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 […]
Category: Blog
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
From Beggars to Entrepreneurs in Burundi!
This is a guest blog by my Norwegian friend Arne. It’s something we’re looking to get involved in. It is so strategic, so empowering, so beautiful. This short film (under 4mins) explains the concept: Over to Arne: Hello folks! Why do we think that the solutions for those who are poor in Africa are different from the solutions in the UK, USA and Norway? Every human throughout the world has God-given talents, as well as needs. The need for a job, to feel wanted and valued, to provide for the family, and to have a relatively predictable and secure future […]
You did it and they’ve got it now!
Do give yourself 57 secs of joy by watching this! This is just the briefest of messages feeding back on your beautiful response to our Christmas appeal to provide health cards to several thousand desperately needy folks. £2.50/$3 was what it cost to provide them and their immediate families three years of access to medical care. We filmed this at one of the handout events where a thousand people received their card.So we say A MASSIVE THANK YOU on their behalf. Oof, there will be fewer senseless deaths! With guaranteed healthcare provision, they’ll have deep peace rather than crippling anxiety! […]
The Satisfying Death of CIP… or the RIP of CIP!
Last Friday in Bujumbura, CIP was shut down, wound up, put to bed. Let me explain why that is probably GLO’s greatest satisfaction to date in our involvement in Burundi: In April 2015, a political (and therefore national) crisis came to a head as the sitting President announced he would indeed stand for a third 5-year term in office. The constitution stipulated a maximum of two 5-year terms elected ‘by the people’. His first term had been elected by parliament as Burundi ended its 13-year war. So can you see how both sides would interpret the situation differently? His side […]
Celebrating a Short Life Well-Lived…
On this day last year, my dear friend Caleb Meakins graduated to glory after days battling to overcome injuries sustained in a car crash in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His death left many of us reeling, because he had so much love, energy and passion to give, and it all felt so wrong. To understand Caleb, you had to know the defining moment in his life. His English father worked for Tearfund and had married his Ethiopian mother. In 1996, his Dad’s plane was hijacked and crash-landed in shallow waters just off the Grande Comore Island in the Indian Ocean. As the […]
Building Now to the Glory of God!
I’m seriously excited, because this last week has been almost 12 years in the making. Check out this 1-minute clip with photos… But honestly, there were times when I doubted we would we ever get to this point. Let me explain: We helped Scripture Union launch the King’s Conference Centre in 2009 (See this video). It’s a sustainable success story and a hit with locals and international guests alike. Not only do several dozen staff receive a good salary to provide for their families, but profits are ploughed back into Kingdom projects like pastor-training, youth camps, and Bible distribution, etc. Beautiful! But then to our horror, the neighbouring […]
Declared Dead but now About to Give Birth!
Providence died in 2012, but will be giving birth this coming Monday… Say that again? On 13th September 2012, Provi plunged over a cliff at Butomangwa with her three RTNB colleagues (Burundi’s national Radio/TV) after a day’s news-reporting on a UNICEF project. All four were declared dead on the spot. Their bodies were taken to the morgue at Rutana hospital. The accident made national news headlines, and the Minister of Information announced on air each of the names of the dead, including hers. The first three bodies filled up the morgue, so Provi’s corpse was laid outside on the ground […]
Encourage One Another!
Lizzie and I are doing the Navigators’ Topical Memory System scripture memorisation thingy (check it out here) with a few friends, which involves learning two new verses each week. This week’s ones included Hebrews 10:25, which speaks of ‘encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the day approaching.’ Mark Twain said: “I can live for two months on a good compliment.” Well, a compliment or a word of encouragement certainly goes a long way, particularly during these challenging times. So here’s an idea which isn’t too difficult to implement but which will bring a lot of […]
Why I’m no longer a Christian… Part 2
This blog will only make sense if you’ve read the last one, please do so… Done? OK, I’ll carry on. I felt the need to write a follow-up to the last blog because a number of highly intelligent and spiritual people, whom I respect deeply, responded unfavourably to it, expressing disappointment and loving concern for me. Was I going soft? On the edge of burn-out? Losing my faith? The answer is no. My contention was and still is simply that the use of language is nuanced, and I question the received meaning of words such as ‘Christian’, ‘Christianity’, ‘missionary’, etc in […]
Why I’m no longer a Christian…
It might surprise some of you when I say that I stopped being a Christian about ten years ago. Last week’s picture of the world’s most powerful man holding up a Bible for what was in my view a questionable photo-opportunity polarized many, and prompted much discussion and outrage. It certainly got me thinking, and such events reinforce my reticence to be identified with ‘Christianity’. In his book ‘Blue Like Jazz’, Donald Miller recounts how a secular talk show host urged him to defend Christianity on air. Miller refused to do so, which made the host curious: He asked […]
Trophy of Grace!
Another story of the impossible in Burundi – from street kid to being a national sporting hero and using his gifts to promote reconciliation and forgiveness, this is a beautiful testimony of hope…
Nuts to be Normal
Should this become a book? That is the question I’m wrestling with. Maybe your honest feedback will help me make my decision. During our year of travel, I started with writing a book as my intention, and below is what I’d begun with. But then a few months in, a few key folks said I should drop it and live in the present, rather than sharing our lives too publicly. So I dropped it. But the kids thought it was a good idea. And then a number of folks have written asking me to. So, what to do? I don’t […]