How would you be after 37 rounds of chemotherapy and 10 surgeries? In your weakened state, would you like to go onto a football pitch at half-time and share Jesus with 22,000 spectators? Six years ago, Banker CEO Watford-fan Jeremy Marshall was given 18 months to live. He’s still alive and making the most of every opportunity. His story is so inspiring, challenging and stirring! Four of my friends have died of cancer in the last few months. All of us have lost someone we care about, and all of us know people who are journeying right now on that difficult path. That is […]
Simon Guillebaud
Made Whole, Imago Dei
Here is a talk I gave yesterday on being made in the image of God. Below is some of the material I shared: Some guests were visiting an orphanage and shared the Christmas story with the children for their first time ever. They sat, enthralled, and were then given materials to re-create the manger scene. All was going to plan until one of the visitors spotted six-year-old Abu’s efforts – he had put two babies in the manger. He was asked to repeat the story, and he did so perfectly until the end when he made up his own version. […]
Bringing Christmas Hope!
Hope is in the air. Francine is widowed with 7 children. Life is unbelievably tough. Her ‘house’ is a hovel – actually probably quite like the stable Jesus began his life in – without a toilet, electricity, or a front door to lock and provide security. But with your help, their lives (and others) will be radically transformed this Christmas! ICJ’s work in Murwi is about so much more than hand-outs. We’ve come alongside the poorest of the poor to journey with them out of extreme poverty. We’ve built a community centre with electricity so the kids can do their homework […]
It is with tears of joy that I am writing these sentences…
The timing of my last visit to Burundi was in order to attend the strategic congress launched by Burundi Mission Alliance. It was the brainchild of Onesphore Manirakiza, so I asked him to write a report in summary. Over to you, Onesphore: “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; It will surely come; it will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3 It had been always my dream to see church leaders from different churches in Burundi sit around the table discussing local and global […]
Speechless!
There are a few reasons why Innocent is the skinniest healthy guy I know. His stories are nuts. Read on… He realised as a young man that he had the gift of healing. On one occasion, he prayed for a hunchback who had been bent over for 18 years. The man immediately straightened up, and piled him high with avocadoes in gratitude! Another time, he was leading one of our Harvest Initiatives outreach teams, and they were taking a lunch break after the Sunday service. Two non-verbal (the currently PC term, I gather, for someone who can’t speak) girls asked […]
Brave Boldness and Damned Demons in Burundi!
Greetings from Burundi! There is so much good to report from my short visit (49 meetings and counting so far after seven days), but I thought I’d just share a couple of beautiful encounters to stir your faith. GLO’s motto is ‘Transforming Burundi and Beyond’, and I love how stories from Burundi encourage you in the ‘Beyond’ around the world, wherever you are as you read this. Here goes, as posted on facebook: I met with Abdoul today. He’s a brave man. He used to be in charge of 15 mosques, and prided himself in zealously winning Christians over to […]
Chrissie Chapman – A Tribute
Things would have looked very different if Chrissie had died when the doctors said she would. Decades ago, she was dying and had been given six months to live. She was partially paralysed, bald, her whole body was swollen ‘like a Michelin-Man’, and she had two wrecked lungs. On her hospital bed, she heard an audible voice: “It’s time to go home; I am going to heal you!” She was allowed out of the hospital some weekends. One weekend, back in her apartment and resting on her beanbag, she believed she was dying but then suddenly felt painful pins and […]
Come and See!
Today’s talk is the fifth in a series given recently at Lee Abbey. Come to me Weary! Come to me Dirty! Come to me Hungry! Come to me Thirsty! Come and See, then Go and Be! Here are a few juicy bits if you haven’t the time to listen: You won’t have heard of Edward Kimball. This man was becoming increasingly active in church and wanted to make an impact with the youth. His constant refrain was ‘come and see’. There was one lad he saw great potential in but just wasn’t able get through to. In the end, Kimball just decided to […]
Thirsty!
Today’s talk is the fourth in a series given recently at Lee Abbey. Come to me Weary! Come to me Dirty! Come to me Hungry! Come to me Thirsty! Here are a few juicy bits if you haven’t the time to listen: “Lord, please put salt on my lips that I might thirst more after you.” Augustine The revival on Lewis (1949-1952) was steeped in prayer. Seven men and two old ladies had decided to pray and not stop until God visited them in a powerful way. One night, at a prayer meeting held in a barn, one of them said, […]
Hungry!
Today’s talk is the third in a series given recently at Lee Abbey. Come to me Weary! Come to me Dirty! Come to me Hungry! Here are a few juicy bits if you haven’t the time to listen: George Orwell described a wasp that “was sucking jam on my plate and I cut him in half. He paid no attention, merely went on with his meal, while a tiny stream of jam trickled out of his severed oesophagus. Only when he tried to fly away did he grasp the dreadful thing that had happened to him.” The wasp and people without […]
Worthy or Unworthy? Dog or Heir?
Do you feel worthy of God’s love, or unworthy? It’s an important question. Lots of people live under guilt and shame, which is no way to do life. You see, we may be undeserving of God’s grace but we are certainly not unworthy. Because our worth is defined or measured by what Someone is willing to pay for us. And Jesus showed us just how valuable we are on the cross, didn’t he? He settled the matter there. Below is the second in a series of talks given a few weeks ago at Lee Abbey. The first was ‘Come to […]
Choosing Between Your Children
The new school year is big business in the West, with supermarket aisles crammed full of uniforms, pencil cases, notepads, and more. I asked my daughter Grace to film me as I recounted one of the most moving encounters I ever experienced with a mother desperate for her children’s future: Even a hard-working family with a modest income will struggle to shoe, clothe and supply stationery to all their children. Often, they’ll only be able to equip one or two of their children with the bare minimum. I can’t imagine having to choose between which of my kids get to […]
Turning Down the Queen’s Invitation
Back in 2017, I received an invitation from the Queen to join her at Buckingham Palace. I turned her down. Why? Because I’d already heard her on the radio. I’d read her written messages. I’d seen her on TV plenty of times. That was enough for me. Seriously? Of course not! Lizzie and I went there with a great sense of privilege, anticipation and honour, and had a wonderful time. Now, what is on offer today, to all of us, is not a personal invitation from the Sovereign of a nation, rather one from the Sovereign of the Universe, the […]
Who Do You Say I Am?
In a talk for a local church last Sunday, I was asked to look at this passage and the question Jesus asks of His disciples, ‘Who do you say I am?’ If you agree with what Peter answered then the implications are huge. Do take a listen. You can also listen to the sermon or download the audio recording. Some Quotes Oswald Chambers: Is God going to help himself to me, or am I so taken up of my conception of what I want to make of my life? CS Lewis: “Anything which isn’t eternal is eternally out of date” […]
(STOP) Their Education Bleeding Away!
It’s taboo. It’s hidden. It’s devastating. So many girls suffer in silence, in shame, in sadness. We interviewed a few of them in the poignant video below. Now that we have a teenage daughter, this issue resonates even more deeply with us than before. We would do everything in our power for her to thrive and not miss out on her studies. We all are (or have) sisters, daughters, nieces, etc. So this is something we can all relate to and do something about. We can all spare £4/$5 to help one (or 5 or 10 etc) precious teenager in […]
Inspired as Ever!
Ben Kwashi is one of my heroes, so I was thrilled to get to interview him today. You can hear it here. A little on him: Benjamin Kwashi is the archbishop they just couldn’t kill. Three times, the terrorists tried. Each time, they failed to take his life, crush his faith or dampen his joy. Neither bomb nor bullet can silence this turbulent priest who courageously continues to speak truth to power. Ben Kwashi has been described as one of the most influential Christians alive. His home is on the frontline of faith in Nigeria. Here, Boko Haram and heavily-armed […]
Burundi Bread and Butter Needed Now!
Great Lakes Outreach is a lean machine, I’m proud to say. And we use donated money carefully, accountably, and strategically. Today is the culmination of 6 months’ intensive work, and is the launch of our spanking new website. You might think we commissioned a marketing agency for £20k, but no, it was all done in-house, so huge thanks to Paul and Adam – great work guys! Why not take a look now, starting with the stunning short film on the front page explaining what GLO does? I’m very encouraged as we continue to have a nation-shaping impact. There are masses of positives in […]
Down with the Kids!
I invite you to listen to this last Sunday’s sermon, it’ll challenge you to the core! We had a powerful time… Watch the sermon: Listen to the sermon below or download here. Jim Wallis writes: “The danger of secular fundamentalism is its allergy to spirituality and disdain for anything religious. Prophetic religion is the antidote to bad religion. Prophetic faith is not the battle between secularism and faith, but rather between cynicism and hope. Prophets begin in judgment, social critique of status quo, but end in hope – that those realities can be changed. It’s a spiritual choice. Ultimately, cynicism […]
Jesus at the Door!
I’ve had a fun day so far, and yet it’s been such a normal day. Let me explain: Our church was serving the local community at the weekend by providing four skips for people to bring their stuff and save them a trip to the tip (many locals don’t have a car, so it’s very much appreciated). There was one last skip that needed filling, so a couple of us did that this morning. As the skip was loaded onto the truck and about to be driven away, I showed the driver a picture on my phone, and asked him […]
Nuts for Life!
Guys, I love hearing great stories, so here are the three most recent podcasts – so good! We’ve just launched this today: Alli ‘Mbabazi’ Blair is nuts (in a good way)! What compels a 67-year-old a few months ago to pack all her earthly belongings in two 23kg bags and move to the jungle in the North of Cambodia? She discusses naked Mai Mai soldiers, her 4m pet python, post-genocide rebuilding in Rwanda, exposing a paedophile, Freddy with the melted face, injustice, craziness and more. (If you don’t have access to Spotify or Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom of […]