian faith in action has always engaged with the society that it seeks to serve.  The fabric of our democratic society, many of our schools, universities, hospitals and charitable organisations were founded on Christian values by people of the Christian faith.

 

This kind of partnership working fits well with the aims of the Redeeming Our Communities event at Plymouth Pavilions.  This event, on October 20^th at 7.30pm, has the support and involvement of the police, probation service, fire & rescue as well as many smaller local organisations, including faith groups, working for the good of the people of Plymouth and the South West.  It highlights our need to work together to tackle social issues, and also provides an opportunity for people to get involved and see inspiring examples of the work that is already being done.

 

All of us here at Cross Rhythms would encourage you, whether you're young or old, have a faith or not, to make sure you reserve your free place on the ROC website (www.roc.uk.com).  Put the date in your diary (October 20^th Plymouth Pavilions, 7.30pm) and get along for a great evening – there's live entertainment (I just heard that 'Britain's Got Talent' finalist Michael Collings will be one of the performers on stage) as well as a showcase of inspiring stories of community action and opportunities to get involved.  It could be just what we need to bring more hope to Plymouth in these difficult days.

  

Prayer Builds Love #end

Recently, June 12 was  the culmination of 10 days of prayer in the city starting on June 2.  Christians all over Plymouth were praying during those 10 days, leading up to June 12 which was the date of 'the Global Day of Prayer', where Christians around the world all joined in prayer for their families, their communities, their leaders and their nations.

 

So why do Christians pray?  It takes time, it takes effort to stop what we're doing and spend time in prayer, and heaven knows our busy lives nowadays have plenty of other things that shout for our attention.

 

I firmly believe in the power of prayer to change things for the better.   If you spend time listening to your Christian friends, or if you're a praying Christian yourself, you will be aware of how prayer has made a positive difference in lives – it does not always solve every problem, by any means.  Sometimes it does.  Yet strength, patience, growth, maturing and hope seem to increase through prayer, sustaining us in difficult times.

 

Prayer is also key to the Christian life on a personal, one to one level with God.  The  Bible records that Jesus himself, the Son of God, often drew aside on his own to pray to his Father in Heaven, even at times when whole towns were turning out to see him and to ask for the miraculous help they had heard he had been bringing to others.  At those most demanding times, he sometimes stepped back from it all and went to spend time with his Father.  Reading the bible, it seems Jesus came out of those times with a strength of faith, love and compassion that empowered him to keep meeting the needs of many, many people.  He also prayed when things were dark, when all others had left him, and when the choice to follow his Father meant his certain, agonising death, and worse.  He found incredible strength from his relationship with his Father in those times, which he could not have found elsewhere.

 

That's the beauty of personal prayer – it can be deeply intimate between you and God, where you can talk about things you cannot really talk to others about.  Sometimes even those closest to you will not be able to 'hear your heart' when you try to communicate things that mean so much to you.  That could be because they just cannot share your experience, or you cannot seem to get the words to say what you mean.  But God understands, because he sees your heart.  You don't need to explain yourself, you just need to be yourself.  He knows, he understands, he's listening, and he acts.

 

For some reason, God acts on our prayers.  It's puzzled many people over the years, 'how come God needs us to pray before he does some things?' I honestly don't know, but the evidence of many people's lives shows that he does.  I do know he loves to hear our voice and to meet with us.  Maybe, in part, that's why he asks us to pray, so we that we can grow a relationship with him.

 

Prayer can also benefit whole nations, and this is something that has been seen in our own country's history in times of trouble.  During the second world war King George VI called the nation to prayer during desperate times, when to the world who looked on it seemed the defeat of Britain by the Nazi forces was imminent.  History itself bears witness to the effectiveness of the prayers of a nation turning to God for help.

 

Prayer builds love in our hearts in a relationship with God, and often it leads to action, either us being given direction and strength to do something, or God acting in response to our prayers.   The recent Faith Audit shows just how much action goes on from Christian groups on behalf of their communities.  So much of this is undergirded by prayer, and all of us here at Cross Rhythms 96.3FM pray that we may see a rise in prayer from Christians all over this city of ours who care about its future and its people.

Being morally right can never be politically wrong # end

As we interview members of Public and Community organisations on Cross Rhythms, we are hearing more and more of the effects of the recession.  Citizen's Advice Bureau was threatened with funding cuts regarding debt counselling (thankfully they've had a last minute reprieve on that); the Police have to lose hundreds of jobs; and community organisations such as the Soup Run and the Food Bank, which help people in crisis, are seeing an increase in the need for their services.  As I wrote last month, this is really the time for the Church to rise up and shine, for the good of our communities and Plymouth as a whole.   She certainly has in the past.

Throughout history, Christian men and women, and Christian values, have been the motivating force in some of society's best social reforms; William Wilberforce and the struggle against slavery (not to Mention Dr Martin Luther King Jr who fought racism and oppression in the USA); Florence Nightingale who laid the foundations of modern nursing; and Wilberforce's successor in social reformation, Antony Ashley Cooper, (Lord Shaftesbury), who is quoted as saying, "Creed and colour, latitude and longitude, make no difference in the essential nature of man," and  "What is morally right can never be politically wrong, and what is morally wrong can never be politically right." 

Those two statements from Lord Shaftesbury typify what is so good about the Christian foundations of our democracy and legal system in the UK:  equality in law of all people regardless of creed or colour, (and may I add, any other differences) and justice and fairness for all as well.  Yet the faith which inspired these values seems nowadays to be turned against by those who have benefited most from them.  In Shaftesbury's thinking, what we now call 'political correctness' should be deeply aligned to 'moral correctness'.  Those Christian moral values are the bedrock of the movements that have brought democratic freedom to our land for all to enjoy.  Yet, if one looks at some areas of legislation, Christianity and the expression of the Christian faith looks like it is slowly being marginalised.

I realise these sentiments may be open to misunderstanding in some quarters.  This is not a politically correct article in the way the term is used nowadays.  It is not 'correct' in our post-modern era to adhere to any absolute moral values.  Yet I have to say that it is my belief that without traditional Christian values, we lose a very important part of our social fabric, from which people of all faiths, or no faith, equally benefit.

Lord Shaftesbury believed that God had called him "to devote whatever advantages he might have bestowed … in the cause of the weak, the helpless, both man and beast, and those who had none to help them."  He had a deep Christian faith, and that motivated his life in the cause of helping others. It is so often the case, even nowadays.  The Faith Action Audit which was presented to the City Council and Faith Leaders last year proves just how much good work is being done in our own city by faith groups, on behalf of the weak, the marginalised and the needy.

I appreciate it is not just Christian men and women who help others.  We are all made in the image of God and as such we all have the ability to shine.  But as a Christian, I believe the only sustaining force for continued compassionate action in the face of difficulty and even opposition, is the love of God through a relationship with His Son Jesus Christ.  That love just keeps on coming, and has been variously described as a fountain, or a river – a very apt description and one which encourages me and many others.

The Christian faith, when put into loving action, is a major force for good in our land.  It has been so for many centuries.  Christians in Plymouth are being invited to a day of prayer in June to pray for the welfare of our city, and to see those prayers turned into acts of compassion for the good of us all.  It is good to appreciate the reality all the positive action that goes on as a result of Christian faith, and to balance the often negative media-stereotypes of Christianity with that.  There's a line in the '90's movie 'The Abyss' which says 'you need to see with better eyes' – I pray that we all can in the days ahead.